STAR NEWS
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S T A M F O R D U N I T E D R E F O R M E D C H U R C H S T A R L A N E P E 9 1 P H |
September 2025
S T A M F O R D U N I T E D R E F O R M E D C H U R C H
S T A R L A N E P E 9 1 P H
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry
out for the living God.’
(Psalm 84.1-2 NIV-UK)
Dear Friends,
By the time you read this, I’ll have been on sabbatical a couple of weeks, volunteering during that time at the Garden House and with the Street Chaplains in Peterborough. I shall miss everyone, and will be yearning to be back, yet I am looking forward to doing different things and having new experiences.
The verse from the Psalm, and the accompanying picture, are of a time when people only worshipped in one place. At the time it was most likely written, that was in the Tent of Meeting. That was a huge affair which was set up wherever the people were, from the time of Moses, until Solomon built a permanent Temple structure in Jerusalem. People then believed it was the only place they could encounter God.
Maybe some think that today, not just in Jerusalem, but in church settings. But of course, we know we can encounter God wherever we are. For us, the Psalm can speak of spending time with God, recharging our batteries, having time to listen to what is on God’s heart, and learning how to just be in the presence of the living God.
It is when we can do that, that we can then put our minds to what we have to do, and to go out to serve others. It is always with the knowledge that we can come back to God at any time, and indeed, that God goes with us.
So our Temple isn’t a physical building, but the very presence of God, who is with us wherever we go and wherever we are.
As we come into September, there are new challenges ahead, Harvest services and lunches to look forward to, some warmth still lingering from the weather, and no doubt lots of jobs around the house and garden - as well as around the church building! The Lord is always in the background, always there for us to turn to.
There may be difficult days ahead as well. The Psalm reminds us that sometimes we are in the depths of despair, and we find ourselves crying out for God. God is there, ‘Closer than my breath’, as a modern worship song goes. Sometimes we just need to be still and let God’s presence touch us.
While I’m away, you’ll all be on my heart and in my prayers, as always.
With love in Christ, Clare
September Services
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Date |
Minister |
Organist |
Duty Elder |
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7th September |
Rev’d Tony Kinnersley |
Ann Llowarch |
Mike |
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14th September |
Rowena Ward-Barrow |
David Lovell-Brown |
Tony |
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21st September |
Harvest Service – Songs of Praise (Elders) |
David Lovell-Brown |
All Elders |
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28th September |
Geoff Milnes Communion |
David Lovell-Brown |
Pam & Thad |
All services commence at 10.30am unless otherwise stated.
Notes to Services
Please note that the service on 21st September is a Songs of Praise Harvest Service. It will be followed by a Bring and Share Lunch in the Church Hall.
Food donations made to the Harvest Service will be passed on to Stamford Foodbank, see below for details of preferred donations:
Peanut butter
Tinned soups
" fruit
" vegetables (carrots or peas)
" stew
" fish
" beans
Pasta (whole grain)
Longlife milk
Squash
Jam
Custard - tinned or powdered
Coffee
Deodorant
Shampoo or body wash
Treats, e.g. chocolate or crisps
Please could all food donations come with long sell-by dates.
Flower Rota
7th September Sue Samuels
14th September Jane Kew
21st September Harvest Service
28th September Esther Lambert
Resource Area News
Resource Area Prayer Meeting is changing - same time, different link:
This will continue Thursdays at 7pm while I’m on sabbatical, but moving from Zoom to Microsoft Teams. The log in details have been sent to those who are on the email list for Zoom, and it has been tested. It doesn’t need a host, so if you join and no-one is there, someone else will most likely appear by 7 o’clock.
Most people are still able to get in, and we apologise to those who can’t.
This month, please pray for our application to Synod for funding for the redevelopment of the hall, that it will be successful.
For our Resource Area churches, please pray:
~ for Spalding, for their heritage Open Day on 13th September, and for the Friendship Afternoon starting up again after the summer break
~ for St Andrew’s, for their Harvest celebrations and the Harvest Lunch, and for the Leading your Church into Growth sessions.
~ for Westgate New Church and Whittlesey as decisions are made over future ministry
Kenya Fundraising Event
Final, final sum raised: £543! Many thanks to you all for your generous support. I look forward to sharing with you how it has or will be spent. Clare x
Thanks, Clare
Quiz
Each letter stands for a word in the title of a film or Band/Artist. See how many you can identify (answers next month……....)
(what?!........oh, ok then…… inside the back page).
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Films |
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Music/Artists/Bands |
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T T S (3, 6, 4) |
1 |
T S (3, 7) |
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J P (8, 4) |
2 |
Q (5) |
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B T T F (4, 2, 3, 6) |
3 |
T R S (3, 7, 6) |
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T D K (3, 4, 6) |
4 |
F F (3, 8) |
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I A (3, 3) |
5 |
L Z (3, *) |
Embarrassing moments in my ministry
(1) As I called the congregation to a period of silent prayer, pop music blared out from the ice-cream van parked outside.
(2) The hymn tune was so obscure that the organist found herself playing a solo.
(3) The page of the Bible containing the Lesson was missing.
(4) A man stopped the Offertory procession and asked for change of his banknote.
(5) As I stood up to begin the sermon, a man got up and walked out, saying he felt sick.
(6) After the benediction, the church secretary confessed that the church was closing, and I had just conducted the last Service.
(7) In the Baptism Service I forgot the baby’s name
(8) During the baptism the baby was commendably quiet, but started to howl when I returned him to Mum.
(9) Just before the Service began, we couldn’t open the bottle of Communion wine.
(10) The kilted bridegroom mislaid the wedding ring inside his sporran
(11) At my first Elders Meeting, the church secretary apologised that he had left the Agenda at home
(12) A pigeon stormed into the vestibule but then couldn’t find the exit.
By Rev. Reginald Rooke
Recipe for Sea Food Chowder
Serves 4
500g Smoked Haddock
1-2 Sliced onions
1 medium diced raw potato
2-3 skinned tomatoes
25-30g of butter or margarine
1 tbsp flour
3-4 tbsp Cream
Salt and pepper
100g shelled prawns or shrimps
100g frozen peas
1 dessert spoon of chopped parsley
Method
STEP 1 Wash the haddock well and cover with water in a pan. Bring the pan of water slowly to the boil. Then remove the haddock, wash it again and put to one side.
STEP 2 Skim off the scum from the haddock-water and use it as stock. Pour a little stock into a separate pan and cook the onions until almost soft.
STEP 3 Add the potatoes and cook until soft. Cut the tomatoes into eighths and discard the seeds. Add tomatoes to the other veg and cook a little, adding more stock if required.
STEP 4 Meanwhile, free the haddock flesh from the skin and bones.
STEP 5 Melt the butter/margarine in another pan, add the flour and cook for a few minutes, without burning. Remove from the heat.
STEP 6 Strain the remaining stock and slowly stir it the into the cooked flour mixture. Bring to the boil while stirring the mixture until thickened.
STEP 7 Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the cream and season well and to taste.
STEP 8 Add the vegetables mixture, then the haddock, prawns or shrimps (reserving a few). Then add the peas.
STEP 9 Heat the mixture through but do not boil. Sprinkle in parsley. Turn into the serving dishes and garnish with the reserved shellfish.
A delicious hearty meal, especially when served with crusty bread and butter.
This recipe is provided by Sue Samuels.
Special Church Meeting on 24th August
At the recent meeting called especially to discuss Stamford URC’s annual M&M offer to Synod, Sue and Lisa laid out the background, position and options to our current level of M&M payment. There was a good discussion about the issue and Maggie Kirkbride was also able to clarify some questions raised. The meeting overwhelmingly voted for the option to raise the annual amount by 3% for 2026, but declined to offer an additional 1% gift to Synod. As Treasurer, Lisa was asked to communicate the decision to Synod.
Hall Renovation Project
The committee of Sue, Mike, Thad, Lisa and Glynn have continued to meet regularly over the last month, in our effort to move the project further on, with a view to submitting our proposal in greater detail to Synod in the near future.
Congratulations
We pass on our heartfelt congratulations to Jamie Lambert and Harry Merriman for the success they achieved in their ‘A’ levels. We also wish them luck as Harry goes on to University of Lancashire and Jamie defers his place at University of Exeter until next year, whilst having a gap year.
Quiz Answers
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Films |
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Music/Artists/Bands |
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The Truman Show |
1 |
The Strokes |
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Jurassic Park |
2 |
Queen |
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Back to the Future |
3 |
The Rolling Stones |
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The Dark Knight |
4 |
Foo Fighters |
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Ice Age |
5 |
Led Zeppelin |
With thanks
Diana Miller sent us a lovely Thank You card after receiving the flowers we had sent her from Stamford URC to show we were thinking of her after her husband Alan passed away.
Surprise Visit
It was a surprise and a real pleasure to see Gary & Jane Hoddinot-Leighton with their four lovely children at church a few weeks ago. Gary sent us a lovely e-mail:
“Jane and I wanted to say how lovely it was to see everyone on Sunday. It’s been too long since we have made it down from the sunny Lake District to Stamford but it has reminded us what a special place it is and how much a part of our life it has been and will continue to be.
The welcome we received was so warm it felt like being back home and I am especially thankful to Anne for giving up time on Sunday afternoon to help me find my wallet.
We and the children hope it isn’t too long until we get to be with you all again.”
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Quote of the month:
“Europe is in danger of plunging into a cold peace.”
Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation at the summit meeting of the ‘Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe’, December 1994.
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MINISTER |
COULD ANY ITEMS FOR THE OCTOBER EDITION PLEASE REACH GLYNN BY SEPT 28th AT: |
HALL LETTINGS |
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REVD. CLARE DAVISON |
MRS. SUE SAMUELS |
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revclare.urc2004@gmail.com |
urcstarnews@gmail.com |
sues25@outlook.com |
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01733 260164 07476 958269 |
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07428 820671 |
WE HOPE EVERYONE IS STAYING SAFE, WELL AND HAPPY