Here are a few Welcome Church updates for September:
The work on Church Gate has begun!
It’s taken a little longer than we hoped to get started (due to a range of circumstances, mostly beyond our control), but the builders are now here and the redevelopment of Church Gate is underway!
Yesterday and today we’ve seen fences go up around the site, and I’ve heard plenty of crashing and banging, so something is definitely happening. We expect the work to be finished around February.
A couple of key things to remember:
- Church Gate is now a building site. No one should enter the building without both a hard hat and permission from the developers.
- No parking at the front of Church Gate. Access is needed by the builders at all times, and cars may be towed if they’re in the way.
Church Life Is Back in Full Swing
Life Groups are meeting again, Welcome Youth is restarting, and on Sunday evening we’ll gather for our first Prayer Meeting of the semester. Alpha will be starting soon, and both Welcome Café and Welcome Tots are back too.
Last Sunday, Terry Virgo joined us as a guest speaker. If you missed it, you can listen to his excellent talk (please click here for the video; a podcast is available too)
Our Sunday morning attendance has grown compared to last September as well, and if you find the 11am service a little too full, there’s usually more space at 9am.
A New Preaching Series
This Sunday we begin our new preaching series: “True Religion.” Together we’ll explore God’s call to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly” (Micah 6:8).
The title is inspired by James 1:27:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
I’m looking forward to Chris kicking the series off this Sunday. I’ll be speaking in week two, and along the way we’ll also hear from a variety of voices, including two excellent guest speakers:
- Andy Hawthorne (The Message Trust) – 28th September
- Howard Satterthwaite (Open Doors) – 2nd November
It’s shaping up to be an excellent series – don’t miss it!
Staff Team
The Church Office team is back in full swing this week, and we’re delighted to welcome Stephen Dawson, who has now started his role with us as Associate Pastor. He’s been a delight to have so far, and is already making a huge difference in what we can do together as a church.
Do look out for Stephen and Emma on Sundays, and please make them feel welcome!
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