NB: for PDF downloads of past monthly newsletters, please see the Monthly Notice Sheets page in the Downloads section.

HOLIDAY GREETINGS
The holiday season is with us and at the time of writing I am wilting in the heat at the desk of my friend, Revd Gunter Bareis, in the parish of Lauffen am Neckar in Germany. Many of you will remember Gunter and the young people from his previous parish of Heubach from their visit to us in October 2006. Since then, Gunter has moved to a bigger parish of the Evangelische Kirche ("Evangelische" literally means Protestant but in English we call it the "Lutheran Church"). Last Sunday I preached at the imposing Regiswindiskirche (with Gunter translating from notes that Nicola Hoch prepared). Most people here, especially those who are younger than me, speak good English and many were excited to hear an English-speaking preacher! Lauffen am Neckar is in the German state of Baden- Württemberg. On Saturday, while Gunter officiates at a big wedding, Michael and I will visit Katharina Brand (Katrina) at Würzburg in Bavaria before heading south on Monday for Toffen in Switzerland, where Willy and Katharina Niklaus live. After a few days there we will cross the border back into Germany to visit Nicola and her family at Gottenheim which is near Freiburg, in the south-west corner of Germany, again in the state of Baden- Württemberg.

My contact with Christians in Germany began in 1981 with a college exchange for one week from Wesley College Bristol to the Evangelische-Methodistiche Kirche Hochschule in Reutlingen. It was at the Methodist College for German-speaking ministers in training that I first met my friends Klaus Ulrich Ruof and Willy Niklaus. As Reutlingen is only just over an hour away by train we took the opportunity to visit the town and, after taking a while to get my bearings after 29 years, I was able to find the college and met a few of the current students. As I was reflecting on the years, I was sad that the recent Methodist Conference at Portsmouth (2010) decided to close Wesley College, Bristol, bringing to an end 168 years of Methodist ministerial training but the decision, largely forced upon the Conference, reflects the current situation of the Methodist Church in Great Britain. Reutlingen is not far from the famous university town of Tübingen and here, a little tired and very hot from our journey, quite "by chance" we found the Methodist Church with the door open. Bumping into Seniorenkreis (an afternoon gathering for retired people), we were entertained to pretzels, cake and a most welcome drink. Earlier in our stay in Germany, I was able to catch up with Klaus Ulrich and Cornelia Ruof at the home of their daughter, Melanie, who now lives near Stuttgart, again not far from Lauffen.

Our association with Germany is shortly going to be strengthened through our daughter, Fiona, who in September will be joining a mission project for one year with the Methodist Church at Chemnitz in Saxony (part of the former East Germany). Fiona will be able to contribute her considerable musical and artistic gifts to the project (not a bad achievement when they originally asked for someone who was good at sport) and hopes to be able to share her faith with the young people with whom she will be working. Although her friends, Nicola, Katharina (Katrina) and Anna Bareis live on the other side of the country, she will already have some friends in Germany and no doubt will soon make many more. We will miss the contribution that Fiona has made to music in the church here but wish her God's blessing as she takes her gap year.

MOVING ON
In a larger church there are always comings and goings and we do not always mention them in this monthly newsletter, as we express our good wishes in other ways. However, it is most important that as a church community we express our thanks to Miriam Sitch and wish her God's blessing as she moves to the Midlands to be nearer to her elderly parents. Miriam has made an immense contribution to the life of the church, especially to our work among children and young people. We shall miss her and all that she does but trust that Miriam will settle into a new church, have some time with her family and perhaps not be quite so busy as she has been here (well, the first two might happen even if the third does not). The stewards are hosting a lunch for Miriam and the church community on Sunday 15 August (more information to follow). This will be a good opportunity to wish Miriam well.

MONEY AND CHANGE
After six years of service as our church treasurer, Barbara Parr is standing down at the end of the financial year (31 August). Barbara stepped into the breach in 2004. The job of church treasurer is responsible and burdensome and I am sure that everyone not only appreciates all that Barbara has done but wishes her well as she returns to being able to come to the services without financial issues on her mind. Earlier in the year, the church council appointed Mrs Rachael Granville to be the new church treasurer. We wish Rachael well in this new appointment. I hope that everyone will give Rachael both practical and prayerful support.

LOCAL MISSION ENABLER
I am pleased to hear that our stewards made a good presentation as part of our application to the Plymouth and Devonport Methodist Circuit for a grant of 40% of the cost of employing a local mission enabler at Ridgeway for three years. We now have to submit some more detailed proposals and indicate if the church community supports this vision with pledges of the appropriate financial commitment. If Christianity is simply a life-style choice then there is little point in supporting anything beyond the immediate needs of the club (keeping everything running and maintaining the building). However, if what we are about is saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ then our vision for those who are unsaved or lost will help shape and define our response to this appeal.

As temperatures here this week have exceeded 100 degrees F, it is hard to imagine the wind and rain that you are currently experiencing. However, whether you are going away to sunnier climates, remaining within the British Isles or staying locally, we are blessed to live in a lovely part of the world and I hope that you are able to enjoy the summer season and return to routine refreshed and encouraged.

God bless,