Rivertown United Reformed Church

“Sorry seems to be the hardest word”

Let me be one of the first to congratulate – if that is the right word – the new Roman Catholic Archbishop, Most Rev Vincent Nicholls, on his new office. He has promised to raise the profile of the church, so that it plays a larger role in democracy. That is something that we should all support.

But - did you know you could be a priest without ever turning your collar round? Or even going to college? In fact all praying Christians (is there any other kind?) are priests. For the role of the priest is to be a go-between between God and God’s children. Not just the churchy ones – all of them. To pray for them when tragedies occur – but also when they themselves make a mistake. In Exodus ch 19 verse 6 God tells Moses that the fledgling Israelite nation is to be “ a priestly kingdom (RSV “a kingdom of priests”) and a holy nation”.

We will be holding a quiz on Friday 22nd May at 7.30pm The young people of the church will be running the event and all proceeds will go to Christian Aid. Tickets are £2 each and this includes refreshments. There will be a few surprises to raise more money for this cause. Please come along and support us.

The formal opening of the new facilities takes place on Saturday 16th May at 10am.

The day will start with a short service of dedication led by Rev. Keith Forecast, our Synod Elder. Over the next few hours you will be able to buy goods in support of number of charities including Health Help International. We will have FairTrade goods for sale. Come and relax in the new rooms with a cup of tea or coffee and take some time to walk around the Photographic Exhibition. Many people have submitted their own photographs covering a wide range of subjects and topics.

We will also have a display of local art and you will have the opportunity to commission paintings and have your favourite photograph completely transformed on canvas.

We look forward to seeing you and sharing our new facilities with all who come along.

Deeside Pastorate Newsletter – May 2009

Are we afraid of being raised up? OR “Walk Tall!”

As you will know, I have been my current “lamp post” shape since the age of 13/14. What I must inform you now, with great shame in this part of the world, is that, apart from school, and maybe due to my sports experiences there, I have never been a rugby player, let alone a fan. Of course, there was a certain football team based close by, who succeeded, to my great delight, in winning the Cup and League “Double” during my Tottenham residence. But in rugby I faced one insurmountable problem – my shape, and my light weight. No stamina for running; half a tackle - and I was floored. (My brief attempts at boxing produced the same result!).

My first proper paid job (age 18-20) was as a Clerical Officer for what was then the London West Collection of HM Customs and Excise, based at Ebury House, 150 Victoria Street SW1.

The North Wales Region are having a Quiz/Harvest Supper on 16th October at Rivertown - time to be advised. Please mark this date in your diary.

25th April

Over the coming weeks Rivertown fellowship will be asked to 'pos' their BIG QUESTION. What is it that puzzles them along their faith journey? What question remains unanswered or appears to be unsolvable?

Some of the questions will be incorporated into a Sunday service as we, together, explore what the answers might be - or maybe raise even more questions!

Several people from Rivertown attended an excellent evening at Dyserth to better understand the Vision4life process. On 30th January a number of us met at the Manse to consider some ideas emerging:

1. Using the NIBBLES at worship as a run up to the full Launch of V4Life
2. Having a Grand Event 4 times a year
3. A regular Tea Event

Although this report illustrates our current ‘thinking’ it will be further discussed by the Elders later in February.

25th April

We've made it!

The back rooms are finished and Rivertown groups have started to use our new facilities - the level of excitement remains very high. One more thing is left to do - the platform lift will be installed in two weeks time and then all will be ready for the 'public' opening on Saturday 16th May at 10am. Please come along - see separate article.

On now to Phase 3 - watch this space. Will probably update in about 6 weeks time.

20th March

Work is progressing well. The project is a week behind schedule due to a number of unforeseen circumstances such as the amount of dampness that needed to be extracted using dehumidifiers! The rooms have taken shape and plastering was completed this week. The new kitchen arrived last week and fitting now started - we have had the kitchen layout checked by environmental health and they have confirmed it will meet hygiene standards for food preparation etc. Gas supply, 1st fit electrics and plumbing all finished.

Welcome everybody to the new Rivertown United Reformed Church website. I hope it provides both promotion for the church and a productive community environment for you to create useful and interesting articles & information.

This is a new venture for the church, and I hope that as more of the congregation get used to new technologies such as the internet and e-mail, we'll increase the amount of content on the site, create a website editorial team for managing content and find more and more uses for the site other than simply an information repository. Already on the cards if the site takes off are:

• ability to subscribe to events, so you can be reminded of an important happening via e-mail or mobile phone;
• a secure, on-line version of the Rivertown Directory for church members;
• improved article submission: members will be able to submit stories and photos directly to the site, with a simple moderation check by the team of site editors;
• an improved weblink directory

So just because the site is now live doesn't mean its finished! Anybody can contribute to the site. If you have any articles, news, ideas or suggestions, please contact myself or Chris Byrne. Additionally, Chris will be looking to find additional editors and site moderators to help manage the site content, so if you're computer-literate and up for it, let us know!.

The site has been developed by Dylan and myself at leafish.co.uk, and I will be monitoring the site and making improvements as the site's content grows. Your feedback is, of course, wanted if not required to help make the site a success. You can contact us directly at support@leafish.co.uk

Please read the notes below (or click here) for a brief introduction to some of the features of the website.