Today is Advent Sunday and the start of our preparation to welcome Jesus at Christmas. We have collated an Advent Prayer calendar which provides a thought, prayer or short Bible verse every day to prepare ourselves and consider the true meaning of Christmas.
If you weren’t able to pick one up from church, please feel free to download a copy by clicking on the picture below:
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Thank you.
This year, the Lent course will be held on Tuesdays from 23rd February to 23rd March. There are two sessions on each Tuesday, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.
The course is for everyone, no matter how far in your journey as a Christian, you will get something out of the course. The groups are supportive and you will be made most welcome. Sign up on the list in the porch or contact the Vicar.
We will be using a book to support the course. You can buy it in advance from Amazon using the the link below.
Transformational Plans are a Diocese initiative for parishes to consider their present position in the parish and where they want to be over the next five years. The process is very detailed. The PCC had to do audits of all organisations (using SWOT analyses), a community audit which considers the areas the church is in, and we chose to hold a Parish Vision afternoon which people attended to discuss aspects of the parish and church.
The Transformation Plan is in five areas; Prayer and spirituality, Pastoral care, Worship, Evangelism and Community service. The Wakefield Ministry Scheme Core Group members gathered the information from organisation audits and decided upon the areas which came up as the biggest areas to develop.
The areas which make up St Mary’s Transformational Plan are as follows, and progress will be reported in church and the web site:
1. Create a photo board – we want those who visit church to find it easy as possible to get to know people, and be aware of those with whom they wish to speak.
2. Improve communication – we want to be aware of the concerns of our community and to ensure that the community is aware of what St Mary’s offers.
3. Engage with young families and children – we believe that a church where children are not visible and their voices are not heard is poorer for it. We want to foster links, making young families aware of the good news. We aim to have a special focussed weekend to engage with children in Summer 2010.
4. A more flexible building – we want to explore how the church building can be a more effective community space to serve a wider range of people and reflect awareness of differing needs, whilst retaining traditional worship space.
5. Offer community welcome – we want to work with local businesses to make newcomers to our area aware of what this community has on offer, producing a Welcome pack to be given to those who move into the parish.