8th February 2026

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 14 February 2026

Hello everyone,

I must start with some news about Vera who went into hospital on Wednesday afternoon with a suspected stroke. I was able to visit Vera yesterday and she had recovered her speech and was able to tell me that it was only a mini-stroke and that she was hoping to be discharged soon. Please continue to pray for Vera to make a full recovery.

Tomorrow is the day when we are welcoming some of the cast of Sister Act to church. They will be performing three songs from the show at the end of the service tomorrow morning. This is a great opportunity to invite people along to church so do make the most of it! More details of tomorrow’s service and how to buy tickets for Sister Act, and the final performances of this year’s Panto, are below.

I was delighted with the large number who came long to our new course called Discipleship Explored on Wednesday morning last week, and the rather smaller group who came in the evening, but nevertheless had a good time of Bible Study and fellowship together. It is not too late for you to join and all the details are below.

I am also pleased to report that our Church Improvement Project is gathering pace and hopefully work will begin on in the next couple of months. This means that our PRAYER and GIFT DAY will come at just the right time to enable the work to be completed. This is scheduled to take place on Saturday 21st March and there will be more details about this in the coming weeks, but for now can I ask that you all mark out that day in your calendar and plan to spend at least some of the time between 9am and 3pm in church. As I said last week, if you are thinking of making a donation to the Church Improvement Project it may be better to wait until all the publicity about the Gift Day is available. In the meantime please do pray for the Project and ask the Lord to guide you about your response to the Gift Day.

Details of all the upcoming events are as follows:

Sunday 8th February
10.30am – All Age Worship at St Columba’s – this service will include a visit by some of the cast of “Sister Act” which is being performed at the Cube in April (see details below) – they will be singing three songs from the musical in the service, and joining with us as we think more about the theme of love! This would be a great opportunity to invite people along to church, so why not ask someone to join you for what promises to be a very special service. This service will be available to watch on Youtube, but for copyright reasons the songs from Sister Act will not be part of the livestream – the only way to see and hear them is to be in church on Sunday morning. The YouTube link for the rest of the service is: https://youtube.com/live/yGWpm6WskqE?feature=share
3pm – Family Service in Rockingham Village Hall
6pm – Prayer Meeting at St Columba’s – everyone welcome.

New Wednesday Course: DISCIPLESHIP EXPLORED
We had the first session of the new Course “Discipleship Explored” on Wednesday, and several people commented how much they enjoyed it, and one said it was better than the Bible Course or the Romans Course. This new course is in a similar format with a video and time for discussion and it is not too late for you to join in, so why not come along on Wednesday 11th February, with meetings in the morning at 10.30am or the evening at 7.30pm. The following week, 18th February, is Ash Wednesday when, instead of the usual course format, we will have a Communion service (morning and evening) using the material from that week of the course as the subject for the sermon. We are starting before Lent so as to complete the 8 sessions before Easter, but do see this as a Lent Course and part of your spiritual discipline for that important season of the year. There is a Course Handbook that can be bought for £2.

Ladies Afternoon Tea
The next Afternoon Tea is on Friday 13th February at 3pm in the Church Hall. All ladies are invited to join us for tea, coffee, sandwiches, scones, cake and conversation. The next Afternoon Tea will happen as usual on Friday 13th March but because most of the team who organise the Teas will be away at Spring Harvest there will be no Afternoon Tea in April.

Sunday 15th February
10.30am – Holy Communion at St Columba’s – this service will include the final sermon in our series on evangelism, so do come along so that you are prepared to help more people discover the love of Jesus for themselves. There will also be ENERGIZE groups for children and young people age 3-16.
6pm – Prayer Meeting at St Columba’s – everyone welcome.

THEATRE NEWS!
This is the last chance to see the GELT Pantomime “Jack and the Beanstalk“. Tickets for the performances in Hallaton on Saturday 7th or Sunday 8th February both at 3pm are available. These cost £10 for adults, £5 for children and £25 for a family of four (two adults and two children) and are available from gelttickets@gmail.com or 07771 967322.
As mentioned above “Sister Act – The Musical” is being performed at the Core at Corby Cube by Rutland Musical Theatre (after a preview in our All Age service on 8th February) from Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th April (7.30 performances daily and also 2.30 on Saturday) with tickets available from the Core at Corby Cube Box Office, either in person or at Sister Act | The Core at Corby Cube

CHARITY OF THE WEEK – Corby Food Bank
Please remember the Food Bank in your prayers this week, giving thanks for all the volunteers who make it happen, and everyone who donates to Food Bank. Also pray for all those who need to make use of Food Banks, both here in Corby and around the country. If you would like to make a donation to the Food Bank the most needed items list is as follows: Tinned Spaghetti in Sauce, Tinned Tomatoes, Tinned Vegetables, Tinned Meat, Tinned Fish, Tinned Fruit, Tinned Custard and Rice Pudding, Coffee, Long Life Juice, UHT Milk, Disposable Razors, Shampoo, Shower Gel, and Toilet Rolls. Thank you to everyone who does donate to the Food Bank.

God bless you,

Ian

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