Author: Justin Dyche

25th February 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 2 March 2024

Hello Everyone,

I hope you have all had a good week. Our Games Night was a great success and enjoyed by all who came along, not just the overall winner Daley Hirtsch. Below are details of upcoming services and other events and the latest mini SCANS.

SUNDAY 25th FEBRUARY
There are three services to choose from tomorrow so hopefully something for everyone:
9am HOLY COMMUNION at St Leonard’s, Rockingham
10.30am MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s with the latest in our sermon series on prayers in the New Testament, this week with Linda looking at Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. There will be ENERGIZE groups for children and young people and the service will be available as a LIVESTREAM at this link: https://youtube.com/live/t_xzxVGuRoA?feature=share
5pm HEALING SERVICE at St Columba’s – do come along if you or someone you know needs prayer for healing of any kind, or simply to enjoy a quieter service with singing and reflection.
Because we will be praying in the Healing Service there will be no Prayer Meeting tomorrow.

LENT GROUPS
Our Lent Groups continue on Wednesday at 10.30am or 7.30pm looking at the subject of How to Pray.

NEXT SUNDAY 3rd MARCH
There is just one service next Sunday, MORNING WORSHIP at 10.30am at St Columba’s. This will include ENERGIZE preparing for the Mothering Sunday service the following week (see below)

MOTHERING SUNDAY 10th MARCH
We have two opportunities to celebrate Mothering Sunday, All Age Worship at 10.30am in St Columba’s and Family Service at 3pm in Rockingham Village Hall. Hopefully all our wonderful mums will be able to join us for one of those.

ST COLUMBA’S ANNUAL MEETING
St Columba’s Annual Meeting of Parishioners and Annual Parochial Church Meeting will be on Sunday 17th March in the Church Hall after the morning service and will be followed by a Lunch – details to follow. At this time there are three things to think about:

1. We need to make sure that anyone who is not on our Church Electoral Roll (our membership list) has the opportunity to join, so do see me after church if you think that might be you.
2. If you are responsible for any group or activity in the church would you be able to write a short report that can be included in the book of reports that is given out at the meeting.
3. We have a couple of vacancies on our Parochial Church Council and I would encourage everyone to pray about this and ask the Lord if this is something that you may be called to do. There are usually ten evening meetings a year on either Tuesday or Wednesday, as well as a short meeting after the Annual Meeting to appoint church officers. If you would like to know more or to put your name forward please speak with me.

Mini SCANS 38
Please find here the latest mini SCANS. Steve writes: “This edition contains the amazing story of cowboy star Clint (Cheyenne) Walker, who had a skiing accident in which his ski pole went through his chest into his heart.” Not surprisingly he prayed – open up the mini SCANS to read what happened next or watch the YouTube interview with him (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03mt7C8-fJg). Steve continues: “Let God speak to you through this story. There are the usual funnies and puzzles (some new) and an opening piece to meditate on about God’s love for us.”

May God bless you all in the week ahead,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

18th February 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 24 February 2024

Good morning everyone,

I hope you enjoyed some pancakes on Tuesday and that if you have decided to do anything different in Lent that is going well. It is not too late to decide to give something up so that you can spend more time with God, either in prayer (why not join us for the Sunday evening Prayer Meeting?) or reading. There are lots of books in the “library” at the back of church and they are there to be borrowed and read, so why not have a browse over coffee tomorrow and see if there is something that looks like a good read. Don’t forget the Lent Groups will be happening on Wednesday, all the details are below. As well as details of all that is happening in coming weeks and the usual attachments, Steve has written about an answer to prayer this week (see below) and as he says “PRAYER WORKS – because GOD LOVES US and WANTS THE BEST FOR US!”

GAMES NIGHT
Lent does not have to be a miserable time, and we are planning to have fun at our Games Night this evening, in St Columba’s Church Hall from 6pm. This is an event for all the family and will involve people playing table top games (snakes & ladders, ludo, dominoes, etc) for a fixed time and then moving on to a different game. Do come along, even if you have not signed up, it will be great to see you and share with you.
The evening will begin with food at 6pm, soup & roll with tea & coffee for adults and hot dogs with squash for children, but you are also welcome to bring your own drinks. The games will start at 6.30pm with an aim to finish about 8.30pm. There is no charge for this evening but there will be an opportunity for people to make a donation.

SUNDAY 18th FEBRUARY
We have just the one service on Sunday, Holy Communion at St Columba’s at 10.30am, with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people and there will be a livestream available here: https://youtube.com/live/dJ13wzpLgmY?feature=share
We also have a Prayer Meeting in St Columba’s at 6pm.

LENT 2024
Lent began with our Ash Wednesday services and continues with Lent Groups every Wednesday between now and Easter, one in the morning at 10.30am and one in the evening at 7.30pm. These groups are designed to bring the whole church family together to look at “Real Prayer – connecting with our heavenly Father” and next week’s session will be thinking about “How NOT to pray”! I do encourage you to come along and join one of these groups.

SUNDAY 25th FEBRUARY
We have a choice of service next Sunday morning, with HOLY COMMUNION at 9am in Leonard’s, Rockingham and MORNING WORSHIP at 10.30am in St Columba’s, Corby. The St Columba’s service will include ENERGIZE groups for children and young people and will be available as a livestream.
There will also be a HEALING SERVICE at 5pm in St Columba’s to which everyone is welcome, especially anyone who is need of prayer for healing, or who knows someone we can pray for, but the service also gives us an opportunity to gather at a different time of day and with a quieter and more reflective form of service.

ST COLUMBA’S ANNUAL MEETING
We will hold our Annual Meeting of Parishioners and Annual Parochial Church Meeting on Sunday 17th March in the Church Hall after the morning service which will be followed by a Lunch – details to follow. At this time there are three things to think about:

1. We need to make sure that anyone who is not on our Church Electoral Roll (our membership list) has the opportunity to join, so do see me after church if you think that might be you.
2. If you are responsible for any group or activity in the church would you be able to write a short report that can be included in the book of reports that is given out at the meeting.
3. We have a couple of vacancies on our Parochial Church Council and I would encourage everyone to pray about this and ask the Lord if this is something that you may be called to do. There are usually ten evening meetings a year on either Tuesday or Wednesday, as well as a short meeting after the Annual Meeting to appoint church officers. If you would like to know more or to put your name forward please speak with me.

ATTACHMENTS
Please find here the latest PRAYER UPDATE from Hope From Above in Australia and also STEVE’S PUZZLES and OTHER STUFF 109. Steve writes this is: “full of stories, puzzles and other goodies! This is a rather special edition because God pointed me to two amazing answers to prayer, and a couple of moving stories – one about being old, and the other about a young lad setting us all an example in not judging others by appearances. Every edition I bathe in prayer and ask God to point me to what He wants me to include and to bless you with it – because, as far as I am concerned, it’s His magazine, not mine. and each week, He astonishes me with what I come across. There’s some great funnies and new puzzles, and a copy of an outreach leaflet I was given years ago at an evangelists’ conference. Some of you may not know Sue has problems with her eyes, and this week she went to Specsavers for her annual check-up. I prayed so much the night before that her sight would not have deteriorated – and PRAISE GOD – not only have they not got worse – her eyes have actually improved! PRAYER WORKS – because GOD LOVES US and WANTS THE BEST FOR US!”

May God bless you all in this coming week.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

11th February 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 17 February 2024

Hello everyone,

I am sending out our weekly email earlier than usual because it includes details of the Night of Prayer happening at St Columba’s tomorrow, with different themes for each 20 minutes session between 6pm and 9pm. Also included are details of Sunday’s services, our special Ash Wednesday services, Lent Groups, the Support Group for Bereaved Parents, Games Night, and more. I do hope to see you at one or other of the many events detailed here.

NIGHT OF PRAYER
Our first special event for our Year of Prayer will be happening TOMORROW, FRIDAY 9th FEBRUARY with a NIGHT OF PRAYER at St Columba’s from 6pm to 9pm. I do encourage you to come along, either for the whole three hours, or any part of it. The evening will be divided into 20 minute sections with different topics as shown below, so you might just want to join in for one or two of these that especially concern you, or come at a time that suits you.
6:00 – 6:20pm = Give Thanks To God + Forgiveness
6:20 – 6:40pm = The Church (as a whole ) & St. Columba
6:40 – 7:00pm = All who are struggling (financial, health, mentally, grieving, etc )
7:00 – 7:20pm = King Charles, our government and all other world leaders
7:20 – 7:40pm = Schools & Teachers
7:40 – 8:00pm = Corby
8:00 – 8:20pm = Marriage, parents and children
8:20 – 8:40pm = War & catastrophes
8:40 – 9:00pm = Thanksgiving & the Blessing
People are welcome to pray out loud but there is no expectation about this (other than the occasional Amen), several people come to our regular 6pm Prayer Meetings on Sundays and only pray silently.

LADIES AFTERNOON TEA
This is also happening on Friday 9th February at 3pm in the Church Hall, with tea, sandwiches, scones and cake. All ladies are most welcome to this occasion which are always most enjoyable and includes Linda Coleman’s next talk on what faith means to her.

SUNDAY 11th FEBRUARY
We have a choice of service next Sunday with HOLY COMMUNION at 10.30am in St Columba’s, with the next in our series of sermons looking at Prayers in the New Testament, and then a FAMILY SERVICE at 3pm in Rockingham Village Hall. The St Columba’s service will include ENERGIZE groups for children and young people and will be available as a livestream via this link: https://youtube.com/live/uHN3Atw-lfc?feature=share
We will also have a PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s at 6pm.

LENT 2024
Lent begins next week with two identical HOLY COMMUNION services on ASH WEDNESDAY, 14th FEBRUARY, one at 10.30am and the other at 7.30pm, both at St Columba’s. These services will be an introduction to the Lent Groups that will follow at the same times on the following weeks, also in St Columba’s. These groups are designed to bring the whole church family together to look at “Real Prayer – connecting with our heavenly Father”. Our HOME GROUPS will be taking a break during Lent, but will in most cases resume after Easter – look out for more information about this. Again I do encourage you to come along and join in the Ash Wednesday services and the Lent Groups that follow.

SUPPORT GROUP FOR BEREAVED PARENTS
Following a very well supported first meeting last month the new Support Group for Bereaved Parents is meeting again on THURSDAY 15th FEBRUARY at 7.45pm in the Church Hall. This is the initiative of one bereaved parent in our community and if you would like to join the group, or know someone who may find it helpful, please come along or pass on the details. Although the group is not a church group I will be attending and offering spiritual support to those who come along. The group will meet on the third Thursday of each month.

GAMES NIGHT
Our Games Night is happening on SATURDAY 17th FEBRUARY in St Columba’s Church Hall from 6pm. This is an event for all the family and will involve people playing table top games (snakes & ladders, ludo, dominoes, etc) for a fixed time and then moving on to a different game.
The evening will begin with food at 6pm, soup & roll with tea & coffee for adults and hot dogs with squash for children, but you are also welcome to bring your own drinks. The games will start at 6.30pm with an aim to finish about 8.30pm. There is a sign up sheet at the back of church, essential for those who would like food, helpful for everyone. There is no charge for this evening but there will be an opportunity for people to make a donation.

SUNDAY 18th FEBRUARY
We have just the one service next Sunday, Holy Communion at St Columba’s at 10.30am, with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people and there will be a livestream available.

PCC
The PCC decided last week that we would object to the proposed Pastoral re-organisation (which has been the subject of notices in church over the last few weeks). The reasons for this are complicated and simply by objecting we don’t stop the scheme happening, only delay it while further discussion takes place. If you would like to know more about our thinking please do contact me, either by replying to this email, using the phone numbers below, or after one of our services.

MOBILITY WALKER
Someone in church is offering a mobility walker with basket free to anyone who needs it. We don’t have space to keep things like this at church, but if you are interested do let me know and I will arrange for you to be able to see it.

AND FINALLY
Steve has produced another Online Puzzles and Other Stuff about which he says: “Among the other stories and puzzles there is a piece about our being Ambassadors for Christ, with some amusing personal confessions, and including two great stories about groups of young people being ambassadors to one another. Also the story of a family in Tanzania in trouble who prayed for God’s help received it via the Compassion Christian organisation that aims to help young people around the world. You can sponsor a child through them. I’ve included a link to their website. Hope you enjoy it all.”
There is also last week’s print edition of SCANS available in church if you did not pick one up last week.

May God bless you all in this coming week.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

4th February 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 17 February 2024

Hello again everyone,

I must once again apologise that there was no livestream last Sunday. We are not sure what happened but know other churches had problems so think it may be something outside of our control. I did a test in church yesterday and all was working so hopefully the livestream should be happening again tomorrow, see link below.

ALADDIN THE 2024 PANTOMIME
It’s the last call for the 2024 Panto which is being performed this afternoon and Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Tickets cost £5 for adults or children. These are available either by email from gelttickets@gmail.com, by phone from 07771967322, after church on Sunday or on the door.

SUNDAY 4th FEBRUARY
There is just one service on Sunday: ALL AGE WORSHIP at 10.30am in St Columba’s. All being well the service will be available as a livestream here:
https://youtube.com/live/OYyAid7Br7c?feature=share
The Prayer Meeting will be gathering in St Columba’s at 6pm.

PCC
The PCC have a short meeting after the service on Sunday morning and a longer meeting on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm. The meeting on Sunday is to discuss our response to the proposed Pastoral reorganisation (which has been the subject of notices in church over the last few weeks) and which we need to decide if we want to make a response before the deadline on Wednesday. Wednesday’s meeting will include our more regular agenda items and some time for prayer.

LADIES AFTERNOON TEA
The next gathering for tea, sandwiches, scones and cake will be on FRIDAY 9th FEBRUARY at 3pm in the Church Hall. All ladies are most welcome to this occasion which are always most enjoyable and includes Linda Coleman’s next talk on what faith means to her.

NIGHT OF PRAYER
The first special event for our Year of Prayer will be happening on FRIDAY 9th FEBRUARY when we will hold a NIGHT OF PRAYER at St Columba’s from 6pm to 9pm. There is a box at the back of church for people to be able to place Prayer Requests that they would like to be prayed for that evening. Everyone is welcome to come for the whole three hours, which will be divided into 20 minute sections with different topics, or you can drop in to pray for the topic(s) that especially concern you, or come at a time that suits you. I do encourage everyone to come along to at least part of this event, prayer is so essential in our lives and in the life of our church, and it is when we gather together that we can release real power in prayer. People are welcome to pray out loud but there is no expectation about this (other than the occasional Amen), several people come to our regular 6pm Prayer Meetings on Sundays and only pray silently.

SUNDAY 11th FEBRUARY
We have a choice of service next Sunday with HOLY COMMUNION at 10.30am in St Columba’s and a FAMILY SERVICE at 3pm in Rockingham Village Hall. The St Columba’s service will include ENERGIZE groups for children and young people and will be available as a livestream.
We will also have a Prayer Meeting in St Columba’s at 6pm.

LENT 2024
Lent will begin in a week and a half with two identical HOLY COMMUNION services on ASH WEDNESDAY, 14th FEBRUARY, one at 10.30am and the other at 7.30pm, both at St Columba’s. These services will be an introduction to the Lent Groups that will follow at the same times on the following weeks, also in St Columba’s. These groups are designed to bring the whole church family together, and so our HOME GROUPS will be taking a break during Lent, but will in most cases resume after Easter – look out for more information about this. Again I do encourage people to come along and join in the Ash Wednesday services and the Lent Groups that follow.

GAMES NIGHT
Our Events Group have planned a Games Night for Saturday 17th February in the Church Hall from 6pm. This is an event for all the family and will involve people playing table top games (snakes & ladders, ludo, dominoes, etc) for a fixed time and then moving on to a different game.
The evening will begin with food at 6pm, soup & roll with tea & coffee for adults and hot dogs with squash for children, but you are also welcome to bring your own drinks. The games will start at 6.30pm with an aim to finish about 8.30pm. There will be a sign up sheet at the back of church. There is no charge for this evening but there will be an opportunity for people to make a donation.

AND FINALLY
Steve is hoping to have a new print edition of SCANS out this weekend so look out for that, and please do look at the BULLETIN from Hope From Above in Australia and remember to pray for their work.

May God bless you all in this coming week.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

28th January 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 3 February 2024

Hello again everyone,

This email includes our services tomorrow and next Sunday, as well as details of the Panto (next weekend), our first Night of Prayer (actually an evening of Prayer), our 2024 Lent Groups and a Games Night. I have also included details of a free online will writing service and also some comments about why NOT to use Pure Cremation (a widely advertised funeral service) as well as an offer to talk with you about ideas for your funeral, which I hope will be many years in the future. Can I also apologise that there was no livestream last Sunday, it should be happening again tomorrow.

SUNDAY 28th JANUARY
We have a choice of service on Sunday morning, with HOLY COMMUNION at 9am in Leonard’s, Rockingham and MORNING WORSHIP at 10.30am in St Columba’s, Corby. Both services will include a sermon looking at the prayers of Simeon and Anna as we continue to think about prayers in the New Testament in our Year of Prayer.
Also at St Columba’s there will be ENERGIZE groups for children and young people, to prepare for next week’s All Age service, also looking at prayer.
We also have a Prayer Meeting in St Columba’s at 6pm.

ALADDIN THE 2024 PANTOMIME
It’s nearly time for this year’s Panto which will be performed on Friday 2nd February (cabaret style) at 7.30pm and in theatre style on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th February at 3pm. Tickets purchased this weekend will cost £5 for adults or children. These are available either by email from gelttickets@gmail.com, by phone from 07771967322, after church or on the door.

SUNDAY 4th FEBRUARY
There is just one service next Sunday: ALL AGE WORSHIP at 10.30am in St Columba’s.

NIGHT OF PRAYER
Our first special event for our Year of Prayer will be happening on FRIDAY 9th FEBRUARY when we will hold a NIGHT OF PRAYER at St Columba’s from 6pm to 9pm. There is a box at the back of church for people to be able to place Prayer Requests that they would like to be prayed for that evening. Everyone is welcome to come for the whole three hours, which will be divided into 20 minute sections with different topics, or you can drop in to pray for the topic(s) that especially concern you, or come at a time that suits you. Details and timings for the topics will be available before the event. I do encourage everyone to come along to at least part of this event, prayer is so essential in our lives and in the life of our church, and it when we gather together that we can release real power in our prayer. People are welcome to pray out loud but there is no expectation about this (other than the occasional Amen), several people come to our regular 6pm Prayer Meetings on Sundays and only pray silently.

LENT 2024
Lent is begins with two HOLY COMMUNION services on ASH WEDNESDAY, 14th FEBRUARY, one at 10.30am and the other at 7.30pm, both at St Columba’s. These services will be an introduction to the Lent Groups that will follow at the same times on the following weeks. These groups are designed to bring the whole church family together, and so our HOME GROUPS will be taking a break during Lent, but will in most cases resume after Easter – look out for more information about this. Again I do encourage people to come along and join in both the Ash Wednesday services and the Lent Groups that follow.

GAMES NIGHT
Our Events Group met last week and have planned a Games Night for Saturday 17th February in the Church Hall from 6pm. This is an event for all the family and will involve people playing table top games (snakes & ladders, ludo, dominoes, etc) for a fixed time and then moving on to a different game.
The evening will begin with food at 6pm, soup & roll with tea & coffee for adults and hot dogs with squash for children, but you are also welcome to bring your own drinks. The games will start at 6.30pm with an aim to finish about 8.30pm. There will be a sign up sheet at the back of church. There is no charge for this evening but there will be an opportunity for people to make a donation.

WRITE YOUR WILL FOR FREE ONLINE
Will writing can be time-consuming and difficult – and that’s a big reason why many people put it off. To make it easier, the Church of England has partnered with Farewill, the National Will Writing Firm of the Year 2022, to offer a FREE online will writing service, which you can do from home in less than 30 minutes. If you have questions, Farewill’s specialist team can help you over the phone or live chat 7 days a week.

Making a will and keeping it updated is the only way to ensure a person’s wishes are carried out after their death, giving them peace of mind that they can continue supporting the family, friends and charities they love. In using Farewill, there is no obligation for anyone to leave a gift in their will to the church. However, if you decide that you can, we will be most grateful and that gift – great or small – will enable the ministry and mission of your church to thrive for the benefit of future generations.

Please go to the following link to find out more: https://farewill.com/cofe-oct23

REASONS NOT TO USE “PURE CREMATION”
While writing about wills and legacies I thought about the widely advertised service of Pure Cremation. I understand that this may seem an attractive option to people as it claims to “protect your family from big funeral bills”. However can I caution people about this service, because it means that there is no funeral service, no opportunity therefore for family and friends to gather and remember you, not even a minister present to pray at the Crematorium. Having taken many funerals I think they are an important part of the grieving process, and it may be difficult for family members to come to terms with their loss if there has not been a funeral. Other funeral plans are available, so that the cost of a funeral, including a service in church, can be paid in advance by you, which also protects your family from big funeral bills, gives them the opportunity to gather and remember, and allows you to be entrusted into the merciful hands of the Lord.

The other thing I find when taking funerals is that it is always easier for families when funerals have been discussed in advance and people’s wishes are known. If you would like to talk with me to discuss ideas for your funeral, please do ask. I am also happy to speak with people about why I do not recommend Pure Cremation.

May God bless you all in this coming week.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

21st January 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 28 January 2024

Hello again everyone,

This email includes our services tomorrow and next Sunday, as well as details of our first Night of Prayer (actually an evening of Prayer) and our 2024 Lent Groups. There are also details of the Panto and a Prayer Letter from Tim & Carol Derbyshire.

SUNDAY 21st JANUARY
There is just one service on Sunday: HOLY COMMUNION at 10.30am in St Columba’s with Energize groups.
The PRAYER MEETING will also be happening at 6pm.

NEXT SUNDAY 28th JANUARY
We have a choice of service next Sunday morning, with HOLY COMMUNION at 9am in Leonard’s, Rockingham and MORNING WORSHIP at 10.30am in St Columba’s, Corby. The St Columba’s service will include ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. There will also be a Prayer Meeting in St Columba’s at 6pm.

ALADDIN THE 2024 PANTOMIME
It’s that time of year again when preparations are in hand and tickets being sold for this year’s Panto which will be performed on Friday 2nd February (cabaret style) at 7.30pm and in theatre style on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th February at 3pm. Tickets cost £10 for adults, £5 for children with a Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 children) for £25. These are available either by email from: gelttickets@gmail.com or by phone to 07771967322 or after church.

NIGHT OF PRAYER
Our first special event for our Year of Prayer will be happening on FRIDAY 9th FEBRUARY when we will hold a NIGHT OF PRAYER at St Columba’s from 6pm to 9pm. There is a box at the back of church for people to be able to place Prayer Requests that they would like to be prayed for that evening. Everyone is welcome to come for the whole three hours, which will be divided into 20 minute sections with different topics, or you can drop in to pray for the topic(s) that especially concern you, or come at a time that suits you. Details and timings for the topics will be available before the event. I do encourage everyone to come along to at least part of this event, prayer is so essential in our lives and in the life of our church, and it is when we gather together that we can release real power in our prayer. People are welcome to pray out loud but there is no expectation about this (other than the occasional Amen), several people come to our regular 6pm Prayer Meetings on Sundays and only pray silently.

LENT 2024
Lent is three and a half weeks away and will start with two services on ASH WEDNESDAY, 14th FEBRUARY, one at 10.30am and the other at 7.30pm, both at St Columba’s. These services will be an introduction to the Lent Groups that will follow at the same times on the following weeks. These groups are designed to bring the whole church family together, and so our HOME GROUPS will be taking a break during Lent, but will in most cases resume after Easter – look out for more information about this. Again I do encourage people to come along and join in both the Ash Wednesday services and the Lent Groups that follow.

SNIPPETS FROM THE SHIRES
Please find here the latest Prayer Letter from Tim and Carol Derbyshire in Australia, but soon to be moving back to this country for a couple of years. Do click on the link, have a read, and remember them in your prayers as they prepare to move in April. A printed copy will also be on display at the back of church.

There are no Puzzles etc this week, but remember printed copies of past editions are available in church.

May God bless you all in this coming week.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

14th January 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 20 January 2024

Hello again everyone,

Following last week’s email I am grateful to the people who spoke with me before the PCC’s discussion of our response to the Church of England’s decision to allow prayers of blessing for couples in gay marriages. Following a lengthy discussion the PCC decided by a clear majority (the only votes not in support were three abstentions) that St Columba’s would not offer these prayers because they represent a departure from the Biblical understanding of marriage. Can I also say, as was said in our discussion at PCC, that this decision does not mean that LGBTQ+ people are not welcome at St Columba’s, they, along with everyone else, are most welcome. I realise that this decision may be difficult for some people and I would be very happy to meet with you to discuss this further.

SUNDAY 14th JANUARY
We have a service of HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s at 10.30am, including the first in a series of sermons about Prayers in the New Testament. ENERGIZE groups will also be meeting again following the holidays so all children and young people are encouraged to come along – they will also be looking at Prayer. For those unable to be in church the service is available as a livestream here: https://youtube.com/live/5Oqvbwj_ke4?feature=share
At 3pm there is a FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall, which is so much warmer than the church at this time of year.
Then at 6pm we have our first PRAYER MEETING in this our Year of Prayer, so why not make a special effort to come along and join us.

BEREAVED PARENTS GROUP
On Thursday evening this week (18th January) at 7.30pm in the Church Hall, there will be the first meeting of a new support group for bereaved parents. This is the initiative of one bereaved parent in our community and if you would like to join the group, or know someone who may find it helpful, please come along or pass on the details. Although the group is not a church group I will be attending and offering spiritual support to those who come along. The group will meet on the third Thursday of each month.

NEXT SUNDAY
There is just one service next Sunday: HOLY COMMUNION at 10.30am in St Columba’s with Energize groups. The PRAYER MEETING will also be happening at 6pm.

ALADDIN THE 2024 PANTOMIME
It’s that time of year again when preparations are in hand and tickets being sold for this year’s Panto which will be performed on Friday 2nd February (cabaret style) at 7.30pm and in theatre style on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th February at 3pm. Tickets cost £10 for adults, £5 for children with a Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 children) for £25. These are available either by email from: gelttickets@gmail.com or by phone to 07771967322 or after church.

Mini SCaNS 37
Here is the latest mini SCaNS about which Steve writes: This issue contains an amazing story of a pastor who God called to pray for a dead colleague who was covered with a tarpaulin, 90 minutes after he was killed in a motoring accident. The pastor felt led to start singing, and his ‘dead’ friend joined in, to the astonishment of the emergency services. The story has been made into a film, available on YouTube. There’s also news of a growth in the number of young people turning to Christ. There are 13 puzzles including a quiz on people in the Bible who prayed and some fab pictures of God’s wonderful world.
Please note there are also printed copies of the last two online Puzzle editions available at the back of church.

May God bless you all in this coming week.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

7th January 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 13 January 2024

Hello everyone,

Can I begin by wishing everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR. I hope that you will know the blessing of our Lord with you during the next 12 months. There is a lot of content this week, including a couple of requests for people to bring things to church tomorrow, so let’s get started.

SUNDAY 7th JANUARY
We have two services at St Columba’s tomorrow. An All Age celebration of Epiphany at 10.30am. This service will include activities for children and, for those who are unable to be in church, will be available as a livestream via this link: https://youtube.com/live/d3giv6Z99T0?feature=share

At 4pm (note the time, an early start for these dark evenings) we have a service of Holy Communion. This service will include the first of a number of sermons looking at Prayer, to mark the start of our Year of Prayer.

PCC
On Tuesday evening our PCC will be meeting and voting on two matters.
The first is the Pastoral Scheme which will formalise our link with Rockingham, make some minor changes to our parish boundary, and make similar changes to several other local churches. Full details of this scheme are displayed on the Notice Board at the back of church.
The second matter is to decide on our response to the Church of England’s decision to allow prayers of blessing for couples in gay marriages. Although the church has stated this is not a change in the doctrine of marriage it is certainly a step in that direction.
If you have any views on either of these matters please speak with me or a PCC member before Tuesday.

AFTERNOON TEA
The Ladies Afternoon Tea will be meeting again at 3pm on Friday 12th January for tea, sandwiches, cakes and conversation. Do come along if you are able and if you know someone who would benefit from that opportunity please invite them along.

CHILDREN’S SOCIETY BOXES
Janet has asked if all Children’s Society boxholders could bring their boxes into church for counting. Thank you to those who have already done so. The proceeds will be added to the Christingle collection, which amounted to £157.86 so a big thank you if you contributed to that. Thanks are also due to TESCO who once again donated all 150 oranges for the Christingle service.

SPRING HARVEST PAYMENTS
Those of you who have booked to go to Spring Harvest in April need to give your final payments to Miriam. If you have not booked but are now interested in going (1st -5th April at Skegness) do also speak with Miriam as we have had a couple of cancellations.

AUTUMN CENTRE SPONSOR MONEY for Mary Craig
If you sponsored Mary’s sponsored walk to raise funds for the Autumn Centre please could you bring the money to church and give it to Mary – thank you.

SUNDAY 14th JANUARY
We have a service of HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s at 10.30am, including a sermon about Prayer. ENERGIZE groups will also be meeting again following the holidays so all children and young people are encouraged to come along – they will also be looking at Prayer.
In the afternoon at 3pm there is a FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall, which is so much warmer than the church at this time of year.

STEVE’S ONLINE PUZZLES AND OTHER STUFF
Steve has tried to link some of articles and puzzles in this edition with prayer, he writes: There are two amazing stories of answered prayer and an opening article telling of Edward Kimble, a Sunday School teacher who led D.L. Moody to Christ, Moody went on to became a world–renowned evangelist, leading a million to Christ, and ultimately led Billy Graham to Christ, who, in turn led over 3 million to Christ! It all started with ONE MAN. There are the usual puzzles and funnies, including a couple of challenging mind–benders, a 2023 quiz, a story about Sir Isaac Newton, both a Christian and scientist, and some pics to remind those of us of a certain age of what it was like when we were younger and the ice formed INSIDE the bedroom window! Enjoy!

HFA UPDATE
Please find here a further Prayer Update from Hope From Above in Australia.

May God bless you today and every day in 2024,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

31st December 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 6 January 2024

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all had a really special Christmas and that you are looking forward to 2024. With that in mind this rather short email contains details of our New Year’s Eve service, a special New Year edition of Steve’s Puzzles and Other Stuff, Prayer News from Hope From Above and details of both our services on Sunday 7th January.

Sunday 31st December
We have a special New Year’s Eve service at St Columba’s at 10.30am tomorrow.

Here is Steve’s Puzzles and Other Stuff 106 (a New Year edition).

Here is Hope From Above Prayer Update.

Sunday 7th January
There will be two services at St Columba’s:
10.30am All Age Worship celebrating the Epiphany
4pm (note the earlier time because of the dark evenings) an evening service of Holy Communion with our first sermon looking at the theme of prayer for 2024, our Year of Prayer.

With best wishes to all and, when it comes, a Happy New Year.

Ian

24th December 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 30 December 2023

Hello everyone,

Let me begin by wishing everyone who reads this email a very Happy Christmas. I hope to see many of you in church at one of the services in the next couple of days, all the details are below, but if you are not able to join us then our service tomorrow morning will be on Youtube as usual, see the link below. Christmas is a special time to be in church to celebrate the wonder of God sending His Son to live among people as one of them, so along with everything else that will happen at this time do make time to let this wonder settle in your heart.

There are still lots of Christmas cards at church so if you are coming to any of the services do make sure you look on the table to see if there are any for you.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES
10.30am – COMMUNION at St Columba’s – a quieter service with no children’s groups. The Youtube link to watch this service is:
https://youtube.com/live/w56S9kPVBOk?feature=share
4.30pm – CHRISTINGLE at St Columba’s – a service especially for children and families. Don’t forget there will be a collection for the CHILDREN’S SOCIETY at this service.
11.15pm – MIDNIGHT COMMUNION at St Columba’s – a traditional celebration

CHRISTMAS MORNING SERVICES
10am (note the time) – FAMILY COMMUNION at St Columba’s – a celebration for everyone
11am CHRISTMAS COMMUNION at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – a more traditional Christmas morning service.

The following Sunday will be New Year’s Eve and we will have a service of MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s at 10.30am.

Then on Sunday 7th January 2024 we will have two services at St Columba’s:
10.30am – All Age Worship for Epiphany
4pm (note the time, so that we at least start in the light) – Holy Communion with a sermon on Prayer at the start of our Year of Prayer.

There are still copies of the CHRISTMAS MAGAZINE available in church, and look out for a special New Year’s Eve edition online next week.

May the wonder of the birth of God’s Son fill your hearts this Christmas time,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609