Author: Justin Dyche

16th February 2025

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 22 February 2025

Dear St Columba’s Family,

Steve Scholes’ Funeral – 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. Also, as I said last week, I would be grateful for any memories you have of Steve. Apart from Sue, Steve had no living relatives, so it would be wonderful if St Columba’s could be full of Steve’s church family for this service.

Jane Inwood’s Funeral
I mentioned last week that former church member, Jane Inwood (“Tall Jane” or “Jangly Jane” as some people knew her) has her funeral on Tuesday 18th February at 11am. This will be a simple Graveside ceremony at Shire Lodge which will be followed by an informal Celebration of her life in St Columba’s at 11.30, followed by refreshments. I would encourage all those who knew Jane to join us for this, when we will also welcome many of her former carers and friends from the local community.

SUNDAY SERVICES
On Sunday there will be a service of HOLY COMMUNION at 10.30am in St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. This will include the next sermon in our series looking at the Passion narrative in Luke’s gospel, this week thinking about the events in the Garden of Gethsemane from Luke 22 v39-53. This service will be available as a livestream by going to: https://youtube.com/live/VTuqEzytOeo?feature=share
In the evening we will have the PRAYER MEETING at 6pm, please use the side door of church.

ELECTORAL ROLL
Every six years we have to prepare a completely new Church Electoral Roll (our membership list) rather than simply revising the existing roll. This means that everyone who would like to be included on the Electoral Roll needs to complete a new application form. This will mean you have a vote at our Annual Meeting on 16th March (see below). To make this as easy as possible we will be handing out forms at services and giving people time to complete them during the service, so they can be collected 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 sent back to me via email (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 will be on Sunday 16th March after the 10.30am service in the Church Hall and will be followed by 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).

ONE LOVE SOCIAL CLUB
This group is run by Ann Rigby’s daughter Rachael, and involves about thirty people with special needs meeting every Friday from 6.30 to 8.30 at Stephenson Way Community Centre where they have lots of fun. Every week they do something different, this Friday it was a Valentine’s Disco, but they also do arts and crafts, games, singing, dancing etc. They have asked if we would be able to donate small raffle or tombola prizes for the group as these give so much pleasure.

NEXT SUNDAY
On Sunday 23rd February we have two services and a Prayer Meeting as follows:
9am HOLY COMMUNION at St Leonard’s, Rockingham.
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.
6pm PRAYER MEETING at St Columba’s.

LENT 2025
Lent begins in two and a half weeks and we will 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 – World Vision
This week our highlighted charity is World Vision. They have a long history of taking action that transforms the world with a focus on helping the most vulnerable children, in the most difficult places, to overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. They have partnered with millions of children and families to find a way out of poverty, and we’re often among the first to help when a crisis strikes. As a Christian charity, we help children, of all faiths and none, in some of the world’s most dangerous places. We believe it takes a whole community to create happy and fulfilling childhoods. And we work together with communities so they’re empowered to do just that. Our integrated approach includes water, healthcare, education, child protection, and income generation. With the aim of allowing every child to fulfil their God-given potential. Across almost 100 countries, our impassioned community of supporters, volunteers and community leaders work together to transform children’s lives.
Find out more at: https://www.worldvision.org.uk/about/world-vision/

Every blessing to you all.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

9th February 2025

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 15 February 2025

Dear St Columba’s Family,

I hope you have all heard the news that Steve Scholes died on Tuesday. This was not the answer we were expecting or hoping for to our prayer last week, although Steve is now fully healed and enjoying a resurrection body. Please continue to pray for Sue. There is no date as yet for Steve’s funeral, which will be in church, I expect to be able to give details next week. In the meantime if you have any memories of Steve please do send them to me, as some people have already done.

I have also heard this week of the death of our former church member, Jane Inwood (“Tall Jane” as some people knew her NOT Jane Simpkin who will be reading in church tomorrow). Jane Inwood moved to Northampton several years ago and suffered from kidney failure, which was treated with dialysis, but she stopped going for dialysis and died as a result. Her funeral will be a simple Graveside ceremony at Shire Lodge on Tuesday 18th February at 11am, but this will be followed by an informal Celebration of her life in St Columba’s at 11.30, followed by refreshments. I would encourage all those who knew Jane to join us for this, when we will also welcome many of her former carers and friends from the local community.

SUNDAY SERVICES
On Sunday there will be two services and a Prayer Meeting as follows:
10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. I will do my best to make sure the livestream happens again for this service, there was not even a recording of last week’s service I’m afraid. The link for tomorrow is:
https://youtube.com/live/N5duMkmzSV8?feature=share
3pm FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall.
6pm PRAYER MEETING at St Columba’s. This will be in the Office so please use the Side Door to enter the church.

ELECTORAL ROLL
Every six years we have to prepare a completely new Church Electoral Roll (our membership list) rather than simply revising the existing roll. This means that everyone who would like to be included on the Electoral Roll needs to complete a new application form. This will mean you have a vote at our Annual Meeting on 16th March (in the Hall after the 10.30 service and followed by a hot lunch). To make this as easy as possible we will be handing out forms at services and giving people time to complete them during the service, so they can be collected in before you leave. We will also contact anyone who is unable to be in church at the present time to make sure that they are included on the new Roll. Any questions about this please email ianpullinger@btinternet.com.

EVENTS GROUP
The Events Group are carrying out a survey asking the church family what events they would like the Events Group to organise. Please take some time to complete this survey and do support the events that are organised during the coming year.

AFTERNOON TEA
The Ladies Afternoon Tea will be happening on Friday 14th February at 3pm in the Church Hall. All ladies welcome for tea, sandwiches, scones, cakes and conversation.

NEXT SUNDAY
On Sunday 16th February there will be a service of HOLY COMMUNION at 10.30am in St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. In the evening we will have the PRAYER MEETING at 6pm.

CHARITY OF THE WEEK – Mercy Ships
The latest charity that St Columba’s support and that we are praying for this week is MERCY SHIPS, a faith-based international development organisation that deploys hospital ships to some of the poorest countries in the world, delivering vital, free healthcare to people in desperate need. Conditions requiring surgical treatment kill more people in low-income countries than HIV/Aids, TB and malaria combined. Globally, five billion people have no access to safe, affordable surgery when they need it. To achieve this, Mercy Ships delivers a customised five-year partnership model with every country it is invited to support. Relationships are built with the national government and ministry of health, so that the needs of each country are met. In this way, Mercy Ships doesn’t just address the immediate need on the ground, but also works to strengthen the country’s healthcare systems and drive policy change. The aim is to tackle the root causes of the problems rather than just the consequences. Find out more at: https://www.mercyships.org.uk/

Every blessing to you all.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

2nd February 2025

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 10 February 2025

Hello everyone,

I hope you have had a good week and been blessed by reading Psalm 95. I heard of one couple who did not only read that Psalm but started reading all the Psalms, which is a really good thing to do, something I know Linda Coleman does each day.

And on the subject of daily Bible reading…

WORD FOR TODAY
I know many people have made use of the Word for Today daily Bible reading notes and as a result the supply in church were quickly taken last Sunday. Don’t worry if you missed out because there are two things you can do. If you go to https://www.ucb.co.uk/word-for-today you can either access the same material online, or order your own copy of the notes to be delivered to your home. This is a good idea for everyone who uses them, because it guarantees you will never miss out, and it leaves copies available in church for people who have not used them before. If you would like me to order a copy for you please email ianpullinger@btinternet.com.

And on the subject of reading…

CHURCH LIBRARY
I hope you all know that the books at the back of church near where the coffee is served are a library from which you are encouraged to borrow books. There is a huge range there so hopefully something for everyone, including biographies, Bible studies and commentaries, and books on a whole variety of Christian topics. Big thanks are owed to Sheila Pender for sorting the books so they are much tidier and easier to see now. Feel free to borrow books for as long as you like, and to pass them on to people who you think may find them helpful – the books are there to be used.
There are a number of Bibles as well which we are very happy to give away to anyone who needs one, or you may like to borrow a different version to see how you get on with that particular translation before buying a new Bible of your own.

And on the subject of Bible reading we always have Bible readings in our…

SUNDAY SERVICES
We have two services on Sunday, both at St Columba’s:
10.30am ALL AGE WORSHIP celebrating the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. We need lots of children to participate (with 12 Bible readings!) so it would be great to see as many children as possible, even if they did not come last week
5pm HEALING SERVICE – everyone is welcome to this service but especially anyone who needs of healing or who knows someone who does, which surely includes all of us. Because of this service there won’t be a prayer meeting on Sunday.

NEXT SUNDAY
On Sunday 9th February there will be two services and a Prayer Meeting 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.
6pm PRAYER MEETING at St Columba’s.

And during those services we will think about the…

ELECTORAL ROLL
Every six years we have to prepare a completely new Church Electoral Roll (our membership list) rather than simply revising the existing roll. This means that everyone who would like to be included on the Electoral Roll, and have a vote at our Annual Meeting in March, needs to complete a new application form. To make this as easy as possible we will be handing out forms at services and giving people time to complete them during the service, so they can be collected in before you leave. We will also contact anyone who is unable to be in church at the present time to make sure that they are included on the new Roll. Any questions about this please email ianpullinger@btinternet.com.

And on the subject of the Annual Meeting…

ST COLUMBA’S ANNUAL CHURCH MEETING
This will be in the Church Hall after the Morning Service on Sunday 16th March and will include a hot lunch. I know this is six weeks away but please make a note of the date now and plan to join us.

And on the subject of church events…

EVENTS GROUP
The Events Group met last week and decided they would carry out a survey asking the church family what events they would like the Events Group to organise. Please take some time to complete this survey and do support the events that are organised during the coming year.

And on the subject of church groups…

PCC
The PCC will be meeting on Tuesday at 7.30pm. This meeting will have a particular focus on praying for some of the challenges we face during the coming year. Full details will be sent to PCC members.

And on the subject of prayer…

Please pray for Steve Scholes who continues to experience severe breathing problems when doing anything more than walking a very short distance, and who collapsed last Saturday night. I am pleased to say Steve is up and about again, although still not able to walk far, in fact I was an answer to his prayer when I saw him on Wednesday afternoon. Hear the full story in church tomorrow. So far doctors and tests have not identified the cause of Steve’s breathing problems so please pray for a diagnosis and healing. While thinking about Steve can I say that the latest print edition of SCANS is available to pick up in church if you did not take one last week.

Also pray for HOPE FROM ABOVE who are our CHARITY OF THE WEEK and here is their latest Prayer Update to aid your prayers.

Every blessing to you all.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

26th January 2025

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 1 February 2025

Good morning everyone,

I read during the week that “every morning of the year should see the people of every parish in England gathering to encourage one another with the words of Psalm 95…that at any rate was what the English reformers intended” but that was over 450 years ago! Having said that I thought it might be good if, rather than gathering, we all try and read Psalm 95 every morning for this coming week. It is a wonderful Psalm of praise, so a good balance to our more inward looking prayers saying thank you, sorry or please, but it is also a Psalm prayer asking, in the final section, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” which is a great prayer for us at the beginning of each day. You may like to share any thoughts you have after reading the Psalm with someone from church, so that sense of gathering is not lost, and if there is anything really exciting that God speaks we could all hear it next Sunday. So, in the words of Psalm 95v1 “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord”.

PRAYER NEWS
I have had an update on former church drummer Jeff Ison. His cancer has been diagnosed as very aggressive and he has appointments coming up to discuss possible treatment so please pray for Jeff and his wife Lynn.

ELECTORAL ROLL
Every six years we have to prepare a completely new Church Electoral Roll (our membership list) rather than simply revising the existing roll. This means that everyone who would like to be included on the Electoral Roll, and have a vote at our Annual Meeting in March, needs to complete a new application form. To make this as easy as possible we will be handing out forms at services and giving people time to complete them during the service, so they can be collected in before you leave. We will also contact anyone who is unable to be in church at the present time to make sure that they are included on the new Roll. Any questions about this please email ianpullinger@btinternet.com.

SUNDAY SERVICES
We have two services tomorrow:
9am HOLY COMMUNION at St Leonard’s, Rockingham
10.30am MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s, Corby with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people who will be preparing for the ALL AGE WORSHIP on 2nd February so it would be really helpful to have a good number of children there. This service will also be available as a livestream by going to this link: https://youtube.com/live/xl_jKBiHGUg
There will also be a PRAYER MEETING at St Columba’s at 6pm on Sunday evening. This is being held in the Church Office at the moment as that is the warmest place, so please enter by the side door to church.

FAILED LIVESTREAMS
We had a couple of livestreams that failed a few weeks ago and I have now uploaded these from the camera in case you would like to watch them:
The link for 29th December, when Linda was preaching on Matthew 2.13-23, is: https://youtu.be/H4OGunJ5Me4
The link for 5th January, our Epiphany themed All Age Worship, is: https://youtu.be/d8-fKl4oXkY

FUNERAL of Susan Adelosoye’s husband
We are hosting a Celebration of Life for Pa Samuel Morakinyo Adelosoye on Friday 31st January at 10.30am. It would be good if some people from St Columba’s were able to show their support for Susan by attending what is likely to be a long service.

PANTOMIME
This year’s panto PUSS IN BOOTS is at Great Easton Village Hall today and tomorrow at 3pm, but these performances may be sold out so do check on the contact details below if you were thinking of going. Tickets are available for Stenning Hall, Hallaton on Friday 31st January (7.30pm) and Sunday 2nd February (3pm). For ticket availability and purchases, please contact gelttickets@gmail.com or call 07771 967322.

SUNDAY 2nd February
We have two services next Sunday, both at St Columba’s:
10.30am ALL AGE WORSHIP celebrating the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
5pm HEALING SERVICE – everyone is welcome to this service but especially anyone who is need of healing or who knows someone who is, which surely includes all of us. Because of this service there won’t be a prayer meeting next Sunday.

SCaNS
Steve is hoping to have a new print edition of SCaNS out tomorrow, or if not next week. He says: I really want to get the lead message into people’s hands and encourage them to give a copy to a non-Christian friend. The lady in the news who rejected a pardon by Trump, and the Holy Spirit, guided me into writing a piece about what happens when people reject or neglect God’s offer of a pardon and reminded me of a sermon on this by Billy Graham. There is also an interview with Riaan – the first in the return of Getting to Know You. There’s also a powerful story of an African tribesman who came to Christ, went back to his tribe to tell them – was beaten up and chucked out, went back twice more, same happened, went back again and they all came to Christ!!

Don’t forget to read Psalm 95 every morning this week!

Best wishes,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

19th January 2025

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 25 January 2025

Hello everyone,

The prayer news is right up to date as I have just come off the phone from Jess, so please pray for her (see below). Details of Sunday’s service and Prayer Meeting, a mini SCANS, this year’s Panto, and even a last minute opportunity to join us at Spring Harvest are all to be found below.

PRAYER NEWS
Please pray for Jess Tosh who was taken into A&E on Thursday evening after possibly suffering a mini-stroke. She is waiting for an MRI scan so please pray for that to happen quickly and for Jess to recover well. Also continue to pray for former church drummer Jeff Ison, he is waiting for the results of biopsies following his operation last week which did not remove his cancer but did a by-pass. Please pray that the results are good and allow for further treatment and a full recovery.
Here is also a Prayer Update from Hope from Above for your prayers.

SPRING HARVEST
Thank you to all those who have paid their Spring Harvest balance. We have had a couple of cancellations which has left us with empty spaces in chalets which still need to be paid for, so if you might be interested in joining us at Skegness from 7th – 11th April do speak with Miriam or me as soon as possible.

CHARITY OF THE WEEK – Christian Concern
This week’s charity supported by St Columba’s is Christian Concern. They are passionate about bringing the love, justice, truth, freedom and hope of Jesus Christ to the heart of society. They believe that Jesus Christ is good news for society and as relevant today as he has ever been. But they also know that it’s becoming harder to be a Christian in the UK today. So, they work to make Jesus and his ways known, to protect the freedom to live and speak for him, and to empower Christians to be compassionate and courageous ambassadors. They do that by speaking and influencing, by challenging and protecting, and by mobilising and equipping. Find out more at https://christianconcern.com/about/

SUNDAY 19th JANUARY
There is a service of HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s on Sunday at 10.30am, with ENERGIZE groups. The service will also be available as a livestream here: https://youtube.com/live/MUTFXYr8dTs
There will also be a PRAYER MEETING in St Columba’s at 6pm.

ROY WILLIAMS FUNERAL
Pam William’s husband’s funeral will take place at Kettering Crematorium at 12.30 on Tuesday 21st January.

SUNDAY 26th JANUARY
We have two services next week as follows:
9am at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – HOLY COMMUNION
10.30am at St Columba’s – MORNING WORSHIP with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people.

PANTOMIME
There is not going to be a Panto at St Columba’s this year, but the show does go on and tickets are available for PUSS IN BOOTS at Great Easton Village Hall on Friday 24th January (7.30pm), Saturday 25th January (3pm) and Sunday 26th January (3pm) as well as at Stenning Hall, Hallaton on Friday 31st January (7.30pm) and Sunday 2nd February (3pm). To buy tickets for any of these performances please contact gelttickets@gmail.com or call 07771 967322.

mini SCANS
Here is the latest mini SCANS. Steve writes: Did you know that there are 52 countries where you can still be imprisoned or executed for owning a Bible or even part of one – and it’s only 500 years ago since this stopped in the UK. Late US President Jimmy Carter recently died aged 100 – so that makes it just 5-7 lifetimes ago – and so many people, even Christians, neglect reading God’s gift of His Word so miss out on hearing Him speak to them. Today there are at least 30,000 Christians in prison in North Korea. Do pray for them. One Christian, Ri Hyon-ok was allegedly publicly executed in Ryongchon on June 16, 2009, for giving out Bibles, while her husband and children were deported to the Hoeryong political prison camp.
Read about how Tyndale and Wycliffe dedicated their lives to translating the Bible into English. Then Joshua conquered Jericho by listening for and heeding God’s Word so it became the only city whose walls imploded when, having tiptoed around them for a week – their mighty shout brought them down. Some great pictures to marvel at – my favourite being the lake that hangs over an ocean… lots of puzzles – including more new ones such as a Roman numerals Sudoku and a crazy picture to spot things that are impossible or just plain crazy… and, how to draw a penguin.

May God bless you all during the next week,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

12th January 2025

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 18 January 2025

Hello everyone,

I hope you have coped with the cold weather this week, but if you or anyone you know is in need of anything please let me know. I hope you have also managed to settle back into the routine of life after the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Can I thank you for your prayers that enabled my voice to cope with all the services last Sunday, it is better than it was but still not completely back to normal so please keep praying, and for Miriam who is suffering with a cold.

On the subject of prayer, some of you were praying in the week for former church drummer Jeff Ison who had an emergency operation to remove a large cancer from his bowel and have a stoma inserted. After the operation on Thursday Jeff was able to drink and eat on Friday and things are looking much more hopeful but please continue to pray that he makes a full recovery and is restored to health. Also remember his wife Lynn in prayer, she was with us at both the Christmas Fayre in November and the Carol Service last month.

CHARITY OF THE WEEK
After a break for the holidays this feature is back, with a different charity supported by St Columba’s highlighted each week to encourage our prayers, in particular at the weekly Prayer Meeting which resumes tomorrow – see below.
This week’s charity is Christians Against Poverty (CAP) who have been providing free professional debt help through local churches across the UK since 1996 and sharing the gospel alongside their debt counselling work. They want to see an end to poverty in the UK, and so campaign, petition and produce research to influence government policy. Please pray for their work and in particular give thanks that, in the last year, 10,057 people were supported on their journey out of debt, 3,021 people became debt free and 103 people responded to Jesus for the first time.

SUNDAY 12th DECEMBER
There are two services tomorrow and the Prayer Meeting. The details are:
10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with a sermon looking at Jesus’ Baptism, back to our baptism and at why we don’t have many baptisms at St Columba’s. This service will also see the return of ENERGIZE after the holidays and should be available as a livestream via this link (with apologies that last week’s service did not appear): https://youtube.com/live/_-iUQksOb1Q?feature=share
3pm FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall (where it will be lovely and warm!) Everyone is welcome to this service in which we will be considering several themes of the Epiphany season (Wise Men, Baptism and Jesus turning water into wine) in one service!
6pm PRAYER MEETING at St Columba’s. We look forward to welcoming back all those who regularly attend these hour long times of prayer, and to welcoming anyone who may be thinking of joining us – it will be a good investment of your time!

ST COLUMBA’S PCC on TUESDAY
The next meeting of St Columba’s PCC will be in church at 7.30 in Tuesday 14th January. Agendas will be sent out later but please do plan to be there.

SUNDAY 19th JANUARY
There is a service of HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s next Sunday at 10.30am, with ENERGIZE groups, and the PRAYER MEETING at 6pm.

ROY WILLIAMS FUNERAL
Pam William’s husband’s funeral will take place at Kettering Crematorium at 12.30 on Tuesday 21st January.

PANTOMIME
There is not going to be a Panto at St Columba’s this year, but the show does go on and tickets are available for PUSS IN BOOTS at Great Easton Village Hall on Friday 24th January (7.30pm), Saturday 25th January (3pm) and Sunday 26th January (3pm) as well as at Stenning Hall, Hallaton on Friday 31st January (7.30pm) and Sunday 2nd February (3pm). To buy tickets for any of these performances please contact gelttickets@gmail.com or call 07771 967322.

May God bless you all during the next week,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

5th January 2025

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 11 January 2025

Hello everyone and a very Happy New Year to you all.

Before the details of what’s happening this week (and there is a busy week to look forward to) I have some sad news to share. Pam Williams husband Roy died on 2nd January age 97. Sadly Roy suffered a serious stroke 12 years ago so his quality of life has not been great, although he has been wonderfully well cared for by Pam and her family and the carers who visited Roy several times each day. Please pray for Pam and her family at this time of loss. The funeral will be at the Crematorium but no date has been arranged as yet.

Also on the subject of loss, Joan Dyche’s funeral takes place on Friday 10th January at 10.30am at the Albert Munn Chapel at Kettering Crematorium. Please do pray for Justin, and for Joan’s four sons and wider family as they continue to come to terms with her death last month.

SUNDAY 5th JANUARY
We have two services at St Columba’s on Sunday, both celebrating Epiphany but in different styles:
10.30am ALL AGE WORSHIP – please can everyone, especially children, bring a Christmas present you received to this service. This service will also include an opportunity for people to share their prayers for 2025 and if you are not able to be in church but would like your prayer to be included please email ianpullinger@btinternet.com.
5pm HOLY COMMUNION – this service will include a sermon from David and everyone is welcome.
As a result of the 5pm service there will be no Prayer Meeting this week but we will gather once again next Sunday at 6pm for an hour of prayer – why not join us in 2025?

SPRING HARVEST
Please can all those who are going to Spring Harvest at Easter bring their final payments to church either this week or at the latest by next Sunday (12th January). If you are not sure how much is still to pay please contact Miriam who will be able to let you know. If you won’t be at church either week please bring your payment to the Vicarage during the week or ask for details of the church bank account to transfer the money to.

ALPHA
After the Christmas holiday the Alpha group will meet again at the Vicarage on Thursday evening at 7.30pm.

AFTERNOON TEA
The Ladies Afternoon Tea is meeting again on Friday 10th January at 3pm in the Church Hall. All ladies welcome for tea, sandwiches, scones, cake and conversation.

SUNDAY 12th JANUARY
There is one service at St Columba’s next Sunday and one at Rockingham, in the Village Hall not the church. Details are as follows:
10.30 HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people.
3pm FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall.
and at 6pm, as mentioned above, there will be the first PRAYER MEETING of the New Year in St Columba’s.

PUZZLES AND OTHER STUFF 121
Steve has been busy preparing a new edition of online puzzles. Steve writes: This issue has a focus on seeking out God’s guidance and understanding that sometimes He must put you somewhere you discover you’d rather not be while the real place He wants you to go opens up – for example if He wants you in Job A, you need to wait while the present occupant vacates it and so you must cope with Job B, which must be miserable enough to make you want to move on when A becomes vacant (as I found in the personal example I give). There are some lovely tales about Albert Einstein – a genius, yes, but incredibly modest, forgetful, funny and humble. I’ve invented some new Bible quizzes to go along with some of the regular favourites, quizzes and regular funnies. Hope you like them. Do let me know what you like and suggestions for new stuff.

And finally, please pray for my voice as I have a cough and three services to conduct tomorrow (including one at St Peter and St Andrew) and while there is nothing wrong with silence in worship too much of it may not be helpful!

With very best wishes for 2025,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

22nd December 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 4 January 2025

Hello everyone,

Shamaila has had a wonderful answer to prayer. Her Appeal yesterday was accepted and she will be granted asylum and allowed to stay in the UK – Praise the Lord. The hearing lasted over 2 hours and no decision was made then, with the judge saying that he hoped she would know before Christmas, today she heard the news. Thank you for all your prayers. Shamaila will be with us in church on Sunday morning, so do come along and celebrate with her.

Please continue to pray for Madeline following her car accident last week. She is now home from hospital and being cared for by her family, but she is very sore, bruised and quite shaken by the experience, although fortunately no bones were broken.

Here are the details of the services on Sunday, over Christmas and the following Sunday:

Sunday 22nd December 10.30am – HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s. This will be a shorter service than usual with no ENERGIZE groups because we want to encourage people to come to the Carol Service later. However this service will be available as a livestream by going to this link:
https://youtube.com/live/h7mTg-NQgYI?feature=share
Sunday 22nd December 6pm – CANDLELIT CAROL SERVICE at St Columba’s. This traditional Christmas service includes plenty of opportunity to sing carols and to hear the Christmas story in Bible readings.
Christmas Eve 4.30pm – CHRISTINGLE SERVICE at St Columba’s. Always a favourite as we remember the Christmas story, learn about the work of The Children’s Society and sing “Away in a Manger” by the light of our Christingle candles.
Christmas Eve 11.15pm – MIDNIGHT COMMUNION at St Columba’s. A traditional celebration of Holy Communion with carols, to remember how Jesus was born in the night.
Christmas Day 10am – FAMILY COMMUNION at St Columba’s. A joyful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour with carols and communion, and guaranteed not to be too long because…
Christmas Day 11am – CHRISTMAS COMMUNION at St Leonard’s. A traditional Communion service for Christmas morning with carols.
and on Sunday 29th December at 10.30am – MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s.
There will be no Prayer Meeting on Sunday 22nd or 29th December.

I hope to see you at one or more of these services, but if you are not able to join us I hope you are still able to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas.

Ian

15th December 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 21 December 2024

Hello everyone,

I have just come home from the children’s Nativity rehearsal and I am sure everyone is going to enjoy the performance tomorrow morning at St Columba’s. This email will be mostly a list of what is happening over the next couple of weeks, up to and including Christmas.

CHARITY OF THE WEEK – CHILDREN’S SOCIETY
Please pray for the Children’s Society who we support with the offering from our Christingle Service on Christmas Eve as well as collection boxes that some people have at home. They are a national charity working to transform the hopes and happiness of young people facing abuse, exploitation and neglect. The Children’s Society support them through serious life challenges and campaign tirelessly for the big social changes that will improve the lives of those who need hope most.

SUNDAY 15th DECEMBER
We have two services on Sunday, the first is the St Columba’s NATIVITY performed by the children from ENERGIZE at 10.30am. Do come along and support our children as they act out the Christmas story and join in with carols and prayers.
At St Leonard’s at 3pm there is a CHRISTMAS FAMILY SERVICE with a Baptism.

PRAYER NEWS
On Sunday evening at 6pm we have our last Prayer Meeting of the year where we will be especially praying for Shamaila’s Immigration Appeal on Wednesday – please remember this in your prayers at home as well.

LODGE PARK CHRISTMAS DINNER
Don’t forget if you have booked in to attend this lovely event at Lodge Park Academy to arrive at the school in time for 2pm on Monday 16th December.

CHRISTMAS SERVICES AT ST COLUMBA’S and ST LEONARD’S:
Thursday 19th December 7pm – CAROLS with MINCE PIES and MULLED WINE in Rockingham Village Hall. This informal gathering in the relaxed, and warm, surroundings of the Village Hall gives everyone a chance to choose their favourite carol to sing.
Sunday 22nd December 10.30am – HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s. This will be a shorter service than usual with no ENERGIZE groups because we want to encourage people to come to the Carol Service later.
Sunday 22nd December 6pm – CANDLELIT CAROL SERVICE at St Columba’s. This traditional Christmas favourite includes plenty of opportunity to sing favourite carols and to hear the Christmas story in Bible readings.
Christmas Eve 4.30pm – CHRISTINGLE SERVICE at St Columba’s. Always a favourite as we remember the Christmas story, learn about the work of The Children’s Society and sing “Away in a Manger” by the light of our Christingle candles.
Christmas Eve 11.15pm – MIDNIGHT COMMUNION at St Columba’s. A traditional celebration of Holy Communion with carols, to remember how Jesus was born in the night.
Christmas Day 10am – FAMILY COMMUNION at St Columba’s. A joyful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour with carols and communion, and guaranteed not to be too long because…
Christmas Day 11am – CHRISTMAS COMMUNION at St Leonard’s. A traditional Communion service for Christmas morning with carols.

CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER
The special printed Christmas Newsletter is out, although please note that there is a mistake with the listing of Christmas Services in the first edition – see above for all the correct details. Hopefully a revised and corrected edition will be out in time for tomorrow.

EASYFUNDRAISING
And finally a reminder to anyone who is doing last minute online shopping for Christmas that many shops and suppliers will make a donation to St Columba’s, at no extra cost to you, if you buy using Easyfundraising. You have to register with easyfundraising first, and you can do that by going to this link: http://join.easyfundraising.org.uk/st-columba-corby

Best wishes to all,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

8th December 2024

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 14 December 2024

Hello everyone,

Our Christmas celebrations started in church this last week with a service for the Year 3 and 4 children from Rockingham Primary School and continue over the coming weeks, with details of everything that is happening below so do keep reading and plan to support as many of these events as possible.

CHARITY OF THE WEEK – HOME START CORBY
Home-Start Corby is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting the welfare of families with at least one child under the age of 5. Allowing for special circumstances to extend this age in line with project agreements. Volunteers offer regular visits, befriending and practical help to families in their own homes, helping to prevent family crisis and breakdown.

SUNDAY 8th DECEMBER
We have one service on Sunday at St Columba’s at 10.30am – HOLY COMMUNION with ENERGIZE groups continuing to rehearse for the NATIVITY. Following the success of last week’s livestream we hope all will go well again and the link is:
https://youtube.com/live/9surtyTJtAM?feature=share
Although it is the second Sunday of the month the Rockingham Family Service is not happening until next week.
We will have a Prayer Meeting at 6pm in St Columba’s.

COMMUNITY CAROL SERVICE – Thursday 12th December 6pm
St Columba’s look forward to welcoming local school choirs from Studfall Infants, Rockingham Primary, Woodnewton and Lodge Park who will be singing to us and also joining in with some congregational carols and hearing the Christmas story. This is always a really good evening and one of our best opportunities to reach out to those who do not regularly come to church.

CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON TEA
This coming Friday 13th December is the Christmas Afternoon Tea in the Church Hall from 3pm. There are two special features to the tea this month in addition to the regular tea, sandwiches, scones, cake and conversation we will sing some carols and husbands are welcome to come along as well!

NATIVITY REHEARSAL
Parents should receive a letter tomorrow about the dress rehearsal for next week’s nativity which will be on Saturday 14th December at 10am in church. We do really need all the children taking part in the Nativity to be there, although do still come on Sunday even if you can’t make the rehearsal. We will be finished by 12 noon so there will be plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day.

CAROLS IN THE TOWN CENTRE
This will also be happening on Saturday 14th December at 11am outside McDonald’s. Please join with Christians from other churches in Corby singing some of our favourite Christmas carols and sharing the “good news of great joy” with our community.

SUNDAY 15th DECEMBER
We have two services next Sunday, the first is the St Columba’s NATIVITY performed by the children from ENERGIZE at 10.30am. Do come along and support our children as they act out the Christmas story and join in with carols and prayers.
At St Leonard’s at 3pm there is a CHRISTMAS FAMILY SERVICE with a Baptism

LODGE PARK CHRISTMAS DINNER
Many of you have enjoyed the social events organised by Lodge Park Academy over recent years and I am pleased to say they are inviting us to a CHRISTMAS DINNER on Monday 16th December at 2pm. There is no charge for this dinner but you do need to book with me as there are just a couple of spaces left. Please let me know at church or email ianpullinger@btinternet.com if you would like to go.

MORE CHRISTMAS SERVICES AT ST COLUMBA’S and ST LEONARD’S:
Thursday 19th December 7pm – CAROLS with MINCE PIES and MULLED WINE in Rockingham Village Hall. This informal gathering in the relaxed, and warm, surroundings of the Village Hall gives everyone a chance to choose their favourite carol to sing.
Sunday 22nd December 10.30am – HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s. This will be a shorter service than usual with no ENERGIZE groups because we want to encourage people to come to the Carol Service later.
Sunday 22nd December 6pm – CANDLELIT CAROL SERVICE at St Columba’s. This traditional Christmas favourite includes plenty of opportunity to sing favourite carols and to hear the Christmas story in Bible readings.
Christmas Eve 4.30pm – CHRISTINGLE SERVICE at St Columba’s. Always a favourite as we remember the Christmas story, learn about the work of The Children’s Society and sing “Away in a Manger” by the light of our Christingle candles.
Christmas Eve 11.15pm – MIDNIGHT COMMUNION at St Columba’s. A traditional celebration of Holy Communion with carols, to remember how Jesus was born in the night.
Christmas Day 10am – FAMILY COMMUNION at St Columba’s. A joyful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour with carols and communion, and guaranteed not to be too long because…
Christmas Day 11am – CHRISTMAS COMMUNION at St Leonard’s. A traditional Communion service for Christmas morning with carols.

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DINNER
This is being organised by some people from Hope Church, but it will be happening in our Church Hall. As before the aim is to make Christmas Day special for those who would otherwise be alone. If you would like to attend, or know someone who might like to, or you can volunteer to help either on the day or with preparation on Christmas Eve please contact: christmasdinner2024@yahoo.com

PUZZLES
There will be a special printed Christmas Newsletter out next week but this week we have the latest edition of online puzzles from Steve who writes: “this is light hearted, full of jokes and puzzles but also includes a story I read when I was in my 20s that changed my life. Do read it.”
The latest edition of SCaNS is still available in church if you have not yet had a copy.

EASYFUNDRAISING
And finally a reminder to anyone who is shopping online this Christmas that many shops and suppliers will make a donation to St Columba’s, at no extra cost to you, if you buy using Easyfundraising. You have to register with easyfundraising first, and you can do that by going to this link: http://join.easyfundraising.org.uk/st-columba-corby

Best wishes to all in this Advent season,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609