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Weekly Newsletter 26th April
Dear friends,
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” - John 10:9.
If you ever happen to be walking through Richmond Park on the edge of Sidmouth Woods, you can see ‘The Way’ gates, pictured below. They can be seen through the King Henry's Mound telescope and present the direction of the protected 10-mile view all the way to St Paul’s Cathedral.
Whether they are ornamental or purely practical, all gates are important entrance and exits points on our borders, boundaries and land. The threshold of borders and boundaries mark the ending of one place and the beginning of another. Jesus’ words describe himself as the gate. The wonderful promise he offers us all is that by going through him, we can gain access to the pastures of eternal life. In and through Jesus we have a hope He is the way, the truth, and the life and yet without the gate, there is no access. So, let us enter his gates with thanksgiving in our hearts.
This week as it is the fifth Sunday of April we are gathering all three churches together for one united service at St. Clement’s, Ashampstead at 10am to hear more about why Jesus is the gate and what it means for us. Join us to hear the good news too!
I hope you enjoy the bank holiday on Monday.
Love,
Grant
‘The Way’ gates in Richmond Park
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Weekly Newsletter 19th April
Dear friends,
This week in Church we shall be looking at the lovely passage where Jesus meets two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. It’s a fascinating encounter where the disciples finally have a lightbulb moment realising who Jesus really is. The thing is, despite our efforts to keep him out, God often intrudes our lives - perhaps exactly when we least expect it. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: "a virgin's womb and an empty tomb". Jesus entered our world through a door marked,"No Entrance" and left through a door marked "No Exit." He is God of impossibilities. I hope that this week you’ll know and trust in God’s remarkable power to come alongside us and meet us where we are despite our fears, feelings and failures. Be blessed!
This Saturday there is a garden tidy up afternoon planned at St. Stephens from 12.30 onwards & final reminder that Sunday after the Basildon service is the Annual Meeting. Paperwork can be found online or in the lobby of the church.
Love,
Grant
SERVICES THIS WEEKEND
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Morning Prayer & Worship
Weekly Newsletter 14th April
Dear friends,
Happy Easter! Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
I hope you enjoyed your Easter Celebrations last weekend. I have included below a few photos we managed to capture of Messy Easter, The Dawn Service and Easter Sunday at St. Clement’s. What a fantastic time of celebration we have enjoyed.
Just a couple of things to draw your attention to this week.
Firstly, Aldworth Breakfast Church will now be on the 23rd April rather than this Sunday. This week, we’ll gather for 8.30 Holy Communion.
Next - The Annual Meeting paperwork for Basildon Parish is all now available on this website or by clicking below. Do join us on 23rd after the morning service for the APCM.
Finally, you are invited to join me on Monday, Wednesday or Friday mornings at St. Stephen’s for half an hour of prayer and worship from 9am. These sessions will be a time for prayer and worship as we lift to God the wonderful people in our communities and seek his will above all else for our churches. If you are free, please join us. If you can’t make it, please do let me know if you have any prayer requests and we’ll be sure to hold them before God too.
Love,
Grant
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Basildon APCM Paperwork
Weekly Newsletter 29th March
Dear friends,
Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!
Palm Sunday is when Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem for the final time before his death. He arrived as the Messiah, one who was going to free the people from their oppressors - yet he did not come with royal processions on a great stallion with a mighty army, but on a humble donkey with a few friends. The people welcomed him by cutting down Palm branches and throwing their coats on the road, shouting Hosanna - praise be to God!
It prompts the questions: How do you welcome Jesus into your life? Is the road to your heart open or closed? Is Jesus met with a ‘Hosanna!’ or a ‘Halt!’?
Join us this Sunday as we explore why Palm Sunday is an important point to remember in our faith.
Love,
Grant
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Weekly Newsletter 24th March
Dear friends,
Firstly, thank you for all the kind messages and offers of help we have received over the past week or so as our family was struck down with a sick bug. I’m glad to say we are all fully recovered now and looking forward to seeing you all soon.
This weekend we are thinking about the theme of Grace in the last instalment of our Lent Sermon series so I hope you’ll join us as we explore this great theme together.
John Newton once said, ‘I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am.’
Grace is a fundamental aspect of who God is. God specialises in being able to give people a fresh start, over and over again. Despite what we get wrong, God desires us to become more fully the people he created us to be, and more fully like Christ. So Grace is where God gives his people unmerited and totally underserved favour and kindness, love and mercy, hope and forgiveness.
If you’re in need of some good news at the moment. Try Church this Sunday. We’d love to see you.
Love,
Grant
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Weekly Newsletter 16th March
Dear friends,
I hope you are well.
This Sunday is Mothering Sunday which is a special time to thank God for all mothers, mother-figures and all those who help our families to flourish and grow well. Historically Mothering Sunday was a day when Christians went back to their home or ‘mother’ church - to the place where they grew up. This could have been a place where they were first taught the scriptures and encountered God in worship - or perhaps sang in the choir or read the lessons. So why not come and join us this Sunday as we also gather and celebrate our entire church family where we are all united together as brothers and sisters in Christ, with God as our perfect heavenly parent. In all of our services we will also have time to remember our mothers who are no longer with us, and give thanks for their motherhood.
Our lovely curate, Revd Jen Green recently featured in an article on motherhood and ministry in the Church Times, which can be read here: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/10-march/features/features/when-baby-comes-too-the-challenges-of-a-reverend-mother
Come join us at any of our services this weekend as we worship God and give thanks for all aspects of motherhood.
Love,
Grant
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Weekly Newsletter 9th March
Dear friends,
I hope you are well.
There is a lot going on across the villages at this time of year as we roll on towards Easter. Many of us have been enjoying the Lent groups exploring Lectio Divina - which continue the coming week too. We’ve launched a new Podcast (see below) which means you can catch up or keep up to date with messages, talks and reflections we share at St. Stephen’s each Sunday and share them with friends if you think it’s worth it!
There are a variety of bible study groups, theology exploration sessions, community Lent lunches, and volunteering opportunities happening over the next few weeks too. Do please look below and see if there is anything you might like to attend or help with.
On top of this, we are preparing for our wonderful ‘Messy Easter’ event this year to be held in Basildon Village Hall. It will be a time for all ages and stages to explore the story and meaning of Easter through crafts, games, songs, stories and food. I’m looking for a few extra volunteers to help with this too (no experience needed!) so please do let me know if you are interested at all.
Important announcement: The ‘jobs morning’ due to be held at St. Stephen’s this coming Saturday is now cancelled. There will be another opportunity to help tidy up very soon.
I very much hope that we will see you at any of the upcoming events or services - you’ll be so very welcome.
Love,
Grant
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