Here's an update from Tim and the team...

​Dear St Swithin's friends,

Good Morning and greetings in the life-giving name of Jesus Christ
Stand firm, and you will win life. - Luke 21.19

Autumn Term
I’m excited, as this Autumn term we are going to be spending time journeying through the book of Exodus together. The second book of the Bible is an epic account of how God delivers the Israelite slaves from bondage in Egypt and the dramatic events of Exodus have continued to speak to successive generations and are regularly captured in art, music and cinema screen for us to digest too.  Exodus is the defining story of the Jewish people.  At the heart of the story is an extremely unlikely hero, a man named Moses, and Exodus reveals how God called and used him to bring God’s people to freedom.  For Christians, Exodus is the backdrop to much that we find in the life of Jesus in the gospels.  My prayer is that as we study Exodus together, we will discover that the story of Exodus is our story and it inspires us to step out and into what God has for us today. We will provide more information next week.

September and October Sunday Gatherings
We are firming up our plans for September and October, which I will e-mail out in the middle of next week, but the plan is to give everyone the opportunity to gather, wherever possible. The outline plan for Sundays will be a morning service each week, Communion on the 2nd and 4th Sundays early evening and a family gathering on the 3rd Sunday of the month (more details to follow).  Please can you continue to pray for and seek to support the whole of our church community.  As a diverse community there will be some who can’t or don’t wish to gather in this way yet and we will continue to seek to support every person’s discipleship across our generations.  There are still so many opportunities for 1-1 and small group meetings, where we can encourage each other, pray for each other and spur each other on.  Do make the most of the opportunities that the ‘better weather’ offers.

Annual Church Meeting (APCM)
Please join us on Sunday 13th September at 11.30am as we meet in the church building for our postponed APCM where we will reflect on the church’s ministry over the last year and look forward to the future. Numbers will be limited in order for us to maintain physical distancing so please email the church office office@stswithinswalcot.org.uk  if you would like to book a place. We will provide  a recording/ transcripts of the presentations for those unable to join us in person on the day. Don’t forget that we issued the booklet of reports in July. Do re-read this to remind yourself of all the things that took place in the church last year http://www.stswithinswalcot.org.uk/apcm.html
 
With every blessing in the Name of Christ, the highest Name.

Tim and the Staff Team