Sunday Service

Category: Sunday Service

25th December 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 25 December 2021

Dear St Columba’s Church Family,

First of all may I wish each and every one of you, and your families, a very happy and blessed Christmas.
I just wanted to remind you that we have four services coming up in church and you are welcome to all or any of the following:

TODAY at 4.30pm CHRISTINGLE SERVICE (with a few changes from usual to make it safe for everyone). If you would like to make a donation to the Children’s Society and can’t be at the service there are envelopes you can use at the back of church.

TODAY at 11.15pm MIDNIGHT COMMUNION

TOMORROW (Christmas Day) at 10am ALL AGE COMMUNION 

and on SUNDAY (Boxing Day) at 10.30am CAROLS & COMMUNION

For those unable to join us in church there is a link to watch a version of the Christmas morning service online.

CHRISTMAS CARDS

If you are coming to church do look on the table at the back to see if there are any Christmas cards for you.

HOPE FROM ABOVE

Carol Derbyshire has written from Australia to thank us for our gift to Hope from Above:

Dear Friends at St Columba’s,

Please excuse us for the late acknowledgement of your wonderful gift. Thank you for your gift of £1500 which is amazing, it is an answer to our prayers and our trust in God that He will indeed supply all our needs.  We have come to the end of the year praising God for His provision and help throughout this strange and unprecedented time.  

So much has been achieved, often in surprising ways we could not have planned or expected.  This week and last we’ve had two engineering students back with us, both on holiday from their university courses and keen to use their skills for God’s purposes.  Their timing was perfect.  The test water drone positioned on a nearby ‘pond’ was producing strange results.  The guys helped a staff member retrieve it from the lake, pulled it apart and determined the problem.  It was soon back on the lake to continue its job.  They also managed time for some balloon inflation tests today, in preparation for work next year.  

We’ve heard recent stories of amazing answers to prayer as the gospel has reached the unreached in unexpected ways; one being through a government placed satellite internet tower in the Amazon jungles enabling tribal men and women to hear the gospel in their own language.  Our God is amazing.

May you know His peace and grace at this wonderful Christmas time as we remember the coming of Emmanuel, God with us.

Kind regards,

Carol

HOPE INTO ACTION

Although there are no HIA Prayer Meetings for the next two Sundays (26th Dec and 2nd Jan) there is still an opportunity of supporting them by making a 

financial donation to St Columba’s to enable us to buy things that are needed in the house. There is a list at the back of church if you would like to contribute the cost of a particular item, BUT we do not need any items just the money to buy them.

May God bless you at this special time of year.

Ian

01536 400225

07903 644609

12th December 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 12 December 2021

Hello again everyone,
Once again as Christmas approaches we are entering a season of uncertainty over Covid, this year because of the Omicron variant. I have asked if PCC members who are in church tomorrow morning could meet for a short time after the service to discuss the implications of this, particularly for our Christmas services (see below). If you have any comments about this please do let me know.

For the moment the only change in the rules is that face coverings are now mandatory again in church, except for those with medical exemptions, and for people who are speaking or leading sung worship. This should not affect us too much as we have encouraged mask wearing for the last few months.

Above all, please pray for us and all churches that we make wise decisions to enable people to celebrate Christmas safely and well. 

One other matter for prayer is that Elaine Bavin’s father died on Wednesday, so please uphold Elaine, as well as David and James, and all Elaine’s wider family in prayer.  

SUNDAY SERVICE

This week we have a service of Holy Communion and you are welcome to join us in church for this at 10.30 or watch the online version via the youtube link below. I should warn you that I am sending this message out before I have finished editing the films, so don’t rush to watch immediately as most of the service won’t be there! There is also the usual PDF version of the service attached (which is all complete). If you are worshipping at home do make sure you have some bread and wine or fruit juice so you can join in Communion.

HOPE INTO ACTION

We have our regular Prayer Meeting at 6pm on Sunday evening and I look forward to seeing as many people as possible there.

FOOD BANK

First of all a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Food Bank during this year. Food Bank have given me an updated list of items needed, and not needed. Having said that they were so busy last Wednesday morning that the cupboard here at St Columba’s is almost bare! This will be re-stocked ready for next Wednesday, the last Food Bank session here before Christmas, but if you are able to bring in any of the following at any time they will be very useful: tinned fish, tinned fruit, coffee, long life juice. squash, UHT milk, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, baby wipes.Items that they have plenty of include: cereal, soup, beans, pasta sauce, pasta, tinned vegetables,

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

Assuming we do not cancel any of our services because of Covid, in which case I will advise you by email, we are planning the following: 

Thursday 16th at 6pm COMMUNITY CAROLS with choirs from Rockingham Primary School and Lodge Park Academy.

Sunday 19th at 10.30am NATIVITY with our children and young people performing and at 5pm CAROL SERVICE a traditional candlelit service

Christmas Eve 4.30pm CHRISTINGLE with a collection for the Children’s Society, 11.15pm MIDNIGHT COMMUNION

Christmas Day 10am ALL AGE COMMUNION

Sunday 26th 10.30am COMMUNION & CAROLS 

May God bless you and watch over you in this coming week.

Ian

01536 400225

07903 644609

5th December 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 5 December 2021

Hello everyone, 

Welcome to our weekly email for the first Sunday in December. There are details of our Christmas Services below so do make a note of them and plan to come along and join in the celebrations. This week we continue with our Advent services and everyone is welcome to attend our service in church at 10.30am on Sunday. Please do wear a face covering unless you are exempt. Although these are not mandatory in churches I think it is only wise that we follow this sensible precaution. The children and young people will be continuing with their preparations for the Nativity (see below).

For those who are not able to attend the service in church you can watch on youtube.Alternatively you can read through the service here. If you are at home you may like to create your own Advent Crown, with four candles (usually red) in a circle around one centre candle (usually white). There is a reminder in this week’s service about the meaning of the first two candles.

I have not long been home from the HOPE INTO ACTION Training Day which went really well. We are excited now for the arrival of our first tenants, although aware that we need to be patient as there is still quite a lot of work that needs completing in the house. We will have our usual PRAYER MEETING tomorrow evening at 6pm. 

On the subject of prayer, please pray for Tim Derbyshire who starts his journey back to Australia today having spent a couple of weeks with his Dad, leaving cannot have been easy as Tim knows he may not see his Dad again. Also remember the family of Barry Britten, whose funeral is on Thursday, especially his wife Evelyn, daughter Julie and grandchildren Ashleigh and Cameron. Please pray too for Sue Scholes as her Kidney function is now very low, although she is not yet starting dialysis and hopes to be able to increase her kidney function and avoid dialysis. 

STEVE’S PUZZLE AND OTHER STUFFThe latest edition (no 64) is here. This will be the last edition of the year, but do look out for the CHRISTMAS MAGAZINE which will be out in print in a couple of weeks. 

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

Thursday 16th December at 6pm COMMUNITY CAROL SERVICE with choirs from Rockingham Primary School and Lodge Park Academy, as well as congregational singing.

Sunday 19th December at 10.30am NATIVITY SERVICE with our children and young people’s presentation of the Christmas story.

Sunday 19th December at 5pm CANDLELIT CAROL SERVICE – our traditional carol service.

Christmas Eve at 4.30pm CHRISTINGLE SERVICE with the singing of Away in a Manger by the light of our Christingle candles.

Christmas Eve at 11.15pm MIDNIGHT COMMUNION – a traditional service to celebrate the coming of our Saviour into the world.

Christmas Day at 10am (note the time) ALL AGE CELEBRATION with Communion

Sunday 26th December at 10.30am CAROLS AND COMMUNION

So much to look forward to, but we are not there yet, so do take note of William’s sermon this week and take some time in Advent to quietly reflect and let the Lord speak to you ‘deep within’ and refresh your soul.

May God bless you in this Advent season, 

Ian 

01536 400225

07903 644609

28th November 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 28 November 2021

The Lord is coming, be watchful and alert! 

Yes, that’s right, it is Advent Sunday!

I almost can’t quite believe that this time of year is upon us already, but here we are, at the beginning of our Advent season, remembering the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and also anticipating and looking forward to His second coming. Advent is that season of both remembering and anticipation. Many of course will be anticipating Christmas this year, particularly after the disappointment for many last year of not being able to celebrate together with friends and family. I hope and pray that this year we will be able gather together more and celebrate the wonder of the birth of Jesus. News of a new concerning Covid-19 variant has of course hit the headlines in the last day or so and we will monitor the situation carefully and respond to any advice given from the government on anything we might need to do. 

Do keep an eye out then for news of all that’s going to be happening, we will keep you updated over the next couple of weeks about all of our Christmas gatherings.

All being well there will be lots on and plenty to get involved with! I must also mention the Christmas Fayre which has kicked off this first Advent weekend this morning in the Church Hall. Things looked to be in full swing when I was there earlier, plenty of stalls, Christmas music playing and some fantastic Christmas jumpers being worn as well. There was also theHopefully many of you will have been able to pop along and see all that was on offer.  

Sunday Service 

We have a service of Holy Communion on this Advent Sunday, 10:30am at St Columba or it’s available online. A PDF version is available here. Energize is back and we’re looking forward to the Nativity service they’re busy planning for – so our children and young people will be going out on Sunday morning. This Sunday’s reading and sermon may seem an unusual way to be kicking off what many regard as the beginning of the Christmas season but for us as the body of Christ it is a timely reminder of our faith and our anticipation of Jesus and His return, Ian’s preach brings us a powerful message at the start of this new Church year.  

Hope into Action

We have our Hope into Action prayer meeting on Sunday evening at 6pm as normal and are looking forward to our  Training Day next Saturday 4th December – it’s not too late to sign up to this, you can do so in church – there’s a sign-up sheet at the back or have a word with Ann Rigby, Paul Millen or John Lynch. 

Steve’s Puzzles

There’s another great set of Puzzles and a report on the Tearfund Quiz night with some great photos in there too – see if you can spot yourself if you were there! 

Last but not least

If you are able to join us on Sunday morning at 10:30am for the service, it would be wonderful to see you there, but whether you can make it or not do have a good, a Godly and a blessed week, may God be with you and the Holy Spirit go with you where ever you are.

Blessings 

Kevin

21st November 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 21 November 2021

Hello again everyone,

I begin with the sad news that Barry Britten, husband of Evelyn, father to Julie and grandfather to Ashleigh and Cameron died suddenly on Monday. Please remember Evelyn and all her family in your prayers. Please also pray for Tim Derbyshire who has flown home from Australia to visit his father who is nearing the end of his life, for Kevin who is feeling fairly rough and spent most of yesterday in bed, and also for Patience who is being confirmed at St Michael’s, Great Oakley at 3pm tomorrow afternoon.

Tearfund BIG QUIZ is tonight at 7pmIf you are planning to come, we look forward to seeing you later. Don’t forget to bring some snacks and drinks, and some money to buy raffle tickets and donate to Tearfund. Donations can be made in advance, and even if you are not coming to the Quiz you can donate using the JustGiving page here:https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stcolumba-corby?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=stcolumba-corby&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=4a7f9407c65241b0b3efe8996bb26acf.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to Tearfund, so it’s the most efficient way to give – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

We do encourage people to wear a face covering when moving around in the Hall, but you don’t have to wear them while sitting down.

Sunday Service

This week’s service includes a sermon from Linda as we celebrate Christ the King. Everyone is welcome to join us in church at 10.30am on Sunday for the service, or you can watch online. There is also a PDF version of the service available. Don’t forget that ENERGIZE has started again so children and young people will be going out during the service to make plans for our Nativity next month.

SCANS

In church this week there will be a new printed edition of SCANS which is available to everyone FREE of charge. For those who can’t get to church there is a mini-SCANS here. Steve has been extra busy this week because they are different!

Shoeboxes

Thank you to everyone who helped with the shoebox collection over the last week . Don’t forget that tomorrow is the last Sunday you can bring boxes back to church, but we will be open again on Monday morning from 9am to 1pm for any last minute contributions!

Christmas Fayre

Next Saturday 27th November is our Christmas Fayre. Contributions of Raffle Prizes or Homemade Cakes are welcome from 9am next Saturday. Please do plan to come along and encourage friends and family to join you. There will be Bacon Rolls as usual and many of the regular stalls, but NO bric-a-brac stall this year, so please don’t bring anything of that nature. 

Hope into Action

Our regular HIA Prayer Meeting will be happening on Sunday evening at 6pm and don’t forget that the TRAINING DAY is on Saturday 4th December. This is for anyone who is at all interested in being involved with the house once the tenants move in. Coming to the Training Day does not commit you to anything and not everyone who does the training will be able to be involved with our first tenants. More details from Ann Rigby, Paul Millen or John Lynch.

And finally I must thank you all once again for your prayers for my family following my Dad’s death earlier this month. His funeral will be on Friday in Bedford, where he was born and spent almost all of his life.

May God bless you all in this coming week,

Ian

01536 400225

07903 644609

14th November 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 14 November 2021

Hello everyone, First of all can I thank you for your kind messages of condolence following my Dad’s death. It is so good to know that you are praying for us all. We have heard some lovely stories about him, including as a youngster playing with his cousins and as a trusted colleague at work who was turned to in time of need. These are insights we could not have known and they are such a consolation. I must also thank you for celebrating my installation as a Canon – and for the cake we enjoyed after church last Sunday, thank you Sheila.

If you are in church tomorrow you will see that William and I have decided to robe as it is Remembrance Sunday, as I robed for the Act of Remembrance at Lodge Park School at 11am on Thursday, and you will see the Canon’s badges on my scarf! 

Everyone is very welcome to the service in church tomorrow at 10.30am, with the two minutes silence at as close to 11am as we can make it. Can I remind parents that ENERGIZE, our groups for children and young people, will be meeting during the service tomorrow so do please come along . If you are not able to be in church the service is available online. If you start watching at 10.30am you should reach the silence at 11am.

The service is also available as a PDF which is available here. 

We still need volunteers to sit in church for an hour or so between 9am and 1pm every day over this coming week to receive shoebox donations. Please either sign up on the list in church or reply to this email if you can help – even one hour on one day will be a help. 

Our BIG QUIZ NIGHT is going to happen in just one week’s time on Saturday 20th November at 7pm in the Church Hall. Thank you for all those who have signed up, but is is not too late. Once again use either the sign up sheet in church or reply to this email. And don’t forget to bring along your own drinks and snacks as well as some means of donating to Tearfund. Thank you for those people who have signed up to help with the FAYRE on Saturday 27th November from 10am – but there is still space for more, again either sign up in church or reply to this email. 

And don’t forget HOPE INTO ACTION. The Prayer Meeting is happening as usual at 6pm on Sunday and there is still time to sign up for the training Day on Saturday 4th December.

Also available are the latest online Puzzles and Other Stuff from Steve, with a great story fro Remembrance Sunday. And look out for a new edition of print SCANS coming soon. Don’t forget to contact Kevin as I won’t be available some of the this coming week. He can be contacted at: 01536 647727 / 07512 822422 or email kfm@thedigitalchristian.com 

And finally, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who sponsored Jo as she BRAVED THE SHAVE to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. You can see before and after photos below With best wishes Ian

7th November 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 7 November 2021

Dear Friends at St Columba’s,

I know that word has reached some people but probably not everyone so I must tell you that my father died on Wednesday. He was 93 and his body and mind had been declining for the last couple of years, but it was only in the last 10 days that he became confined to bed. A number of friends and family members were able to visit him in those 10 days, and my brother and I spent a special evening together with him the day before he died. He had a strong faith and was able to receive Communion, which I am sure was a comfort to him. Thank you so much to all those who have been praying for him, and for me and my family, over these last couple of weeks. Please continue to hold us in your prayers as we await his funeral.

I am trying to lighten my load over the next couple of weeks, so it may be a better option to contact Kevin (01536 647727 / 07512 822422 or email kfm@thedigitalchristian.com) if you need to speak with someone from church. The other change that you will notice is that there is no youtube version of Sunday’s service available today, but there will be livestreams available of both our services tomorrow, see the details below. This is probably a better way for people at home to  share in a service of All Age Worship in any event.

SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE 10.30am

This week we have a service of All Age Worship looking at the very topical issue of Climate Change. Everyone is welcome to attend this service in church, and it would be especially good to see some children, young people and families as there is lots of interactivity included. As I mentioned above this will be available as a livestream direct from church tomorrow morning at 10.30 (you will be able to watch later in the day as well). There is a PDF version of the service available as well.

 
MEMORIAL SERVICE 4pm

Tomorrow afternoon we have our Memorial Service in which we especially remember those who have passed away over the last two years and we are looking forward to welcoming many visitors to the service. There is still plenty of room for any of you who would like to come to the service, either to remember someone who has recently passed away or someone you may have lost many years ago. This service will also be available to watch as a livestream by going to this link (which will be live from 4pm tomorrow):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYwJfQMbYpk

HOPE INTO ACTION

Our regular Hope into Action Prayer Meeting will be back at the usual time of 6pm tomorrow. Don’t forget that there is still opportunity to sign up to help with the decorating and maintenance of the house, as well as to join the Friendship & Support team. We have a training day on Saturday 4th December for anyone who may be interested in that – attending the training does not commit you to being on the team. Please sign up on the sheet in church or reply to this email if you are interested.
We have a number of other events coming up so do make a note of the following:

ST COLUMBA MEN’S MEETING

All men in our church are invited to a meal to launch our Men’s Ministry THIS Friday, 12th November, at 7pm in the Church Hall. For catering purposes we need to know who will be joining us for this meal so please RSVP to Kevin: 01536 647727 / 07512 822422 or email kfm@thedigitalchristian.com or you can sign the sheet in church tomorrow.

TEARFUND BIG QUIZWe are looking forward to holding a scaled down version of this on SATURDAY 20th NOVEMBER at 7pm. Please sign up to let us know you are coming, either on the sheet in church or by replying to this email. Because of Covid we are asking people to bring their own drinks and snacks and as a result we won’t charge to come along but will take donations on the door and after we have watched the film about Tearfund’s work during the interval. We hope to have a raffle as well to raise a little more money for Tearfund. You can watch a film about the Quiz here: https://vimeo.com/585835694/cc01acd62b

CHRISTMAS FAYRE

This will be happening on SATURDAY 27th NOVEMBER from 10am. If you are available to help with the day, or before or after, please again sign up on the sheet in church or by replying to this email. Also if you, or someone you know, would like a table at the Fayre please do get in touch.

SHOEBOXES

Please note that the time for returning Shoeboxes is drawing near, not just for us but for lots of other people who will be dropping their boxes off at St Columba’s. James would be delighted if anyone could volunteer to be in church to receive boxes during the week beginning 15th November. We will be open every morning 9 till 1 during that week and there is a rota in hourly blocks available for people to sign up. And don’t forget to return your shoeboxes by Sunday 21st November.

Extra Info
Please find available the latest Prayer Letter from Tim & Carol Derbyshire working with Hope from Above in Australia as well as Steve’s latest “Puzzles and Other Stuff” which includes lots of dates for your diaries, not just the ones mentioned above.

AND FINALLY

Our daughter Jo is about to BRAVE THE SHAVE to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. She will do this on Wednesday, the same day her aunt has her second round of chemotherapy. She is also donating her hair to the Little Princess Trust who make wigs for children and young people. You can find out more, and donate, by going to: https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/joanna-pullingerAnd as Jo says, thank you so much.

Don’t forget next Sunday is Remembrance Sunday, and our service will include the traditional two minutes silence at 11am

. 
May God be with you all,

Ian

31st October 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 31 October 2021

Hello everyone, First let me remind you all that we have an extra hour in bed tonight as the clocks go back. That’s the good news, the less good news is that sunset is at 4.30 something on Sunday, and the dark evenings will truly be upon us. To help compensate we have a lot going on at church over the next month, so do read all the details below. Of course, all these activities are subject to Covid, and with that in mind I do encourage people to continue to wear your face covering in church, unless your were exempt from doing so. This is a simple precaution we can take to protect others and to make sure that our church is, and remains, open as a safe place to worship our God. 

SUNDAY SERVICE 

This week’s service is HOLY COMMUNION and everyone is welcome to join us in church at 10.30am. If you aren’t able to join us in church then you have two options for worshipping at home, and if you do that don’t forget to have some bread and wine (or fruit juice) available. You can watch the service or you can read the service here. 

LIGHT PARTY

Tomorrow is, as anyone who has been in a shop recently will know, Halloween. As Christians we believe in celebrating the light rather than the dark, so as an alternative to all the usual activities of this evening we are inviting all children and families to join us for our LIGHT PARTY DISCO in church from 5pm to 6.30pm tomorrow evening. The flyer asks encourages everyone to wear something bright and to enjoy glowsticks, neon balloons, photo booth, sensory area and more. If you need any more details do contact Kevin on 07512 822422. 

HOPE INTO ACTION

Because of the Light Party our regular HIA PRAYER MEETING will be at 7pm tomorrow. It was great that so many people came to hear Matt Morton from HIA at last week’s meeting and I do encourage them, and anyone else who may be interested, even a little interested, to sign up for the FREE training day on Saturday 4th December – this is for anyone who wants to be part of the Friendship & Support Group. We also need volunteers to help with the practical tasks of decorating the house before the tenants move in, and maintaining both the house and garden afterwards. Please use the sign up sheet at the back of church.

SUNDAY 7th NOVEMBER 

Next Sunday we have two services. At 10.30am we will have an ALL AGE service looking at climate change, so if that is an issue you care about – come along, and if it is not an issue you care about – come along, and find out why, as Christians, we should! Then at 4pm in the afternoon we have our MEMORIAL SERVICE when we remember those people who have passed away, especially in the two years since we last had such a service. But grief is something that never goes away so everyone is welcome to join us and light a candle as a way of remembering those we love but see no longer.

SUNDAY 14th NOVEMBER This is REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY when our 10.30 service will include the traditional two minute silence to remember all those who have died in the service of their country. As well as remembering those involved in military service we will also have a special focus this year on those who have served their country so well over the months of the Covid pandemic.

SATURDAY 20th NOVEMBER at 7pm This is the date for our TEARFUND BIG QUIZ and you can see a promotional film about it here: https://vimeo.com/585835694/cc01acd62b The quiz will be simplified this year because of Covid, so we won’t be providing food or drink, but you are welcome to bring your own drinks and snacks. As a result we won’t charge to come along but will take donations on the door and after we have watched the film about Tearfund’s work during the interval. We hope to have a raffle as well to raise a little more money for Tearfund.

SATURDAY 27th NOVEMBER 10am – CHRISTMAS FAYRE If you, or someone you know, would like a table please do get in touch. We hope to have all the usual stalls and to be able to welcome the community to join us for all the fun of the Fayre, BUT we need your help so please do get in touch, or sign up on the list in church, if you are able to help.

ENERGIZE 

This week’s ENERGIZE resources are here with a story to celebrate the resurrection. This is the last week we will include these as we are starting to provide children’s activities in church again from 7th November (ALL AGE SERVICE) and then ENERGIZE again from 14th NOVEMBER. AND FINALLY Steve’s latest collection of “Puzzles and Other Stuff” (the sixtieth – thank you Steve for keeping us all amused, entertained and informed) is here. 

God bless you all in this coming week, 

Ian 

01536 400225

07903 644609

24th October 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 24 October 2021

Hello again everyone and welcome to a packed email! 

I begin with some good news of an answer to prayer. Patience contacted me on Monday to say that her youngest son Ethan was in hospital and on oxygen. I asked some people to pray and within 90 minutes he was off oxygen and the following day was discharged from hospital. Praise God. 

SERVICES THIS WEEK 

This week’s service is for Bible Sunday and has been prepared by David with a sermon by William. You are all welcome to attend the service in church at 10.30am on Sunday in church  or watch online. There is also a PDF version available. 

For anyone who would like a quieter or earlier service, or indeed a Communion service, we have Communion at Rockingham at 9am tomorrow, with William preaching the same sermon. 

HOPE INTO ACTION

This Sunday, 24th October, we welcome Matt Morton from Hope Into Action to our HIA Prayer Meeting at 6pm in church. Matt will be explaining the vision behind Hope into Action houses, and the vital role played by the Friendship and Support Group. If you come to this meeting it does not commit you to anything but it is the best way of finding out what is, and is not, involved. If you are interested but can’t get out at 6pm on Sunday you can watch Matt via Zoom by going to this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83597475228?pwd=VytUK0FvcFpNRzFqeVY4YjFyaWZMUT09 

Please note that, as well as volunteers to serve on the Friendship and Support Group, we also need people to help decorate the house in Stevenson Way. If you can help in either way there is a sign up sheet at the back of church or you can contact me.Please note that next week’s HIA Prayer Meeting will be from 7pm to 8pm because of the: 

LIGHT PARTY 

Next Sunday, 31st October, we are pleased to be holding a LIGHT PARTY for children and families in the church from 5pm to 6.30pm. More details are on the the poster, which you can also forward to anyone who you think might be interested. This promises to be an exciting time and a great alternative to Halloween. If you have any questions please contact Kevin on 07512 822422 

ENERGIZE There are some new children’s resources here, looking at the story of the Cross this week and then the Resurrection next week. After that we are looking forward to re-starting our children’s work in church, beginning with a genuinely ALL AGE service on Sunday 7th November and then ENERGIZE groups will meet again on 14th November.

MINI SCANS Steve has produced another mini SCANS for us this week which is here. This includes a short article by Bishop John, together with a prayer, for the COP 26 Climate Change conference in Glasgow starting next Sunday – I do encourage you to pray for this conference, both in this week before the Conference and while it is happening.

STEWARDSHIP LETTERS

Our Treasurer James Ireland has written to all church members and these letters will be in church for people to collect on Sunday. I would like to echo James’ words of thanks for everyone’s generosity over the last 18 months. Now is the time to prayerfully and thoughtfully review our giving to St Columba’s, which for some may mean a reduction, which is not a problem because we trust that others in our church family will be able to increase their giving. You can watch my sermon from 12th September, when I spoke about giving, here: 

MEMORIAL SERVICE

On Sunday 7th November at 4pm we will be holding our Memorial Service to remember those who we love but see no longer. Those who have been bereaved over the last two years will receive an invitation but everyone is welcome whenever you were bereaved. There will be opportunity to light a candle in memory of those you are remembering. Please do share this information with anyone you know who might find this service helpful. I finish with an announcement from the Bishop:”The Revd Ian Pullinger has been appointed honorary Canon of Peterborough Cathedral. This is in addition to Ian’s current roles and responsibilities. He will be installed in the Cathedral in November” The important part of that announcement is that it is “in addition”, I’m not going anywhere, and as an Honorary position is not demanding in terms of time, but a recognition of any contribution I have made to the life of the Diocese. I’m pleased that our churchwardens, John and Janet, will be able to join me in the Cathedral for the installation. Unfortunately because of restrictions on numbers I can’t extend the invitation to you all. May God bless you all in this coming week,

Ian

01536 400225

07903 644609

17th October 2021

By Kevin Montgomery in Sunday Service on 17 October 2021

Hello again everyone, 

This has been a busy week for me with, unusually, two trips away from Corby, including an overnight stay at Launde Abbey. This was for a meeting with the Bishops, Archdeacons and Rural Deans, where we met Revd Alison Booker who will be taking over as our Archdeacon in the New Year, following the retirement of Gordon Steele at the end of this month. 

THIS WEEK’S SERVICES

Everyone is welcome to our services in church tomorrow at either 10.30am or 5pm. They are both Communion services with Rosie preaching the final sermon in our series looking at the book of James. For those who can’t make it to church there are the usual options, you can read the service here or you can watch the service on youtube. Don’t forget to have some bread and wine available for Communion. 

HOPE INTO ACTION

We have our usual HIA Prayer Meeting in church after the 5pm service on Sunday and then next Sunday, 24th October, we look forward to welcoming Matt Morton from HIA to the Prayer Meeting. Matt will be telling us all about the Friendship and Support Group which is so important to the success of the house. As we don’t yet know who the tenants will be, or anything about them, even if they will be men or women, we would like a good number of people to come along to this meeting so we can then select those who are most suitable to work with our first tenants.Please note the Prayer Meeting on 31st October will be at 7pm for one week only. 

LIGHT PARTY

The reason for a later start for the Prayer Meeting is because we are hoping to hold a children’s LIGHT PARTY on 31st October. Susan Fleming has been contacting families about this, but if you are reading this and would like to know more please do get in touch with Susan, Kevin or myself. More details will be available next week. 

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

You can watch a film about the annual shoebox distribution project, which is sure to inspire you to get involved, by watching this video

Those of you who are coming to church on Sunday will have the opportunity to collect an empty Christmas Shoebox for you to fill for children around the world who will not receive much in the way of presents this Christmas. Do make sure you also pick up a leaflet that says what can, and importantly what cannot, go in the shoebox. If you are not in church and would like an empty shoebox to fill do get in touch and we can arrange to deliver one to you. ALL SHOEBOXES NEED TO BE RETURNED TO CHURCH BY SUNDAY 15th NOVEMBER.

ENERGIZE

There are some new ENERGIZE resources here for this week looking at the story of Jesus calming the storm. 

PUZZLES

We have another great set of Steve’s puzzles available here. 

NEXT MONTH

On Sunday 7th November at 4pm we will be holding our service to remember those who we love but see no longer. This service will involve invitations for all those who have been bereaved during the Covid pandemic, including people who were not able to hold services in church, but , as ever, everyone is welcome whenever you were bereaved. There will be opportunity to light a candle in memory of those you are remembering. Please do share this information with anyone you know who might find this service helpful. May God be with you all in this coming week. 

Ian 

01536 400225