Sunday Service

Category: Sunday Service

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

19th March 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 24 March 2023

Hello Everyone,

I am writing early this week, partly because I am at the Bishop’s Bible Day tomorrow, but also because I wanted to repeat my request from last week for photos of your mums who won’t be with you in church on Sunday. This may be because they have died or simply because they live far away, but it will be great to remember them, as I will be remembering my mum, and having their photos on screen while we pray is one way we can do that. You can either send a photo attached to a reply to this email, or WhatsApp it to me on 07903 644609. It would be helpful to receive them today (Friday) but I will be able to include any photos sent before Sunday.

The young people are going to be leading our MOTHERING SUNDAY service in St Columba’s on Sunday at 10.30am, with plenty of support from the younger children, but there will be lots of variety in the service and so I do encourage you to come along whatever age you are and with your mum if possible – if not send me a photo!
For those who can’t make it to church on Sunday the service will be available to watch on youtube via this link:
https://youtube.com/live/dc7QPp6mxeU?feature=share

We also have our PRAYER MEETING on Sunday evening at 6pm in St Columba’s.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS will be meeting on Wednesday at 10.30am and 7.30pm.

NEXT SUNDAY 26th March
9am Holy Communion at St Leonard’s, Rockingham
10.30 Holy Communion at St Columba’s, Corby with ENERGIZE groups

ANNUAL MEETING
A big thank you to everyone who helped with St Columba’s Annual Meeting and the Lunch that followed last Sunday. It is good that we have so many people willing to serve the church in so many ways. Details of the meeting are available on request, including the finance and other reports, but you may like to know that the following were elected or re-elected:
CHURCHWARDENS: John Lynch and Janet Taylor
DEANERY SYNOD: David Bavin, Steve Scholes, William Taylor
PCC: Michelle Doran, Justin Dyche, Colin Fleming, Susan Fleming, Patience Tafuma

KEEP THE CHURCH FIRES BURNING
Thanks are also due to those who give money to support the church, both regular giving and to the Keep The Church Fires Burning (KTCFB) appeal. Donations to this appeal to help with the cost of heating the church following the increases in energy costs, in addition to your regular giving, are still very welcome, either in an envelope in the offering basket, via the Card Reader, or direct to our church bank account using the reference KTCFB.

SPONSORED WALK/CLIMB up the Three Peaks
A further opportunity to give to St Columba’s is presented by John Lynch and friends (James Ireland and Colin Fleming at present) sponsored walk up Snowdon (in April), followed by Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis later in the year. Please do look out for John and his sponsor form and give what you can, both to encourage the walkers and to support the church.

ATTACHMENTS
Please find here the latest Puzzles and Other Stuff from Steve, including some Mother’s Day material as well as news of an answered prayer and lots of Puzzles. Also here is the latest update from HOPE FROM ABOVE for you to read and pray about.

May God bless you all,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

12th March 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 18 March 2023

Hello Everyone,

Over the last two Sundays in St Columba’s I have spoken about a Lent Challenge, to use this season as preparation for Easter by inviting people to church. This will make our Easter, the most joyful of Christian festivals, even more joyful as we share in the joy of heaven as we see people repenting and putting their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. I have mentioned in passing how the more usual Lent disciplines of prayer, fasting and Bible study may help us to meet this challenge. This was confirmed to me this week when I read:
“Serious prayer and seeking the mind of Christ through studying the Scriptures (perhaps with disciplines such as fasting) are vital if we are to engage in witness that truly brings people to life in Christ”. So may we engage in these disciplines in order that we may engage in that truly effective witness.

As a result of the snow this week we cancelled Wednesday evening’s Fellowship Group and the Afternoon Tea. The Fellowship Groups will meet again next week, on Wednesday morning at 10.30 and evening at 7.30. The next Afternoon Tea will be on Friday 31st March – earlier than usual because of Easter and Spring Harvest.

Below are details of all that is coming up tomorrow, including services at St Columba’s and at Rockingham Village Hall, as well as St Columba’s Annual Meeting and Lunch. There are also details of next Sunday’s MOTHERING SUNDAY service. You will see there a request for photos of Mums who won’t be with us on Sunday, either because they have died or simply because they can’t be there next week. Please send me the photos in advance if at all possible – full details below.

KEEP THE CHURCH FIRES BURNING
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this special appeal to help with the costs of heating the church this winter. This was the first week the appeal was open so it was encouraging to see the envelopes in the offering basket – but there is still plenty of time to contribute to help boost our income so that we can cover the hugely increased cost of gas and electricity. If you are able to give a little extra on top of your regular giving to the church please place money in an envelope marked “Keep The Church Fires Burning” or KTCFB in the Offering Basket or use the Card Reader or make a Bank Transfer with KTCFB as the reference. THANK YOU for all contributions to this fund.

SUNDAY 12th MARCH
This will be a busy day so here are all the timings:
10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups (who will be preparing for the Mothering Sunday Service on 19th March).
For anyone who can’t be in church you can watch the service via this link: https://youtube.com/live/j_xGyWVCfeE?feature=share
12.00noon (approx) St Columba’s ANNUAL MEETING in the Church Hall (see below)
1pm (approx) BRING & SHARE LUNCH (think main meal with main course and dessert!) also in the Church Hall
2pm (approx) Short PCC meeting at St Columba’s to elect officers for the year ahead.
3pm FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall
6pm PRAYER MEETING at St Columba’s.

ST COLUMBA’S ANNUAL MEETING
We will meet in the Church Hall at about 12 noon. We will be electing Churchwardens to serve us over the next 12 months, Deanery Synod representatives to serve for three years and one third of our PCC members who also serve for three years, plus one casual vacancy for one year. If you would like to be considered for one of these roles please do ask me for a nomination form (all roles require the person nominated to be proposed and seconded by two people entitled to vote at the meeting).
The revised ELECTORAL ROLL is on display at the back of church, along with the formal notices about the meeting (strictly speaking it is two meetings, one for electing churchwardens and one for the rest of the business).
Any questions please do speak with me.

BISHOP’S BIBLE DAY
This is taking place at Northampton High School next Saturday 18th March from 9.30am to 4pm. It is a day for everyone to explore the Bible together, with a focus on the Psalms. The keynote speaker, Revd Dr Isabelle Hamley, will be looking at Psalms 23 and 137, and there are a range of workshops. You can book tickets (there is no charge for the day, which includes a cold lunch, but donations are welcome) and find details of all the workshops here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bishops-bible-day-tickets-503194848337

MOTHERING SUNDAY 19th MARCH
We have a special All Age Celebration for all mums so do come along and bring your mum if you can. If your mum has died, or is not able to be with you next Sunday, please could you send me a photo of her. This could be as an email, sent via WhatsApp to me on 07903 644609, or bring a photo along to church with you next Sunday. I don’t need photos of Mums who will be in church. The children and young people will be helping to lead the service and so it will be a great help if they are able to come along this Sunday (12th March) to prepare during their ENERGIZE groups.

PRAYING FOR M&H
Many of you will remember M&H visiting us last summer with their children. They were featured in the CMS Prayer Diary this week. I would like to have shared the prayer request with you, but sensitivities about their location mean we can’t put anything in emails. Do look at the Notice Board at the back of St Columba’s to see the prayer request from CMS.

AND FINALLY
Please find here the latest Puzzles and Other Stuff from Steve with an inspiring story of an eighteenth century preacher and a Northamptonshire Quiz. I think I was right with half of the answers, which isn’t bad for someone who has only lived here for ten years! In fact it will be ten years on Friday since my licensing as Vicar of St Columba’s – thanks be to God for all that has happened over those ten years, but oh how quickly they have gone!

Hoping to see you at church on Sunday and for the Annual Meeting and Lunch afterwards.

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609

5th March 2023

By Justin Dyche in Sunday Service on 11 March 2023

Hello everyone,

I hope you have had a good week and been thinking about the Lent Challenge I shared in my sermon last Sunday. This was to invite people to church so that we can use Lent to prepare for the joy of Easter by sharing the joy of heaven when people come to faith! For those who missed it you can watch back by going to this link: https://youtube.com/live/OqHDf3V35_0?feature=share
I will be sharing more this coming Sunday so do come along to find out about the help that is available to us.

KEEP THE CHURCH FIRES BURNING
Last week I launched an appeal to help with the costs of heating the church this winter. As we all know energy prices have gone up so much, and the church is considered a commercial building so is not entitled to as much help as we receive for our homes. As a result the church budget is not balancing as our predicted income is considerably less than our predicted expenditure. Sadly there is not much we can do to limit expenditure, so we thought we would try and boost income by asking those people who are able to give a little extra on top of their regular giving to a special fund called KEEP THE CHURCH FIRES BURNING. This will be used to cover heating costs and is therefore different from last year’s HEATING FUND which has covered the cost of replacing and repairing the heaters in the church.
Contributions to this fund can be made by placing money in an envelope marked “Keep The Church Fires Burning” or KTCFB in the Offering Basket or via the Card Reader or making a Bank Transfer with KTCFB as the reference. THANK YOU for any contributions to this fund.

SUNDAY’S SERVICE
We just have the one service on Sunday, MORNING WORSHIP in St Columba’s church at 10.30am with ENERGIZE groups. This service is available to watch on Youtube either as a livestream or afterwards via this link: https://youtube.com/live/yyPtEfT1R_w?feature=share
We will also have the PRAYER MEETING at 6pm.
There is a special evening service at 6pm at Christ the King in Kettering with JOHN COLES (one of the founders of NEW WINE) speaking on the subject “From meeting God to serving God”.

FELLOWSHIP GROUPS
We were blessed with 12 people at the evening group last week which was great, although we had an equally good discussion with just four people the following morning. Do come along, even if you have not been before. Both groups this week are on Wednesday 8th March at 10.30am and 7.30pm

AFTERNOON TEA
The Ladies Afternoon Tea will be happening next Friday, 10th March at 3pm in the Church Hall. Do come along if you are able and enjoy tea and sandwiches, cakes and conversation!

NEXT SUNDAY 12th MARCH
This will be a busy day so here are all the timings:
10.30am HOLY COMMUNION at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups (who will be preparing for the Mothering Sunday Service on 19th March).
12.00noon (approx) St Columba’s ANNUAL MEETING in the Church Hall (see below)
1pm (approx) BRING & SHARE LUNCH (think main meal with main course and dessert!) also in the Church Hall
3pm FAMILY SERVICE in Rockingham Village Hall
6pm PRAYER MEETING at St Columba’s.

ST COLUMBA’S ANNUAL MEETING
We will meet in the Church Hall at about 12 noon please do try and come along. We will be electing Churchwardens to serve us over the next 12 months, Deanery Synod representatives to serve for three years and one third of our PCC members who also serve for three years, plus one casual vacancy for one year. If you would like to be considered for one of these roles please do ask me for a nomination form (all roles require the person nominated to be proposed and seconded by two people entitled to vote at the meeting).
The revised ELECTORAL ROLL is on display at the back of church, along with the formal notices about the meeting (strictly speaking it is two meetings, one for electing churchwardens and one for the rest of the business).
Any questions please do speak with me.

NAT WHITE’S BAND IN CONCERT
Nat White’s band MID LIFE CRISIS are performing at St Giles church Northampton on Saturday 11th March at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10 (concessions £7) and details of how to buy them are on the poster. They are raising money for “Baby Basics, Northampton”. If anyone is planning to go and has space to give someone a lift please let me know.

BISHOP’S BIBLE DAY
This is taking place at Northampton High School on Saturday 18th March from 9.30am to 4pm. It is a day for everyone to explore the Bible together, with a focus on the Psalms. The keynote speaker, Revd Dr Isabelle Hamley, will be looking at Psalms 23 and 137, and there are a range of workshops. You can book tickets (there is no charge for the day, which includes a cold lunch, but donations are welcome) and find details of all the workshops here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bishops-bible-day-tickets-503194848337

AND FINALLY
No Puzzles etc from Steve this week but there is another HOPE FROM ABOVE UPDATE so please do read it and pray for the matters highlighted.

With best wishes for this coming week,

Ian

01536 400225
07903 644609