Dear Friends
Please join us this Sunday for our official goodbye to Sara as she moves on at the end of the month.
A little word
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 1 Thess 2.7-9(NIV)
Sara will be too humble to say it, but these words of Paul came to mind as I was thinking of her time with us. Her curacy has been during what many of us who have been around the block acknowledge as the most challenging time in our ministry. All of that stop start Covid stuff, not being able to meet up with folk, quite literally making stuff up as we went along this was her curacy! And she has come out the other end still standing.
Sara, we want to thank you for the time you have spent with people. The CoGs team and Pastoral Care team are areas you have worked really hard on and it shows. There will be many other examples others will call to mind. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
We will miss you, but we wish you well in new opportunities and adventures, and we’ll still see you around at local twinned deanery do’s and the like. Go with our thanks and our blessing.
Things to pray for
- Give thanks for all Sara has done in her time with us.
- For the work of Foodbanks and Warm Spaces.
- For Christians around the world, as they start the reflective season of Lent.
Services
Sunday Gathering at 9.15am.
Morning Worship at 10.30am.
This week’s readings are: Exodus 24.12-18 & 2 Peter 1.16-21
Refreshments to follow and shared lunch at 12noon.
Sunday evening at 7pm.
Reflective Holy Communion
7pm on Wednesday.
Holy Communion and imposition on Ashes to mark the start of Lent.
10am on Thursday
Holy Communion, followed by Lunch Club. In Church until the heating in the Welcome Centre is fixed.
Turkey-Syria Earthquake appeal
Please consider making a donation to the appeal following the tragic events of this week. You can do it here DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal | Disasters Emergency Committee or if you would like us to forward it, pop it in a clearly marked envelope in the church collection box.
Bring & share lunch
Sunday at 12 noon. A time of food and fellowship to mark Sara & Bill leaving us. The Welcome Centre heating is playing up, so wrap up warm and we’ll make the best of it. If you have a fold up chair you can bring it would help, we are running short.
Sara’s farewell
Many of you will want to express your thanks to Sara for her time with us. We would like to give her a gift. If you would like to contribute, either send it to the bank in the usual way, or drop it in the offering box, or pop it in the vicarage post box. Please make sure you use the words ‘Sara gift’ as a reference or on the envelope to distinguish it. You can still drop it in this week.
Coming this week – Lent
Lent starts with Ash Wednesday this week 22 Feb. We will have a service in the Evening at 7pm.
We will be using the Dust & Glory 40 days of readings from the CofE. Paper booklets and a phone app are available. Paper copies are limited so if you can, use the phone app.
If you would like to meet, we will have a discussion group on a Sunday Evening at 6pm before the reflective service. This starts next week (26/2).
Keeping up
Reminders of contact details:
Maureen (for admin queries). office@pitsmoor.church, 07765 232789.
Pip (for everything else!). vicar@pitsmoor.church, 07799944436.
Earlier news
Previous editions of this news update are on the website if you can’t find it in your in-box.