ISSUE 8
Welcome
If you are part of a church, then you are part of something
HUGE – something so much bigger than only the group of
believers meeting together in one particular locality. This
is not to downplay the significance and importance of the
local church, it’s just that when we see and experience the
bigger picture, it’s both exciting and awe-inspiring.
This really came home to a group of us on our recent
short-term mission trip to Cambodia. We travelled 6,200
miles around the world and were immediately welcomed
as friends by members of the church in that place. The
purpose of the trip was to see first-hand the work of
Tearfund projects being run through local churches,
but there is no doubt that in the short time we were
there, we received far more than we were able to give. It
strengthened our faith and expanded our vision of all that
God is doing through his people across the globe. You can
find out more about it all inside.
If you are ‘in Christ’ then you are part of God’s worldwide
church, the body of Christ that reaches into every corner of
this planet, and wherever you go in the world you will find
brothers and sister in Christ, united together by our love
for God and commitment to following Jesus.
Many of us recognise within us that desire to be part of
something so much bigger than our own individual lives.
This desire comes from God who is the source of our life.
When we find our place within his universal and eternal
plans, it brings genuine purpose to the day-to-day work
God has called us to in the places where he has put us. The
Bible tells us:
“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
(1 Corinthians 10:31)
But on top of this, maybe there are those who are
considering at the moment the call to GO; maybe you are
conscious that now is the time to change direction and
to be part of serving God in a new role or in a new place
as you seek to use your life in the very best way for God’s
universal and eternal plans for his world.
MARK FRANCIS (vicar)
MEET SOPHIE FULCHER,
ST. JOHN’S MINISTRY
APPRENTICE
HI SOPHIE, IT’S GREAT HAVING YOU
ON THE TEAM AT ST. JOHN’S. YOUR
JOB TITLE IS MINISTRY APPRENTICE –
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
It means I get involved with all different
parts of church life: from running a
crèche for the Women’s Wednesday
Group and helping with the Children’s
Work at church and XTB at Felbridge
School, to visiting more elderly
members of the church and helping at
Connections, and everything in between.
It involves talking about Jesus and the
gospel and being in a relationship with
the church family.
COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT YOUR OWN FAMILY?
I have one sister, who’s two years older
than me, and a lovely Mum and Dad. I
was raised in a Christian home.
AND YOUR MUM AND DAD HAVE
BEEN COMING TO ST. JOHN’S AS
WELL?
Yes. They actually came about a month
before I did. It’s really awesome that
they’ve found a good place at St. John’s,
a church that seems to suit both of their
preferences.
WE THINK IT’S AWESOME TOO. AND
YOU ARE 23?
I will be turning 23 in August.
OKAY, SO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE
WITH YOUR 22 AND A HALF YEARS SO
FAR?
Wow. So I’ve actually mainly been in
education. I’ve studied for a Theology
degree at the University of Chichester
where I graduated just over a year ago.
Then I took a bit of time to save up and I
went to Haiti.
WHICH YOU TOLD US A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT IN ONE OF OUR ALL AGE
SERVICES RECENTLY.
Yes, yes.
WHY HAITI?
I was actually meant to be going to
Bangladesh and then they had some
sort of civil unrest so I couldn’t go. It was
really last minute and my Mum who had with me by the Holy Spirit. I
been to Haiti once before suggested it guess that was where it all began for me.
to me. So all of a sudden in the space
Then back home at my church I started
of about a couple of weeks, I was on a
to go a bit deeper with understanding
plane to Haiti. It was really incredible
what Jesus had done for me and trying
and all the doors opened. I was helping
to live it out in my life. I was asking lots
at Hope House which provides a home
of questions, and then got baptised the
for orphans and is a school offering
following year.
free education and a meal each day for
children from the poorest communities. AND WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND HELPS
YOU MOST TO BE GROWING AS A
YOU’VE BEEN DOING YOUR ROLE AT
ST. JOHN’S FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS CHRISTIAN?
NOW. WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE There are kind of two things actually:
MOST AND WHAT’S SURPRISED YOU putting aside time to spend with God
THE MOST? each day. I call it my God time. I put my
phone away and focus on building that
I’ve enjoyed the most doing the kids
relationship with God in prayer and
and youth work. I love it. We’ve got such
through the Bible. But also the church
amazing kids at our church.
family is important because we are called
What surprised me is seeing the passion to strengthen and encourage each other.
our members of the church put into
SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A REAL
things, especially those who often aren’t
HEART FOR GOD AND A HEART FOR
centre stage, but actually without them
St. John’s wouldn’t function. HIS CHURCH AS WELL!
AND I GUESS YOU’VE SORT OF SEEN
THAT AT FIRST HAND AS YOU’VE BEEN A COUPLE MORE THINGS – AND YOU
INVOLVED IN ALL SORTS OF AREAS HAVE TO ANSWER STRAIGHT AWAY
WITHOUT THINKING:
Yes. Loads of people that could easily
go under the radar actually do so much SUN OR SNOW? Sun.
really selflessly for our church and NORTH OR SOUTH? South.
community.
A NIGHT IN OR A NIGHT OUT? A night
CAN I ASK, WHEN DID YOU BECOME A out.
CHRISTIAN?
RUNNING OR CYCLING? Running.
It was at a Christian event called New
Wine when I was aged 11, about to turn TEA OR COFFEE? Coffee.
12. I made friends with a girl the same
CATS OR DOGS? Dogs.
age as me. All I remember is she had
really long, blonde hair. DON OR CELIA? (laugh, laugh, laugh)
No! You can’t ask that!
During the worship at one of the
meetings, I could see she was so SCRABBLE OR RUMMIKUB? I don’t
know. I enjoy both.
passionate about Jesus, you could just
see she had a real relationship with him. BOURBONS OR CUSTARD
I actually felt jealous. I thought, ‘What is CREAMS? Custard creams.
this that she’s got? I want it.’ So I reached
out to God, and I knew he was real and
 An exciting new
youth group in
Felbridge for school
years 6-9 meeting
every Friday at
19:00 - 20:30.
WITH A DIFFERENT THEME AND ACTIVITIES EACH WEEK AND SPECIAL OFF-SITE EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR,
IT IS THE PLACE TO BE ON A FRIDAY NIGHT! IT’S A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO HAVE FUN WITH
THEIR FRIENDS.

Verve started in January and we’ve had some amazing times so far, with ridiculous activities
from physical challenges like Slingshot Shooting to brain-testers like the Terrific Taste Test.

Each week starts with free-time to chill and a range of different things on offer: table football,
pool, ping pong, Nintendo Wii on the giant screen (often the most popular!). There’s also the
salon, a nail bar and hair salon to keep us at our finest.

On our first week we had an entire crazy golf course set up in

the church including ramps, jumps, wall-rides and tunnels. The
teams battled it out to be the first-ever winners at Verve - no
small feat! With some amazing shots (and a lot of luck!) all the
teams managed to navigate the various obstacles to the finish.
Crazy golf is set to return at some point in the future...

Another favourite was the Master Builders Challenge. Teams had to create Lego vehicles to go head-to-head in three different
stages: land, air and sea! After a few fatal collisions and misfires, some ingenious engineering and emergency pit-stops brought all
the teams through the final stage to the finish.

Each week we split into teams to compete for the prestigious Verve Trophy, made of *ahem* solid gold and themed for each week.
It is highly coveted! One lucky team gets memorialised on the winners roll and snags the grand prize of free sweets at our fully-
loaded Snack Shack the following week. All to play for!

If you’re in school years 6-9, then it would be great to see you at Verve. And please do be praying for us!
Luke Markham (Youth Minister): luke.markham@stjohnsfelbridge.com
Connect with us on facebook.com/StJohnsFelbridgeYouth/
MISSION TO CAMBODIA
CAMBODIA WAS ONCE A MIGHTY NATION – THE KHMER EMPIRE – AND
INCLUDED MODERN-DAY CAMBODIA, THAILAND, LAOS, AND VIETNAM.
FROM THE 15TH CENTURY ONWARDS CONFLICTS WITH THAILAND,
VIETNAM, FRANCE, JAPAN AND THE USA RAVAGED THE COUNTRY AND
LED TO IT BECOMING ONE OF THE POOREST IN ASIA.

Protestant missionaries arrived in Cambodia in 1923, Tearfund in Cambodia

translated the New Testament into Khmer in 1933 and
published the whole Bible in 1953. There were around 10,000
According to Cheryl Bannatyne of Tearfund: “We first began
Christians when the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975
working with Cambodians in the 1980s, in refugee camps
and tried to turn the country into an agricultural economy
in Thailand where they had fled the civil war. From the early
and eradicate all religions. Christians were martyred or fled to
nineties we worked inside the country, with partners helping
refugee camps in Thailand.
to rebuild the country. From initial basic rehabilitation and
relief work, our programme moved on to focus on HIV/Aids
The majority of Cambodians are Buddhists and despite the
and child exploitation, but now the main focus is transforming
attempt to crush the Church, Christianity is growing rapidly and
communities through the local church. Tearfund staff and local
now represents around 2.5% of the population (says Christianity
partners have been equipping hundreds of churches to help
Today magazine). Some urban churches now have 1,000 to
communities become more resilient to potential poverty traps
2,000 members and even hire stadiums for their meetings!
and challenges – things such as disasters, debt and addictions.”

Brenda Wilkinson, who has supported Tearfund for over 30

ABOUT CAMBODIA
Over 2 million died during the genocide of
1975-79.
Half of the 8-10 million land mines laid during
the ousting of the Khmer Rouge have been
cleared, but millions remain.
years, says: “It has long been my dream to take a group from
St. John’s to visit a Tearfund partner. Last year we became
a Connected Church, linking with World Relief Cambodia,
so when we were given the opportunity to visit, we asked
whether other church members wanted to come and really
see how Tearfund works.”

About 80% of Cambodia’s 16 million people

live in rural areas.

The gulf between the urban rich and rural poor

has led to many slums around the cities and
thousands of street children.

40% of Cambodians live on less than $1/day.

4 out of 10 Cambodians don’t have access to a

proper toilet.

Poor sanitation and hygiene leads to over 1,000
deaths every year.
Almost a fifth of the children in Cambodia aged
under 17 have to work to help their families.
More than a third of children under 5 suffer
from chronic malnutrition.
About a fifth of people in Cambodia can’t read
or write.
Visiting World Relief Cambodia Head Office.
In January, seven members of St John’s – Anne Butler, Claire
Cross, Olga Cross, Sheila Drury, Mark Francis, Brenda and
Gordon Wilkinson, along with former Ministry Apprentice
Elliot Grove and Pat Oakley from Trinity Methodist Church –
met up with two Tearfund staff members at Heathrow – Kirsty
Hawes and Hannah Roberts – and set off to travel the 6,000
miles to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city.
Seeing for ourselves

Almost 15% of adults have never attended Asked why she decided to go, Sheila said: “For many years
I have supported charities (including Tearfund) which have
school.
been involved in helping people in developing countries …
I wanted to see what was happening first hand.” Anne’s
Today, 95% of children go to primary school, involvement with Cambodia goes back many years to when
but less than half go on to secondary school. her parents heard a talk in 1973 about the threat of the Khmer
Rouge and the family started to pray urgently for Cambodia.
Her brother Andrew joined Overseas Missionary Fellowship
and went to Phnom Penh to work in a Youth Centre and his
small team had to leave on one of the last evacuation flights
out of the city as it fell to the Khmer Rouge. “Having continued
to pray for Cambodia all these years, I was so thrilled to have
this opportunity to visit with the team from St. John’s.”

One of WRCs teaching aids.

WRC’s mission is stated as: “Empowering the local church to

Tearfund provides six motorbikes to get staff to remote villages.
Claire has wanted to visit since she was 16: “Before I became
dedicated to Jesus, I remember dreaming with a school friend
about how we would go there with a charity someday. The
opportunity had never shown itself before so when it did...”
She adds, “it’s wonderful how God waits for when He is ready
to grant us the desires of our hearts.”
serve the most vulnerable.” The charity has set up 418 cell
churches and plans to set up another 2,000. The low literacy
rate in the villages means that people have to be taught Bible
stories through picture books. Talking about our visit to a
remote island in the middle of the Mekong River, Anne said:
“I was encouraged to see how God is at work in people’s
hearts and lives – especially when we visited a small village
cell church of just a few families, most of them illiterate, who
were being faithfully taught from the Bible using charts and
pictures, and growing in their faith, led by a young Pastor. As
Claire says, “there were no instruments, only voices; there was
no church building, only someone’s home”.

Olga was impressed by the way the church leader asked

Everyone agreed that meeting Tearfund’s partner was an
questions to make sure everyone had remembered the
amazing experience. Anne says that she was, “inspired by
Bible teaching they had heard and Sheila thought that
the Christ-like love, compassion and commitment of the
church members, “were very brave as they worshipped God
World Relief Cambodia staff, and by their joyful, spontaneous
courageously in full view of the rest of the village.”
worship and prayer as we joined them on a couple of
mornings before they set out in vans or on motorbikes
Claire recalls: “It was hard not to grin at the happy, Jesus-
(provided by Tearfund) to the innovative projects they were
loving people smiling back at us, but at the same time seeing
focusing on that day.” Sheila adds that, “their positive attitude
how little they had compared to the luxury that we have at
and prayer-based response to all the challenges they faced on
St. John’s really opened my eyes.”
a daily basis was inspirational, especially as most of them had
plenty of problems of their own to face.”

Claire was particularly moved by the visit to WRC offices, with

everyone praying at once in Khmer: “It was loud, very loud,
and I was in no doubt that the Holy Spirit was in that room
with us”. She recalls that several staff had backgrounds that
had been affected by the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge era.
In one case, even after almost 40 years, “the feelings are still
so raw that the person could not face visiting the Genocide
Museum with us.” After hearing them talk about their faith and
belief that everything they were doing was in God’s name, she
left, “uplifted and ready to seek Him everywhere we went.”

Giving hope for the future

World Relief started its work in Cambodia during the 1980s
by sending relief to areas controlled by the Khmer Rouge
and helped in the resettlement of refugees in the USA. It
established an office in Phnom Penh in 1990 to train and
equip local churches to reach out to every person and family
in their community, regardless of religion, age, gender,
health or economic condition. WRC volunteers work in the
community, educating vulnerable families about community
health, agriculture, HIV/Aids, savings, and protecting family
members from trafficking. Today, WRC employs 50 staff in its
five offices across the country and helps over 60,000 adults
and children. Brenda says: “We saw so many amazing ways
that they are helping people in the rural villages to improve
their lives and give them hope for the future.”
Typical village cell church.
Bed and breakfast, village-style
Some of us had the opportunity to stay overnight in the
village. The families, all part of a tiny church, made us really
welcome, providing a bed and sharing their food. We were
humbled by their generosity. After breakfast we took the
opportunity to play with some of the children – they loved the
loom bands we had taken with us – and walk around the island
to get a real feel for everyday life, difficult though it is for many
of the families.

Children’s work, Cambodian style!
Mark says that, “he loved having the opportunity to meet
local people and find out a bit about their lives. I was inspired
and challenged by the warmth and hospitality of the families
we stayed with, but one thing struck me in particular as we
met local Christians in lots of places we visited. They would
introduce themselves by telling us three things: name, what
they do, and then the third thing was the year they had
become a Christian. Ephesians 2 describes becoming a
Christian as being “made alive in Christ.” It was clear that so
many had experienced what a transformation this had made
in their lives that it was such a crucial part of their identity. So
much so that it was one of the first things to say when we met!
It was a privilege to see and hear about the work God is doing
in people’s lives in Cambodia.”
Elliot felt that the contrast between having a drink in the bar of
our comfortable hotel in Phnom Penh and sitting cross-legged
outdoors eating rice and dried fish in the village was like
being in a completely different world.
Brenda with children from our host family.
Recalling the overnight stay, Brenda says: “It was amazing to
walk through their rice fields and learn about the way they
are being educated by WRC to plant green vegetables to
improve their diets. They are also being helped to cope with
the changing climate – they used to have six months of rainy
season, but now there are only two months when it rains.”
Building resilience, tackling slavery
Olga was really impressed with the Savings for Life
Programme that we visited – “this was a brilliant idea to help
the villagers see the benefits of saving, even if they can only
save a small amount”. Being subsistence farmers they had
never had any money and if a harvest failed they would have
to sell some of their land. Through Bible teaching, WRC
encourages them to plant extra crops to sell, and then save
whatever money they can spare. As there are no banks nearby,
WRC provides metal chests with three padlocks for saving the
money and savings books so that everything can be recorded.
Three different people hold the keys and a fourth looks after
the box. “The money is there if a harvest fails and they need
to buy food or, they might want to buy some chickens, a cow,
goat or a pig which they can later sell, or even start a small
business – brilliant!” Gordon says. “The public manner of
doing this encourages trust amongst the villagers, something
which also needs to be fostered in Cambodia,” adds Sheila.
WRC savings book with cash box on the table.
One way that WRC tackles modern slavery, trafficking and
domestic abuse is to host meetings for villagers, “where not
only local people, but also representatives from the police and
other voluntary organisations were present. The meeting we saw
involved reporting incidents which needed to be dealt with and
discussions of how to deal with problems,” says Pat. “And it was
chaired by a woman, which I thought was great,” adds Olga.
The statistics are truly shocking: the 2016 Global Slavery Index
estimates 256,800 Cambodians live in conditions of modern
slavery, including trafficking for forced marriage, forced labour
in fishing or the clothing sector, domestic work, and the sex
industry. Endemic corruption at all levels of the government
has severely limited the ability of responsible officials to hold
traffickers accountable so education and the protection of
communities locally is essential. Sheila was impressed with
the way that WRC’s training ensured that, “people would be
bold enough to speak up and protect vulnerable children and
young adults when faced with these sorts of problems.”
Improving healthcare …
A visit to a women’s group meeting in Maream Tea Village in
Thbong Khmum Province showed – through picture teaching
– how women were being made aware of the risks of HIV/Aids.
Gordon was told that although anti-retroviral drugs should be
freely available, a lot are stolen by medical staff and sold to rich
people so there are not enough left for distribution to the poor.
After the meeting, Brenda recalls: “One lady in particular really
touched my heart. She is 62 years old and from her humble
wooden house on stilts she has raised seven children, currently
looks after three grandchildren so their mother can work as
a labourer in Phnom Penh, and has two of her children at
University!” She adds, “I was amazed when she told me that she
goes off to even more remote villages on a motorbike provided
by Tearfund riding off-road through the jungle to villages to see
what their needs are, train them in healthcare and warn them
of the dangers of trafficking. The lady told Brenda: ‘I had a bad
accident on the motorbike and my arm and hand are not so
strong as they used to be, but I’m not worried about my body as
I know it will go back to the soil, but I am concerned about my
soul as I know that one day I will go back to be with the Lord.’
… and educating children
All of our group were impressed by the enthusiastic way that WRC
staff taught the children and young people about washing their hands
and the need to use mosquito nets to protect them from disease.
Today, as part of WRC’s Hope for Cambodia’s Children Programme,
more than 43,000 children attend bi-weekly neighbourhood meetings
to receive health and hygiene lessons and to learn about the love of
God through songs, Bible verses, and drama.
brought up by grandparents who lived through the Khmer Rouge
years and don’t know about nutrition so WRC is teaching them to
vary the children’s diet – mostly rice and dried fish – to include green
vegetables. ”They were very happy, lovely children and you just
wished for a better life for them,” adds Brenda.
Claire had an opportunity, through our interpreter, to ask the children
what they wanted to be when they grew up. “Naively, I thought the boys
would want to be farmers or fishermen and the girls would want to be
mothers, but no – one wanted to be a doctor, another an airline pilot for
a holiday company. I was really impressed by their aspirations.”

Anne’s final thought: “It was such a privilege to be part of the St. John’s
Mission to Cambodia, encouraging the WRC staff, experiencing their
warmth and hospitality, enjoying the beauty of the country and the
delicious food, and seeing God’s love worked out in word and deed.”

Puppets being used by WRC staff to make teaching fun.

Sheila recalls: “All the children were mesmerised and listened

attentively to the dramas enacted by the puppets. They would be
certain to remember what they were told.” Olga said, “I noticed that
the older children (11–15 years) looked much younger and thinner
than an equivalent age group in the UK … partly because of their
race, but also because of a lack of the right food.” Many are being Hope for Cambodia’s Children programme.

We value the strong partnerships we have with the following people and organisations:
 Uganda – Gift and Kathryn Asiku/Wycliffe Bible Translators  Argentina – Jony & Jenny Bertin/Anglican Church
 Argentina – Andrew and Maria Leake/Church Mission Society  Cambodia – Tearfund  Church Army 
Welcare  St. Catherine’s Hospice  CPAS

TASK TEAMS
THE CHURCH IS RUN BY VOLUNTEERS. IT’S A PLACE WHERE EVERY MEMBER IS CALLED BY GOD TO USE THEIR
GIFTS TO SERVE OTHERS, AND IS SO MUCH THE RICHER AND MORE EFFECTIVE FOR IT. 1 CORINTHIANS 12:27
SAYS: “YOU ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST AND EACH ONE IS A PART OF IT.”

We have updated our

Task Teams
structures to organise all
the volunteer roles at the
church under nine task
teams, each with a team
leader, plus others who have
responsibility for different
areas within each task team.
The diagram on this page
reveals all.
If you would like to be a part
of any of these teams, please
MEETING TOGETHER
LEADERS & SPEAKERS MARK FRANCIS
BIBLE READING & PRAYING JANE JONES
COMMUNION ASSISTANTS JANE JONES
WELCOME TEAM & WARDENS PHIL TADMAN
HOME GROUPS MARK FRANCIS
RESOURCES ROSEMARY TADMAN
ELECTORAL ROLL DAVID LEGG
YOUTH & CHILDREN
YOUTH GROUPS LUKE MARKHAM
CHILDREN’S GROUPS DAN CALLAWAY
CRÈCHE ZOE FOX
LEADERS’ ROTA DIANE FRANCIS
SCHOOLS’ WORK SOPHIE FULCHER
SAFEGUARDING CHRISTINE ELY
Where will you serve?
MUSIC & AUDIO
MUSIC TEAM LEO & RACHEL SELLECK
MUSIC ROTA LUKE MARKHAM
SOUND TEAM JOE CLEASE
TECHNICAL SUPPORT CALLUM JONES
PASTORAL SUPPORT &
PRAYER
PASTORAL SUPPORT TEAM DON ELY
PRACTICAL SUPPORT TEAM HEDLEY COOPER
PRAYER MINISTRY JENNY DABELL
PRAYER CHAIN & DIARY ANNE BUTLER
PRAYER MEETINGS MARK FRANCIS
GIFTS & CARDS ANN MORLEY/DES TROTTER
MEDIA
PROJECTION TEAM JOHN GRAINGER
SOCIAL MEDIA ANDREW FOX
WEBSITE MALCOLM FRANCIS
POSTERS/FLYERS JANE JONES/MARK FRANCIS
MAGAZINE GORDON WILKINSON
PARISH MAILINGS GORDON WILKINSON
TECHNICAL SUPPORT DAN CALLAWAY
CATERING
CHURCH LUNCHES CHRIS SAUNDERS
SUNDAY TEAS DAWN COOPER
PRAYER BREAKFASTS PENNY JEFFERS
MIDWEEK COURSES CHRIS SAUNDERS
COFFEE TEAM JOHN & CAROLE GRAINGER

do get in touch. Everyone is

encouraged to be part of at
least one team, with many
people being part of two. A
few – and only if they have
the time to give – may be
part of three or more.
MISSION SUPPORT
CMS (THE LEAKES) BARBARA COTTIER
JONY & JENNY BERTIN (ARGENTINA)
WYCLIFFE (THE ASIKUS) LINDSEY SAUNDERS
TEARFUND GORDON & BRENDA WILKINSON
CHURCH ARMY DI GILES
WELCARE CAROLINE KETTLEWELL
ST CATHERINE’S HOSPICE JENNY YOUNG
CPAS GLEN JONES
LOCAL OUTREACH
EVANGELISTIC EVENTS LIS WOOLLEY
AUTUMN COURSES MARK FRANCIS
CHRISTIANITY EXPLORED JONATHAN & NAOMI
CONNECTIONS DON ELY
YOUNG ADULTS LUKE & MIRIAM MARKHAM
CHILDREN’S CRAFT EVENTS SARAH FRANCIS
MEN’S MINISTRY
BUILDINGS & FINANCE
BUILDINGS PHIL TADMAN
CHURCHYARD PETER BURTON
FINANCE TEAM CHRIS SAUNDERS
CHURCH OFFICE JANE JONES
FLOWERS & DECORATIONS ANN MORLEY
CLEANING PHIL TADMAN
THE CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
OF RETIREMENT
Hedley Cooper joined St. John’s in 2015 and shares his experiences
Retirement brought a wide-ranging change to our lives in 2015
when I took the opportunity to retire early. As I got closer to
retirement, although looking forward to it, I was never sure how I
would adapt. My wife Dawn and I had lived in continental Europe
on-and-off for 15 of the last 20 years, and had been based in
Bruges for the last six years. We wanted to be closer to our family
(we have three children and seven grandchildren) and decided
to move back to East Grinstead.
Without having friends in the area, the challenge was how
to establish ourselves. After browsing church websites, we
decided to try St. John’s as it looked like it was a biblically-based,
evangelical church. On our first Sunday back in the UK we came
to St. John’s and received a very warm welcome. We decided to
return the following week and soon began to feel at home and
got involved in various teams within the church. This was a great
way to get to know people.
What about the rest of our lives? Having spent my career in the
commercial arena, I was minded to get involved in the charitable
sector. It wasn’t long before I was asked if I would consider
volunteering for Care in East Grinstead and Lingfield. I became a duty
officer and put my name down to help with DIY tasks, and shortly
afterwards joined the committee as the ‘Help Heavy’ section leader.
Thinking that maybe I would miss the business community that
I had been part of for over 40 years, I joined the East Grinstead
branch of Probus, a club for retired businessmen which has
monthly meetings and organises other activities for club
members and their partners. I have to admit that finding the time
to go to the meetings regularly has been a challenge!
NEW - Young Adults’ Group meeting in East Grinstead. Please get in touch below for details of the next meeting.
Children’s Groups for 0-11s meet during our 10am service.
Youth Groups (11-18s) meet during our 6pm service.
Visit the website for more information.
With my brother and sister living in North Wiltshire, and my
wife’s mother and brothers living in the Carlisle area, we do a lot
of travelling to stay in touch. We also have the freedom to fit in
holidays at various times of the year, which we enjoy. However, the
desire to travel extensively that many people enjoy in retirement
has not caught up with us as yet, probably because I endured
many long-haul business trips and had to stay away from home
frequently. No longer having to do this has created the opportunity
for us to reconnect as a couple, and although we still retain
separate interests, we are now able to do more things together.
As Christians we don’t retire from serving God, even if we retire
from regular paid employment, and for us retirement has freed
up more time to serve God in different ways.
GORDON AND
BRENDA’S TOP TEN TIPS
FOR RETIREMENT
1. Pray that you will use the opportunity wisely.
2. Be content with less; set a budget; take financial
advice; write a will.
3. Make it an adventure; have fun.
4. Volunteer – show God’s love in action.
5. Spend more quality time with friends and family.
6. Make new friends; join a club; learn a language;
sign up for a course or evening class.
7. Challenge yourself; become an ‘olderpreneur’
or try part-time work.
8. If you’ve been too busy to travel, make a
shortlist of destinations.
9. Tackle new technology head-on.
10. Keep fit – you will live healthier longer.
You may also wish to try out our Connections
Group for seniors which meets in the church hall at
2-4pm on the first Monday of each month.
01342 314027
office@stjohnsfelbridge.com
www.stjohnsfelbridge.com