Dear Friends,

September marks the beginning of a new season of church life and activities. It’s delightful to be beginning the month with a service of Holy Baptism as we welcome Louis Porter into the family of the church. This means that our usual Connect Service will not be happening in the church hall in September but will resume on the first Sunday in October.

We hope to use the service of Holy Baptism to not only welcome Louis into the family of the church, but also to introduce the theme we hope to explore at our Connect Services throughout the coming year and we are excited to share that with everyone on our first Sunday in September. We hope as many as possible will be with us to celebrate that special moment in Louis’ life.

We are excited to have another service of Holy Baptism on 20th September as we welcome Romi Elliman into the family of the church. Again, we hope that many will come on that day to encourage Romi as she begins that special journey of faith.

On Saturday 12th September from 2-4pm we hope to host a Community Fun Day with attractions for families and visitors from the local community. We do need a lot of volunteers on the day so we hope you have signed the list at the back of the church.

On Sunday 13th, we look forward to Andrew and Joanne Quill, our mission partners with CMS Ireland, coming to share a bit about their work in Ibba Diocese in South Sudan.

We are also looking forward to a visit from Darryl Nesbitt from Samaritan’s Purse on the last Sunday in September. Darryl will speak about the Shoe Box Appeal which has been supported so generously here over the past number of years.

Baptisms, Community Fun Days and visiting speakers bring a sense of new life and possibility as a new season of church activities begins. We look forward always to the sounds of life and activity as our organisations return.

Our Wednesday communion services will recommence on the first Wednesday in September.

I’m always conscious that it takes a huge team of volunteers to make all of our organisations and activities happen . We are very grateful to those who lead and help with all of our activities. Maybe you have sometimes wondered about volunteering your time in a positive way or maybe you are in a new season of life which affords you more time than you previously had. Maybe you would like to try something you haven’t done before like sing in the Choir or play in the Praise Group. Maybe you’d prefer to be more behind the scenes and serve tea/coffee at our Sunday services or assist with catering at funerals or help with Sunday School or a Youth Organisation. Please speak to one of the Clergy if you would like to help in some way and we will find a good fit for your skills and interests.

At the heart of all we seek to do is a desire to introduce others to the love and kindness of a relationship with God. When that relationship has brought peace and guidance and inspiration to our daily lives, it’s beautiful to see other people encounter the same thing and nurture that spiritual part of their lives which may have never been awakened before.

At the Community Fun Day in September, many of our organisations will have information about their programmes and activities and there is something for everyone from across the generations. We would love to see new people getting involved and being welcomed and you can be a vital part of making that happen.

At the heart of all of it is prayer. Each week there are opportunities both online and in person for people to pray together and seek God’s guidance for our church, local community, the world and its needs. We hope that many will discover how meaningful that connection with God can be.

With very best wishes,

Jonathan Pierce (Rector)

Telephone 02890 79382