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Paignton - Torquay - Brixham

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Blakes Christian Coach Holidays

Circuit Missions Committee Report

Circuit Prayer and Praise

Circuit Service (Harvest of the Sea)

Family Walking Group - Goodrington Methodist Church

Langley House Trust

Pray Without Ceasing

'Operation Noah'

Revd Derrick Barber

Torbay Civic Society 'Blue Plaque'

The Revd Derrick Aubrey Barber

21st September 1920 - 21st December 2008

Derrick was born in the valleys of South Wales in the village of Talywain, near Abersychan – his parents were Mary and Joseph.  His mother was one of 17, and Derrick himself was the youngest of five children.  All the children were gifted with remarkable singing voices, and Derrick's brother won the National Eisteddfod.  Derrick toured the toured the country and sang as a lad – he was known as The Monmouthshire Nightingale - kept his marvellous voice right to the end, and singing was always a part of his ministry.

Derrick grew up in the Great Depression of the 1930's and it had a profound effect on his life, shaping his passionately-held political views and his preaching of the gospel of mercy and grace.  In all his work he tried to support and encourage the underprivileged and to work for justice.  He was in correspondence with Trevor Huddleston and Nelson Mandela, writing poems and raising money for the struggle against apartheid.

When Derrick was 14 the whole family moved to Southampton in search of work. Derrick was apprenticed in the foundry of Holland and Wolfe the shipbuilders, where he learned to work with wood and iron, skills which he developed through the rest of his life -

He felt the call to the ministry as part of Bitterne Park Congregational Church – with no qualifications and little money, but determined and unstoppable, he worked at night school, passing the School Certificate exams and also learning Greek and Hebrew.  He entered Western College Bristol, emerging with the Bristol B.A., and was ordained to the Ministry in Mount Pleasant Church, Hastings in 1945.  He married Eileen in that Church in 1947.  This was followed by ministries in Royston (1950-56), Beckenham (1955-1966), Torquay (1966-1983) and Clevedon and Nailsea(1983-1985).  He was one of the founding ministers of Torquay Central Church, bringing together Belgrave Congregational Church, Union
Street Methodist Church and Market Street Methodist in new premises on the site of the Belgrave building.

Ministry was multi-faceted – Church, Hospital Chaplaincy, Community Health Council, School Governor, caring for the young and old, the local Samaritans for over 35 years.  He was a great friend to the smaller churches and would conduct worship in them throughout his retirement.  Derrick brought his creativity, musical talent and unstoppable energy to all these tasks and many more.

In his final semi-conscious state, Derrick opened his eyes three times and exclaimed with all his usual vocal power "In all his wide dominion ...".  We think he was reminding us that God is everywhere and everywhere to be served.  This delightful, creative inspiring servant of the Lord is much missed, of course by Eileen, Valerie and Susan, but also by a much wider church family to whom he was a much loved guide and friend.

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Blakes Christian Coach Holidays - Click on the image to see a larger picture then use your Browser's Back Button to return to this page

BLAKES CHRISTIAN COACH HOLIDAYS
As committed Christians, and with God at the centre of our whole business, our aim is to offer quality Christian Coach Holidays.  We believe that quality, reliability and value for money are the essential ingredients in any good holiday.  We are totally committed to providing a personal, friendly and professional service to ensure that a holiday with us is one to remember... for all the right reasons.
Torbay-Hameln Churches were pleased to use Blakes Coaches Ltd for their visit to Hameln in 2008.
Click here to contact us for a Brochure and further information.

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REPORT FROM CIRCUIT MISSIONS COMMITTEE

The Circuit Missions Committee considered the national ecumenical campaign, HOPE 2008, and which encourages Christians to get out of their churches to make Jesus known through positive involvement in our communities.

The High Points of HOPE 2008 are:

1. Fresh HOPE:          January, a fresh start in the New Year

2. Big HOPE:              exploring Holy Week

3. HOPE on the Streets: May

4. HOPE explored:     September, inviting the Community to explore the Christian faith

5. A Gift of HOPE:      Christmas, unpacking the Christmas Message

Goodrington Methodist Church Family Walking Group invites you to join them to enjoy the fellowship and the exercise.  All ages are welcome.

Nothing too strenuous!  We chat together as we walk along and often find a resting place for a cup of tea or coffee, or maybe lunch! 

Any queries, please contact John on 550234 

We meet at the Church at 9 a.m. 

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Pray Without Ceasing

Click here to read about the 'Pray without Ceasing' Initiative

Prayer net    Prayer wall, for prayers of thanksgiving    Pray with clay

Confession    Creative prayer    Prayer bracelet    Meditation and healing

Visual presentation    Prayer focus    Intersessions

"PRAY WITHOUT CEASING" PRAYER ZONES AT PAIGNTON (PALACE AVENUE) METHODIST CHURCH
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Langley House Trust

Desperately seeking Susan…and Bob and Eileen…..! It was a delight to meet existing Langley House Trust supporters and to make new friends on our stand at the Methodist Conference in Torquay. The Trust, which provides support and accommodation for ex-offenders wishing to resettle crime-free, is currently looking to recruit more people to join our mailing list and we would like to ask you to prayerfully consider whether you would be willing to do this. A simple form (on the reverse of our “Pass it on” brochure) is available from our Head Office (tel: 01993 899594 or email: info@langleyhousetrust.org) and you get a Freepost envelope and a useful pen too, so it won’t take you a moment! Simply tick the boxes to tell us what you’d like to receive. We can send you spare brochures too, for you to pass to friends and colleagues.

By keeping in touch with developments at the Trust and by praying for our work, you will be playing an important part in the process of changing lives and breaking the cycle of re-offending which causes so much damage to individuals and to Society.

For more information about the work of the Langley House Trust please visit www.langleyhousetrust.org.

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Torbay’s Operation Noah - a Methodist Circuit Eco Rally

Operation Noah is an interdenominational, national project founded by 2 Christian organisations,  Christian Ecology Link and the Environmental Issues Network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. 

In response to the "Operation Noah" campaign, representatives of the Torbay Circuit Missions  group agreed to organise a local event that would focus attention on some of the human activities that are escalating climate change.

The evening was free and was hosted by Palace Avenue Methodist church in Paignton on Friday 14 September.  An audience of about 55 church members and general public heard about a range of issues that impact on global warming and our stewardship of the planet.

Richard Gomme, the Co-ordinator of the Devon Community Recycling Centre, (DCRN), started the evening off by presenting information about the network, an independent charity that works closely with, the national Community Recycling Network (CRN). The CRN is the national voice of the community waste sector. In Devon it:

- informs, supports, advises and represents the community waste sector

- helps to develop new opportunities for the sector and member groups

- liaises and works with Local Authorities and other stakeholders to develop closer partnership working opportunities and mutual benefits

He gave various practical examples of support given to communities who want to help themselves live more sustainably.

After South West Water pulled out at the last minute Gordon Chambers gave his own personal experiences in Water Conservation and Rainwater Harvesting, showing that with a little ingenuity and minimal expense it is possible to collect hundreds of gallons of water from one's own roof and use this for everything from flushing the loo to garden irrigation.                 

Gordon followed this up by explaining how we can all "Grow our Own" whatever the size of our gardens and however inclement the weather. He brought some samples of his labours – melons, tomatoes and raspberries to name a few, as he said all grown in "God's good earth". 

How to be more Energy Efficient was presented by Laura Baker of Devon Energy Advice Centre. This is something we can all be involved with by, for example, changing to energy efficient lightbulbs, lagging hot pipes.  She stressed that many of these small outlays will quickly save us money, so it is a win-win situation

Finally David Calvert & Bob Wright from Crediton Methodist church showed how it is possible to Green your Church (or other community building).  By involving everyone in the church, they ensure that whatever activity is undertaken the environmental impact is considered and the positive benefits this has produced have gained them an Eco Church Award.  

During the coffee break there was a chance to view the stands and pick up plenty of information on Energy Efficiency, Torbay Council's Recycling  and other green policies, while one of Palace Avenue church's members, Sue Gibb brought samples and recipes for making cleaning materials and washing solutions from eco friendly ingredients.

It is hoped to maintain the enthusiasm that this meeting generated, providing local churches with the momentum to get involved in this essential part of Christian life.

Where do we go from here?

The organisers of the meeting hope that the enthusiasm of the meeting will encourage hands-on environmental action:

·                    Goodrington Methodist Church already have plans to become an eco-church! 

·                    If there is support, we could arrange visits to actual projects like the Community Recycling Centre or a travelling exhibition of conservation tools.

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Torbay Civic Society 'Blue Plaque'

Click on the image to see a full size picture - then use the back button on your browser to return to this page.As a result of a joint initiative between the Torbay Circuit and the Torbay Civic Society, a plaque was unveiled on Thursday 18 October 2001 to commemorate the beginnings of Methodism in Torquay. 

We had an excellent ceremony unveiling the plaque - the venue was the Burger King restaurant in Fleet Street, Torquay which is the closest point to where two cottages were converted in 1807 to form The Chapel In The Meadow, the first Methodist "church". The plaque was unveiled by the Deputy Mayor of Torbay (Councillor Heather Buckpit) together with 94 year old Leslie Callard whose brainchild the plaque was.

We were given splendid coverage by BBC Radio Devon by our local evening newspaper the Herald Express.

Some 60 people turned up and we surprised everyone by lustily singing "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling".  I doubt whether Burger King patrons had ever experienced the like of it before.

Click here to read a history of the Methodist Church in Torquay 

Owen Nankivell

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Circuit Prayer and Praise

The introduction (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)    Scripture Reading (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)    We each get to know each other (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)

Prayer candles are lit (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)    A song (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)    Prayer candles are lit (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)

Discussion amongst ourselves (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)    The Music Group (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)    Singing our final song (Click on the image to see a full-size picture)

SCENES FROM OUR CIRCUIT PRAYER AND PRAISE SERVICE
PAIGNTON (PALACE AVENUE) METHODIST CHURCH
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Blakes Christian Coach Holidays

Circuit Missions Committee Report

Circuit Prayer and Praise

Circuit Service (Harvest of the Sea)

Family Walking Group - Goodrington Methodist Church

Langley House Trust

Pray Without Ceasing

Revd Derrick Barber

'Operation Noah'

Torbay Civic Society 'Blue Plaque'

Circuit Contact Information

Telephone
+44 (0)1803-854119
Mobile
(Details to follow)
Postal address
133 New Road, BRIXHAM, Devon, TQ5 8DB, United Kingdom
Electronic mail
Superintendent Minister: Revd Jerry Cook
Click here to see a list of Circuit e-mail addresses
Please refer to each church page for local details


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Last updated: July 2009