Show me the way to Al Cabana
Updating You...
Rain DId Not Stop Play
24/7 Prayer Week

As Rev Chris Kirk and his family prepare to leave Sheffield and move to America, we take the opportunity to share in his reflections on 5 years as Minister of Totley Rise Methodist Church.

Chris and wife Heather came to Sheffield back in 2000. 2003 saw the arrival of their son Ethan, now 18 months old. Chris’ time as Minister is memorable for his work inside and outside of his 2 churches. On the surface, his services are great performances — often choreographed to contain clips from recent film releases or chart hits, frequently involving members of the church, but always, always featuring his sense of humour. As Lynne Capewell, Church Steward, says, “Chris tells the corniest jokes carrying the most meaningful message.”

One of Chris’ aims has been to bring new people into church — or in the case of many events, to bring the church out to the people. Ever walked past TRM on a Good Friday and seen the open air services in the car park? Or enjoyed a mince pie and carols during “Pies on the Rise” each Christmas. “Praise in the Park” has seen TRM take over Green Oak Park on summer weekends for services followed by BBQs and bouncy castles. Chris has interwoven his passion for football into many services, most memorably in 2002 when Sunday morning services were moved forward to accommodate World Cup matches. Supporters stayed on after the services to watch the matches on a wide-screen TV and eat bacon butties. Bacon butties were also a staple of Men’s Breakfasts held at Tiger’s Rugby Club, which featured visiting speakers from the world of sport and broadcasting.

Chris’ aim of introducing the church to new people through such events has worked. Clive Carter, who has been coming to church for the past 18 months, first experienced TRM through the Journey to Bethlehem (J2B). Chris and Heather introduced the idea for the event in 2003 from their previous church in Texas, USA. Each J2B involves a huge number of people from TRM. The story of Jesus’ birth is told by 40 actors, who are supported by a large team of dancers, prop and set designers, lighting and sound technicians, not to mention real sheep and donkeys (we will return to the theme of animals later.,.). Clive described J2B as a “phenomenal, amazing achievement” and said that as a visitor to the church, he was left with an overwhelming impression of people’s faith and passion. (See page 2 for details J2B 2005).

Returning to the animals, Chris has not shied away from the old adage, and has frequently used animals in church events — even bringing them into church (Palm Sunday donkeys, and of course the infamous goat on World Vision day who did not disappoint). Children too have played a huge part in the life of the church, from tiny babies playing the infant Jesus in the J2B productions to Youth groups for all ages who meet throughout the week. Chris and Heather have also introduced an international flavour to events. They invited the African Children’s Choir, and a Youth group from their church in Texas.

With so many special events that stand out during the past five years, it is important to reflect on the regular elements of Fellowship meetings, Luncheon and Pushchair clubs for the older and younger members of TRM, the Advice Service drop in sessions which provide practical support, and the coffee mornings and Friendship groups to which TRM has played host.

Chris sums up the purpose of all these activities, saying that in his time as Minister his aim has been: “To bring more people into the church, and bring existing people on.”

Heather and Chris say they will miss their extended family here at TRM, and people’s have-a-go attitude, which has made it possible to turn ideas into real events with big impacts.

Changing Revs

Groucho Marx famously said, ‘1 don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member’. Just over 5 years ago I wondered what a certain church was doing having me as its Minister, having never met us until the day of our arrival. However, we need not have worried. From the outset we knew we were amongst loving, committed people. We felt wanted. Thank you! All that we believed the Lord was saying about the move was rapidly confirmed. With our feet upon God’s country we soon felt at home. (The Leicester City footballer on our Welcome poster also helped, despite him having 2 left feet).

 Totley Rise Methodist has shown me how fulfilling ministry can be. Together we have sought to serve the Lord in a number of contrasting ways. Some have been more effective than others. But we only regret when we don’t try.

 We are faced with an endless aisle of choices. One guiding principle is to listen to another’s recommendation. Heather and I would not hesitate in recommending TRM. We pray for that spirit of generosity to increase amongst you. As John Freeman said of this church at our recent Membership Service, “See how they love one another.” When people see that love, a door is opened to showing them the greatest love, that of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

 Garry, Dawn and Joel Dawson-Jones arrive in August. Garry officially starts September 1.

 There are many things you can do to welcome them as a family.

         Offering meals and childcare early in their arrival can be appreciated.

         Let them know about key locations in the area such as supermarkets, dentists, doctors, hairdressers, restaurants, theatres, etc.

             Pray for them regularly and offer regular encouragement.

         Remember that Garry will be not able to meet every need and fulfill every vision, though he’ll probably try!

If they receive anything like the welcome we were given they’ll soon feel at home. While there will be some similarities between Garry and me, overall his approach will not be the same. However, where he wants to go with the church will be - to bring new people in and to bring existing people on. I believe that the Lord has exciting plans in store for TRM. And I believe you’ll want to be part of that! All our love,

 Chris, Heather and Ethan

In the Spotlight - LEGOs

No it’s not a plastic brick from Denmark! It is a walking group started by Terry and Margaret Birch when Terry retired. Looking round the church they saw that there were several people like them who had retired but were by no means ready for their pipe and slippers in front of the television. They wanted to live full lives, enjoy themselves and make friends. Put this together with the beautiful country-side and a desire to walk in it and you have LEGO — Let’s Enjoy Growing Older.

The LEGO group meets at the church at 9.15 am on the second Friday of each month then drives into the local area for walks of about 8 miles. There is always a lunch stop, usually at a conveniently placed local pub (the walks are planned with that in mind). The walks take place whatever the weather. After one particularly wet day Terry was heard to say that he was thinking of renaming the group LEGOFS - Let’s Enjoy Getting Our Friends Soaked!

Family News

Goodbye to Leesa, Mark and Callum Beal, who are heading off to Northern Ireland after 3 years in Sheffield. Leesa has accepted a new job as a financial analyst, and Mark will be achieving a long held ambition in studying for a PhD in Medieval History. We can also report that the Cuthbertson family are on the move, and Wallace has safely arrived in Singapore and is already working. Nuala and the boys will remain here until the end of the summer term, and will be reuniting in August in Singapore, in time for the boys to start their new schools.

 Lastly, we will soon be bidding farewell to Chris, Heather and Ethan Kirk who are moving to Florida this summer. Chris’ reflections on his time as minister of TRM can be found above.

Sally Jones died May 14. Her age ‘varied’! Either way she was loved by young and old alike. Constancy and generosity summed up Sally. Her family said they had to buy her things that they could nail to floor otherwise she would only give them away again! At TRM she was a member of almost everything going. She was a real treasure and will be missed by all.

 May and June have seen a bumper crop of youngsters joining the TRM family. Isaac Dearden, son of Adrian and Trish, and Samuel Shipley, son of Catherine and Adrian were dedicated. Katie Jukes, daughter of Matt and Juliet, and Joe Harvey, son of Sally and Jonathan, were baptised at Totley Rise.

 The Membership service on 12 June saw 14 people formally join the church. As Rev Chris Kirk explains, deciding to become a member of TRM shows an individual’s commitment to the life ofthe church. Each new member shared their reasons for taking this step, and many testimonies mentioned the welcomes they had received on first visiting the church as the starting point for their decision to take this step. One new member, Bev Eyre described TRM as being “full of great heart-felt warmth and friendliness”.

Unpredictable Pentecost

Pentecost Praise on Sunday May 15 was planned to be different, but the whole day turned out to be much more eventful than predicted.

The morning Pentecost Praise service had the extra joy of including the dedication of lsaac Dearden, and then Trish, his Mum. sang a powerful version of There’s a wind a blowing. And the wind blew not only through that service with the special music group’s singing and the sense of God’s presence, but also in other activities during the day.

Our Youth Church Leaders are ‘Magic’
As a special treat the Youth Church had arranged for a circus workshop with a special guest coming to teach circus tricks. When no one had arrived at 10.25 the leaders phoned the guest. He had come down that morning to find that all his props were smouldering in his dining room. Our Youth Church leaders rose to the challenge. They found some ropes and modeling balloons for the children to work on whilst another of them went home to get juggling plates and other materials. The youngsters still had their circus tricks and more - thanks to the ingenuity and talents of our own leaders.

Christian Aid Hunger Lunch
The morning service was followed by a hunger lunch in support of Christian Aid. The money usually spent on dinner was put into a special offering and those staying had a meal of bread and cheese. Looking at one person’s plate another was heard to say “If that’s a hunger lunch then it’s going to take you a long while to starve”. A total of just over £200 was raised for Christian Aid.

Personal stories at the evening service
Pentecost is a celebration of the Spirit of God coming to the church. In the evening Roger Hoyle spoke about the gifts that the Spirit gives and asked “Which gift have you been given?” Many people in the congregation took the opportunity to describe the different gifts they had been given by the Spirit as Christians. They included the gifts of joy, peace, the desire to praise, the use of music in worship and many other particular gifts for specific occasions as needed. One of the gifts that the Spirit gives is insight into people’s needs and, before the service, the leaders realised that the Spirit was saying to them ‘Release’. There were people there who needed release from things that were stopping them living full lives. At the end of the service there were people being prayed with for release from different things. It is humbling and deeply moving to see God working in such powerful ways in people’s lives.

“Show me the way to Al Cabana” - Girl Guide visits Mexico

Maddie Stones, 14, is one of a select group of girl guides visiting Mexico this summer. Maddie started her guiding career in TRM’s Rainbow group, and is now a Young Leader of the Brownies. Maddie is the only guide from Sheffield to have been chosen, and will be representing guides from the North East of England. Over the past 6 months, Maddie has been furiously fundraising to meet her target of £1,500. “I’ve done loads of babysitting, face-painting, a car-boot sale and a raffle, says Maddie, “and spent one solid week washing up in my uncle’s café.” Maddie’s efforts have been rewarded with a fantastic £2,000, and she wants to say a huge thank you to TRM for a very generous donation.

Once in Mexico, Maddie will be spending 5 days in Mexico City before travelling to Al Cabana, a World Guide Centre where the guides will be undertaking community-based projects, which could involve working in an orphanage or school. And if you think Maddie is heading for a challenge, spare a thought for her fellow air passengers: “We’ll be singing the moose song, with all the actions, for the whole 10-hour flight to Mexico” says Maddie.

Updating you from items in the last newsletter:-

Supporting Mencap

In spite of running into the proverbial wall at 18 miles, Nick Whitworth completed the London Marathon in a creditable 5 hours 22 minutes. He raised over £3,700 for Mencap.

£3,500 to FOIL AIDS

The Bring and Buy Coffee morning in support ofthe FOIL AIDS charity raised £525 on the day. Further generous gifts from church members at TRM have enabled £3,500 to be sent to AIDS work in South Africa.

Operation Christmas Child

Following the Music for a Spring Evening concert further gifts were received and several people have offered to help with completing more shoe boxes of presents for Christmas this year.

Cancer UK
Judy Gunner recently completed a 5 km run, and raised over £300 for Cancer UK, a breast cancer charity. Many ofyou will have seen on the church notice-board a photo of Judy sporting a t-shirt, celebrating Viv Thomas’ continued improvement. Judy wishes to thank friends and the church family for their support and generosity.