The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead

1/10/2010

Oddments

Raphael at the V&A
Cartoons and Tapestries                   8 September – 17 October
There isn’t much time left to catch this exhibition which comes highly recommended by people who’ve seen it.  As all but one of the subjects is Biblical [they are designs for the Sistine Chapel] you should have no difficulty in relating to the subjects.  Nearly 500 years old the tapestries are too fragile to be moved often so this might be a last chance to see them out of their original setting.
Admission free but timed tickets

How your driveway could earn you money
Do you have a driveway? Ever considered renting it out as a parking space – on a regular basis? There is a website called www.Parkatmyhouse.com which helps you to do just that.
One driveway near Bournemouth Airport has earned its owner £1,700 this past year. Two carpark spaces in Chelsea, near Stamford Bridge Stadium, have earned more than £3,000 this year. If you live in an area where parking is scarce and carparks are expensive, you might like to consider the idea.
   
Methodist Church adopts carbon reduction policy
The Methodist Conference has confirmed a pledge to reduce the Church’s carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, in line with government targets. The Methodist Church in Britain has a carbon footprint of around 120,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum for approximately 8,000 of its buildings. The annual energy bill to the Church and individual ministers is about £19 million a year. Cutting the carbon footprint has the potential to free up money that can be used for mission.

Whose fault is it, anyway?
In a small town a businessman put in planning permission to build a nightclub complete with dancing girls. The local church started a vigorous campaign to block it from opening. The church launched a petition and held prayers in public. Work progressed, however, right up until the week before opening. Then one night a bolt of lightning strike hit the nightclub and it burned to the ground.
The church members were rather smug after that, until the nightclub owner sued them all -on the grounds that they were responsible for the fire.  Loudly protesting their total non-involvement and innocence, the church members were all taken to court.
As the case began, the judge looked over the paperwork and observed: “I don’t know how I’m going to decide this.  It appears that we have a nightclub owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that doesn’t!”