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Camps Bay United Church
Ministries
To go direct to a ministry, click the heading
Care Net
The Care Net ministry is an opportunity to care for people
of the congregation who are in need of care. The ministry
focuses on a number of areas; preparing meals; counseling;
Love boxes; Shawl ministry; Caring for the elderly (hospital
visits and transport) and any other expressions of care to
members of the congregation. If you have a heart to care for
people join the Care Net team. Every week flowers are
arranged for the Sunday services, after which they are given
to the elderly and people in need of cheer and for special
occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries.
Counselling – Margie Hart 082 496 3740,
Trevor Wood 072 170 2971, Peter Meyer 082 900 3783
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Maintenance
Gail heads up this ministry and all maintenance issues can
be directed to her. Jan Smit has been employed by the
church; he has been a great blessing! Jan is Gail’s
assistant and deals with day to day tasks at the church.
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Caffeine Crew
This ministry creates a great opportunity to serve the
congregation. After every service tea and coffee is served
which allows people to get to know each other and build
relationships.
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Bookshop & Library
Of late we have been the recipients of many books both
fiction and non-fiction which I have tried to categorize in
subject matter with easy to identify color coding. There is
every thing from autobiographies, family counseling and
advice, Holy Spirit anointing through to End Time
Prophecies. Some of the new additions are audio and video
tapes all of which are well worth acquiring.
We even have children’s books and videos and a couple of
music audio tapes.
Contact: Angela Parr 083 448 6618
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Door Ministry
This is a very important ministry because the "welcomer" is the
“First Impression” of the church. At each Sunday service two
people with warm smiles welcome the congregation into the
church. If you feel you would like to get to know your
congregation this is a great opportunity!
Reg Abels 076 577 8341
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Lifestyle Breakfasts
These breakfasts are held on a Friday morning approximately
once every two months in the church hall. Designed to reach
business/professional people and introduce them to a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Shawl Ministry
Sandy Davis runs this ministry and
anyone wishing to be involved should contact her through the
church. Below are some extracts fro articles and letters
relating to this ministry in South Africa and the rest of
the world.
Sandy Davis 083 454 2273
The Star – Thursday 5 September 2002
WRAPPED IN COMFORT
A growing number of women in the United States and elsewhere
are showing care for the sick or bereaved by giving them
hand-knitted shawls.
When Elaine Wiatr’s friend lost here husband to suicide, she
felt words would not be enough. To show her concern, she
gave her a hand-knitted shawl. Wiatr chose a purple shawl
that she had felt drawn to, and when she presented it to her
friend, fellow parishioner Jean Ebaugh, she knew it was
right. Ebaugh took a deep breath, and Wiatr sensed an almost
immediate calming.
“Jeanne picked it up and wrapped it around herself. It was
like she was wrapped in comfort”, says Wiatr. “I didn’t have
to say much, and I felt okay with that.”
The shawl was made by a prayer shawl ministry group from
their parish. The group had been knitting together for more
than two years.
Vicky Galo and Janet Bristow are credited with starting the
practice of knitting shawls and giving them to those
grieving, suffering from illness or celebrating a milestone.
Since early 1998, it has spread across the United States and
to several other countries.
There is no single name for this shawl practice. The cloths
have been called prayer, comfort, healing or friendship
shawls.
A Y-Me breast cancer support group in Old Saybrook,
Connecticut, gives a hand-knitted shawl to each new member
at her first meeting. A group of girls in Massachutsetts
knit shawls to give to each baby baptized in their church. A
shawl recipient in Michigan knits them to give to other
cancer patients to keep them warm.
Ebaugh says the shawl she received represented all the love
and compassion she and her family had felt from her church
community since her husband died, leaving her alone to raise
their three children, now aged 9, 14 and 17.
“Truly to wrap yourself up in that shawl is to feel the
support and the prayers of everybody. I am including not
only the woman who knitted this shawl, but the ministry and
everyone in the church. You could literally feel it”, she
says.
Moments after Ebaugh unwrapped the shawl, her youngest
child, Sarah, walked into the room and sat in her lap.
Ebaugh enveloped both of them in the shawl, providing
comfort and warmth. Similarly the knitters say they draw
comfort from the shawls just by knitting them. “For me, it
is a way to put my faith into action for women with breast
cancer”, says the Rev. Toni Smith, spiritual director at the
Spiritual Life Centre in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and a
United Church of Christ minister.
Although not “crafty”, the Chester resident heard of the
shawl ministry and brought the idea to her Old Saybrook
breast cancer support group. “My concern for women with
breast cancer isn’t limited to knitting shawls, but is a way
for me to actually do something”, Smith says.
Praying while knitting is a matter of personal choice.
Whether the knitter prays or just thinks about the
recipient, these shawls trap in to people’s sixth sense.
“It is a spiritual practice”, Galo says. It is more than a
handmade gift; it is a gift of yourself, she adds.
“I’ve even cried. I was making a shawl for this woman; it
was the anniversary of her two children’s deaths….I couldn’t
help but weep when I knitted this for her because I am a
mother.”
While variations have emerged, many church groups also
include a prayer for the recipient. Women gather in groups
to knit, light a candle, play soft music, and often say a
prayer that the recipient will be comforted and strengthened
by receiving this shawl.
At St. Patrick-St.Anthony church, where Bristow started and
leads a ministry, knitters pass around their shawls so that
others can stitch in a row, symbolizing the collective
goodwill woven into each shawl.
The church also includes a lavender sachet and a letter
explaining the symbolism of the colour and the stitching –
knit three, purl three. The Y-Me breast cancer support group
ties on a pink ribbon and wraps each one in pink tissue
paper.
It has taken on a life of its own, which is fine with
Bristow and Galo. As Bristo says “It was just hand to hand,
woman to woman. Then the Spirit took it, and It has gone
everywhere:
Some extracts of Thank You letters
received from grateful recipients:
“I am very touched and feel so privileged to be remembered
in my time of need. The Lord is so good to me and the shawl
is a constant reminder of the love and caring for his flock.
The shawl really feels so comforting and reassuring.
So often as I wrap my precious shawl around me I think of
the Shawl Ministry of Camps Bay. Thank you for bringing joy
to my heart and to many others who have received your
shawls. God bless your ministry and all the goodness of
everyone involved.”
I am ashamed to say I had very limited understanding of your
ministry until the day I received my own shawl. When I
opened it and read the letter I just broke down and cried as
it was the first time in the whole ordeal that I felt God
wrapping His arms around me. The love and care which
permeated from this shawl was something I find difficult to
describe. It was as though there was a certain measure of
understanding as to what I was going through as a mother.
One of the greatest frustrations I had was not being able to
hold and comfort my son as I watched hi go through physical
trauma. When I put the shawl around my shoulders, I suddenly
had the deepest sense of comfort and this was how God was
holding my child. I proceeded to take the shawl with me to
the hospital everyday, regardless of the weather. I would
like to encourage you in your ministry. You make God’s love
so real and tangible. It made such a difference to me.
I am compelled to write to you so you are aware of the
immense blessing your ministry offers. I want to thank you
for my shawl and the touching note. It arrived at a time
when I had been feeling close to desperate. Sleep deprived
and at the end of my tether, it was as if you took a leap
into my heart and knew exactly what it needed to hear. Thank
you for your kindness, your selfless acts of giving and for
your nurturing love that is so evident in your shawls, they
almost have arms that envelope you and make everything
better.
My sister in law received one of your shawls recently, along
with the letter you enclosed. She is possibly one of the
most precious women in my life and as you know she has just
had a mastectomy and faces five months of aggressive
chemotherapy. Since her diagnosis she hasn’t shed a tear nor
truly allowed the reality of the future to set in. When she
gave me your letter to read, she wept like a little girl and
finally said that it was because of the shawl and your
letter that she had finally managed to cry and to
acknowledge her vulnerability.
Please know that your ministry is a gift far more precious
than I think you will ever truly know. Your hands create an
extension of God’s love that reaches the most hidden places
of people’s hearts, and offers rest, recuperation and above
all, healing. You are all Christ’s pride and joy and it is a
privilege to be able to receive from Him through you all.
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Billboard Ministry
Mel Miller heads up the billboard ministry by creating
displays for the billboard which are thought provoking and
which carry an underlying spiritual message to the passing
world. His billboards have been photographed and published
in the newspaper on many occasions.
Mel Miller 083 629 0836
See Mel Millers Billboard article here
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LUC (Living Under Commission)
Tarryn De Kock 083 2564 1317 Vanessa Burnett 082 897 0999
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Flowers
If you would like to serve God by assisting with flowers in
the church, this ministry is the place for you.
Hilary Hill 021 438 8857
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Communion
Communion Team : Reg Abels 076 577 8341
& Tim Gibbon 082 341 5027
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Help to the
elderly
Help to the Elderly : Margie Hart 082
496 3740
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