The Unopened Present
Michelle: Geof! You’ve made it back to work at last! It seems an age since you’ve been here
Geof: Well, first it was the snow, then the ice, then Christmas break, then that training course...
Michelle: Don’t worry, you’ve not missed out, I’ve kept it for you
Geof: Kept what?
Michelle: Your “secret Santa” present (getting a wrapped Christmas present out of a Santa sack)
Geof: I can’t have a “secret Santa” present now, it’s the 14th January! It’s too late! Christmas is over.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Monday, 17 January 2011
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
As a place to live, Bournemouth ("Bomo"?!) is now famed for it's pubs and clubs (in good ways and bad!), as well as it's award winning beach, and this is an added appeal to many in choosing to come here.
We have put together some useful information and links for students studying here, or thinking of coming to Bournemouth.
UK Students in Bournemouth
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
We have put together some useful information and links for students studying here, or thinking of coming to Bournemouth.
UK Students in Bournemouth
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Bournemouth students
In the 2009 league table, Bournemouth University was ranked 32nd out of 117 overall, a leap of 48 places in four years, and called the number 1 new university by the Guardian University Guide. Tourism and Sports Science at the University are ranked second in the country. The Arts University College at Bournemouth has developed into one of the leading specialist education institutions in Europe focusing exclusively upon contemporary arts, design and media. There are only four accredited Chiropractic Schools in the UK, and one of them, the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, is right here in Boscombe! Bournemouth & Poole College offers a wide variety of further education courses for school leavers and mature students - including BTECs, AS and A levels, and many vocational courses - but also now runs higher education courses.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Monday, 10 January 2011
New Year's greeting from Pastor Martin
I am truly looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us and am confident that he will do a great work in and through us as his church. I love Jer 29:11; we actually had it as a motto verse in Bristol. It reminds us something of what the Lord’s heart is for RPC and indeed each of us as individuals and not just for 2011, but for the whole of our lives. It reads:-.
‘For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Jer 29:11
So friends let’s stand together united in prayer, praise and service this coming year and discover his exciting plans and purposes for our lives.
God bless Martin
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
‘For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Jer 29:11
So friends let’s stand together united in prayer, praise and service this coming year and discover his exciting plans and purposes for our lives.
God bless Martin
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Friday, 7 January 2011
New year's greeting from Pastor Martin
Message from Pastor Martin, January 2011
Wow! Where did 2010 go! Talk about time flying; well I think it must be flying at the speed of light. This time last year Joy and I started seeking the Lord in earnest as to where he wanted us to go and serve him next. Here we are today after already serving here at RPC for nearly 4 months. We can’t believe it!
So what does 2011 hold for us as a church and what do you feel about that? Are you looking forward with a sense of excitement and anticipation; or perhaps with a degree of reservation and trepidation, particularly with the talk of change in the air? After all change is not a thing we as human beings naturally warm to. Despite this however, I trust the Lord has been stirring your hearts, as he has mine and excitement mixed with anticipation is your pervading experience.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Wow! Where did 2010 go! Talk about time flying; well I think it must be flying at the speed of light. This time last year Joy and I started seeking the Lord in earnest as to where he wanted us to go and serve him next. Here we are today after already serving here at RPC for nearly 4 months. We can’t believe it!
So what does 2011 hold for us as a church and what do you feel about that? Are you looking forward with a sense of excitement and anticipation; or perhaps with a degree of reservation and trepidation, particularly with the talk of change in the air? After all change is not a thing we as human beings naturally warm to. Despite this however, I trust the Lord has been stirring your hearts, as he has mine and excitement mixed with anticipation is your pervading experience.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Friday, 24 December 2010
White Christmas
What's all the fuss about having a WHITE CHRISTMAS?
The interest in snowy Christmases has its origins in the colder climate of the period 1550-1850 when Britain was in the grip of a 'Little Ice Age'. Winters were particularly persistent and severe - 1813/14 was the last winter that a 'frost fair' was held on the River Thames in London. For most parts of the UK, Christmas comes at the beginning of the season for snow. Wintry weather is more likely early in the deepening cold of January. White Christmases were more frequent in the 18th and 19th centuries, even more so before the change of calendar in 1752 which effectively brought Christmas day back by 12 days. For many a White Christmas means a complete covering of snow, ideally falling between midnight and midday on the 25th. However, the definition used most widely, notably by those placing and taking bets, is for a single snow flake (perhaps amongst a shower of rain and snow mixed) to be observed falling in the 24 hours of December 25th. The last time we had a White Christmas with snow falling across the UK was 2001, but this was mainly confined to high ground, 1995 was a good year for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern England.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
The interest in snowy Christmases has its origins in the colder climate of the period 1550-1850 when Britain was in the grip of a 'Little Ice Age'. Winters were particularly persistent and severe - 1813/14 was the last winter that a 'frost fair' was held on the River Thames in London. For most parts of the UK, Christmas comes at the beginning of the season for snow. Wintry weather is more likely early in the deepening cold of January. White Christmases were more frequent in the 18th and 19th centuries, even more so before the change of calendar in 1752 which effectively brought Christmas day back by 12 days. For many a White Christmas means a complete covering of snow, ideally falling between midnight and midday on the 25th. However, the definition used most widely, notably by those placing and taking bets, is for a single snow flake (perhaps amongst a shower of rain and snow mixed) to be observed falling in the 24 hours of December 25th. The last time we had a White Christmas with snow falling across the UK was 2001, but this was mainly confined to high ground, 1995 was a good year for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern England.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Tinsel and Turkey
Who first decorated with TINSEL?
Tinsel was invented in Germany in 1610 and used to be made with real silver!
Why do we eat TURKEY at Christmas?
The tradition of eating turkey only at Christmas is a distant memory of the days when the principal dish on that day was something special. Before turkey took over, the popular Christmas delicacies were bustard, goose and cockerel, and in the houses of the rich, peacock and swan. The peacock was often skinned before roasting. For serving, it was re-clothed in its feathers and its beak was gilded. Sometimes the beak was propped open with a bit of bread soaked in spirit. This would then be set alight and the bird brought into the dining hall with the greatest pomp and ceremony. The turkey was introduced into Europe by one of Sebastian Cabot's officers on a return journey from the New World, which is where the birds came from. Strangely, they were called turkeys because of their similarity with another bird which was already established in England for human consumption. This was known as the turkey! Merchants from the Levant, or Turkey, first brought them to England, having originally imported them from West Africa. This soon created a lot of confusion. So, the first turkey was renamed the Guinea Fowl, as a reminder of its place of origin.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
Tinsel was invented in Germany in 1610 and used to be made with real silver!
Why do we eat TURKEY at Christmas?
The tradition of eating turkey only at Christmas is a distant memory of the days when the principal dish on that day was something special. Before turkey took over, the popular Christmas delicacies were bustard, goose and cockerel, and in the houses of the rich, peacock and swan. The peacock was often skinned before roasting. For serving, it was re-clothed in its feathers and its beak was gilded. Sometimes the beak was propped open with a bit of bread soaked in spirit. This would then be set alight and the bird brought into the dining hall with the greatest pomp and ceremony. The turkey was introduced into Europe by one of Sebastian Cabot's officers on a return journey from the New World, which is where the birds came from. Strangely, they were called turkeys because of their similarity with another bird which was already established in England for human consumption. This was known as the turkey! Merchants from the Levant, or Turkey, first brought them to England, having originally imported them from West Africa. This soon created a lot of confusion. So, the first turkey was renamed the Guinea Fowl, as a reminder of its place of origin.
richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.
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