FAMILY MATTERS

IF YOU HAVE A BABY OR TODDLER come and share with other families on a Tuesday from 12.30pm at our centre, till about 2.30pm. We also have a lunch together. Also on a Thursday from 9.30am till 11am, we also meet and start with a breakfast together. BRIGHT SPARKS is the name, and our centre is the place. For further information contact our group leader, Caroline Marshall.

ADULT MINISTRIES

AS A CHURCH we are committed to serving all generations, and our adult ministries seeks to care, provide for, and support those twenty aged plus. Of course this is a massive age grouping, and a team is currently coming together to be able to serve those within this age grouping in effective ways. We hope to confirm that in the next few weeks. Here are some snaps of our Wednesday Ministry - our home and family programme. Starting at 10am we have prayer and share led by Elsie Willis. At 11am our Coffee and Chat, leading to lunch at 12noon. At 1.30pm we share for about an hour, in our mid week worship and fellowship meeting. Today, we celebrated our spring dinner, and these pictures capture some of the special time we enjoyed.

COMMUNITY FUN EVENT

OUR SENIOR LEADERS were able to share in their last community event with us, for our COMMUNITY FUN EVENT. Building on our previous community events, where we seek to provide something for the people of the community, and gift it to them, we saw about 200 people with us. With nice weather, whilst the hall was full of people enjoying refreshments, craft and more, on the playground people played, others enjoyed the bouncy castle, some played football, and others just lounged around and chatted. It was good to see so many families make their way to share with us, and see regular and new faces. We are grateful to the whole church who served in so many ways, and to new friends who also came and joined the team and helped. We thank God for this opportunity. The pictures just capture a little of the event.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS

We were thrilled again to be selected as a Salvation Army corps that delegates from the International College for Officers could attend to observe. We are so grateful for the way our friends made themselves at home, and also their comments about the way that they felt so blest sharing with us. It was very special to welcome with them their principal, Commissioner Margaret Sutherland, and to see Major Anne Read, a delegate, and one of the leaders at the Regent Hall Salvation Army Church, with them too. Here they are sharing a meal which we were pleased to prepare for them before they wended their way home.

SUNDAY 27TH APRIL 2008

TODAY was a blessing to so many of us, and we thank God for the way He moved among us. We started our day with Worship, which also included Kingdom Kids and Bright Sparks - a massive thank you to the team who minister there week in, week out. The hall was very full today, and as part of that we welcomed eight delegates from the current session from the International College for Officers who came on an observation Sunday. The meeting featured sung worship, and an all age talk from Heather which fitted in brilliantly with our thoughts throughout the morning, and with our Spring Festival thoughts. Today, being Regotion Sunday, we celebrated Spring and the work especially done through our community garden. Sara Hayward, who with her husband, Kevin, managed our allotment, spoke about the work over the last three years. What a brilliant ministry they have there (and always space for more to be involved). Ian spoke this morning contiuning thoughts from last week on keeping focussed in our Faith, and looked at 2 Corinthians, and chapter five, and what it really means to be a new creation in Christ. God's Spirit spoke in some very calm and still ways, and we thank God for the way He moved. Captain Sue sang: Breathe on me, breath of God. Other songs included:- God we will give You Glory, Light of the world, I believe Jesus saves, I know He rescued my soul, Our God is great, Everyone needs compassion, All my days and all my hours, Down at the cross where my Saviour died.

THIS SUNDAY

THIS SUNDAY WILL BE A VERY SPECIAL DAY. We start at 10.30am with our morning celebration meeting, which will be blessed with the visit of some of the current session of the International College for Officers. We are thrilled they have asked to come and visit us again! Following this, of course is our COMMUNITY FUN EVENT and we hope as many of you as possible will share this with us. It starts at 1pm and concludes at 3pm and open to the whole community. It will be a great time, and we look forward to sharing with as many as possible that can share in this

PRAYERS

This Friday a number of our children will be meeting together to work through their junior soldier preparation. This is when they explore what it means to be a soldier of Jesus Christ - a follower of Him.... and its all very exciting. Please pray for the team as they work alongside the children at this time, and of course the children themselves

DISCIPLE COLLEGE

DESPITE HOLIDAYS AND ILLNESS we still had a really good number of people sharing with us. We spent the evening sharing songs that we valued and found helpful, and then spoke together around the themes looked at in the morning meeting.

SUNDAY 20TH APRIL 2008

TAKING OUR FAITH SERIOUSLY as our teaching subject at this time, continued this morning. Our meeting saw many family members sharing together in celebration, which again featured Sally the chimp in our all age presentation, and songs including:- Great is Thy Faithfulness, Mighty to Save, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, There is a message for us all to name just some. As part of our teaching subject we looked at the imporance of Keeping Focussed and how the things of the world can so easily take us away from that focus. We looked at the importance of keeping focussed on the mission, on our responsibilities, on God, on why and how. Scripture of course backed this up in many ways....and God spoke and broke into peoples lives, which was really special. We do thank God for the way He worked among us.

PRAYER EVENT - MORE PICTURES

More pictures from the weekends 24:1 Prayer and Worship Event