During a prayer meeting before last Sunday’s morning service, one of the members of the prayer team felt that God was giving the word ‘abandoned’ for the SMB family.
For a lot of us, the past 18 months has been really difficult, and for some of us re-emerging into a new normal is stressful and anxiety-inducing. Some of us feel abandoned by God, by our loved ones, by our friends and by the church family.
As we have been praying for you all during this week, we have felt that God wants to speak into that sense of abandonment.
He wants you to know that, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7
God loves you, and your church family love you and when you’re ready to join us again we will be very happy to see you.
If you are currently struggling with a sense of being abandoned, please do get in touch, we would love to listen and pray with you.
Holy Toast: During the summer Holy Toast will be at The Three Trees pub from 7pm for anyone who wants to pop in.
Wednesday 18th August
10am: Holy Communion St Mary's Church
OPEN CHURCH 2pm-4pm: Thursdays
Come in and see the church or just sit and pray and reflect.
For further information please contact Mike Wittle on openchurch@stmarysbletchley.org
A Note About Attending Services:
As we meet together, we want to encourage you to continue to take precautions, keep socially distant where you can, wear a mask if you're comfortable doing so, and sanitising at our doors.
May we be aware that there are still many among us that are feeling cautious, as well as those that are still vulnerable to the virus. We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our services!
Let's do our part to take care of each other.
ADVANCED NOTICE:
Wednesday 25th August Service change of venue
Due to the Holiday Club taking place in the church building, the Wednesday Communion Service on 25th August will be held in St Mary's Community Centre.
This week we will all be in the service together where we will be looking at the parable of The Dishonest Manager. Below you can find a video that helps with the story and a worship song to sing.
The Parable of
The Dishonest Manager
Who You Say I Am - a worship song
10am Summer Services at SMB
8th Aug
All Age Service 15th August
Service with kids' groups
22nd Aug
Service with kids' groups 29th Aug
All Age Holiday Club Service
Getting the house ready for Rachel Ciampoli - the new Curate
It will soon be time for Rachel and Dwight Ciampoli to move in to their house in Bletchley!
Here are two ways you can help get the place ready for them.
Volunteers needed to clean and decorate:
Before the Ciampolis move in we would like to give the place a little spruce up. If you have any time spare to grab a paintbrush or a broom please contact Charlie Bishop at charles.bishop@stmarysbletchley.org. The work will take place at the end of August, beginning of September.
The Curate's Larder:
It would be lovely if we could provide cupboards full of food and goodies for them when they arrive. If you would like to donate anything to the collection mark it clearly ‘Curate’s Larder’ and drop it off at the church office.
Thank you!
HERITAGE WEEKEND 18th and 19th SEPTEMBER 2021
As part of the Milton Keynes Heritage Open Days, St Mary’s Church will be open to the public between 12 noon and 4pm on the Saturday & Sunday.
A full program of events has been organised looking across a thousand years of our church history, including spaces for people to spend quietly in reflection, beekeeping talks and a lot more.
What we need:
Volunteers for both days
Bakers to make a cake or two, as we will be serving refreshments
If you are able to help please contact me (details below)
Thanks Mike Wittle
07958049085 | michaelwittle49@gmail.com
Messy Church Summer BBQ
Sunday 22nd August, 2pm to 4pm
Family picnic blankets in the Church Yard to celebrate Summer with Messy Church
Spaces limited so please book your space direct with Maryann - 07951 376967 or email maryann.brooks@stmarysbletchley.org
Still Spaces Available for All Age Groups
Do you have any keys for our church buildings that you no longer need?
We are holding a key amnesty for anyone who has keys for our church buildings that they no longer need. If this is you, please post the keys through the letterbox of the Church Office or hand them in to a member of staff.
Thank you.
Now in person.
Click on the picture above for more information.
St Joseph's, Newton Leys
St Joseph's, Newton Leys, is the pioneer church linked to St Mary's in our parish. It is headed by Rev Ben Thorpe and is currently continuing online. You can follow what they are doing on Facebook here.
New Opening Hours
Giving To St Mary's
Your offerings mean we can continue to serve our community both practically and spiritually, worship, and connect with each other and maintain our buildings.
We are members of The Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) and you can sign up to the scheme over the phone. Please call them on 0333 002 1271, remembering to have to hand St Mary’s Bletchley Parish Code which is 270627709 and know that we are in the Diocese of Oxford. If you would like further information you can have a look on their website https://www.parishgivingscheme.org.uk/for-donors/
Or if you would prefer to make a one-off donation then please email me and I can tell you how to do this. nicky.whitmore@stmarysbletchley.org
Thank you.
