Dear Friends,
"Saints Alive"
One of the great mistakes made by those who do not believe or profess themselves to be Christian is that in order to start as a Christian there must be a very high standard of conduct. Consequently, the honest will often believe that as they cannot possibly hope to achieve such a high standard that it is better not to start than to start and fail. That is why the charge of hypocrite is often levelled at Christians because they are not yet perfect.
That is an error of the highest order because the qualification for becoming a Christian is not a wonderful standard of conduct but a very deep need for help. It can be seen in Jesus’ own ministry that it was not the very respectable who came to him but those who were in need. Those who are in need and seek him to meet that need are those who receive, not just a higher standard of conduct, but a new relationship united to him. The conduct takes a good deal longer. Believe me I know as one who was converted at twenty seven having given up on Christianity some ten years before and having gone through the British Army as a National Serviceman. National Service widened the mind but did not exactly help the spiritual state!
Of course the word ‘saint’ as used by the Roman tradition does have the context of perfection confirmed by a miracle. However, that is not how the New Testament uses the word. The underlying meaning of the word ‘saint’ is one who is set aside for God’s purpose and that is basically what a Christian is meant to be. Yes, as one receives Christ and one is united to him by faith, which is trust, then one joins the redeemed family of God in Christ. The New Testament calls that adoption. Only when the adoption takes place does the family training begin.
Odell Parish Church is dedicated to All Saints and no doubt there are and have been both saints and sinners in the life of the Church. None would claim to be perfect. Only Christ fulfilled the law of God perfectly and shed his blood on the Cross both to vindicate God’s holiness and to provide a righteousness which is sufficient for all those who wish to take God’s promises seriously by trusting in him. Christians have a perfect righteousness reckoned to them by God because of their union with the risen Christ and their aim is now to grow in grace, truth, knowledge, love and obedience. Saints are not made so after death but they are made saints while they are still alive.
                                                                                                                        Your friend and former Rector, David

The Prayer Chain is there if you need prayer for yourself, for others or for members of your family. Please don’t ask for prayer outside your own family without people’s permission. To have a number of people pray just telephone Dennis (822992).

Many of you will know that because of the problems of vandalism and theft from Churches generally, the Parish Church is kept locked. Unless there is a specific reason for opening it earlier, it will be opened for Sunday and occasional services half an hour before the Service is due to start.

Women bishops. The October Diocesan Synod voted in favour of sending a message to General Synod to debate the issue of the appointment of women bishops. The House of Bishops Working Party on the appointment of women as bishops is due to report in November. Other dioceses that have passed similar motions to St Albans include Guildford, Southwark, Ripon & Leeds and Worcester.

 Children and youth

Anna McCrum, Communications Officer
Diocese of St. Albans,
www.stalbans.anglican.org

Wednesday 3^rd 10.30am at Eileen’s, Corner House, Wymington Park, Rushden.

The following is an extract from a letter recently received from Katie Corkery who is spending a year teaching children of crew members on board the Mercy Ship M/V Anastasis, a floating hospital bound for West Africa where crew will provide medical care and relief and development work.

Katie Corkery Afloat!

Ahoy There Friends and Family!

Good news is that I am still alive; bad news is that the ship is still in a bit of disrepair! We arrived in Bremerhaven in Germany on 21^st September after one of the worst sails the ship has ever seen! Yup, you guessed it, we hit the hurricane winds that have been devastating Florida. 38 hours of 6 metre waves and a relentless rocking tilt of 21 degrees either way across the North Sea from Dundee should have set my stomach churning… But, all those years of being plonked in a boat and told to sit still as a kid, paid off and I didn’t get seasick at all! However, a number of computers and a lot shelves and cabinets did get very seasick and caused quite a lot of damage! This, together with the ongoing general maintenance, means that the ship is not looking as good as it has been!

Despite this, life on board M/V Anastasis is good and I’m now into my 8^th week. In what follows, I will attempt to give you an outline of what life is like on board. However, it really is like no other place or environment I’ve been in!

It’s big! Much bigger than I expected – its almost 500 feet long and is like a rabbit warren with so many different passages and decks! For the first week I only knew my route from my cabin to the School to the Dining Hall but I’m slowly discovering all the valuable short cuts and hidden routes. There are 2 lounges which are great for evenings (especially when sailing and you are trapped on the boat!), 2 dining halls, 2 conference rooms as well as all the cabins, offices, schoolrooms and hospital wards and facilities etc. There is a diverse mix of nationalities on the boat, comprising Americans (approx 50%); European – mostly Dutch and British - (approx 30%); and African (approx 20%). At the moment there are about 400 crew on board but that will rise to around 450 when we get to full capacity in Benin.My Cabin

Its small! But, I love it and it is becoming home. I share with 2 other girls, one from San Diego, USA (33 years old) and one from Cape Town, South Africa (23 years old). They are both really great and we have a lot of fun together! Unfortunately, we also share our cabin with a number of ugly six-legged creatures whose antennae extend for miles... Yup, the cockroaches. To date I have found 2 in my cabin!

Teaching is going fantastically. I am now into my 6^th week of teaching and the kids are little angels! I have a class of 7 students aged between 8 and 9 years old and I have a lot of fun with them. 2 have been on the ship all their life and another 1 has been on board for 5 years. In total there are 48 kids in the school aged between 2 and 17 years and there are 8 teachers plus a principal and a secretary.

So far we have been to Scheveningen (Holland), then onto Rotterdam (also Holland), then Dundee (Scotland) and now Bremerhaven (Germany). All the places have been nice in their own way.

A lot of loading took place in Dundee and will be ongoing whilst in Germany. 9000 litres of UHT milk was donated from ASDA and we had 800kg of fish from the Faroe Islands! Luckily I love UHT milk and fish is growing on me – a good thing really as it is either that or nothing 3 times a week!

Lots of them! On the first day I arrived I found out that in March 2005,the ship sails from Benin to Liberia to continue the outreach phase until June 2005. From there it will go to South Africa for 12 weeks for ship maintenance & tours before going straight back up to W. Africa for outreach again in September. So, next summer the ship does not go to Europe at all, so it looks like I will be flying back from South Africa.

Thank you to everyone who is supporting me in prayer. I’d be really grateful if you could remember the following things in your prayers.

Our Giving in November will be shared between the British Legion Poppy Appeal and the Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society.

Many still depend on these two organisations for all kinds of help including medical care and your generous giving enables continuous support for those damaged in body, mind and spirit by the ravages of war.

For some years we have been following the lives of Richard and Lorraine Hudson, and their growing family, who went out to Nepal with "I.N.F", a Christian Mission serving the people of Nepal through health and development work. They have now returned to England. This is an extract from what will be their final letter to us all:

Louise Elizabeth Hudson (baby sister to Eleanor and Nathan) was born on 21st June 2004; she weighed 7lb 2oz, and is perfect in every way. Eleanor and Nathan dote on her. Like her siblings she is a very contented child. God is good. We are richly blessed. Back to Merry England Richard has got a new job, starting the end of September as an Engineering Surveyor. The job is a bit like what he was doing in Nepal, from Lorraine's point of view: lots of travel!

He'll be carrying out safety inspections in factories and other sites around the country. One of the company's clients is the MOD (British Ministry of Defence, covers Army, Air Force and Navy). This means that Richard will have to travel to MOD sites around the world too, such as Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, and, you guessed it... Nepal! First though, there is a week of training in Milford Haven.

Nepal and Nepalgunj: Nepal is still very tense, as it was when we left. We hear occasional news. There is the blockade of Kathmandu, the twelve Nepalis murdered in Iraq, so much trouble. The Nepalgunj team keeps working, but more and more often there seem to be interruptions due to security troubles. Richard's colleague Walter is now working alone in the government hospital in Nepalgunj. He would like to have a Nepali counterpart to train up, but the hospital has not found one for him. Thank you for Praying.

As we were preparing to leave Nepal, there were a number of road blockades and we were not sure whether we could send our unaccompanied luggage to Kathmandu in time for our departure; there was a one - day window of opportunity, and our luggage was brought up to Kathmandu with very little damage and cleared through customs with no hold- up at all, which almost never happens. We were amazed to get out so easily, until we remembered how faithful our God always is.

This is our final Hudson Herald. Thank you so much for your prayers, letters and encouragement over our four and a half years in Nepal. We are glad to have had the opportunity to meet some of you, and so get to know you better. Hopefully we will be able to meet more of you now that we are in England.

Please Pray: That the church in Nepal will have strength and wisdom in the coming years; that there will be peace and good government in Nepal; for the continuing work of INF and that we continue to seek God's will for our lives

An autumn churchyard tidying day is to be held on Saturday November 6^th, from 10.00am, followed in the evening by a bonfire and fireworks. Everyone in the village is invited to attend either or both events!

The bonfire and fireworks will start at 6.00pm in the churchyard. Soup and rolls will be provided. Do not bring your own fireworks as there will be a prepared display. Let Jill Cheadle know (720261) by Wednesday 3^rd November if you are coming to this event.

In support of Christian Family Care

Friday 3^rd December

Hobbs Green Farm

Church Lane, Odell

From 10.30am to noon.

Admission Free

Father God we thank you for this beautiful time of the year, when the leaves change their colours to the beautiful reds and oranges. It reminds us once again of your greatness. We think of the dark and lengthy days that lie ahead whilst winter is about us, and pray for those older and the sick who need to be kept warm. Whatever the weather we know as always that your protective hand is upon our village and surrounding areas. Further afield we think of all the trouble spots. We have clean water, bless those who do not. At night we sleep in warm and clean beds, bless the homeless and rootless. For our sight and limbs we thank you. For friends and family, for our health. We thank and praise you Lord. As November 5^th fast approaches, we pray for the safety of children and animals. We do continue to pray for a preacher for our church, and continue to await your answer upon that. For everything that makes our life complete, we thank and praise you Lord. AMEN

We are sorry to hear of the death of Catherine Corkery's mother, Lois Dymond, who died, aged 94 years, in Tickford Abbey, Newport Pagnell. We send our love and prayers to Catherine, Adam and Katie and give thanks to the Lord for the life of Mrs Dymond.

"Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you!

Did you hear about the travelling salesman who said to the waitress, "I'd like burnt eggs, soggy toast and cold coffee"? "And could you put your hair in curlers and sit down and nag me? I'm so homesick I can hardly stand it". You may smile, but we all have to deal with criticism. The question is how do YOU handle it? The right kind of criticism can help you if you're humble enough to accept it. An old Arab proverb says. "If one person says you're as stubborn as a mule, pay no attention. But if ten people say it, go out and buy yourself a saddle". The people who'll tell you what you NEED to hear are more important to you than those who tell you what you WANT to hear.

If you're handling criticism today, look at Jesus. He was strong enough to be silent. (Matt 25:63). He never wasted time on people who didn't accept His values or respect His assignment. He responded only to seekers. Why spend time on your critics when you've hardly enough for your friends?

Most critics are just spectators, not players. George Burns says, "Too bad most of the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxi-cabs and cutting hair". There's NEVER been a monument built to a critic, because they're mostly just disappointed, unfocused people. They're hurting inside - and what's inside comes out. So how should you respond to them? Listen, "Pray for those who mistreat you". (Luke 6:28) That's the standard Jesus set and that's the one He wants you to follow.

Taken from Word for Today with kind permission of United Christian Broadcasters. 178 2642000. PO Box 255, Stoke-on-Trent. ST4 8YY

presents

Saturday 27^th November

in the Bunyan Meeting, Mill Street, Bedford

starting at 7.30pm

Tickets £7.50 and £6.00 concessions (including refreshments) Corn Exchange Box Office Bedford or Barbara Fowler 01234 720481

All proceeds to Spurgeon’s Child Care

Round and About