Come And Meet Each Other
So far we have held three of these morning meetings with a theme. We have seen and heard about some very interesting archaeological artefacts found by metal detecting in the fields of Gloucestershire; learned a little more about Vietnam and the lives it's people live today, and been introduced to a different way of looking at quite ordinary things and been surprised by their unexpected beauty.
The meetings last about an hour and three quarters and seem popular. Twelve or thirteen people attend. These are folk who live on their own locally, along with several members of the church attending each time.
In October we started again with a topical theme considering some of the effects of 11th September, with reports from various countries. The November meeting will see the return of Don, with more of his "Treasures Underfoot". In December we travel with Robin to Chile.
Barbara.
SPLASH! was formed at the beginning of 2001 from the children below the age of 12 from the old PATHFINDERS group. the teenagers joined G-Force, led by Emile Pinco and more recently an additional leader in David Hillyard.
SPLASH! is led on a rota basis, with currently six leaders working in pairs, Lynne Cleaver and Fran Rawlinson, Ruth Linzner with Annette Petersen and, Rob and Jeanetter Manley. In order to permit a greater range of activities for SPLASH! the church has made a long-term booking of the Old Village Hall for use on Sunday mornings. The leaders are now able to offer a variety of activities including music, drama, craft and Bible Study. Recently we have introduced new teaching material which is proving successful.
Commonly, SPLASH! divides into two age groups for individual work, but there are plenty of opportunities for everyone to come together. We usually have 4 children in the younger group and 5 in the older group.
We meet for planning on an occasional basis, with Keith's guidance. One item that currently requires consideration is the provision of creche care for pre-school children.
During the autumn school half term, Fran is organising a holiday club for up to 30 local children to be held at the church. The club will be held for two hours per morning for Thursday and Friday. Adult helpers are being drawn from the SPLASH! leaders and others and some G-Force members will also help with supervision.
We continue to value the support and prayers of the church for the children and leaders. We look forward to continuing to grow numerically and spiritually together. Those who feel they could contribute by leading occasionally or on a more regular basis (and who have a good sense of humour) will be welcome to join us.
Rob
This brief summary covers the year period from October 2000 to September 2001.
We have a number of regular attendees in the group - some 9 to 10 that have engaged in serious and some times light hearted discussion of many varied Biblically based subjects. As a result we have all been challenged and educated. We have seen an increase in the friendships within the group and we are witnessing the beginnings of willingness by individuals to share in personal and sometimes difficult situations. We have enjoyed social times together and Lynne and myself have felt a real sense of support within the group and a feeling that the group is fulfilling a need within the church community.
In the period October 2000 to March 2001 the Home group studied Biblical topics that were in support of teaching and preaching delivered to the congregation on Sunday morning services.
Following on from Spring Harvest 2001 which was held in April 2001, both Lynne and myself felt drawn to bring back something of the theme from this years teaching - 'King of the Hill', which serves to examine the content of the Sermon on the mount. A teaching guide produced by Spring Harvest has provided a rich source of material covering many aspects of the threads contained within the Sermon.
To date we have covered such diverse subjects including 'living a different lifestyle', 'what it is to be blessed', 'our church community', 'living beyond the law' and 'our relationship with God'. We have three further studies to complete in this series and should provoke healthy discussion and debate within the group.
The study programme is set for the rest of this year and we will be taking note of the direction that the teaching and preaching will be taking in the next few months to gauge appropriate study topics for next year. If we have a vision for the Home group then it must be:
This has been another busy and progressive year for all. We have had another small increase in numbers and Morgan bravely tackled the dismantling of the pulpit to allow extra space. We purchased a new portable lectern that has given much needed space during our services.
Our Wednesday evening prayer group continues and still experiences answers to prayer. This group is vitally important to the life of the church as we implement are the answer to prayerful consideration and not just the wishes of a few.
The Homegroup has now moved to a Wednesday and still meet at Lynne and Nigel's home.
We have had changes in the children's work this year. The younger children (SPLASH!) meet in the Old Village Hall with a pool of leaders sharing the work on a rota basis. The older children (G-Force) now meet in the back room of the church with Emile Pinco and David Hillyard as leaders.
Keith continues to work hard for the church and we have had many interesting and stimulating visual presentations during our worship services.
Financially, through a legacy, donations and "Gordon Brown's Prudence", we have been able to buy some new equipment. This includes a projection screen, projector, laptop computer and sound recording equipment. This has been used to enhance the services.
We continue to have many social events that are well attended. It is good to get to know each other better and enjoy each other's company in a relaxed and informal way.
Finally, it is with regret that due to health reasons Mary has decided after much though and prayer to give up playing any evening services. She has played faithfully for nearly 12 years and now feels that the morning service is enough for her to physically cope with.
Gareth