Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37
Dear All
On Monday evening at our church meeting, we shared things which we are thankful for in our church and the way God is moving. Last Saturday afternoon, I attended the closing service for Christ Church URC. At this service they had much to give thanks for but it was all so retrospective with no hope for the future of the URC church there as they simply didn’t have a future together to look forward to. Let us take this as a reminder of how much we have to give thanks for and the hope we have in the Lord for things to come, whether that be a new minister or a continuing of the works the Lord is doing here and now.
Harvest
Thank you to everyone who helped with last week’s Harvest Thanksgiving service and lunch – it was such a joy to see so many folk gathering together and also sharing a meal and fellowship. Thank you also for all the donations for the Foodbank – we were able to take 139.45 kg to the Foodbank in the week for which they were incredibly grateful. If you still want to make a donation to the Foodbank or have your lunch to pay for (£3 per head), the Sumup machine should be working on Sunday.
Safeguarding Training
All those involved in work with children, young people or vulnerable adults need to attend a refresher safeguarding course at least once every five years. It has been a while since we did this so Matthew our lead safeguarding officer has organized for one to take place here at church on Saturday 2nd December. Please put this in your diaries.
Macmillan and St Helena Hospice ‘Ploughman’s Lunch’
Andrea would like to thank everyone who supported the event on Friday. She will let us know the final total of money raised next week. There will be some cakes available on Sunday with a donation box alongside.
Meals for the Nash family
Andrea writes “It was a delight to meet Lily Pamela Nash on Sunday at Church. Please continue to pray for them as a family. As a fellowship we offer meals to families with new babies. This time Sabrina and Matt have said if you are able to make a meal it would be very much appreciated. You can contact Sabrina directly by mobile phone to discuss what will be made. They can be labelled and put in the kitchen freezer at Church if necessary. Thank you Andrea”
Coffee and Cake on Mondays
We could do with a few more people to help with this on a rota basis. If you feel you can help (either once a month or once a fortnight please let me know.
Ladies Retreat Day 9th December
Just a reminder that there are a small number of spaces available – please do sign up so that you don’t miss out.
New Wine
The local New Wine network has two dates for your diaries. On Saturday 18th November there is to be a celebration evening at Lawford Church. The speaker for the evening is John Coles. We will put a sign-up sheet up in the next couple of weeks for folk to register their interest in coming and to enable us to car share.
The second date is the weekend of 14-16 June 2024. The Vauxhall Christian Trust Campsite and facilities at Great Wenham have been booked for a local New Wine weekend. There is space to camp, cabins for those who prefer four walls and a bed and also the option to join the weekend as a day visitor for all the sessions.
Please do put these dates in your diary.
Men’s Group
Peter and Adrian write “Here are the dates for our Homegroup and Chat and Chill up until Christmas.
Homegroup Chat and Chill
October 9th 23rd
November 13th 27th
December 11th 18th
All meetings will be at Plume Avenue from 13.30 – 15.00 ish, unless advised otherwise for trips out.
Please feel free to come along to any of the dates. Looking forward to getting together again.
Peter and Adrian”
This week
There will be a prayer meeting on Wednesday morning at 9.30 am. Zoom details will be e-mailed early in the week. There will be no Saturday morning prayer meeting on 7th October.
On Saturday 7th October, the leadership team will be going to Tiptree to meet with their leadership team to pray and talk through the appointment processes.
With love and blessings.