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EVERYBODY WELCOME ! (June 2010)I’m told that quite recently someone was heard to say “I can’t come to the Coffee Stop on Monday because I’m not a member of the Baptist Church.” How wrong can you be! Let me make it quite clear that anyone and everyone are welcome to join us for coffee on Mondays. No matter whether you “belong” to our church, or to any other church, or even no church at all, we are happy to welcome you all. What’s more, we are always pleased to welcome everybody (and that includes YOU!) to our other activities as well, even if you want to come merely as an observer. One of the great things about Christian Worship is that it can take differing forms. Because we have a living relationship with God we are not bound by traditions, rites and ceremonies. Some folk like a formal approach to their heavenly Father; others revel in informality, and in our country one can usually find a friendly church that we find we can feel “at home” in once we’ve taken the first step. Here, in the Baptist Church, we are fairly informal and are not tied to rules about when to stand or when to sit, etc., so anyone visiting us for the first time need feel no embarrassment about not knowing what to do! I once asked a class of schoolboys to write about their church-going experiences. Most of them declared it was “boring”. But when questioned further it turned out that the majority had only ever attended one church and had never thought of trying another. Are our services boring? We don’t think so; what do you think? We would love to know. Comments are always welcome. Why don’t you come along and find out what we actually get up to! Remember: as well as Monday coffee mornings, we are active on Sundays at 10.30am, alternate Tuesdays at 7.30pm and Thursdays at 2.30pm. (After the summer break: Wednesdays at 10.30am again, too). There’s a welcome for you all. I’ll say it again: EVERYBODY WELCOME! I would just like to conclude by thanking all of you who supported the service to celebrate the life of Leslie Attrill following his death in April. Les Tripp, on behalf of Hawkinge Baptist Church
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GRANDMA (May 2010)As a young lad I had three grandmothers. Dad’s mum we called Nan, Mum’s mum was Grandma and Nan’s mum was known as Granny. My sister and I loved our Nan, she was truly part of the family and we often spent holidays at her home. Granny, in her black dress and bonnet used to remind me of the pictures I had seen of Queen Victoria. I’m afraid we regarded Grandma as a bit of a martinet and always felt that we needed to be on our very best behaviour when we visited her. However, our attitudes changed when, in the summer of 1944, we went on holiday to stay with Grandma for ten days. Because of the conditions in London where we lived we actually stayed with her for nine months! It did not dawn on me at the time the upheaval it must have made in her life to have Mum and two children staying with her for so long. On reflection it is clear that she was in fact a very patient lady in spite of the strictness which we had previously noted. She was now living in a tiny thatched cottage in an isolated hamlet in Wiltshire. Accommodation was basically a living room and kitchen downstairs and one bedroom and a fairly large landing upstairs. There were no mains services – no gas, electricity or water. So oil stoves and lamps were the means of cooking and lighting, whilst the well was where we drew the water. There was no back door and the toilet was around the back of the house, not a pleasant place to visit after dark! One particular incident sticks in my mind. It must have been toward the end of April (1945), the local farmer’s tractor broke down and he had negotiated with a neighbouring farmer to borrow a traction engine. So, each morning before I went off to school, this traction engine would go chugging along the road for its daily routine. Even May 8th proved no exception! It was “VE Day” (Victory in Europe) and had already been declared a National Holiday; but it seemed that the engine’s driver was completely oblivious of the good news. Everything just carried on as usual! Looking back, I sense a “parable” here. I am writing these words on April 11th, just a week after Easter (and, incidentally, the 57th Anniversary of Grandma’s death). After Good Friday, Easter Day is a celebration of the tremendous victory Jesus won when He paid the penalty for our sins, yet how sad it is that so many seem totally oblivious of that fact. St Paul writes, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”. May we all learn to revel in that victory, and experience peace with God. Les Tripp, on behalf of Hawkinge Baptist Church |
A GOOD MIX (April 2010)Some time ago (was it really about 40 years ago!), when we were about to face a referendum on whether to join the ‘Common Market’, I made some remarks about what I thought, and the factors that Christians should take into account when they voted. After the service I was reproached by one of the Church Officers for mixing politics with religion! As a matter of fact I believe that we could benefit from having more men and women of faith involved in politics; but I offer that as a personal thought with which you may not agree. However, when I look into the Bible I find that Jesus Himself was willing to ‘mix’ the two when He said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”. St. Paul, also, has some striking – and surprising – things to say in his letter to the Romans, chapter 13. (If you haven’t read it recently, take a look, it certainly gets me thinking). By the time you read this I am sure we will know the date of the coming General Election. No, I shall not suggest which way you ought to vote; but I do trust that you WILL vote. The right to have our say in the running of the country is too valuable to lose. (Can you imagine life in a country where you were not allowed to express your opinion?). May I offer these thoughts for your consideration: 1. Have you ever thought of praying about it, and asking God who He would like you to vote for? 2. Pray that God will give us a Parliament and Government that we NEED, rather than what we deserve! (e.g. what’s best for the country, rather than what’s in it for me?) 3. St. Paul writes, “I urge ... that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” What a different country ours could be if we all remembered to put those words into practice, whether the party in power is the one we would choose or not. Les Tripp, on behalf of Hawkinge Baptist Church |
ON THE RIGHT ROAD (March 2010)A few weeks ago, when I was driving around the M25 I suddenly realised that I had missed the junction where I should have turned off! Have you ever done anything like that? Surely not. But I suppose it’s the sort of mistake that occurs when thoughts are crowding into one’s mind or the pressure of busy, heavy traffic gets in the way. Sometimes, when we are on a journey we have not made before we find that we have taken the wrong road; and, of course, there are those occasions when force of habit takes over and we suddenly realise that we should have followed a different path – more than once when my wife has been a passenger with me I’ve had to say, “Where are we supposed to be going?” once we have set out on our journey. Usually it is possible to devise a ‘Plan B’ which enables us to get back onto the road we need; but occasionally we have to admit that we are totally lost. Life itself is very much like that too. From the moment we are born we are on a journey, and it’s all too easy to lose our way. To change the picture for a moment: I’m reminded of the man who declared, “Many people are so anxious to get to the top of the ladder, they get such a surprise when they discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall!” Maybe the question that should be uppermost in our minds is, “Where are we supposed to be going?” If we are not sure of our destination how can we possibly know whether or not we are on the right road? Solomon was reputed to be a very wise man and among his many proverbs he wrote, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Jesus, too, had something to say on the subject when He declared, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No-one comes to the Father except through Me.” So my ‘Thought for the month’ is twofold: ‘Do you know where you are going? And are you on the right road? I believe we need to do more than THINK about it – we need to ACT upon it. At the Baptist Church (and I’m sure the same goes for St Luke’s and the South Kent Christian Fellowship too), we’re here to help, especially for folk who are not sure about the road they’re on. Give us a visit. Les Tripp, on behalf of Hawkinge Baptist Church |
BE PREPARED ! (February 2010)Well, Christmas is over, the decorations are down and it’s back into action once again! But first let me say how pleased we were to welcome you to our Carol Service, including – of course – the Band of the Salvation Army and the members of St Luke’s and the Community Church who participated that evening. I think you would like me also to give a word of thanks to the ladies who provided and served mince pies, etc., and cups of tea afterwards. It was good to have a number turn up to our Christmas Day ‘Birthday Celebration’ as well. Thank you all for your interest and support. By the time this article appears in print we should be well into the swing of things once again. At the moment I cannot give exact dates for the starting of our new weekday activities; but I hope to have details on our notice board and website just as soon as possible. The weather can be a deciding factor! For only the second time since WWII I find myself involved in a church which had to announce a cancelled Sunday service as a result of poor weather conditions. That’s today as I write this (10th January). The first was in 1968 – because of flooding. However I do remember a special service we had arranged some years before, for March 31st – a Saturday in that instance. We had gone to considerable lengths to organise not only the service but also a tea afterwards. It snowed on the Friday night – about six inches covered the roads and buildings by the time our special activities were due to begin. Needless to say our numbers that day were not as great as we had prepared for. Surprise! Our Scout motto is ‘Be Prepared’. It’s not easy to prepare for the unexpected is it. Life can be full of surprises and we have certainly experienced some in recent months, affecting the weather, our finances, our health, even our spiritual well-being. Whatever 2010 holds remember that the Lord has promised to help us cope with every situation. I pray that all your surprises will be pleasant ones! Finally, please come and join us on 28th February for our UNITED SERVICE. This time members of the South Kent Community Church will be responsible for leading it. We look forward to seeing you there! Les Tripp, a member of Hawkinge Baptist Church |