Here is your start-of-the-week newsletter. It should have all you need to know about what’s happening amongst us. And a quick look should mean you are updated each week.
Coming Up
Our Sunday Gatherings
We want to invite you to pray together before the service. From 11am there will be chance to gather together in the small room at the front of the church. It would be great if you could be there.
After each service there will be chance to be prayed with personally. This will be in the side chapel. If you have been part of the prayer team, or would like to pray with people, let Neil know.
What will be happening on Sundays in October
Each week we give slightly more time to one aspect of our life together. This is what is happening over the next few weeks.
Next Sunday: Sunday 3 October: Communion. We will provide the bread and juice so that we can all celebrate communion together. We will make sure that we do this in a Covid-secure way. If you feel nervous though, please bring your own.
Sunday 10 October: We will give space to hear faith stories of folks within our church community.
Sunday 17 October: Time for Prayer and Ministry
Sunday 24 October: Time to reflect on the sermon
Sunday 31 October: More time to worship together.
This Thursday is a Fifth Week in the month!
Some home groups might meet to do something social together, others might just have a night free. Check what is happening in your group. For everyone there is a chance to join in with Elim’s national 3 days of prayer. On Thursday evening at 7.30pm via YouTube or Facebook there is an online prayer meeting. More information is here.
Midweek Small Groups
We have 4 midweek groups that meet on Thursday evenings. Two are in-person, two are online.
The Crafty Crew meet on Tuesday afternoons in The Vine to catch up with one another, and to engage in some sort of craft if they want to. I believe that just chatting is acceptable!
On Wednesday mornings in The Vine there will be a Prayer Meeting starting soon.
There is also a group of Young Adults who meet regularly.
As you can see all these groups are different, with slightly different emphases.
But in general they all exist to do three things:
- To help us pay careful attention to one another,
- To help us to be alert to what God is doing so that
- We can be good news to those around us.
You might want to start a group that does that. It might be a group that meets together regularly and shares a meal together. It might be a group that does something together – walking, fixing stuff, playing a sport – whatever. It doesn’t matter – as long as you can cover those three basic principles.
If you are interested in chatting about this, then please talk with Neil.
How we can Support One Another
We are a church that wants to be a place where relationships are formed that will ensure you will have people around you who will be able to support you on the hard days.
But there is more.
One of the things we want to be true is that every week there will be a chance for you to be prayed with individually if that would help. At the end of each service there will be chance for you to have an unhurried time of prayer in the side chapel.
Hannah Maylor is heading up this team of people. You may have engaged in this ministry in the past and want to continue, or you might want to begin to do this with us. Please talk with Hannah and she will include you in the rota so that you will know when you will be ministering in this way.
Another way we can help is through the ministry of the Community Counselling Service. Headed by Judith Thompson, this counselling ministry offers you the space to explore what is happening in your own life at this time. Anyone can access this ministry and there is no cost. If you feel you would benefit from this please don’t hesitate to contact Judith, Neil, or Ian or fill in the form on the church website.
Alpha – who might you invite?
Following on from our successful Alpha courses last year, we’re providing three opportunities this year to invite friends, family, neighbours and colleagues to hear the good news of Jesus.
We will have flyers to hand out with the dates and times of the courses, as well as social media posts that you can share with your friends. Each course is 12 evenings and the first started on Tuesday the 14th of September, from 7.30-9pm at The Vine, but it’s not too late to join us.
Please pray for God to draw people to himself and let Ian know if someone you’ve invited accepts the invitation, or you can sign up via our Alpha page.
Looking Ahead
This is a really early notice to say that on Sunday 14 November we will have a shared service together with St James’ congregation.
It will happen at 10.30am. It is Remembrance Sunday and we will be marking that together. It will be our first joint service and we are delighted that we can do this.
We will remind you over the weeks, this is just an early ‘heads up!’
