Friday 30 March 2007

Breakfast before Church - coming soon

How good can this be? Breakfast before church in the Barnabas Centre. The delicious smell of bacon, hot coffee, a gentle start to the best day of the week.

Anita's come up with the goods on this one, and suggests that "Breakfast at Barney's" could be the way to go. The idea is for a church breakfast before the family/parade service. Well worth a try, don't you think?

Wednesday 28 March 2007

Christ in the Centre - Palm Sunday

On Sunday 1 April at 3pm, the Sword Drama Group, in association with Christ
in the Centre will be conducting a parade in Gallowtree Gate.

This will be a re-enactment of the first Palm Sunday which will provide a
different experience for all involved to the Good Friday drama. The event
will serve as a precursor to the events of Good Friday and will give
Christians an extra chance to show their faith, take part in an exciting
event and to reach out to other members of the community.

The parade will last between 30 minutes and an hour.

Everybody is welcome to come along and attend the event. Please bring palms,
branches or anything green in order that you can wave or join in.

The crowds will assemble on Gallowtree Gate by the Clock Tower on 1 April at
3pm.

The questions children ask

The Year 1 children from Brookside Primary School were as inquisitive and excited as ever when they visited St Paul's this morning.

As always, their questions were among the highlights:
  • Why are there speakers on the wall?
  • Is it Coke? (when shown a chalice of wine)
  • Is it Ribena?
  • Is it beer?
  • Why did Jesus die on the Cross?
  • Why is the bible so big?
  • How does that bell work?
When asked to look around and think of words that described how they felt in St Paul's, these five and six year-olds came up with some interesting suggestions:
  • warm
  • cold
  • quiet
  • peaceful
  • friendly
  • happy
Thanks to the children and staff and especially to Dave and Dinah for giving their time to help this morning.

April Magazine Letter - Avoiding Disappointment

Simon Harvey writes,

As I wandered through the aisles at the supermarket this week, the piped music that’s designed to put me in a shopping mood was interrupted by a chirpy voice. “Good morning everyone! Welcome to Asda! Did you know that next Saturday, the brand new Playstation 3 gaming console will be available in the UK for the first time?”

The Monday afternoon pensioners and mums with toddlers that usually share my shopping experience looked didn’t like they knew about this earth-changing event. But we all had a feeling that we would soon know more.

“Yes, and to be the first to own one of these fantastic new game consoles - recommended retail price: £425 - we’re making it possible for you to pre-order one today!”

If this wasn’t enough to get me twitching with nervous excitement about the privilege of PS3 ownership, the next part of the sales patter was meant to turn up the pressure. “Please, ladies and gentlemen, book early to avoid disappointment!”

The idea of ‘avoiding disappointment’ is one of the tricks of the salesman’s trade. Disappointment is conjured up as a looming possibility, with all its associations of regret and sorrow. Disappointment - a dark and gloomy mood to be avoided at all costs, or at least avoided at the cost of a £25 down payment.

Marketing the avoidance of disappointment is big business. In a culture where instant satisfaction of every whim and want is promised, disappointment means failure. I see parents unable to resist the disappointed look on young children’s faces. When told that the burger and fries, the late bed-time, or the hoped-for toy isn’t going to come, children are skilled at sharing their disappointment. I can’t help thinking that those tearful, grumpy toddlers who never learn to cope with disappointment are destined to be tomorrow’s angry adults, who blame everyone else for the fact that life is disappointingly boring, unfulfilling, or tough.

Yet there’s a strange fact about disappointment. Disappointment often comes as an early chapter in the stories that finally lead to the most wonderful and exhilarating moments of our lives.

Before entering full-time Christian ministry, I worked in industry for fourteen years, mainly in product and project management. I did some thinking and research about the ways we could build on our successes. One of the surprising things that emerged was that the contracts in which everything went smoothly, without any hitch, weren’t quite as effective in leading to new business as those in which there had been significant problems. I noticed that when we let down a key customer, we actually gave ourselves an opportunity to prove our commitment and professionalism by retrieving the situation. Some of our most fruitful business relationships arose from projects in which we seriously disappointed a customer, then admitted our failure, and pulled out all the stops to deliver.

We know this in everyday experience. If we simply buy something, we may well be satisfied with the transaction. But if we are disappointed that a shop doesn’t quite have the thing we want, and the shopkeeper goes the extra mile to get it for us and to ensure we are completely satisfied, we often end up even more pleased than if we had simply taken the item from the shelf. So pleased, in fact, that we may well return or recommend the shop to others. Similarly, the disappointment of a faulty product can lead to us experiencing a surprising pleasure if our complaint is dealt with sympathetically and we are treated with understanding and commitment.

This may be because the ordinary, merely satisfactory experiences transacted at the till give us little opportunity for a proper engagement with people. But at the ‘customer service desk’, the extra-ordinariness of a disappointed customer provides the shop with an opportunity to treat us as real people, and the possibility of turning our disappointment into delight.

Perhaps we shouldn’t try so hard to avoid disappointment, if it’s the kind of disappointment that allows someone to draw close to us and put things right again.

Easter provides a fascinating opportunity to reflect on disappointment and delight. The gospels move toward the final moments of Jesus’ life, the culmination of all the hoped-for expectations of the Messiah’s mission. His friends and followers find themselves bitterly disappointed, disheartened and depressed. I think we rush too quickly from the stone cold tomb of Good Friday. We should linger instead, exploring the depth of this disappointment, and allowing it to connect with all the disappointments of our own lives.

One of the most remarkable accounts of the Easter experience is told in Luke 24.13 to 49. Two depressed disciples plod disappointedly away from Jerusalem, from the crucifixion of all their hopes. On the way a stranger draws near and allows them to express their grief. And later, as their companion shares broken bread, they discover that this stranger that came close and walked with them in their disappointment is actually the risen Jesus himself.

It may be tempting to avoid disappointment, or to console our disappointed children and friends with short-cuts to temporary happiness. But the Christian faith has adequate resources for properly dealing with disappointment. The transformation of grief to joy, from sorrow to hope, can only truly come when we allow God to draw near in the disappointing parts of our own journeys. Then, when we aren’t dodging the truth, we may find our hearts burn within us, and find our disappointment turn to delight. Happy Easter!

New Minister at Trinity Methodist Church

The magazine of Trinity Methodist Church announces that Revd Mark Cheetham has been designated as Probationary Minister, with effect from September 2007. We look forward to welcoming Mark to Oadby and working with him in Churches Together.

Jargon-busting: What's a Lectionary?

It's easy to use jargon in church. It sometimes feels that the church has to dream up a new word for every familiar idea or object, just to confuse people. Well, we want to remove the confusion where we can, so here's the first in a series of posts which aim to do the jargon-busting.

A lectionary is a book or list of bible readings for use in worship. (A lection is a reading). At our daily prayer services in the parish, and on the main services on Thursdays and Sundays, the lectionary provides the basis for the readings we use. Before the time of Jesus, the Hebrew scriptures were read in a cycle, with readings being appointed for various festivals and regular acts of worship. This practice continued in the early Church, and various schemes for selecting and organising readings have been developed through the centuries.

The strengths of a good lectionary are:
  • the discipline of using readings which are pre-selected, rather than chosen arbitrarily or personal favourites.
  • the sense of belonging to a wider church that comes from using the same readings as other Christian communities.
  • the breadth and balance of readings which prevent reading from being too narrow.
The Church of England has adopted a version of the Revised Common Lectionary, and you can find an online version of it here but The Book of Common Prayer also has a lectionary of its own. The Revised Common Lectionary is used for Sunday readings (with minor variations) by the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches, as well as the Anglican Churches. It works through a three-year cycle.

We sometimes depart from the lectionary readings when we follow a series of thematic studies in our services, such as the recent series on "Christian Character". If you want to know what the lectionary readings are, it can be quite tricky to work them out from the 'master lectionary' on the Church of England website. That's because certain feasts and festivals displace the 'normal' lectionary provision. It's easier to find out what the lectionary readings are for a particular date in the year, by using one of the annually produced lectionary booklets like this or this.

Principal Services April to June 2007

Our Readers, Steve and Hugh, and I had a meeting to plan the sequence of services for the whole period through the summer last night. We were excited to anticipate the way the passages of scripture work through the lectionary in the coming months. Here are the details:

1 April 2007

10.00am Holy Communion

Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50.4-9a; Luke 22.14 – 23.56

5 April 2007

7.30pm Holy Communion

Maundy Thursday

6 April 2007

7.45pm Joint Service for Churches Together

Good Friday reflections

8 April 2007

10.00am Family Communion

Easter Day

1 Corinthians 12. 1-11 John 2. 1-11

15 April 2007

10.00am Holy Communion

Good News - Jesus

Acts 3.1-8, 4. 4-12, 16-20; John 14.5-13

22 April 2007

10.00am Service of the Word and baptism of Ethan Smith

Good News – The Cross

1 Peter 2:20b-25; John 3:1-21

29 April 2007

10.00am Service of the Word

Good News Recounted

2 Timothy 3:14-17; Luke 24-13-27

6 May 2007

10.00am Holy Communion and baptism of Joe Tedder

Good News for all

Acts 10:39; Matthew 28:16

13 May 2007

10.00am Family / Parade Service

Can I really believe in miracles?

Luke 24.13 - 49

20 May 2007

10.00am Holy Communion

The risen and ascended Jesus

Acts 1.1-11; Luke 24.44-end

27 May 2007

10.00am Service of the Word

Pentecost – God Holy Spirit poured out for all

Acts 10:39; Matthew 28:16

3 June 2007

10.00am Service of the Word

Trinity – The community of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Romans 5.1–5; John 16.12-15

10 June 2007

10.00am Family/Parade Service

Show me how to pray

Luke 18.9-17

17 June 2007

10.00am Holy Communion

Paul’s letter to the Galatians 1 of 4

Galatians 1.10-12, 2.15 -end; Luke 7.36-8.3

24 June 2007

10.00am Service of the Word

Paul’s letter to the Galatians 2 of 4

Galatians 3.23-end; Luke 8.26-39

Tuesday 27 March 2007

Christian Aid Walk - 13 May 2007

I'm delighted that Colin is to organise this year's Christian Aid Walk. It's the fiftieth anniversary of Christian Aid, and it will be great to support the valuable work of this organisation with our friends from other local churches.

Baby Massage

One of our friends at St Paul's, Robbie Simpson, is about to start a baby massage class. Robbie has done wonderful work with the Parkinsons' Disease Society in their monthly meetings at the Barnabas Centre. Now she is about to deliver a six-week Baby Massage Class on behalf of Leicestershire County Council Adult Education Services.

The classes start on Thursday 12 April from 1.30pm to 3.00pm, in the Barnabas Centre. Contact Robbie on 0116 271 7899.

Church Newspapers

For the next few weeks, you can pick up a free copy of the weekly Church of England Newspaper from St Paul's. Some people have asked about other church newspapers, so in the interests of fairness, I'd better point out that the Church Times is also available as a weekly.

Wednesday 21 March 2007

The roles of Churchwardens and Deputy Churchwardens

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

The role of a churchwarden is extremely varied and demanding, both in terms of time and responsibility. In the Parish of Oadby, we have two churchwardens, elected from the membership of St Paul’s and St Peter’s Churches. The Churchwardens share their responsibilities with deputies. They play a key role in the leadership of the parish, as well as in the church in which they belong.

The churchwarden should be someone who the congregation respects as a leader and who can take charge when needed. A churchwarden may have to take a service at ten minutes notice, or deal with the press when some major issue occurs. He or she needs to help the PCC to make the right decisions. Above all, Churchwardens should be prayerful, wise, and if needed, firm. They should not be nervous of dealing with senior clergy.

While a vicar is in post, many of the churchwarden's responsibilities are connected with maintenance. With a light touch, they are responsible for a necessary order in worship and for collecting the church offerings. The Churchwarden leads the team of Sidespeople and Welcomers, whose contribution to a friendly and worshipful atmosphere in church is vital. Churchwardens have to make reports each year to the annual parochial meeting and to the archdeacon. They have to go to all the meetings of the PCC, DCC and the standing committee, and should meet and pray regularly with the clergy. Their work is not just the maintenance of the church building, but helping the smooth running of the church.

Churchwardens also exercise an important pastoral responsibility in caring for the parish clergy and in encouraging church members in their Christian faith, and to help heal any quarrels or disagreements that arise.

Churchwardens are elected annually by a meeting of Parishioners and may serve for a maximum of six consecutive terms. Deputy Churchwardens are also elected annually.

The role of Deanery Synod Representatives

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

The Deanery Synod is a tier of church synodical government, regulated by national rules. Every parish belongs to a Deanery (the Parish of Oadby belongs to Gartree 2 Deanery and sends five elected representatives to the Deanery Synod, in addition to the clergy).

Deaneries are consulted by the Diocese of Leicester on matters of policy and the most significant discussions in the year 2006/7 related to the formation of new Mission Partnerships. With the advent of Mission Partnerships, it is unclear how much business and responsibility will remain with the Deanery Synod. It is also likely that the size of the Deanery and the scope of its responsibilities will be redefined at some time in the coming years.

Deanery Synod Representatives should be informed about the life of the parish, the opportunities for mission that exist in and beyond Oadby, Wigston and the surrounding villages. They should also appreciate and contribute to the issues that affect the mission of the Church of England in Leicester Diocese and beyond.

Deanery Synod Representatives are elected for three-year terms at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. There is one vacancy in the parish for a Deanery Synod Representative at present.

The role of Parochial Church Council Representatives

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is responsible, with the incumbent, for the life and mission of the parish. In Oadby, the chief responsibilities of the PCC are in relation to agreeing policy affecting both St Peter’s and St Paul’s, and the authorisation of projects that involve substantial sums of money.

The PCC is responsible for all parish finance and property, though smaller decisions about these are delegated to the District Church Councils.

PCC Representatives should be regular worshippers and be willing to offer their particular skills or insights to decisions. An understanding of how members of congregations feel about issues is very valuable, as well as the commitment to work in between meetings to make things happen.

The clergy, Readers, Churchwardens, Deputy Churchwardens and Deanery Synod Representatives are all ex-officio members of the PCC. In addition, two representatives are appointed by election each year at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, each serving a three-year term.

The role of District Church Council Representatives

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

The District Church Council (DCC) is focussed on the mission of the church community. There is a DCC for St Paul’s Church and a DCC for St Peter’s Church.

The DCC helps shape and develop the local church and its life, witness and service to the people of our neighbourhood. The DCC is the key decision-making body in relation to buildings and activities that take place in them,

DCC Representatives should play a full part in the life of the local church and be thoughtful and prayerful Christians. They should be willing to take responsibility for seeing decisions turned into practical action between meetings, and to work and pray for the flourishing of church life.

All members of the PCC are automatically members of both District Church Councils. In addition, at St Paul’s we elect three church members at the Annually Parochial Church Meeting, to each serve a one-year term of office.

The role of Sidespeople

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

Sidespeople have a very important role in making the church ready for worship and for assisting people who come to our services. Under the supervision of the Churchwardens, their ministry is about ordering the church for worship. They should be prepared to be in church before anyone else, to set out the books and anything else that is needed. They share with the Welcomers, the crucial responsibility of greeting newcomers and established church members. If anyone needs assistance during a service, the sidespeople must beready to help at a moment’s notice. Sidespeople may notice when someone needs attention or an invitation to stay, talk or pray with others. At the end of the service, they must be prepared to stay behind to ensure that the church is in good order and that everything is put away tidily and safely.

Sidespeople need excellent people-skills, ready to engage and to serve the people who come to church. Research shows that for many people, the experience of being greeted and made welcome is as important as the preaching or the music in helping them to draw close to God. They also need to be prepared to offer the time that is needed on the Sunday mornings that they are on duty, as their responsibilities require up to an hour before the service and an hour afterwards.

Sidespeople are therefore on the front-line of evangelism and pastoral care. They are elected annually at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

Saturday 17 March 2007

Wyvern Singers at St Peter's 24 March 2007


The Wyvern Singers will be performing at St Peter’s on Saturday 24 March at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £6 (£5 concession) including refreshments (under 18s free of charge) - available from Frank and the Parish Office (272 0080).

Prayer for our city




The Prayer for our City team has updated information, including a full programme of events, at their website: http://www.prayer4ourcity.org

100 posts to the blog

A bit of a milestone, I guess. So far, since mid January 2007, we have made one hundred posts to this blog (that's one hundred separate articles, which are search-able from the search box at the top of the window).

In that time, the blog has received almost nine hundred visits and over two thousand page views.

We'll keep it going for at least a bit longer, then.

Thursday 15 March 2007

Grimm's Snow White

We're looking forward to this production of Grimm's Snow White (an adaptation of the original story, not the Disney version, by Roy Iliffe with music by Andy Jenkinson) performed at St Paul's Church by Guiding Lights Youth Theatre under the direction of Mandy Flaherty.

Saturday 31 March 7:30 - £6 adults (£4 young people)
Sunday April 1 2:00 - £5 adults (£3 young people)

Contact Dana Bagshaw 271 4837 for more details.

Mothering Sunday - 18 March 2007

The fourth Sunday of Lent is celebrated as Mothering Sunday.

This will be our shorter family service, with Parade for the Beavers, Rainbows, Brownies and Cubs. Mums will receive a special treat.

Use of our buildings at record levels

It's thrilling to see the way that our buildings continue to be used for even more activities through the week. The first two months of the year have seen record numbers of groups using our facilities, so that now each building is occupied almost 60% of the available time. This is twice the figure of three years ago.

One of the happy consequences is that income from lettings has also risen, meaning that we can better resource our work and mission.

Thanks to all who make this possible, to Wendy who cleans, Sue who does the invoicing, and especially to all who organise groups and activities.

Wednesday 14 March 2007

Creating Mission Partnerships

Off to a meeting tonight, at which clergy, Readers, authorised ministers and churchwardens from parishes in the north, east and south of our deanery have been invited to discuss the formation of a mission partnership, following the diocesan plans in the light of the Shaped by God report.

Probably the main issue for us to consider tonight is whether to have one larger partnership or two smaller ones. The second key issue to explore in the coming months is to find a balance between structures that are loose enough and creative enough to be empowering and those which offer enough of a framework to actually create a sense of partnership and identity.

The church communities in the parishes under consideration with St Paul's are St Peter's (Oadby), Thurnby, Stoughton, Houghton, Hungarton, Keyham, Great Glen, Burton Overy, Carlton Curlieu, Kibworth, Smeeton Westerby, Saddington, Foxton, Gumley and Laughton.

Edit 15 March - a very positive meeting. Looks like PCCs and DCCs will be invited to confirm this as the proposed partnership.

Monday 12 March 2007

Marathon effort needed

A major project for Leicester YMCA is being supported by Neil Griffiths’ run in this year’s London Marathon. The project is to increase the awareness amongst young people in Leicester and the county to the dangers of HIV and AIDS and Neil is running the marathon on 22nd April to raise money for this important cause. He will be in church at the 10am service most Sundays if you wish to sponsor him. Alternatively you can use his fundraising website at: www.justgiving.com/neils2007marathonchallenge

Lent Lunches 2007 - pictures

Lent Lunch 2007


Thanks to Paul for the pictures and the whole team for making it a really special event. Click on the picture to see more.

Is Oadby the cleanest place in Britain?

Not too sure myself, but I wish our Borough all the best for the final of the Visit Britain Clean Britain Awards, which are being judged tomorrow, 13 March 2007.

Oadby and Wigston Borough is up against Braintree, Chester, Durham and Mendip in the final.

Edit 15 March: Oadby was one of the runners-up, as the title of Cleanest Borough was taken by Mendip.

Sunday 11 March 2007

Thursday Communion almost fills the chapel

At last week's Thursday morning communion service, led by Michael Rusk, the chapel was almost full as a record number of people came along. There were nineteen people in all. This is a sign that more and more people are looking to find ways of worshipping during the week. Trouble is, how can we all fit in?

Studies of church life suggest that it's difficult for congregations to grow when there are few spare seats, so we'll need to think and pray about how we respond to this growing demand.

A Christian Perspective on Dying

At this morning's service I mentioned that for some weeks I have been thinking about gathering some materials in preparation for an event or short course to help us reflect on Death and Dying from a Christian Perspective.

I was pretty overwhelmed with the response and it seems this is a significant issue for many of us, at a time when our culture has inadequate ways of discussing, dealing with and preparing for the end of a life.

Those who approached me today will be invited to share insights and, most importantly, the questions and issues which a short course or event could address. Expect to hear more in the coming weeks.

Thursday 8 March 2007

Holy Space - Labyrinth

Pictures from last Sunday's Holy Space, which had the title Labyrinth, can be seen online. Follow the link under the picture.
From Holy Space - ...

Kiddisafe Pre-school play group

Rehana Esat of Kiddisafe is planning an open day to find out if there is potential for the running of a pre-school play group at St Paul's. She writes,
We are currently looking at setting up a Pre-school play group in the area, we would like to invite you to our OPEN DAY at the St Paul’s Church on Hamble Road, Oadby Wed 21st March 07 at 9:30am to 1:30pm Please come a long to meet the staff, tell us about your childcare needs and book a place for your child on the day. There will be FREE….
• Refreshments
• Children’s play area (under 5s)
• Information on childcare funding
• Information on training courses
Please contact Rehana /Maureen for further information. Tel:0116 276 2422

Update April 2007: There was a significant, but not huge response to the open day but in the end we decided that there was no easy way round the major challenges of such a large booking. We have therefore decided not to proceed.

Tuesday 6 March 2007

Magnify at Thurnby - 30 March 2007


Click the picture to zoom.

Bishop's Lent Addresses online

The Lent addresses given by Bishop Tim Stevens are now online in a printed version and as a recording.

Vicar wins Woman of the Year Award

From the Leicester Diocese website:
Revd Gill Jackson, Director of Social Responsibility for the Diocese of Leicester has won Leicestershire's Woman of the Year award. The ‘Women of Achievement’ Award celebrates the achievements of women from all walks of life.

At a glittering awards ceremony at Walker’s Stadium, Revd Gill Jackson was named Leicester Woman of the Year 2007, after impressing judges with her work with asylum seekers in Leicester.

We're glad to be able to have supported the work among Asylum Seekers this year and pass our congratulations onto Gill.

Friends and Heroes - Action and Adventure Cartoons


Friends and Heroes, a UK produced animated adventure series for children, featuring Bible Stories from both Old and New Testaments, has just been given a schedule for its first UK broadcast on the BBC's CBBC channel. For the schedule, which begins next week, see here.

Sunday 4 March 2007

May God bless you with discomfort

Anona has put together a great display in the church foyer for Fair Trade Fortnight which includes this Franciscan Benediction:

May God bless you with discomfort…
at easy answers, half –truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart

May God bless you with anger…
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears…
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness…
To believe that you can make a difference in their world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

Friday 2 March 2007

Real Christians of Genius

Seems you enjoy the videos. Here's a classic from Igniter Media, paying homage to those real Christians of Genius that make us cringe.

(Yes, you're meant to find it funny)

Lowest number of weddings for a century

Despite something of a revival in weddings at St Paul's, the number of marriages in England and Wales has hit a record low, an Office of National Statistics survey reveals. The rate of marriages in 2005 fell to 244,710, the lowest since 1896, The Guardian reports. The number of couples tying the knot two years ago plunged 10 per cent on the previous year. Observers said various factors, including legal moves to cut ‘sham marriages’ and increases in weddings overseas helped to explain the decline. But The Guardian said growing acceptance of cohabitation and government plans to give cohabiting couples similar rights to married partners were to blame. A Church of England spokesman expressed concern although the brunt of the fall has been felt by civil marriage ceremonies.

Source: The Guardian (22/2)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/britain/article/0,,2018518,00.html


via The Bible Society Newswatch service.

Spring Harvest 2007 - Late availability

A nearby church has four spare places available for Spring Harvest, Skegness, week 1 in
gold self-catering (31st March – 5th April 2007).

If anyone is interested in going and would like further details please contact Kath Rhoades at St. Mary’s Lutterworth – email office.stmarys.lutterworth@care4free.net or tel. 01455 558797 (Parish Office).

Thursday 1 March 2007

Pilates at the Barnabas Centre

Stephanie Smith writes,
Change the way you look, feel and move! Pilates at the Barnabas Centre.

Pilates is an excellent form of low impact exercise suitable for all ages and levels of fitness. It is gaining in popularity all the time and is increasingly recommended by the medical and sporting worlds to increase flexibility, alleviate back pain and generally improve your health and wellbeing.

Totally new to Pilates?

I am running a short beginners introduction to Pilates at the Barnabas Centre on Monday evenings 6.00 – 6.45pm. This five week course will introduce you to the basic principles of the Pilates method and enable you to go on to join one of my regular classes.

For more information on the courses and classes please call Stephanie Smith on 0116 241 3782 or 07921 385689 or email bcpleics@yahoo.co.uk.

Joseph resists temptation

Following last week's sermon on temptation and integrity, the first in our Lent series on Christian Character, I've noted some interest in the painting of Joseph and Potiphar's wife that we looked at.

It's by the Bolognaise Baroque artist, Carlo Cignani (1628 - 1719) and was painted around 1680.

More paintings of Joseph and Potiphar's wife's failed seduction here.