Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas from The Connexion.

'Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.' (Isaiah 7:14)

Amen!

(Image by Walter Chavez, Unsplash Photos)

Many thanks to Helen Weller, Archivist for Westminster College, Cambridge, for supplying us with her blog post featuring the Countess of Huntingdon's connection with Thomas Coram, who opened his Foundling Hospital in London in 1739.

Woodmancote Church is a small, welcoming and outward focused fellowship of Christians who are looking to grow!

The church feel that God is moving them into a fresh new season, which is hugely exciting for all, and as part of this, they are seeking a new Minister with energy and a passion for Christ to join them and help to take their ministry forward.

The new minister will join the current Leadership Team of three. A small stipend is available and all work expenses would be covered. The key aims are to:

- Preach the Word of God

- Pastor and equip Woodmancote's congregation

- Reach out to the 'unchurched'

If the Holy Spirit is prompting you to enquire further about this opportunity, please visit Woodmancote's website page for more details about the vacancy: woodmancotechurch.org.uk/recruitment

Last year Simon Allaby wrote the book Greater Love for Remembrance Sunday, which is now available to purchase in time for 10 November 2024.

Greater Love contains twelve short stories that reflect on conflict, sacrifice and where we can find true peace in God. Each story is accompanied by a simple illustration, a Bible verse and questions for reflection.

In his foreword, former Royal Marines Commando, Rev Tim Saiet, writes: ‘At last an accessible book which includes faith and stories of sacrifice – a brilliant book that I will pass on to my friends’.

Ideal for both Christians and not-yet-Christians, Greater Love is an excellent resource for Remembrance Sunday Services, and also as a giveaway for churches and individuals to share with friends, family members and enquirers.

To Order

The book is priced at £1 per copy. For more information and to order visit Simon's Turn the Page Online Shop

Simon will also bring some copies of the book to the Conference next week for purchase there.

St Stephen’s Church in Middleton will be holding their 200th Anniversary Celebration over the weekend of 12 and 13 October 2024.

St Stephen’s became part of The Connexion on 10 October 1824, when their new church building in High Street, Middleton was opened, with the first minister being ordained on 12 October 1824.

A special anniversary Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration will take place on Saturday 12 October at 2:30pm, welcoming Michael Harvey from ‘Back to Church Sunday’ as the main speaker. Joe Gregory, President of The Connexion will also be taking part in the service, which will be followed by a celebration tea..

St Stephen’s will continue the celebrations on Sunday 13 October at 10:30am, when Joe Gregory will be speaking.

Satyajit Deodhar (known as Sat) has been appointed as the new minister at the Countess Free Church in Ely. He is supported by his wife Sheeba and their daughter Salomi.

Sat is a dedicated and passionate Baptist minister with a rich mission and pastoral leadership background.

Raised in a Christian family and inspired by his grandfather's work in rural India, Sat felt a strong calling to serve God during his youth. He went on to pursue theological studies and has since gained significant experience in ministry, including roles in mission organisations, teaching, and pastoral leadership.

Sat has a heart for building robust and diverse church communities, focusing on discipleship, spiritual growth, and serving others. His ministerial skills include preaching, teaching and administration, which he has used to strengthen the churches he serves. With a servant-hearted approach, he values relational leadership and is committed to transparency, unity, and the empowerment of all believers.

We are delighted to welcome Sat to The Connexion and look forward to following his ministry and community at The Countess Free Church.

Mortimer West End Chapel recently invited Mike Simpson to speak about his missionary work in the UK and overseas.

Mike is a freelance charity consultant, who supports and develops charity governance. One major part of his work at present is leading the development of a Single Friendly Church Network.

Does the church welcome and value single people?

The aim of the charity is to encourage churches to welcome and value single people at ‘every stage of life', including those who have never married, the divorced, bereaved and single parents. Mike notes that UK society is changing. 40% of adults are single, and this is increasing in every age group. But single people often report feeling unwelcome or less welcome in church, particularly if it has become so 'family-focused' it fails to reach these groups effectively.

Yet, in Matthew Chapter 12, Jesus speaks of ‘a new family’ when he says,  “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50).

Mike has more than 40 years experience in the charity sector, including working with the homeless and drug addicts in the UK and with persecuted Christians in the Middle East. He has spoken many times at Mortimer West End Chapel about these initiatives and how the Lord has guided and empowered his work.

To find out more about Single Friendly Church, click on this  website link.

It’s now almost a year since Karl Relton wrote to the Trustees to explain how the experience of lockdown at the Countess Free Church in Ely had led him and his wife Karen to explore a different way of being church. As you may remember this led to them taking a step of faith and moving to a housing estate in Leicestershire to begin a more incarnational ministry. Karl was in touch recently with an update on how they have been getting on.

News Update from Karl

Life here on the new estate has been at a radically different pace compared to classic 'church ministry', but not necessarily any less intense. We settled in quickly joining community activities and volunteering to get to know people. At the same time, we were prayer walking the estate asking God to lead us to people who were spiritually open.

In October this led us to invite round a young couple from Asia who had some experience of the Christian faith from childhood and were open to exploring more spiritually. We also befriended another young couple from Asia and have had great conversations while our friendship develops. To help with this I have been recording stories Jesus told as YouTube Short videos, which they love watching. Click here for link to Lubbe Stories

In November, on a very wet Remembrance Sunday morning, we met another guy of similar Asian heritage. He was very open and agreed to do discovery Bible studies with me, making comparisons with Eastern religions. Earlier this year he asked Jesus into his life, and I am now discipling him and he is learning to be a witness to others - praise God!!

There are other stories to tell ... but you can pick up that God has led us mainly to people from or originally from India. That’s the beauty of this way of working - we would never have guessed or planned that. I should say that Leicester is very multi-cultural, and the new estate reflects the ethnic mix including high number of Indian heritage. We are loving that, as are our taste-buds!

We’ve also been encouraging other local Christians to pray for their neighbours, and I produced a mini-blog: Myths of Personal Evangelism to help with this. Click here for link to Myths of Evangelism 

With blessings

Karl and Karen

Our new tab for  Ministerial Vacancies, which is located at the top of each website page, has now gone live.

The Connexion churches and chapels span from the South East and the Midlands to Manchester and St Ives in Cornwall. Although each of our 21 churches has a distinctive personality, they all share a common desire to build a supportive, expanding, spirit led Christian network, which honours the legacy of the Countess of Huntingdon.

We welcome applications from those who may be interested to join one of our Connexion Churches - and/or the board of Trustees. 

Currently there is a vacancy for a new Pastor at Rosedale Community Church, which is a small but growing evangelical church in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. 

Rosedale is looking for a passionate, spirit-filled individual or couple with a heart to care for their congregation, guiding them in fulfilling their vision of being a Christ Centred Community and inspiring them to reach out to neighbours.

The position is full-time and includes a five bedroomed Manse. The application deadline is 31 August 2024, with a proposed start date of July 2025.

Click on the link for more details New Pastor at Rosedale

For an informal chat prior to application please phone Simon on 07952 860811. Or find the details at. www.rosedalechurch.org

Tony Derrett, one of the Elders at Mortimer West End Chapel, writes this week about the value of friendship.

Do you have any real friends? By that I mean, a friend who sticks closer than a brother or sister. Someone who turns up to help you when you are in need. 

In my life, the friends I've had seem to have largely come and gone. At school, then at college, then in the workplace and even in previous churches I've attended. They were friends for a season and that was ok, I guess. All part of my training in growing up?

One way to spot a real friend - I define this as someone who really cares for you - is when their love for you is unconditional. They don't just ring you up asking to borrow something from you. They are not being nice to you because you're in the same 'club' as them and share the same interests.

Their friendship towards you is not dependent on your attendance to an event they invited you to. You can 'let them down' and they still love you.

Once, in my short life a friend rang me to ask me how I was out of the blue. I nearly fell off my chair!

God's Invitations

In the first two of our 'Invitations' posted on the notice board at the back of the Chapel, God is inviting us to know Him better.

This week, as I was thinking about friendship and discussing it with my wife Judy, I had a wave of revelation about my friendship with God. Something that I've known for a long time but it came stronger and deeper to me this time around.

Psalm 146: 3 says 'do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save'. Jesus in John 2: 24-25 does not entrust himself to the 'many people who saw his miraculous signs'. 'He didn't need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man'. Basically, you can't trust a human being 100%. They are flawed and will eventually let you down at some point. So don't get upset when this happens to you.

On the other hand, we have a relationship with a God who says we are His friends. This friendship is eternal. With someone who will never let you down. It's the most amazing, intimate and wonderful thing that could ever happen to a human being. To be friends with God. An Outrageous Love!

Another wonderful thing about this relationship is that as it develops God teaches us how to be a true friend like He is. As we hang out with God, His divine friendship starts to rub off on us and we catch hold of this aspect of His nature and likewise become empowered to be friends to those around us. Our friendships go deeper and become more intimate, in tandem with our relationship to God.

So, this week my prayer for us as a small but significant part of His Great Church Body is – 'Lord please teach us friendship'.