5th March 2023
By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 11 March 2023
Hello everyone,
I hope you have had a good week and been thinking about the Lent Challenge I shared in my sermon last Sunday. This was to invite people to church so that we can use Lent to prepare for the joy of Easter by sharing the joy of heaven when people come to faith! For those who missed it you can watch back by going to this link: https://youtube.com/live/OqHDf3V35_0?feature=share
I will be sharing more this coming Sunday so do come along to find out about the help that is available to us.
KEEP THE CHURCH FIRES BURNING
Last week I launched an appeal to help with the costs of heating the church this winter. As we all know energy prices have gone up so much, and the church is considered a commercial building so is not entitled to as much help as we receive for our homes. As a result the church budget is not balancing as our predicted income is considerably less than our predicted expenditure. Sadly there is not much we can do to limit expenditure, so we thought we would try and boost income by asking those people who are able to give a little extra on top of their regular giving to a special fund called KEEP THE CHURCH FIRES BURNING. This will be used to cover heating costs and is therefore different from last year’s HEATING FUND which has covered the cost of replacing and repairing the heaters in the church.
Contributions to this fund can be made by placing money in an envelope marked “Keep The Church Fires Burning” or KTCFB in the Offering Basket or via the Card Reader or making a Bank Transfer with KTCFB as the reference. THANK YOU for any contributions to this fund.
SUNDAY’S SERVICE
We just have the one service on Sunday, MORNING WORSHIP in St Columba’s church at 10.30am with ENERGIZE groups. This service is available to watch on Youtube either as a livestream or afterwards via this link: https://youtube.com/live/yyPtEfT1R_w?feature=share
We will also have the PRAYER MEETING at 6pm.
There is a special evening service at 6pm at Christ the King in Kettering with JOHN COLES (one of the founders of NEW WINE) speaking on the subject “From meeting God to serving God”.
FELLOWSHIP GROUPS
We were blessed with 12 people at the evening group last week which was great, although we had an equally good discussion with just four people the following morning. Do come along, even if you have not been before. Both groups this week are on Wednesday 8th March at 10.30am and 7.30pm
AFTERNOON TEA
The Ladies Afternoon Tea will be happening next Friday, 10th March at 3pm in the Church Hall. Do come along if you are able and enjoy tea and sandwiches, cakes and conversation!
NEXT SUNDAY 12th MARCH
This will be a busy day so here are all the timings:
10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups (who will be preparing for the Mothering Sunday Service on 19th March).
12.00noon (approx) St Columba’s ANNUAL MEETING in the Church Hall (see below)
1pm (approx) BRING & SHARE LUNCH (think main meal with main course and dessert!) also in the Church Hall
3pm FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall
6pm PRAYER MEETING at St Columba’s.
ST COLUMBA’S ANNUAL MEETING
We will meet in the Church Hall at about 12 noon please do try and come along. We will be electing Churchwardens to serve us over the next 12 months, Deanery Synod representatives to serve for three years and one third of our PCC members who also serve for three years, plus one casual vacancy for one year. If you would like to be considered for one of these roles please do ask me for a nomination form (all roles require the person nominated to be proposed and seconded by two people entitled to vote at the meeting).
The revised ELECTORAL ROLL is on display at the back of church, along with the formal notices about the meeting (strictly speaking it is two meetings, one for electing churchwardens and one for the rest of the business).
Any questions please do speak with me.
NAT WHITE’S BAND IN CONCERT
Nat White’s band MID LIFE CRISIS are performing at St Giles church Northampton on Saturday 11th March at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10 (concessions £7) and details of how to buy them are on the poster. They are raising money for “Baby Basics, Northampton”. If anyone is planning to go and has space to give someone a lift please let me know.
BISHOP’S BIBLE DAY
This is taking place at Northampton High School on Saturday 18th March from 9.30am to 4pm. It is a day for everyone to explore the Bible together, with a focus on the Psalms. The keynote speaker, Revd Dr Isabelle Hamley, will be looking at Psalms 23 and 137, and there are a range of workshops. You can book tickets (there is no charge for the day, which includes a cold lunch, but donations are welcome) and find details of all the workshops here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bishops-bible-day-tickets-503194848337
AND FINALLY
No Puzzles etc from Steve this week but there is another HOPE FROM ABOVE UPDATE so please do read it and pray for the matters highlighted.
With best wishes for this coming week,
Ian
01536 400225
07903 644609