Welcome to the newsletter for September.
It’s getting darker earlier in the evenings, and there are moments when you might be thinking of putting the heating back on. You might already be wondering if you can afford another holiday before next summer. September is upon us! Schools are open again, new classes, new schools, new uniforms, new pupils. Whatever your summer involved, I hope you had a good time.
Important Kid’s Church and Creche information
Firstly, please fill in a General Info and Consent form for each of your children under 18. They can be found on the Church website here.
Please put in the school year your child is in as of September 2024, if applicable.
We follow a 4 week rotation in Kid’s Church and you can keep up with what week is when by looking on the Church Calendar.
Now we are in a new school year, there could be a change to the group your child/ren now find themselves. Any children now in Reception will no longer be in Creche.
We often split, dependant on school year, and so some kids will be in a different group. The most notable difference for you to be aware of is if you have a child now in Year 9.
During a Week 1 week, Years 9-13 meet at The Vine before the service starts (11.15am) and remain here until they are collected after the service (1.15pm).
During a Week 3 week, Years 9-13 remain in the service, having the opportunity to serve if they are on any rotas, as well as begin the transition to listening to a sermon and feeling part of the service. I appreciate that this could be quite a step up and so for those children in Year 9, so should this be a concern for you, please speak to me (Morag).
We have a WhatsApp group that parents and carers with children in Year 9+ can choose to be a part of as it allows an extra reminder for when it’s a Week 1 week!
Creche
We have availability to serve here! Generally, this involves being on a rota once a month, setting up the creche, keeping the under 5s entertained during the service and then packing the toys away at the end. Please speak to Morag if you think you can help.
Welcome Service for Pastor Sarah Robinson
Sunday 8th September • 11:30am • Church
The welcome service for Sarah is on Sunday 8th September. Please pray for her as comes to join the leadership of the church here and pray for her husband, Phil, and their children, Ben (16 years old), Evie (10 years old) and Annie (8 years old) as they join us.
James Glass, our Regional leader, will be speaking at this service.
Midweek Groups
From Thursday 5th September • Various times and locations
On Thursday 5th September at 7.30pm in the Vine, we resume our series in the book of Romans. You might not have been able to come to these evenings yet, but you are welcome to start in with us – we are halfway through the book, but we can give you access to the films for you to catch up if you would like to.
Home groups begin again on Tuesday 10th and Thursday 12th September. If you would like to join a housegroup, please talk to Neil or Ian.
Church Away Day
Saturday 28th September • Wirral
Thank you to all who have signed up for the church away day. If you are yet to make payment please do so as soon as possible. We have a fun-filled day lined up. For those who need lifts, Kate will be in touch soon. Please make every effort to arrive promptly at 10am – it takes about an hour to drive to Barnstondale from church. Barnstondale Centre, Barnstondale Storeton Lane Barnston Wirral, CH61 1BX
What to bring – PACKED LUNCH, reusable mug/cup, walking shoes if you want to have a walk in the woods, craft activity if you’re that way inclined, games and a waterproof coat.
Outline of the day
10:00-10:30 Arrival & Tea and Biscuits
10:30-12:30 Kids’ activities organised by Barnstondale
10:30-12:30 Adults’ main meeting
12:30-13:30 (Your Own) PACKED LUNCH
13:30-14:30 Whole church group activity
14:30-15:00 Tea & cake break
15:00-17:00 Chill: Crafts Together/Walks/Outdoor & Indoor Games/Chat
17:00-18:00 Evening Meal
18:30-20:00 Worship, Camp Fire and Marshmallows
Volunteers – We will need some people to volunteer to make cakes/tray bakes etc to bring for everyone to enjoy on the day. We also need around 4 adult volunteers to help with the kids work. If you can help with either of these please get in touch with Kate.
If you have any questions or would like to volunteer for anything, please speak to Kate Blundell at church or drop her a message on 07805 069033
The cost of the day is £20 per adult and £10 for children. There will be an evening meal provided, but you need to bring your own packed lunch. Can you bring your own cups/mugs and you might want to think about insect repellent.
You can pay direct to the church account – put Day Away in the reference box and let Kate know.
Details
Account Name: EFGA RE Salford 2
Sort: 60-05 -16
Number: 18523781
If the cost is a problem, we can help. Please talk to Kate about that.
Sunday 6th October: An Earlier Start!
Sunday 6th October • 10:30am • St James
Twice a year we have joint Sunday services with St James. In the past, one of those has been Remembrance Sunday, but we have decided to change that this year to a joint all-age service around harvest time.
So on 6th October, our service will begin at 10:30am! There will be lots of reminders before then!
Need Help?
If you need help in any way, please be aware that we will do what we can. If you, or someone you know, needs financial help, please talk to Neil or Ian and we can offer that. We set money aside each year from our church budget to be able to respond to the needs that are around us.
If you want people to pray with you in a more relaxed environment than Sunday mornings can offer, again talk to us, we would love to do that.
If you, or someone you know, would be helped with counselling, Judith Thompson, a trained counsellor, offers free, confidential counselling. Please talk with her about meeting together.
Autumn Preaching Series – It’s All About Jesus: The Foursquare Gospel: Jesus the Saviour, Baptiser, Healer and Coming King
As anyone who has tried to pay money into our church account knows, our Elim church is technically known as the Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance. Catchy!
‘Elim’ is taken from the oasis that the people of Israel stumbled upon in Exodus 15:27. The ‘Foursquare Gospel’ part reflects what the Pentecostals who formed the Elim churches back in the early twentieth century believed about Jesus. He is the Saviour, Baptiser, Healer and Coming King.
These 4 descriptions of Jesus create a solid foundation for faith and life because the more we are aware of who Jesus is and what he has done for us, the more we can live in freedom as people of his kingdom.
Next year will be our church’s 75th anniversary. We will take the opportunity to celebrate that in a few ways, but we thought it would be helpful to begin by looking at the church’s foundational beliefs about Jesus.
In order to base the sermons around full texts, rather than isolated verses, we will rest our teaching about Jesus as Saviour in the book of Ephesians and the teaching about Jesus as the Spirit-Baptiser in the book of Acts.
In the spring we look at Jesus as Healer and then as Coming King.
The hope is that the sermons will lead us to a renewed appreciation of who Jesus is and a renewed encounter with him. If this happens, we will be able to live confident lives as his disciples as we face all the joys and challenges of life.
Dates for The Diaries
These are some of the things that are coming down the line:
Saturday 12th October 10.00-11.30
Men’s Brunch at The Vine
Saturday 19th October
St James’ Barn Dance to which we are all invited
Sunday 17th November
James Glass, the Regional Leader will be with us again for the morning service
Saturday 23rd November 10.00-11.30
Men’s Brunch at The Vine
Sunday 15th December
Children’s Nativity as part of Morning Service
6:00-7.00pm – Traditional Candlelit Carol Service
Sunday 9th February 2025
Rev Mark Pugh, Elim’s General Superintendent will be with us
Saturday 28th June 2025
Summer Hog Roast
