Lent Dilemma

 Dan writes:

At this time of year, I have a dilemma. Not being raised in a church tradition that “did Lent” the thought of giving something up still seems… odd; and I struggle to participate.

I see the biblical merits and good intentions. Sacrificing something of value to try and identify with Jesus in the desert. However, Luke 4 says “Jesus returned… in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.”

My dilemma lies in our method, not the intention. Often, we go for a minor-substitution approach. A pseudo New Year’s resolution.  Sugar for sweetener. Chocolate for fruit. Caffeine for decaff. TV for books. Smoking for vaping. Swearing for “Dag-nam-it!”

All great ideas, but do these types of substitution help draw us closer to God? Do we finish 40 days full of the Spirit? Does news about Jesus spread as a consequence?

This year, as we pursue God together, consider making a swap that answers with a resounding “Yes. Amen and Hallelujah!”.

Parenting for Faith

This is an 8 week course that we are really excited to be running in the New Year for the first time at St John’s. It’s a little different to other parenting courses – the clue is in the title, but it’s specifically focused on how we nurture a close walk with God in our children, rather than looking at parenting more generally.

 It’s doesn’t matter the age of your kids, and it’s also a great course if you’re a grandparent, godparent, aunt or uncle. Grab the insert for more details of dates and timings, but we will provide a meal, and aim to offer people who can babysit to allow couples to come together. If that’s not going to work for you, the course is still effective if you have to mix and match, say alternate weeks between you.

 There will be limited places, and we anticipate they will go fast, so let Amber know as soon as possible if you want to book a spot.

Harvest Celebration

This weekend we mark Harvest with our Uniformed Groups in an ‘All Together’ service. Don’t forget that Tea & Coffee will come before the service, starting at about 9:45am.

 Harvest is a great opportunity to express our thanks to God for so many things that we often take for granted. It’s also a time to extend generosity to others and remember our collective responsibility to care for this amazing world which God has given us. During the service, we’ll be taking a couple of collections:

 ·         Food for the Bromley Foodbank; and

·         A money collection for Link to Hope and their project the ‘Inn of Love’ – details of which we will profile during the service.

 We look forward to seeing you there to celebrate God’s goodness.

Feeling Connected?

There has been some recent global research amongst the 18-35 age group around how they navigate church, faith and life in general. They called these millennials the ‘connected generation’ in recognition of their incredible ability to utilise technology to connect with others. At the same time, it was noted that alarming numbers expressed feeling ‘relationally disconnected’.

 In old fashion terms – lonely.

 The need to feel supported, experience face to face contact with others, be part of a loving community isn’t just a millennial thing, it’s a human thing. We’ve always said that it’s hard to fully experience that on a Sunday morning, so we encourage people to join a home group. That’s simply a smaller group of people who meet at someone’s home during the week, to encourage each another, explore matters of faith and spur one another on to pursue our vision of ‘doing life with Jesus’. Philippa Tagg has oversight of these groups and has included a message inside about leadership of these groups. But more generally, have a chat with her if you would like to find out more.  

Alpha Courses

St John’s will be hosting their next Alpha Course at SJ’s in the New Year. However, if you are unable to commit to evening meetings, there is an opportunity coming up to attend a course that will be running over lunchtime.

 Starting on 4 October, St Francis Church will be giving people the chance to explore the Christian faith through Alpha. The sessions will start at 12:30pm and be done by 2:30pm, to allow for the school pick up. There will be also be facilities for accompanying children. The meetings will run on a Friday with the following dates currently planned:

 4, 18, 25 October                            8, 22, 29 November

6, 13 December

 To register your interest, speak to Jon or get in direct contact with Hazel at St Francis on hazelos58@gmail.com or 020 8777 5034.

The Turning Final Update

The Turning is only a week away, and here are the final details for the programme:

7 Evenings of Worship, Prayer & Testimony

Sunday 22 September, 6:30pm @ Coney Hill Baptist

Monday 23 – Friday 27 September, 7:30pm @ Coney Hill Baptist

6 Mornings of Training & Outreach

Monday 23 – Saturday 28 September, 10am – 1pm

Monday & Tuesday @ Coney Hill Baptist

Wednesday & Thursday @ St Mary’s, Hayes

Friday & Saturday @ St Francis, West Wickham

We are looking for people to pray, be involved in the outreach on the streets, and engage in follow-up conversations with anyone who expresses a desire for that (any or all of those). There will be a sign-up sheet in church on Sunday, or if you’re not around then, send Jon an email.

"Link to Hope" Autumn Fair 2019

St Francis Church Hall

Saturday 19th October, 11am-3pm

 Alongside shopping and refreshments, the Fair will be raising funds for and awareness of Link to Hope's Shoebox Appeal and this year we are hoping there will be a "Shoebox Station" where a box can be filled with gifts for £10. There are many ways you can help, including the following:

• donations of new, unopened and unwanted gifts (for the popular re-gifting fundraising stall)

• donations of any items for shoebox filling (more specific needs will be advertised nearer the time)

• donations of cakes, traybakes, etc

• distributing leaflets in advance of the event and on the day

• help setting up/packing away, serving refreshments and running the "Shoebox Station" and fundraising stall.

More details to follow over the coming weeks, but if you're interested in being involved in the meantime, please let Milly (camilla@highamsfarm.com) or Angela (angela.walters@yahoo.co.uk) know.

Maundy Thursday

In a change from our usual Maundy Thursday activity, both Coney Hill Baptist Church and St John’s have been invited by West Wickham & Shirley Baptist to join them to see the Riding Lights Theatre Company present ‘The Narrow Road’.

 If you haven’t seen any of the Riding Lights productions you are missing out. They are one of the UK’s most successful independent theatre companies, with international renown. Amazingly, we’re being offered tickets for free, so if you’d like to come please can you sign the sheet in the Information Point.

 As an alternative, there will still be a communion service taking place at St Francis at 7pm on Maundy Thursday evening, to which there is also an open invitation.

Assembly Rooms 24th March 2019

As we do at intervals through the year, we will be gathering for our 10:00am Sunday Morning Service on 24 March at the Assembly Rooms on Gates Green Road. 

 As a way of drawing our series on gifts to a close, we will consider a self-assessment tool which helps us to consider our personality and how that affects the way we do things. It really complements the Spiritual Gift Assessment Tool (which can be found on the website, if you haven’t yet given it a go!) and helps us work through a different aspect of our gifting – how we tend to exercise our gifts, and in particular, when our way of being can hinder the best expression of those gifts. It’s really helpful, and there will be plenty of laughs along the way, so don’t miss out.

 The young people, up to Year 9 will be doing activities together with Amber in the hall next door to help them understand more about themselves and how they relate to other people. There will also be creche available.