St James The Great
Old Milverton, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
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Safeguarding
St James Church takes its duty and obligation to protect all extremely seriously. We have adopted the national Church of England’s robust procedures and guidelines. We recognise that the care and protection of children, young people and adults involved in Church activities is the responsibility of everyone who participates in the life of St James Church.
November Monthly update from Rev. Sue
The Sunday Club: will not be meeting this autumn
Access to the Parish Room: Whilst we are not unlocking the hall before each Sunday service, the key is always available from one of the churchwardens should anyone wish to make use of the toilets.
Annual Parochial Meeting: Our Annual Parochial meeting took place on October 22nd. At this meeting, we reviewed our activities for 2019 and reports were received from each of the teams and committees that work throughout the year to keep St James running. If you weren’t at the meeting and would like to read those reports, you will find them on this website.
Christmas Services: We will not be holding a Carol Service or a Nativity this year. However, we are hoping to offer you something online in place of the Carol Service (more details next month) and we will still be here for our two Christmas communion services: Christmas Eve at 11.00pm and Christmas Day at 10.30am.
On Monday 21st December the church will be open as usual between 4.30 and 7.30pm for anyone who would like to come and light a candle in memory of a loved one and to have some quiet time in church. If you would like to drop in during that time you would be most welcome – no need to book in advance.
Geoff’s Eco-tips for November: Autumn Preparations
‘As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease”. Genesis 18:22.
Autumn is a beautiful season, but a ‘prompt’ that the winter is again on its way. The Bible reminds us that both are seasons to be enjoyed just as any other in life and that although the world may seem bleak and grey outside, we always have the love of Jesus to warm our hearts and homes.
Autumn is a good time to give our homes and cars an energy audit. We certainly don’t want to have heating systems breakdown in mid-winter or find that car tyres aren’t gripping in wet or cold weather. So, in the coming weeks, think about spending some time looking at your home and vehicle to make sure they are both ready for the colder months ahead. Here are seven tips which will help you get started, whilst also reducing your carbon footprint.
#1 Keep the Heat Lower - As the temperature outside drops, it’s tempting to immediately reach for the thermostat. Try layering up with sweaters, thick socks and extra blankets on the bed, then turn up the heating if it’s still feeling cold. You can then save the ‘toasty’ heat for mid-winter.
#2 Give your Heating System a Check-up - If not already done, have a professional boiler and heating system service before the cold sets in.
#3 Turn down your water Heater - Often water heaters are set too hot, which can pose a scalding risk and wastes energy by heating water hotter than you need it. About 120o F/50o C is generally plenty. If you have a hot water storage tank, it’s worth checking that this is well insulated. This saves a lot of energy.
#4 Save Baking for the Cold Days - Days in Autumn can feel like summer or foretell the bite of winter. If you can plan ahead to use the oven for baking on colder days, you will probably raise the house temperature a few degrees in the process.
#5 Check your Tyre Pressures - When the temperature drops, tyre pressure lowers and brings efficiency down with it. Check your tyres and inflate to the proper setting, whilst the tyres are still cold. Now is also a good time to check the treads on the tyres and replace them if needed. Poor grip plus winter conditions is not a good combination!
#6 Check Windows and Doors - Check the weather stripping around your windows for leaks and replace or repair if needed. Check for drafts under doors - a ‘draft snake’ can counter these.
#7 Arrange Furniture Warmly – many older homes have one or more walls that lack proper insulation, allowing cold to seep in and taking too long to heat up in the day to prevent the room feeling freezing at night. It can help to line up heavy furniture such as a sofa or use decorative quilts to insulate the room.
Thought for the month
‘If with all your hearts ye truly seek me; ye shall ever surely find me. Thus saith our God.’ (Deuteronomy 4:29)
I’ve been reading the psalms while I’ve been away recently and was reminded of just how much they reflect the world as it is in our own time, not just when they were written. In Psalm 13, we read ‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me for ever? How long will you hide your face from me?’ I’m sure we can all think of occasions when those particular verses have rung true in our own lives. And yet, we have probably all also known moments when we could say with certainty that God has walked with us. Those times can give us the strength to keep seeking in the knowledge that he is still close to us, even when we are unaware of his presence.
The most frequent promise in the Bible is ‘I will be with you’. God walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden; in the story of Jacob’s ladder, God says to Jacob ‘Know that I am with you’ (Genesis 28:15); he walks with us through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’ in Psalm 23; and at his ascension, Jesus’ final promise to his disciples was ‘I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20).
I’ve talked a lot this year about finding God in the world around me during these difficult times that we’re living through, and yet there are still days – particularly at this dark time of year – when I want to call out to God in those same words from Psalm 13: ‘How long will you hide your face from me?’
But God is here, even if I’m not always aware of his presence. If we think of Michelangelo’s famous painting of the Creation, we see God and Adam with arms extended towards one another, fingers almost touching. God appears to be reaching out, to come as close to Adam as he can, whereas Adam is more relaxed: his arm isn’t fully extended, as if he isn’t quite ready to make that final effort to make contact. God is so close to Adam – just as he is to us. The extra effort involved in reaching God isn’t huge: he’s just waiting for us to make contact.
We can be assured that if we truly do seek him with all our hearts, he is there, waiting to welcome us, wanting to be part of our lives. All we have to do is let him in, stretch out to make contact and feel his presence with us. Whoever we are, whatever we are doing, God will be there and will walk with us.
With love,
Sue
Awaken us, Lord to your light,
open our eyes to your presence.
Awaken us, Lord to your love,
open our hearts to your indwelling.
Awaken us, Lord to your life,
open our minds to your abiding.
Awaken us, Lord to your purposes,
open our wills to your guiding.
(David Adams)
Coming up...
Remember to bring a face covering if you come to a service - everyone welcome, numbers restricted - let Michael know michael@oldmilverton.uk
Thursday 22nd October - 7.30pm Annual Parochial Meeting at St James
Sunday 25th October - 10.30am Morning worship at St James
Saturday 31st October - 10am to 12pm churchyard clearing da
Sunday 1st November - 10.30am Holy Communion at St James
Sunday 8th November - 10.45am Remembrance Sunday at St James
Sunday 15th November - 10.30am Holy Communion at St James
Services online with St Mary Magdalene, Lillington - to join these services go to www.lillingtonparishchurch.org and click on ‘live streaming' on the left of the screen
Sundays at 9.30am - Holy Communion
Tuesdays at 7.00pm - Night Prayer
Wednesdays at 10.00am - Holy Communion
Thursdays at 7.00pm - Night Prayer
Baptism
St James Church is in Old Milverton Village, but our congregation is drawn from all parts of Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth. We hold a service every Sunday morning at 10.30am and offer a family friendly, fairly traditional style of worship. On the last Wednesday afternoon of each month, we have a quiet, reflective half hour service to help us recharge our batteries midweek.
The current church was built in 1880, but this has been a place of worship for nine hundred years. Our churchyard is on several footpaths that run across to Leamington and down to the River Avon at the Saxon Mill, Warwick, and is a lovely place to stop and relax on a sunny day, to take in the views and soak up the peaceful atmosphere.
We think of ourselves as the St James ‘family’, but a family that welcomes new members and enjoys meeting new people.
As part of the Diocese of Coventry we have a shared mission of “Worshipping God…making new disciples…transforming communities”.
Come and meet us
Ali Foster © 2013