Our Church Services - Alnwick, St James

March 2010. Issue number 122
St James's Church
Centre
(United Reformed)
Pottergate, Alnwick
Northumberland, NE66 1JW
(: 01665 510364
Minister:
Reverend Joan Grindrod-Helmn
*:
minister@urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk
Our web-site:
http://www.urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk
Our Church Services
These are usually at 10.30 a.m. and
6.00 p.m. unless otherwise indicated
Our Communion Services are held
at both services on the first Sunday in:-
February, June, August, October and
December
and also on Easter Sunday
Do you have any interesting articles to
go into the next edition of your
Pottergate News such as forthcoming
events, memories, reports of activities ?
Remember the next deadline is
Sunday, 21 st March
for distribution on 28 th March

Our Minister's Letter
Dear Friends
One of my memorable moments from childhood was going to see my first
Broadway show, the US version of the West End. It was a musical, as my
parents were fond of musicals, recently opened and wowing the audiences. It
was called Fiddler on the Roof. I think my parents chose it because I was
struggling with violin lessons and they wanted to give me encouragement. What I
got out of it was something different, a love of the theatre and a love of the
story of Fiddler on the Roof.
For those who don't remember, it's about a Jewish family in Russia in the
1880's, a time of persecution and upheaval for the Russian Jews. And while it
was about persecution it was also about family and, most importantly, the
traditions they held that kept them together in communities. That is not to say
that traditions were always followed, as Tevye wrestled with his children's need
to change and break away from some of the old ways. Some traditions were
restrictive and some were freeing and some were the foundation of their lives.
Which traditions in your life would you say are restrictive, freeing or the
foundation of your life? It isn't easy to change when we have grown up with
certain ways of life. For example, this month we celebrate Mother's Day. Blame
it on the Americans if you will, but how many today celebrate Mothering Sunday
- what it was really meant to be? It is our tradition and yet today Mother's Day
seems so much more appropriate. Like Tevye, we may rail against the change,
but in the end traditions have to have meaning or they cease to be.
Tevye discovered that traditions may come and go, new ways of thinking bring
new changes. Those traditions that are the foundations of life do not change,
for they are the anchor we need in a world that changes, sometimes too fast
and sometimes in the wrong directions. Our core, our centre, is our faith. It can
help us wrestle with the issues of the world that confront us, it can help us
change when the world changes, it can be shaken when we are in turmoil and
doubt. But it is a part of us that we come back to again and again, the
foundation of our lives, that carries us through the worst of times. Tevye had to
endure much, a changing world, a changing family, a changing attitude
towards people, but at the centre of his life he knew he had his faith and
that was all he needed to take him wherever the winds of change would
blow him.

Synod Bowls Tournament 2010
Thropton URC win by a head
This year the annual Synod carpet bowls tournament took place at Saint
James’s Church Centre on February 6 th . Although only eight churches took
part it was a very good carpet bowling occasion for the everyone.
The twelve church teams were divided into three groups with each team
playing their three games on a different carpet each time. Most of those
taking part found the carpets to their liking which added to their enjoyment
of the day. When not playing, many took the opportunity to mingle with folk
from other churches and to catch up with their news. Some took the
opportunity to look round our recently redeveloped premises.
A computerised scoreboard was used and it helped those participating to
feel more involved by following the scores more closely.
After all the ‘if only’s’ and ‘what if’s’, the final three teams in the play-offs
were St John’s Wideopen, Thropton, and St James’s, Alnwick. The final was
won by Thropton URC in a close contested final game with a St John’s team
and the Synod Shield and individual trophies were presented to the winning
team by the chairpersons of the St James’s clubs (above).
Photo and re port from John Heathorn, cour tesy of North ern Synod website

Did You Know? No 11
Up till now we have looked at member
Churches belonging to the Council for
World Mission. We hope that readers
now have a wider knowledge of how these
Churches fit into the context of a
world-wide Reformed tradition, but this
month we should pause and ask, "How do
they survive financially, especially in the
midst of a world recession?"
C.W.M. acts like a wheel. The central hub
is the collecting and sending point for all
activity. The various member Churches are the spokes which are both linked
to the Central Administration while at the same time existing on the outer rim
of the world. All finances flow into the Centre and are sent out again to
those Churches who are in the most need.
This is why COMMITMENT FOR LIFE monthly givings are so vitally
important to helping CWM fulfil all its commitments.
The contents of our monthly envelopes are a vital contribution to the
ongoing work of the World-Wide Reformed Church, and although there are
obviously other sources of revenue, our own URC relies on this monthly
support to further many of the smaller ongoing projects which have already
been mentioned in previous Did You Know? articles.
This year St James's congregation agreed that we should concentrate our
efforts on Zimbabwe and so the question this month is - “Did you know
that the Presbyterian church in Zimbabwe needs our help?”
If you already give monthly - please continue. If you have not so far
contributed - please ask Sandra Baker for some envelopes. The average
monthly total so far usually amounts to £45. Let's see if we can increase this
to £100 by the end of the year!
It only needs a few pence set aside each week to make a difference -
especially to Christians in Zimbabwe.
Next month - back to information about our sister Churches.

REMEMBER the St James's Spring Fair 2010
Please come and support us on 13 th March
The stalls will be open as usual at 9.30 a.m. (NO sales before)
Help will be needed from 8.30am to set everything up.
Coffee is served throughout, but light lunches will also be served between 11.30 am
and 1.00 pm
Once again, contributions and / or assistance will be very welcome by all stall
holders, (see Feb. Pottergate News) also in the kitchen, and in serving.
All ages welcome and if you have never been able to come before it is a very good
opportunity to enjoy an extremely sociable occasion.
Grateful thanks in advance to everyone.
For clarification or further information contact:- Margaret Wilkinson,
Grace Pollard, or Maureen Fortune.
Lent Lunch
The Lent Luch on Maundy Thursday, 1 st April, will be in aid of Save the
Children’s work among the orphans in Haiti.
There will be a cake stall and a raffle.
The Save the Children Annual General Meeting will be held at
approximately 1.45 p.m.
All are welcome.
Haiti Stall
A big thank you to all who supported the Guide & Brownie Haiti Stall in the
Market Place on 6 th February. Altogether we made £ 372 which was
excellent.

Fairtrade Fortnight
Go for petrol at the one out let in Alnwick and you’ll see a large poster
ad ver tis ing Fairtrade cof fee in their café.
Sainsbury’s emphasise that all their ba nanas are Fairtrade. Now they also
claim to be the big gest re tailer of fair-trade prod ucts.
There is no doubt that the move ment has an in creas ingly high pro file.
Fairtrade Fort night - Feb ru ary 22 nd to March 7 th - seeks to en sure that
that pro file will be even higher.
The earth quake in Haiti con fronted us yet again with the un imag in able
hor ror fac ing some of the poor est peo ple in the world who have lost
ab so lutely ev ery thing. It is for them, but also for those whose pov erty is
con stant but ‘un dra matic’ that Fairtrade exists.
You will know that on the first Sunday of ev ery month, af ter both morn ing
and eve ning ser vices, we have a Traidcraft stall sell ing Fairtrade prod ucts. A
num ber of peo ple are reg u lar sup port ers and we have come to know who
likes which kind of choc o late or a par tic u lar kind of bis cuit! The range of
prod ucts is wide. The qual ity is good. Most are com pet i tive in price with
what you’d pay else where. We sell cof fee and tea, of course, but also a wide
range of other prod ucts - dried fruits, spices, cards, kitchen rolls, ol ive oil.
Ol ive oil, yes - and that is ex pen sive, the rea son be ing it co mes from the
P al es tin ian te r r i to ries wh ere the e co n o my is un de r se ve re p res su re f rom
Is raeli re stric tions. This is ob vi ously a chal lenge to us, but it`s one of the
reasons for having the stall.
Our takings vary be tween £ 60 - £ 80 per month. From this, The Alnwick
Fairtrade shop gives us 15% which is added to the Com mit ment for Life
money. Please come and sup port us. It is a small but help ful way in which
we care for the poor est peo ple in the world.
Kay Hether ing ton, Alasdair and Sheila Pratt.

Teens explore theology, deepen their faith
through lively seminar
[Chang Jung Chris tian Uni ver sity's School of The ol ogy de vel -
oped from the High School in which Wal ter Carruthers taught
be tween 1957 and 1962. The fol low ing ar ti cle is taken from
the Eng lish ver sion of the news pa per pro duced by the Pres -
by te rian Church of Tai wan. Wal ter and Doreen get this Eng -
lish di gest by email ev ery week.]
Chang Jung Chris tian Uni ver sity's School of The ol ogy held
its first "Teens Ex plor ing The ol ogy Day" on Feb ru ary 6 th . This lively and in ter ac tive
sem i nar was es pe cially de signed to at tract ju nior and se nior high school stu dents
and pique their in ter est in the ol ogy. Par tic i pants were in vited to dis cuss an ar ray of
top ics in volv ing the Chris tian faith and chal lenge them selves through lively dis cus -
sion. "I thought the ol ogy would be re ally hard," said one par tic i pant. "But I dis cov -
ered that the ol ogy is ac tu ally pres ent in the stuff of ev ery day life."
The school's dean, Rev. Wong Chong-Gyiau, em pha sized that train ing church teens
to re flect on their faith and mak ing re flec tion a habit will help ex pand young peo ple's
ho ri zons and re fine the next gen er a tion of church mem bers and leaders.
Wong spoke on "The world ac cord ing to theo lo gians" dur ing a key note speech and
pointed out that the ol ogy is n't com pli cated at all. In fact, when ever a per son re flects
on what he be lieves in, he is en gag ing in the ol ogy. Ex am ples of such in stances in -
clude dis cuss ing whether Chris tians can buy lot tery or dis cuss ing whether the Bi ble
sup ports gen der equal ity. He con cluded that theo log i cal anal y sis is prof it able to
church and so ci ety because it encourages critical thinking.
When par tic i pants were di vided into small groups for in-depth dis cus sions, sem i nar i -
ans were ap pointed to each group so that stu dents could ask any ques tions they had
about God or the ol ogy and sem i nar i ans could at tempt an swer ing these ques tions.
The pro cess helped these young minds to think more clearly and ac quire a deeper
un der stand ing of God, them selves, and the world.
Ac cord ing to Wong, churches usu ally don't em pha size the ol ogy. Pre vi ous sem i nars
spon sored by PCT on the ol ogy were usu ally de signed for col lege- age stu dents and
there were rarely events de signed to at tract teen ag ers. He hoped that "Teens Ex plor -
ing The ol ogy Day" would serve as the be gin ning of more sem i nars de signed for
teen ag ers so that churches can get youn ger gen er a tions in ter ested in the ol ogy and
train them to reflect on their faith.
Tai wan Church News, 3024~3025 Edi tion, Feb ru ary 8~21, 2010
Re ported by Si mon Lin, Writ ten by Lydia Ma

Thursday Group Domino
Drive
Thursday 25 th March
St James’s, 7:30 p.m.
£3 at the door
Pooled Supper
All welcome
Remember the Spring Banquet
West Cawledge Park
Saturday 20 th March
£25 per ticket
Contact Gertrude Jones or Susan Frater for further
information and tickets
Future Church Activities
Pie, Peas and Quiz Night
Friday 14 th May
Theme for Quiz 'How well do you know the U.K. ?'
Table Top Sale
Saturday 12 th June
Tickets on sale soon, look out for Posters and information in forthcoming
Pottergate News and on church notice board.

Church Walks
It was another happy and satisfying day.
January Walk In Hulne Park
There were 9 of us who set out to enjoy Hulne
Park on 10 th February. It was a cold clear
morning and the views were superb. The
focus of the walk was to see the new Burial
Ground belonging to the Dukes of
Northumberland. This is just beyond Brizlee
Tower, behind the tall Standing Stone and
stone seat which some of you will know. This
is a favourite spot for many, and for the Percy
family, there must be a sense of 'Lord of all I
survey' about this place. The views across to
Cheviot over Eglingham and towards Wooler
were truly magnificent. There was snow in the
distance and a patchwork of fields, moorland,
woods and snaking lines of trees following
streams. Returning to Alnwick we enjoyed our
meal at Lilburn's where we were joined by
some who had not been able to come on the
walk.
Our Forthcoming Walks
Wednesday 10 th March : South Side Alnmouth
10.30 Meet at the new parking area on the left hand side of the Hipsburn -
Alnmouth Road. From there we will walk along the new cycle track and
down to the old church.
12.45 ish Lunch at The Coach, Lesbury.
Wednesday 14 th April : Twizell
to enjoy the daffodils and primroses

Brownies At The Centre For Life
On Sunday, 7 th Feb ru ary, a mini bus of 14
Brown ies and 2 par ents set off for New cas tle to
visit the Cen tre For Life. We started the day by
skat ing on the out door rink, which is there from
No vem ber to Feb ru ary. With a bit of
en cour age ment the edge was aban doned and the
brown ies were skat ing all over the place, and
some even man aged to go back wards and round
in cir cles - not quite Olym pic stan dard yet!
De spite the rain, mak ing the ice even more
slippy, a good time was had by all. For tu nately
all, the Brown ies had brought spare dry clothes
to wear - the adults were not quite so well
organised!
Af ter a packed lunch, we then ex plored the
ex hib its at the Cen tre. They are all very 'hands
on' and are based on how we are adapted to
liv ing in dif fer ent ar eas, what we need and the
use of re sources. It was fun try ing out the
dif fer ent things, mak ing a foun tain work, see ing
how many litres of wa ter your body weight holds,
the im por tance of the key stone in an arch,
com par ing re-cy cling costs, and so much more.
If any one has not been, it is well worth a visit -
you don't have to do the skat ing! In May they
will be hav ing a Star Wars ex hi bi tion.
Hol i day ideas?
The Cen tre for Life in
New cas tle is a sci ence vil -
lage where sci en tists, cli ni -
cians, edu ca tion al ists and
busi ness peo ple come to -
gether to pro mote ad -
vance ment of the life
sci ences. In the last de -
cade, their com bined ef -
forts have pro duced
spec tac u lar re sults and
have se cured Life's rep u ta -
tion as a cen tre for world
class sci ence. Al most 500
peo ple from 30 coun tries
now work on site.
At the heart of the vil lage
is the award win ning Life
Sci ence Cen tre. It's a bold,
colour ful and in spir ing
place. If you're cu ri ous
about the world around
you, you'll love Life!
De tails are on their
website:
http://www.life.org.uk
Sainsbury's Vouchers
St James's Brownies & Guides will again be collecting these vouchers, and
there will be a box for them in the corridor at Church. Last time we 'bought'
some plastic hula hoops, some blindfolds, and some cooking equipment for
camping. Like last time, we would be very glad to have any vouchers that
people do not want.
Madeline Rus sell

Magazine Of The Year?
Every month I look forward to laughing at the
jokes in my copy of "The Oldie". Every two
months "The Northumbrian" offers me a different
but equal pleasure.
Is fair trade shop -
ping re ces -
sion-proof?
Dur ing this year’s
Fairtrade Fort night,
con sum ers will be
asked not just to
reach for their fa vour -
ite fairly-traded prod -
ucts, but to re view
their whole shop ping
bas ket. It's a con fi dent
me ssag e, re fle ct ing
new in di ca tions that,
de spite the eco nomic
down turn, shop pers
are com mit ted to en -
sur ing a fairer deal for
those pro duc ing our
everyday goods.
Eileen Maybin re ports
in the Feb ru ary is sue
of Re form.
It may come as a surprise to some, but I also look
forward with eager anticipation to the delivery of
"Reform," our U.R.C. magazine. Time was when I
read it more out of a sense of duty than interest
and the dreary and predictable articles left much to
be desired. But in the last few years a gradual
change has occurred and now we are offered a
beautifully produced, well edited, magazine full of
stimulating articles by contributors in the forefront
of contemporary life.
I know that Aileen has done her best to increase
subscribers and has offered free sample copies to
encourage readership, so my plea is for members
of the congregation who may not be familiar with
"Reform" to try it out for a few months. This is an
excellent way of keeping in touch with what our
fellow URC congregations and the wider Church
are thinking and discussing at the present time and
it's such a good, well-produced magazine that
every one of our members ought be aware of what
they may be missing. Please see Aileen if you
would like to see a copy. Maybe you could share a
subscription with a friend or even two!
Doreen Carruthers
Thanks
I would like to thank my family and friends for the Get Well Cards and all
the help they gave me while I was incapacitated , it was very much
appreciated.
Grace Pollard

Reivers Lottery Syndicate
The above syn di cate has now been closed down fol low ing con sul ta tion with its
mem bers. Al though the syn di cate had no di rect at tach ment to St James's all the win -
nings went to the church. Over the life time of the syn di cate £ 1,730 was given to the
church. May I take this op por tu nity to thank all the syn di cate mem bers for their sup -
port. D Robson
Synod News and Activities
March 2010
Synod Office
4 College Lane, Newcastle NE1 8JJ
(: 0191 232 1168
*: office@urc-northernsynod.org
http://www.urc-northernsynod.org/
Celebrating St Cuthbert
At the St Cuthbert’s Centre, Holy Island
on Tuesday March 16 th at 7.30
Holy Communion
followed by drinks and refreshments
Elena Narinskaya, who took part in the Sinai Pilgrimage last year will be talking
about icons and presenting her icon of St Cuthbert to the Centre
St Cuthbert’s Way
The synod pil grim age will take place July 26 th - 31 st 2010, fol low ing the cel e -
brated 65 mile trail from Melrose to Holy Is land. Full de tails were sent out to all
churches in the Jan u ary mail ing, and now is the time to be sign ing up.
Spring Synod At Ponteland
Synod will meet at Ponteland URC on Sat ur day March 20 th : cof fee will be served
from 9.30 with the meet ing be gin ning at 10.00 and last ing un til 4.00.
The synod roll con sists of min is ters and lay rep re sen ta tives from each church - but
meet ings of synod are open meet ings, and mem bers and friends of any of our
churches will be wel come as guests.

Rotas and Diary for March 2010
Coffee Rota
March
7 th Dor o thy & Jim Thomp son, Maureen Reay
14 th Grace Pol lard, Sheila Hignett, Sheila Johnston
21 st Mar ga ret & Da vid Wilkinson, Dor o thy Robson
28 th Aileen White, Joyce Spencer, Liz Spence
April
4 th Carol Ser geant, Mar ga ret Mabon, Valerie Colgan
Duty Stewards
Vestibule Vestry Door Duties
March
7 th a.m. E Spence G Pollard A Manners, A Graham, S Johnston
14 th p.m.
a.m. M Fortune
J Barr
A White
R Sanderson, D & H Crosier
M Cooke, I Thomas, W Wilson
p.m. S Baker E Burn, S & A Green
21 st a.m.
p.m.
M Wilkinson D Wilkinson
K Hetherington
M Reay, D & J Thompson
V Ions, M Lee, J Walker
28 th a.m. J Richardson S Egdell P Richardson, H Forster, M Laidler
p.m. J Purvis D Gove, L & B Newbegin
April
4 th a.m. M Russell R Waddell R Jones, T & J Heathorn
p.m. J Barr R Sanderson, D & H Crosier
Flower Rota
March
7 th Mrs D Jobson
14 th Maureen Reay
21 st
28 th Dorothy Robson
Pauline McKenzie
April
4 th EASTER
Con tact Mar ga ret Wilkinson if you wish to change a date or fill a va cancy

Readers
A.M.
P.M.
March
7 th Julian Richardson Monty Helmn
14 th
21 st Madeline Russell
Maureen & Ian Buchanan
Jenny Young
Jean Barr
28 th Sheila Egdell Sandra Baker
April
4 th Grace Pollard Eileen Burn
March
Diary
Mon 1 st 7:00 p.m. MB - Club Night
7:30 p.m. Centre Management Group meeting
Tue 2 nd 1:30 p.m. LB - Sheila Egdell Cup 6 th Round
7:00 p.m. MB - Rob Guthrie Cup - 6 th Round
Wed 3 rd 7:00 p.m. LB - Away to Longframlington
7:30 p.m. Lent Group meeting in Embleton Room
Thu 4 th 12:00 p.m. Lenten Lunch - Costello Centre
7:00 p.m. MB - Away to Longframlington
7:30 p.m. TG - Louise Frederique : Cabosse Chocolates
7:30 p.m. Churches Together in Alnwick. AGM St James’s
Sun 7 th 10:00 a.m. Morning Service : Eric Brown
6:00 p.m. Evening Service : Mrs Marjorie Tate, Morpeth
Mon 8 th 7:00 p.m. MB - Home to Alnwick Lions
Tue 9 th 1:30 p.m. LB - Club afternoon - League, Pairs & Crosier Cup
7:00 p.m. LB - Away to Newton on the Moor
7:00 p.m. MB - The Alan Cooke League Championship Trophy
Wed 10 th 10:30 a.m. Church Walk - South Side, Alnmouth
7:30 p.m. Lent Group meeting in Embleton Room
Thu 11 th 12:00 p.m. Lenten Lunch - Costello Centre
7:00 p.m. MB - Away to South Charlton
7:30 p.m. TG - Mrs I Appleby - Deaf Awareness
8:00 p.m. Finance & Property Group meeting
Sat 13 th
St James’s Spring Fair - Northumberland Hall
Sun 14 th 10:30 a.m. All Age Service, Mothers Day
6:00 p.m. Evening Service
Mon 15 th 7:00 p.m. MB - Home to Rothbury
Tue 16 th 1:30 p.m. LB - Club afternoon - League, Pairs & Crosier Cup
6:45 p.m. MB - Rinks Competition 6 th Round
Wed 17 th 7:30 p.m. Lent Group meeting in Embleton Room
Thu 18 th 12:00 p.m. Lenten Lunch - Costello Centre

7:30 p.m. TG - Irish Night!
Sat 20 th 9:30 a.m. Spring Synod At Ponteland
Spring Banquet, Alnwick Lodge
Sun 21 st 10:30 a.m. Morning Service
6:00 p.m. Evening Service
Mon 22 nd 7:00 p.m. MB - Club night
Tue 23 rd 1:30 p.m. LB - Club afternoon - League, Pairs & Crosier Cup
6:45 p.m. LB - Home to Longhoughton
Wed 24 th 7:30 p.m. Lent Group meeting in Embleton Room
Thu 25 th 12:00 p.m. Lenten Lunch - Costello Centre
7:30 p.m. TG - Domino Drive (open to all)
Sat 27 th 10:30 a.m. LB & MB - Annual Pairs Competition
Sun 28 th 10:30 a.m. Morning Service - Palm Sunday
6:00 p.m. Evening Service
Mon 29 th 7:00 p.m. MB - Club night
Tue 30 th 1:30 p.m. LB - Club afternoon - League, Pairs & Crosier Cup
7:00 p.m. MB - Away to Shilbottle
Wed 31 st 7:30 p.m. Lent Group meeting in Embleton Room
April
Thu 1 st 12:00 p.m. Lenten Lunch - Costello Centre
1:45 p.m. Save the Children AGM
Fri 2 nd 11:30 a.m. Churches Together Good Friday Walk of Witness
12:00 p.m. Good Friday service in the Market Square
Sun 4 th 10:30 a.m. Communion Morning Service - Easter Sunday
6:00 p.m. Communion Evening Service
MB & LB - Mens & Ladies Indoor Bowls Clubs, TG - Thursday Group.
Advance Notice
St. James's AGM
18 th April, 11:30 am.
Speaker will be Gary Tate, Worker for Contagious, our ecumenical youth
programme.

Who Is Who at St James's
Church Secretary
Mr Charles Cartwright
*: secretary@urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk
Church Treasurer
Mrs Jean Barr
Church Centre Administrator
Mrs Liz Spence
(: 510364
*:church.centre@urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk
Gift Aid & Planned Giving
Julian Richardson
Free-Will Giving Envelopes
Mrs Aileen White
Junior Church
Mrs Sandra Baker
Flower Rota
Mrs Margaret Wilkinson
Morning Readers Rota
Mrs Dorothy Robson
Evening Readers Rota
Mrs Janet Purvis
Synod Representative
Rev. Alasdair Pratt
Organists
Mrs Enid Brown
Mr Paul Toward
Jolanda Cartwright
The Men's Indoor Bowling Club
Mr Henry Crosier
Ladies' Indoor Bowling Club
Miss Hazel Forster
Thursday Group
Mrs Gertrude Jones
Brownies & Guides
Miss Madeline Russell
Events co-ordinator
Mrs Pauline Richardson
Christians Together In Alnwick
Miss Hazel Forster
Mrs Doreen Crosier
Editor
Mr John Spence
*: webmaster@urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk