Welcome to St. Luke's Church, Cheltenham - a living expression of the love of God in Christ.

1 Dec 2006 - News from The Link

Concern about Hospital Chaplaincies

Concern is mounting in a number of dioceses about the effect on chaplaincies as a number of Health Authorities seek to balance their budgets after overspends.

At a time of job cutbacks and financial restraint, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has stressed the need to secure effective chaplaincy services across the National Health Service. In a recent meeting with Health Minister, Lord Warner, Dr Williams voiced his concern about reports of disproportionate cuts in some parts of the country. He stressed that chaplaincy should neither be considered a 'soft target' not bear a disproportionate burden of staff reductions.

In Worcestershire, for example, the local Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was pressing ahead with a 70 per cent cut in hospital chaplaincy posts despite strong opposition from community groups, the Bishop of Worcester and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham.

Reports received from chaplaincy teams in other parts of England suggest that potentially harmful cuts are also underway elsewhere. There is widespread worry that the Worcestershire example, if not rescinded, might set a precedent.

Dr Williams pointed out to Lord Warner the importance of recognising that chaplains were not just part-time vicars, visiting their sick parishioners, but that in certain circumstances they were also confidantes of the hospital executives and the NHS Trust.

Lord Warner confirmed that the guidance issued in 2003 relating to chaplaincy services remained very much in place, and that he would be reminding Health Authorities of this. Dr Williams has written to all Anglican chaplains to assure them of his continuing support.

The position of hospital chaplaincies is reflected on our doorstep in the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The post of Hospital Chaplain in Cheltenham is currently frozen and may to remain so for the foreseeable future. St Luke's has been contributing to a petition to support an early re-instatement of the post. In the meantime our chaplaincy team is under great stress, providing cover for Cheltenham, Delancey and Gloucester hospitals on a reduced team of two chaplains on-call on weekdays but with no cover at weekends. The team is committed to caring for the spiritual needs of all people regardless of their faith including those who have none.

Revd Robert Pestell writes...

The season of Advent can easily pass us by, swallowed up by the excitement and anticipation of the coming of Christmas, and yet it is an opportunity to grow closer to God if used in a meaningful and appropriate way. Advent is a time of waiting and wondering as we reflect upon the mystery of "God come down from on high". It is a time for us to prepare our hearts and minds to receive the Christ Child into our lives and to reflect upon the hope and expectation that Jesus will return to gather all his faithful people into his Father's Kingdom. This is a message that is not easily heard or discerned in the often busy, noisy and even frenetic lead-up to Christmas Day. The shops, adverts, catalogues and displays tell us that the days up to Christmas are all about getting in the party spirit, preparing, planning and, most of all, buying, as we busy ourselves getting ready for the festivities. It's hard to resist the build up and rush of the coming celebration but the true message of Christmas is in danger of being lost if we do not find some space for quiet reflection during Advent.

God wants to share in our times of joy and celebration but he also wants to reach out to us in the ordinary and challenging moments of our lives. The gift of Jesus is, above all, an expression of his love for us all, a love that is never changing and never ending, a love that wants to embrace us at all times.

Take time out this Advent to find space for prayer and reflection as we recognise the mystery and wonder of God's love expressed in Jesus. "Be still and know that I am God".

May I wish you a blessed Advent and the joy and happiness of the Christmas season.

Robert

St John's Church of England Primary School

Celebrations are in the air! Not only is it nearly Christmas but we have all the fun of the Pantomime, Nativity Plays and parties!

The Christmas Fayre was a huge success thanks to all the hard work of the PTFA. This super event raised in the region of £1,000 for School funds and many visitors commented favourably as they left. The Country Dance club performed several dances and children sang songs from the pantomime and Christmas carols.

We supported Operation Christmas Child again this year where shoe boxes are filled with goodies and wrapped up to be sent on to different Countries. This was our best year yet with 57 boxes sent off.

This month we have been on several visits. Miss Didcote and Miss Vukic took her Year 1 class to the Holst Museum for an afternoon learning about life in the Victorian Kitchen. They dressed up in traditional costumes, heard stories and played with various artefacts. The Reception Class were lucky enough to be invited to watch All Saints' Playgroup perform their Nativity. On the same morning the rest of the School helped Cineworld test their evacuation procedures. As a thank you they were treated to the films 'Happy Feet' and 'Flushed away.'

All of the junior classes were extremely fortunate to receive a full week of violin tuition. Every afternoon the various classes played and plucked violins culminating in a concert for parents on Friday afternoon.

Finally, the Staff and Children at St John's Primary School would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Fiona Hadden

Reception Class teacher

INSPIRE - LATIN LINK CONFERENCE

This was a combined short-term debrief and supporter event with about 200 people all told. It was truly inspirational to see so many young people recently returned from a year, 4 months or a few weeks in Latin America, all so full of enthusiasm for life and for God.

I met up with 8 others from my Argentinian team (3 couldn't make it). We had a team debriefing session with a member of Latin Link staff (individual debrief was available for those who wanted it). We were able too. to talk together about our experiences and what coming back has meant.

There were lots of talks on offer, mainly given by Latin Link members home on leave. The speaker at the main meeting has been working at a Bible College in Colombia, and also with the suffering churches from where so many pastors have been killed. Others spoke about their work with street children in Bolivia, or with students or orphans in Argentina, or a Bible ministry in Peru. There were also opportunities for people to talk through further involvement here, or abroad.

Saturday evening's "Extravaganza" was both light-hearted and serious. Each team had about 5 minutes to put across some aspects of their time abroad. We laughed a lot and also heard how many had been spiritually touched.

All in all a great weekend. How about going next November, even if only for the Saturday?

Sue Garcia

Christingle

Help us celebrate 125 years of the Children's Society

This year The Children's Society celebrates 125 years of life saving work with some of the most marginalised children in our society. With your help, taking part in a Christingle service can once again light up the lives of these children and young people all over the country - disabled children, children in trouble with the law, children at risk on the streets and refugee and asylum seeking children as well as tackling abuse and drug and alcohol issues affecting children.

The Christingle services provide vital funds to support today's vulnerable children. Thanks to the continued participation of churches around the country, and the generosity of many people The Children's Society is in a stronger position than ever to continue its work for children.