Weekly News 2nd October 2016/ Quiet Day

QUIET DAY “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11: 28-30

 If those verses resonate with you, then I am pleased to let you know that John Nuttall will be visiting us again on the weekend of 12-13 November. On the Saturday, he will lead a ‘time of retreat’, involving quiet, music, space for reflection, worship, ministry, and teaching. He also joins us for our 10:00am service, at which he will be speaking and playing some of his own music.

We will choose the venue for the ‘Quiet Day’ on the Saturday based on the number of people who would like to attend. Please would you let Jon know whether you would like to come in the next couple of weeks (even if you can’t definitely commit), so that a decision can be made. Thank you.

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Weekly News 25th September 2016/ Harvest Collections

HARVEST COLLECTIONS As we celebrate Harvest next Sunday, we will continue what we have done in years gone by and look to contribute to the needs of others both nearby, and further afield.

We’re encouraging everyone to give generously towards the following:

1. A food collection for the Salvation Army in Bromley. They have asked for tinned fish, meat and vegetables (less beans, soup and pulses as they get plenty of those), and Fray Bentos pies and ravioli are also much appreciated;
2. A money collection for Tearfund and their Middle East Emergency Appeal, through which they are trying to provide access to safe water, shelter and vital essentials to the millions of people from Syria and Iraq, who have fled their homes to escape IS militants.

Thank you for all your support.

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Weekly News 18th September 2016/ All Saints Update

ALL SAINTS UPDATE We have received confirmation this week that completion of the sale of the All Saints site is scheduled for 8 October. From that date Regalpoint Homes (WW) Limited will assume ownership of the land from the Catholic Diocese.

They anticipate that works on the site are likely to commence in early 2017, but at this point, no timeframe for completion of the project. The appeals procedure has provided Regalpoint with an insight into how the local Planning Department are viewing matters. As such, they now think it might well be possible to secure planning permission for the development of a church building, located in a number of possible positions close to St John’s, if we were interested!?

You will appreciate that there are a whole host of questions attached to such a proposal. At this early stage, we are asking you to keep praying about something that has shifted from the highly speculative into real discussions. We will keep you posted.

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Weekly News 11th September 2016/ Response to Serving Opportunities

RESPONSE TO ‘SERVING OPPORTUNITIES’ Before the Summer break, we said that we would follow up in the Autumn with a summary of how the church responded to the invitation to consider whether there might be some roles people can take on in the future.

I will outline that response this Sunday morning and some of the implications for us as a church. If you are unable to be there Sunday morning, please can I encourage you to find out what is said from someone who is able to make it.

There are challenges before us that are much better confronted if we take them on together, and that begins with as many people as possible having a sense of what we are talking about. Hopefully, that will also help inform your prayers for us a church family, as we look to move forward into whatever season God is leading us towards.

God Bless. Jon.

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Weekly News 4th September 2016/ Let's Pray

LET’S PRAY ‘Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why God doesn’t act the way we want God to, and why I don’t act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.’

Philip Yancey

It’s easier to talk about the importance of prayer than it is to cultivate a vibrant prayer life. We are aware that our Sunday night prayer meetings have recently been rather sporadic, so we are introducing a new regular time to get together and pray - the 1^st Sunday of each month at 6:30pm, in church. We will produce a programme for the term, which will outline the topics for prayer (coming shortly), and these will be highlighted on the website and News Sheet for the remainder of the month for on-going prayer fuel.

This Sunday (4^th) we’re going to pray for:

• People’s working lives (in anticipation of the new Sermon Series);
• The sale of the All Saints Site & the possibility of a premises for us.See you there and we can grow our prayer lives together!

Click here to download   Weekly News 4th September 2016

Weekly News 28th August 2016/ "Thank God Its Monday"

‘THANK GOD ITS MONDAY’ As the Summer Break draws to an end and we return to our usual work routines, this is our teaching series for the Autumn. We’ll be exploring how to understand our work and our approach to some of the challenges and opportunities that our daily activities throw up.

Here are the subjects we’ll be covering:

• God is for life, not just for Sundays;
• A Theology of Work;
• Psalms, Hymns and Nappy Changing;
• The Business of Busyness
• How do you gain the whole world, WITHOUT losing your soul;
• Money, Mammon & Me;
• Go, and make Disciples.

The series will begin on 11 September. We hope that whatever the nature of your ‘work’ – paid, voluntary, at home, in retirement, etc – there is plenty of room for God to speak into the things you spend a lot of time doing.

Click here to download   Weekly News 28th August 2016

Weekly News 21st August 2016/ Exam Results

EXAM RESULTS This week some of our young people will have received the verdict on their efforts from a couple of months ago, and a whole lot more will be waiting on results this coming Thursday.

The stress often experienced at exam time is typically mirrored by the tension of waiting for the examiners’ judgement. In many respects, it’s a natural anxiety to experience. For some, it’s about hoping that all the effort ploughed in has been rewarded – ‘well done, my good and faithful servant’. For others, it can be more of a case of hoping that work done half-heartedly won’t be too painfully exposed.

What is more sinister is when results feed the pressure to measure ourselves against our friends, prove ourselves to our parents, or simply shape our very identity.

We all hope our young people ‘do well’. But more than that, we hope that they know that their value to us is not defined by what grades they secure; even less so the value that God places on them - whose love relentlessly runs toward them irrespective of anything they have done.

Click here to download   Weekly News 21st August 2016

Weekly News 14th August 2016/ A Long Time Coming

A LONG TIME COMING! This week Max Whitlock achieved something extraordinary: he won a bronze medal. Now you might be thinking, “yeah, that is impressive, but why mention him rather than one of our Gold medallists?” Well, Max achieved his medal in All-round gymnastics. The last time we did that we were on home turf, and that was 108 years ago! You could see the pressure in his eyes as the final athletes were still scoring.

David Boudia and Steele Johnson are the Synchronised 10m Platform 2016 silver medallists. They were asked afterwards how it felt to be medallists at Rio, with all the pressure following London 2012. David replied, (and Steele later echoed), “There's been an enormous amount of pressure. I've felt it, and it's just an identity crisis. When my mind is on this [diving], and I'm thinking I'm defined by this, then my mind goes crazy. But we both know that our identity is in Christ, and we're just thankful for this opportunity to be able to dive in front of Brazil and for the United States. It's been an absolutely thrilling moment for us.”

Paul gave some similar advice to Timothy (4:7b-10):

“Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all people, especially of those who believe.”

So, when the pressure hits, try to remember: Your identity is in Christ.

Click here to download   Weekly News 14th August 2016

Weekly News 7th August 2016/ Christ & Culture

CHRIST AND CULTURE  I’ve been thinking a lot recently about culture and its place in our faith.

Sometimes we say “culture” to mean “High Culture”, such as Opera or Art Galleries, but really culture is just the things we do and think.

Culture is a tricky beast because although it’s easy to see it in others when they are so different to us (E.g. The Armish), it can be nearly impossible to see it in ourselves. Why are we fascinated by the weather? Why is reading the paper over someone’s shoulder rude? Why do we find inequality foul, and yet still pay women less? Why do we deify scientists, and idolise popstars?

All our thoughts and actions are learnt from our culture. Nothing is safe. Even our language shapes how we think and reflects something of our culture too. Since it is so pervasive it begs the question: How do Christian’s respond to our culture? And that includes, church culture too!

Is culture a gift of God, or a corruption of God’s original plan? Does culture shape how we view God, or does it get in the way? Are our ethics simply cultural preferences, or is there some eternal feature? Is it even possible to have a faith free from cultural influence?

So what do you think? How do you think that our culture and our faith inter-relate? And how can we tell the difference between culture and Christianity?

Want to think about this more? I recommend the seminal book “Christ and Culture” by Richard Niebuhr. It’s a brilliant and thought provoking read.

Click here to download   Weekly News 7th August 2016

Weekly News 31st July 2016/ 24 hr Worship-a-thon

24hr Worship-a-thon Life can be really busy. I know, it’s a bit of a cliché and a huge understatement, but bear with me! If you’re anything like me, whenever you see another church event your first thought might be ‘How am I going to fit that in?’ However, here are a few reasons I’d like to suggest this is worth making time for:

1. You can come for a little bit or a lot. You don’t need to stay for all the 24hrs! Come whenever you can. At the start, at the end, or even 3am!
2. It’s a chance in our busy schedules to set some time aside to meet with God, to praise him and pray for those things that are on your heart.
3. It’s a chance to get involved with the worship team. Feel you might want to sing, or play an instrument as part of our worship, then this is the perfect opportunity to start. We also need people to read the bible and prepare some intercessions.
4. To support the building of an orphanage, associated with one of our mission partners, Kruper. Have a think about what you are able to give. And get creative: Maybe what you’d normally spend a week on coffee?

Noon Saturday 6 August to noon Sunday 7 August.

Speak to Stu Carey or Jonny Faint if you’re interested in getting involved.

Click here to download   Weekly News 31st July 2016

Weekly News 24th July 2016/ Serving Opportunities Follow-Up

SERVING OPPORTUNITIES FOLLOW-UP I am aware that we haven’t yet detailed to the church the response that flowed out of our 21 day period of prayer, and what that might mean for us going forward.

There have been some movements even in the last few days with some of the gaps in our mid-week youth groups. Consequently, we are now asking whether people, who might not have been minded to take on a leadership role, might consider offering to lend a hand as a helper for a year for Cru2 (7-11 yr olds). Cru2 runs on a Tuesday night from 6:15-7:30pm, and could do with a couple of extra people to support the existing team. If you are think you might be able to assist, let Jon know.

More widely, we will outline the response we received to ‘Serving Opportunities’ after the Summer exodus, as well as set out some intentions for sharpening our vision.

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Weekly News 17th July 2016/ Welcome to the Goodman Family

WELCOME TO THE GOODMAN FAMILY We extend a really warm welcome to Katie & Chris, as they join with their family and friends to give thanks for their daughter Edith. It’s a natural thing to feel gratitude for the arrival of a child, but there is something special about expressing that thanks in public.

So, it’s great to have you with us today, and we hope that this will be a morning that you can look back on with much fondness.

We offer a Thanksgiving Service as an alternative to a baptism for different reasons. Some people wish to leave the possibility of baptism open, so that their child can make their own decision about it when they are old enough to weigh it for themselves. Others are clear that they wish to give thanks to God, but feel they are not yet in a place where they can make the full-blown promises of Christianity that are part of the baptism service. If you want to find out more yourself, don’t hesitate to ask one of our leaders.

Click here to download   Weekly News 17th July 2016

Weekly News 10th July 2016 - Pimms & Afternoon Tea

PIMMS & AFTERNOON TEA Whilst originally billed as a BBQ, we’re breaking with the pattern of past years and the Wardy garden party is going to take the form of the quintessentially English Summer afternoon tea.

We’ll provide the Pimms and/or a cuppa, but if that’s not your tipple, come with what you fancy. Food wise, it’s a ‘bring and share’ occasion, so we are asking people to come with anything fitting for afternoon tea - cake, savoury bits sandwiches (no need to cut off crusts), etc. You might also want to come armed with a garden chair if you want to guarantee a seat.

Proceedings will start at 3:30pm running till the evening. Come and go as you please, and feel free to bring any friends and family you may have in tow.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Click here to download   Weekly News 10th July 2016

24 HOUR WORSHIP FLYER

Weekly News 3rd July 2016/ Opportunity for Baptism

OPPORTUNITY FOR BAPTISM In the Autumn, we will be hiring a baptism pool and celebrating the wonderful spectacle and event that is full-immersion baptism.

At least three of our young people have already indicated that they wish to declare their commitment to Christ in this way. The offer is open to anyone of any age. If you have been exploring Christianity in the recent past and feel ready to put down this marker of faith, or for whatever reason it’s a step you have always postponed, then come and have a chat about the possibility.

Jesus commissioned his followers to ‘make disciples, baptizing them…’ (Matthew 28:19) and the early church embraced that practice. From those early days, baptism has been a normative part of becoming a Christian and it’s why we like to give people the opportunity. It’s a special moment for those being baptized and a special moment for those witnessing.

Click here to download   Weekly News 3rd July 2016

Weekly News 26th June 2016/ EU Referendum

EU REFERENDUM Receiving the results of the vote on Friday morning, I was surprised by how keenly I felt the tremors of the UK’s decision. Judging by the reactions being spewed out on Social Media, I wasn’t the only one. As we wade into uncertain waters, here are some words from our Archbishops which may be helpful,

“The vote…means that now we must all reimagine both what it means to be the UK in an interdependent world and what values and virtues shape and guide our relationships with others…we must now unite in a common task to build a generous and forward looking country, contributing to human flourishing around the world. We must remain hospitable and compassionate, builders of bridges and not barriers. Many of those living among us as neighbours, friends and work colleagues come from overseas and some will feel a deep sense of insecurity. We must respond by offering reassurance, by cherishing our wonderfully diverse society, and by affirming the unique contribution of each and every one.”

Or if you prefer something a bit simpler, one of the few facebook posts I appreciated was a friend’s change of cover photo to a shot of a piece of paper listing the fruit of the spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Generosity, Faithfulness and Self-Control. Against such things there is no law.

Click here to download   Weekly News 26th June 2016

Weekly News 19th June 2016/ How's The Prayer Going?

HOW’S THE PRAYER GOING? We’re two weeks in to the 21 day invitation to commit our church’s current position to God in daily prayer.

If you’re like me, you may well be flagging a little and need some encouragement. In Luke 18:1, we hear that ‘Jesus told his disciples a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit’.

Take the time to read the parable Jesus shares. We are given a reminder that there is much power in persevering prayer.

It also helps to come together corporately to spur each other on in the cause, so there will be a prayer meeting tonight at 6:30pm at SJ’s to do just that. We’re also encouraging Homegroups to apportion some of their time together this week to pray around the matters outlined in the ‘Serving Opportunities’ handout.

Click here to download   Weekly News 19th June 2016

Weekly News 12th June 2016/ SJ's Official Opening

SJ’s OFFICIAL OPENING We’re marking the opening of SJ’s on Saturday 2 July, 1:30-4:30pm.

We’re publicizing the opening in the community in the next couple of weeks. The emphasis is on local businesses and neighbours having an opportunity to find out more about the place, and as many of the church family have already seen SJs, we’re encouraging you to come along with friends who haven’t yet had the opportunity to have a nose inside.

We’re after some volunteers on the day to help with setting up, clearing away as well assistance with service during the opening. If you can help out, please contact Anna Seabrook or Heather Showell.

We’ll aim for an official ‘cutting of the ribbon’ at around 2:00pm, if you want to be present for that moment.

Click here to download   Weekly News 12th June 2016

Weekly News 5th June 2016 - Praying in the Bible

PRAYING IN THE BIBLE In our 10 am service today there will be reference to several passages of scripture. They all relate to prayer.

Here they are, so that we may refer to them ourselves during the week, think about them quietly or even discuss them at Home Groups. The point is that throughout the Bible, and especially for us in the early church, there is constant evidence of people praying when they wanted things changed.

Acts 1: 12-14...when the disciples had been left alone after the ascension.

Acts 1: 23-24...when they were choosing a successor for Judas

Acts 4:29-31...when Peter and John had been told to stop preaching

Acts 6:6           ...when they appointed seven deacons

Acts 16: 25-26...when Paul and Silas were in prison

Acts 13: 2-3...before they commissioned Saul (Paul) and Barnabas for mission

And finally, compare Psalm 22:2 with Psalm 98:1

Click here to download   Weekly News 5th June 2016

Serving Opportunities

Please read this booklet after listening to the introduction and talk available under 'Sermons'. Serving Opportunities

Weekly News 29th May 2016/ Receive to Live Prophetically

RECEIVE TO LIVE PROPHETICALLY… As we continue with our Prophetic Living series it worth reminding ourselves of the simple but powerful reality that the gifts of the Holy Spirit come from a loving Father who delights in bestowing treasures on his children.

For those who tragically had a negative, even abusive experience of fatherhood, you may find comfort in the truth that Jesus never said God is like your Dad. Rather, he taught that God is like no other father that we’ve ever known.

He’s a good, good Father.

Resting in his fatherhood doesn’t always come naturally to us, but the Spirit wants to work in us, enabling us to cry ‘Abba’ and receive from God. In turn, we are pulled into the Father’s work, as we use His gifts to bless others and build up His family.

Click here to download   Weekly News 29th May 2016