HESED CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

People kept on arriving as the Hesed service got underway in Carringtons restaurant in Tenby's Atlantic Hotel last Sunday. Continuing his series of talks on Jesus' parables, Rev. Peter Richmond retold the story of a father who had prepared a wedding feast for his son: Invitations had been sent out, replies had come back, so the father knew how many people to cater for. When all was ready, he sent his servants out to notify all the guests that the feast was ready (there being no telephones). But all of the guests were too busy with trivial business of their own. They gave flimsy excuses and treated the father with disdain. Worse still, when more servants were sent out by the ever-hopeful father, they were beaten up or murdered by those who had been invited! It was Jesus' illustration of how Godly men and prophets are often treated by the ones they try to save. Where would the father find guests for the feast? He sent his servants to go and invite anyone they saw. It wouldn't matter what they looked like or whether they were rich or poor because in Jesus' culture it was customary to be handed a wedding garment at the door. Everyone was made equally acceptable by wearing this garment. The pastor gave a reminder that Christians are to "put on Christ", wearing his righteousness as a covering for their sinful nature. The story ended with a warning for anyone who thinks that they can become acceptable by wearing their own goodness, however respectable. (Paul called man-made righteousness "filthy rags"). The only way to please the Father is to accept humbly the forgiveness that was bought with Jesus' own blood. Genesis 3 was under discussion at the Bible study on Tuesday night. It's the chapter that tells how it all went wrong: men started to disobey God's simple rules and brought a curse on themselves and all nature; but it also contains the first animal sacrifice and the first mention of the promised Saviour, Jesus. There are services every Sunday at 4.15 pm in Carringtons, The Esplanade, Tenby. Come to hear the truth and give glory to an awesome God.

Tenby and District Bridge Club

Results, Wednesday, January 5: 1. Nicky Hancock and Peter Oeppen 57.78 per cent; 2. Margaret Day and Sheridan Bradley 57.41; 3. Liz.Crockford and Kevin Thomas 56.67; 4. Edna Lawrence and Hywel Probert 53.70. Friday, January 7: 1. Margaret Day and Doug Silcox 67 per cent; 2. Kay Allen and Margaret Harries 59; 3. Sheridan Bradley and Liz. Crockford 49. Wednesday, January 12 (British Winter Simultaneous Pairs): North/South - 1. Liz Crockford and Kevin Thomas 56.48 per cent; 2. Lee Collier and Peter Milefski 55.56; 3. Jill and John O'Sullivan 54.63; equal 4. Nicky Hancock and Peter Oeppen, Vincent Llewellyn and Bert Barnikel, and Betty and Phil. Rogers 52.31. East/West - 1. Carmel Wiseman and Graham Hadlow 65.74 per cent; 2. Aileen and Martin Neilan 60.19; 3. Sheridan Bradley and Margaret Day 55.79; 4. Coral Jones and June Jones 47.22. Friday, January 14: equal 1. Sheridan Bradley and Liz. Crockford, and Coral Jones 61.11 per cent; 3. Irene Delahunty and Marnie Owens 59.72; 4. Kay Allen and Margaret Harries 54.86. Duplicate bridge is played every Wednesday and Friday evening commencing at 7 pm sharp, at the Information Centre, Kilgetty. New members and visitors are warmly welcome. For membership, ring Lee collier, secretary, on 01834 871753. For partners, ring Coral Jones on 01834 814164. For transport, ring Bert Barnikel on 01834 842944.

DEER PARK CHURCH

The morning worship was led by 'Keith from Neath'. Keith and his wife Pauline gave an update on the work at a children's orphanage in Uganda. The project which involves five churches in the Neath district began seven years ago and has now come to fruition. Several church members will shortly visit the orphanage and Keith thanked the members at Deer Park for their generous donation which will help to build ceilings in the classrooms and provide new mosquito nets for the children. He also thanked those members of the church who are sponsoring orphans. The first reading and sermon was given by Mr. Nic Sutton. Judges Ch6.v. 1-25 tells how Gideon was given the courage and strength by God to deliver the Israelites out of oppression by the Midianites. Gideon cast down the altar to their God Baal and replaced it with one to the true God Jehovah. So we must cast out the false Gods of money, possessions etc. from our lives and search for the truth and wisdom of God. Nic reminded us of the verse in Phillipians Ch4: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Keith led the music group for Songs of Praise, after which the children left for their own service. Mrs. Ann Pattenden conducted prayer time and gave these words for meditation, 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding'. So many times we forget to turn to God for help in our daily living. The second reading and sermon was delivered by Mr. Gary Emlyn. His text was taken from Mathew Ch7 v 21. Jesus said "Not everyone who saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father which is in Heaven." As Christians we believe in a Day of Judgement. God gives us all chances to realise that He is there and to live our lives accordingly. Christian apathy leads so many of us to forget Christ and His Church and to put all else in our lives before God. We should ask ourselves frequently "what stands between me and my relationship with Him?" Then we should put the matter to right. It is also our responsibility to bring others to the knowledge and love of God. Try a few times to pass the message on and if it is rejected, at least you tried. We boast of many things in our lives, but we should remember the words of the Apostle Paul,"Let him who boasts, boast only in the Lord." Worldly goods are nothing, we cannot take them with us at the end. We can only take spiritual riches. When we share with others the joy in our hearts, it is the greatest gift that we can give them. This Sunday morning at 10.45 am, the speaker will be Mr. Colin Evans. In the evening, at 6 pm, there will be a United Service for Christian Unity, when the speaker will be Rev. Bill Lewis.

INNER WHEEL CLUB OF TENBY

The first meeting of the new year was held at the Fourcroft, on January 10, the anniversary of the foundation of Inner Wheel. President Anne was delighted to welcome the District chairman, Mrs. Sue Sewell, to the meeting, which was preceded by a buffet supper. Club members had not been idle since the last business meeting. The birthday dinner in November at the Fourcroft, with speaker Mrs. Ruth Webb, and the Christmas dinner at Carringtons, speaker Mrs. Ladonna Mallams, had both been happy occasions, and the club had had a successful Welsh cake bake at New Hedges just before Christmas when £92.50 was raised for charities. Members had also attended St. Mary's Church on January 9, followed by lunch at the Pam Pam. Among correspondence received were dates for the Overseas District Rally, District Golf Tournament, and a request for nominations for District officers. President Anne reported that Carwen had made banners for the Rotary Club flags, and asked for volunteers for sewing the remaining four banners. The club had received a request from Mrs. Jackie Rowe, of Tenby Infants' School, for help with creating an outdoor classroom in the school grounds. It was agreed to donate £100 towards costs. The club is having a Bring a Buy sale at the Overseas meeting on January 24. Proceeds will go to the Tsunami Appeal. The District chairman suggested that donations go through the Rotary Club, as they would be match-funded by Rotary International. Charles Dale will be speaking to Rotary in February. Inner Wheel members were invited to meet him in the afternoon. Overseas chairman Marnie is still collecting stamps, glasses and wool for blankets. Thanks go to the ladies from the Catholic Church who have knitted lots of 'Teddies for Tragedy'. Betty Charnock co-ordinated the 'Operation Christmas Child' shoe box appeal. A total of 595 boxes was collected - a truly marvellous result. Thanks go to all the local schools and organisations who helped. Before Christmas, Welfare chairman Betty and president Anne had visited the local care homes with boxes of biscuits, and Betty had attended the Gateway Club Christmas party and given them boxes of crisps. Rosemary had attended the Visually Impaired Group's lunch on Betty's behalf. Programme secretary Meryl has organised a Charity Valentine's Day Dinner at the Pam Pam, with romantic raffle and entertainment. Tickets £17 are available from members and the event will be in aid of the Parkinson's Disease Society. A party of nine will be attending Cheltenham Races in March. Club correspondent June had had to resign owing to problems with writing. Boo has agreed to take over for the rest of the year, and was thanked by June. Following the business meeting, president Anne invited District chairman Sue to address the club. A lively and relaxed speaker, she said she was not going to talk on the history of Inner Wheel, but of her own experiences since joining - her thoughts on the way forward, and how to increase membership. She only joined Inner Wheel in 1998, and was made president in 1999, a post she held for two years. During that time she suggested District 15 should have a web-site, and set it up the following year. During a conference visit, Dr. Elizabeth Jones suggested serving at District level and she became District chairman last year. She hoped her enthusiasm would make up for lack of experience. She urged the club to remember that its work should be community based, and not just fund-raising, and that publicity was essential. Her chosen charity was NSPCC. She had worked for it for 30 years, and gave a moving reasons why she had felt compelled to do so. She was warmly thanked for her talk by president Anne, who presented her with a cheque for NSPCC and an inscribed Tenby plant pot and plant to remind her of her visit to the club. The raffle, given by Rosemary, was won by Carwen. The next meeting will be the Overseas Bring and Buy on January 24 at the Fourcroft Hotel at 7.30 pm. ST. JOHNS CHURCH

On Sunday, Rev. Nanette Lewis-Head, who was leading worship, thanked Lara for reading the welcome and introduced the day's theme which was to continue thinking about the Baptism of Jesus and its influence upon our lives. The talk to the young people was about two friends playing the game 'follow my leader' on skateboards, the outcome being unfortunate for the one that was less skilled. Jesus is a leader who is different, as well as being a friend he is here to help. The congregation read together Psalm 40, 'I waited patiently for the Lord', and Mrs. Melanie Walker, the Old Testament passage from Isaiah 49 1-7, 'Israel a light to the Nations' and from the New Testament, John 1 29-42, 'The Lamb of God'. In the opening words of her address, Nanette said that these readings together proclaim 'Come and see the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world'. In looking at the Baptismal narrative from John's gospel, she examined the response to Andrew's question to Jesus, 'Where do you live?' The starting point of discipleship is 'Where if God?' The disciples gradually understood their calling. None of us know where He is leading us. It is not an easy call, but it is a joyful one. This theme will be pursued this Sunday, looking more closely at 'Follow me'. Before prayers of intercession, Nanette gave news of the church family. John Hurlow was now out of hospital and best wishes were sent to him and his wife, Sonia, and also to Ann Gerard, who was due to go into hospital. Nanette thanked Mrs. Marlys Thomas who had organised a coffee morning the previous Wednesday, which raised £640 for the Tsunami Disaster Fund. This is so far matched with a similar amount from direct giving through retiring collections. Worship this Sunday at 10.30 am will be led by Nanette. All are welcome.

TENBY AND DISTRICT PROBUS CLUB

The first meeting in the new year was very poorly attended, with only 19 members present. Many members seem to be struggling with colds and 'flu. A return to spring would be very welcome. There was only one anniversary boy, and that was John Cochlin. The secretary outlined trips planned for the coming year. Members are to lunch at Pembroke College in June and to have a day visit to Bristol in August. More details at a later date. The annual general meeting is to be moved from November to January, and a special meeting will be held on February 2 to facilitate this. Speaker for the day was Tom Hughes. He gave a very interesting insight into the workings of the haberdashery trade and his three-year apprenticeship 'up the smoke', as it was called back in the '50s. Thanks go to Tom for an interesting topic well delivered. Any retired professional or businessman would be most welcome to attend the meeting. Just ring Lew Day on 844633 for information.

TENBY VIP GROUP

The January meeting of the Tenby Visually Impaired People Group took the form of the group's annual general meeting. Chairman, John Webb, welcomed everyone and the roll call was taken, and there was a special welcome for new member, Molly Page. Secretary, Margaret Walker, read the minutes of the last annual general meeting which were adopted and signed. She then gave a brief report on the group's activities during 2004; there had been three musical afternoons, a few outings and some interesting speakers. Treasurer, Betty Gordon, then gave a financial report which was very healthy. The election of officers resulted in all posts being retained, with the exception of Eva Rich taking over as press secretary. There was much discussion regarding events and suggestions for 2005 which would be taken on board by the committee. Gwen Gilson thanked all officials for making the group meetings so enjoyable. Welcome refreshments were served by Margaret and Roz from Saundersfoot Inner Wheel, and members then enjoyed two quizzes. The raffle winners were Glyn Richards, Jeff Eason and Gwen Gilson. The PBS minibus then transported members to their various homes and the next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 15. Anyone interested in joining the group should contact secretary, Margaret Walker, on 843464.

TENBY CYMRODORION

It was on a wintry afternoon on December 16, when the members and friends of the Tenby Cymrodorion gathered in the Lower Schoolroom of St. Johns Church, Tenby, for the highlight of the old year's session, the Christmas Celebration. Members and their guests were treated to a splendid afternoon of hymns and Welsh songs of Christmas, from the ladies of the Daffodil Choir under the direction of Mrs. Phyl Williams, accompanied on the piano, as ever, by Mrs. Gwellian Jones. Appropriate seasonal readings were rendered by Mr. Newman Vincent and his wife Trevena. As everyone settled back to cups of tea and hot mince pies at the end of the meeting, all agreed that it has been a splendid afternoon. The winter session was scheduled to resume with a meeting yesterday (Thursday), when Mr. Martin Lewis, tutor in Welsh and a guide at Pembroke Castle, was due to address members.

ATC DINNER

The 1284 (Tenby) Squadron of the Air Training Corps will be holding its annual dinner and presentation at the town's Giltar Hotel on February 12. All ex-cadets of the corps and others wishing to attend are asked to please contact the squadron secretary on 01834 843758.