28th May 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 3 June 2023

Hello again everyone,

It has been an interesting week, including the encouragement of times spent together in prayer, both at St Columba’s and at Gretton with the “Thy Kingdom Come” gathering on Thursday, but at the same time several people in our church family are in particular need (see Prayer News below) and the need for us to pray is as great as ever. In that context it may seem a shame that we don’t have our Prayer Meeting tomorrow evening, but there will be time to pray for all those in need (including you if you tell us your prayer request, either by coming along to the service or by replying to this email) in the service at 6pm tomorrow when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER NEWS
There are many people we need to remember in prayer including:
Margaret Smith, having come out of hospital last Saturday, had to go back in on Thursday. Please pray that Margaret is able to receive treatment to enable her to make a full recovery and also for her husband Ian who is understandably worried.
Trevor Wade has Covid, as does Lesley, but not Kath as I told some people yesterday. Trevor says that Covid is not as bad as last time, but he is very tired so please pray again for a quick recovery.
Shamaila has been unwell all week and was given a blood transfusion yesterday which has led to her feeling much better and with more energy today. She says “praise the Lord for his unfailing and unconditional love” to which we all say Amen, but please continue to pray that Shamaila is restored to full health.

PENTECOST SUNDAY 28th MAY
There are three services on Sunday as follows:
9am at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – HOLY COMMUNION
10.30am at St Columba’s, Corby – HOLY COMMUNION with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. This service will also be available to watch on youtube by going to the following link: https://youtube.com/live/0NN5VMXzwIk?feature=share
6pm at St Columba’s, Corby – PENTECOST PRAISE an evening of worship celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS
Our Fellowship Groups will meet again on Wednesday next week at 10.30am and 7.30pm continuing to look at the Beatitudes from Matthew 5 – everyone is welcome.

CHURCH GARDEN
We are looking for helpers, young and not so young, for the new church vegetable garden. There will be an opportunity to meet and work together on Saturday 3rd June from 1.00pm – just come along to church. Tea and cake will be provided. If you want to know more, or would like to help but can’t next Saturday, please speak with John Lynch.

NEXT SUNDAY 4th June
At St Columba’s we have an ALL AGE SERVICE for Trinity Sunday with input from our children and young people at 10.30am and our PRAYER MEETING at 6pm.

AND FINALLY
The latest Puzzles & Other Stuff is here. This includes a piece on “You’re never too old/ young to do things for/with God” with illustrations from the lives of well-known people, a moving assignment by a boy with autism, and the usual puzzles, quizzes, and Dingbats. Please let Steve know (by replying to this email if necessary) what you enjoy and what you like and would like more of.

May God bless you all in this coming week,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

21st May 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 27 May 2023

Good morning everyone,

I hope you have all had a good week and that many of you are making use of the NOVENA mission prayer journal for THY KINGDOM COME, the season from Ascension to Pentecost. If you missed that in last week’s email it is available to download here:
https://www.thykingdomcome.global/sites/default/files/2023-04/TKC%20Novena%202023%20DIGITAL.pdf
There is also a special Deanery Prayer Meeting for Thy Kingdom Come on Thursday at Gretton – see below for details.

PRAYER NEWS
There are several items for prayer, beginning with a thanksgiving for Barbara Bradshaw who I mentioned last week was in hospital. I am pleased to say Barbara came home on Sunday afternoon, made a quick recovery and she thanks everyone for their prayers.
Some of us were also praying for Shamaila this week who has not been well and had to have a chest X-ray which was clear. Please continue to pray that she is restored to full health quickly.
Margaret Smith had an operation on Monday and has spent the week recovering in hospital but is hoping to come home this weekend. Please pray that she is able to do that and for a full recovery.
Lilian Barnes is known to some of you from Lunch Club/Afternoon Tea and Pam Williams tells me that she is also in hospital at the moment so please pray for her treatment to be effective.
Kath Wade has been suffering from an infection this week and while she is now on the mend would appreciate prayer for a full recovery.
And finally Sheila met Diana Loveday yesterday who is off work with fibromyalgia while David is suffering from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s – please pray for them both.

SPRING HARVEST 2024
If you have indicated that you would like to go to Spring Harvest next year (at Butlin’s, Skegness from 1st to 5th April) please could you make sure that we have your deposit (£35 per adult and £20 per child age 2-14) this weekend. so if you are not at the morning service or evening prayer meeting please can you call round with cash/cheque or make a payment to the church bank account (details available on request but please put SH24 as a reference and let Miriam know). If you are still thinking about going please do speak with Miriam.

SUNDAY 21st MAY
We have one service at St Columba’s tomorrow, MORNING WORSHIP led by Rosie with a sermon from Kevin looking at the story of the Ascension from Acts 1 v 6-14. This service will include ENERGIZE groups for children and young people and can be watched on youtube by going to this link:
https://youtube.com/live/otkkV-9_Vdc?feature=share
We also have the PRAYER MEETING at 6pm.

CHURCH GARDEN
At the last PCC meeting it was proposed we do something towards the helping of the environment, in line with King Charles philosophy. A sub committee was formed to look at what we could do with our lawns around the church, this sub committee met to review some of the ideas, including:

1. A portion of the front lawn is to be planted with wild flowers to attract the bee’s and butterflies, for which donations of wild flower seeds are requested.
2. A small section of the lawn at the back of church is to be put down to growing vegetables for distribution for those that need them, also donations of
   seedlings and seeds would also be required for this, i.e. beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes etc
3. A team of volunteers to help get this started by preparing the ground for the wild flower seeds and the trial section of the veg patch.
4. Any gardening equipment that would be useful would be greatly appreciated.
5. We also need at least one more volunteer to join Derek and Chris on the church grass cutting team.
   All those that wish to help, including the younger members of our church, please contact John Lynch after one of our services.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS
Our Fellowship Groups will meet again on Wednesday next week at 10.30am and 7.30pm continuing to look at the Beatitudes from Matthew 5 – everyone is welcome.

THY KINGDOM COME PRAYER EVENT – Thursday 25th May 7.30pm at Gretton church
Steve Benoy, the Bishop’s Chaplain, former DDO and vicar of Christ the King Kettering, is observing the Thy Kingdom Come season by walking across the diocese from Brackley to Peterborough and will be in Corby Deanery on Thursday 25th May. At the end of each day’s walk he is gathering with people from the deanery he is in to pray for mission. Our gathering is in Gretton church at 7.30pm and everyone who is concerned about mission (and that should be all of us) is welcome. The next day Steve will walk from Gretton into Rutland deanery, then go via Oundle deanery on Saturday to Peterborough where he arrives on Sunday.

PENTECOST SUNDAY 28th MAY
There are three services next Sunday as follows:
9am at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – HOLY COMMUNION
10.30am at St Columba’s, Corby – HOLY COMMUNION with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people.
6pm at St Columba’s, Corby – PENTECOST PRAISE an evening of worship celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit, so no Prayer Meeting next Sunday.

HFA NEWS
Please find here the latest PRAYER UPDATE from Hope from Above.

AND FINALLY
There are no Puzzles attached this week but there will be a new PRINT edition of SCANS available in church tomorrow so don’t forget to pick up your copy. On the subject of things to pick up there are just a few CORONATION GOSPELS still available, why not take one to give to a friend, neighbour or colleague. I handed some out in the week and they were very gratefully received. There are also still some FREE copies of CHRISTIANITY magazine available to anyone who would like one.

May God bless you all in this coming week,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

14th May 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 20 May 2023

Hello everyone,

I hope you have all had a “douze points” week! I promise that is the only reference to Eurovision in this email because there are far more exciting things happening in our churches. However before that I have one prayer request to share with you. Barbara Bradshaw was admitted to hospital yesterday evening with a chest infection for which she is receiving treatment. Please pray for a quick and full recovery.

SUNDAY’S SERVICES

10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s, Corby with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people, and a sermon from Linda. For those unable to join us in church this service will be available to watch on youtube by going to the following link: https://youtube.com/live/V0IbYHZY3OI?feature=share

3pm FAMILY SERVICE at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – everyone is welcome to join us for this service. Just drive into the Castle and tell the person in the kiosk that you have come for the church service, park as directed and walk down to St Leonard’s.

6pm PRAYER MEETING – do join us for an hour of prayer in St Columba’s.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS
Our Fellowship Groups will meet in St Columba’s as usual on Wednesday at 10.30am and 7.30pm.

ASCENSION DAY
There is a special service of Holy Communion for Corby Deanery at Wilbarston Church on Thursday 18th May at 7.30pm. Please let me know if you would like a lift to this service, or if you could offer a lift. Ascension Day also marks the beginning of THY KINGDOM COME, eleven days of prayer from Ascension to Pentecost, especially focussing on our witness to five friends, neighbours, work colleagues or relatives. There are a number of resources available online to help with this, including NOVENA with daily readings from the book of 1 John, reflections written by The Very Reverend Bob Key and a commendation from the Archbishops. This is available as a PDF download here:
https://www.thykingdomcome.global/sites/default/files/2023-04/TKC%20Novena%202023%20DIGITAL.pdf

Steve Benoy, the Bishop’s Chaplain, former DDO and vicar of Christ the King Kettering, is observing the Thy Kingdom Come season by walking across the diocese from Brackley to Peterborough and will be in Corby Deanery on Thursday 25th May when there will be an evening gathering in Gretton church in the evening – exact time to be confirmed next week.

UPCOMING SUNDAY SERVICES:
21st May
10.30am Morning Worship at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people.
6pm Prayer Meeting in St Columba’s
28th May
9am Holy Communion at St Leonard’s, Rockingham.
10.30am Holy Communion at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people.
6pm Pentecost Praise at St Columba’s – a special service to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.

SCaNS
Here is the latest edition of Mini-SCaNS. Steve says this is “to enjoy, challenge, puzzle, amuse and entertain you, including a computer quiz in which I hope most people will be able to answer some of the questions and pick up some knowledge from the answers.
There’s a great ‘Hello Sweetie’ puzzle inviting you to recognise 36 favourite sweets.   An amazing story of an athlete who refused to win a race and pushed the runner ahead of him (who had stopped because he was confused as to where the race ended) across the line so that he won … and lots of puzzles and amusing stories.  Plus a short extract from a sermon and a snake story both about pressing on with the Lord and not giving in when things get tough.
My favourite true funny story is the one about Mark Twain (underneath the hidden objects puzzle).”

As I said lots of exciting things going on over the next couple of weeks.

God bless you all,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

7th May 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 13 May 2023

Happy Coronation Weekend everyone,

Whether you are a supporter of the Royal Family or a sceptic we cannot deny that today is a moment in history. It is also a service of Christian Worship, including much that we are familiar with, Bible readings, sermon, prayers, even Communion, as well as much pomp and pageantry that would not sit so comfortably in a local church! We do all need to pray for King Charles as he is crowned and makes his promises to God and to all of us, and as he continues to serve us in the months and years to come.

We will be celebrating the Coronation at St Columba’s on Sunday, both in our Morning Service at 10.30am (which will also feature some reflections on Spring Harvest 2023, and an invitation for you to join us next Easter – see below) and also in the picnic afterwards. The weather forecast has improved so hopefully we will be able to be outside for the picnic, but if there is rain about we will move into the Hall. Please bring your own food and cold drinks and we will provide hot drinks. It would also be helpful if you could bring picnic chairs, or a blanket – but don’t worry if you come empty handed, I’m sure we will be able to provide chairs and food for you to enjoy!

If you are not able to join us tomorrow you can watch the service on youtube by going to this link:
https://youtube.com/live/qENPD7FCDR0?feature=share

PRAYER MEETING Tomorrow evening we will meet for our regular hour of prayer at 6pm, which will include a time of prayer for King Charles.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS will meet as usual on Wednesday at 10.30am and 7.30pm.

LADIES AFTERNOON TEA will meet on Friday this week, 12th May, at 3pm in St Columba’s Church Hall. All ladies are welcome and we do encourage you to invite friends and family to join you for this.

MEN’S BREAKFAST – Saturday 13th May at 9am, in St Columba’s Church Hall. Again all men are welcome and do encourage friends, neighbours and work colleagues to join us.

NEXT SUNDAY 14th May
We have a Communion Service at St Columba’s at 10.30am and a Family Service at St Leonard’s, Rockingham at 3pm.

SPRING HARVEST 2024 – Skegness Easter Monday 1st April to Friday 5th April
While we were at Spring Harvest this year we were able to book some accommodation for next year which is great – but we do need to collect deposits (£35 per adult and £20 per child 2-14) by next Sunday 14th May. The accommodation options are:
FAIRGROUND APARTMENTS – sleep 4 in one double room and one twin room, with shower room, living room and kitchen. £241 per adult,
SILVER ROOM – sleep 2 in double or twin room with shower room but no living room or kitchen. £204 per adult.
Children age 2-14 have a £20 reduction on adult prices, and under 2’s are free.
DINING PACKAGES – you can choose to be catered for by our Church Family or Self Catering, or a Butlin’s Dining Package which can be booked later – Premium Dining will cost £127 per adult, £71.80 per child (6-14), and £35.80 per child (2-5); Standard Dining is £95.80 per adult, £58 per child (6-14), and £27.20 per child (2-5).
Please speak to Miriam if you would like to book or have any questions, or reply to this email or phone me on the numbers below – we would love you to join us and to experience a truly uplifting time of worship, teaching and fellowship with people from St Columba’s.

Miriam and I will be away for a few days in the middle of next week but Kevin is here if you need to speak with anyone and I have included his number below as well.

God bless,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

Kevin 07512 822422

30th April 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 6 May 2023

Hello again everyone,

I hope you are all keeping well and looking forward to the Coronation next weekend. There is more information about that below, as well as information about a special Call to Prayer on Tuesday morning, and details of all our upcoming activities, so do take note of all the dates and times and plan to join us.

On the subject of prayer please can you pray for Sheila and her family who are going through a series of difficult situations, most recently Juliette spending last night in A&E with pain in her arm which has been linked to nerve issues in her neck, worryingly like her sister Maria has experienced. Please pray for Sheila to have the strength to support all her family and for an end to the seemingly constant attacks.

Sunday 30th April
We have a choice of two services at St Columba’s tomorrow:
10.30am MORNING WORSHIP led by William with a sermon by David looking at John 10.1-10 and including ENERGIZE for children and young people.
For those who are unable to be in church this service can be watched on youtube via this link: https://youtube.com/live/129GEP2ow3U?feature=share
6pm HOLY COMMUNION led by me with a sermon by Kevin looking at Luke 19.37-48.

PLEASE NOTE because of the 6pm service there will be no Prayer Meeting on Sunday but on Tuesday there is:

Northampton Call to Prayer at St Columba’s – Tuesday 2nd May 10am to 12 noon
We are hosting a county wide prayer meeting on Tuesday. This dates back to 1784 and a Call to Prayer issued in response to the teaching of Jonathan Edwards. Please do come along and join us, and a small group who have been continuing this tradition in churches around the county every month since 1996. The time will include prayer for St Columba’s and St Leonard’s as well as for the wider county, the nation and the world. As the original call to prayer said in 1784: “Who can tell what the consequences of such an united effort in prayer may be! Let us plead with God the many gracious promises of His Word, which relate to the future success of His Gospel”

PCC on Tuesday
PCC members should note there is a meeting on Tuesday evening – agenda to follow.

Fellowship Groups
These will be meeting on Wednesday at 10.30am and 7.30pm and continuing to look at the Beatitudes.

Coronation Afternoon Tea at Lodge Park Academy 2pm Friday 5th May
Those of you who have been to one of Lodge Park’s previous teas will know how enjoyable they are for both students and those attending. Please let me know if you would like to go so that I can give the school an idea of numbers – either email ianpullinger@btinternet.com or tell me in church tomorrow.

Coronation Celebration at St Columba’s – Sunday 7th May from 10.30am
We have our regular 10.30am service which will celebrate both the Coronation and Spring Harvest this year where we learned about the Upside Down Kingdom. PLEASE could those who went to Spring Harvest let me know if they have a memory they would like to share (even if only short and if it has more to do with swimming or the fair!) and also a favourite song from this year.
After the service and coffee we will move outside for a picnic (please bring your own food and cold drinks – hot drinks will be provided) and informal time of fellowship and fun.
BOTH the service and picnic are open to all, so please do come along and invite others to join you.

There is also something of a Coronation theme to this week’s Puzzles and Other Stuff.

Looking ahead to next week we have two very important gatherings coming up:
LADIES AFTERNOON TEA – Friday 12th May at 3pm
MEN’S BREAKFAST – Saturday 13th May at 9am

Best wishes,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

23rd April 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 29 April 2023

Hello everyone,

Greetings from a weary and wind swept mountain climber! John Lynch, Colin Fleming and I climbed Snowdon on Friday in order to raise money for the ongoing maintenance of St Columba’s and had quite a day, almost being blown off our feet on the way down, although we were blessed with some views which the cloud had obscured when we were nearer the summit. Here is a photo of us at just less than 1000m, the point where we decided that the better part of valour was to head down rather than continuing up to the peak!

The wonders of modern technology meant that while still on Snowdon I received a message from Kath Wade asking if I could pray for Trevor who was at the Urgent Care Centre with high blood pressure and was having blood tests and at that point may have had to go in to KGH. We prayed on the side of the mountain and I was pleased to have an almost immediate answer to say that Trevor had been able to go home. Please do continue to pray for him.

SUNDAY’S SERVICES
9am Holy Communion at St Leonard’s, Rockingham
10.30am Holy Communion at St Columba’s, Corby with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. This service can be watched on Youtube by going to this link: https://youtube.com/live/v8LJwIw8j2E?feature=share
We also have a Service of Thanksgiving at 3pm in St Columba’s for Marni and Norah Raynor-Cole, youngest children of Liam and Jade. You may not recognise the names but you may well know the family who were with us most recently at the Hot Cross Bun Feast. Please pray for them and especially for Marni (2) and Norah (8 months).

PRAYER MEETING
6pm on Sunday at St Columba’s – do come along for an hour of prayer, especially if you have any particular needs but do come and join us as we lift up the needs of one another, the church and the world to God.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS
We will be continuing our study of the Beatitudes, this week looking at “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted” on Wednesday morning at 10.30am and evening at 7.30pm.

GET CLOSER
We will be restarting our group for young people at Secondary School this week on a new day Friday, a new venue the Church Hall, but at the same time 5.30pm.
If you know a young person please let them know, and please can you all pray for this group and for the young people who are part of it.

NEXT SUNDAY
We have two service at St Columba’s next week, Morning Worship at 10.30am with ENERGIZE groups and Holy Communion at 6pm, as a result of which there will be no prayer meeting next week.

May God bless you all in the coming week.

Ian

16th April 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 22 April 2023

Hello everyone,

I hope you have all had a good week. Actually I know nearly half of you have because I have seen you at Spring Harvest, which was a really good week of worship, teaching, fun and fellowship. There will be more about Spring Harvest in a couple of weeks time so do look out for that.

SUNDAY 16th APRIL
We have one service tomorrow, MORNING WORSHIP at 10.30am in St Columba’s, with a special Easter Egg Hunt themed ENERGIZE for children and young people! If you are not able to join us in church then you can watch the service via this link: https://youtube.com/live/GnCugL6BIiw?feature=share

PRAYER MEETING
We will be meeting at 6pm on Sunday for an hour of prayer, so do join us then to celebrate all that God has done for us and to pray for all those things that we are concerned about in our lives and world.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS
After an Easter break the groups will be meeting again this week on Wednesday morning at 10.30am and evening at 7.30pm. We will be looking at the Beatitudes from Matthew 5.3-12, material we studied at Spring Harvest – but these Fellowship Groups are for everyone, whether or not you were at Spring Harvest. Just to say that my vision is for the groups to develop into Home Groups, such as we had before Covid, but so far the numbers have not really been enough for that to happen – if you would like to be part of a Home Group again the best way is to join one of these Fellowship Groups and then we will know there are enough people interested.

JOHN LYNCH’S MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE Part One
John and friends (Colin Fleming, James Ireland and maybe me – I’m waiting to see what the weather looks like!!) are climbing their first mountain, Snowdon, this coming Friday 21st April. If you have not yet done so, and are able to, please sponsor John using one of the forms at the back of church – all proceeds will help with essential work to maintain our church. Also please pray for safe journeys, both by road to Wales and by foot up Snowdon, and back! Thank you John for initiating this challenge.

NEXT SUNDAY 23rd APRIL
There will be Communion services at St Leonard’s Rockingham at 9am and St Columba’s Corby at 10.30am. The St Columba’s service will include ENERGIZE groups for children and young people.

CORONATION WEEKEND
We are planning a special service the day after the Coronation, Sunday 7th May, to which friends and family would be most welcome. There will also be a STREET PARTY in the church grounds afterwards. We are asking people to bring their own cold picnic food (but be prepared to share with anyone who doesn’t have food) and we will be organising some games and activities after lunch, and providing hot drinks. Please do think and pray about who you could invite, and also if you can help with the day, setting up in advance, serving drinks, organising games, clearing up afterwards. Do let me know if you can help in any way.

MINI SCANS
Thanks to Steve for producing another online mini SCANS (what’s the difference between Puzzles etc and Mini-SCaNS? Steve says Mini-SCaNS has a greater spiritual emphasis). It includes some fascinating stories (including one about Elvis Presley’s Christian faith), great pictures (including the park ranger in South Africa who goes out every day to massage the lion’s feet!), lots of puzzles, funnies, a challenging Bible Quiz, and an invitation to close your eyes and spend 15 minutes imagining yourself with Jesus and the disciples on a typical day – what would it have been like?

With best wishes,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

9th April 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 15 April 2023

Dear Friends of St Columba’s & St Leonard’s,

I know it is still Saturday and we remember Christ spending this day in the tomb, but we also know that Sunday is coming when we will celebrate with joy the wonderful news that Christ is Risen! I do hope you will be able to join us at one of the services tomorrow, but if not there are details of the livestream from St Columba’s below along with a shorter than usual list of upcoming events, and two attachments to keep you informed and entertained during this Easter season. But before that some encouraging news

PRAYER NEWS
Thank you to everyone who prayed for Les Tibbs, husband of Hazel, father-in-law of Isobel. He had three stents put in and came home from hospital on Friday afternoon, feeling good but tired. Please continue to pray for a full recovery and for Hazel and Isobel.
Another piece of good news is that Margaret Freeland was able to join us for the Hot Cross Bun Feast on Friday and all being well will be in church tomorrow, her first time since going into hospital before Christmas – Praise the Lord.

EASTER DAY SERVICES
6.15am SUNRISE SERVICE at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – there is always something very special about getting up early to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, and where better to do it than at St Leonard’s. Followed by breakfast in Rockingham Village Hall.
10.30 ALL AGE EASTER CELEBRATION with COMMUNION – join us as we celebrate the glorious news that Jesus is Alive with songs, children’s activities and Holy Communion. The weather is looking good so we will sing our final hymn on the grass outside church before refreshments.
You can watch this service on youtube by going to the following link: https://youtube.com/live/zy8l5WeXm98?feature=share

OTHER ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK
There will be no 6pm Prayer Meeting on Easter Day but it will meet again on 16th April. Also no Fellowship Groups this week either.

NEXT SUNDAY 16th April
There is just one service at St Columba’s next Sunday morning at 10.30am: MORNING WORSHIP with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people.

SPRING HARVEST
For those who are coming to Spring Harvest there will be a separate email confirming some details so look out for that.
If you are not joining us for the week in Skegness there are two options available:
Visit for a Day – join us at Butlin’s in Skegness for a whole day or worship, teaching and fun. Tuesday 11th to Thursday 13th are the three full days and the cost is £40 per adult & young person (15+) or £30 for children (5-14) – discounts are available for people on benefits as explained in the link that follows.
Try to arrive by 10am for a full day (until 9pm or later!) and do let me know if you are coming.
Booking is essential via this link: https://www.ecevents.uk/sh2023-day-visitors/day-visitors/Site/Register
Spring Harvest Home is also back for ‘23 – bringing five days of worship, teaching and interaction to wherever you are! Join the livestream from the evening of Easter Monday 10th April to late morning on Friday 14th April, featuring teaching from Professor John Swinton and Rachel Gardner, worship from Lou & Nathan Fellingham and Sarah Teibo, and much more. The price is halved from 2022 so it’s just £24.99! All the details can be found by clicking on this link: https://essentialchristian.cmail19.com/t/r-l-tjulfky-edudjdtn-d/

ATTACHMENTS
Please find here an Easter edition of Puzzles and Other Stuff from Steve, also if you missed it last week there is a new print edition of SCANS in church. The latest “Snippets from the Shires” Prayer Letter from Tim & Carol Derbyshire in Australia is also here. There is a new Prayer Letter from M&H at the back of St Columba’s so do have a read as we are not able to forward copies of this by email.

May God bless you all at this Easter season and may the joy of knowing that the Lord is risen fill your hearts.

Ian

2nd April 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 8 April 2023

Hello Everyone,

I have just returned home from a most enjoyable Men’s Breakfast, having had an equally good Ladies Afternoon Tea yesterday! It may seem as if these events don’t fit the usual Lent narrative of fasting, but remember this year my Lent Challenge was to think who you might invite to church at Easter so that we might experience some of the joy of the Lord as people come to faith, or at least begin a journey to faith. As it is just one week until Easter now is the time to be inviting people, and below there is a full list of services at both St Columba’s and St Leonard’s, with a short description so you know what to expect and which would suit the people you are thinking of inviting.

PALM SUNDAY 2nd APRIL – services at St Columba’s
10.30am Morning Worship with groups for children & young people (who will be preparing for the Hot Cross Bun Feast and Easter Day services). Kevin is leading this service and William preaching on the Palm Sunday story. This service will be available to watch on youtube for those unable to get to church by going to this link: https://youtube.com/live/_qxZnKgLeBQ?feature=share
6pm Holy Communion – this service will focus on the whole Passion Gospel with a sermon from Steve and an interactive Bible reading.

MAUNDY THURSDAY 6th APRIL
7.30pm Holy Communion at St Columba’s – do join us for this special Communion service to recall the Last Supper and Jesus’ instituting this meal to remember Him.

GOOD FRIDAY 7th APRIL
10.30am Hot Cross Bun Feast in St Columba’s Hall – this is an interactive service for All Ages looking at why we have a cross on the Hot Cross Bun with lots of activities shared around the tables and Hot Cross Buns to eat with tea, coffee and juice.
1pm Good Friday in Corby Town Centre (outside McDonalds) – join the Corby churches as we remember the greatest act of love the world has ever seen.
2pm An Hour bv the Cross at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – a quieter gathering to reflect on the significance of Good Friday.

EASTER DAY, 9th APRIL starts early with:
6.15am SUNRISE SERVICE at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – there is always something very special about getting up early to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, and where better to do it than at St Leonard’s. Followed by breakfast in Rockingham Village Hall.
10.30 ALL AGE EASTER CELEBRATION with COMMUNION – join us as we celebrate the glorious news that Jesus is Alive with songs, children’s activities and Holy Communion.

SPRING HARVEST
For those who are coming to Spring Harvest there will be a meeting at 5pm on Sunday 2nd April to confirm all the arrangements, which will be different from usual because of changes to the Spring Harvest programme and also to our catering.
If you are not joining us for the week there are two options available:
Visit for a Day – join us at Butlin’s in Skegness for a whole day or worship, teaching and fun. Tuesday 11th to Thursday 13th are the three full days and the cost is £40 per adult & young person (15+) or £30 for children (5-14) – discounts are available for people on benefits as explained in the link that follows.
Try to arrive by 10am for a full day (until 9pm or later!) and do let me know if you are coming.
Booking is essential via this link: https://www.ecevents.uk/sh2023-day-visitors/day-visitors/Site/Register
Spring Harvest Home is also back for ‘23 – bringing five days of worship, teaching and interaction to wherever you are! Join the livestream from the evening of Easter Monday 10th April to late morning on Friday 14th April, featuring teaching from Professor John Swinton and Rachel Gardner, worship from Lou & Nathan Fellingham and Sarah Teibo, and much more. The price is halved from 2022 so it’s just £24.99! All the details can be found by clicking on this link: https://essentialchristian.cmail19.com/t/r-l-tjulfky-edudjdtn-d/

OTHER ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK
There will be no 6pm Prayer Meeting on 2nd or 9th April, but it will meet again on 16th April.
The Wednesday Morning Fellowship Group is not meeting this week, but the evening group will meet at 7.30pm to catch up having missed a week because of the snow.

SCANS
There is a new print edition of SCANS available to collect in church, so no online Puzzles etc this week. The puzzles in SCANS kept some of the men amused during this morning’s breakfast!

I look forward to seeing you, and the person you have invited to church, at one of the services over the next week.

May God be with you as we reflect on all that Jesus did for us in the first Holy Week.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

26th March 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 1 April 2023

Hello again everyone,

The most important message this week is: don’t forget the clocks go forward an hour on Saturday night so you have an hour less sleep before Sunday!

Thank you to all those who sent in photos of their mum for our Mothering Sunday service last Sunday. The photos won’t be on display this week, but the “flowers” made with all your petals giving thanks for your mum will be, and they make an inspiring read so do have a look at them over coffee after church at St Columba’s.

PRAYER NEWS
Sadly two members of our church family have lost loved ones recently. Lesley Virgo’s mother-in-law Greta died last Saturday and Miriam’s sister Hilary died on Wednesday morning. Please uphold Lesley, along with her husband Mark and daughter Imogen, as well as Miriam and all our family in your prayers.

SUNDAY’S SERVICE
This Sunday we have two services of Holy Communion, at St Leonard’s Rockingham at 9am and St Columba’s Corby at 10.30am. There will be ENERGIZE groups for children and young people at St Columba’s. For those who are unable to be in church you can watch the service from St Columba’s by going to this link: https://youtube.com/live/lH8t7OfCaN4?feature=share

PRAYER MEETING
There will be a 6pm Prayer Meeting this Sunday, 26th March, but then a couple of weeks without as we have a 6pm service next week (see below) and the following week is Easter Day and many of us will be packing for Spring Harvest (also see below). The Prayer Meeting will be back on 16th April.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS
The Fellowship Groups will meet on Wednesday next week at 10.30am and 7.30pm, both in church.

AFTERNOON TEA
The Ladies Afternoon Tea, cancelled because of the snow earlier this month, will be happening on Friday 31st March at 3pm – all ladies welcome.

MEN’S GROUP
Men’s Group will be meeting on Saturday 1st April (no jokes about April Fools Day – we are all fools for God) from 9am to 11am in St Columba’s Church Hall for breakfast. All men are welcome, including any guests you would like to bring along with you.

SPRING HARVEST
For those who are coming to Spring Harvest there will be a meeting at 5pm on Sunday 2nd April to confirm all the arrangements, which will be different from usual because of changes to the Spring Harvest programme and also to our catering.
If you are not joining us for the week there are two options available:
Visit for a Day – join us at Butlin’s in Skegness for a whole day or worship, teaching and fun. Tuesday 11th to Thursday 13th are the three full days and the cost is £40 per adult & young person (15+) or £30 for children (5-14). Try to arrive by 10am for a full day (until 9pm or later!) and do let me know if you are coming. Booking is essential via this link: https://www.ecevents.uk/sh2023-day-visitors/day-visitors/Site/Register
Spring Harvest Home is also back for ‘23 – bringing five days of worship, teaching and interaction to wherever you are! Join the livestream from Easter Monday 10th April to Friday 14th April, featuring teaching from Professor John Swinton and Rachel Gardner, worship from Lou & Nathan Fellingham and Sarah Teibo, and much more. The price is halved from 2022 so it’s just £24.99! All the details can be found by clicking on this link: https://essentialchristian.cmail19.com/t/r-l-tjulfky-edudjdtn-d/

HOLY WEEK and EASTER SERVICES
Next Sunday, 2nd April, is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week and there are two services, both at St Columba’s:
Morning Worship at 10.30am (with ENERGIZE groups)
Holy Communion at 6pm

On MAUNDY THURSDAY, 6th April, there is a service of Holy Communion at 7.30pm in St Columba’s.

On GOOD FRIDAY, 7th April, there are three things happening as follows:
10.30am Hot Cross Bun Feast in St Columba’s Hall – a great opportunity for people of all ages to get creative thinking about why there is a cross on a Hot Cross Bun – and to enjoy eating some buns as well.
1pm Good Friday in Corby Town Centre (outside McDonalds) – join the Corby churches as we remember the greatest act of love the world has ever seen.
2pm An Hour by the Cross at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – a quieter gathering to reflect on the significance of Good Friday.

EASTER DAY, 9th April starts early with:
6.15am SUNRISE SERVICE at St Leonard’s, Rockingham – there is always something very special about getting up early to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, and where better to do it than at St Leonard’s. Followed by breakfast in Rockingham Village Hall.
10.30 ALL AGE EASTER CELEBRATION with COMMUNION – join us as we celebrate the glorious news that Jesus is Alive with songs, children’s activities and Holy Communion.

Sorry no puzzles this week but Steve promises a new print edition of SCaNS next week.

With best wishes,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609