Hello everyone,

After a quiet start to January there are more things starting to happen in the life of the church and further afield over the coming weeks. This Sunday we have the Commissioning of Elaine Bavin as an Anna Chaplain in our Morning Worship. Then next month the new Wednesday Course starts and we have a very special All Age service. The annual Great Easton Little Theatre Company pantomime will be happening over the next two weekends, at Great Easton and Hallaton. Details of all these can be found below.

Last week in church I shared the fantastic news that at the end of 2025 we had made a small surplus in our finances, rather than the expected deficit. THANKS are due to everyone who gave to St Columba in 2025 – without your contributions we could not have done this. We recognise that each new year brings a new challenge and to help us meet the challenge in 2026 the diocese have launched a new package called CORNERSTONE.

Also on the subject of giving we are planning a GIFT DAY to bridge the gap between the money we have and the amount we need for the first stage of our Church Improvement Project, the installation of an accessible toilet and servery at the back of church. More details about this will be coming out over the coming weeks, but please can you be praying about whether and how much you could contribute as a one-off gift to this project.

Details of all the upcoming events are as follows:

Sunday 25th January
9am – Holy Communion at St Leonard’s, Rockingham
10.30am – Morning Worship at St Columba’s – this service will include the Commissioning of Elaine Bavin as an Anna Chaplain and we will be welcoming Liz Kelly, the Diocesan co-ordinator of this ministry which offers spiritual care to people in later life, as our preacher and to share in the commissioning. ENERGIZE groups will be meeting for children and young people but will be back in church in time for Elaine’s commissioning. This service will be available to watch on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/live/HVYiMGRao2M?feature=share
6pm – Prayer Meeting at St Columba’s – everyone welcome.

Sunday 1st February
10.30am – Morning Worship at St Columba’s – we have changed the pattern of services slightly during the opening months of this year, and this service will include ENERGIZE groups who will be preparing for next week’s All Age Worship (see below for more details about that|). This service will also include the third in our series of sermons about evangelism.
5pm (please note the time) – Holy Communion at St Columba’s – everyone welcome to this quieter service which still includes sung worship and a sermon.

New Wednesday Course: DISCIPLESHIP EXPLORED
Last year we enjoyed a number of courses on Wednesday evenings at church, including the Bible Course and more recently Romans Course. This new course, Discipleship Explored, is in a similar format with a video and time for discussion and will start on Wednesday 4th February, with meetings in the morning at 10.30am or the evening at 7.30pm. The course will run until Wednesday 25th March, which includes Ash Wednesday (18th February) when, instead of the usual course format, we will have a Communion service (morning and evening) using the material from that week of the course as the subject for the sermon. We are starting before Lent so as to complete the 8 sessions before Easter, but do see this as a Lent Course and part of your spiritual discipline for that important season of the year.

Sunday 8th February
10.30am – All Age Worship at St Columba’s – this service will include a visit by some of the cast of “Sister Act” which is being performed at the Cube in April (see details below) – they will be singing three songs from the musical in the service, and joining with us as we think more about the theme of love! This would be a great opportunity to invite people along to church, so why not ask someone to join you for what promises to be a very special service.
3pm – Family Service in Rockingham Village Hall
6pm – Prayer Meeting at St Columba’s – everyone welcome.

THEATRE NEWS!
Although the GELT Pantomime “Jack and the Beanstalk” will not be performed in St Columba’s Hall this year tickets for the performances in Great Easton on Friday 30th January at 7.30pm (the other performances mentioned on the poster are sold out) or Hallaton on Saturday 7th or Sunday 8th February both at 3pm. These cost £10 for adults, £5 for children and £25 for a family of four (two adults and two children) and are available from gelttickets@gmail.com or 07771 967322. See poster for more details.
As mentioned above “Sister Act – The Musical” is being performed at the Core at Corby Cube by Rutland Musical Theatre (after a preview in our All Age service on 8th February) from Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th April (7.30 performances daily and also 2.30 on Saturday) with tickets available from the Core at Corby Cube Box Office, either in person or at Sister Act | The Core at Corby Cube

CHARITY OF THE WEEK – Anna Chaplains
As Elaine Bavin is being commissioned as an Anna Chaplain on Sunday I thought it would be good to pray for Anna Chaplains. They are appointed and sent out under the authority of their church to offer spiritual support to older people who are living in care homes and sheltered housing complexes, their relatives and staff who look after them, as well as promoting the spiritual welfare of older people in the wider community, particularly those facing challenges while living independently.
You may like to pray The Anna Chaplaincy Prayer:
Faithful God, you have promised in Christ to be with us to the end of time. Come close to those who have lived long and experienced much. Help them to continue to be faithful and, within the all-age kingdom of God, to find ways to go on giving and receiving your grace, day by day. For your glory and your kingdom.
Amen

God bless you,

Ian

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