2nd March 2025
By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 8 March 2025
Hello everyone,
First of all can I thank all those who helped in any way with the service on Monday to celebrate Steve’s life. I think it was the joyous affair that he wanted, and wonderful to have 100 people in church to celebrate Steve’s life. There was certainly much joy in the Hall afterwards and good conversations with the many old friends of St Columba’s who gathered with us. Please do continue to remember Sue in your prayers.
I am looking forward to the ALPHA AWAY DAY today. Please pray for all those who will be taking part in the day as we think about the Holy Spirit. Also happening today is the worldwide gathering of Christians online, Gather 25, see below for how you can get involved.
And a notice for PCC members. We have decided that we will cancel the meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening as it is Shrove Tuesday, so PCC members can enjoy their pancakes!
GATHER 25 LIVE
Gather25 is an unprecedented 25-hour global broadcast event telling the inspiring stories of the global Church, by the global Church. It is happening on Saturday, 1st March 2025. The aim is to spend time sharing stories of what God is doing across the world, worshipping and praying together, as well as reminding us that we are part of a global church family.
Gather25 starts at 1am UK time on Saturday 1st March and continues for 25 hours until 2am on Sunday 2nd March. From 5pm-9.30pm the live broadcast is from Hackney Church in London. Find out more and go online to watch at gather25.com
SUNDAY 2nd MARCH
We have two services at St Columba’s as follows:
10.30am ALL AGE WORSHIP with lots of contributions from our younger members. This service will also be available to watch on Youtube via this link:
https://youtube.com/live/OeIFKS0hh8I?feature=share
and at 5pm HOLY COMMUNION which means there won’t be a Prayer Meeting this Sunday.
LENT 2025
Lent begins next week and we have two Holy Communion services on Ash Wednesday (5th March) at 10.30am and 7.30pm,
We will then have Lent Groups meeting at those times on Wednesdays 12th, 19th, 26th March and 2nd April when we will be watching a video by Jeff Lucas “There are no strong people” based on the story of Samson. Everyone is welcome to these groups, which we hope will lead to further Fellowship Groups gathering after Easter.
FILM AT THE SAVOY: Bonhoeffer (certificate 12A running time 132 minutes) – Friday 7th March 17.45
Thanks to Sheila for alerting me to this film, which is being being shown for one night only, unless lots of people book in advance so they add some more screenings. While it is a historical drama the film is so relevant to the world we live in today and I do encourage people to watch it. It is described as follows:
“From the tumultuous backdrop of World War II, emerges the compelling true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man of profound ideals caught in the crossfire of history. As the world teeters on the brink, Bonhoeffer, an advocate of love, grapples with a moral dilemma that transcends the ordinary. With stakes soaring to global proportions, ideals collide, convictions are tested, and a man’s legacy becomes a testament to the indomitable spirit of humanity.”
NEXT SUNDAY
On Sunday 9th March we have two services as follows:
10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people.
3pm FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall.
And at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
ST COLUMBA’S ANNUAL MEETINGS and LUNCH
Our Annual Meetings are on Sunday 16th March after the 10.30am service. We will meet in the Church Hall and after the meeting continue to enjoy time together with a hot lunch. There is a sign up sheet in church for the lunch to which everyone is welcome, as they are to the Meetings.
SPRING HARVEST 2025
There will be a meeting for those going to Spring Harvest this year on THURSDAY 20th MARCH at 7.30pm in church. Please try to be there as we prepare for our time away. If anyone is thinking of going out for a day, or two and staying off site, please come along as there will be useful information for you as well.
CHARITY OF THE WEEK – Rooted in Jesus
After a week in which we have remembered many old friends of St Columba’s it seemed appropriate that our charity this week should by Rooted in Jesus which is run by our former vicar Roger Morgan and his wife Alison.
Rooted in Jesus is a group course in Christian discipleship written for use in Africa. It is the only material of its kind written especially for the use of ordinary African Christians, rather than translated from material developed for the West – where people face different problems and challenges in their Christian lives. Since its beginning in 2002, Rooted in Jesus has been adopted by over 100 dioceses and denominations in 19 African countries. In 2010 we developed a companion Rooted in Jesus Junior programme for use in Sunday Schools, and that too is in wide use. The two courses have now been translated in whole or in part into 48 languages.
And on the subject of charities please do take a copy of the Prayer Letter from H&M which came out last week. We can’t share these online, but there are printed copies at the back of church.
I hope to see you at one of the services on Sunday, and on Ash Wednesday, but even if you can’t be with us, do think what you might do during Lent to help your faith to grow and to share God’s blessings.
God be with you all,
Ian
01536 400225
07903 644609