St. Joseph’s Church, Merry Hill, Wolverhampton

Joy Dale speaks on Peter stepping out of the boat – Matthew 14:21-33.

We’re back on sermons only as we do think it may be out of line with the terms of our music licences to publish the full service. Sorry. If people feel I should also include other parts of the service – prayers, notices, etc – then please comment below.

Listen here…or pick it up on iTunes.

Here it is, the Autumn Term Card – this will also be appearing as a page elsewhere on the website and the full download of the card with all the details will also be here soon!

[Posted on behalf of Jo Collins]

August 2009: A Letter from Jo Collins.

While sorting through a pile of papers about past events at St. Jo’s, I found a magazine article written by John Higgs. Many of St. Jo’s members will remember John with great affection and will know that the following is typical of his sense of humour and unerring gift with words. John wrote the first two sections of this article to encourage us when we were feeling lost without David. It occurred to me that it might be helpful to bring the article up to date, so with the permission of John’s family, I’ve added two more sections.

‘2/3 of a Decade’ by John Higgs. (Or, the missing of Alex.)

An almost endless serial story with a moral.

Once, on the green, at a spot called Merry Hill, there was a little Daughter Church called St. Joseph’s. The people there were very friendly and nice and quite hard working. From time to time others would come to join them. But they sensed that something was lacking…

And God said ‘I know what you need.’

Peace and Calm.

And he sent a man named Alex, a sweet and gentle soul, who rode a bicycle and, to the untrained eye, might seem to have been plucked from a box labelled ’stereotypes’.

But Alex was a man of quality. He brought the people peace and calm. He sought to speak and act with integrity and faithfulness, and yet without upsetting left or right. He was indeed a remarkable juggler with a fine sense of balance, and was much loved. His lady wife, the Doctor Peggy, too was much admired for her gentle professionalism.

On a sound foundation of love and care, ready for future growth, St. Joseph’s grew into a District Church, settled into its ways and felt a little comfortable.

But then, 2/3 of a decade on, Alex said, ‘I must go away.’ Many said ‘What shall we do without Alex?’ But some sensed that there was something missing and a few said ‘It’s time to move on.’

And God said ‘I know what you need.’

Ideas and Vision.

And he sent a man called David, a young and vibrant soul, who drove a little car that flew a jaunty ribbon. To the untrained eye, David might seem to have been plucked from the box labelled ’striplings from the groves of academe.’

But David too was a man of quality. He brought the people ideas and vision, with stimulating and rewarding activity. He saw the bigger church hiding behind the mask of littleness. He taught exceedingly well in pulpit and back room, and through others in the home. His words, his inspirations and his energy brought gasps of wonder. He was indeed a man of extraordinary drive – some said, a remarkable driver! – and was greatly admired.

His slender wife, the mother Catherine, tended the home and little ones with care so that David might be here and everywhere and sometimes there.

St. Joseph’s ways were rarely settled for very long. Some of the people were extremely hard working, but there was a certain busy satisfaction with all that they were doing. And many came to join them and it grew and grew into a new Church and Church Centre.

But then, 2/3 of a decade on, David said, ‘I must go away’. And many said, ‘What shall we do without David?’

But some sensed that something was lacking and said ‘We need the rest.’ And others again said ‘We need an increase of the Spirit’.

And God said ‘I know what you need’.

Inspiration and Encouragement.

And he sent a man called Michael, an unassuming scholarly soul who moved quietly round the parish, and to the untrained eye might seem to have been plucked from a box labelled ‘Academics’. But Michael too was a man of quality. He brought the people inspiration and encouragement. His profoundly thoughtful teaching deepened faith, brought time to reflect and to hear the ‘Still small voice of God.’ His calm, wise ways steered the whole Parish safely through some very stormy waters.

He was indeed a man of remarkable insight and quiet strength and was greatly loved.

Linda, his energetic, lively wife brought fun and vitality to every aspect of parish life and shared her fund of stories about their ministry in Uganda.

Michael saw the need for shared leadership in a growing church. His gentle, persistent, persuasion meant that several members soon found themselves being trained as Lay Ministers and helping to lay the foundations for a much wider Ministry Team.

But then, twelve years on, Michael said ‘It’s time for a move.’ Many said ‘What shall we do without Michael?’ But some sensed that something was missing and said ‘We need to be more outward looking and ready to share our faith with others.’

And God said ‘I know what you need’.

Change and New Ways.

And he sent a man named Phil, a young and energetic soul who rushed about the parish in a people carrier and might seem to the untrained eye to have been plucked from a box labelled ‘Movers and Shakers’.

But Phil too was a man of quality. He brought the people a burning vision for shared ministry to take God’s love out into new and strange places. He was indeed a man with a remarkable gift for drawing a wide spectrum of people closer to God. His enthusiasm and stamina left some gasping but made church life exciting and rewarding, full of joy and laughter. He was a much loved leader.

Tracey, his gifted, gracious wife, amazed us all by finding time to care for Phil and the children, while also having her own ministry in the church, in the local community and at her school.

Life at St. Jo’s was full of change and growth. New ideas and new expressions of church became the norm. Many new adults and even more children came to join the throng.

But, then six years on Phil said ‘ I must move to Shrewsbury’. And many, many said ‘What shall we do without Phil?’ But some sensed that something was missing and said ‘We need time to think and to be sure of God’s priorities among so many new ideas.’

And God said ‘I know what you need.’

And he sent someone named ????? (To be continued……)

At a time when we are missing Phil and concerned about the future, it’s good to remind ourselves that God is always with us and has plans for us.

During the vacancy for a new minister we are being given a chance to discover and use new gifts. This is an opportunity that we can all share. Lets be faithful in supporting and encouraging each other, helping in any way we can, so that God’s love goes on being proclaimed at St. Jo’s and in the community.

Let’s thank God for the many blessings we have received at St. Jo’s in the past. If we trust in God we can face the future with courage, patience and hope, ready to build on what we have so generously received over many years.

And here’s the service from the 9th August – a terrific talk by Joy I thought, some interesting new perspective on a very well-known passage, the parable of the sower.

After a bit of a slackness-inspired delay here is the service from the 2nd August. It’s the complete service rather than just the sermon. If you feel strongly that you’d prefer to have just the sermons – or really would like the whole services – please comment or otherwise let me know!

Listen here…or pick it up on iTunes.

Soul Survivor began in 1993 and grew out of the New Wine family conference. The way New Wine influenced people inspired Mike Pilavachi along with others to start a festival similar to this but aimed at young people. Soul Survivor is about equipping young people to worship God and follow Jesus with their whole lives. The festival has grown in size and runs across two sites, one in Shepton Mallett and one in Stafford. Last year 6 young people and 3 leaders from the parish went along to check it out, and enjoyed it so much they returned this year, with 9 young people and 4 leaders! Here is what one of the young people Lindsey wrote about it….

From the 24th to the 28th of July 6 young people from St Joseph’s along with three others from St Philip’s headed off to Stafford showground to take part in Soul Survivor which is a Christian youth event. Luckily our tents were put up by the time the heavy showers hit us and at around 7pm we attended our first evening celebration. This included singing, dancing and talks by various different people, after which we could attend a choice of entertainment from bands to cafes. We all returned to camp at around 11.30 and from then till 1.30 many interesting talks were held in our gazebo, until a tired yet happy Simon then kicked us out into our freezing tents. On Saturday we all awoke at around 9.00 am (not to everyone’s liking). The nights sleep was comfortable enough, but not brilliant due to tents leaking and the hard ground. The main morning session started at 11, which was a similar to the evenings singing and dancing yet had a slightly more serious note.

We were disappointed by the weather on Sunday with heavy rain, giving us a soaking when playing Frisbee, however it did hold off for our lunchtime bbq! Our frisbee opponents were camping next to us and were a youth group from Cheltenham. We became quite close over the next couple of days, talking quite regularly and getting to know each other.

Monday brought a lot of entertainment through our new member of our youth group, Sarah. Sarah belongs to George who goes to St Phil‘s and is a guitar and a regular sing along to Mr Apollo brought the group into fits off laughter. Tuesday was a great day, although sadly the last and the morning session brought many of us to increase our faith in god. The afternoon was filled by taking down our tents, and attending a ‘pub quiz‘.

Just after 10pm after the final evening celebration we all headed home tired yet in a brilliant mood. Every single one of us truly enjoyed our trip to Soul Survivor, and personally I would love the chance to go again. Just to add a massive thank you to all the leaders that made the trip happen, Laura, Simon, Joe and Rich.

Sorry for the long delay but finally I’ve posted up the Kick Off content – more to come later I’m sure! See the Kick Off page – under the Youth and Kids menu, if you’re looking later.