At SMB we have all embraced the opportunity of Digital ministry in one way or another!
From filming sideways to begin with, to filming many things on a weekly basis the right way up and with horizontal screens- I have also embraced the new reality!
Praise God that both with the skills within our existing church and the fresh skills that our Media and Worship director in Shana bring - we are able to move forward even more fully into the digital world.
We will enjoy 'In-Person' meeting again but for the time being the On-Line' opportunities are excellent and the numbers engaging with it are increasing. For example, we now often have more than 30 gadgets signed into Morning Prayers at 8.30 Monday to Friday on Facebook Live. That means that as we pray there are more than 40 people at the live prayer gathering and many more join later in the day! Prayer is a key to a deeper discipleship.
Is the digital world a maze and somewhat uncomfortable - yes! But it is a new reality and one we need to increasingly embrace as we reach church, community and city.
We will be opening up Zoom, for about 30 minutes, after the online service to provide an opportunity for prayer and for a chat - similar to the time that would normally happen at the end of a service if we were in the church building.
The details of how to log in will be shown near the end of the service so don't switch off straight away! So make sure you have pen and paper handy, or pause or rewind the video.
If you have updated to the latest version of Zoom (5.4.3) then, when you log in, you should be able to choose if you wish to join a chat group or a group for prayer. If not, a member of the St Mary's Team will be able to allocate you to a room after you have logged in.
Shana Kreusch, the new St Mary's Bletchley Worship and Media Pastor, has put together a short survey to help her understand how SMB connects with God and to give insight into how to grow and develop worship and church online.
We also now have the facility to listen to the service on the phone for those who are unable to join on Zoom. Just dial one of the numbers below, then enter the ID and Passcode above to be connected to the audio of the service:
It's been great to see and hear of the interest for the next Alpha Online Course that was scheduled to start this Sunday. However, we have decided to extend the invitation for a few more weeks - we will now start on Sun 14 March.
Please prayerfully consider who to invite to join this brilliant course.
Based on the book Parenting Children for a Life of Faith, the Parenting for Faith course is a video-based course that we will be sharing over Zoom.
The goal of the course is to help parents discover that they are perfectly positioned to show their children the reality of a life with God and to empower them to have their own vibrant two-way relationship with him.
It is open to parents, godparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, foster parents, children’s and youth leaders, church leaders and family friends - in fact, anyone who wants to support a child or teen (of any age) in their spiritual development!
It is an 8-week course and we will be running it on a Thursday evening at 8pm in two four week blocks, either side of the Easter holidays.
You can still submit a question by emailing peter.landry@stmarysbletchley.org. We will not publicise who asked the question so you will be anonymous.
Robert Beales (known as Bob), who attended Oasis and Open Church, sadly died with Covid-19 in early February. Please keep his family in your prayers. Rev David McDougall will be taking the funeral on 4th March.
Prayer for the Persecuted Church
Hello everyone, my name is Rose Kemp and I am a volunteer speaker for Open Doors, a charity that works globally to support the persecuted church. The prayer meeting for our persecuted family is online during the pandemic. We meet on the first Tuesday of the month at 10am for around 45 minutes. Would you like to join us? There is always much to pray for and also encouraging answers to prayer. Email rosejanekemp@gmail.com for a link to the next meeting on 2nd March 2021.
If you haven’t signed up for the 24/7 week of prayer please do so. We are focusing on Mental Health and LENT.
Please book as many hour slots as you like here: https://www.24-7prayer.com/signup/1d961d/
Listen to an introductory video explaining how to use the material available: https://youtu.be/2rqMvzk6Hio Material can found on St Mary’s Church 24/7 Group on Facebook or by contacting me (see below).
Also, why not listen to a RAP written by Mitch, some brilliant and vulnerable music around our theme of mental health. You can listen to his RAP here: https://youtu.be/0YUBqFIPS7Y
FINALLY PLEASE EMAIL ME ANY ‘WORDS’ ‘PICTURES’ ’SCRIPTURE VERSES’ GOD GIVES YOU: michaelwittle49@gmail.com
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.
A service provide by Oxford Diocese
Giving To St Mary's
In these times when we are unable to meet in the Church building together, your donations are just as important to us as they have always been. Your offerings mean we can continue to serve our community both practically and spiritually, worship, and connect with each other and maintain our buildings ready for when we can open again.
Virtual Church is a real blessing, but it does mean physically making your offering interesting if you make your offering via the collection plate. The Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) has responded to this need and it is now possible to 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.