3rd October 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 9 October 2021

Harvest greetings to you all. This harvest time we should be especially mindful not just of farmers who grow our food, but also haulage drivers who move it from farm to shop. We have all seen the effect of not having enough drivers with the empty petrol forecourts, so let us be sure to give thanks to God for all those who are involved in our increasingly complex supply chains. HARVEST SERVICEOur service tomorrow is at 10.30am and everyone is welcome. Don’t forget that we will be collecting for FOOD BANK, especially donations of tinned fish, fruit, custard and rice pudding, as well as coffee, squash and long life fruit juice.Kevin has prepared the service, but unfortunately Ciarán has tested positive for Covid (although he is “not too bad” according to Kevin) so Kevin is isolating at home and William will lead the service in church using Kevin’s material. Online you can watch Kevin leading the service as planned from his home. There is a PDF of the service available here.
 PRAYER REQUESTSIn addition to praying for Ciarán, and that the rest of the Montgomery family do not get infected, please could you pray for the following:

• the family and friends of Martin Steed who died this week from Covid, especially his mum Jackie and aunt Val Berridge.
• the Tafuma family because Patience’s husband Derrick now has Covid although Angel has recovered.
• Joan Dyche who is still in pain with her arm in a sling following her fall last Saturday.
• and also pray for the PCC as they meet on Wednesday to decide where we should give our Charitable Giving for the year.

HOPE INTO ACTION (HIA)I am very pleased to say that the purchase of the house in Stevenson Way was completed last week. This house will become a home for people who would otherwise have nowhere to live. There now needs to be some work carried out to turn the house into a home – so look out for requests for help with this (but not second hand furniture of equipment as HIA insist on having new things to show the tenants they are loved. We also need to prepare a Friendship and Support Group ready for when the tenants move in. With this in mind Matt Morton from HIA will be joining our Prayer Meeting on Sunday 24th October at 6pm – so if you are at all interested, or just want to find out more do come along that evening. There will be a TRAINING DAY on Saturday 4th December for those who would like to pursue this further.Our usual PRAYER MEETING will be happening on Sunday evening this week at 6pm in church – and it should have a celebratory feel as our prayers for the house have now been answered. HOPE FROM ABOVE (HFA)There are two updates this week from HFA in Australia. The first is the usual monthly Prayer Update, the second is a letter setting out a change in leadership as Hans Kummer, who Miriam and I met in 2019, steps down as CEO and moves to a new ambassadorial role while handing over to Robert Lister, the new CEO. ENERGIZEAs it is Harvest we are re-issuing the resources we made available last year. These are in three age groups: 3-6, 7-11, 11-14. They make reference to the film “Joseph King of Dreams” which you can download, or the “good harvest” sequence can be watched here:

or there is a full film “Joseph: Beloved Son, Rejected Slave, Exalted Ruler” available here: 

SCANS and more There will be a full colour print edition of SCANS available in church from Sunday so do take a copy of that if you are there. Also available are the latest Puzzles and Other Stuff, which includes a Harvest Scavenger Hunt! And finally just to say that Miriam and I will be in London on Sunday, supporting Ruth who is running the London Marathon for Cancer Research. 

With best wishes to all, 

Ian 

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