Church Family News
January 2023
Dear Church Family,
Happy New Year! It seems to have been non-stop since we arrived back from
sabbatical on the first Sunday of Advent! It was a joyous time to arrive back
with so much going on through December.
This year gave us the opportunity to celebrate the most ‘normal’ Christmas we
have all been able to enjoy for nearly three years and we were able to provide
a programme of events and services that brought more people through our
doors than before the pandemic. For this we give thanks. It really is only due to
so much willing help from the church family that we were able to offer so
much including a Christmas tree festival, the Saltmine theatre show of
Neverland, a Christmas Trail, two Christmas lunches for the community
(including one on Christmas Day itself) and a variety of services which included
outdoor and indoor carol services and a Nativity service on Christmas Eve.
All of what we do is to bear witness to Christ in our own community and we
pray that many of the seeds that were sown over this season will continue to
bear fruit in the years to come.
When I returned from sabbatical, I was really encouraged to hear that the PCC
had talked further about the aspirations for the church, building on our
previous work to forge a clear vision. The discussion affirmed again a desire for
the church to be central to our community of Corfe Mullen, to be multigenerational and to be led by the Holy Spirit. We will be keeping these
aspirations before us as we enter the New Year and as we plan forward.
As you will know, for much of last year, we had been praying for a Worship
Team Leader and so we were delighted at the arrival of Chris Tebbutt in
November. Chris and Sandra join us from Canford Parish church. One of Chris’s
aims will be to encourage those with musical gifts - and indeed worshipleading gifts - to develop these as well as helping us in exploring new
opportunities for worship. Meanwhile Matt has been appointed as Team vicar
at Canford Parish church! We rejoice with Matt on his appointment while
feeling equally sad that he will be moving on from us. He will be with us as
normal until after Easter. We will bid Matt and Lisa a fond farewell on April
23rd at our APCM.
We are taking a break from Life Groups during these early weeks of the New
Year and instead there will be some one-off training sessions during this time.
In addition, the first session of a new Alpha course will be held from 7-9pm on
January 18th
. Many have found Alpha hugely helpful, wherever they are in
their journey of faith, offering an opportunity to ask and explore questions
they may have about faith, in a safe and encouraging environment. Do talk to
Paul Eaton or myself if you would like more information.
During Lent we plan to run a six week course called Life on the Frontline which
will help us explore how we can live out our faith during the week in all the
places that God has called us to: our ‘frontlines’. In recent years many churches
have found this course to be both engaging and deeply practical. I am excited
at the opportunity this course offers, to learn together how we can make a
difference for Christ in our daily lives. The course will run on Wednesday
evenings and Thursday afternoons starting Feb 22nd and Feb 23rd
.
Lastly can I thank you all for your continued giving to the ongoing work and
ministry of our churches. As the year ended we were pleased to have been
able to meet our Parish Share although we continue to fall someway short of
covering all our ongoing expenses for the churches themselves and have again
relied on the letting income from the St Nicholas Centre. This means there is
less to reinvest in the general upkeep and maintenance of the Centre. We are
very grateful to Anthony Sherman for successfully applying on our behalf to
BCP and Dorset council for grants at the end of the year, to help support the
use of our facilities for the community. More details of the accounts will be
published at our APCM. If you are new to the church and you would like to give
to the support and work of the church, the best way is through the parish
giving scheme. Please pick up a giving pack from church or for more
information look on our website.
Let us do all we can to support one another and pray for one another in what is
likely to be a challenging year for many as we ‘hold fast the confession of our
hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful’ Hebrews 10:23
With love and prayers
Jane
