I hope you all had a good Easter and have continued to reflect on the Amazing news, shared by Angels, that Jesus who was dead is Alive, both historically and in our hearts today, and that you have started to write Another Chapter in the great story of the people who have encountered the Risen Lord. If you have then Praise the Lord – Alleluia, do join us tomorrow and share what has happened. If not, and you need some more inspiration, then join us tomorrow when we continue to think about the resurrection, both in our service and in Energize – see all the details below.
I am sorry this email is rather late but Miriam and I have been away for a few days.
SUNDAY 27th APRIL We have one service tomorrow, MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s at 10.30am with a sermon by Riaan looking at the Risen Lord’s encounter with Thomas (John 20.19-31). The children in ENERGIZE will be preparing for the following week’s All Age service when they will help us think about the encounter on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24.13-35). Tomorrow’s service is available on Youtube via this link: https://youtube.com/live/LE4kU-kg-Q4?feature=share We will also have a PRAYER MEETING at 6pm in St Columba’s.
PRAYER OF THE WEEK Rather than asking for prayer for a charity this week I would like to ask people to pray for a meeting of the Church Commissioners on Wednesday 30th April where they will be discussing what kind of link there should be between St Columba’s and Rockingham. We would prefer a more informal arrangement and I would encourage everyone to pray for this outcome especially, if you can, on Wednesday morning.
NEXT SUNDAY We have two services at St Columba’s next Sunday as follows: 10.30am ALL AGE WORSHIP – with children leading us as we continue to celebrate the resurrection. 6pm HOLY COMMUNION – can I encourage people to come to this service, where, as well as Communion, we will be reflecting on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Next week there will be details about more events coming up in the life of the church.
First can I wish you all a very Happy Easter, and while we are not quite there yet (it is only Good Friday) I hope that many of you will join us in church on Sunday to celebrate the wonderful news that Jesus is alive…today!
I am pleased to say that our SHOWSTOPPERS HOLIDAY CLUB has gone really well with lots of children coming along each day and a wonderful conclusion this morning with mums & dads, brothers & sisters, grandparents and even some people from church. Thank you for your prayers. After all the activity of the last couple of weeks there is not so much going on this week, although there is an early showing of the King of kings film at the Savoy tomorrow (Saturday) for anyone not enjoying a lie-in after a busy week at Holiday Club! All the details are below.
EASTER SUNDAY 20th APRIL There are two services on Easter Sunday as follows: 6am – Sunrise Service at St Leonard’s, Rockingham followed by breakfast in Rockingham Village Hall 10.30am – All Age Easter Celebration with Communion at St Columba’s – this service will be available as a livestream here: https://youtube.com/live/dBan2i5Ls_s?feature=share There will NOT be a Prayer Meeting this week.
FILM AT THE SAVOY The new Easter animated film “King of kings” (not to be confused with the 1961 epic of the same name which was on BBC2 on Good Friday) is still on over this weekend, see times below. It is described as follows: The untold Charles Dickens story. A father tells his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love, and redemption through the eyes of a child. You can watch this on the following days and times: Saturday 09.45 Sunday 12.00 Monday 12.00
SUNDAY 27th APRIL We have just one service next Sunday, MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s, with the children preparing for the following week’s All Age service. Please note there is not a Communion service at Rockingham.
I am pleased to say we had a great week at Spring Harvest in sunny Skegness! There will be more news about what happened over the coming weeks but it was a time of good teaching, uplifting worship, encounters with God, wonderful fellowship as we shared food together and fun (at least it was fun for me as I won the Crazy Golf!). There is much to do now to be ready for our SHOWSTOPPERS HOLIDAY CLUB which starts on Monday and below you will find details of everything happening during this HOLY WEEK leading up to EASTER DAY next Sunday.
SUNDAY 13th APRIL There are two services on Sunday as follows: 10.30am ALL AGE WORSHIP at St Columba’s. This service will be to launch our SHOWSTOPPERS Holiday Club (but all children are welcome whether they are coming to the Club or not) and to encourage everyone to pray for the Club. We will also be handing out Palm Crosses. This service will be available to watch here: https://youtube.com/live/niZe8DFpBUw?feature=share 3pm FAMILY SERVICE with BAPTISM at St Leonard’s, Rockingham. We will have a PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s, but the exact time will depend on how well our preparations for Holiday Club go – come at 4.30 and you can help, come at 6pm and we may have already started praying!
LENT 2025 Our children’s Lent Countdown Calendar concludes this week and the theme is fun and games. You are encouraged to give for every hour you spend watching TV and every time you play a game (which could be any kind of online or physical game) this week! At the end of the week you multiply the amount you have decided to give (perhaps 10p an hour of TV or per game) by the number of hours you watched and games you played. So two hours a day watching TV for seven days mean you give £1.40, plus any games you played, to your chosen charity (the church or one of the charities we support for example). As this is the last week you may like to bring any money you have raised for church to our service next Sunday, or if it is for a charity and you would like us to send it for you put it in an envelope with the charity name clearly on the envelope.
SPRING HARVEST HOME It is not too late to be blessed by Spring Harvest this year. You can watch Spring Harvest from Minehead ONLINE from Monday 14th to Friday 18th April (with recordings available to watch until 17th May). Tickets cost £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.
FILMS AT THE SAVOY There is a new Easter animated film out next week: “King of kings“, (not to be confused with the 1961 epic of the same name). It is described as follows: The untold Charles Dickens story. A father tells his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love, and redemption through the eyes of a child. You can watch this on the following days and times: Today (Saturday) 12.30 Sunday 12.10 Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: 10.00, 12.30, 15.00 Thursday 10.00, 12.30, 15.00 and 17.20
And the Last Supper episode of “The Chosen” can be watched at the Savoy on today (Saturday) at 20.40 and Sunday 13th at 20.15.
CHILDREN’S EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB – Showstoppers! Rather than a Charity of the Week I would like to encourage everyone to pray for our Easter Holiday Club running from Monday 14th to Friday 18th April in church from 10am to 12 noon each day. Please pray for the children who have booked in, also for the leaders, for all the practicalities of running the Club and for parents of the children.
EASTER SERVICES Do make a speciall effort to join us at some of these extra services this week: MAUNDY THURSDAY 17th APRIL 7.30pm – Holy Communion at St Columba’s GOOD FRIDAY 18th APRIL 11am – Hot Cross Bun Feast as the conclusion to the Holiday Club at St Columba’s GOOD FRIDAY 18th APRIL 2pm – An Hour by the Cross, a time of reflection at St Leonard’s, Rockingham EASTER DAY 20th APRIL 6am – Sunrise Service at St Leonard’s, Rockingham followed by breakfast in Rockingham Village Hall EASTER DAY 20th APRIL 10.30am – All Age Easter Celebration with Communion at St Columba’s.
May God bless you all in this Holy Week as we walk with Jesus to the Cross and prepare to celebrate the joy of His resurrection.
Hello everyone, I am sending this message on Friday to remind everyone it is our Church Family Quiz Night this evening at 7pm in the Church Hall. Everyone is welcome, either in a team or on your own – we can link you up with others to make a team on the night. Don’t forget to bring any drinks or snacks you would like. Details of other activities coming up are all detailed below. Can I also apologise that there was no livestream last Sunday.
SUNDAY 6th APRIL There is just one service on Sunday as follows: 10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. This service will be available to watch on youtube via this link: https://youtube.com/live/d8HgNVhF6X8?feature=share And at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
LENT 2025 Our children’s Lent Countdown Calendar continues and this week’s theme is home. You are encouraged to give for every hour you sleep this week! At the end of the week you multiply the amount you have decided to give (perhaps 10p an hour) by the number of hours you slept, so eight hours a night for seven days mean you give £5.60 to your chosen charity (the church or one of the charities we support for example). Also on the subject of Lent I would like to say thank you to everyone who supported our Lent Groups, and to David, Linda, William and Rosie for leading them. Look out for details of what will follow them after Easter.
SPRING HARVEST 2025 Those booked to go to Spring Harvest at Skegness can access the full programme by going to this link: https://www.springharvest.org/my-spring-harvest/event-dashboard If you have not previously registered for MySpringHarvest you will need to register before being able to access the programme. It is best to do this on your phone so you have all the details with you while you are at Butlin’s. Small printed programmes will be available to buy at Skegness.
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. 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.
FILMS AT THE SAVOY There is a new Easter animated film out next week: “King of kings“, (not to be confused with the 1961 epic of the same name). It is described as follows: The untold Charles Dickens story. A father tells his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love, and redemption through the eyes of a child. You can watch this on the following days and times: Monday 7th 12.40 Tuesday 8th 13.00 Wednesday 9th 12.40 Thursday 10th 9.40 and 12.40 And don’t forget the Last Supper episode of “The Chosen” can be watched at the Savoy on Thursday 10th at 17.25 and Sunday 13th at 20.15.
SUNDAY 13th APRIL There are two services next Sunday as follows: 10.30am ALL AGE WORSHIP at St Columba’s. This service will be to launch our SHOWSTOPPERS Holiday Club and to encourage everyone to pray for the Club. 3pm FAMILY SERVICE with BAPTISM at St Leonard’s, Rockingham. We will have a PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s, but the exact time will depend on how well our preparations for Holiday Club go – come at 4.30 and you can help, come at 6pm and we may have already started praying!
CHILDREN’S EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB – Showstoppers! Rather than a Charity of the Week I would like to encourage everyone to pray for our Easter Holiday Club running from Monday 14th to Friday 18th April in church from 10am to 12 noon each day. Please pray for the children who have booked in, also for the leaders, for all the practicalities of running the Club and for parents of the children.
EASTER SERVICES Please make a note of the following dates and times for our special services in Holy Week and on Easter Day: MAUNDY THURSDAY 17th APRIL 7.30pm – Holy Communion at St Columba’s GOOD FRIDAY 18th APRIL 11am – Hot Cross Bun Feast as the conclusion to the Holiday Club at St Columba’s GOOD FRIDAY 18th APRIL 2pm – An Hour by the Cross, a time of reflection at St Leonard’s, Rockingham EASTER DAY 20th APRIL 6am – Sunrise Service at St Leonard’s, Rockingham followed by breakfast in Rockingham Village Hall EASTER DAY 20th APRIL 10.30am – All Age Easter Celebration with Communion at St Columba’s.
May God bless you all in this coming week, both those going to Spring Harvest and those staying in Corby.
I must begin this message with the most important news of the week – the clocks go forward one hour tonight so you have an hour less in bed! Please remember this so that you don’t miss the service tomorrow!
SUNDAY 30th MARCH There is just one service on Sunday as follows: 10.30am MOTHERING SUNDAY ALL AGE WORSHIP at St Columba’s with participation by the children, flowers for all mums and plenty to think about. At 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
LENT 2025 Our final two LENT GROUPS will meet on Wednesday at 10.30am and 7.30pm in church and we will conclude the series by Jeff Lucas “There are no strong people” based on the story of Samson.
Also on the subject of Lent, the children’s Lent Countdown Calendar continues and this week’s theme is water. You are encouraged to give every time you turn on a tap! At the end of the week you multiply the amount you have decided to give (perhaps 10p) by the number of times you turned on a tap, so ten tap turns a day for seven days would mean you give £7 to your chosen charity (the church or one of the charities we support for example).
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 if it was well supported. Please plan to be there – bring your own snacks and drinks. Everyone is welcome, whether you come on your own or with a team.
SUNDAY 6th APRIL There is just one service next Sunday as follows: 10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. And at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
SPRING HARVEST 2025 DAY VISITOR TICKETS for Skegness Tuesday 8th, Wednesday 9th or Thursday 10th April You are strongly recommended to book these in advance as numbers are limited. 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.
CHILDREN’S EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB – Showstoppers! Rather than a Charity of the Week I would like to encourage everyone to pray for our Easter Holiday Club running from Monday 14th to Friday 18th April in church from 10am to 12 noon each day. Please pray for the children who have booked in (it is not too late if you know someone in Primary School, Reception to Year 6, who would be interested but they must return the Permission Form ASAP), also for the leaders, for all the practicalities of running the Club and for parents of the children.
EASTER SERVICES Please make a note of the following dates and times for our special services in Holy Week and on Easter Day: MAUNDY THURSDAY 17th APRIL 7.30pm – Holy Communion at St Columba’s GOOD FRIDAY 18th APRIL 11am – Hot Cross Bun Feast as the conclusion to the Holiday Club at St Columba’s GOOD FRIDAY 18th APRIL 2pm – An Hour by the Cross, a time of reflection at St Leonard’s, Rockingham EASTER DAY 20th APRIL 6am – Sunrise Service at St Leonard’s, Rockingham followed by breakfast in Rockingham Village Hall EASTER DAY 20th APRIL 10.30am – All Age Easter Celebration with Communion at St Columba’s.
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.
I hope you are looking forward to St Columba’s Annual Meeting on Sunday, and to the Lunch afterwards. It is always good to reflect on what God has been doing in the church over the last year and to look forward to what He will do in the next year. It is also great to have fellowship together over a hot lunch, and big thank you to the Events Team for organising that, as well as the Quiz Night at the beginning of next month, details of that below. Also next month a group of over 30 from the church are going to Spring Harvest and there is lots of information about Spring Harvest below. I hope the children are looking forward to SHOWSTOPPERS, our EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB, and there are details about that below, including a meeting for all leaders.
SUNDAY 16th MARCH We have just one service on Sunday but lots more going on, as follows: 10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. This service will be available on Youtube at this link: https://youtube.com/live/1gQgcSQiDEY?feature=share The service is followed at about 12noon by the ANNUAL MEETING in the Church Hall, to which we hope everyone will be able to stay. After the meeting do stay for a HOT LUNCH. After lunch there will be a short PCC meeting to elect officers for the coming year, and to conduct any other necessary business. And at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’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 were not able to be there last week. 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 for children is school, so they are encouraged to give for every day they go to school. Obviously that won’t work for most of us, so can I suggest we decide on an amount to give every time we shop! This includes online shopping as well as going to shops, and we should think in the broadest terms, so petrol stations, coffee shops, etc are all included. At the end of the week you multiply the amount you have decided to give (perhaps £1) by the number of times you went shopping, so five shops means you give £5 to your chosen charity (the church or one of the charities we support for example).
FILM AT THE SAVOY: Bonhoeffer (certificate 12A running time 132 minutes) I went to see this film on Monday and would definitely recommend it, there was no question that Bonhoeffer’s faith informed all that he did. At times the film is a difficult watch, not least because it seems to me that the world in which we live is more like that of 1930’s Germany than at any time since the end of the second world war. On the same day I saw the film, in which Christian symbols were replaced in churches, I read of how some churches in China have been forced to replace Christian symbols with Communist texts or photos. The film is being shown several days this next week at the Savoy, including the Silver Screen showing on Wednesday morning at 11.30am. The full list of days and times is: Today, Saturday 15th March and tomorrow, Sunday 16th March, 20.15 Monday 17th, Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th March 14.20 and Wednesday 19th March 11.30
SPRING HARVEST 2025 There are FOUR pieces of information about Spring Harvest so please read carefully and take note of the relevant sections. The first is for everyone, the second for those who are booked in, the third for those who would like to visit for a day, and the fourth for those who would like to watch online (although please note this is NOT the week we are at Skegness but the following week from Minehead).
1. CHARITY OF THE WEEK – Spring Harvest Bursary Fund We have a group going to Spring Harvest again this year and many of us have attended over the years and been encouraged by the experience. People in our group have benefited from the Bursary Fund which contributes to the cost of people going to Spring Harvest and many others across the country are also blessed in this way. Please give thanks for the Fund, and for the generosity of people giving to it that makes these grants possible. Please also pray that everyone who is planning to attend Spring Harvest, especially those who have been helped by the Bursary Fund, will be able to go, and that no last minute problems stop anyone from attending. Also pray for the Spring Harvest Leadership Team and Speakers as they make decisions about the programme and teaching, and that Rick Warren is able to speak online – we heard earlier in the year that health concerns mean he is not able to travel to be with us in person.
2. MEETING FOR ALL THOSE GOING TO SPRING HARVEST We have a meeting for all 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 for a day, or two and staying off site, (see point 3 below) please come along as there will be useful information for you as well.
3. 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 join us for the meeting on Thursday (see point 2 above) 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
4. 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.
SUNDAY 23rd MARCH We have two services next 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. Finally 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 if 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.
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 emailing it to ianpullinger@btinternet.com 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.
I am pleased to report that we had a good ALPHA AWAY DAY last Saturday and that the two Ash Wednesday services, which shared the same content but were otherwise very different, both went well. I hope you are now looking forward to the Lent Groups that start on Wednesday, and to St Columba’s Annual Meeting with Lunch on 16th March, and, for the children, the EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB. Details about all these, and more can be found below.
SUNDAY 9th MARCH We have two services on Sunday as follows: 10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. This service will be available to watch here: https://youtube.com/live/KN3OXu4mrf8?feature=share 3pm FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall. And at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
LENT 2025 Thank you to all those who came to the services on Ash Wednesday. I hope you will be able to join us for our LENT GROUPS meeting at 10.30am and 7.30pm in church on Wednesdays 12th, 19th, 26th March and 2nd April. 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.
Also on the subject of Lent, the children at our All Age service last week were all given a Lent Countdown Calendar. We can all join in with one of the activities which involves counting the number of times you do certain activities during the week and then multiplying that number by a fixed amount (say 10p) and giving the total amount to charity (the church or one of the charities we support for example). This week the challenge is to…count the number of times you flush the loo! So if you flush the loo 42 times in a week and you decide to give 10p a flush that would be £4.20 to charity!
FILM AT THE SAVOY: Bonhoeffer (certificate 12A running time 132 minutes) I am pleased to say that this film is being shown every day for the next week, at a wide variety of different times, so do try and get along to the Savoy. While the film is an historical drama it 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.” This does not mention that Bonhoeffer’s ideals were based on his Christian faith, I hope that comes out clearly in the film. Watch at the Savoy on the following days and times: Friday 7th March 17.45 Saturday 8th March 12.30 Sunday 9th March 18.00 Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th March 15.00 Wednesday 12th March 20.20 Thursday 13th March 16.30
AFTERNOON TEA The Ladies Afternoon Tea will be happening again on Friday 14th March at 3pm in the Church Hall. All ladies are most welcome to come along to share in tea or coffee, sandwiches, scones and cakes, and good conversation. Please note there will not be an Afternoon Tea in April because many people are away at Spring Harvest.
SUNDAY 16th MARCH Next Sunday we have just one service, but lots more going on, as follows: 10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. This is followed at about 12noon by the ANNUAL MEETING in the Church Hall, to which we hope everyone will be able to stay. If anyone would like to put their name forward to be on the PCC please let me know. After the meeting we hope you will be able to stay for a HOT LUNCH – please make sure you have signed the sheet at the back of church or emailed ianpullinger@btinternet.com to say that you are coming to the lunch. After lunch there will be a short PCC meeting to elect officers for the coming year, and to conduct any other necessary business. Finally at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
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 for a day, or two and staying off site, please come along as there will be useful information for you as well.
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. More details will be available next week but please book the date now and plan to be there. Everyone is welcome, whether you come on your own or with a team.
CHILDREN’S EASTER HOLIDAY CLUB – Showstoppers! We are going to have 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 emailing to ianpullinger@btinternet.com 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 helpers will be invited to a special preparation meeting, date and time to be advised.
CHARITY OF THE WEEK – Tim & Carol Derbyshire working with Hope from Above We have received the latest Prayer Letter from Tim & Carol, so please do open this up to have a read and pray about the topics mentioned. We will also be praying for Tim & Carol at the Prayer Meeting on Sunday.
DIOCESAN SAFEGUARDING AUDIT The diocese is having a Safeguarding audit as part of a national programme, commissioned by the Archbishop’s Council in response to the recommendations of the IICSA Enquiry, to conduct an independent and comprehensive audit of all Church of England dioceses and cathedrals. A key part of this audit is hearing the voices of all those who worship and work in the Diocese including employees, clergy, parishioners, worshippers, volunteers and supporters. Everyone is welcome to share their views and experiences through the survey, which is anonymous and confidential. Responses will be received directly by the auditors not by the Diocese. What they are told will inform the Diocese-specific recommendations of the audit, all of which aim to improve and develop safeguarding practices across the Diocese. I have been asked to complete the survey and to share the information with people in the parish to do the same. The link to the survey is here: https://ineqe.com/churchofengland/peterborough/
AND FINALLY I hope to see you at one of the services on Sunday, at Lent Groups on Wednesday, and at the Annual Meeting next Sunday.
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.
I have been made aware of the extent of our church family over the last week with messages coming in from former vicars and others following the news of Steve’s passing to the glory of heaven. I am pleased to say that Michael and Judy Eden will be with us on Monday, while Roger and Alison Morgan and Rod and Glenda Lee would very much like to have been here but send their apologies. I mentioned last week that with no living relatives it would be wonderful if the church could be filled with Steve’s church family on Monday to celebrate his life. All the details are below, including a livestream link because a couple of people have mentioned that they are unable to be there – please don’t muddle the two livestream links in this email.
Celebration of Steve Scholes’ Life – Monday 24th February at 1pm in church. Steve asked that his funeral should be “a joyous affair” and with that in mind Sue has asked that people do not wear black. The service will be followed by refreshments in the Church Hall, to which everyone is welcome, and which will not only give people an opportunity to support Sue but also to meet some of those old friends of St Columba’s who will be here. Do feel free to join the refreshments even if you can’t be in church. The livestream link for this service is: https://youtube.com/live/Ui2T9K3LnKA?feature=share
SUNDAY SERVICES On Sunday there will be a service of HOLY COMMUNION at 9am in St Leonard’s, Rockingham and at 10.30am MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people who will be preparing for our All Age Service on 2nd March. This service will also be available as a livestream via this link: https://youtube.com/live/2RKxMdJFlvg?feature=share In the evening at 6pm we have the PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s.
ELECTORAL ROLL This is the last opportunity to join the new Church Electoral Roll (our membership list) before the Annual Meting in March because we have to publish the new Electoral Roll for two weeks before the meeting. It is possible to join later, but we would like to have everyone included now if possible. There are forms in church and we do ask you to complete these and hand them in before you leave. However for anyone who has not been in church over the last few weeks here is a form that can either be completed electronically and emailed back to me ianpullinger@btinternet.com or printed at home and delivered to church or the Vicarage BEFORE the end of February. Any questions about this please email ianpullinger@btinternet.com.
ST COLUMBA’S ANNUAL MEETINGS and LUNCH As mentioned above our Annual Meetings are next month, actually 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 will be a sign up sheet in church for the lunch, and while everyone is welcome to the Meetings, you do need to be on the Electoral Roll to have a vote (see above).
NEXT SUNDAY On Sunday 2nd March we have two services at St Columba’s as follows: 10.30am ALL AGE WORSHIP with lots of contributions form our younger members and at 5pm HOLY COMMUNION which means there won’t be a Prayer Meeting next Sunday.
LENT 2025 Lent begins in a week and a half 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.
CHARITY OF THE WEEK – H&M with CMS Many of you will remember the visit of H&M and their children a couple of years ago. Because of their location I am not able to include any details in this email, or attach their latest Prayer Letter. However the Prayer Letter is available in church, both to read, or to take a copy of, but please do not put any details on social media or online.
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.
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 next 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
