Christians are called to move to a different beat. This includes different values, different priorities, different understandings of relationships, even different understanding of time. Take the church calendar. The church year starts not with New Years Day, but with Advent, 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas Day in which we prepare ourselves for the coming of the King.
This makes this Sunday the last Sunday in the year of 2007. Ending a year is a logical time to pause, to look back. This is the focus of our services in this week.
In order to help us pause and look back, ministry leaders and staff and others have spent hours summarising their ministry areas over the year gone. In the foyer are lots and lots of displays from all the various parts of our life. The invitation is for you to pause and look back by walking through these displays. You might want to pause at each one, giving God the glory for the year past. You might want to pray for that ministry in the year ahead, using the words of Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, all who do want God commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility.
This year, as a way of honouring God for the year past, we are taking up a special thanks offering. (If you are visiting feel free to let this go past.) This is in the form of a second and separate offering and is focused on our building project. Information has been available for the last 5 weeks, with the invitation to each of us to pray and consider how we might be involved. Now is the time for us to respond, using the white “Building Project Pledge” envelopes and the pink “Pledge Response Form” (enclosed in the Building Project Information Pack).
Sundays @ 10.30am
Sung worship, quality input, children’s programme, creative worship responses.
First Sunday of the month @ 7pm
Sung worship, Bible meditation, reflective spaces to respond.
Second, third and fourth Sundays @ 7pm
Theme based, "menu" includes food, quiz, Bible wisdom, movie clips and more.
Tuesdays @ 8 pm
A question (your question?) discussed together, food and drink, regular social evenings.
Third Wednesday @ 7.30pm
(+ Sunday 11 days later @ 5.30pm)
Art, readings, space and time for personal reflection.
Third Sunday at 3 pm.
Hymns, testimony, teaching, afternoon tea.