Christmas

As you might expect, there is a lot going on at St John’s over the Christmas time. In particular you might like to join in with the following:

“All in” Nativity. Sunday worship on 10th December will be a nativity with a difference. The Christmas story will be presented as a remembrance of the wonderful events of that time long ago. It will be told through the eyes of shepherds, kings, angels and, of course, Mary and Joseph. Everyone who comes will be in a group representing one aspect of the story so all will be involved (though not expected to do any acting!). You can find out more about the nativity here

Christmas Day. The service will be a joint service at The Triangle and will start at 10:00am.

Carols and Music. On Wednesday 20th December the Wednesday “Winter Warmer” morning will be joined by the Kearsley Unlimited Band who will lead carol singing at 11:00am. Festive mince pies will be available that morning. Come and enjoy a great atmosphere if previous years are a guide (which they are).

Winter Warmer. The church will be open for refreshments including soup lunch from 10:30am on Wednesdays 6th and 13th December. After Christmas these sessions will start again on Wednesday 3rd January. It is a good opportunity to really get to know people.

Harvest Festival

It was good to welcome our previous minister Graham Smith to conduct the Harvest Festival on October 8th. He took as his theme changing the perceptions, pointing out that we often struggle to think outside our normal ways of doing or thinking. He concentrated on the project “Eagles” being promoted in African countries by All We Can which recognises that people often have solutions to their own problems within their community if  encouraged to be confident in putting them into practice. Graham made the interesting observation that the fishing disciples, when they had caught nothing, were encouraged by Jesus to cast their net on the other side of the boat and this resulted in a great catch. Do we ever cast our net (or our thoughts) “on the other side”?

Hyning Quiet Day

Several church members attended the quiet day in September at Hyning (The Monastery of Our Lady of Hyning), This has become a regular annual event which gives time for quiet reflection. It was led this year by our own minister, Rev Hilary Howarth.

Food for Thought

The next Food for Thought event will take place on Thursday 2nd November. Arrive for a meal at 6pm and then enjoy a presentation by Rev, Robert Creamer entitled “My Life in 5 Objects and 2 Songs”

Talk English

St John’s Church is working with The Triangle Community Church and Bolton College to set up sessions in which volunteers can help those who want to improve their spoken English. It will involve weekly sessions at The Triangle Church where ordinary conversation topics can be explored. St John’s recognises the importance of being involved in the issues of our community and hopes it will develop as did our previous mission project with Send a Cow (the charity is now called Ripple Effect).

Winter Warmer

At the beginning of October our regular “Cup and Natter” Wednesday mornings morphed into our “Winter Warmer” sessions as they did last year. These sessions offer a warm space for anyone who is either finding it hard to keep their house warm with the increasing fuel prices or who feels in need of some company during the colder and darker times of the year. We have the usual tea, coffee, toast, teacakes etc but the time is extended into early  afternoon  and hot soup and bread rolls provide a nourishing lunch.

Growing Fellowship Group

The Monday morning Fellowship Group continues to attract new members. Now almost half of those who attend Sunday morning worship also come on Monday morning. Those who come to try it out often find they like it and become regular attenders. The group doesn’t expect people to have particular views or deep biblical and theological knowledge but is available for people to explore their every day lives and think about how church is relevant for them. There is no expectation to contribute – you give and take as you feel able. Some feel that they have learned more about the Bible and about theological ideas as a biproduct of the group discussions.