Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings that Christ has brought us from heaven! Ephesians 1:3 - Vale ...

VALE BAPTIST
       CHURCH

                       �
                 :
  Mrs Carol Haughey

  ℡ 01706 816557
  Email:haughey524
     @btinternet.com
   www.valebc.org.uk

Praise the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ for the spiritual blessings
that Christ has brought us from heaven!
                                   Ephesians 1:3

Vale Pulpit Supply
3rd Oct      10.30 am      Susan Western - Communion

10th Oct     10.30 am      Linda Smith - Ladies’ Sunday

17th Oct     10.30 am     Howard Ellison

24th Oct     10.30 am Stephen Wells

31st Oct     10:30 am Neil Chapman

7th Nov      10:30 am Mike Huck - Communion

14th Nov     10:30 am Remembrance Sunday - Rev Irene Greenman

21st Nov     10:30 am Nigel Turton

28th Nov     10.30 am Les Philips

    The following regular meetings take place at Vale , All are welcome.
SUNDAY            Meeting for prayer and quiet before     9.45 am - 10.15 am
                  Church Service
MONDAY            Elevenses, come and have a cuppa and    10.00 am to 12 noon
                  chat in a relaxed atmosphere at Vale

                  Brownies for 7 to 10 year olds          6.00 pm to 7.00 pm
                                       (Term Time only)

TUESDAY           Prayer / Bible Study meeting at Vale    7.30 pm to 9.00 pm

THURSDAY          Parent and Toddler Group
                                     (Term Time only)     9.30 am to 11.30am

SATURDAY          Men’s breakfast 1st and 3rd Saturday    8.30 am to 10.00am

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith,
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8)

The late David Watson, Anglican priest, author and speaker, played a
huge part in developing my Christian faith back in the 1970s, an
influence that probably led to me being called to the Baptist ministry.
One thing he said lingers with me; he once said, “What you have
known to be true in the light do not doubt in the dark.”

As humans we all go through dark times when it is hard to feel anything
but negativity and Christians are not immune to this. In Christian
spirituality it is known as The Dark Night of the Soul” and faith feels to
have died. Sometimes it happens for no apparent reason and
sometimes it is the result of stress and illness.

We have just been through one of the worst times in recent history
since World War 2, facing restrictions severely curtailing liberties we
took for granted, aimed at containing Covid 19. This in turn has had
repercussions for thousand of people on their physical and mental
health. It would not be surprising if this has affected Christians too,
making us question our faith and belief systems.

However, just because we feel we have lost our faith does not mean
we have. Because faith is not based on feelings but on will. The
ultimate basis of faith is not how we feel but how we choose to believe,
and the basis of our belief is that God loved the world so much he sent
his son so that whoever believes in him would have eternal life. That is
the solid belief on which our faith is based, not how we feel, but how we
act in the light of that belief.

When the darkness descends and our faith seems to have evaporated,
it is important to continue to hold on to what we knew to be true while
the light still shone; to continue to put one foot in front of the other and
do what we did before; to continue to pray however ineffective our
prayers seem to be. As the apostle Paul said, “For it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is God’s gift to us and he does not
take away his gifts.
                                                                 Kath Lawson

Vale News
Family News
It is with deepest sympathy for Kay Graham and family that we have to
report Nigel died on Saturday, 24th July. Vale church was full for his
funeral service on August 13th which was taken by Rev. Irene Green-
man. Nigel was laid to rest in a peaceful area in the grounds of
Wainsgate church. Nigel was a keen gardener so a fitting touch was
that his wreath was made up of fruit and vegetables. The coffin was
carried on a special motor bike and sidecar and Kay’s brother Peter
rode Nigel’s Royal Enfield motor bike.

  My family and I would like to thank our friends at Vale for their
  prayers and support during Nigel’s short illness and death.

  I would like to thank Kath for the wonderful displays in church for
  Nigel’s funeral and Jim and Carol for all the work they put in to
  make the church ready. I would also like to thank Irene for the
  wonderful send-off she gave Nigel. I was able to send a gift of
  £450 to Pendleside Hospice in memory of Nigel. Thank you all.
                                                      Kay x

The third Community Table Top Sale was on August 14th. Not as many
people came as we’d have hoped but those that did enjoyed the music
and singing provided by Neil, Lewis, Simon Keane and Keith Jafrate;
Keith played saxophone.

Elevenses
After several weeks of meeting with only six people, I am happy to
report that elevenses is now running without restriction on numbers.
However, to maintain social distancing, we are using tables "cafe style".
Everyone says how happy they are to meet up again and to celebrate,
we held a party on the 16th of August. Pigs in blankets and mince pies
were sourced and served with other tasty treats (and pickled onions as
promised!)
A very convivial time was had by all.                   Christine

Ladies’ Guild
Our first meeting since February 25th last year was a Members’
Meeting held on September 28th during which we had to identify
who was who in the baby photographs we brought of ourselves.

The next meeting will be on October 26th at 2 pm when the
speaker will be Geoff Shaw, Deputy Chair of Dementia Friendly
Todmorden.

Ladies’ Sunday is on October 10th when Linda Smith will take our
service. Everyone is welcome.

                              ***
Thank you to the people collecting crisp bags to help the
RSPCA. Kindly note: we’ve been asked that the packets are not
folded as they cause problems for the recycling process.

                               ***
Flowers for August 2021 were provided by Pam & Jim in memory
of Tommy and Barbara Threlfall, Mrs Hilda King, Mrs Pam Widdup
and the family of Jackie & Elsie Yates and for the beginning of
September by Mrs Christine Clark to commemorate their 60th
wedding anniversary. Also, thank you John for all your home-
grown flowers.

Thank you all who donated money in memory of loved ones over
the last 17 months and to Carol for taking on my job.
                                                  Joyce Banks

                               ***
We had a stall on Todmorden Market on September 16th for church
funds and raised £142.00 which included donations of money.
Thanks to everyone who priced the items, transported them to the
market or served on the stall.

            Why did God create man before woman?
        Because He didn’t want any advice on how to do it.

Our Harvest service will be on Sunday 3rd October and gifts of
food will be given to the Food Bank.

The next church meeting is on Tuesday October 12th at 7.30pm.

Barbara Britton celebrated her birthday on 11th August and
eight of us from Vale joined her at the Top Brink. Barbara got
lots of cards and presents. It was nice to see her again and
her good friend, Sandra. Congratulations Barbara!

Rev. Stuart Jenkins was inducted at Roomfield church on Sun-
day 12th September. We send our congratulations and best
wishes and look forward to meeting him in due course.

Thanks to everyone that turned up for our community litter pick this
morning. It was a wonderful turn out and I was amazed at the amount
of litter that was collected. It was great to work alongside Amy,
Rebecca and their colleagues from Calderdale Council . A special thanks
to Joyce Banks who had refreshments ready for us at Vale when we got
back. Amy commented that this was the best response she had got all
week from volunteers to take part in the Let’s Clean Up Calderdale
Together initiative.
Just another reason for being proud to live in our wonderful community.

             I wanted to go jogging but Proverbs 28:1 says
              “The wicked run when no one is chasing them”.
                                So……….

                 Samson in middle age is told by God :
              “Your strength will still come from your hair,
                        but to keep you humble,
               I have moved it all to your nose and ears!”

Take my life and let it be
   consecrated, Lord, to thee.
 Take my moments and my days;
 let them flow in endless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
   at the impulse of thy love.
 Take my feet and let them be
  swift and beautiful for thee.

  Take my voice and let me sing
     always, only, for my King.
  Take my lips and let them be
 filled with messages from thee.

   Take my silver and my gold;
   not a mite would I withhold.
    Take my intellect and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

 Take my will and make it thine;
    it shall be no longer mine.
 Take my heart it is thine own;
  it shall be thy royal throne.

 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
 at thy feet its treasure store.
   Take myself, and I will be
     ever, only, all for thee.

              Frances Ridley Havergal (1874)

      News or contributions to vale12@live.co.uk