7th November 2021
By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 7 November 2021
Dear Friends at St Columba’s,
I know that word has reached some people but probably not everyone so I must tell you that my father died on Wednesday. He was 93 and his body and mind had been declining for the last couple of years, but it was only in the last 10 days that he became confined to bed. A number of friends and family members were able to visit him in those 10 days, and my brother and I spent a special evening together with him the day before he died. He had a strong faith and was able to receive Communion, which I am sure was a comfort to him. Thank you so much to all those who have been praying for him, and for me and my family, over these last couple of weeks. Please continue to hold us in your prayers as we await his funeral.
I am trying to lighten my load over the next couple of weeks, so it may be a better option to contact Kevin (01536 647727 / 07512 822422 or email kfm@thedigitalchristian.com) if you need to speak with someone from church. The other change that you will notice is that there is no youtube version of Sunday’s service available today, but there will be livestreams available of both our services tomorrow, see the details below. This is probably a better way for people at home to share in a service of All Age Worship in any event.
SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE 10.30am
This week we have a service of All Age Worship looking at the very topical issue of Climate Change. Everyone is welcome to attend this service in church, and it would be especially good to see some children, young people and families as there is lots of interactivity included. As I mentioned above this will be available as a livestream direct from church tomorrow morning at 10.30 (you will be able to watch later in the day as well). There is a PDF version of the service available as well.
MEMORIAL SERVICE 4pm
Tomorrow afternoon we have our Memorial Service in which we especially remember those who have passed away over the last two years and we are looking forward to welcoming many visitors to the service. There is still plenty of room for any of you who would like to come to the service, either to remember someone who has recently passed away or someone you may have lost many years ago. This service will also be available to watch as a livestream by going to this link (which will be live from 4pm tomorrow):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYwJfQMbYpk
HOPE INTO ACTION
Our regular Hope into Action Prayer Meeting will be back at the usual time of 6pm tomorrow. Don’t forget that there is still opportunity to sign up to help with the decorating and maintenance of the house, as well as to join the Friendship & Support team. We have a training day on Saturday 4th December for anyone who may be interested in that – attending the training does not commit you to being on the team. Please sign up on the sheet in church or reply to this email if you are interested.
We have a number of other events coming up so do make a note of the following:
ST COLUMBA MEN’S MEETING
All men in our church are invited to a meal to launch our Men’s Ministry THIS Friday, 12th November, at 7pm in the Church Hall. For catering purposes we need to know who will be joining us for this meal so please RSVP to Kevin: 01536 647727 / 07512 822422 or email kfm@thedigitalchristian.com or you can sign the sheet in church tomorrow.
TEARFUND BIG QUIZWe are looking forward to holding a scaled down version of this on SATURDAY 20th NOVEMBER at 7pm. Please sign up to let us know you are coming, either on the sheet in church or by replying to this email. Because of Covid we are asking people to bring their own drinks and snacks and as a result we won’t charge to come along but will take donations on the door and after we have watched the film about Tearfund’s work during the interval. We hope to have a raffle as well to raise a little more money for Tearfund. You can watch a film about the Quiz here: https://vimeo.com/585835694/cc01acd62b
CHRISTMAS FAYRE
This will be happening on SATURDAY 27th NOVEMBER from 10am. If you are available to help with the day, or before or after, please again sign up on the sheet in church or by replying to this email. Also if you, or someone you know, would like a table at the Fayre please do get in touch.
SHOEBOXES
Please note that the time for returning Shoeboxes is drawing near, not just for us but for lots of other people who will be dropping their boxes off at St Columba’s. James would be delighted if anyone could volunteer to be in church to receive boxes during the week beginning 15th November. We will be open every morning 9 till 1 during that week and there is a rota in hourly blocks available for people to sign up. And don’t forget to return your shoeboxes by Sunday 21st November.
Extra Info
Please find available the latest Prayer Letter from Tim & Carol Derbyshire working with Hope from Above in Australia as well as Steve’s latest “Puzzles and Other Stuff” which includes lots of dates for your diaries, not just the ones mentioned above.
AND FINALLY
Our daughter Jo is about to BRAVE THE SHAVE to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. She will do this on Wednesday, the same day her aunt has her second round of chemotherapy. She is also donating her hair to the Little Princess Trust who make wigs for children and young people. You can find out more, and donate, by going to: https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/joanna-pullingerAnd as Jo says, thank you so much.
Don’t forget next Sunday is Remembrance Sunday, and our service will include the traditional two minutes silence at 11am
.
May God be with you all,
Ian