In our A-Z of Christian Faith, looking at essential ingredients in a life of faith, we reached the letter Q – a notoriously difficult letter in English, worth 10 points in Scrabble!

Questions was the obvious choice for the letter, but while questions are perhaps inevitable, they are not necessarily essential! So in the end, we looked at Q is for Quietness.

Quietness is not highly prized nowadays, and there are so many noises all around us – alarm clocks, phones ringing, traffic, music and so on – and also within us (questions, doubts, fears, insecurities etc.) Jesus makes it clear that we need to listen well (see Matt 11:13, Matt 13:9, Matt 13:43, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8), a view reinforced in the book of Revelation (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22, 13:9). Isaiah made it clear to the Israelites that ‘in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it’ (Is 30:15). They were more interested in finding their own solutions (see Is 30:1-17) and we are often the same, shunning quietness for a number of reasons (because of our personalities, a belief that we are too busy to be quiet and ultimately and a fear of what God may say to us if we slow down sufficiently to hear Him.)

Quietness is essential, however, if we are to:

1. tune in to listen to God’s voice without distraction
2. find the peace and wellbeing God wants for us
3. live with a right perspective of life

I believe it’s good to celebrate creativity, and the recent art and photography competitions sponsored by the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival and Big Local Goldthorpe & Bolton-on-Dearne have proved that creativity is alive and well, not only in our area but in our churches!

Overall winner of the adult photography competition is Stacey Turner, with her picture of lemurs at Yorkshire Wildlife Park dubbed ‘crisp, clear and focussing perfectly on the subject’ by competition judge, Stan Bulmer.

Ann Shirley Swales won 2nd prize with her photograph of her garden:

Gemma Martin won 3rd prize with her photograph of sheep in the snow:

One of the aims of the competitions was to involve younger people in the arts too. In the 12-18 category, Connor Brown from Dearne ALC was commended for his action shot of skateboarding:

Bethany Sykes took the 2nd prize with her scene of rocks and sea:

In the under 11 category, Grace Martin won with her own take on ‘Where I Live’, showing the fridge magnets at her home!

In the art competition, judged by local community artist Pete Deakin, the overall winner in the adult category was Pam Iles for her nostalgic picture combining location, people and history:

Gemma Martin won the 2nd prize for her innovative 3D piece on light and trees:

Ann Shirley Swales won 3rd prize with her painting of Phoenix Park:

Pupils from Year 8 at Dearne ALC won all the prizes in the 12-18 category:

1st prize – Hermione Law

2nd prize – Jack Leyton

3rd prize – Charlotte Tonge

Grace again won the under 11 competition:

Winning entries will be on display at the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival at the Dearne Playhouse on 1 & 2 September (11 a.m. – 5 p.m.)

Some parents will already be dreading the start of the summer holidays, wondering how they will keep their children entertained. Whilst our regular Monday night youth club and Parent & Toddler group shut for the summer period (workers need to rest!), there are lots of community events going on throughout July and August, and not just for children!

Family Fun…

Find out more about Goldthorpe’s mining history through short virtual reality films at Goldthorpe Library on Thursday 27th July from 10 a.m. until 12 noon. Suitable for all ages, there is a film about the Oaks’ Mining Disaster and for younger viewers there’s a Pit Mouse tour guide who takes you through what is used to be like to work in the coal mines. Find out about innovative technology and the arts as well as learning more about our local history.

Friday 28th July gives families an opportunity to ride bikes together in Barnsley town centre. People who wish to take part will need their own bike and must wear a helmet. If people are interested they need to sign up and register using the following link:
https://www.letsride.co.uk/rides/barnsley-community-ride prior to the event for health and safety reasons.

Monday 31st July is the storytelling/ creative writing workshop (part of the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival) for 6-12 year olds at GPCC. Come along for a fun session with children’s author Jeannette Ayton and take part in devising your own story which could be exhibited at the arts’ festival! A certificate for all who attend and prizes available.

Have a go at learning to knit with the lovely ladies at Furlong Road Methodist Church on Wednesday 2nd August from 2-3.30 p.m. All ages welcome – a lovely way for the generations to get together!

Craft sessions are available at Cherry Tree Court on Monday 7th August and the Salvation Army on Wednesday 16th August (both sessions are from 10 a.m. – 12 noon.)

The beach is coming to our area! The Dearne Family Centre in Bolton-on-Dearne is putting on a special event on Wednesday 16th August from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Continuing the holiday-at-home theme, ‘Churches Together’ are running 3 fun days at Houghton Road Centre in Thurnscoe on Tuesdays (15, 22 & 29 August). Come along between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. for craft activities, crazy golf, free snacks and much more!

Children aged between 10 and 18 area also welcome to join the Performing Arts’ workshop at the Dearne Playhouse on Thursday 24th August from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The workshop is free, but registration is needed and all children must bring a packed lunch and drinks. The skills they acquire on the day will be put to good use at the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival on Friday 1st September.

So the next time you (or your children) complain of being bored, remember there’s lots to do over the summer in our area!

Stephen spoke from Rom 12:3-8 about the different parts of the body (both literally and metaphorically). He began by asking us what is the most important part of a car? – the engine which powers the car, the fuel which is needed for the engine to work, the key which is used to start the ignition, the fob needed to open the door to allow the car to travel or the driver behind the wheel? Clearly, each part is essential in order for the car to work, and in the same way, we are all essential parts of the body of Christ.

There are different roles and functions for us all to do in the body of Christ, but so often we fall into two extremes: either believing ourselves to be indispensable, having a ‘monopoly’ on service, or believing we are useless, having no gifts or talents and feeling condemned by others’ gifts which we perceive as being more important. The truth is that we are all needed and effective: our ‘nothing’ is ‘something’ to God. Monopoly is not the game; the goal is not our own importance or our own condemnation; instead, we are called to serve God with Christ’s victory as our goal. Together, everyone achieves more – we need each other and need to find our place in the body of Christ.

When we think of the word ‘trials‘, we may think first of all of trials in court (where a person’s innocence or guilt is established) or may think of sporting trials (e.g. horse trials or motorcycle trials.)

When we think of trials, we usually think of obstacles to overcome and other constraints such as time limits. Trials and tests are similar, but we need to understand that these are part of life and come to us even as Christians so that our faith can be proved genuine (see 1 Pet 1:3-7).

In this passage, we learn of God’s abundant mercy and blessings which await us in heaven (rather like a never-ending gobstopper, these things will never fail!) However, we like the idea of blessings, unspeakable joy and God’s dynamic power which is able to keep us, but are not so keen on the trials which are also a part of our pilgrimage on earth. God’s power is like dynamite and can blast away our problems, but sometimes He calls us to endure trials, taking us through these things (such as illness, stress, family strife, financial difficulties, bereavement and so on), even as Isaiah prophesied. (Is 43:1-2) We should not be surprised when trials come (1 Pet 4:12-13), somehow feeling that we should be exempt from these things, but need to learn to rely on the grace God gives us in these situations (2 Cor 12:7-9).

When we go through these trials, chaotic and distressing though these are, we find we are not drowned or burnt. Instead, God’s plan is for us to come out the other side stronger in Him, with our faith strengthened and our ability to empathise with others made stronger.

Don’t forget the ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting on Tuesday 18th July at 7.15 p.m. at GPCC and our own prayer meeting on Thursday 20th July at 7.30 p.m. As we discussed last week, prayer is a vital, essential ingredient in a life of faith and it’s good for us to draw near to God in prayer.

Don’t forget also the workshops associated with the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival which start on Thursday 27th July. In the morning, there is the opportunity to see new technology in art with a short virtual reality film about the history of mining at Goldthorpe Library from 10 a.m. until 12 noon:

In the afternoon of Thursday 27th July, there is an aromatherapy session run by WEA from 1-3 p.m. Come along to be pampered!

On Monday 31st July at GPCC there is a storytelling/ creative writing session for 6-12 year olds run by children’s author, Jeannette Ayton: