All change at Banstead - Ecumenically speaking, that is . . .

In the next few weeks we have to say a fond farewell to three members of our Banstead Five Clergy.

Rev David Chance, Vicar of All Saints, Banstead is retiring after 17 years in his parish and moving down to Margate with his wife and family to enjoy a well-earned retirement. I'm sure he will be sadly missed by his congregation and many others who have been used to seeing him at various B5 events and generally around and about in Banstead.

Rev Damian Miles, Vicar of St Paul's, Nork is also taking his leave from us as he moves on to a new appointment in Thorpe, near Heathrow. Rev Damian Miles, although not in his parish as long as the Vicar of All Saints, has nevertheless made his mark in his community and we're sure his successor will appreciate the work he has put into building up the community of Christians in Nork.

Finally, we must say goodbye to our local Methodist Minister, Rev Nigel Wright who has managed to juggle the demands of two Methodist churches, one in Banstead and one in Epsom, and still find time to join in Banstead Five events. After four years here Nigel and his family have already left Banstead to continue their ministry in Leighton Buzzard. We look forward to getting to know our new local Methodist Minister, Rev John Amankwatia, who took up his new appointment here just yesterday.

We wish them all well as they move on to the next stage of their ministry.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

'Reconcile Your People'

Each year the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is developed by one country which produces outline material that is adapted for use in other parts of the world. Korea is the selected country for 2009 and they have chosen Ezekiel 37.15-28

God spoke to the Prophet Ezekiel and said "they shall be one in my hand...They will be my people and I shall be their God".

And so we pray:

We pray to you for the unity of all Christians
According to your will,
According to your means,
May your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division
To see our sin and to hope beyond all hope.
God, you alone are our hope.
You alone are our hope.

As in previous years, we in Banstead opened the week of prayer with a united service organised by The Banstead Five Churches. This year it was held at St Paul's (Anglican) Church, Nork.

There will be prayers for Christian Unity every day this week at each of the churches in turn:

Monday 19th: 12 midday All Saints' (Anglican) Church

Tuesday 20th: 12 midday Banstead Methodist Church

Wednesday 21st: 8.00 pm St Ann's Catholic Church

Thursday 22nd: 12 midday St Paul's (Anglican) Church, Nork

Friday 23rd: 8.00 pm Banstead United Reformed Church

I do hope many of you will be able to spare a few moments this week to pray for this important intention. If you are unable to attend any of the times of prayer listed above, perhaps you might set aside a few minutes at home to pray for Christian Unity.

A Very Busy Sunday ...

Today was an especially busy Sunday. The 6pm Mass today was full of young people - marvellous! As well as celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King and National Youth Sunday it was also the 'Inscription Mass' for our new Confirmation candidates when they make a commitment to the programme and to developing in their understanding and practice of their faith.

It was also the time to present Confirmation certificates to our young people who were confirmed with others in our Deanery at Epsom earlier in the year.

Two very joyful 'tasks'.

In addition we also welcomed other local Christians to this Mass as part of our ongoing commitment to cooperation and fellowship with members of the Banstead Five Churches.

B5 Holiday Fun Week

This week is Holiday Fun Week. Now if you are aged between 5 and 11 or a parent of children in this age group, there will be no need to explain what this means!

Every year the Banstead Five Churches organises a holiday scheme for children from all the local churches. About 200 children take part, many of them from St Ann's and I'm pleased to say that we also provide many of the leaders and helpers too. This year, the Coordinating church is All Saints' Church and the theme of the week is Pirates.

In the morning the children meet together in groups to explore various Bible-related themes and generally have fun and make new friends. I popped in to see how everyone was getting on this morning and they all seemed to be having a great time. I might add that I saw one particular adult pirate that looked very familiar but it took a while for me to recognise him as he usually dresses in a similar way to myself!

If anyone involved has any pictures of this year's Fun Week, I would be delighted to include them on the blog. Just email them to me at the parish address as soon as possible.

Church schools

It is the practice amongst the clergy of the Banstead Five Churches to exchange church magazines with one another and this is very useful as it gives us a better insight into each other's churches and congregations.

Recently I was looking through the latest edition of 'The Steeple', the parish magazine of our local Anglican church of All Saints, and I was interested to read the Vicar's comments on local church schools, both primary and secondary.

He notes that the local clergy of all denominations have seen an increase in requests for refrences and how, ' Schools ask clergy to tell how often the applicant goes to church, and, in some casess, how frequently one or both of their parents. Regular attendance before the application and during the time that the student is at the school is required.'

So, we are not alone in this practice. It's interesting to hear about this from another perspective.