We were delighted to welcome back Claire Withams (Hospital and Ambulance Chaplain) to be our speaker this afternoon and to learn that Claire had been accepted for ordination. We had been praying for her over the past few weeks and were encouraged by this news and promised to continue to pray for wisdom as she seeks to unravel the complexities of the process!

Claire continued our theme of the past couple of weeks and brought a copy of the famous Russian icon entitled The Trinity created by the Russian painter Andrei Rublev in the early 15th century. The Trinity depicts the three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre (Genesis 18 v 1-8) but is full of symbolism and has been interpreted as an icon of the Holy Trinity – an embodiment of spiritual unity, peace, harmony and humility – and in Claire’s words, an “all encompassing circle of love from the beginning of time to now.” As you can see from the picture below, these are powerful images. For a deeper explanation of the symbolism head to: 2021-06-01 Explanation of Andrei Rublev.pdf

Claire’s chosen reading was Matthew 28 v 16-20 – The Great Commission. In the light of this command from our Lord, to go into all the world and make disciples, Claire encouraged us all to share our faith – to keep on keeping on in the power of the Holy Spirit. God is with us and for us and goes before us so we can go with confidence and boldness.  Let’s be courageous and be ready to make the most of every opportunity – let’s bloom where we are planted. And Claire’s chosen song to close our meeting? I, the Lord of sea and sky (Daniel L Schutte) with the memorable chorus of:

Here I am, Lord, Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, If You lead me;
I will hold Your people in my heart.

Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water that I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. “

John 4 v 14 (NIV)

Think: Feeling weary and thirsty? Jesus wants to sit with you a while.  Why not take some time out this week to be still and to know that He is God!

The verse of the week is usually inspired by the teaching the previous Sunday and you can listen to any recordings by clicking on the link below:

https://downsbaptistchurch.org/resources/sermons/10.

Thursday Fellowship reconvened for its spring session on 5th March, 2026 and the programme for the session is listed below. 

Please do consider joining us at 2pm in the Parish Room of the Holy Cross Church unless stated – we can assure you of a very warm welcome! 

5th March – Sue Cunningham (Motto)

12th March – Ann Dracott

19th March – Graham Dawson

2nd April – Maundy Thursday Service

9th April – Dr Ruth Butlin (Leprosy Mission)

16th April – Rosemary Kemp

23rd April – Jane Leaver

30th April – Praise and Share

7th May – Rev Karen Bell

14th May – Geoff Harrington

21st May – Quiz Afternoon

28th May – Maeve Whitchurch

4th June – Claire Withams

11th June – Connie Croly

18th June – John Casse

25th June – Anniversary Tea

For further information head to the following link:- Thursday Fellowship

It is always a joy to receive a visit from Maeve Whitchurch on what was a very hot afternoon. Sadly we were low in numbers but we were refreshed by Maeve’s message as she brought a lovely word from John 4 about Jesus’s encounter with the woman at the well.

For the woman, it was just an ordinary day. She came to the well at the hottest part of the day to avoid people and to draw water but she found someone there.  Was it an inconvenience for her? Was she afraid? Did she feel vulnerable? Quite possibly! Maeve encouraged us to think about whether godly things can become an inconvenience at times and what can tip the balance! The meeting with Jesus changed her life though she wouldn’t have realised it at the time. (Read the full story in John 4 v 1-26.)

Do we expect an encounter with Jesus to disrupt our day? Do we take time out to listen, really listen, to stop talking and just be still? Jesus wants to talk to us! What is He saying to you?

Maeve read slowly some lovely scriptures for us to allow the words to sink into our minds and hearts culminating with that beautiful verse in Zephaniah 3 v 17 – “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save . He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Lord, help us to be prepared just to sit and have a moment with you or even to stop and listen to the birds singing!

Maeve will also be speaking at our church service at Woodingdean Primary School at 10.30am on Sunday 31st May.

An afternoon with a difference this week!

Sue had prepared a quiz for our enjoyment so after our opening devotions which focused on the wonders of God’s creation, we settled down to putting our little grey cells to work.

Sue tested our general knowledge with some tricky questions.  The Bible section really challenged us – see if you know the answers to the following?

• Who replaced Judas as an apostle?
• Which of the 7 churches in Revelation was “lukewarm” and Jesus wanted to “spit it out”?
• What is the “root of all evil”?
• According to Matthew Chapter 1, who was Boaz’s mother?
• Who was Jacob’s second son?

(Answers below)

What a good job we split into two teams – Team Margaret and Kath’s Table with Team Margaret coming out on top!

We sang our vesper to each other and enjoyed chat over a cuppa and biscuits.

Thank you Sue for your hard work in preparing a very entertaining afternoon.

Matthias, Laodicea, The love of money, Rahab, Simeon

Geoff Hamilton, a regular speaker on the Methodist Church circuit was our speaker this afternoon. Below is a precis of some of the thoughts that Geoff shared with us.

Geoff’s reading was from Ecclesiastes 3 v 1-8, a very famous passage of scripture which if you can excuse the pun, is timeless and full of common sense.  Geoff explained that Ecclesiastes comes from the Greek word Ekklesiates meaning church or member of an assembly. Geoff reminisced how we used to have assemblies at school where the seed of faith was often planted in our minds and hearts.  What a shame there is so little time for that nowadays!

Geoff’s message was centred around the theme of ‘serendipity’ where “lovely things are discovered by accident.” The phrase was coined by Horace Walpole, writer and politician, who drew it from an English variation of the Persian fairy tale “The Three Princes of Serendip,” which was about three princes who always made discoveries that they were not looking for on their adventures. Three examples of this in history are:

1928 Alexander Fleming – penicillin
1945 Percy Spencer – the microwave
1968 Spencer Silver – the adhesive that led to Post-it notes

Geoff told the story of Philip Bliss, an American composer and writer of hymns who said, “preaching is important but music is the key to reaching people’s hearts!” That is true for so many people who came to faith through this medium. Philip’s upbringing emphasised faith and reverence towards God and he routinely credited God as the source of his lyrical and melodic inspiration which aligned with biblical doctrine. He wrote, ‘Hallelujah, what a Saviour’ and composed the music to ‘It is well with my soul’.

Geoff played a very early recording of our National Anthem which was written nearly 300 years ago.  Verse two is particularly poignant given what is happening in the political arena this very moment!  “Confound their politics, frustrate their knavish tricks, on Thee our hopes we fix!” We certainly need the Spirit of Truth to guide us and for God to come to our aid in these difficult times.

We listened to two lovely songs from Les Misérables. Geoff said that this musical has the power to bring grown men to tears – he has seen this on a number of occasions. The stage play has many references to prayer, Jesus, heaven, the Way of the Lord, salvation and even some biblical quotes and is an opportunity to hear the Word of the Lord. The ending is filled with hope: When Valjean dies, his passing isn’t sad and depressing; it’s celebratory and glorious! He is led into heaven by the bishop who showed him mercy – and by Fantine to whom he showed compassion. The lyrics sung during this scene state, “Take my hand / And lead me to salvation / Take my love / For love is everlasting / And remember the truth that once was spoken: / To love another person is to see the face of God. Geoff reminded us that God dwells in us if we love one another – 1 John 4 v 12

To finish, Geoff sung unaccompanied, ‘Only Remembered’ a song from the musical “War Horse,” which was originally sung in honour of Charles Spurgeon at his funeral.

For you to think about: Life is full of unexpected moments. These chance encounters may seem insignificant at first, but they often have the power to influence your life in surprising ways. So, keep your eyes open!

At the service on Sunday, 10th May, we welcomed Joth Hunt, one of the South East Baptist Association’s Regional Ministers.

Joth brought a message from John 21 v 1-14 where we had an opportunity to consider what Jesus was trying to teach His disciples from the ‘miraculous catch of 153 fish’. If you would like to listen to Joth’s message then head to our sermon page by clicking the following link – Sermons

We were able to send our love and blessings to the rest of the association by having a group photo of those who were happy to be included.

We welcomed for the first time to our meeting, the Rev Karen Bell from Woodingdean Methodist Church. Karen is known to a few of the group so we were all looking forward to hearing her message to us. Karen felt led to share something of her life story and faith journey and what an incredible testimony it is!

Karen chose one of her favourite portions of scripture, Psalm 139 v 1-18 as her passage of focus. Having been born with Scoliosis, an abnormal side-to-side curvature of the spine, it took Karen quite a number of years to come to terms with those verses which said, “For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body.” Karen was angry and confused. “Why would God do that? Why would He knit her together with a disability! It can’t be right!” Karen admitted that she used to be so scared of those verses yet they have come to mean so much and are a source of great comfort. God does not make a mistake and with time, God began to heal the way Karen saw herself.  We were reminded that God loves uniqueness and diversity yet sadly, pain is part of the human condition.

We need to remember that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made and allow God’s love to permeate our hearts. Karen did just that and at an Easter People camp at Camber Sands in 1988 chose to believe for herself that Jesus had died for her and had forgiven her of all her sins. From that point her life changed.

The call to go into the ministry was very strong from quite an early age and today Karen is responsible for three Methodist churches, Woodingdean, Stanford Avenue and Patcham.

Karen happily mingled with our group and enjoyed singing some old hymns and songs from her past which brought back many happy memories.

An invitation to return was welcomed and we look forward to seeing Karen again in the autumn/winter session.

We had an in-house meeting this week with Sue leading and Jane speaking.

Jane brought a message about playing second fiddle! The term refers in a negative way to a supporting or minor role often implying that one is in a subordinate position, overshadowed, undervalued, perhaps waiting in the shadows or on the side line for a moment to shine – a sense of being second best or second rate!

In an orchestra from whence the term originally came, the second violins are not second best or second rate.  They are very important as they usually play a harmonic role to support the first violins –  and very well they do it too!

Charles Spurgeon, Baptist preacher and founder of Spurgeon’s college said, “It takes more grace or skill than I can tell to play the second fiddle well!” How true that is!

Jane then brought us four characters from the Bible, John the Baptist, Joshua, Elisha and Andrew (the first-called disciple of Jesus), who on the face of it, played second fiddle.  Were they second best or second rate? Not at all! Playing second fiddle in the Bible highlights humility, support and serving in subordinate roles to fulfil a greater purpose, focusing on God’s glory over personal prominence. All of these characters shone like stars and served God faithfully and fruitfully.

Jane asked if we had ever felt as if we had been playing second fiddle, second best or second rate, just waiting for our moment to shine! We were encouraged to know and believe that we are dearly loved and called by God to serve Him just as we are and for such a time as this with the gifts, talents and abilities that He has given to us. We are unique and special!

Jane referred to her reading of 1 Corinthians 3 v 9 – we are God’s fellow-workers and we all have a part to play in the Lord’s harvest.  We were encouraged not to compare ourselves to others or to try and compete.  We are His instruments and He will reward our faithfulness and fruitfulness.

And Jane’s song to close? I have a destiny (Mark Altrogge). “I did not choose You but You have chosen me and appointed me for bearing fruit abundantly. I know You will complete the work begun in me, by the power of Your Spirit working mightily.”

Rosemary Kemp from Seaford Baptist Church was our returning speaker this week.

Rosemary led our service which was entitled ‘Bread and Wine’ and thoughtfully played three songs for us to sing and enjoy which linked in with her theme – namely:

• Before the throne of God above which recounts how Jesus, the risen Lamb is our perfect, spotless righteousness who made an end to all of our sin.
• You’re the Word of God the Father which tells how with a shout Jesus rose victorious, wrestling victory from the grave.
• Light of the World where we reflect how much it cost to see our sin upon the cross.

Rosemary’s readings were taken from:

• John 6 v 63
• John 6 v 53-58
• 1 Corinthians 5 v 6-8
• 1 Corinthians 11 v 27-28

Rosemary who is proud to be Jewish showed us the link between the Jewish traditions of the celebrated meal at Passover and the Christian tradition of Communion.

Passover is an important feast day when Jews remember deliverance out of slavery in Egypt.  The angel of death (the tenth plague) passed over the blood daubed on the door frames and lintels so that the first-born of the Israelites were spared but the first-born of the Egyptians who had not done so were not! Rosemary linked this to the Last Supper which Jesus commanded His disciples to do in remembrance of Him. This was a new covenant.  His body was broken and His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.

Rosemary explained that some traditions believe that the bread and wine actually turn into the body and blood of Jesus but this is not something the early Jewish Christians would have believed. Rosemary said that Jesus is speaking metaphorically and we should not take this literally. When Jesus talks about bread and wine He is referring to His Word and His Spirit. His Word brings life and so does His Spirit. In Communion we commune with God and we need to examine ourselves before we eat and drink and to not take this precious meal lightly.

Rosemary helpfully brought along some food items to illustrate her message. The most striking were the Matzos crackers representing unleavened bread – they are a) striped which reminds us that by His stripes we are healed; b) They have holes in them which reminds us that Jesus was pierced for our sins; and c) when Rosemary broke them to share out, it reminds us that His body was broken.

Sadly most Jewish people do not recognise Jesus as the Messiah – they are still waiting for Him to come.