St Mary’s Update – 1st November 2018

St Mary’s Church update for 1st November provides listings of services and other events and news. This update includes Remembrance Sunday, the end wall of the Church, all things Christmassy & more.

Remembrance Service

A service of remembrance will be led by Rev. Hannah Cooper, with music from the West Bergholt Concert Band. This will take place in the Orpen Memorial Hall at 10:45 am on Sunday 11th November. There will be no Messy Church or Evening Prayer services on Remembrance Day.

Church End Wall

There will be a meeting at about 10:45 am after the service on 4th November to discuss the end wall of the church. The church has been given a generous legacy to replace the end wall but has to plan the project with the future replacement of the church hall in mind. A working party is needed to progress the project and all are invited to the meeting after church.

Christmas Shoe Box Appeal

Please bring your completed shoeboxes to the church office by Thursday 15 November. Pre-printed shoeboxes and leaflets explaining what to include as gifts are available from Liz in the church office: weekdays (except Weds) 9 am—1 pm tel: 01206 243683, or [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”].

Thanks to your generous contributions last year, we were one of about 30,000 churches around the world sending out shoeboxes to children living in poverty.

Simple gifts such as gloves, soap, toothbrushes, colouring pencils and toy cars can make such a big impact and there are some truly humbling stories on the Operation Christmas Child website: www.samaritans-purse.org.uk.

Thrilled

Stories such as Jaki, an orphan in Guatemala, who was absolutely thrilled with a toothbrush after having to share one with 10 other children for years; and David in Romania receiving a toy car instead of his usual orange, which was all his family could afford each year. The Appeal provides shoeboxes to 17 countries across Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Each box is offered to children as part of our Christian faith, as an expression of God’s love and care, but the boxes are given unconditionally to children of all faiths and none. The volunteers distributing the boxes are carefully trained to ensure that information about the Christian faith is only offered if community leaders welcome it; contrary to some claims in the media, there are no strings attached for the children and communities receiving the boxes.

Praise on 4 Café Church

Join us for coffee and croissants, informal worship and an interactive talk at 9:30 am on November 25th. All are welcome. There will be separate activities for children and young people.

Home Groups

The home group facilitated by Michael Foster meets on 6th & 20th November @ 8 pm. Please contact Michael on 01206 241022. We also have a new home group on Tuesdays 1.15pm—2.30pm. For more details contact Liz in the office.

Christmas is Coming

Messy Christmas

The next Messy Church will be on Sunday 9th December at 9:30 am – the theme is a Messy Christmas.

Christmas Services

Carol Service at the Old Church—Sunday 16th December @ 2.30pm,
Christmas Eve Crib Service Monday 24th December @ 3 pm,
Christmas Eve Carol Service Monday 24th December @ 6.45 pm,
Christmas Morning Service Tuesday 25th December @ 9.30 am.

Join Our Christmas Choir

Join our pop-up Christmas choir, led this year by Sarah White. The choir will be singing 2 songs at the Christmas Eve Carol Service @ 6.45 pm ‘Torches’ and the ‘Carol of the Bells’. All are welcome, there are no auditions! Rehearsals as follows (all in the church):

Sunday 2nd December @ 10.45 am,
Sunday 9th December@ 10.45 am,
Sunday 16th December@ 10.00 am,
Sunday 23rd December@ 10.45 am.

Services & Other Dates

All events are at St Mary’s unless stated otherwise. Kids’ Church is our new form of Sunday school for children.

Sunday 4 November	9.30 am	Communion
		Communion at St Peter’s, Boxted
Sunday 11 November	Remembrance Services
	10:30 am	War Memorial, Langham;
	10:45 am	Orpen Memorial Hall
		Methodist Chapel, Boxted
		All Saints’ Gt Horkesley
Sunday 18 November	9:00 am	Communion at St Mary’s, Langham
	9:30 am	Family Service at St Peter’s, Boxted
	10:00 am	Morning Worship at St John’s GH
	11:15 am	Communion
Sunday 25 November	9:30 am	Café Church