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Letter from the ChaplainI always loved the beginning of a new school year, especially the smell of new text books and clean pages of, as yet unwritten, exercise books. It felt like anything was possible. Yes, this year I’m going to try my very best all the time. It’s going to be the best year ever! So, are you ready this rentrée, looking forward to new and exciting things? Or do you feel like Michael Finnegan in the children’s rhyme where things just go round and round , and you simply begin again? The Christian view of life is not about going round in circles as one of the characters in “The History Boys” by Alan Bennett says, ‘one ***** thing after another’. It has a meaning, a purpose and a direction and we are invited to be part of it, not merely to go with the flow, but actively to construct and mould it. As Christians we do this by trying to live as Jesus calls us and being guided and sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. At Holy Trinity we have any number of possibilities to explore this calling. Being a member of the church means belonging, and belonging means taking responsibility for our life together. Being a Christian is not simply about waiting for heaven at the end of our lives but is about living the life that God gives us to the full now. We don‘t enjoy a piece of music just as the last note dies away but as it is being played. Each bar, each phrase, even silences and rests are significant. As a church we are working together for God’s Kingdom and each of us has a contribution to make. Come and join in, there is a part for everyone. What is yours? To change the metaphor in line with the Rugby World Cup about to take place in Paris: The game has kicked off. So we need to ask ourselves “where can I be best placed to receive the next pass and do my best for the team?” Take a look at the inside cover of this newsletter to see just some of the activities that are taking place. The contact person for each area would love to hear from you with an offer to be involved. Why don’t you get in touch with them? |
Prayers in the BibleThe Lord’s Prayer is no doubt the one with which you are most familiar, and you may be able to recite the Benedictus, The Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis, especially if you were a choir boy, but I imagine that Hezekiah’s prayer at the time of Sennacherib’s siege is rather less familiar. One of the earliest prayers is found in Genesis where Abraham sends his servant back to the country he has left to find a wife for his son Isaac: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, grant me success today, I pray thee, and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Genesis 24.12 The servant is indeed successful and returns with the “very fair” Rebekah, who is as quick and hospitable as she is beautiful. His immediate response is prayer: The man bowed his head and worshipped the LORD, and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master .” Genesis 24.27
Chesed also conveys a notion of gentleness. That is what makes the King James Version’s ‘loving-kindness’ such a satisfying concept. God’s love for his people, even when they are rebellious or disobedient, is marked by a love which is ‘kind’. His faithfulness, in other words, is not a reluctant by-product of his nature but at the very heart of it. May we be successful today in our endeavours to serve our families, our colleagues at work, our church, and may we too show steadfast love. |
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A great book to help you in your prayer life. Jean Lefèvre can order it for you through the bookstall. Prayer : Does it Make any
Difference ?
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This prayer by an old Christian—Mother Teresa—was contributed by a young one—Fiona Parr. Do It Anyway
People are often unreasonable, irrational and
self-centred.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful
friends and some genuine enemies.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy
overnight.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be
jealous.
The good you do today will often be forgotten.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God.
Lasting prayers bring lasting revivals. Prayer does not condition God; prayer conditions us. Prayer does not win God to our view; it reveals God’s view to us |
Road Map for the RentréeChristian Aid? Sounds good, but what exactly is it? Until our church weekend away I had no idea. Ah well, ex-pats can’t keep up with everything… Through vivid examples, our speaker from Christian Aid showed us what it meant to love our neighbour as ourselves in a 21st Century crying out for responsible action. Since its formation after the Second World War its activities have mushroomed, for globalisation and modern communications mean that our neighbour now lives anywhere in the world and needs emergency relief, health education, and protection against exploitation. And now there is a new challenge. A Christian Aid partner in Bangladesh said : ‘Forget about making poverty history – climate change will make poverty permanent’. Climate change is forcing us to revise our understanding of our place in creation and accept that we are accountable for our stewardship of the planet. Our God is a servant King and our calling as Christians is to serve all of God’s creation.
I came home with plenty of food for thought and this theme just wouldn’t go away. At Bible Study a couple of weeks later, we began the Book of Micah. Like so many of the prophets, Micah was warning his fellow Jews that catastrophe was inevitable if they didn’t mend their ways. They exploited the poor, seized power and money, and lived in self-centred indulgence. It all sounds so familiar. Micah sets out the nature of God and what it means to be his people. ‘And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God’. The rentrée, when we draw up our road map for the coming year, is a good time for stock-taking. It’s easy enough to blame the other fellow for being too greedy, too indifferent. But what about us? Aren’t we, like Micah’s audience, too comfortably complacent? What does it really mean to us to be God’s people? How does this affect our lifestyle? Do we measure up to God’s requirements? |
Annual income 20 pounds, annual expenditure 20 pounds, nought & 6, result misery
So said Mr Micawber in ‘David Copperfield’, and this is the state Holy Trinity is in. In fact it is far worse, since the Treasurer has had to budget for a 12% excess of expenditure over income this year. This is the tale of three people, Tom, Dick and Harry, who all attended Holy Trinity last year, and what they did with their talents (or rather euros). Tom wanted to contribute to the upkeep of the church and believed he could afford to give 20 € every week to the church and so he decided to put a 20 € note in the collection every week. This was fine for four weeks, then Aunty Flo came to stay and wanted to go to Giverny, so they didn’t go to church that Sunday. Two weeks later, the baby had a bad cold and Tom’s wife, Thomasina, was taking their daughter to a hockey match, so they missed that Sunday. And a few weeks later their French neighbour suggested they might like to stay in his cottage in Normandy for the weekend. Then there was the skiing holiday, and a summer holiday in Morocco, and the wet morning when the car wouldn’t start, and – but I needn’t go on. The result was that during the year, Tom missed 13 weeks, and so gave the church 780 € - for which the Treasurer was very grateful. But the church had no record of his giving and so couldn’t issue a tax certificate. Dick is cleverer. He also thought he could afford 20 € a week, and so he joined the Planned Giving Scheme and was given a packet of 52 envelopes, all labelled with the dates of the Sundays in 2006. So when Rita’s Aunt Mary wanted to go to Auvers, he put 20 € in the envelope for that week. And when his oldest son had flu and his wife was taking their daughter to her ballet class, he again put 20 € in the right envelope. And so on, throughout the year. Each time, when he did go to church a week or two later, he put two or three envelopes, each containing 20 €, in the collection. So at the end of the year he had given the church 1040 €. His envelopes had a unique number, and every week the sums he paid in (20, 40 or 60 €) were carefully recorded against that number. Early in 2007, the Planned Giving Secretary handed out receipts to everyone in the Scheme. Dick duly received one for 1040 € and sent it in with his income tax return, and later this year the French tax authorities will tell him they will reduce the amount of tax he has to pay by 66% (nearly two thirds) of 1040 : 686 €. So effectively he paid out only 354 €. Thus Dick gave the church 260 € more than Tom, yet it cost him 426 € less. Harry is even cleverer. Like Dick he joined the Scheme in 2006. But he thought that if he could truly afford 20 € a week, he should pay it. So this year he has increased his giving to 50 € a week, knowing that the income tax people will reduce his tax by 1716 € next year, enabling him to give the church 2600 € at a cost to him of 884 € (less than Tom intended to give). And next year, he’ll increase it still further to 60 € a week so that he actually pays out the full 20 € a week that he decided to originally. The moral of this tale? If you are already a Planned Giver, can you increase your giving? If you are not a Planned Giver, will you join the Scheme? We can supply weekly envelopes or monthly ones, or you can pay by bankers order. You put cheques in the envelopes, as you please, and we will ensure that only the Planned Giving Secretary and Treasurer know how much you give. But if you just put notes or even cheques in the collection, we can not give you an income tax receipt. These figures are realistic - indeed many people give more than this. The relief of 66% of your giving applies only to giving up to one fifth of your taxable income (your income after all other allowances have been deducted). But that is still more than biblical tithing, so shouldn’t cause a problem. One further point: If you pay income tax in the UK, the Diocese has a scheme where you can pay in £ sterling and the church can claim a refund from the UK tax authorities. Interested in either scheme? Speak to Max Genock or write to him at 4 allée des Fusains, 78660 St Nom la Bretèche. |
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Did you know that we’ve pledged to give 10% of the Church’s total annual income to good causes, all over the world. Here’s the first of a series telling you what they are and what they do. L'Association pour le développement des Soins Palliatifs (ASP)
I would like to draw your attention to the incredible work of an association which promotes terminal care and support for dying patients and their family. Our church has financially supported this charity for many years now and at a time when the population is ageing greatly I hope that we will continue to support them in the years to come. Terminal care includes active patient care and a holistic approach to the patient suffering from a serious developing disease. The objective is to relieve physical pain and discomfort and to take into account the psychological, social and spiritual suffering that these patients often endure. Terminal care and the accompanying of patients in the final stages of their illness require interdisciplinary teams. ASP, a French 1901 charity that depends on private donations, is made up of a network of over 250 volunteers who are selected and trained by the association's psychologists. These volunteers become part of 31 terminal care teams in the Parisian area. Three of these teams are dedicated to terminal care at home. The volunteers complete the team of health professionals: doctors, nurses, auxiliary nurses and physiotherapists whose primary task is to prescribe and to administer patient care. Social workers also play an important role in supporting patients and their families. Families obviously play a fundamental role and constitute the main pillar of love and support for patients in a critical stage of their illness. However, families have limits too, sometimes there are no close relatives present, or families live far away or encounter certain psychological barriers in coping with the situation such as discord between what is thought and what is said. Patients themselves find it difficult to address certain subjects through fear of distressing their families or of awakening long-standing conflicts. So who are ASP's volunteers and how do they help? 79% of volunteers are women aged between 40 and 70 years old (average age 58). Many of the volunteers are retired but many are still at work and raising their own young families. All professions are represented, except active health professionals as they might hinder the work of their colleagues. The volunteers only accompany patients that they did not know beforehand in order to remain as neutral as possible. A patient is never accompanied by a single volunteer, usually two volunteers are assigned to each patient. Accompanying a patient through a critical phase often requires few words and touch and physical presence is often enough. The headquarters of the association are to be found at: 39 avenue Clichy, 75017 Paris. Telephone number 01 53 42 31 31. For further information please visit the ASP website: www.aspfondatrice.org |
†rinity †eensNo one has ever seen God; But if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12 Welcome to all new and old(er) †rinity †eens!!If you haven't been in a youth group before, do not be afraid! We aren't scary teenagers that only speak in a monosyllabic language with grown-out hair that covers our whole face. (This goes out to adults too), believe it or not, we are normal human beings. Yes we do hide out in a dark and dingy basement that smells very weird but we are an important part of the church. We are the future and our adolescent years are the most important for our spiritual life. It's a moment of growth. Before, we were taught about Noah and his ark, that Jesus had died and somehow risen again and that God loved us. This is all very well when you are three and playing with Barbie or cars but by the age of 14 things have changed. And that is why our youth group is there: to provide teaching accessible to the young adults and help them along the road. However, you need to be there to experience it. So, as one of the oldest members, I encourage all the youth to come to church on a Sunday morning, and if you don't feel like getting up early, then come to our very own youth service (Footpath) at 5:30 every third Sunday of the month. It's a great time of fellowship and worship and will energize you before a busy week at school (and there is some great music) . So I hope to see you all come along very soon! This is our page so any contribution would be appreciated (pictures, drawings etc...) Give or send them to Fiona (fiona105@hotmail.fr) |
Shooting Stars at Holy TrinityHave you ever seen a Shooting Star? There are plenty of them every Sunday at Holy Trinity Church! Actually that's the name of the group of children aged 5, 6, and just 7 who meet during morning service. We're one of four groups that meet every week in Trinity Hall to learn all about Jesus and life as a Christian.
Usually there are about 10 or 12 of us in our group and we have one teacher and one helper every week. First everyone goes into church and then, when we're called to the front by Trevor we all go out of church to Sunday school. Then we have a little assembly with all the other Sunday school children and we learn a song to sing at family service. We also try to all hold hands in a circle (usually 2 circles as there are lots of children) to say a prayer before we all say the "Our Father" together. In Sunday school we use actions to help us think about what we're saying. I
wonder if you've just arrived at Holy Trinity? Remember Sunday School is for EVERYONE aged 3 to 10; all the groups have different names to help us remember which group is the right one for you:
Sparklers : age 3 & 4 |
H.T.M.L. Sunday School Members Hit the Headlines!Two ex-members of Holy Trinity were in the news in July:
The other member shot to stardom is Emma Watson, heroine in all the Harry Potter films. We've watched her grow up, on screen, for the past 5 years in the role of Hermione. To coincide with the latest film she's featured in a special issue of French postage stamps. This must be a record for Holy Trinity!
Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc www.reverendfun.com |
Bible Book QuizCan you find thirty-(30) books of the Bible in the following paragraph? Actually, there are 31 Bible names if you can find the variant of one Old Testament prophet.
Remember: Worry about nothing, pray about everything. (Taken from Philippians 4:6 summarised by Jan Karon in “Shepherds Abiding”) |
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Parish People You see them regularly in church. But do you know their story? Meet the BurkardsPat and Urs are long-standing members of Holy Trinity Church, attending since 1960, making this their 47th year. The Burkards have celebrated 4 weddings, 6 baptisms and 3 confirmations over the years, according to Pat’s tally. They have 5 grown children, 3 of whom are living in France, one in London and another in Australia. There are 9 grandchildren.
Urs is Swiss, born in Canton Soleure in the German part of Switzerland. He was baptized at St. Urs Cathedral, patron saint of Canton Soleure, and his namesake. Urs did his mandatory national service in the Swiss Army. During WWII he was in the St. Gothard ski battalion in the Alps where he helped defend against the Italians. After the war was over, Urs went to London to learn English and to row, and it was here that he met Pat. They were married in an Anglican Church in Maidstone, Kent on 1 January 1950. They moved to France directly after the wedding and made their home in Le Vesinet, where they still live today. Pat and Urs had five children, which kept life busy. Pat loves gardening and over the years has spent many happy hours painting and decorating her home to make it warm and welcoming to all who enter. Urs is an Olympic oarsman, and continues to row regularly, as well as being a skier and mountaineer. The whole family are skiers, except Pat who prefers warmer climes (perhaps from her India childhood). When they started attending Holy Trinity Church in 1960, the priest was Parson McNeil, an ex-army padre, who had been in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. At the time, the church was full due to the presence of several international organizations: SHAPE, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, based in Louveciennes, the British navy and NATO, which stayed on after the war. When these organizations all pulled out of France, the church membership plunged. Pat remembers that some Sundays, there were perhaps 15 people attending the service, 7 of which were Burkards. Pat and Urs have seen 7 priests come and go, the church membership increase and decrease with all the turnover that involves, the church finances in sickness and in health, the church itself grow from the church building to include the hall, the house for the chaplain and family. Pat and Urs have contributed to the growth of the church by their continued support and involvement. The fellowship of the church over the years means a great deal to them. |
Claudia’s Cooking CornerA dish that has been served on more than one occasion here at Holy Trinity, and most recently at Debbie Flach's leaving lunch, is cold curried chicken. A few welcome volunteers helped to make the dish but several other people have asked for the recipe. It’s incredibly easy to follow and is based on the original dish of "Coronation Chicken". Coronation Chicken was invented for the foreign guests who were to be entertained after the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The food had to be prepared in advance, and Constance Spry, who also helped with floral arrangements on the day, proposed a recipe of cold chicken in a curry cream sauce. Her recipe won the approval of the Minister of works and has since been known as Coronation Chicken. My super-easy recipe does not differ a huge amount from the original, although Ms Spry used wine in preference to stock and the method was rather more refined. Incidentally, she also recommended the sauce to be used with iced lobster! Cold Curried Chicken / Quick Coronation chicken Poach 6 chicken breasts or a whole chicken and cut into bite-size pieces. For Sauce (enough for equivalent of one whole chicken so increase volume as necessary) 1
tablespoon oil Heat oil, fry onion until soft, add curry powder and cook for one minute for flavour to develop. Add stock, tomato purée, lemon and chutney and allow to cool. Add mayonnaise and cream. Pour over meat. Leave overnight for flavours to develop When ready to serve stir in a couple of handfuls of fresh coriander, roughly chopped. Coming soon! Look out for tips on how to prepare Sunday Lunch for yourself-plus-guests, and still be in church for the service. |
CAMEO = Come And Meet Each OtherIt’s an opportunity for anyone and everyone to join others in a relaxed and convivial setting to share conversation, exchange information and just to enjoy being together. We welcome newcomers to the area, but we are also always pleased to see our “regulars”. CAMEO is of interest to English-speakers of all nationalities: all are welcome. Our meetings usually include a communal meal – we ask each person to bring along a dish to share – after which we have a speaker on an informative, helpful, inspiring or just plain interesting, topic! We meet once a month from September to June. The programme is published three times a year, on our website* as well as in hard copy. As far as possible we seek to vary the day of the week on which we meet though this is not always possible as occasionally the day and date of a meeting depends on the availability of the speaker. The setting for our CAMEO meetings is 19 ter allée de la Gare, Le Vésinet, the home of Helen James. Helen’s generosity in allowing us to use her very comfortable home for our meetings enables CAMEO to be a successful and worthwhile venture. There is a map on the website and on the back page of the programme showing the location of Helen’s home. The timetable of each meeting is usually as follows: “doors open” at 12 noon; lunch starts about 1 p.m.; the talk or demonstration begins at 2 p.m. and we aim to finish at 3.30 p.m. We encourage everyone to arrive when they wish and to stay for as long as they can. There is an occasional variation - we sometimes have a coffee morning, starting at 10 a.m. These changes are shown in the programme. If you would like more information or can offer to be a hostess at one of our meetings, please contact either Penny Kilburn or Elizabeth Bean>. Or you can send us an email, using the “contact” button on our CAMEO website. We look forward to seeing you all at future meetings. *the address of our website is: http://www.htcml.com/cameo.html
The key to the discipline of study is not reading many books but experiencing what we do read. (Richard Foster in “Celebration of Discipline”) |
Fill this SpaceDon’t leave this blank. Here’s a space. It’s there to be filled by you. What would you like to find in future numbers of the newsletter? We plan to produce four issues a year coming out at the Rentrée (September), in Advent, Lent and the summer. We want them to be lively and thought provoking, even argumentative if that’s how you feel. So let us have your contributions, comments and complaints (if any) addressed to the webmaster on newsletter@htcml.com or to Ilona Wicker, 3 avenue Lesage, 78600 Maisons-Laffitte. Deadline for the Advent issue: October 28th. Meanwhile the editor would like to fill this first space by thanking the members of the editorial committee for their invaluable help: Edith Briard, Christine Hart, George Hart, Stephen Hopkins, Nancy Huguet, Jeannie Lassez, Claudia Parr and of course the Chaplain, Trevor Whitfield. |
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Back to pewsheet for news of services and activities Back to calendar of events |
In
his book “Old Words, New Life” David Winter talks about the Hebrew
word 
And
this is what Philip Yancey does in this large volume, covering all
aspects of our relationship to God, to guide himself and us as
pilgrims in life's journey. He admits he is not an expert and that
he “asks the same questions as almost everyone does at some point”.
He has no glib answers, but explores the themes: “Why God doesn't
act the way we want him to”, and “why I don't act the way God wants
me to”. Prayer is much more than a shopping list of requests to
present to God. It is the act of seeing reality from God's point of
view.
Flightlieutenant
Andrew Avery, youngest son of former chaplain Russell Avery, led the
British contingent marching down the Champs Elysées on 14th July. He
carried the Union Jack and in an earlier interview on French
Television said he was sure all the different countries on parade
would learn to march in step with each other. Was that a prophecy
for the future? Andrew (born in the U.K.) is Australian, now in the
R.A.F. regiment.
This
is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an
airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu,
keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much; he passed it
on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while
fishing from his johnboat. Another friend studied it while playing
his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it
she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend
judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving; she brews a cup
of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really
easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find
themselves in a jam; especially since the book names are not
necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are
forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some
of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes
is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in
this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured
this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record.
The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who
reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had
ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "The books are all right
here in plain view hidden from sight." Those able to find all of
them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown.
One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel
may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that
punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude
will help you compete really well against those who claim to know
the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus; there
really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph
waiting to be found.
Pat
is English, born in Bangalore, India, where she lived until she was
10. She was baptized in the Methodist Church in Bangalore. Her
father was in the Indian army, which led him to travel. Pat’s family
came home shortly before WWII to Kent. They experienced the
bombings, air raids and Battle of Britain. Pat remembers her teacher
telling the students to get under their desks to protect them from
air raids. Pat spent a short time working for the Ministry of
Armament Research as a lab assistant, but decided that wasn’t for
her. She then took a course to become a radiographer. She started
working in Putney Hospital in London, it was here that she met Urs,
who was in London learning English.