Due to inclement weather this evening’s meeting (5 February) has been cancelled. This afternoon’s meeting of the Discipleship Group has also been cancelled as has the Mainly Music Group tomorrow morning. Further announcements will be made here when we receive more information.

Update: We can now confirm that the Monday Lunch will not take place tomorrow and the Hub Cafe will not be open. This includes the Foodbank Drop-in Centre. The Costa Book Club scheduled for Monday evening is also cancelled.

Serbian friends Nevana and Sasha will be visiting us next Sunday (29th). They are recipients of the Shoebox Appeal organised by Blythswood Care to which our Ladies Fellowship contributes each year.

Last year’s contribution

The ladies are organising a tea at 4.30pm on Sunday which will be attended by Nevana and Sasha who will be staying for our evening meeting and speaking about the effects of the appeal in Serbia. This promises to be an excellent evening so join us if you can at Church Street. Here’s how to find us.

Click on the maps to enlarge

A new group formed from mums who recently attended our Parenting Course. All are welcome so why not contact us. For more information click on the images below to enlarge.

Here’s where we are:

Partners were again able to join their ladies for the annual Ladies Fellowship Christmas meal at the Grangemoor Hotel in Maidstone.

The evening followed the now traditional pattern and an excellent meal was enjoyed in a very friendly and comfortable environment. Jean Jones again arranged a Christmas quiz to follow the meal and a high degree of knowledge of all things ‘Christmas’ was demonstrated.

The programme for 2012 will be published as soon as we have it.

Most of the fellowship and relaxation events of our Christmas season are taking place next week.

Monday 12 December – Ladies Fellowship Christmas Meal

Wednesday 14 December – CAMEO Christmas Tea & Carols

Friday 16 December – Toddlers’ Christmas Party

Friday 16 December – Youth Christmas Party

Saturday 17 December – Children’s Pool Party

Enjoy yourselves everyone!

The Book Club met on Monday evening at Costa Coffee in the High Street.

Trish Hall has sent us this report:

Five met at Costa Coffee to enjoy a variety of coffee and cakes and to chat about this months book.  ‘Nineteen Minutes’ by Jodi Picoult seemed to be a challenge to most of us for various reasons.  The main theme of the book being founded around school bullying, a very emotive current subject, gave opportunity to discuss the subject at length.  One particular issue that had an impact was a comment made by a midwife in the book about how she recognised holiness in a new born baby.

As the book club was a new venture, I am pleased to report that those who have attended are really enjoying meeting and sharing their opinions though we could still do with a few more members.  Come on gentlemen it’s not  female exclusive!!!

December’s read: ‘I Dared to Call Him Father’ by Bilquis Sheik and January: ‘The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett.  As the first Monday in January is a Bank holiday our next meeting will be the first Monday in February (6th) when we will try to discuss both books.

Trish

Editor’s note: Perhaps new members will be forthcoming when the busy Christmas season is past. Let’s hope so.

Readers should be aware that it is now possible to discuss each book on line. Click on the book club ‘quick link’ at the top to access the discussion page.

At it’s meeting on Monday, the Ladies Fellowship packed 21 shoeboxes for the Blythswood Care Shoebox Appeal.

They had great fun with Christmas paper, vital sellotape and presents all packed with loving care and a prayer for their safe receipt into the hands of needy people at Christmas.

Jean’s epilogue was focused on a recipe for Impossible Pie in which nine ingredients are put into a bowl and whirled around, poured into a pie dish, put into the oven for an hour and come out as a three layer pie.    She bought a sample of the pie and likened the whole thing to our lives which can get in a mess and we try and straighten ourselves out.   However, the love of God shines through and can sort us out.

Next month’s meeting is the Christmas dinner which is held, as it has for the last few years, at the Grangemoor Hotel, Maidstone.

Trish Hall writes about the newly formed Book Club which meets in Costa Coffee on Chatham High Street.

Enthusiastically we met on 7 November. Though few in number, the coffee and scrumptious cakes helped. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers was our first book and provided us some great discussion points. Written around the book of Hosea the author gives her testimony in a poignant and effective manner. It was unanimously agreed ‘a good read’.

December’s book is Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, a best seller in 2007 and we hope this will be an enjoyable read for the group. We will meet for discussion on Monday 5 December. January’s read is I Dared to Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh which will be discussed on 6 February. There will not be a meeting in January because the scheduled meeting dates are the first Monday of each month and 2 January 2012 is a Bank Holiday.

Finally, the only negative is that we are in fear of losing the Costa Coffee premises if our numbers do not increase so come on all you book lovers come and join in.

Those interested in joining the group should meet from 6.30 for a 7pm start on the first Monday of each month (except January 2012 as mentioned above) and bring as many friends as you like! For further information please contact us.

Trish

For some time now music written by Salvation Army composers and published by the Salvation Army has been available for non-Salvationist music groups to perform. Composers such as our own Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Allen have enjoyed a wider circulation of their music and their ministry.

Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Allen

Many of the world’s top brass bands have taken advantage of the extensive repertoire now available to them (click here for the World of Brass website) but we recently received an enquiry from one of Europe’s lesser known groups, The Christian Groninger Koperensemble, (Holland) about  a composition of Ray’s entitled ‘The Perfect Love’ (Flugel Horn solo). The group has several Salvationists amongst its number and one of them has a recording of this music which the ensemble would love to use. Happily Ray has been able to help them in their quest and we wish them much pleasure (and blessing) as they enjoy performing his wonderful music. The picture below shows the band; our correspondent (Popko Tromp) is second from the right in the trombones.

The Christian Groninger Koperensemble

Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Allen has also been able to provide Popco with a contact in the Amsterdam Staff Band of The Salvation Army which will be visiting his home corps in a couple of weeks time. God richly blesses the fellowship of Salvation Army and other musicians throughout the world.

Our Adherents met recently for their annual fellowship tea under the leadership of Majors Jim and Alma Brown.

Majors Alma & Jim Brown

The group is an important part of the corps as it embodies within the fellowship of the corps those who are not quite ready to commit to Soldiership and yet want to belong to the corps family. In  many cases this group forms a stepping stone whilst people prepare themselves for further involvement. The pictures below were taken during last year’s fellowship meeting.

Despite the last minute change of venue due to Costa Coffee having an electricity problem, the first book club evening was met with enthusiasm albeit with limited numbers.  Cakes and coffees helped discussions along the way.  This month’s choice of book is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and Trish shared with the group Francine’s testimony from her website.
Other books on the list to be read:  Nineteen Minutes by Jodie Piccoult and I Dared to Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh.  Next month’s meeting will take place on Monday 7th November at Costa Coffee in Chatham High Street.  Arrive at 6.30pm for drinks.
We look forward to receiving your blog comments about Redeeming Love which can be posted here.   Let us know if you are member of the Book Club.

Happy reading!

At Ladies Fellowship this month the guest speaker was Wendy Bristow, a corsetry/lingerie demonstrator.   She brought with her a selection of mannequins dressed in decorative corsets (definition:  a garment to support the bust, waist and hips) and also some illustrations of how corsetry has developed over the years.

She told stories of how young girls used to be forced into tightly laced corsets which caused illness and sometimes death – all because their parents wanted them to be suitable for marriage.    A lot has changed since then and whereas corsets used to be mainly undergarments, they are now a part of the fashion of the day and highly stylised.

This was an enjoyable evening with lots of laughter – especially when pulling the laces!    Here are some photos.

Next month we’re packing shoeboxes for Serbia.   Any contributions would be welcomed especially those suitable for ladies.

Come on ladies.   This month, at Ladies Fellowship, we have Miss Wendy Bristow coming to talk to us about ‘Introduction to Lingerie – The Corset’.   Come and see the mannequins – and try on the corsets.   No men allowed!!!

Open to any ladies who are interested and able to come to Chatham SA Hall for 8 pm.

Here are some maps if you don’t know where we are.    Any problems, just contact us and we will try and sort them out for you.

Click to enlarge

The Ladies Fellowship members met on Monday with slightly depleted numbers but this didn’t dampen the spirit of the evening’s fellowship.    We welcomed Major Andrea Still to her first meeting and there was a time of  ‘show and tell’.

Major Andrea Still

Books were the main items retrieved from the ‘attic’ and included some real treasures like the second Salvation Army Song Book published,  a Francis Gay Friendship book of 1950 together with pressed rose petals,  Sunday School prize of  bound ‘Young Soldier’ magazines.    A special treasure was ‘Rachel’ the Tiny Tears doll which had been helpful in the adoption process of young children in the family concerned having been given her own adoption certificate.     There were also photographs of Corps Cadet houseparties, Music School and Corps Cadet Guardians conferences at the well-loved Sunbury Court.     One member brought her Dedication Certificate, Cradle Roll Certificate, Junior Soldier’s Pledge and Articles of War – all of great interest to the non-Army members of the group.  There was an autograph book containing well-known SA music leaders names, names of SA officers and also friends and family.

Major Alma Brown concluded the evening with the sharing of scripture, Matthew 5, relating to the need to avoid laying up treasure on earth but work to lay up treasure in heaven.     She had brought her own ‘Royal Alma’ 25 carat gold decorated plate to show us and had many stories to tell of things she had found in the attics of various Corps quarters.

Next month’s Ladies Fellowship will be addressed by Miss Wendy Bristow who will speak on an Introduction to Lingerie – the Corset.   This is bound to be an interesting and no doubt hilarious evening.   So come on ladies -  and join us on October 10th at 8.00pm.   At the November meeting we will be packing shoeboxes with goodies for the Shoebox Appeal.    Contributions towards this will be welcome – including empty shoeboxes, please.

Here are some photos of Monday’s meeting:

This is the question to be levelled at the Ladies Fellowship when it meets for its first session of the autumn period next Monday (12 September).

not this we hope!

Our ladies meet monthly (generally 2nd Monday of the month) throughout the year except August. On this occassion they have been asked to find something which is stored away but has a special meaning for them. No doubt there will be plenty of laughs and perhaps some nostalgia. All local ladies are welcome at 8pm for approximately 90 minutes. The session will be held at our Church Street hall. Here’s how to find us.

Click on the maps to enlarge

Please contact us for further information.