Our Minister Rev David Rees, who
also looks after 3 other Churches:
Castle Hill, Felixstowe and
Saxmundham. These churches
and another 17 churches and
chapels are part of
the South Suffolk Area
Partnership
Advance
This is the regular publication
containing news of events and our
church life. The August/September
version can be downloaded or read in
PDF format by clicking here.
Please Turn off Ad Blockers if you wish to Book a Room
as they prevent the forms appearing
St John’s URC Ipswich Diary
Regular Events
Sunday 10.45am Worship for All. Communion first Sunday of each month. Monday Tuesday 6.15pm 23rd Ipswich Brownies 7.00pm Improvisations Craft Group (1st Tues each month) 8.00pm Ipswich Folk Dance Club (1st, 3rd and 5th Tues) Wednesday 12.30pm Monthly Church Lunch Club, except July and August. 7.30pm Local AA Group Meeting Thursday 5.00pm 2nd Hamilton Rainbows 6.15pm 40th Ipswich Brownies 7.30pm Elders Meeting (usually 2nd Thurs) 7.30pm Church Meeting (5 meetings per year) Friday Saturday 10.30am Community Coffee for All (2nd Sat in the month) 1.00pm Ramble Group (last Sat each month) Click here to view the Ramblers Page
Services
10.45 am on Sundays
Worship for All
at which you will find a warm welcome
Services last about an hour followed by coffee/tea and a chat. Our Worship Leaders include Ministers, such as our own Ipswich and East Minister Rev David Rees, and some excellent lay preachers, including our own two lay preachers, Sara Pells and Peter Dawson. Whenever possible we use a screen to project elements of the service including the hymns. There is also a printed Order of Service.
Minister’s Letter
Church-R-Us When Birgit and I first arrived in Britain from Germany, back in 1997, we took a while getting acclimatised. One of the things that took time was getting to know where to go to get something. This wasn't just a question of where a store was, for us the problem was what store did we want? If we needed a new hammer it might be simple to say go to a hardware store. But our problem was, what were the hardware stores actually called? Until you know that Homebase, B&Q or Wickes are the names of hardware stores, you can actually spend quite some time walking into the wrong kind of stores, as we did. When we needed a new toaster walking into a Peacocks or Boots was somewhat unhelpful. Apart from McDonalds - people around the world know what is available there - it took time to learn what each store does. Billions are spent each year bringing a business to the attention of the public. The one exception to that was the now departed "Toys-R-Us". The name makes it obvious what that store was about. I have also come across signs saying, "Computers-R-Us", "BBQs-R-Us" or "Beds-R-Us" and its obvious what they are selling. I think, however, that it's more fun to make a list of names that might be used, as people get into the swing of it. A doctor's surgery could advertise itself as "Health-R-Us", a symphony orchestra as "Classics-R-Us", the local library as "Books-R-Us" or "Reading-R-Us". The fact that the phrase is grammatically appalling doesn't matter-it has never bothered the advertising industry. Imagine a school proclaiming "Education-R¬Us!" Perhaps your optician will put up a sign saying "Eyes-R-Us" -although "The Eyes Have It" might be a better choice! (Puns are catchy too. It's probably been done.) The idea, of course, is to create something that sticks in the mind and sums up what your organisation has to offer- something that the potential customer react! to without having to think about it for very long. Whoever dreamt up the format obviously didn't register the concept and everyone has been able to use it. So, if the church is striving to be relevant, is it time for us to join the trend? "Saved-R-Us"? "Forgiven-R-Us"? or does "God's People-R-Us" sound better? How about "Church-R-Us" or "Eternity-R-Us"? It doesn't quite work, does it? When we needed the fence replaced, we didn't go to some large superstore with a couple of zillion advertising budget nor a place called "Fences-R-Us". We got a person who was recommended by someone who had their fence replaced. They in tum had been recommended as well. We are Christians because of what one person, Jesus, did for us, enabling us all to have a relationship with God. It is the relationship that is important, not the catchy slogan. The best advertising is ourselves, living the relationship with God. Some churches have mottos on their notice board something like 'Jesus is the way' or less appealing 'The wages of sin is death'. Depending on the motto, that's OK. But the best motto is our lives lived in response to our living Lord. Our church ‘advertising’ doesn't need to be some catchy slogan. It's a quiet recommendation when someone knows of a need, and points to us as having something (or someone) that might help. Are we getting recommended? David
Specification of the Organ
The
1916
two
manual
and
pedal
tubular
pneumatic
organ
by
Bishop
from
the
previous
building
was
rebuilt
with
electric
action
by
W
&
A
Boggis
of
Diss
in
the
new
church.
It
is
placed
in
an
elevated
position
in
the
Worship
Area
and
is
controlled
from
a
detached,
moveable console.
Certain
specifications
changes
were
made
to
take
account
of
the
new
acoustic
conditions
and a few ranks were added.
The Pedal reed pipes (which had been prepared for) were installed in 1993.
This Week’s Service
Welcome to St John’s URC Cowper Street Ipswich
Sunday 25 August
Worship for All
Led by Maggie Woods
Welcome and Notices
Call to Worship: words from Ian Fosten
Hymn R &S 329 There’s a spirit in the air,
Prayers
Lord’s Prayer
Old Testament reading Jeremiah 1 4-10
Hymn R &S 90 O lord, all the world belongs to you
New Testament reading Luke 13 10-17
Meditation Two streams
Hymn R &S 543 Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
Sermon challenging decisions
Hymn R &S 653 We cannot measure how you heal
Prayers: Thanksgiving
Intercession
Silent Prayer
Offering and dedication
Hymn R &S 558 Will you come and follow me,
Blessing
Next Week’s (1 September) Worship for All and Communion is led by Rev David Rees
Retiring Collection Brian & Angie’s medical student in Tanzania
Room Hire
Below is an interactive guide to hiring a room
in St John’s.
The Main Hall
This is used for Pre-school every weekday during term-time. Also by Brownies and Rainbows on Tuesdays and Thursdays and by the Folk Dancing Group. Other than the Sanctuary, it is the largest space in the building and has kitchen facilities just off the hall.Room 1
This is a regulary used space, including use as a Polling Station! It is easy to make all sorts of furniture arrangements. It is also straight off the main lobby so makes for easy access.Rooms 4 and 5
A useful space, with a divider, so it can be made cosy or more open. It is used as a double room by the AA Group on a Wednesday evening regularly throughout the year. There is flexibility in the setting of the furniture .The Sanctuary
The sanctuary is also very flexible in layout, but as the chairs are more substantial, re-arrangements require much more work. There is a loop sound system and a projection screen. The organ console seen in the picture to the left is moveable. The organ pipes can be seen above the congregation seating area in the picture below.Last, but not least, are the supporting areas.
There are toilets on both floors including baby changing and disabled facilities on the ground floor. There is a small lift in the entrance lobby for people to get to and from the upper floor. Finally, each floor has kitchen facilities. The pictures are of the downstairs kithen. See the forms and conditions on the Forms Page
Please Turn off Ad Blockers if you wish to Book a Room
as they prevent the forms appearing
Below is an interactive Booking Enquiry Form - the simplest way to make an enquiry.
This is secure entry and the information you add is encrypted; and this still applies if you are out and
about and not on a secure WiFi setting.
Otherwise you can download a PDF form here. Print it, complete it and mail to St John’s or email it to:
roombooking@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
Note: This form is fillable if you have an appropriate PDF reader.
Please Turn off Ad Blockers if you wish to Book a Room
as they prevent the forms appearing
News
The main news is that
this is a new website.
We have all the same things as before, such as the diary and this week’s service, but they should be easier and speedier to access. This new website should work well on a reasonably up to date smartphone. You can scroll through the main pages swiftly rather than relying on the navigation bar. However, you can still use the navigation bar if you wish. Please let the webmaster know about any difficulties, what you like and what you would like added. Use the contact page to do so. We know there are friends of St John’s Ipswich around the world, including several in Australia. We also have two members in Tanzania (and we would like to display news of their work here as we did previously).For a short time there will
be gaps for the rest of
the page until I get some
news!
Ramble Group
Introduction The St John's Rambling Group was formed in 1996 as an activity of the church. They walk on the last Saturday every month. The group welcomes friends from other churches and those simply interested in walking in enjoyable company. Walk Programme 2019/2020 is shown below. Ramblers meet in the church car park, ready to leave at 1.00pm unless indicated differently in the programme. For further information about the St John's United Reformed Church Ramblers, e-mail the leaders at Ramble LeadersWalk Programme 2019/2020
Monthly Walks Meet at the church at Cowper St. on last Saturday of the month so we are ready to leave the church at 1.00 p.m. (except July - see *** below) The mileages given above are approximate and might change once the walk has been tried out. Usually, it will be possible for a shorter walk to be taken.
Date
Location
Approx. Mileage
23 February
Hintlesham/Burstall
4.5 miles
30 March
Holbrook/Stutton
5 miles
27 April
Bentley
6 miles
25 May
Campsea Ashe
5.75 miles
29 June
Elmsett/Offton
6 miles
27 July
Long Melford ***
***
31 August
Coastal
5 miles
28 September
Boxford
6 miles
26 October
Brantham
6 miles
30 November
Bramford
6 miles
28 December
Melton
25 January
2020
Newbourne
4.75 miles
*** Possible whole day - meet at church at 10.00.a.m.
Figure Eight walk of 4 and 5.5 miles, with picnic lunch in middle
Contact Details
St John’s URC Ipswich
Our Postal Address is: St John’s United Reformed Church 1 Cowper Street Ipswich Suffolk IP4 5JD United Kingdom Office Telephone (Answer Machine) 01473 724961 Minister: Rev David Rees (Ipswich and East) email: minister@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk Church Secretary:Mr Adrian Cubitt email: Secretary@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk Webmaster webmaster@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk Website which is https for security www.stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk