Anerley Methodist Church

February/March 2012                                                                  Volume 43 Number 5

Greetings,

Where are we going? What are we doing? As the continent of Europe we are confused. Even nature doesn’t seem to know where it is and us as Christians, what do we know.

Europe. Well is it a financial zone focussing on the euro, or a political zone embracing a number of countries who feel stronger to be a part of a larger group yet not willing to lose nationality or other ownership interests, or is it an economic union. Whatever it is

 Volume 42 Number 4 D

Anxiety, family coming round, financial stress, a food mountain in the fridge, little food, what presents to buy and who for, a present you don’t know what to do with, horrible traffic jams– you could go on, but look above.

Volume 43 Number 3

Following the riots in London during August, the London District Chairs produced the following message, which is still relevant some weeks later

Volume 43 Number 2

I want to understand.

Dear Friends, What a time. A time in which many lives have been irrevocably influenced. The famine in East Africa, scenes none of us want to see, of starving children, grief stricken parents and miles upon miles of land turning to dust through lack of water. The atrocity in Oslo and the horrendous deaths and injuries there and on the island of Utoeya.

 Volume 42 Number 5

A NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM THE DISTRICT CHAIRS

Dreams can be so different from reality! In the run-up to Christmas, pretty snow-covered Christmas cards and songs such as “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas”pictures of a cosy, family gathering around a real fire, eating and drinking to their heart’s content. However, the reality of “snow has fallen snow on snow” is very different: 

 Volume 42 Number 3

Dear Friends,

It seems amazing that Autumn is approaching, that the year is almost in its final quarter, that the growth of Spring and the fruitfulness of summer is about to disappear. Yet as it disappears the next phase begins, a phase of vibrant colours but also a phase of impending loss as nature shuts down or hibernates, preparing itself for the hardship of winter.

Volume 42 Number 1

Dear Friends,

It‟s that time again! I‟ve just mown the grass and as I now look and reflect on my labours it hits me.

Volume 41 Number 6

Dear Friends,

Have you seen a daffodil lately? One that is out I mean! Daffodils, the heralds of Spring, brighten up Mothering Sunday, all gone missing! I walked through the park this morning and ‘hosts of golden daffodils’, are poking their stunted heads to the heavens, waking but not yet woken. The colour, the vibrancy, the trumpeting of Spring is not there.

Volume 41 Number 5

How is our sight in Christian terms? In the year to come are we seeing what Christ wants of us? Is it clear or somewhat blurred and confused? Are the colours distinct and clear or are the messages of Christ fusing into one another? Are we wishing we had more foresight to see God’s will for us in the future or regretting in hindsight things of 2009?

Volume 41 Number 4

Volume 41 Number 3

Wow. What a harvest of plums, damsons and apples this year; probably many other fruits and vegetables as well. It is just these are the fruits we have in our garden and we don’t seem to have stopped picking them off the trees and sadly off the grass.

Volume 41 Number 2

I’ve just had a couple of days away in Rye, East Sussex. What a beautiful place. A place of beauty, character, history and a place with a warm welcome, a place to savour.place to relax, to unwind, to forget all that clogs the mind and wallow in the quietness (apart from the seagulls) of a jewel in our land.

Volume 41 Number 1

What turbulent times we are living in! The conflicts in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq; The resurrection, hopefully a one off, of sectarianism in Northern Ireland; The financial difficulties resulting in a reassessment of world markets and consequent recession and unemployment; And now Parliamentarians’ expenses; what does all this say  to us?

Volume 40 Number 6

Dear Friends,

Have you prepared then. Are you ready? Ready for the Easter period; ready in the garden; ready in your home; ready in your spiritual life?

Volume 40 Number 5

We have begun another year. Ghana has begun with a new leader and government and so has the United States of America

Volume 40 Number 4

Yes it’s almost here. Christmas! How are you feeling? It has been tough lately. The banks, the financial markets, mortgages, employment, need I go on? Now there is the expense of Christmas. The children still are bombarded with ideas for presents, we all need to eat and at this time of year we want it to be special. How will we cope?

Volume 40 Number 3

Dear Friends,

Two occasions strike me as I begin to write today. The first is a walk I had last week, the second a meeting, both set me thinking.

Volume 40 Number 2

As our Minister, Rev. Graham Cocking, was still away as I prepared the Magazine, I have again mined the archives for a Letter by a previous Minister.

Volume 40 Number 1

In the absence of our Minister, Rev. Graham Cocking, on Sabbatical leave, I have mined the archives for a Letter by a previous Minister, Rev. Peter Coates from the Autumn/Winter 1975 edition.

Volume 39 Number 6

Wesley Girls’ High School is situated in Kumasi

Volume 39 Number 5

It’s that time of year again. You know, the time of reckoning! The time when Christmas and New Year revelries and ndulgenciesare over, and the consequences are felt.

Volume 39 Number 5 

Dear Friends,

Happy Christmas! Yes it’s nearly that time again. 

 Can’t you feel it? Austria has got its earliest snow for years. And here? Well the north wind has certainly started to blow!

Volume 39 Number 3 -

Dear Friends,

This year as we celebrate the harvest let us remember. Let us remember the hundreds of thousands in West and  Central Africa whose lives have been shattered by the terrible floods that have decimated large parts of many countries.

Volume 39 Number 2

Dear Friends,

Had enough of the rain? Many have. Houses have been  flooded, businesses interrupted even brought to the edge of  closing, education brought to a grinding halt in some places as schools and colleges were affected.