The September 2017 newsletter of the Marlow Area Team Ministry highlights various community outreach efforts, including the launch of youth programs such as 'Game On' and 'Unity,' aimed at engaging young people in faith-based activities. The document also reports on the introduction of a toddler group called 'Teeny Saints' and the continuation of small groups under a new system that encourages participation and community building. Additionally, it details initiatives involving a choir tour to Germany, and a new partnership supporting children in Tanzania through the Compassion Project.

1. Team TalkSEPTEMBER 2017
A newsletter of the Marlow area team ministry serving the communities
of Great Marlow, Marlow Bottom, Little Marlow, and Bisham.
Youth Work in Marlow
Where to begin? The last time we wrote we were
dreaming about the youth work and now the final
pieces we are trying are about to begin.
As well as our wonderful Sunday morning leaders
and groups for youth, we now have a ‘Breakfast
Club’ which runs between the services to offer the
young people a chance to have fun and get to know
each other and the team.
We are going into Borlase each week to run the
‘Doughnut Club’ where the students can come and
learn more about Jesus, play some games and of
course eat a doughnut!
We have had the exciting development of a small
group called ‘C.A.K.E with God’, (Come And Keep
Exploring with God) which Kirsty Blake runs in
Marlow Bottom and a good number have been
going to that each week.
Finally, we are about to launch our new Wednesday
night Youth Club called ‘Game On’ & our town wide
youth service ‘Unity’. The youth council came
up with the name Game On and we were really
encouraged as the initials are GO, which is a major
part of the great commission and is the hope for
this club. As for ‘Unity’, this will be a monthly youth
service run jointly between the churches on a
Saturday night.
We would love to offer more support to the school
and could especially do with a few more male
leaders for our ‘Game On’ Club and Sunday
mornings, so it would be wonderful to hear from
you if you would like to know more.
Helen Godwin
Autumn Sermon Series
Sundays across the 4U Team, up until Advent, promise
to be a Biblical journey of adventure and wonder!
In September we will be marvelling at Creation and
Creativity ...
This short series explores the rich vein of Biblical
teaching around Creator and creation, drawing on the
Wisdom literature of the Old Testament. King David
and his son Solomon, Job, the Psalms and the book of
Proverbs will help us explore more deeply the person
of God as creator whilst at the same time help us
celebrate creation and draw us in to play our part.
In October we will be diving into Jonah...
Jonah is a fantastic Old Testament character whose
story leaves us asking the question, “Do we really
love people like God does?” Now that is a challenge
not to be missed!
In November we will be meeting James ...
Hold onto your hats! The challenges that James,
through his New Testament letter lays on us should at
least unsettle us if not knock us off our feet. “Everyone
should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to
become angry.” (1.19) “Listen you rich people, weep
and wail because of the misery that is coming upon
you.” (5.1). But also don’t forget, “The prayer of a
righteous person is powerful and effective.” (5.16)
May God, who breathes life into all of creation, speak
to us and increase our love for him as we journey
through this series together.
Graham Watts
Teeny Saints
“Just a few weeks before I went back to work, I discovered
the nicest place to have a cup of tea and home baked
scone [...] It wasn’t a High Street cafe, nor a friend’s
house. It was a local Church toddler group”.
This isn’t a quote about one of our churches (however
lovely that would be!) but it did get me thinking about
what we would like church to be for our local community.
The Surrey-based mother of two goes on to describe
the group as being: “like a warm hug on a Wednesday
morning, where a group of somewhat unlikely people
come together without having to pay an extortionate
termly cost, to have a hot drink, a chin-wag and a
couple of hours entertainment for the kids”.
This September at All Saints we are launching
TEENY SAINTS - a new toddler group for 0-3 year-
olds and their parents/carers/grandparents. The

2. Team Talk SEPTEMBER 2017
smallgroups4you
Septemberseesuslaunchthesecondprogramme
of small groups under our new system. In our first
term we had nearly 300 people attend groups
and courses. We’ve had great feedback about
supportive relationships being formed, stimulating
learning and discussion taking place and people
having fun together. We hope that this term will
see even more exciting stuff taking place. There
is lots of variety in groups, from craft and chat
to Alpha, to studying the book of Revelation!
Whether you are new to church or have been
coming for years you should find something.
We are grateful to all those who have helped
to make this programme possible by offering to
lead a group and hope they find it a rewarding
experience. We want the number of groups to
expand in the future to offer more people the
opportunity to take part and to have a good
variety. To do this we will need more people to
be willing to lead a group. If this is something
you might be interested in perhaps this term you
could offer to help an existing leader and get
some experience. If you want to know any more
about this or anything related to small groups
please contact one of the planning group or email
smallgroups@4u-team.org
Sarah Fitzgerald, Ruth Frost, Marilyn
Clarke and Kathy Burns
We wanted to take this
opportunity to say a huge
thank you to all across the
churches in the Marlow
Team for making us feel so
welcome.
Each church we have
visited has received us
This Autumn the 4U team of churches is excited
to be running the Alpha course. Alpha is a great
place to explore some of the big questions
of life in a friendly environment. We will start
with a great meal together. This is followed
by a short talk which is designed to inspire
thought-provoking conversation. Each week
there is a different topic which will explore a big
issue around faith. Finally and possibly most
importantly we will sit in small groups and share
our thoughts on the topic and hear what others
think. It’s an opportunity to hear from others
and contribute your own perspective in an
honest, friendly and open environment.
Do you have questions about faith? Do you
have friends who would like to be invited along
to discuss topics of faith? Whether you have
no previous experience or church or you have
been to church for many years but still have
questions – Alpha is a great place to consider
some of the big questions of life and faith.
There are two venues on two different days
(though you need to choose a group and stay
with it). There is a group that will meet on
Tuesdays from September 26th for 10 weeks
in All Saints church hall. There is also a
Thursday group that will meet at 165 Marlow
Bottom. For more information on how to sign
up visit http://4u-team.org/alpha/
Roland Slade
... continued from page 1
vision? For church to become a place, as described
in this lady’s blog, where parents/carers feel at
home and can enjoy time with one another whilst
their little ones have the opportunity to engage in a
variety of activities.
It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to do more, to
be more, and see “quick fruit”, but if we pause long
enough to think about how Jesus welcomed and
loved those he came into contact with, we realise
just how much a cup of tea, cake and a chat can
mean.
As we begin this new adventure at All Saints, I ask
that you would join with me in praying that Teeny
Saints may become a safe place for the little ones
in our community and a loving support network
and space for parents/carers to pause, relax and
connect with one another. Through our welcome,
I pray we will be able to share God’s love with our
community and that in this way we will be able to
live out the words of Matthew 5: 16 – “...let your
light shine before others, that they may see your
good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Teeny Saints runs every Thursday morning at All
Saints Church from 10-11.30am. If you would like
to get involved in supporting this new group then
please get in touch.
Anna Clarke

3. Team Talk SEPTEMBER 2017
Lantern
Deanery Update
Well its been a busy year so far in the Deanery! We
have successfully recruited a new Rector for the
West Wycombe team of churches, and we have a full
Mission and pastoral team. Our quarterly meetings
have included visiting speakers, debates and updates
on deanery projects such as the rejuvenation of
the church at St Mary and St George at Sands
High Wycombe which is progressing well and the
recruitment of a Pioneer Minister there is well under
way. All things Deanery can be found at our website
www.wycombedeanery.com
Three bits of news for you to reflect on and pray for:
1. We had a presentation from Richard Peters of
Lighthouse, and he spoke of Lighthouse aiming
to grow nationally. We are asked to pray for all
Lighthouse leaders, and for the appointment of the
new Lighthouse Central Director.
2. Following on from the visit to Marlow of Bishop
Steven we have continued to develop his aim for
us to be a Christ-like church, and to be a church
of the Beatitudes. You can hear his presentation
and read more on his developing strategy at
www.oxford.anglican.org and follow the link to
developing a Common Vision.
3. We debated what the Church could look like in 10
years time, and what part should we play?
• Reach out to younger people.
• Be confident and pro-active with our faith.
• Be mutually supportive.
• Encourage more lay leaders, their training and
provide opportunities for them.
Graham Slocombe
We’re excited about the new term in Marlow Bottom
at the Lantern! In our Sunday services (1st and 3rd
Sundays) we are looking at ‘God’s Big Story’covering
some of the best known stories in both Old and New
Testaments. We’ll be covering similar themes in our
new ‘Lantern Lights’ service on Sunday afternoons
(2nd Sunday) which will be geared more towards
toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Alongside that, we’re running our first evening Alpha
course, on Thursday evenings, and at our ‘Just
Looking’ group for women we’ll be doing a Bible
overview. So, one way and another, we’re hoping
to cover the big sweep of the Bible in the next few
months. Our Lantern Kids and Lantern Youth are
both at a stage where we are growing from one group
to two, partly because the age ranges are becoming
too wide and also because we are outgrowing the
spaces we use, which is a great problem to have.
And on October 29th we’ll be doing another ‘Service
Sunday,’ where we go out into the community after
a short act of worship and share the love of God in
practical ways. These are some of the things that we
have planned – and we look forward to see what else
God has in store for us!
For more info on the Lantern please contact Graham
or Sami Watts 01628 440106 or have a look at
4u-team.org/the-lantern
Over the October half term we are taking thirty seven
boys and girls along with men and support staff on
our third international tour to Erfurt in Germany!
Previous participants have found such an opportunity
to have a profound effect both for themselves and the
group. In a wider sense we are also linking together
to be part of the international church taking a bit of
Marlow abroad and sharing with the congregations
and audiences.
We will be singing in Erfurt Cathedral, the monastery
of St Augustine (where Martin Luther spent several
years) and Gotha Castle which has links to our royal
family. We have been working hard to raise funds to
help families who find it a financial stretch to send
their chorister and we are very grateful or the support
we have received so far, thank you.
If you would like to sponsor an arm or a leg of a
chorister there is still time to do so at our JustGiving
page - www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/asm-choir
Martin Seymour
Choir Tour 2017

4. Team Talk SEPTEMBER 2017
Compassion Project
in Tanzania
Following on from our sad withdrawal from
the India project with Compassion we are now
sponsoring a new programme in Tanzania.
Currentlywesponsor24childreninTanzaniafrom
across the 4U Churches and we have a further
17 waiting for a sponsor. If you are interested
in becoming a sponsor, or know anyone who
may be interested, please contact Liz Kendall-
Jones by phone on 07774 436383 or via email to
liz.kendall-jones@4u-team.org
Below is a brief background to this project.
Project Country: Tanzania
Project: Deeper Life Msitu wa Tembo Student
Centre
Location: Msitu wa Tembo, Moshi, Kilimanjaro
Church Partner: Deeper Life Bible Church
The community of Msitu wa Tembo is situated on
flat plains and is home to approximately 4,000
residents. Typical houses are constructed of
dirt floors, mud walls and corrugated iron roofs.
The primary ethnic groups are Pare, Chagga
and Maasai and the most commonly spoken
language is Swahili.
Secondary school is the highest level of
education available in Msitu wa Tembo and the
majority of the children are literate. The public
school system is poorly resourced and chances
for Government secondary school are so limited.
Fortunately, girls and boys are able to attend
school equally and get an education due to past
national and governmental intervention.
Msitu wa Tembo faces an unemployment rate
of 65 percent. Adults tend to work as plantation
workers, herders and subsistence farmers.
They earn the equivalent of £30 per month. The
population would benefit from training in income
generation skills that they might become self-
employed.
The community environment is healthy. They
have access to public health services and
hospitals with professional and specialist doctor
within a few kilometres. However, individuals can
face medical conditions requiring medication
which far exceeds their level of income. They
need health insurance and nutritional education
to both address and prevent that.
The majority of the population are migrant
workers that come in season to work on the
sugar plantations. They would benefit from social
service facilities and a vocational training centre.
Msitu wa Tembo is a rural community situated on
a plain with a mild climate. Rain normally comes
in the months of March and April during which
time many of the farmers will plant their crops.
Harvest season is between June to August.
Liz Kendall-Jones
You can contact the
churches via the
parish office:
The Causeway
Marlow, Bucks
SL7 2AA
Tel: 01628 481806
Email: parish.office@4u-team.org
Web: www.4u-team.org