March 2006 Notes

MONTHLY NOTES MARCH & APRIL 2006

Dates for your Diary
Whilst we are here for all of March, please note we will be closed for the Easter break in April
No Oaks & Acorns on;-
3rd April
10th April
17th April
Back 24th April
No Oaks & Acorns on
1st May

Birthdays
The following little ones celebrate their birthdays in March & April.
Lena Leinemann – 14th March
Thomas (Johnson) – 23rd March
Isobel Jeffrey – 25th March
Zachery Marsh – 5th April
James Bishop – 12th April
Naimah Ahmed – 14th April
Happy Birthday from all at Oaks and Acorns.

We will try to do Birthdays and Bears on the first Monday of each month – please remind us when you book in if it is your little one’s birthday to ensure they don’t miss out.

Easter Egg Hunt
We will be running our own Easter Egg Hunt on Monday 27th March.
Entry will be £1.00 – the children will need to find as many Egg pictures as they can in our Nursery playground (weather permitting) – once they have collected them they will win a chocolate egg. All proceeds raised from the morning will go to this year’s supported charities.



Unattended Children
We would respectfully remind you that you should always be in the same room at Oaks and Acorns as your child/children. Whilst staff can watch particular children if you need the loo or there is an emergency, we cannot do this as a matter of course – thank you for your co-operation.

Subs
We are changing the structure for Subs with effect from April.
The cost of £1.00 per session will cover a Family/Group of 1 adult and up to 2 children, an additional 50p will then be charged for each additional child or adult.
For Example, Mum & 2 Children = £1.00 per session
Or
Dad & 2 Children & Grandma = £1.50
Or
Carer & 4 Children =
£2.00

The subs are used to help towards our costs.
The use of the Church facilities are all provided free by Elim Christian Centre. We also use part of our subs to support our Charities. We hope this will be a fairer system for all going forward, if you have any queries, please see Rhianne.

Fun 4 All
The Church is running a Fun, Family Games night on
Saturday March 18th from 6:00pm to 8:15pm.
Cost will be £10.00 for a Family ticket of up to 6 people – this will include a Fish & Chip supper.
Tickets are going quickly and places are limited, so please see Rhianne soon if you would like to book..

Maximum Numbers
Please note that we do have a Maximum of 55 attendees at Oaks and Acorns – once we are at this level we declare ourselves officially ‘full’ and can allow no more through the doors.
We hate having to turn any away but the safety of the children is our prime concern. We recommend you arrive as early as possible to ensure you can get in – our doors open at 10:00am.

Mother’s Day
Don’t forget those special women in your life. We have a selection of Mother’s Day cards available, as well as others for many occasions – all are on top of the table in Oasis Lounge for just £1.50 each
(half of proceeds go to our supported Charities)

Mugs & Cups
Would you all please help us out by taking any dirty mugs or cups back to the hatch once finished with– it really makes the sessions run a little smoother.

Easter Services
Details of our Easter Services here at Elim will be available late March.
Details are regularly on the Church website http://www.elim.org/ and we would love to see any of you at any of the Services.

Library Books
Pat has obtained a selection of books from the Library for us – these are all in the Book corner and have a "P"sticker on them. We will change these every few months. We hope you find them a valuable tool in teaching your children to love reading.

Please could you also encourage your children, should they feel hungry to chew on a biscuit from the serving hatch rather than one of the books!!

Penny Pots
Thank you and Well Done to all those who have already bought in their Small Change. Please keep collecting as this really will make a Big Difference to many people. Please let us know if you need any more pots

Prayer
We regularly Pray for the group and all those who attend or work with us, if you have something specific you would like us to remember, please either speak to any of the staff or fill in one of our Prayer Request slips on the main table.

Happy Birthday Joyce
Joyce will be 70 years young on 2nd April – I am sure you, along with us, wish her well.
Now, rather than doing a re-enactment of Towering Inferno with a cake and Candles – Joyce has decided to celebrate by doing two things;-
1 – A mini Cruise with her two favourite daughters followed by
2 – Entrance to this year’s
Race for Life at Hylands Park on 25th June
http://www.raceforlife.org/
What a way to go!
Myself (Rhianne) and Pat will also be doing the Race for Life with her – we feel it is such a brilliant event and raises money so well for Cancer Research – a cause which I am sure touches many of your lives. We do not wish to distract from our supported Charities this year but we will have our sponsorship forms with us on a regular basis – if you feel inclined to sponsor us and this worthy Charity – please let us know.

Health & Safety reminders
Please ensure Big Push along toys are kept in the Main room and Hot Drinks are kept in the Oasis Lounge wherever possible. Adults – we need your help with this to avoid accidents wherever possible.

Waiting List
Our Waiting List is on average 3 months at the moment – If you have friends who would like to join, please get them to come along for their first taster session as soon as possible.

Accidents
If anyone does have an accident of a serious nature, please see Rhianne or Pat as we need to log this in an accident book. Please note that Rhianne, Pat, Joyce and Jenny are all trained First Aiders should the need arise.

Feedback
Well – I think you deserve a Gold Medal if you have got this far in the notes – they were certainly long this month so Thanks for reading and Well Done!!
As ever if you have any Feedback on the Group or you can see how something could be improved please let us know.


Thank you for being with us.

Rhianne (Leader)
Elsie, Joyce, Pat, Jenny, Diana, Val Weeks, Val Harding,
Jean and Heidi.
A final thought . . .


WITH TOWEL AND BASIN
by Max Lucado

It has been a long day. Jerusalem is packed with Passover guests.

The disciples enter, one by one, and take their places around the table. On the wall hangs a towel, and on the floor sits a pitcher and a basin. Any one of the disciples could volunteer for the job, but not one does.

After a few moments, Jesus stands and removes his outer garment. He wraps a servant's girdle around his waist, takes up the basin, and
kneels before one of the disciples. He unlaces a sandal and gently
lifts the foot and places it in the basin, covers it with water, and
begins to bathe it. One by one, one grimy foot after another, Jesus works his way down the row.

I looked for a Bible translation that reads, "Jesus washed all the
disciples' feet except the feet of Judas," but I couldn't find one.
What a passionate moment when Jesus silently lifts the feet of his
betrayer and washes them in the basin! Within hours the feet of Judas, cleansed by the kindness of the one he will betray, will stand in
Caiaphas's court.

Behold the gift Jesus gives his followers! By morning they will bury their heads in shame and look down at their feet in disgust. And when they do, he wants them to remember how his knees knelt before them and he washed their feet. He wants them to realize those feet are still clean. "You don't understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later" (John13:7).

Remarkable. He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He
offered mercy before they even sought it.
______________________________
From "Just like Jesus"
Copyright 1998, Max Lucado


Oaks & Acorns
Elim Christian Centre, Hall Street, Chelmsford
Tel: 01245 358855 www.elim.org
www.oaksandacorns.blogspot.com