​Change

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.    Hebrews 13:8

Another year begins and for some of you change may have already happened - either instigated by you or by others. We say how a year flies by, but on the other hand sometimes a day can seem like an eternity. What chances would you like to happen this year? Is God prompting you to change or do something different? Will you embrace the opportunities that come your way? Will you spend more time talking to God?

One of the biggest changes for me last year was travelling alone on the train, as I was involved in planning the adult activities during the 3Generate weekend that happened in November. I dared to get involved and by doing that I grew in confidence and made new friendships. Using technology - I have to confess, my knowledge of computers and all things technical has room to improve this year! The websites below were on a leaflet given to the adults who attended 3 Generate. Some you may find useful, either for yourself, your family or our church
as we learn more about God and Christianity this year.

www. Methodist Church in Britain: Contains lots of information.  

www. YouTube.com/3Generate TV: watch what the young people at 3 Generate talked about.

http://www.faithinhomes.org.uk : contains a wealth of ideas, articles and resources for families about developing faith together.

http://flamecreativekids.blogspot.co.uk : full of creative ideas to nurture faith together.

https://homefrontmag.com : website from the US, with lots of stories and variety of ideas

Dates for February and March

Messy Mice at 10am is on 6th and 20th February and March – crafts and bible stories for the under 5's.

Toddlers is on every Thursday morning 9 - 11.45am.

Film club for year 7 to Upper Six. On the 12th of each month, starting at 7pm.

0930 Live! 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month.

May you grow in the knowledge and love of Christ this year.

Andrea Ellams
Young Families Worker 

​From Wednesday 15th February until Sunday 19th February we’ll be inviting the secondary school aged young people connected in our church to take part in “Life Together – An Experiment in Christian Community Living”. You will be familiar with church youth weekends, but Life Together is different. During our Life Together, we will be exploring the claims of Jesus Christ in the context of a normal working or school week whilst sharing in Christian community here in a church building. Our church will become “home” for those few days and we will eat together and live together whilst still taking part in our school day and evening activities. Each day will begin and end with 10-15 minutes of prayer and worship. As church is our home, we will feel free to invite friends home and it is our hope and prayer that our community will grow as the week progresses.

The source and inspiration of “Life Together” is the life and works of the great 20th century Christian pastor, martyr and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His book: "Gemeinsames Leben" ("Life Together") was based on his ideas and experiences leading an underground seminary at Finkelwalde (now Stettin) in Poland just before the Second World War. The mission of the Finkelwalde seminary was to train pastors for the Confessing Church, the church that took a stand against Hitler by confessing that there "was only one head of the church" (and that it wasn't Adolf Hitler!) Dietrich Bonhoeffer refused sanctuary in university postings to the USA and UK. He was arrested in 1943 and was finally executed on 9th April 1945 at Flossenburg concentration camp just weeks before
its liberation and the end of the Second World War in Europe.

For Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Christian life to which Jesus calls us was not one of isolation or escape from the world but rather a joyful and obedient response to the love of God shown to us in Jesus Christ. - the Word made flesh. Christians are people who dare to believe that we can find God working in and through every experience of our lives and not just when we are doing specifically “religious” activities. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “Only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith”.

During our Life Together, we’ll be testing that huge claim. That’s why Life Together is not a holiday, escape, retreat or some sort of wacky cult. It’s not like Big Brother where the contestants are isolated from their normal lives. We are not trying to separate ourselves or withdraw from anything. Our Life Together takes place in the midst of our life of school, college or work, our friends and weekly activities. Just as all of our lives are too!

Grace and peace.
​
Andrew