Page 42 - Phonebox Magazine September 2012

Combined Churches of Olney
Welcome on our Sunday services:
Olney Baptist Church (known as ‘Sutcliff’): High St. (opposite the Market Place)
Rev Ian Field 713880
10.30am Family Worship
6pm Evening service
www.olneybaptist.org.uk
Cowper Memorial URC:
Mrs Brenda Hustwait (01933) 222708 Sunday Morning at 10.45am Communion on first Sunday of month. www.cowperurc.org.uk
SS Peter & Paul:
Sunday 10.00am (Weekly)
8.30am (2nd/4th Sunday of the month) 5.00pm (2nd/4th Sunday of the month) 6.00pm (1st/3rd Sunday of the month)
Weds 9.30am (Weekly)
More at www.olneyparish.org.uk. Reverend Claire Wood 713308
The Catholic Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and St Lawrence:
Saturday Mass at 6.30pm
Sunday: Mass at 10.30am.
Benediction 4 - 5 pm at the Convent
Father Malcolm Bull and Church administrator, Sister Rita Scott 711212
The Churches of Olney - your invitation
The Christian Churches of Olney celebrate their common faith, and express their worship with refreshing diversity, from contemporary to traditional approaches, and thought provoking Bible teaching. Come along - we'd love to get to know you.
More information is available from each Church, their leaders and websites.
What an amazing summer we have had – the combined Churches of Olney worked with the Town Council and many sports and social clubs in the town to put on the amazing Olney Celebration 2012, we had fantastic weather, hundreds of happy participants, choirs, activities, sports, a display from Dan Cutting, the ʻkeepie-uppieʼ champ and plenty of good company. Just before the Olympic opening started in London our Mayor Stephen Clark, Revd Claire Wood and Revd Ian Field formally opened the Olney celebrations, and many people went to the marquee where there was a large screen. The atmosphere during the Olympic screening was friendly and a real sign of what Olney can be. An event that size requires so much hard work and planning, so a big ʻThank youʼ to everyone who was involved in putting it on, and also to everyone who came along to make it such a huge success.
Operation Agri.
On Sunday 29th the Combined Churches of Olney held a special ʻSports of Praiseʼ united service, with members from every church involved in leading the service. We picked up an Olympic theme and had drama and talks on ʻRunning with our eyes fixed on Jesusʼ – avoiding those things which would trip us up and making sure we know which way we are headed. Picking up on the theme of passing on the baton to the next generation our worship was led by young musicians from the churches, who learned some traditional hymns especially for the evening – a great sign of the generations working together and serving one another.
This Autumn we are running a series of evenings called ʻ21st Century Parentʼ over four weeks that fit between the start of term and half term; please book (itʼs free!) and come along, weʼll have a lot of fun and be able to help and encourage one another.
Summer in Olney wouldnʼt be complete without the annual Holiday Bible Club; again with a sporting theme we had ʻChallenge 2012ʼ looking at different characters in the Bible and the challenges they faced, and how God was able to help with each one. The music was terrific, with many new songs led by more young musicians, lots of games, crafts and drama helping the hundreds of children and army of volunteers to have a good time.
21st Century Parent was developed for mums and dads of all kinds with children of all ages – for those with a new baby or those with teenagers; for the single parent, step-parent, and even grandparent!
Harvest Festival and Operation Agri
As summer starts to turn into Autumn we celebrate the changes in the countryside around us, the Baptist Church will be celebrating Harvest on October 7th, with an all-age celebration in the morning and a united service with our friends from the Congregational church in the evening, please do come along if you can. Any tinned or dried produce will be given to the Milton Keynes FoodBank, and financial gifts will go to
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Operation Agri is a charity which supports Christian-led rural and urban development projects in three continents, showing the love of Jesus in action by attacking the basic causes of poverty amongst some of the least fortunate people in the world, regardless of their religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
OA supports sustainable development work such as agricultural centres to assist farmers, and irrigation schemes for rural communities. OA also supports projects that bring lasting improvement to people's lives, such as basic health clinics, and women's empowerment groups in urban slums.
21st Century Parent
Being a parent can be rewarding, challenging, fun and frustrating! Itʼs one of the most important jobs in the world but doesnʼt come with a ʻHow-toʼ manual.
There are short video talks by Rob Parsons, full of humour, wit and wisdom. We will then have some discussion time in small groups to help make them most useful to our lives. Youʼll find out that parents through the ages have experienced similar issues – and survived.
You are warmly invited to come along at 7.30pm on Mondays 10th, 17th, 24th September and 1st October at Olney Baptist Church. The evening will finish by 9pm (for those with baby-sitters!). There will be a booklet provided of the main points and discussion questions, and a selection of