Sunday 23rd January
Hi Church Family
A very warm welcome to this week’s Thursday Thoughts!
BREAKFAST IS BACK!
Our breakfast is back this Sunday! Yay!! It’s bacon butties this week as well as toast, cereals, fruit, tea, coffee, and fruit juice. Can’t wait! How wonderful to be back together like this again. Massive thanks to our Breakfast Team for making this a reality.
SATURDAY CAFÉ IS BACK!
Following a wonderful Wednesday café this week, Saturday Café is back! Join us from 10-11.30am for free tea, coffee, toast, hot chocolate and great conversation!
ALPHA
Alpha starts in just 1 week!
Starting next Thursday (27th) at 7.45pm (until Thursday 10th March), we’ll be meeting in our building, enjoying puddings or savoury snacks, watching an interesting video, and chatting about it afterwards. we’d love to see you there!
With 10 people signed up already, please let me (or Trev, Linda, Stephen, Kathryn or Mary) know if you’d like to come.
MEN’S BREAKFAST
Gents, on Saturday 5th February at 8.30am, join us for a full English breakfast! Please let me know if you can make it. Huge thanks to Steve Clark for making this possible. All gents from our Church Family are more than welcome!
LADIES WHO LUNCH
Ladies, also on Saturday 5th February, but this time at 12.30pm, join us for Ladies who Lunch at The King’s Arms in Bagshot. Come along for a chat over a drink and have a bite to eat if you please. All ladies from our Church Family are more than welcome!
KEEPING EACH OTHER SAFE
We’re so excited about restarting our activities and it remains essential to keep each other safe as follows:
1. Please remember to respect the colour of the lanyard which each of our church family chooses to wear. To remind ourselves:
· Green means ‘Okay with hugs and high-fives’
· Yellow means ‘Okay with talking but not touching’
· Red means ‘Hi I’m keeping my distance.’
2. Please always wear your face mask unless you are medically exempt. Please follow this instruction to keep each other safe.
3. Please leave one chair space between family groupings/friendship groupings. Please respect this initiative to keep each other safe.
4. Please ensure that there are no more than 6 people at our tables, no matter whether the table is bigger or smaller.
5. Please only move around during our cafes and breakfast if it is necessary.
CO-OP LOCAL COMMUNITY FUND
The Co-Op have decided to choose us as one of the main causes they’d like to support this year in our area. So, we are part of the Co-op Local Community Fund. Please would you consider becoming a Co-op member and choosing us as your local cause and help raise funds for our Community Breakfast? It’s a really easy way to raise money for the breakfast as all you do is ask for a card in the Co-op (if you don’t have one – the card is free) and scan it each time you shop – easy peasy! Here’s the link you’ll need: https://membership.coop.co.uk/causes/56403 Thank you.
THIS SUNDAY
9.45am: Quiet Communion
10am-10.40am: Breakfast in the hall
10.40am: 5-minute countdown
10.45am: Service begins
We’ve got so much to look forward to in the months ahead of us. Have a look at what’s coming up:
| This Sunday | How do I see God? What is he really like? 1 John 3:1-2 and Luke 15:11-32 |
| Next Sunday | Why would I want to be God’s child? What are the benefits? Romans 8:11-17 and Acts 2:22-24 |
| 6th February | Does God want me to be religious or does he want something else? Matthew 7:7-11 and Revelation 3:15-20 |
| 13th February | How can I be prepared for the battles that lie ahead? Part 1 John 19:28-30 and Ephesians 6:10-20 |
| 20th February | How can I be prepared for the battles that lie ahead? Part 2 Ephesians 4:26-32 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 |
| 27th February | Why do I need to be forgiven? Psalm 130:1-8 and Mark 2:1-12 |
| 6th March | Why do I need to forgive others? Matthew 18:21-35 and Ephesians 4:32-5:2 |
| 13th March | How can my heart be healed? Isaiah 61:1-11 and John 21:15-19 |
| 20th March | Why is prayer so vital? Luke 18:1-8 and Ephesians 6:18-20 |
| 27th March | Mothering Sunday |
| 3rd April | Why is reading God’s Word so vital? Psalm 119:161-165 and Hebrews 4:12 |
| 10th April | Palm Sunday Why should I be humble? What does humility look like? Micah 6:8 and Philippians 2:1-11 |
| 15th April | Good Friday Good Friday Reflection |
| 17th April | Easter Sunday John 20:1-18 and 1 Peter 1:3-9 |
| 24th April | What should my heart be like? Luke 23:32-34 and Ephesians 4:32-5:1 |
| 1st May | Why should I be careful with my speech? James 3:3-12 and Colossians 4:6 |
| 8th May | Why should I love my enemies? How do I love my enemies? Proverbs 25:21-22 and Matthew 5:43-48 |
| 15th May | Clearing the path for Pentecost: Step 1 – Repentance 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Acts 3:17-19 |
| 22nd May | Clearing the path for Pentecost: Step 2 – Obedience John 14:15-27 and Acts 1:1-5 |
| 29th May | Clearing the path for Pentecost: Step 3 – Unity Psalm 133:1-3 and John 17:20-23 |
| 5th June | Pentecost Clearing the path for Pentecost: Step 4 – Prayerfulness Jeremiah 29:10-14, Acts 1:12-14 and Acts 2:1-13 |
A very warm welcome is so important. In everything we do, therefore, please keep a special look out for anyone sitting or standing on their own and please either ask them to come and join you or go over to them.
THIS WEEK’S PRAYER FOCUS
· more leaders and helpers for our Lighthouse and Ignite groups (especially Ignite)
· more mature and active Christians to help our church family and reach out to the local community
· more families to join us.
SILENT AUCTION
I’m pleased to let you know that the attached adorable drawing is still available for you to bid upon! You can pay whatever you can afford. Please message Racheal or me or email us at: silentauctionstmartins@gmail.com
FAITH ON PLACEMENT WITH US
Before Christmas, we met Faith, and her husband, Stuart, in the service. I’m delighted to announce that she will be starting her placement with us next Sunday. Faith will be with us until Easter. Please say, ‘Hello’ to Faith and Stuart and make them feel so welcome.
LIGHTHOUSE AND IGNITE
Lighthouse and Ignite are on this Sunday! As always, thank you so much to our cherished leaders and helpers!
TUESDAY TOTS
Following a delightful Tuesday Tots this week, we look forward to seeing you again with your toddlers from 9-10.30am on Tuesday.
THE FREE FOOD STALL
The Free Food Stall is open this Sunday from 12:30-1.30pm across the road at the Youth Centre. Please come along if you need a bit of help putting food on the table.
WEDNESDAY WORD
Wednesday Word has been fabulous! Thank you so much to Caroline, Trev, Linda, Gretel, Chris W and Kim for your passion and effort in producing such great Wednesday Words. It’s been hugely appreciated, especially during Lockdown when we couldn’t meet together.
Now that we can meet together and receive from the Lord together in lots of different ways, not least on Sunday mornings and in our Life Groups, the Wednesday Word team believe that its season has now come to an end and the time is right to focus our time and energy into our other ministries. Alpha will provide the first new opportunity for you to receive, and I really hope that you can come as it’s going to be great!
So, thanks again Caroline, Trev, Linda, Gretel, Chris W and Kim. Thanks for feeding us on Wednesdays and I look forward to hearing more good news stories because of the additional time and energy now available to you.
PRAYER PARTNERS
Please think about who God might be calling to be your prayer partner.
Someone:
· of the same sex
· who doesn’t have to be perfect (none of us are perfect!)
· who’s a bit further along the Christian journey than you are so he or she can help you.
I can’t recommend a prayer partner enough to you. A mentor for life. Someone who you can really trust, who you can really confide in and pray your socks off with about the stuff that really matters in life. Someone, who loves the Lord in our church family who’ll be there for you in the thick and the thin.
OUR BUILDING SAFETY AND SECURITY
If you are the last person to leave our building, then please ensure that all doors in the entire building are closed. Also, please remember to lock the office whenever you leave it.
CHURCH FAMILY GIVING
It’s not our wish to hand a plate around our church family to receive financial gifts from our church family. If you wish to express your thanks to God through financial giving, then please place your offering in the box labelled ‘Church Family Giving’ or see our treasurer, Stephen, who can arrange for you to give via standing order or direct debit if that is your preferred method of giving.
Check out our Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/stmartinolddean
It’s updated regularly!
OUR WEBSITE
Check out our website here:
https://www.stmartinolddean.com
PRAYING FOR FIVE
Let’s keep on praying for five people whom you would like to come to know Jesus. It will literally change their lives!
BEAUTIFUL CARDS
We have lots of lovely cards catering for lots of different family occasions for you to buy for a family member or a friend! All proceeds from the sale of the cards will go towards the work of our church.
LIFE GROUPS
Our cherished Life Groups are essential for:
· building deeper friendships
· studying God’s Word together and applying to each other’s lives
· caring, supporting, and praying for each other.
If you haven’t joined a Life Group yet, then I warmly recommend this wonderful opportunity to you. Please contact me or Em to find out more.
MEN’S GROUP
This happens every Monday night at 8pm. We gather to catch up with each other, enjoy each other’s company and have a go at the Life Group questions. Gents, you’re very welcome to join us. Please contact either Mike or me for the Zoom link.
MORNING PRAYER
Join us at 10am on Mondays, 9am from Tuesday to Friday and 9.30am on Saturdays.We would simply love to have you with us. More prayer = more of God’s power at work in our lives. Prayer is as essential as the air that we breathe.
PRAYER CHAIN
The Prayer Chain is a group of people in our church family who are committed to pray for others and would be honoured and privileged to pray for you. If you would like prayer for something, then please ask. Prayer is powerful, it unlocks doors and invites God into the room. If you would like something to go on the prayer chain, then please let me or Em know. Everything you share will be kept confidential.
Every blessing
Chris
Contact us
Vicar: Chris Richardson Tel: 01276 586798
email: vicar@stmartinolddean.com (Day off: Friday)
Church Office Tel: 01276 932819 (10am-12pm weekdays)
email: office@stmartinolddean.com
Website: www.stmartinolddean.com
Facebook: St Martin’s Camberley Twitter: @StCamb
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