The Mission Mentors have issued an invitation to a 5-week series of Wellbeing Workshops to be run on Tuesdays 13:30 – 15:00 hrs from 26th Jan to 23rd Feb 2021.
A Taster Day is planned for Tuesday 12th Jan 2021 at 13:30 – 15:00 on Zoom
Click on the link to the item Wellbeing Workshops on the Synod Website for Zoom details.
Our advent discussions will be on the theme of angels – a chance to explore and discover together what they are and what we believe about them.
All are welcome to join us.
Everyone is welcome to this short devotional time of worship and reflection.
Anyone who does not have internet access can still share in the service by phoning one of the two numbers. I am led to believe calls are only charged at local rate.
Please pass this on to anyone who you think may benefit.
Every blessing
Darren
Understanding how to be church both in lockdown and in whatever it will mean to be post-lockdown are issues some of us wrestle with daily. With that in mind I would like to flag up ‘Umoja’ – a series of sessions that I will be running from the end of September to help us think about what it means for us to be disciples of Jesus shaped for mission in the places where we are.
Each session will explore a theme centred on a Bible passage and draw on learning and experience from the world church. You may only want to do one session or you may feel like all 5 are relevant – that’s fine.
The sessions are spaced fortnightly to avoid overwhelming people alongside everything else but I want to stress that these are for everyone – church members, role-holders, elders and secretaries alike. For that reason it is only going to be possible to run this on zoom in the present climate. It was my hope to deliver this in person to each partnership but that won’t be possible at the moment. However I do hope that those who come are able to consider taking back what they learn to run the course or individual session themselves in their local churches.
Each session will be run in an afternoon and an evening slot to make this accessible for as many as possible. If you would like to sign up for one or more of the sessions please contact me via email or phone. I have attached a flyer.
Session 1 – God’s Blueprint for Mission – restoring the earth to how it was created to be. Genesis 1
Afternoon – 2pm Wed 30th September
Evening – 7pm Wed 7th October
Session 2 – How Jesus-shaped is my church? – being a holy people where we are. 1 Peter 2
Afternoon – 2pm Wed 14th October
Evening – 7pm Wed 21st October
Session 3 – Following in the footsteps of Jesus – learning to be good news and kingdom-minded. Mark 1; Luke 4
Afternoon – 2pm Wed 4th November
Evening – 7pm Wed 11th November
Session 4 – What can I bring him? Learning to serve within and beyond our limitations. Mark 6
Afternoon – 2pm Wed 18th November
Evening – 7pm Wed 25th November
Session 5 – Everybody needs good neighbours. God’s bias – loving people ‘on the margins’. Luke 10
Afternoon – 2pm Wed 2nd December
Evening – 7pm Wed 9th December
DATE: Thursday 19th November 2020
TIME: 7:30pm
PLACE: via Zoom (link details will be supplied nearer the time)
WHAT: Meeting of church representatives for the Partnership.
DATE: Monday 12th October 2020
TIME: 7:30pm
PLACE: via Zoom (link details will be supplied nearer the time)
WHAT: Meeting of church representatives for the Partnership.
With the ongoing Covid-19 situation, Synod Executive recognize that it is not going to be possible for us to hold our Autumn Synod meeting in its ‘normal’ format of Synod Meeting together for worship, discussion and decisions.
Nevertheless, Synod Executive feels that there is important business that needs consideration and the opportunity for further discussion and has therefore reluctantly decided that the only alternative is to hold a ‘Virtual Synod Meeting’ this Autumn.
It is envisaged that the meetings on the 10th October and 14th November will last for the morning only. It is also hoped and intended that the discussion sessions will be open to members of the local Churches in addition to the Synod Representatives. This will enable a wider and fuller discussion by members before decisions are taken at the November meeting. These sessions will last approximately one hour.
On offer is a choice of two sessions to follow a mixed course from two sources on a weekly basis. The same material is to be use in the evening and afternoon sessions. No session will last more than an hour and a half. Tuesday evenings starting at 7:30 and in the same week on Thursday afternoon at 2pm, starting on the 6th and 8th of October respectively. (Table below.)
| Tuesday 7:30 | Thursday 2pm | Week | In the beginning | Readings |
| 6th Oct | 8th Oct | 1 | Creation | Genesis 1:1–2:25 |
| 13th | 15th | 2 | The Fall | Genesis 3:1–3:24 |
| 20th | 22nd | 3 | The Flood | Genesis 6:5–7:24 |
| 27th | 29th | 4 | God’s Covenant with Noah | Genesis 8:1–9:17 |
| 3rd Nov | 5th Nov | 5 | Tower of Babel | Genesis 11:1–11:9 |
| 10th | 12th | 6 | Comments, social & review | |
| 17th | 19th | 7 | Nooma: Rain | |
| 24th | 26th | 8 | Nooma: Flame | |
| December | To be decided |
DATE: Thursday 23rd July 2020
TIME: 7:30pm
PLACE: via Zoom (link details will be supplied nearer the time)
WHAT: Meeting of church representatives for the Partnership.
We are holding some Conferences on Zoom during July to help us explore the way forward for our Partnership and its churches. Click the link to a poster outlining the details.
Partnership Conference (open to all elders and members)
Mon 13th July 6:00pm
(to generate practical ideas for the congregations and Ministry Team as we face the future together.)
Finance Mini-Conference (open to Treasurers and Bookings/Lettings Officers)
Tues 14th July 6:00pm
(taking care of finance during lockdown and afterwards)
Church Life Mini-Conference (open to Secretaries and Pulpit Supply Secretaries)
Fri 17th July 6:00pm
(leaving lockdown, restarting worship and meetings face-to-face)
