Monday 31 January 2022

Chaplaincy News - February 2022


Do you know which animal represents the year you were born?  Use the link below to find out.

Simply enter your birth date to discover more: 

Chinese Zodiac


As Medway Campus Chaplain my role covers three key areas of campus life:

    **  Welcome & Community

    **  Wellbeing & Pastoral Care

    **  Faith Provision

My kettle is often on, so feel free to stop by and introduce yourself.



VALENTINE’s DAY

February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, yet the truth behind the person of St Valentine is shrouded in mystery and you will find multiple possible references to origins in the Christian faith or in Roman traditions. Either way, February 14th has become a day to express love.

Thought I would share with you some ways in which our students have completed the sentence “Love Is …”  

For the full blog post see: https://medwaystudents.blogspot.com/search?q=valentine%27s


  

Love is ignoring superficial imperfections.

Love is an endless act of forgiveness.

Love is walking together on the

journey of life.

Love is what holds you when you can’t

take it anymore.

Love is a feeling of warmth in the midst

of the wildest storms.

Love is the ultimate gift, it is living

for each other.

Love is a warm cup of tea after a stressful day.

Love is the comfort of knowing you

are cared for.

Love is a language … you will understand it, even if you don’t know its alphabet.

Love is sacred and eternal.



WHAT’S ON DIARY DATES

Feb 3rd

Chaplaincy Pop-Up

Drill Hall Library  10am-2pm

Feb 3rd

TABLEtalk: (via Zoom)

Feb 11th

Medway Lights Night, Rochester

(more details to follow)

Feb 25th

Chaplaincy Pop-Up

Drill Hall Library  10am-2pm

 

All welcome at our weekly

World Café


Email the Campus Chaplain for further information or to sign

up for any of these events. Follow Medway Campus Chaplaincy

on Facebook to keep up with events and news.



TAKE TEN with LYNNE

Did you know the practice of making New Year’s Resolutions or commitments, dates back some 4,000 years?

View video:  https://youtu.be/jy6xEAf1itw



Our Bargain Corner is a very successful sustainability project run by Chaplaincy. We sell good-quality, pre-owned items such as bedding and kitchenware. Plus stationery items, and occasional winter clothing sales. Items are cheaply priced and money raised is fed back into student-related activities.

It is located in Pilkington. Payment is by cash only! Contact Lynne or simply call by.  For more information regarding what’s on offer: https://medwaystudents.blogspot.com/p/bargain-corner.html 

Sometimes you will never know

the value of a moment,

until it becomes a memory.

Wednesday 26 January 2022

On a personal note ...

Yesterday I had the privilege of attended the ordination and consecration of three new Church of England Bishops, including the former vicar of St Mark's Church, Saju Muthalaly.  The service, led by Archbishop Justin Welby, was held at St Paul's Cathedral and followed by a reception at Lambeth Palace. Saju, whose full name is actually, Varghese Malayil Lukose Muthalaly, has become Bishop of Loughborough. 


As part of the ceremony, each Bishop is given:
1. A Bible, symbolic of keeping God's Holy Word at the centre of everything.
2. A staff, like that of a shepherd, this is a sign of their calling to shepherd and care for those they have responsibility for.
3. A ring, originally known as the Fisherman's ring, is an emblem of faithfulness to the church.
4. A cross, known as the pectoral cross, is worn close to the heart.
The reception was held in one of the reception rooms of Lambeth Palace.  Food was beautiful.


It was a really special day 😀

Tuesday 25 January 2022

Take Ten - New Year's Resolutions


Is it your habit to make New Year's Resolutions? Did you know this practice dates back some 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonians?

View video:

Take Ten - New Year's Resolutions

Saturday 22 January 2022

Ten Pin Bowling


Ten Pin Bowling is always a lot of fun, despite the fact that I'm utterly rubbish at it 😜😜😜
Thanks Aiste, Arpit, Chanaka, Daniel, Dhanashri, Fatoumata, Guarav, Jeff, Jon, Phillip, Rohan, Shijo, Shraddha and Tanya for joining this event. Trust you all had a great time 😀

Thursday 13 January 2022

True Stories in Film

Last week at TABLEtalk we got a little side-tracked with a discussion about films based on real life stories.  Lots of people had suggestions and I was asked to write a blog post about some of the films.  

My intention was to stick firmly with my TOP TEN favourites. Films I have seen personally, rather than those yet to be watched (such as 'Wild', 'The Two Popes' and 'On the basis of Sex').  

Unfortunately, I've failed in sticking to my Top Ten, instead you've got my FANTASTIC FIFTEEN (sorry).  You'll find then in alphabetical order rather than order of preference.  

Enjoy 😀😀😀

12 Years a Slave (2013)  ...  Chewetel Ejiofor brings to life this true but harrowing story of Solomon Northrup. Despite being a free black man in upstate New York, Solomon's life is turned upside down when he is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Finally, in the 12th year of his ordeal, on the brink of giving up hope, he meets an abolitionist from Canada who changes his life forever.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)  ...  John Forbes Nash Jr is a mathematical genius, played by Russell Crowe. This film tells the story of Nash's life journey from the heights of notoriety to the depths of despair and struggle with paranoid schizophrenia.

Amazing Grace (2006)  ...  This excellent film tells of the determination of young politician William Wilberforce and his friend, and future Prime Minister, William Pitt, to abolish the British slave trade. 

Apollo 13 (1995)  ...  Tom Hanks plays the lead role in this story of the events surrounding the Apollo 13 lunar mission. The safe return to earth of this mission, despite mounting technical issues, is a testimony to the dedication of many in NASA.  If you are ever in Florida, I encourage you to visit the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral.

Captain Philips (2013)  ...  Tom Hanks again leads us through the true story of ship's captain Richard Phillips whose U.S. container ship is boarded by Somali pirates in April 2009. Phillips must use his wits in order to protect not just the ship, but himself and his crew. This is certainly one of my favourites.

Chariots of Fire (1981)  ...  Yes, I know, some of you weren't born in 1981, but that's no excuse to ignore this brilliant film.  Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams were two determined runners in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Abrahams must overcome anti-Semitism and class bias; whilst Liddell's devout faith as a Christian finds him refusing to train or even compete on the Sabbath.

Freedom Writers (2007)  ...  Actress Hilary Swank plays the role of dedicated teacher, Erin Gruwell, whose inspiration turns around the lives of students in a racially divided Los Angeles school.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)  ...  The remarkable true story of Private Desmond Doss who won the Congressional Medal of Honour despite his refusal to bear arms on the basis of his religious beliefs. In the Battle of Okinawa, Doss, virtually single-handedly, saved the lives of 75 of his fellow soldiers. Be prepared for the blood and body parts.

Hidden Figures (2016)  ...  Despite discrimination of both their race and gender, this fantastic and inspiring film tells the story of three mathematically brilliant African-American women who play a vital role in the American space race of the early 1960s.

Lion (2016)  ...  This moving story invites us to join Saroo, a five year old Indian boy who gets separated from his family. Saroo survives the streets of Kolkata and is adopted by an Australian couple.  Some 25 years later, with the help of Google Earth and much dogged determination Saroo finds his birth family.

Schindler's List (1993)  ...  Businessman Oskar Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, arrives in Krakow, Poland at the start of World War II ready to make his fortune.  Despite setting out to exploit cheap Jewish labour, Schindler eventually uses his business acumen to save the lives of over 1,000 Polish Jews from certain death during the Holocaust. If you are ever in Krakow, I highly recommend a visit to the Schindler Museum.

The Butler (2013)  ...  Forrest Whitaker plays the lead role in this lovely film about Cecil Gaines, a butler in the White House. His tenure, spanning 34 years and eight American presidents, takes us through such periods of history as the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War.

The Imitation Game (2014)  ...  Benedict Cumberbatch plays the role of mathematician, Alan Turing, whose dedicated work during World War II helped to break Nazi codes, including Enigma, which cryptanalysts had considered unbreakable.  If you get the chance, do visit Bletchley Park which served as a top secret base for teams of cryptanalysts throughout WWII.

The King's Speech (2010)  ...  Prince Albert must ascend to the British throne as King George VI, however he has a nervous stammer and is afraid to speak in public.  This film tells the story of the unusual friendship that forms between the future king and his speech therapist.

The Theory of Everything (2014)  ...  A truly inspirational watch!  Eddie Redmayne brings to us the life of physicist Stephen Hawking who, despite a diagnosis of motor neurone disease at the age of 21, went on the defy the odds and break new ground in the fields of medicine and science.

Even though I exceeded my original quota of 10, I have still missed out on some other great films, such as:  Darkest Hour, Erin Brokovich, Papillon, Coach Carter, Sully, Lincoln, 1127 Hours and The Impossible.  No doubt you have other recommendations to add to the list.