Sorry about ab incredibly late email this week. With Bishop John’s Weekend in full swing I have not had a chance to sit down and write until now.
There will be more information about how the weekend has gone next week, but it has been an encouraging couple of days and we still have our services on Sunday to look forward to. At St Columba’s Bishop John will be preaching in the service at 10.30am and there is a link below to watch this service via livestream from 10.30 on Sunday or afterwards here: https://youtu.be/DeEwov9S3bY
Rockingham church has a service, also with Bishop John, at 3pm on Sunday afternoon to which everyone is welcome.
We also have our HIA Prayer Meeting at 6pm on Sunday evening.
Next Sunday we have a Communion Service at St Columba’s at 10.30am and Family Service at Rockingham at 3pm.
Exciting time are ahead for us at St Columba’s, especially with the visit of Bishop John to be with us next weekend.
BISHOP JOHN’S WEEKEND We have a varied programme of events (see below) lined up when Bishop John visits next weekend but in order to make them successful we do need your support. There are three things you can all do to support the weekend:
PRAY – you can do this at home (do make use of the Prayer for the Weekend ) but you can also join with us at church, tomorrow after the Healing Service at about 6pm, on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm, or on Friday morning at 8.45am with the Bishop.
INVITE – it is not too late to invite your friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, whoever to join us at one or other of the events. We have a variety so there will be something for (almost) everyone and they all promise to be enjoyable events in their own right, but with the added bonus of having an opportunity to hear the Bishop speak and ask him questions if you would like.
JOIN IN – while some events are targeted (Mens’ Breakfast, Ladies Afternoon Tea – at the request of the ladies) most are open to anyone. The murder mystery evening, for example, needs people to come along to make it work so please do SIGN UP either on the sheets in church or by replying to this message and book your place.
The full programme is as follows: FRIDAY 1st JULY 9.30 Meet with Year 5 from Woodnewton School in church 12.30 Meet Lodge Park Academy students & staff over lunch 3.00 Ladies Afternoon Tea at St Columba’s * Bishop John will speak before sandwiches, cakes & tea are shared along with conversation with Bishop John & one another. 7.00 BBQ at The Vicarage * ALL welcome if you bring a guest who doesn’t yet come to church. Bishop John will speak and there will be lots of conversation.
SATURDAY 2nd JULY 9.00 Men’s Breakfast in St Columba’s Hall * All men are invited and encouraged to bring a guest to hear and chat with Bishop John and enjoy a Full English (or Irish or Scottish or indeed a Vegetarian or Continental alternative) 11.00 Prayer on the Streets Join us in church before we head out onto our local streets with Bishop John to ask people what we can pray for them and invite them to the special service at church on Sunday. 2.30 Rockingham Castle Event This is for the people of Rockingham village but we need volunteers to help with catering and everyone to pray. 7.00 Murder Mystery Evening in St Columba’s Hall * An evening of mystery & intrigue as well as fine food & conversation. Open to all for a donation, guests are especially welcome. This Grand Dinner is set on the eve of the Queen’s Coronation and is an event on its own, so well worth inviting people to. We have included an opportunity for Bishop John to speak and chat with all the guests.SUNDAY 3rd JULY 10.30 Morning Worship at St Columba’s A special Invitation Service for family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, etc with Bishop John speaking. 3.00 Worship at St Leonard’s, Rockingham Another invitation service with Bishop John speaking and for you to pray for, go to and invite people to.
SUNDAY SERVICES Before all of the above we have services tomorrow (Sunday 26th June) as follows: 9am Holy Communion at St Leonard’s Rockingham 10.30 Holy Communion at St Columba’s with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. If you are not able to be at church tomorrow this service will be available as a livestream from 10.30 on Sunday, or it can be watched later, via this link: https://youtu.be/-uxLqGIqvNM 5pm Healing Service at St Columba’s – do come along if you or someone you know needs prayer for healing of body, mind or spirit. followed by HIA PRAYER MEETING at about 6pm including prayer for Bishop John’s Weekend
PRAYER NEWS Please pray for Isobel Wasson whose brother died this week and also for Michael Cain who is in hospital but unfortunately not able to receive visitors because of Covid on the ward.
AND FINALLY Please find the latest Puzzles and Other Stuff from Steve. It comes complete with a moving story, some wonderful testimonies of faith under persecution from Open Doors and plenty of quizzes and puzzles to keep you busy.
May God bless you all in this coming week and us, as a church, over next weekend.
Welcome to this week’s email with information about BISHOP JOHN’S WEEKEND in just two weeks time. Do have a read, think and pray about what you might come to, and who among your family & friends, neighbours & colleagues, you may invite to join you. We will be praying for the weekend in our PRAYER MEETING tomorrow evening at 6pm so please do join us if you are able. We will also have an extra Prayer Meeting on Wednesday 29th June at 7.30pm to pray for the Weekend, and on Friday 1st July we will welcome Bishop John to Corby with a time of prayer at 8.45am. And please do pray every day at home, using the Prayer for the Weekend which has been written by Patience Tafuma.
Before that we have our FATHER’S DAY SERVICE tomorrow morning at 10.30am. This will be an ALL AGE service and children of all ages are especially welcome. If you are not able to join us in church there will be a livestream available to watch from 10.30am tomorrow or afterwards. You need to go to the following link: https://youtu.be/1iMjr2_7xHI
FUNERALS THIS WEEK Tracy Ward’s funeral will be at Kettering Crematorium on Monday 20th June at 3.30pm. Everyone is welcome and Chris asks people not to wear black. Sheila O’Shea’s funeral will be at St Columba’s on Tuesday 21st June at 12 noon, followed by Committal at Shire Lodge. Again everyone is welcome and people are asked to wear bright colours. Please do keep Chris and Michael in your prayers, and also Rosemary McSherry as her sister Bridget’s funeral is next week.
NEXT SUNDAY On 26th June we have COMMUNION SERVICES at Rockingham at 9am and St Columba’s at 10.30am and also a HEALING SERVICE at St Columba’s at 5pm. Please do come along to the Healing Service if you or someone you know needs prayer for healing of body, mind or spirit, or if you want to give thanks for healing received.
BISHOP JOHN’S WEEKEND There is lots going on so do take note of all the following, for your prayers but also so that you can think what would be suitable for you to invite people to. This information will also be given out to people in church tomorrow. For the events marked * it will be helpful to have an indication of numbers so please sign up at the back of church – and don’t forget to include your guests! Those in bold are open to all, those in normal type are either for schools or exclusively for Rockingham.
FRIDAY 1st JULY 8.45 Prayer for the Weekend at St Columba’s 9.30 Meet with Year 5 from Woodnewton School in church 12.30 Meet Lodge Park Academy students & staff over lunch 3.00 Ladies Afternoon Tea at St Columba’s * Bishop John will speak before sandwiches, cakes & tea are shared along with conversation with Bishop John & one another. 7.00 BBQ at The Vicarage * ALL welcome if you bring a guest who doesn’t yet come to church. Bishop John will speak and there will be lots of conversation.
SATURDAY 2nd JULY 9.00 Men’s Breakfast in St Columba’s Hall * All men are invited and encouraged to bring a guest to hear and chat with Bishop John and enjoy a Full English! 11.00 Prayer on the Streets Join us in church before we head out onto our local streets with Bishop John to ask people what we can pray for them and invite them to the special service at church on Sunday. 2.30 Rockingham Castle Event This is for the people of Rockingham village but we need volunteers to help with catering and everyone to pray. 7.00 Murder Mystery Evening in St Columba’s Hall * An evening of mystery & intrigue as well as fine food & conversation. Open to all for a donation, guests are especially welcome. This Grand Dinner is set on the eve of the Queen’s Coronation and is an event on its own, so well worth inviting people to. We have included an opportunity for Bishop John to speak and chat with all the guests.
SUNDAY 3rd JULY 10.30 Morning Worship at St Columba’s A special Invitation Service for family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, etc with Bishop John speaking. 3.00 Worship at St Leonard’s, Rockingham Another invitation service with Bishop John speaking and for you to pray for, go to and invite people to.
This promises to be an exciting weekend, and it will be made even more exciting if we join in the various events and invite those people we know to come along too. There is nothing quite so uplifting as being part of the process of introducing someone you know to Jesus, a process that usually involves many people. The teams putting on these events will be ready, Bishop John is ready, but we all need to invite people. Remember the response to your invitation does not depend on you, AND the most unlikely people (remember Saul who became Paul) may be the ones who say Yes!
AND FINALLY
It was good to hear from Tim & Carol Derbyshire and about their work with Hope From Above in Australia last Sunday. If anyone would like a copy of their newsletter please do ask. Here is the latest HFA UPDATE including details of one of the unreached people groups that Tim & Carol were speaking about.
First of all can I thank everyone who supported our Jubilee Celebration last Sunday in any way. It was a wonderful occasion in spite of the weather! While the church has mostly been returned to normal the Art Exhibition of pictures by students at Lodge Park Academy is still on display at the back of church so do have a look tomorrow. In fact it will be possible to look at the artwork while enjoying a cup of tea or coffee after the service! Thank you to the people who have volunteered to help with refreshments, but we could still do with a few more so, if you enjoy a drink tomorrow, have a think if you can help.
We look forward to welcoming Tim and Carol Derbyshire to our service tomorrow where they will be sharing about the work they are doing with Hope From Above in Australia. This is a once in three year opportunity to hear from them at first hand, so do come along and find out more about what they do and how you can support their work.
Also in the service tomorrow will be an Act of Remembrance for the end of the Falklands War 40 years ago, in which we will be hearing from Susan Fleming about her brother Alex, and how God has been with Susan, especially in recent years.
The service will include Holy Communion and the children and young people will be preparing for next Sunday’s Fathers Day Service. If you can’t be in church tomorrow you will be able to watch a live stream of the service, either from 10.30 tomorrow or later in the day, by going to the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCBGB8BmhLY
Also tomorrow there is a Family Service at Rockingham church at 3pm, also with Tim & Carol and our regular Hope Into Action Prayer Meeting will be happening again at 6pm at St Columba’s.
UPCOMING FUNERALS Sadly several members of our church family have been bereaved recently and details of the funerals are as follows: Tracy Ward’s funeral will be at Kettering Crematorium on Monday 20th June at 3.30pm. Everyone is welcome but Chris asks people not to wear black. Sheila O’Shea’s funeral will be at St Columba’s on Tuesday 21st June at 12 noon, followed by Committal at Shire Lodge. Again everyone is welcome and people are asked to wear bright colours. Rosemary McSherry’s sister Bridget (Bridie – Bernadette’s mum) has her funeral at Our Lady’s on Tuesday 5th July at 10am and again everyone is welcome. Please do pray for God to comfort Chris, Michael and Rosemary and for all the families and friends of Tracy, Sheila and Bridie.
MEN’S GROUP Get your walking shoes on and join us for our upcoming Men’s meeting this Thursday evening at 7:30pm. James Ireland has kindly agreed to arrange a walking route for us. We’re meeting at James’ house, 7 Church Bank, Great Easton, LE16 8SN for a walk of about an hour before having a well-earned drink afterwards! For those unable to do the walk you can still come and join us – either at 7:30pm and then enjoy some time together with others who may not be walking or pop along at about 8:30 to have a drink with us. The weather looks good at the moment so should be a great time for all. Any questions or if you need a lift then contact Riaan or Kevin Montgomery (07512 822422).
GOOD NEWS Some of you will have heard that Pam Williams was admitted to Northampton Hospital last week after two mini strokes. I am pleased to say that her son phoned this morning to say that Pam is home safe and sound and to thank those people who had been praying. Please keep Pam in your prayers.
NEXT SUNDAY As mentioned above it is Fathers Day on 19th June and we have a special ALL AGE SERVICE that morning at 10.30am. So children bring your Dad to church and enjoy some time with him and your heavenly Father.
STEVE’S PUZZLES AND OTHER STUFF Please see the latest edition, which includes an interesting article about Kevin (but not our Kevin).
I hope you are all having a good weekend, celebrating both the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the Pole Fair. For me the best bit of the Fair were the people we bumped into while walking round, and the best bit of the Jubilee, so far, was the Archbishop of York’s sermon in the Thanksgiving Service on Friday. If you only saw that reported on the News I would recommend watching the full sermon on iPlayer, because while he did mention horses it was only as an illustration and most of the time he was talking about faith and Jesus!
I say the best bit of the Jubilee so far because our JUBILEE CELEBRATION is still to come tomorrow. It is a great shame that the weather forecast has changed from fine to heavy rain, but at least we know where we stand and will move everything INSIDE. However we do still want to put up a gazebo and some decorations outside to let people know there is something happening, so if you are on the set up team please do still come at 9am. We won’t need to close the whole car park, but if you are able to park further away and leave space for our guests that would be wonderful. Everyone needs to register for lunch, ideally before the service. If you are receiving this email direct you won’t need to complete a registration form as we already have your details, but you do need to register.
Just to remind you the programme is as follows: 10.45 Registration opens
11am Celebration Service
12 noon (approx) Lunch, with opportunity to register those people who arrived after the service started. This will be served in the Hall and includes a cold drink. Immediately after lunch the tea tent will be open serving hot drinks and cakes. We will start the games as soon as we have space to do so, and from about 1pm the displays will begin.
Please don’t forget to stay on at the end of the day, about 3pm, to pack away – this should be easier as we won’t have to move chairs inside.
FUNERALS
There is no date for Tracy Ward’s funeral as yet but please do keep Chris in your prayers. Shelia O’Shea’s funeral will be on Tuesday 21st June in church. It would be good if as many people as possible could come and support Mickey on that difficult occasion. And please do pray for Mickey as he adjusts to life without Sheila and as decisions are made about his ongoing care needs.
NEXT SUNDAY
We look forward to welcoming Tim & Carol Derbyshire from Hope From Above (HFA) in Australia to our HOLY COMMUNION service next Sunday morning, at 10.30am. They will be telling us more about their work and giving us lots to think and pray about. Our children and young people in Energize will be preparing for the Fathers Day Service the following week.
HOPE INTO ACTION (HIA)
There won’t be a Prayer Meeting tomorrow evening, but we will be meeting again next Sunday (12th June) at 6pm.
I look forward to seeing you at our Jubilee Celebration tomorrow.
Lots of news in this week’s email again, beginning with the sad news that Tracy Ward passed away last Sunday evening. Tracy had not been well for some time and had declined since Christmas but her passing was still sudden, although as Chris said: “she’s in a much better place now and I take some comfort that I was there for her in our safe place (home) and she didn’t suffer.” Please pray for Chris and their children and wider family and friends. There is no news as yet about when Tracy’s funeral will be.
A good time was had by all at the Jubilee Afternoon Tea at Lodge Park on Wednesday. Here is a photo of the day to get you in the mood for our
JUBILEE CELEBRATION next Sunday, 5th June. Thank you to all those who volunteered to help next Sunday, you will be contacted in the next couple of days with details of exactly what you will be asked to do, and when. If anyone else would like to help please do contact me.
Do remember that although our service, held outside weather permitting, won’t start until 11am you will need to register for lunch before that (although registration will open again after the service until we reach the 200 limit). Parking may be more difficult as the church car park will be closed, but there is space on a Sunday behind the vicarage in the Nursery Car Park. Don’t forget to come dressed up ready to have your photo taken with the Queen!
After the service Lunch will be served in the Hall. We encourage people to sit outside, but there will be a few tables and chairs in the Hall for those who will find that helpful. The Tea Tent will be open after lunch serving tea and cakes. We will begin our programme of entertainment from about 1pm until about 3.30pm.
THIS SUNDAY’S SERVICES
There will be Communion services at St Columba’s tomorrow, 29th May, at 10.30am and 5pm. There will be different sermons in the two services, so no reason not to come to both, and stay on for the HOPE INTO ACTION Prayer Meeting at 6pm. For those who are not able to be in church there will once again be a live stream of the 10.30 service available to watch at that time, or later in the day, via this link: https://youtu.be/EurDR7gTK6A
SPRING HARVEST 2023
I know we have only just come home from this year’s Spring Harvest but it is nearly time to book for next year. There is a short film about Spring Harvest for anyone who has not been before which we will show in church tomorrow or you can watch here: https://youtu.be/0zLPgMFkjlY
Next year we are planning to go to Skegness from Easter Monday 10th to Friday 14th April which is in most school holidays. We hope to be able to book apartment accommodation that costs £219 per person, where you will be sharing with others from the church family, but if you prefer just a room with bathroom then it will be £185 per person. If you want to be catered for in the church group it will cost about £10 per person extra, if you choose Butlin’s catering the costs per adult are £91 for Food Court or £119.80 for Premium. The bookings open on Wednesday 8th June so we need to know who would like to come by next Sunday 5th June and then to receive a deposit from everyone of £35 per adult and £20 per child aged between 2 – 14.
For any further details please speak to Miriam.
100 NOT OUT
Over the months since Covid started Steve has produced a magnificent 100 online publications (77 “Puzzles & Stuff” and 23 “mini SCANS”) for our instruction, entertainment, and, occasionally, frustration when we can’t solve the puzzles. This week’s offering includes background information on Philippi where our Bible readings last week and this are set, as well as puzzles and notices about upcoming events. Why not get in touch with Steve to congratulate him on his faithful service: scansmag@aol.com
SMALL ADS
We don’t usually have a small ads column in these emails, but my neighbour asked if I could advertise the following and, as I am hoping he will come to the Jubilee Celebration and to hear Bishop John, I said “Yes, of course”:
Washing Machine for Sale – BRAND NEW
Indesit 7kg white £140 o.n.o.
call 07496 037515
PCC Following our APCM last Sunday the PCC will be meeting on Tuesday 31st May at 7.30pm. Here is a copy of the APCM minutes. There are printed copies of the accounts available in church.
I start this week with an apology and a correction. Apologies for confusion caused over the day of the Men’s Group meeting – a good time was had by all on Thursday (very sorry to anyone who came on Wednesday) and the next date is Thursday 16th June for a country walk – to a pub! Full details from Kevin or Riaan.
And the correction concerns the UNITED PRAYER FOR CORBY event which is happening tomorrow (Sunday 22nd) at the knife angel but starts at 6pm (not 6.30 as given in last week’s email). The Corbychurches are joining together to pray for our town during the visit of the knife angel and asking God to bless and protect the people of Corby.
SUNDAY’S SERVICES
There is a Communion service at 9am in St Leonard’s Rockingham and Morning Worship at 10.30am in St Columba’s, Corby, together with Energize groups for children and young people. This service will be available as a live stream at 10.30am tomorrow or later:
Because of the United Prayer event in Town there is no HIA Prayer Meeting in church tomorrow.
LIZ & NOEL’S FUNDRAISING
Liz and Noel are raising money for two charities, SPECTRUM GAMING and YOUTH WORKS NORTHAMPTONSHIRE that have really helped them as a family over the last year. They would be really grateful for any donations which can be made by going to this link:
If anyone who took a Traidcraft catalogue last Sunday would like to place an order through Miriam (saving on P&P) please let her know, she will be placing an order next week. Please give Miriam details tomorrow or reply to this email. Thank you.
MINI SCANS
This week we have a mini SCANS from Steve with another tear jerking story for you.
LODGE PARK SCHOOL INVITES YOU TO THEIR JUBILEE TEA – Wednesday 25th May
There is still space if anyone would like to go to Lodge Park Academy for an AFTERNOON TEA in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Wednesday 25th May at 2pm. Please let me know if you would like to come along and I will book you in. .
ASCENSION DAY
This Thursday is Ascension Day and there will be a service of Holy Communion at St Michael’s Great Oakley at 7.30pm to which everyone is very welcome. Please let me know if you would like a lift.
NEXT SUNDAY
We have Communion services at 10.30am and 5pm next Sunday, with different sermons, so no reason not to come to both. The HIA Prayer Meeting will be happening again as well.
JUBILEE CELEBRATION
It is two weeks to our PLATINUM JUBILEE CELEBRATION on Sunday 5th June. We start with a service outside on the grass (weather permitting) at 11am, a slightly later start to give time to set up and to move neatly to the BIG LUNCH at 12 noon. We are providing a FREE lunch to the first 200 people who register from 10.45 onwards, so if you are coming or inviting people make sure to come to the service and register for lunch. Then in the afternoon there is Entertainment & Family Fun with various Community Groups. A big thank you to the people who have volunteered to help. Please do plan to come along and invite friends and family to join us for this very special occasion.
AND FINALLY
Those people who are in church tomorrow will be given a booklet of daily Bible studies by the Archbishop of Canterbury to be used in the days between Ascension Day (Thursday) and Pentecost (Sunday 5th June). This is also to encourage you to pray for five people during these days, people you might be inviting to the Jubilee Celebration or to Bishop John’s Weekend in July. If you are not in church and would like a copy please do get in touch and we can deliver one to you.
Another bumper email this week so do settle down to read about what is going on in the life of StColumba’s.
SUNDAY’S SERVICE
We are looking forward to gathering in church tomorrow for a service of Morning Worship at 10.30am led by David Bavin and with my latest sermon from the book of Ezra. We will have ENERGIZE groups for children and young people as well. For those unable to be in church you can watch an online version above. I’m sorry there is no PDF of the service this week.
HOPE INTO ACTION PRAYER MEETING
We will be meeting on Sunday evening for an hour of prayer from 6pm. This is not limited to HIA so do come along if you have any prayer requests or thanksgivings you would like to share. There won’t be a Prayer Meeting on Sunday 22nd because of a special service in town, see below.
MISSION NEWS
Here is the latest news from HOPE FROM ABOVE in Australia. Don’t forget Tim & Carol Derbyshire, who work with Hope from Above, will be with us at St Columba’s on Sunday 12th June. We have also received a letter from CMS this week thanking us for the donation we made in support of M&H who are working in North Africa. Their latest Prayer Letter is on display at the back of church – for security reasons we are unable to copy this or attach to an email, so please do look for it at the back of church. We look forward to welcoming M&H and their family to St Columba’s at the end of July.
LODGE PARK SCHOOL INVITES YOU TO THEIR JUBILEE TEA – Wednesday 25th May
As some of you know I have been visiting Lodge Park School during their lunch break most weeks of this school year as well as making some short films that they have watched during their Tutor Time. They have asked me if I know anyone who would like to join them for an AFTERNOON TEA in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Wednesday 25th May. Please let me know if you would like to come along and I will book you in.
VOLUNTEERS
Thank you to all those people who signed up last week to help as welcomers or with refreshments or with our Jubilee Celebrations. There is still room for more people to offer their services and the sheets will be available at the back of church again tomorrow.
PUZZLES
Steve’s 76th edition of Puzzles & Other Stuff is attached. He warns that you will need a tissue handy for the story of Bob!
NEXT SUNDAY
There is a Communion service at Rockingham at 9am, and a Morning Worship service at St Columba’s at 10.30am with Energize groups.
UNITED PRAYER FOR CORBY next Sunday at 6pm
The Corby churches are invited to join together to pray for our town during the visit of the Knife Angel. We will be gathering at the statue at 6pm to ask God to bless and protect the people of Corby.
AND FINALLY
A couple of weeks ago in our All age Worship we considered which celebrities were likely to be or become Christians. Of course, we quickly learnt that anyone can become a Christian. However mostpeople thought the Kardashians would be on the “not likely” list, so I had to smile when Premier News produced an article titled “The Kardashians: The Christian faith of the world’s most famous family”! You can read the story here – and you could also use it as a conversations starter with anyone you know who is a fan!
Welcome to another Saturday email and an invitation to a rather special service tomorrow at 10.30am when we will be welcoming some of Agnes Dunn’s family to join us as we dedicate a new banner they have donated to the church in memory of Agnes.
We will also have what looks like a very interesting sermon from David Bavin and a celebration of Holy Communion, as well as ENERGIZE groups for our children and young people.
Following the PCC meeting last week it was decided that with the fall in Covid infections we should no longer ask people to wear face coverings at services, but encourage anyone who would like to wear one to do so. We have also put more chairs back in church so there is less social distancing, apart from the chairs closest to the walls – please leave these for people who would like to maintain some social distance. In Communion services we will continue to share bread and wine together for the time being. We also felt that now is the time to re-introduce a team of welcomers before the service and refreshments afterwards, but we can only do these things if we have VOLUNTEERS to do them, so please do sign up when you come into church, otherwise there will be no refreshments.
For those who can’t be with us in a church tomorrow you can watch a version of the service on youtube and here is a PDF of the service as well.
SPRING HARVEST NEWS
This week’s Songs of Praise was filmed at Spring Harvest in Minehead when some of us were there so do watch at 1.20pm on Sunday and see if you can spot any familiar faces. We have the first Spring Harvest stories in our service tomorrow as well. Those people who have signed up to Spring HarvestHOME may be interested to know that all the material will continue to be availabel until 22nd May so more time to catch up on things you missed.
The HOPE INTO ACTION Prayer Meeting will happen at 6pm tomorrow evening in church.
JUBILEE CELEBRATION Sunday 5th JuneWe need lots of VOLUNTEERS to help with this day of activities including people to:make cakes in advance, serve tea and cake on the day, welcome people to the service/lunch,supervise family fun games, help with the BIG LUNCH Please sign up on the sheets in church or by replying to this email.
There is a bumper edition of PUZZLES & OTHER STUFF from Steve here, complete with a new Colour by Numbers picture. A prize awaits the first person to complete this and send to me (by email would be fastest but you can hand to me in church if you prefer).
NEXT SUNDAY
We have a service of MORNING WORSHIP at St Columba’s at 10.30am with the latest sermon in the series on Ezra.
Sorry this email is rather late coming out. Part of the reason is that I enjoyed a very good Men’s Group breakfast this morning, with good food, good company and good music! We have our next meeting at 7.30pm on Thursday 19th May to which all men are warmly invited.
SUNDAY’S SERVICE
I hope you have all had a good week and are enjoying the sunny start to the Bank Holiday weekend. Tomorrow the weather does not promise to be as good, so what better way to start the day than in church for our ALL AGE WORSHIP at 10.30am. Younger children are invited to bring any ride on cars, bikes, scooters etc ready to parade in at the start of the service – all will be explained! For those who are not able to be in church you can watch a slightly less energetic version of the service. There is also an even less energetic PDF of the service here!
PCC on WEDNESDAYOn Wednesday next week the PCC will be meeting and among other business will be discussing our ongoing Covid measures, face coverings and social distancing for example. If you have any views about these please do speak with me or any PCC member before Wednesday. We will also be discussing our plans for celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Sunday 5th June. More details will be available shortly but the outline for the day is as follows:11am Celebration Service, hopefully outside the church,12 noon BIG Community Lunch which we are providing for 200 people (this is a great opportunity to invite people to join us for worship and FREE food!), then in the afternoon we are planning a programme of entertainment, again mostly outside the church (weather permitting). This will be the last meeting of the PCC before our re-arranged Annual Meeting on Sunday 22nd May.
THIS WEEKWe have our regular HOPE INTO ACTION Prayer Meeting on Sunday at 6pm – we pray about many other concerns as well as about our HIA house so do come along if you would like to spend some time in prayer.
On Friday at 10.30am in church we have the funeral of Mandy Niemandt’s dad, Alfie, and it would be great if folk from church could come along and support Mandy and Riaan.
Next Sunday we have a Communion service at 10.30am at St Columba’s, with ENERGIZE groups for children and young people. In the afternoon at 3pm there is a Family Service at Rockingham.
Steve has said that this week’s puzzles will be delayed so I will send them out separately so as not to delay this message.
