Notices 25th November to 2nd December 2012

SUNDAY  Christ the King	25th	8.00 am 10.00 am 6 for 7 pm	Holy Communion St Paul’s 135th Anniversary - Holy Communion with Seekers upstairs Focus Service in the Nave & Meeting Place
MONDAY	26th	10.30 am 12.30 pm   6.00 pm   7.00 pm	Care4You Team Meeting with Julie Thompson in the Old Vestry “Sunny Days” post natal support group with Julie Slingsby in MP Rainbows in the Upper Hall Focus Fellowship meeting in the Old Vestry
TUESDAY	27th	10.00 am 11.00 am   2.30 pm   6.15 pm   7.30 pm	Holy Communion Service in the Meeting Place “Rattle & Roll”- New Music Group for Under 5’s in OV (to 12 noon) TLC in the Meeting Place – All welcome, please see Liz for details Brownies in the Upper Hall Guides in the Upper Hall
WEDNESDAY	28th	9.00 am 10.00 am 10.30 am   6.00 pm   8.00 pm	Prayers in the Old Vestry “Peekaboo”  for babies, toddlers, parents & carers in the N & MP Care4You Team Meeting with Lynne Ashmore in the Old Vestry Yoga with Yolande Swift in the Upper Hall Tai Chi with Gary Shaw  in the Upper Hall
THURSDAY	29th	10.00 am   3 – 4 pm   6.30 pm	Weight Watchers in the Upper Hall St Paul’s Chairobics in the Meeting Place Weight Watchers in the Upper Hall
SUNDAY First Sunday of Advent	2nd	8.00 am 10.00 am	Holy Communion Baptism Service with Seekers upstairs

FOOD BANK There’s a box at the back of church for food donations and thanks to all who’ve already given.

CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL Many thanks to all who gave their time to support this event and to decorate a tree for their group.

DON’T MISS SHEILA AND DAVE!  Sheila and Dave Gill are coming up from Zimbabwe for a short visit in December.  They will be coming to our December Family Service on 9^th December when Dave will tell us about his work with Senior Citizen Service and give news of Food for Homes and Good Hope Orphan Care which we support through Dave.  They are also hoping to attend our Carol Service on Sunday 16^th December.

NEWS FROM CANADA!  This week Murray sent a photo of the new notice board in its new place in the Meeting Place to Liz Jacobs in Canada.  You may remember that the board was given in memory of Fran and Bill Morgan and Murray realised that their daughter Liz had not seen it in its new place.  Liz replied:

Thank you for the picture, it looks great and I am so happy that Mum and Dad's memorial is so useful, they would have loved that.  I trust you are feeling better and getting ready for advent and the Christmas season, here we already have had snow for a month so it looks like Christmas even if we are not really ready or organized for it. Please thank all the people who visited Mum and took her to Mothers’ Union meetings, on trips, to choir and services, you have a great group of people there and they made Mum's last few years easier and happier.

DECORATING CHURCH FOR CHRISTMAS   Monday 3^rd December at 10.00 am. Please see Deidre

1^st WED. GROUP  December 5^th will be a “Crafts Night” in the Meeting Place! All welcome.

SENIOR MEMBERS’ CHRISTMAS LUNCH will be on Sat 8^th Dec at 12 noon. More dates for Christmas below.

FRUIT SALES Sales of Norie and Jean’s apples have raised £22.27 for the fabric fund. Thank you both!

‘THE BIG PENNY CHALLENGE’  Many thanks to everyone for a fantastic response – St Paul’s and the Lee family raised over £30.00 (still counting!)

CANON INK – FREE TO A GOOD HOME!  Murray’s printer died leaving him with 4 tanks of Canon compatible black ink. The box says BB-BCI3B and seems to be suitable for quite a few Canon inkjet printers – let him know if you are interested.

Christmas Services 2012

Sunday 9^th December

10.00 am Christmas Family Worship

Saturday 15^th December

10.00 am to 12 noon Christmas Messy Church

with a light lunch

A fun morning of creative worship for all the family

-  where we make our own Christingles!

Sunday 16^th December

6.00 pm  Candle Light Carol Service

For adults & older children - with Carfield Community Choir. 

Followed by mulled wine and refreshments.

Monday 24^th December - Christmas Eve

6.00 pm Family Carol Service

Our ever popular short carol service for younger children, families and everyone else who can find a seat!

11.30 pm Midnight Holy Communion

A quiet service as Christmas Day begins.

Tuesday 25^th December – Christmas Day

10.00 am Christmas Family Communion

COMMUNITY NEWS

PALESTINE CULTURE WEEK For a full list of all activities, see the flyer on the MP notice board. (Begins Sat 24^th Nov.)

Mike’s Ministry:

Mon 26^th – Charnock Hall Junior

Tues 27^th – Walkley Primary & St Marie’s RC Primary

Wed 28^th – Carfield Primary

Prayer Focus: 

We continue to pray for all those who are ill or bereaved and those who care for them

From Murray

Last week we had a good few days down in Kent with my Aunt.  We helped her with her Christmas cards (well I stuck the stamps on!) and took her out to visit nearby Ightham Mote which had some rooms open all decked out for Christmas and the log fire burning in the great hall.  It was a good job as it was a cold foggy day!  Still driving back the next day the further north we came the better the weather became!

This week I have been reading about news that churches are growing around the country.  In the Diocese of London the number of people on electoral rolls of Church of England Churches has risen more than 70 per cent since 1990. Research into how this is happening shows that growing churches:

Are Pro –active – When churches pray, plan and work for growth they do actually grow!

Value cultural and ethnic Variety – Growing churches are good at translating the gospel for the various cultures of contemporary Britain.

Are Humble, Realistic and Unashamed of Jesus!