The COURIER - United Reformed Church New Road, Brentwood - February.March 2021 - Brentwood United ...

The
         COURIER
     February.March 2021

U ni t ed Refor m ed Ch ur ch
 N ew Road , Br entw ood

2   BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021
    BRENTWOOD UNITED REFORMED CHURCH
               New Road, Brentwood, CM14 4GD

                  Church Office  01277 227556
                  Church Foyer 01277 217361

           A Joint Pastorate with Ingatestone And Billericay
                      United Reformed Churches
                      www.brentwood-urc.org.uk

MINISTER         Revd Barnabas Shin              07838790056

CHURCH           Ms Sheila Maxey                 01277 212357
SECRETARY

TREASURER       Mr Kees Maxey                    01277 212357

COVENANTS       TBC

ORGANISTS        Hymnal/virtual music

SERVING

ELDERS          Mr Ian Davidson                   01277 200095
                Mr Kees Maxey                     01277 212357
                Mr Moses Tsingano                 01277 410693
                Ms Corne Van Staden               01277 203830

HALL
STEWARD       Gabrielle Crowther        All bookings:
                                        www.brentwood-urc.org.uk

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021               3
Dear friends,

When I read the book, ‘The Cost of
Discipleship’    written    by    Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, I stopped at one spot of the
book for a long time. It says, “Jesus
never called his disciples into a state of
uncertainty, but to one of supreme
certainty. That is why his warning can only summon them
to abide by the word. Where the word is, there shall the
disciple be.”

This was not a new discovery at all, but it powerfully struck
my heart at this time; first, with the author’s unshakable
certainty in Jesus. When we are struggling through the
pandemic with uncertainty in the future, I wonder what
difference this ‘supreme certainty’ in Jesus can make in
our lives.

Throughout the last year of the pandemic there have been
ups and downs. After the first lockdown, I was so excited
about the reopening of the church services and hoped to
have some kind of normality in our lives. In addition, there
was the great hope of vaccination that suggested that the
Covid-19 virus was going to end very soon. Yet, we had
the second lockdown in November and now we are having
another national lockdown with the most difficult time of
the Covid-19 virus. And Essex is one of the central areas
of the new Covid-19 variant.

Sadly, during this time of pandemic, several of our
precious family in Christ have passed away through illness
and particularly by Covid-19. With sorrow in our loss, I
would like to name them here to remember and to reflect
how special they were to us. We also remember their

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families in their bereavement, that God’s comfort may
firmly hold them.

Lydia Asubiaro (~ March 2020) Brentwood URC
Jim Norton (~ March 2020) Brentwood URC
David Coull (~ April 2020) Brentwood URC
Stan Francis (~ November 2020) Brentwood URC
Jill Colby (~ December 2020) Brentwood URC
Jane Glen (~ Jan 2021) Billericay URC
Tony Cheer (~ Jan 2021) Brentwood URC

We cannot avoid this pain and escape from this time of
difficulty, but we can support each other; to comfort, to
encourage, or sometimes simply to be there besides,
hoping that we might overcome well. However, our
emotion can be easily broken, and our minds can be
confused by the uncertainty of the future, especially when
we cannot see the end of the long dark tunnel.

But if we have a strong rope that binds us and leads us in
the way, although we cannot see where to go, our walk
through the tunnel will be so much different. And I wonder
if the certainty in Jesus would hold Bonhoeffer in his
troubles under the regime of Hitler?

My second reason to pause with Bonhoeffer’s comment is
that he sees the key to such certainty, that is, the Word of
God that abides in us.

I have been so encouraged by a number of our
congregation who have worked out how to overcome this
difficulty. Many kept saying “Thanks” to God for what they
have, rather than focusing on what they do not have;
others kept trying to see positive sides; and others kept
carrying on supporting others. However, at the same time,

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021               5
many including myself, have been struggling with
powerlessness, loneliness, anxiety, fear, etc, which is quite
natural.

Interestingly, it was not the disciples themselves that
became followers of Jesus because they were special and
extraordinary people. It was because of the Word that
abode in their hearts and empowered them that they
faithfully followed Jesus.

And this is my prayer that we, with one accord, eagerly
seek the Lord with our whole hearts because there is an
unshakable and unchangeable One who holds us in His
faithfulness and in His promise. And that promise of God
has been working in the lives of His people and we have a
number of testimonies of the hope that God granted them
in the midst of troubles and suffering. The great thing is
that the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, is speaking to us the
Word of God through the amazing testimonies in the past,
and these are alive in us today.

Our decisions may be fragile, but when the Word of God
abides in us, the faithfulness of God may hold us in the
supreme certainty, in which we still know pain and sorrow
with suffering, but we can walk the way of the cross with a
certain hope in Jesus.

In this respect, we are going to study the first and second
letters of Peter up to the end of March. I encourage us all
to take a new journey with these letters, to explore what
Peter’s phrase means in our lives; “a new birth into a living
hope” (1 Peter 1:3) in the midst of suffering.

Take care and keep well,
Barnabas

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                CHURCH FAMILY NEWS

As with all church activities the Pastoral Care Group is
having to manage with telephone contact only. We hope
that no one has been missed and hat all the members
know that you are in our thoughts.

I believe that all the members of the church have heard of
the death of Tony C – he will be sorely missed and
Margaret is much in our thoughts. Mary Jane D is
mourning the death of her aunt from the covid virus.
Caroline R is still suffering very poor health and has not
been permitted to receive the vaccine. We send these
members our deepest sympathies.

There is at least one piece of good news – Farai T has at
last received his British citizenship papers –
congratulations. Margaret G has moved from the Meads to
live in Howard Lodge where she will have more care and
we hope the move has gone well.

For the rest of the members we can only wish us all a
speedy end to lockdown so that we can resume church
services and have the benefit of companionship once
more.

                                Birthdays – we have
                                several    birthdays    to
                                celebrate in this issue of
                                the magazine – Beryl H
                                will be 80 on February

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021                 7
2nd, Peggy G will be 95 on February 5th and Sheila M will
be 83 on March 19th. Of the younger members of the
congregation Lily J is 18 on February 25th and Heather D
is 18 on March 5th.

In this difficult time we ask your prayers for all the
members of the congregation particularly Barnabas our
minister who is working so hard.

Rosalie Brentnall

                Church secretary’s report

As we are still in lockdown we continue with virtual
services. However, so we can at least see each other and
greet each other, on Sunday 14th February you are invited
to join the virtual service at 10am and at the end Barnabas
will invite you to a zoom ‘coffee gathering’. You can
quickly make yourself a coffee and click on the zoom
invitation and greet one another and even catch up a little
on each other’s lives.

After the next government announcement on 22 nd
February the elders will decide whether we should open
the church for Sunday worship. Thank you to those who
responded to the letter about the expense of upgrading our
electricity system. The work will happen during the
lockdown.

As we prepare for Lent and Easter in this unusual year, we
will be giving all our local members and friends a URC
pack called’ Walking towards Easter together’. It has
things for all ages and situations in it and the elders hope it

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will help us all to count each day through Lent and up to
Easter as a gift from God.

If you are a member, you will received an elders’
nomination form with this Courier. Please take your
responsibility as a member seriously and return your form
to me by the end of February. The closing date for the
Christian Aid Christmas Appeal is the end of February.

Sheila Maxey

    Jill Colby 1934-
          2020

Jill was introduced
to our church by
her sister when
she brought her to
the Friday prayers
and Christian Aid
lunch that were
organised           for
many years by
members              of
Churches
Together             in
Brentwood.       This
followed           the
sudden death of
her husband when
she was looking for interests outside the home again. She
must have found the friendship of this group and those
who were members of this church helpful to her because
she then began to attend worship on Sundays and then
join other activities taking place during the week.

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She became a regular member of the Wednesday Lunch
Club and always enjoyed the monthly service before lunch,
the Monday Guild and in later years was usually the first to
arrive at the knitting group. Jill had excelled at all sorts of
arts and crafts since her school days and could constantly
find ways of combining the mixtures of yarns and colours
that were donated to the group. She was also an expert
lace maker and a regular member of the quilting group.
They presented the beautiful wall hanging in the hall to the
church which has drawn many complements from church
members and visitors ever since. Jill made a large
contribution to the hanging with her expertise and it is
good to think that this will be a lasting memorial to her
skills.

All of us who knew her will remember her cheerful and
positive presence, her infectious laughter, her willingness
to listen to those going through difficult times and her
courage when going through her own health issues. It was
typical of Jill that when it was discovered that someone
had been sleeping in her garage, she was more concerned
that they were homeless and in need than any fears for
her own safety and security.

Jill’s family were very dear to her – her daughter in Essex,
her son in South Africa and her grandchildren and she was
thrilled to have a holiday with her daughter and son-in-law
last summer, when travel rules were relaxed a bit. They
went to Whitby in Yorkshire and she said how much it
reminded her of happy childhood holidays there.

We were all anxious when Jill contracted Covid in
December last year in spite of all the care she and the
family had taken, especially when we heard she had been

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taken into hospital. She lost her battle on 21 st December
and our sympathies go to all her family and friends. She
will be sadly missed and very fondly remembered.

Jenny Mayo

     Tony Cheer, 17th October 1931 – 6th January 2021

Tony was a leading light in our church’s life for decades
and yet he never thought of himself in that way. He and
Margaret came into the life of this church in 1961.
Margaret transferred her membership, but Tony came
more slowly and cautiously into membership. However,
his amazing, self-taught musical gifts were quickly
recognised and in the 60s he formed a little church music
group which grew into ‘Kaleidoscope’ and then ‘High
Society’ both of which reached beyond the church and
gave our church quite a ‘with it’ reputation. He discovered
that besides entertaining people by playing all kinds of
music by ear himself he could arrange music for all sorts of
instruments and all sorts of abilities.       Without quite

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realising it, he went on to inspire so many to make music
together and attempt things they never thought they could.
In the 70s or 80s he gathered together a ‘church orchestra’
of all ages and arranged parts depending on ability. He
embraced all kinds of music – from popular songs, to jazz,
to traditional hymns, to the liturgy of sung Anglican
worship.      But he had high standards, almost moral
standards – he would really dislike a bombastic tune for a
thoughtful hymn, or the emptiness of some chorus words.
His high standards remained, and even when walking was
painful and slow, he would insist on moving from organ to
piano and back in order to accompany the hymn or song
appropriately.

Tony was also a theologian. When Ilford Ltd closed down
in Brentwood and Tony was made redundant he used the
money to finance a theology degree at Kings College,
London where he got a first. They were special years for
him, sharpening his already keen interest in the Bible and
in theology, and offering him the experience of daily sung
chapel prayers. He even invited the Kings College choir
out to lead choral evensong in our church.               Tony
introduced some of us, through Music Group, to such a
wide range of songs and hymns and then, from time to
time, would introduce them into Sunday worship. He was
a key resource for the Bible Study group – and we
restarted it in early 2019 at his request. With Jenny Mayo
and Rosalie Brentnall, he formed a worship group, and
Jenny gratefully remembers the thoughtful preparation,
reflecting on the readings and the hymns so that, with the
sermon usually preached by Tony (who also played for the
hymns), the act of worship held together. Tony also took
responsibility for the ordinary life of our church – he was a
faithful elder, full of wisdom and penetrating questions, and
he edited the Courier for many years.

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For Tony, his Christian faith was expressed through the life
and worship of the local church community, rather than in
terms of a personal relationship to Jesus. When, in the
1970s, morale was low in our church, having just lost our
hall and not being clear about the way forward, Tony
suggested a Christmas Celebration. As was typical of
Tony, he wanted it to embrace all ages of people and all
kinds of expressions of Christian community. So it had
witness – we began by presenting the theme of Christmas:
it had outreach – we were encouraged to bring our non-
church friends and we went outside to carol sing: it had
very good food and drink, sharing meals together being
Jesus’ practice: it had fun – a cabaret: it went on late for
the teenagers (and not only them!) with disco dancing: and
it ended with worship.
Tony was an inspiration to so many people, perhaps
especially the young because he treated them in exactly
the same way as the adults.        And he was delightfully
irreverent. Long ago, when we were a larger congregation
and there was bustle and chat when the collection was
taken up, he commented it was like the interval at the
theatre - he expected someone to come round with ice
cream! Tony loved our church and its community and
because of that he could write, for every Celebration, a
funny song about us which made us laugh, but also nailed
our foibles.
A lasting memory for Kees and me is of the evening
communion services when Trevor was minister and Tony
sat at the piano. After the blessing, Tony would play Bach
and no one would move until the final note was played.
How we will miss him.

Sheila Maxey

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021                    13
                       MY COVID YEAR

Corne Van Staden - a social worker
Christmas 2019 we heard there was a new virus in the world but
not close and nothing to worry about. With examples of how the
Ebola virus had been quickly managed, I was really not even
contemplating that it would increase much. My long awaited
Venice holiday was cancelled in February 2020 and we thought
“OK, Italy has a problem”. On 2nd March 2020 we were telling
everyone at work to go home if they were feeling unwell. On 9th
March 2020 everyone older or with any health issues needed to
work from home and we needed to space out and take turns
coming into the office. After quite a few very difficult
conversations of “I feel fine” and “I’m not that sick” and “you
are discriminating re my age or pregnancy” we had some system
of space and rotation of staff in the office plus on-going cleaning
of desks and equipment. On Friday the 20th March we were told
to ALL work from home from the Monday for the next few
weeks until we know more.

Well, those “few weeks” turned into almost a year and it seems
we are facing another year. I did a small piece of research once
about work/home life balance: if you work your usual 37 hours

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until usual retirement and taking into account holidays and bank
holidays/week ends etc. you are at work for almost 67% of your
work life. This helped me to see how seriously I must take my
home life and that of my team. Writing about my work during
COVID is really difficult as it affects so many different things -
from IT systems and the fast developing virtual world - to the
families under pressure who have had so many losses and
bereavements - to the social workers and social care practitioners
who work tirelessly to ensure children are safe and families are
supported.

On the 30th March 2020 my manager called me and said that I
was the nominated lead for PPE and I asked: “what is PPE?”
Now I know more than I really care to know about “supply and
demand” and “donning and doffing” with a new admiration for
my health colleagues who have done this for years! The
restrictions are definitely easier for those with houses and
gardens, wifi and movie packages. I have it easy even as I
complain about not seeing my friends or losing my Venice
holiday. Others have lost their jobs, are living in multiple
occupancy housing (up to 3 families in 3 bed house) with no
recourse to public funding (no benefits to fall back onto), no
garden for children with ASD who need to be outside and need
their own space. There are parents stuck in domestic abuse
relationships who cannot practice their safety planning by going
somewhere else when they need to and then there are the
losses…the loss of fathers, mothers, grandparents, children, so
many it is difficult to keep count.

Come 2021 and we are all exhausted and sick and tired of the
word COVID. I find myself discussing hope, belief and prayer
more and more in various settings where in my working world
that is not that common. Working from home might increase
physical safety but it does not promote long-term emotional and

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021                     15
psychological wellbeing. Working from home most of the time
could easily become just living at work.

We are all working hard to support each other and the families
and children in our service. The vaccine brings some hope. We
have a lot to be grateful for and whilst we can still find
something to strengthen a family who felt they had nothing more
they could give, there is hope. In hope and love for each other
lies our future - in strengthening communities and keeping
children safe.
Challenge 2021 accepted!

  Gabrielle Crowther – a teacher in a school for those with
                            special needs.
This is by far the grimmest and hardest lockdown we’ve had to
work through. The government has put so much more pressure
on pupils, their families and schools. It sounded so simple and
positive to the nation when it was announced that “schools will
move to remote learning from tomorrow “ but of course the
reality is very different. Lack of resources for pupils continues to
be a big problem. Maybe some will finally get laptops and WiFi
before it ends!

The school for pupils with mild learning difficulties and
complex needs where I work has to stay open and in fact all
pupils are entitled to attend. We have grouped pupils into 5
classes and staff are in teams who work with them every other
week. This was reduced this week due to isolation. I taught the
biggest class of 6 pupils!

For those pupils not in school we provide lessons via Google
Classrooms and send out personalised work packs. We don’t do
live online lessons as they do in mainstream schools as this
wouldn’t work for our pupils. We keep in touch and support our

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families with weekly phone calls, emails, comments on Google
Classrooms and assemblies and group chats via Google Meet.
On the positive side it is good to be able to go into work and
interact with some pupils although it is hard completing
important Annual Review documents on those we haven’t seen
since early December.

I can end on a positive note, too, as yesterday we had some
surprising good news! Those working in our sector are eligible
for a vaccination! It has taken 7 attempts so far to book this
through the link but hopefully my colleagues and I will get there
in the end. This is by far the grimmest and hardest lockdown
we’ve had to work through. The government has put so much
more pressure on pupils, their families and schools. It sounded
so simple and positive to the nation when it was announced that
“schools will move to remote learning from tomorrow “ but of
course the reality is very different. Lack of resources for pupils
continues to be a big problem. Maybe some will finally get
laptops and WiFi before it ends!

The school for pupils with mild learning difficulties and
complex needs where I work has to stay open and in fact all
pupils are entitled to attend. We have grouped pupils into 5
classes and staff are in teams who work with them every other
week. This was reduced this week due to isolation. I taught the
biggest class of 6 pupils!

For those pupils not in school we provide lessons via Google
Classrooms and send out personalised work packs. We don’t do
live online lessons as they do in mainstream schools as this
wouldn’t work for our pupils. We keep in touch and support our
families with weekly phone calls, emails, comments on Google
Classrooms and assemblies and group chats via Google Meet.
On the positive side it is good to be able to go into work and
interact with some pupils although it is hard completing

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021                    17
important Annual Review documents on those we haven’t seen
since early December.

I can end on a positive note, too, as yesterday we had some
surprising good news! Those working in our sector are eligible
for a vaccination! It has taken 7 attempts so far to book this
through the link but hopefully my colleagues and I will get there
in the end!

Moses Tsingano - a radiographer
I work as a Therapeutic Radiographer at an NHS hospital. My
job entails delivering radiotherapy treatment to cancer patients.
Like many other sectors of life, my work place has not been
spared from the adverse effects of the Corona virus pandemic.
Several changes in our work pattern had to be effected in a bid to
control the spread of the virus among staff and patients. Firstly,
the shift pattern had to be changed. We now have only the
morning and afternoon shifts with a 20-minute interval between
the end of one shift and the beginning of the other. The idea
behind this is to minimise staff interaction thereby minimising
the possibility of staff passing on the virus to each other.
Secondly, we undergo a Covid test once every week.

Despite all these measures and others, once in a while a member
of staff tests positive to the virus. Once in a while a member of
staff goes into mandatory self-isolation having come into contact
with someone who tested positive. These situations have often
led to staff shortages and, therefore, more work and stress for the
remaining staff.

On the patient side, every patient has to have a Covid test before
they can commence their radiotherapy treatment, and once every
week throughout their treatment course. Those who test positive
are still allowed to commence or continue with their treatment
with special measures put in place for their treatment.

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On a more personal note, I tested positive following a routine
test at work. Luckily, I never had any serious symptoms.
However, I found it depressing spending 10 days within the
confines of my bedroom. Nevertheless, I found solace in
Thessalonians 5:-16-18 which reminds us to ‘Rejoice always,
pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus’.

Barnabas Shin - our minister
It started with the shock that something I normally watched in a
film could happen in my life. Then I felt disappointment that
people were, at first, taking this deadly virus very lightly. The
question of ‘hope in suffering’ has been in my heart throughout
the long tunnel of the pandemic, whose end we still do not
know.

Since the closure of the gathering services in church, iMovie, a
program of Apple that you can make a video, has become
something very special to me. I had wanted to play with it ever
since I started using Apple devices, but now the pandemic led
me to open the box of this toy and to explore this, to me, new
world.

Once you collect all the video clips that you need such as a clip
of recording myself and lots of contributions by congregation,
you put them in order in this program. You have to choose the
background scenes and put subtitles into the right timing of the
video. iMovie allows you to overlap only two pictures/videos,
and only one subtitles bar. But you can overlap several sounds,
from which I can make a harmony with two single songs that
have been recorded separately.

It is really a time consuming and tiring work because you have
to keep repeating the clips and even the whole video again and
again in order to edit nicely. Otherwise, you might upload what
you do not want to. Few weeks ago, I uploaded the completed
virtual service on Saturday evening, but realised early Sunday
morning that I hadn’t edited my son’s Bible reading where he

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021                    19
had a big cough in the middle. I had to rush to edit it and make a
new file of video to save and upload to YouTube, and send an
email to all with a new link.

Even though it is really hard work, I have enjoyed it so much
that I do not realise how many hours I am spending at my
computer. And when I hear the appreciation from the
congregation, especially when we cannot gather for our
services, I am so grateful and passionately turn on the computer
again.

One of big changes for our family in this pandemic was the
special reunion with my son, Nat, in the first lockdown. In the
strange situation that all his friends were in Bristol and Cardiff
but he was not able to travel to meet them. Instead he had to
stay many weeks with us although he had lots of Zoom
meetings with them. If I leave behind for a little while all the
troubles in the pandemic, it was a special gift to us that we could
spend such long unexpected quality time as a whole family –
playing lots of board games, whose loser had to prepare the
meal of the day; playing music items together for the Virtual
services; going for a family walk; some arguments and learning
to resolve disagreements together; and singing in a home
karaoke with YouTube, etc.

It has also been a time to get to know more about the birds,
plants and flowers in my garden. Not knowing much about
gardening, it was a mysterious joy to watch and discover the
interesting behaviour of the birds and the transformation of all
the plants and flowers through the seasons.

While we all have suffered from the pandemic, in Essex in the
first and second lockdown it did not seem so serious. However,
in this third lockdown with the Covid variant we are facing a very
tough time. As I have been preparing four funeral services of
our congregation within a month, my question about ‘hope in
suffering’ became much more serious. I have been pondering
more than ever on the most basic theme of ‘faith’ because it

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seems to me that it is impossible to have hope in this time of
suffering without faith – faith in God who overcame even death
through Jesus; faith in the unshakable promise of God for the
full restoration of the world.

My prayer during these present days of Covid-19 is for all those
who have lost family and for all those who are suffered because
of the virus, including myself, that we shall still have this hope in
the midst of suffering through faith in the Lord, our God.

      Prayer Suggestions for February and March

Some years ago, Tony Cheer began to produce a prayer
calendar for the Courier every month. This was originally
intended for private prayer but also became used by those
preparing prayers of intercession at Sunday worship when
a rota of members began to be responsible for these when
the Minister was leading worship elsewhere. Tony was
also very aware of every event and important date in the
life of the church and often reminded us of these in the
calendar. Times have changed and for the time being

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021             21
regular events in the church year cannot happen in the
familiar way. The Courier is now produced every two
months and we all know how much life can change from
one edition to another and how difficult it is to anticipate
what will happen from one week to the next, let alone two
months ahead. However, during these uncertain, troubling
and often frightening times prayer is needed more than
ever – for the church, the world, our communities and for
those we love and care for.          We hope that these
suggestions will continue to bring us together while we are
so often unable to come together in person.

February

The Church at the beginning of Lent (Ash Wednesday on
17th)
Countries affected by the Pandemic with few health
resources
Health and Care Workers and their families
The lonely and isolated
Those who have been affected by floods
Young people who are missing school, university and their
friends and are concerned for their future
Those waiting to be vaccinated but still working in
vulnerable occupations
The police, legal and probation services
Prisoners and prison staff
Our pastorate churches in Billericay and Ingatestone

March

Women’s World Day of Prayer (5th March)
Those who mother us (Mothering Sunday on 14 th March)
Churches Together in Brentwood
Our Minister and Elders

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Those who have been bereaved after a year of the
pandemic
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Victims of torture
The World Health Organisation
The hirers of our building who have been unable to meet
The Church as it prepares for Easter (Palm Sunday 28th
March)

           SOMETHING FOR THE JUNIORS

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     INTERNATIONAL WOMANS DAY OF PRAYER
                5th MARCH 2021

                              Build on a Strong Foundation
                                     Matthew 7:24-27
                              We hear the voices of the
                              Vanuatu     women,      whom
                              invite us to focus on the
                              Bible story in Matthew 7:24-
                              27. Jesus tells a story about
                              the kingdom of heaven using
                              the image of a house and the
                              land on which the house is
                              built. Choosing the land on
                              which to build the house is
                              an important decision for
                              people in Vanuatu. The
                              combination of considering
the terrain and the climate is crucial in a tropical
archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean prone to
earthquakes, cyclones, volcanic eruptions and rising sea
levels. On April 6th, 2020, Vanuatu was hit by Cyclone
Harold, which had made its way across the Pacific
destroying      many      islands      in     its     wake.

Vanuatu's susceptibility to cyclones is highlighted in the
painting chosen to represent WDP 2021, titled
“Cyclone Pam II: 13th of March, 2015”. It shows a mother
bending and praying over her child. The waves crash over
her but a palm tree bends protectively over them. The
woman's skirt is modeled after the traditional clothing
on Erromango. On the horizon you can see small crosses
representing the lives taken by cyclone Pam in 2015.

26   BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021
The artist, Juliette Pita, born in 1964 on Erromango Island,
is currently the most well-known artist in Vanuatu. Her
talent was discovered early on. At school she was always
the best in art classes. She was the first woman to
graduate from the Institut National de Technologie du
Vanuatu (INTV). Juliette never imagined making money
from her art but she believed God had plans for her. She
gives all the money she earns to anyone who needs help.

The video made talking to the Vanuatu women can be
found on the below page and includes some information
about the country. Vanuatu 2021 - World Day of Prayer
International

                 Communion Alms Fund

The retiring collection for February 2021 is for Essex
Search and Rescue.

                                  Every year, hundreds of
                                  people     are     reported
                                  missing in Essex. In the
                                  majority of cases, they
                                  turn up safe and well - but
                                  sometimes they do not.
                                  That is when Essex
                                  Search and Rescue go
into action. Essex Search and Rescue responds at any
time, day or night, to calls from the Police, to assist in the
search for vulnerable missing persons. In each case, a fast
response is vital.

All members of the group are volunteers but funds are
needed to purchase equipment.

BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021                  27
You can also donate directly to Essex Air ambulance via:
https://ehaat.org/donate/

The retiring collection for March 2021 is for the
Communion Alms Fund.

                       THE COURIER

The next issue of The COURIER for April/May 2021 will be
available on Sunday the 28th March 2021.

All articles and content for publication of the COURIER
should be sent to Corne Van Staden email:
hcvstaden@gmail.com

If you have articles for inclusion please ensure that these are
emailed to Corne as early as possible during the week
commencing Monday the 15th March and before the final
deadline of Sunday the 21st March.

EDITOR        Corne Van Staden       01277 203830

                                     07740196882

PRINTING      Kees Maxey

COLLATION & DISTRIBUTION    Kees & Sheila Maxey/ Jenny Mayo

28   BRENTWOOD URC - The COURIER – Feb/March 2021

      BRENTWOOD UNITED REFORMED CHURCH
          New Road, Brentwood, CM14 4GD

 SUNDAY WORSHIP – PLEASE NOTE ALL SERVICES ARE
    VIRTUAL DURING THE CURRENT RESTRICTIONS

10:00 am Family Worship with Creche and Junior Church

Holy Communion is usually celebrated at Morning Worship on
the last Sunday of each month.

Details of preachers and special events are given in the
COURIER.

EACH WEEK:

Weekly activities are currently suspended due to COVID 19
restrictions.