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ST. MARY'S MATTERS

100th Edition

St. Mary's Church Away Day at Cherington Hall

Dear Friends

Our Away Day was everything we could have hoped for, with about 165 attendees, beautiful weather (thank you God!), uplifting worship, inspiring teaching and really lovely food and company.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped towards making it happen, including the music and tech teams, who transformed the hall in record timing; the catering team, who did a marvellous and very efficient job of feeding everyone; the people who put up and took down gazebos, transported people, and directed cars to parking spaces; and everyone else who did those very important behind-the-scenes jobs!

We'd love to make a presentation of all your Away Day photos so that they can be shared with the congregation. If you have photos that you would like to share, please send them to office@stmaryscnorton.com and we'll make sure that everyone can enjoy them.

Thank you also to everyone who prayed for the Away Day and who continues to pray for our church and community. One person told me that, although her circumstances had not allowed her to physically attend the Away Day, she still felt such a part of it, as she had been lifting the event in prayer.

For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Colossians 2:5

Setting a Watch

continues daily at 6am and 6pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88489690256?pwd=RG85M1pPbGRnbkhEaFVlKytCZmhTdz09

Meeting ID: 884 8969 0256
Passcode: SetAWatch

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Another small group celebrates being together!

NEW SERMON SERIES

Would you like more Bible in your life?

It’s easy to have good intentions about getting to grips with the Bible better, and sometimes hard to know how to do that. It’s a big book!

I want to find ways to make that easier for those who are longing to grapple with the Good Book. So, I’m going to produce reading plans that will match our Sunday teaching. These will give you a chunk of scripture to read over the course of the week leading up to the Sunday service. It’ll mean that over the course of a sermon series you’ll read the whole book we’re studying as a church and get a great sense of the bigger picture. The length of these will vary quite a lot depending on what we’re studying together, but I’ll try to make them as manageable as possible. The first one for our Autumn series "Minor Prophets, Major Message" is below.

Enjoy! And do let me know how you’re getting on.

-Martha

Reading Plan

CHILDREN'S BOOK LAUNCH PARTY

Last Friday, local children's author, Charlie Brooks, very generously dedicated the launch of his recent, giggle a minute pre-teen page turner, Holly Hopkinson's Supersecret Diary, to The Branch Trust. The launch party was themed around 'Little Goring fete', taken straight out of his book, and proved to be everything a child could wish a fete to be, with endless supplies of popcorn, candyfloss, a carousel, helter skelter, stalls offering gorgeous cuddly soft toy prizes, hot dogs, mocktails and sweets galore. It really was the moment to live a second childhood.

This extraordinary setting proved to be the perfect way to promote The Branch to guests who were already amazed by the scene. Charlie gave a speech drawing their attention to the pockets of deprivation in Chipping Norton and the plight of many of the families that he has personally met whilst volunteering on food deliveries over the last year, paving the way for Emma Kennedy to share a little more about The Branch, the gap that it fills in Chipping Norton and to briefly paint a picture of how individual's lives are already being transformed by our outreach work.

It was amazing to see how different parts of Emma's speech were picked up by the very attentive crowd of listening guests and became the focus of conversation. The Holy Spirit was definitely on the move as key individuals we had hoped to be able to speak to, stepped forward out of the crowd, introduced themselves and got stuck into very intentional conversations about how to get involved. Many others pledged their personal support or the support of their businesses which is hugely exciting. The atmosphere and buzz was amazing, with children having a great time and adults deep in conversation, enjoying a pleasant warm evening (thank the Lord). The result was that Charlie sold almost all the books he had available to sell and we have several meetings lined up in the coming weeks to show key potential supporters around The Branch and discuss how they can get involved!

So please join us in thanking God for placing amazing people like Charlie around us who have caught the vision for The Branch and have tremendous passion and energy for sharing it with others, and for his blessing on that evening; and pray that it will bear more fruit in the coming weeks through the conversations that Emma and I will continue to have with prospective supporters.

Thank you!!

-Gina

AFGHANISTAN CRISIS

If you're wondering how to respond to the Afghanistan crisis, two of the organisations that we partner with throughout the year are running campaigns that you can get involved with.

Samaritan's Purse (who you might know better as the organisers of the Christmas shoebox appeal) have been able to sponsor flights out of the country as well as having a Disaster Assistance Response Team in the region, and are accepting donations to help with this work.

Open Doors had already identified Afghanistan as number 2 on their "World Watch List" of countries in which Christians face the most severe persecution. They provide information and focused prayer points, which are updated regularly.

Samaritan's Purse

Open Doors

KINTSUGI HOPE

We are really excited to be starting our next Kintsugi Hope Wellbeing Group on Friday 17th September. This is a safe and supportive space where you can learn and share skills to manage your emotional and mental wellbeing. It is very relaxed, with time and space to talk, and the all important coffee and cake too!

If you are interested, or know someone else who might be, do get in touch with Hannah on hannah.charles@stmaryscnorton.com

Here is a little video with a bit more information.

-Hannah

Watch video

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Finance role/s

St Mary’s PCC and The Branch Trust are seeking to appoint either the same person (to a combined role), or two suitably qualified people (one to each role) who will enjoy:

i) playing a full part in our church life while taking on and continuing to shape our day-to-day financial administration at St Mary’s Church (14 hours per week) and/or

ii) taking on the day-to-day financial administration and helping to shape the financial systems for The Branch Trust (8 hours per week).

Please click on these links to see more detailed role descriptions or pass this email on to anyone who you think might be interested.

Find out more and apply

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

The 4th Big Church Read - "The Big Bounce Forward"

The Big Church Read is a scheme to get Christians reading more Christian books. The fourth of these events started this week, and you are invited to join other Christians across the country in reading a particular Christian book over the same period - a bit like a book club but with hundreds of members!

This time the selected book is Patrick Regan's "Bouncing Forwards". Patrick Regan will already be well-known to many as CEO of the "Kintsugi Hope" wellbeing course, with the aim of seeing a world where mental and emotional health is understood and accepted. In this latest book Patrick draws on his own journey of making peace with his on-going anxiety, to look honestly and vulnerably at the temptation to wait for the day when all will be well whilst missing out on what’s happening in the here and now.

This is your chance to join Patrick as he walks you through his book over ten short sessions. Head to the website where you can watch Patrick's very engaging videos, download the discussion/reflection points, buy the book and sign up to receive emails to help you along.

Get started with The Big Church Read

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BCP Holy Communion	Sun 21st Apr	St Mary's Church, Chipping Norton	More info
Sunday Service in Church	Sun 21st Apr	St Mary's Church, Chipping Norton	More info
Welcome Lunch	Sun 21st Apr	The Parish Rooms	More info
View the full calendar