St John's News

Thank you from Richard Pearce 

Richard Pearce would like to say a big thank you for all the prayers good wishes and cards that were sent following his recent stay in hospital. Also special thanks to the members from St Johns who came to visit. 
 
He says "As you will appreciate six weeks is a long time to spend in hospital but due to the nature of my illness it was necessary to have six weeks of antibiotics.  I came home on 30 June to have a short break prior to attending Papworth for open heart surgery. Hopefully this will not be too long in coming and I will then be able to have the operation before coming home to rest and recuperate. My consultant said it takes two/three months before I will be fully fit again.  I or Angie will  let you know when I am due to go into Papworth  and also when I am home.  If any members would like to come and see me before or after Papworth they would be made most welcome".  Regards,  Richard 
 

Alpha at St John's - Starting Wednesday 26th September   

On Sunday 22nd July at the 9am and 11am we will have invitation cards available for you to take and hand out to your family and friends.  Please prayerfully consider who you will invite along to this year's Alpha Course and feel free to come along with someone you have invited to the Introductory Session to encourage them, if needed.  For catering purposes, please contact the church office to let us know of anyone who may be interested in attending and in the meantime, please pray for the Alpha Course this year and the Lifegroup team that will be running this.  For further information please view our Alpha page, or click here. 

 

The Marriage Course - Starts 18th September 

Starting on 18th September, for 7 weeks, a chance to invest in your marriage.  Join us in the Church Hall at 7:00pm each Tuesday for a ‘date night’ to discover how to make your marriage stronger, more fulfilling and fun!  Invite your friends — all are welcome.   Speak to Amanda Clayton or click here to learn more. 

Sizewell Holiday 2018 - one (3 bedroom) still available!

A message from the Sizewell Holiday team:-

Due to a  last minute cancellation, we have one (3 bedroom) room that has become available.  Whether you are a family of one, two or three you still have an opportunity to book in!  First to ask gets it - please contact Jos Saunders on: 07753 903056 or the church office.  

Message from Andy Williams, Youth Pastor 

Premier is calling the Christian community together to pray for our young people and specifically the epidemic of violence we have seen of late. Peace on our streets” is a 7 day prayer campaign bringing Christians together to pray for everyone affected by this issue.
 
If you sign up, from the 16th July for 7 days, you will receive a text message at noon containing a prayer.  Premier will also be praying together every day at noon on Premier Christian Radio, Premier Praise and Premier Gospel.
 
Don't miss out, simply text PEACE to 66777. 

Cheese, Wine & Puddings at the Vicarage 

If you are booked in, we look forward to seeing you on one of the evenings.  

The Issue of Homelessness

With the recent extreme hot weather it is difficult to remember the very harsh winter and the plight of individuals sleeping rough in our town. At the time many of us were concerned and wanted to help but were unsure of what to do about it and who to contact for help and advice.
With this in mind a meeting will be held on the issue of Homelessness and how we in Woodbridge might get involved. This will be held at the Salvation Army Hall in Woodbridge on Wednesday 5th September at 7.30pm. Julia Hancock, manager of the Selig Trust, will be speaking and giving us information on what support is in place for anyone in our locality who finds they are homeless and may resort to sleeping rough. Julia is very involved with the Ipswich Night Shelter which each winter helps to provide hot food and shelter for many people. The big issue, however, is the long term need for these individuals and she will bring her experience of what local people can do to help and who we can contact for more support. This meeting is being organised by Churches Together in Woodbridge and Melton and is open to anyone who shares our concern and would like to get involved.
 
It would be good if someone with this issue on their heart would volunteer to champion this and take it forward after the meeting. If you or anyone you know would be interested in doing this or for more information contact Lyn Spall on 07748 211037 or email lynspall@googlemail.com

Love DIY? Then this is for you!

Our Church Hall is used for Youth and Children's work, PCC meetings, for a variety of courses throughout the year, and by outside groups who provide us with a small income.  It has been six years since our last redecoration of the interior and it is in great need of freshening up; summer holiday time is the best time to do this as the hall is used less.  To do this we need a working party for the mornings of the week beginning 23 July, so if you are available and willing to help please speak to Andy Williams or Noelle Gore via the Church Office.  We would also love it if there is a DIY guru who finds it a pleasure to paint and would like to be the "go to" person to head up this team......  A great opportunity to work together, chat and feel a great accomplishment (may even be some cake or Ice cream involved?)

P.S. Andy says he's not good at DIY so if he can put paint on a wall anyone can. 

P.P.S.  Watch this space for more opportunities for painting as we will be looking to freshen up the hall, stairs and landing of the Old Vicarage soon too!!

St John's Summer Services and Church Family BBQ 

'Serving Like Christ Together' 

We will be offering a new 6 part sermon series at St John's at both the 9am and 11am services, following the Lifebuilder Resource, 'Serving Like Christ'.  The sermon series will look at the key character traits taught and modeled by Jesus that are essential to a life of service in the footsteps of the Ultimate Servant. 

We are encouraging life-groups to study this sermon series and a leaders study guide will be available for each group, however if you wish to purchase your own copy of the study guide, you can visit Eden Books and buy on-line at a cost of £4.99 - please click here.  

 

St John's Confirmation Service (with baptism) - Sun 25th November

We would love to hear from you if you are interested in being baptised or confirmed - you are never too old, so if this is something you have always wanted to do, please consider this opportunity.   The service will be held at St John's Church on Sunday 25th November at 5pm (there will be no Cafe Church on this day) and after the service there will be a shared supper for the candidates and church family - everyone welcome! 

If you are an adult please contact the Vicars P.A, Tracey Fearn, via the church office.  If you are in Revival Youth (Cells), please contact Andy Williams.  Preparation sessions will be arranged for both adults and youth in the Autumn - dates to be confirmed nearer the time.