FROM THE METHODIST MINISTER

Dear Friends,

I write in the midst of the Harvest Festival season, and in a thousand towns and villages, services of thanksgiving are being held. It is a good and necessary thing that we should acknowledge the source from which comes all those things that make life possible for us. The God whom we worship, and to whom we, offer our, thanksgiving, is, indeed, " the bountiful giver of all we enjoy ". Perhaps it is also a good and necessary thing that we, also recognise how much responsibility God has given us: God does not determine, how we shall use His gifts. He leaves that entirely in. our hands. As far as the gifts of food and sustenance are concerned, we make, a pretty poor showing. The experts tell us that there is enough potential food resources to adequately feed many times the, present population of the world; nevertheless the majority of mankind lives in permanent starvation conditions. This is why Harvest Thanksgiving is also a time of confession. But, it is, not only with His gifts of food resources that God gives us responsibility. The very basic gift of- life itself comes from God, and how we use that gift is also left to us. We may use our life for good or ill, for: the achievement of God's purposes in the world, or' for their 'hindrancle It is Christ who points us to the way to use all God's 'gifts with wisdom and faithfulness. Let us be, thankful for all God gives us, and let us use His gifts in the way that He asks of us — Christ's way.

With all good wishes.

Yours sincerely,

DENIS E. GARDINER.

PERSONAL

Dear Friends,

Before leaving, my wife and I would like to thank you all for your kindness to us during the past five years. We very much hope that we shall see some of you on future visits to Hartlip and that you will call on us if you are in the Brentwood area.

With all good wishes,

D. R. SNAPE.

School House.
31st August, 1966.

PARISH NOTES

Welcome

To Mr. and Mrs. Stevens and David, who have come from Borstal village to occupy the first house on the Dane House estate.

Best Wishes

To Mr. and Mrs. Holden, who have recently moved to Sheerness. Mrs. Holden is at present recovering from her third operation and we much hope that in the familiar surroundings of her home town she will grow rapidly stronger. We shall miss her interest and help with the Cricket Club particularly.

Warmest Thanks

Are due to Mrs. Bone and her niece, Mrs. R. D. Shephard, who have given the church a new white altar frontal. Together they have paid for and worked this extremely nice frontal. Much skilful and painstaking needlework was involved, especially in the transferring of the orphreys and centre-piece from the old frontal onto the new one. Appropriately it will first be used on St. Michael and All Angels Day, also the day of our Confirmation, a most important day in our church life.