Summer is on the way and schools will be finishing soon for the holidays. 2025 is certainly flying by fast (it’s now just 24 weeks until Christmas 🎄)
Here are a few Welcome Church updates and prayer requests to keep you up to date with all that’s going on:
Farewell to Jonathan and Sabrina
On Monday, we waved a final goodbye to Jonathan and Sabrina.
They’ve been with us for around 18 months as Leadership Trainees — a great way to start their married life together. Jonathan is from India and Sabrina from the USA, so we always knew their time with us would eventually come to an end. We will miss them in the church offices, and I know their warmth, friendship, and contribution to our church will be missed by many.
Tony and Sally waved them off at Heathrow on Monday morning, and Vinu messaged me on Tuesday to let me know they’d arrived safely back in Mumbai.
Origin Books Returns This Sunday
Origin Books set up shop with us one Sunday back in June, and it was so popular they will be back this Sunday (13th July). They’re usually based at Christ Church Woking, next to Jubilee Cafe, but their shop premises are temporarily closed whilst Christ Church carry out some building work.
I hope lots of us will be able to make use of this excellent resource once again this week. If you have any special requests for books or resources you’d like them to bring, feel free to message me or reply to this blog — I’ll pass your request along.
We’re Recruiting: Community Grocery Manager
We’re excited to be recruiting A Community Grocery Manager — a key role for the future of Welcome Church as we launch a brand-new initiative to serve our community with dignity, compassion, and practical support.
Here’s a link to the Information Pack where you’ll find all you need to know about the role, who we are looking for and how to apply.
The deadline for applications has been slightly extended to Monday 14th July
Staff Team Updates
Just a quick reminder that Dub will be back from Sabbatical on August 1st, and Stephen – our new pastoral lead – will start on September 1st. These additions will be a real help to the team.
I’m also delighted to share that Tracy Smith is now officially on board as our Safeguarding Manager. She’s been fulfilling this crucial role in a voluntary capacity for a while, but will now be working for us 3 days a week, leading the team that look after safeguarding for adults and children at Welcome Church.
Don’t forget that if you ever have any safeguarding concerns you can email us on safeguarding@welcomechurch.uk. You can also view our safeguarding policy and handbook via this link.
Big Weekend Away
Finally, a reminder that our Welcome Church Big Weekend Away takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend – click here for details of how to book. It’s a fully catered event and will be a lot of fun for us all.
Most of the tickets are now gone but a few places are still available. The final booking deadline is Friday 25th July. We may open up bookings for day tickets soon – watch this space for updates. Don’t forget: it’s first come, first served, so please don’t leave it too late and miss out!
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