The summer holidays have drawn to a close, notebooks are being packed into school bags, and those recent heatwaves are fading into memory. A new church year is officially upon us. It always fascinates me how much our rhythm as a church mirrors the academic calendar rather than the January calendar year. It genuinely feels like a fresh start – a clean slate.
Finding My Rhythm Again
I originally started this blog to speak directly to you, our church family, and to keep everyone connected. However, this past year brought some unexpected storms. Walking through a sudden bereavement and then navigating a cancer diagnosis meant that posting became much more sporadic than I ever intended.
Yet, even in the quietest, hardest seasons, God is faithful. Thank you for your immense grace, prayers, and patience with me. As we step into this new term, I’m eager to get back to sharing regular updates with you all. There is so much life ahead of us.
Here is a look at what’s happening as we launch into this new season together:
Honouring Darren and Lois
Last Sunday was an incredibly moving moment as we said our final goodbyes to Darren and Lois. Darren has served faithfully as our Director of Operations for over eight years, and Lois has poured so much love into our community through her pastoral care.
We are going to miss them both dearly, but it was a privilege to send them off with our collective blessing. As I mentioned recently, this transition does leave us with a temporary operational gap. Thank you in advance for your patience and kindness with the team if things take just a little longer than usual to get sorted!
Expanding Our Leadership: Welcoming Stephen into Eldership
This coming Sunday, 6th September, marks a significant milestone for our church family. We will be officially appointing Stephen Dawson to our Eldership Team.
Stephen and Emma have been a wonderful part of our church family for a year now. Many of you know Stephen through his staff role leading Pastoral Care, and he has recently stepped up further into the role of Executive Pastor.
We are thrilled to see our Eldership Team expand. To mark the occasion, John Groves—a deeply loved leader within our Commission Network of Churches and a true friend to us as a church—will be joining us to lead this moment through.
We will be conducting the appointment across both of our morning services (9.30am and 11.30am). Please come ready to pray, to celebrate, and to shower Stephen, Emma, and their children with our love and appreciation.
Grounding Ourselves in Prayer
We believe that nothing of lasting value happens without prayer. That is why we are kicking off this new term with a dedicated Week of Prayer, starting this Sunday evening.
Please take note of the dates and times, and intentionally carve out space in your diary to join us for as much as you can – even if you can only make one meeting. Apart from Tuesday morning, which will be hosted online (please ask if you need the access link), all other prayer gatherings will be held in person at the church building.
Let’s commit this year to the Lord together. I can’t wait to see what He has in store for us all.
Steve Petch's Blog 