Dear Friends,
Do you remember that sense of excitement and
anticipation in early September when the new
school year began? In my case—it was perhaps
getting a new satchel, a new pencil case and even
maybe a new school uniform, as you went back
after ‘the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer to
maybe a new school, a new form and probably
new teachers.
September is, for us as Methodists, a month of
many new beginnings: the beginning of our church
year with all that it entails. It is the beginning of a
new liturgical year—some churches will have a new
minister, we will have a new plan, and notifications
of autumn meetings begin to filter through.
Harvest Festivals and Christmas events suddenly
seem to loom on the horizon.
We in Histon also face the beginning of our latest
building scheme with the prospect of a spanking
new toilet block planned—which obviously will
cause some disruption—but with our vision of a
busy, well-used community building further
enhanced and coming to fruition.
My encouragement to you is to enter this month
and this church year with that sense of excitement
and anticipation: try not to let the feeling of being
overwhelmed by the thought of all the forthcoming
events and commitments weigh you down!
We remember that God is with us every step of the
way, through the highs and lows of life and all it
entails, and we ask Him to be with us in all that
we do in His name, enabling us to pass on a
sense of joy, as we carry out His will in this place
and in the community.
As I write this letter on behalf of Jenny our
minister, we assure her of our love and prayers as
she enjoys a well-earned rest. We look forward to
her returning to us refreshed and able to walk
alongside us, as together we all endeavour to
share the love of God—and the peace and joy it
brings—with others.

Judy Wynn, Steward

I hope you’re enjoying the summer months, or
what we’ve had of them anyway! At the coffee
morning recently, someone told me the reason
we’ve had bad weather is because there have
been so many sporting events and now they’re
almost finished, we’re bound to have good
weather!
Thanks to everyone who has been supporting
myself and Paul as he continues his training with
WizzAir—there’s a late-breaking update elsewhere
in this newsletter!
This summer the time has come to take my
Rangers to Switzerland for 10 days—it feels like a
million years ago we were doing a fundraising
coffee morning for this trip and helped lead the
service at Histon. Please do pray for myself and
Fiona from Castle Street as we embark on this
adventure, and I look forward to sharing all the
stories with you on our return. Paul and I also have
ten days at the end of August where we will have
some time together: this will be the first time
we’ve had since March so we are both looking
forward to some precious time with each other.
August is generally a quiet month in the life of the
church, and so I encourage you to use this time to
rest in the presence of God and spend some with
God in God’s gorgeous creation, because come
September, we have a million things to look
forward to!
Our toilet redevelopment at Histon will shortly
commence and as a consequence we will be
having a scaled down Harvest Festival. However!
We will be having a joint harvest supper at Castle
Street on Saturday 21st September. It will be a
bring and share like last year, and will most likely
feature a few fun games as well. Neither church
will be having extravagant displays this year, but
will be focusing on goods for the food bank and
making a display within the service itself. If you’d
like to make a commitment to supporting the food
bank over the summer, please do add one of the
following to your weekly shops and bring in your
food bank bounty at the Harvest festival: soap, oil,
stock cubes, sugar, and passata.
We had an incredible Old Testament Day with
Professor Judith and we were so blessed to share
her wisdom and knowledge last month. She has
kindly agreed to do another study morning,
focusing on the New Testament, to help support
anyone who is doing Bible in a Year—but if you
have a thirst for knowledge and want to know a bit
more about the New Testament, do come along!
All are welcome on Saturday 23rd November.
Thanks to everyone who came to the open manse
last month: it was great to have some time
together and fellowship, and I wish you every
blessing this ‘restful’ ‘sabbath’ August.

What a whirlwind June was! We had so many
exciting and wonderful events and opportunities
for worship—thank you for all your support and for
the way you engaged; it was great to see the
church so alive in so many ways.
This month will see the harvest of our £10 talent
challenge, and we celebrate all the wonderful
things people have done to help raise money for
the toilet project at Histon. If you have any photos,
please send them to me and if you’ve done
something with your £10, do let me know so I can
include you. If you’ve already told me: tell me
again—I’m paranoid I’m going to miss someone off
my list! They will be a feature of our section
service in Histon on Sunday July 21st, where we
will be joined by our friends from Castle Street.
And while you’re in Histon on Sunday 21st, why
not stay and have lunch before coming over to the
Manse for our Open Gardens at 2pm. I’m not
promising the level of gardening that Su and Nick
offered at their NGS gardens last month, but this
is an opportunity for a social gathering for both
churches to come and enjoy each other’s
company and see how the Manse garden has
progressed!
If you’re looking for a holiday and always wanted
to visit Jersey, Matthew and I will be doing a
concert at Georgetown Methodist Church on
Thursday 29th August. You’re very welcome to
come over!
Thanks to everyone who has asked about my
Mum after her recent pneumonia; she passes on
her thanks to everyone for their thoughts and
prayers, and continues to get better very slowly.
Thanks also to everyone who has asked about
Paul and his training. It’s going well! July 21st will
be his first flight on the A321 on a practice circuit
in Hungary and once he’s done enough of these,
he will start flying actual people (under
supervision) to finish his training.
If you have a prayer to spare, do remember me as
I take a group of Rangers (older Guides) to
Switzerland for 10 days at the end of July for a trip
of a lifetime to visit one of the World Centres of
Girlguiding. I look forward to coming back and
boring you all with stories!
Every blessing

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Paul and asking about his training. I’m pleased to
be able to give you a quick update: he’s passed the A320 test and now has a licence in his pilot
licence passport (they exist!) with a stamp from the Civil Aviation Authority saying he’s allowed to
fly an actual plane. This means that phase two of the training can start when he practices flying in
an actual A320 rather than a simulator. We hope this will start sometime in June, and in the
meantime he’s been doing more simulator practice and practical courses like putting out
fires on planes, jumping out of the emergency exit slides and all sorts of other “fun” things! We’ve
both been very grateful for the support and love we’ve felt from the church family. We will keep you
updated.
A £10 challenge update: I have finally plucked up the courage to do a piano concert at Church. This
will be my first ever public recital and already I’m dying with nerves. However! Such is my dedication
to the £10 challenge and the toilet renovation, I’m determined to do my part and raise some money
for the church. Please do join me for a concert followed by tea and cake (I’m looking for cake
donations!) Sunday 23rd June at 4pm; tickets will be £10. Please do invite your friends.
Kirk will be using his £10 challenge to organise a joint quiz night for Castle Street and Histon at
Histon Methodist Church on Saturday 22nd June, 6pm–see the notice elsewhere in this newsletter
for details!
Speaking of the £10 challenge—we are going to have our £10 talent harvest on Sunday 21st July.
If you haven’t given in your money already, this is the service to do it. We will be celebrating all the
wonderful ways we’ve grown together as a church and all the inventive things we’ve done to raise
money for the toilets. Please do let me know what you’ve done so I can include you in the service
and if you have any pictures, send them to me. If you’ve already given in your money—that’s fine,
but please still let me know what you’ve done, I don’t want to miss anyone out. If you’re planning
something after this date, just let me know what you’re doing so I can give it a plug and include you
in the service.
Before I was moved to Jersey, I was the minister at Walsingham Methodist Church in Norfolk.
Walsingham has a special place in my heart and is a magical place. It’s the oldest Methodist
building in East Anglia and one of the oldest in the country. They are celebrating their 230th
anniversary with a special service on Saturday 8th June—see the notice. I will be going so if anyone
wants a lift, let me know and I’ll happily take you.

We are having an Open Manse (hopefully garden as well weather permitting!) on Sunday 20th
August from 2pm. We had a glorious day last year, so please do come again and join in fellowship and friendship with us.  We’d love to see you there.
A group of us have been meeting monthly, wrestling through the Bible in a Year. We’ve been
inspired to ask Professor Judith Lieu to come and lead us in an Old Testament day where we can
bombard her with questions—and hopefully get some answers! All are welcome to this event: you
don’t need to be reading the Bible in a Year, just want to improve your Old testament knowledge.
Come along on Saturday 29th June from 10am–1pm.
With prayers as always
Rev Jenny

The Easter Cross was decorated during our Easter Sunday service

with a daffodil added by each member of the congregation.

Christ is Risen! Happy Easter!
I hope and pray you had a blessed time during our preparations, and continue to enjoy the Easter
celebrations—which last as long as Lent: I remember reading Bishop Tom Wright arguing that
during the 40 days of Easter, Christians should celebrate with a champagne breakfast every
morning! Now, as a good Methodist, I don’t even know what champagne is, but appreciate the
sentiment that Easter is to be celebrated for its whole season.
Paul and I have some family news to share with you which will mean some changes for us as a
couple and consequently have an impact on our churches. Many of you will know Paul has taken a
break from aviation and flying for the past two years: the decision was a mixture of burnout after
flying all the PPE out of China into Europe during the pandemic and wanting to try a career in academia.

Since moving to Cambridge, Paul has been lecturing with Anglia Ruskin University, but
has made the decision to go back to flying. In March, he accepted a job as a Captain on the
A320 for WizzAir, based out of Luton. Paul will spend the next few months in the simulator
learning how to fly an Airbus (he’s been on a Boeing for the past 25 years and—trust me—they
are very different!) based at Gatwick and Luton airport. Assuming he passes all the exams and tests on the A320, he will begin Line Training
sometime in the summer before being allowed out on his own. There’s a lot of things which can happen to mean that he doesn’t end up flying, but
we are cautiously confident this is going to work out and feel now is the right time to share this news with you.
I hope you will understand that with Paul flying again, our pattern of family life will be taking a
change as we work out how to spend time together—ultimately we need to work out how to
see each other when Paul is in the country and I’m not working a 10 hour day! I hope this makes
sense, and you will be supportive of us as we navigate this change.
Thank you for your support and prayers
Rev Jenny (and Captain Curtis!)

Walking with Micah

What does it mean for the Methodist Church to be a justice-seeking church?

We live at a time of huge change when domestic and global injustices are being revealed and intensified. How can our world be renewed so that all God’s creation, people and planet, can flourish? Watch the video and read on to learn more about the project.