23rd March 2025
By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 29 March 2025
Hello everyone,
I must begin this message with some news about Janet Taylor who is now back home after going in an ambulance to A&E yesterday evening as they suspected she might have had a heart attack. Fortunately Janet did NOT have a heart attack, but she is still in pain, so please pray that she recovers quickly. Janet was able to talk to the paramedic about her faith in the ambulance!
I would like to thank everyone who helped make our Annual Meeting and Lunch go so well last Sunday and thanks also to those who were elected to serve the church, and those who are continuing to do so.
There are two requests for parents this week. First can children come to church on Sunday to help plan for a special Mothering Sunday service the following week, when we hope lots of mums will be able to join us. Second, please can primary school children be registered for SHOWSTOPPERS HOLIDAY CLUB as soon as possible, or, if they are not able to attend, please let me know (if you have not already done so) as we are keeping places for children who attend ENERGIZE. Adults who have offered to help with SHOWSTOPPERS HOLIDAY CLUB are invited to a meeting on Thursday morning in church at 9.30am.
SUNDAY 23rd MARCH
We have two services on Sunday, as follows:
9am HOLY COMMUNION at St Leonard’s, Rockingham. This will actually be the last 9am service as we are going to begin a trial after Easter of moving this service to 3pm, with the hope that we may attract some visitors to the Castle.
10.30am MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people who will be preparing for the Mothering Sunday All Age Service the following week. This service will be available on Youtube here: https://youtube.com/live/HoLU9IvM8ZI?feature=share
Finally at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
CHILDREN’S EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB – Showstoppers!
We are holding an Easter Holiday Club from Monday 14th to Friday 18th April in church from 10am to 12 noon each day. This will be for Primary School children (Reception to Year 6) so if you know any children of that age do pass this on. There will be lots of different activities including music & drama, fun & games, art & craft, Bible stories and food! Every child who attends will need to be registered in advance by completing the Permission Form and returning it either by email or at church and as there is a limited number of places please do this as soon as possible.
Please note that we will have a special launch service on Sunday 13th April so it would be great if all the children from church who are coming to the Club could be there. Then on Good Friday 18th April we are welcoming all parents, family and friends to the final hour from 11am when we will have a show and tell of all we have done during the week. And finally, on Easter Day, 20th April, there will be an opportunity for the children to conclude their week by learning that Jesus is alive!
All Holiday Club helpers are invited to a preparation meeting on Thursday 27th March at 9.30am in church.
SUNDAY 30th MARCH
There is just one service next Sunday as follows:
10.30am MOTHERING SUNDAY ALL AGE WORSHIP at St Columba’s
And at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
QUIZ NIGHT
The Events Group have arranged a QUIZ NIGHT for FRIDAY 4th APRIL at 7pm in the church hall. This was the most popular choice from the survey so it would be really good it was well supported. Please book the date now and plan to be there. Bring your own snacks and drinks. Everyone is welcome, whether you come on your own or with a team.
SPRING HARVEST 2025
DAY VISITOR TICKETS for Skegness Tuesday 8th, Wednesday 9th or Thursday 10th April
You are strongly recommend to book these in advance as numbers are limited. If there are tickets available you can buy them at the gate but they may cost more than if you buy them in advance and purchases at the gate must be by card, not cash. Parking is free and on site. It may not be possible to book your children into their programme if you do not buy tickets and register them in advance. If you are thinking of coming along for a day please do let us know and we can arrange to meet up.
Ticket prices for one day (8.30am – 11pm) are: Adults £50, Children 5-14 £38, Children 2-4 £30 and Under 2 Free.
To book tickets go to: https://ecevents.uk/sh25/days/Site/Register
SPRING HARVEST HOME
If you are not able to join us at Skegness then the next best thing is to watch Spring Harvest from Minehead ONLINE from Monday 14th to Friday 18th April (with recordings available to watch until 17th May). Tickets cost £24.95 until 7th April then go up in price to £29.95, they are available here:
https://ecevents.uk/shhome25/reg/Site/Register
Once you’ve bought your ticket, you’ll be sent the link to join with your unique code. Spring Harvest Home can be watched anywhere with WI-FI, in any browser, or cast to (some) TV’s.
LENT 2025
We had a great start to our LENT GROUPS last Wednesday and these continue this coming Wednesday at 10.30am and 7.30pm in church. We are watching a video by Jeff Lucas “There are no strong people” based on the story of Samson. Everyone is welcome to these groups, so do come along, even if you have not been able to attend before. We hope these will lead to further Fellowship Groups gathering after Easter.
Also on the subject of Lent, the children’s Lent Countdown Calendar continues and this week’s theme is family and friends, so we are encouraged to give for every phone call, text, or other social media contact you make. At the end of the week you multiply the amount you have decided to give (perhaps 10p) by the number of calls etc you make, so ten contacts every day for seven days would mean you give £7 to your chosen charity (the church or one of the charities we support for example).
FILMS AT THE SAVOY:
Bonhoeffer (certificate 12A running time 132 minutes) if you have not yet seen it this is being shown on Wednesday 26th March at 12.30.
The Chosen: Last Supper
Many of you will have watched episodes of the Chosen on TV. One of the latest, featuring the Last Supper, is being shown on the big screen at the The Savoy on Thursday 10th April at 17.25 and Sunday 13th April at 20.15. It would be quite an experience to watch this at the cinema, and it will also encourage The Savoy to keep showing Christian films if there are good numbers at these showings.
CHARITY OF THE WEEK – Please pray for: HOME FOR GOOD
Home for Good is a charity dedicated to finding a home for every child who needs one by co-ordinating and resourcing a rapidly growing network of people, churches and local movements across the UK who are raising awareness of the needs of vulnerable children and young people, inspiring individuals to explore fostering, adoption and supported lodgings and equipping churches to understand and support.
Every fifteen minutes in the UK, a child will come into care. Many will have suffered neglect or abuse, all will experience trauma and loss. Each one deserves a home where they will be loved, nurtured and enabled to thrive, whether that’s through short-term or long-term foster care, with a new adoptive family, or through supported lodgings. We believe the Church is ideally placed to ensure that every child and young person has the loving home they need. Our Biblical mandate to care for others, extend hospitality and seek justice compels us to action. Through opening our homes and hearts to children and young people in care, and through our churches becoming a welcoming and supportive community to all care-experienced children and young people and the families who care for them, we can make a transformational difference.
May God bless you all in this coming week,
Ian
01536 400225
07903 644609