Dear Siblings in Christ,
Congratulations to Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee. I hope that you are all able to find some way to celebrate and honor her 70 years of dedicated service to our country. We have parties at Chantry and Landseer Road on Sunday 5th.
Summer is nearly upon us. As I write this the Suffolk Show is in full swing, and it reminded of this story that I came across (source: here and here) and I thought you might enjoy it:
On a hot summer day, what’s the most refreshing treat you can imagine? Ice Cream. That’s what hits the spot. And that’s what people wanted on a hot, sticky day in the summer of 1904. People at the St. Louis World’s Fair had walked for hours in the hot sun, and they were ready for something to cool them off. That’s why they were lined up for what seemed like miles in front of the booth of Arnold Fornachou to get a taste of his frosty ice cream.
The problem was that Arnold’s ice cream was so popular he quickly ran out of paper bowls. The moonlighting teenager scrambled to keep his potential customers by washing and reusing the few ceramic bowls he had on hand. But no matter how hard he worked, many people grew tired of waiting and wandered off in search of another treat. That’s when an unlikely partner emerged to save the day.
His name was Ernest Hamwik, a pastry chef who had grown up in Damascus, Syria. In the booth next to Arnold’s he was selling a wafer-thin Persian confection called a ‘zalabia’. That is, he was offering them but no one was buying them.
When Ernest saw his neighbor’s plight he was struck with a great idea. Grabbing a warm zalabia, he twisted it into a cornucopia shape and rolled it in sugar. Then he ran over to Arnold’s booth and offered it to him. Still scrambling to wash bowls and wait on customers, Arnold didn’t understand what the older man had in mind. But when Ernest handed an ice cream scoop atop a confection cone to a waiting customer, Arnold instantly got the message. A huge smile spread over his face, and in no time, the two men were working side by side—Ernest made “edible bowls”, Arnold scooped ice cream. Back then, they were called World’s Fair Cornucopias, and they were the hit of the fair.
As you enjoy eating ice cream this summer, think about how the Holy Spirit might be empowering you to use the gifts you have, combined with the gifts of someone else, to create something beautiful together in a new and exciting way.
On 5th June, we will be celebrating Pentecost Sunday which we remember as the birthday of the church and the day that the apostles were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit still comes to us today and empowers us in many ways. Maybe through fire or wind or a still small voice. Maybe it is that coincidence. Maybe it is those goosebumps. Maybe it is that nudge that you can’t ignore. Maybe it is the dream you had. Maybe it is the choice that brings you the most peace or the choice that makes you nauseous. Maybe it is the sight of injustice. Maybe it’s a story that touched your heart. Once you’ve felt the Holy Spirit, you will be filled with a new impetus, and that will empower you to move. Come, Holy Spirit, come!
Wednesday Coffee Morning from 10 a.m. to 11.30 at Museum Street By prior arrangement, you can also join by Zoom – contact us for access information.
Friday Coffee Morning from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. at Chantry.
Friday Tea & Toast from 9.15 to 10.30 at Landseer Road; mid-week activities (Toddlers, Choir and Craft Club) are running during term term.
The next Circuit Service is on Sunday 12th June at 4 p.m. at Museum Street. Please join us for this Local Preachers Celebration Service as we recognise our Local Preachers – those that have passed onto glory since the beginning of 2020, and those celebrating a milestone number of years as Local Preachers, and those who are our new to Local Preaching in this circuit.
Sign up for the new weekly Ipswich Round email with news from around the circuit. The first issue is planned for Wednesday June 8th. There will be information on weekly services, ministers messages, what’s on information and anything thing that will help us to communicate better between the 22 churches within the circuit. To be added to the mailing list, please sign up here. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Pre-recorded services. With my stationing appointment coming to an end in August this year, the Circuit Leadership Team has been in discussion as to what to do about the pre-recorded services that I have been leading and organizing and that Adrian has been video editing. The decision has been taken to bring this ministry to an end; the last pre-recorded service will be this week on Pentecost Sunday, 5th June. This is being replaced by a pre-recorded 10-minute sermon on the circuit website each week, and some churches in the circuit are Livestreaming (recording) their services on their websites that can also be watched online. We also have Bitesized Church published each Wednesday which is a 10-minute worship service that you could choose to watch at home on Sundays. The printed services are continuing and with some help, they can continue to be mailed to members without computers
The June issue of our joint magazine for the three churches has been published with lots more information. Read it here.
Here is June’s preaching plan (*=communion). Or download the plan for the whole circuit.
| Chantry 9.30 a.m. | Museum St 10.45 a.m. | Landseer Rd 11 a.m. | Video from 6 a.m. | |
| 5th June | 10 a.m. Songs of Praise | *Pell (Livestreamed) | 10.30 a.m. Café Church | Pell (whole service) |
| 12th June | Loggie | Welbourn | *Pell | Sankey (sermon only) |
| 19th June | *Pell | LA | No Service | Welbourn (sermon only) |
| 26th June | Pell | Pell (Livestreamed) | Rokobuli | Grimshaw (sermon only) |
In Christ,
–Pastor Joan
Rev. Joan Pell
Joan’s Jottings are written to the churches at Museum Street, Landseer Road and Chantry where Joan is the minister, and a monthly summary is shared here for all to read.