Whānau News: 16 September
 

Kia ora church family,

I have been reminded this week in the busyness of life to always put God first, it is amazing how He then helps us prioritise everything on our to do lists! I hope you are enjoying the sunshine and making opportunities to enjoy all that God has given us despite our busy lives.

I hope your weeks have been filled with the Joy of the Lord. Here is a prayer written by many of you from last weeks service that Rachel led us in:
      Thank you, Lord, for each day that we can enjoy
      Thank you, God, for flowers and new life
      Thank you, Lord, for the influence and example of the Queen
      Thank you, God, for families and the heritage of our faith-passed on from
             generation to generation
      Thank you, God, that you are always with us

There are lots of great things going on in our community, so grab a cuppa for a slightly longer read through whānau news.

With Blessings
Penny

Prophetic Community | Tim Palmer
Tim will be sharing with us and we will be welcoming Carol Dobbe as she joins us as the Children and Families Pastor on staff at FBC.
Join us at 10AM in-person or follow this link for the online service.

For the Kids this Week...  
Hello Families, we have three great programmes running for children at FBC, Pre-school room (0- 5 yrs), Discovery kids room (yrs 1-6) and FBI (yrs 7-8). All children are welcome 😊.  When you get to church, please sign your Children in at the sign in desk.

Coming Up
Please put the 2nd of October in your diaries! We have a fabulous event to share the joy! Joy Ride is about cycling to fundraise for children in Kolkata to have the resources to enjoy life! Eg. providing outings, sports gear, art clubs, youth clubs and more. All children are invited to be a part of this bike-a-thon which will take place in the church carpark during Sunday service on the 2nd of October. There is a give-a-little page available to give towards this fundraiser https://givealittle.co.nz/team/franklin-baptist-church. Adults you can also fundraise on your bikes during the month of October. Let’s get on our bikes for a fantastic cause 🚴

Alpha 
Do you have questions about faith or do you know someone that has questions, please invite them along or better yet, bring them. Wednesdays, 6.45pm in the church cafe. Light are refreshments provided. Register at the info desk. All are welcome.

Alpha Marriage Course
Starting yesterday Thursday, 15 September at 7pm in the cafe and running for 7 consecutive Thursdays. It's not too late. You still can join! The Marriage Course is designed to help couples invest in their relationship and build a strong marriage. Topics include: Strengthening Connection, The Art of Communication, Resolving Conflict, The Power of Forgiveness, The Impact of Family, Intimacy and Love in Action. Register your expression of interest here or sign up at the info desk.

Chinese Alpha Course
华人启发课程
时间：10月21日 - 12月16日，每周五，10:30am - 1pm, 为期九周。
报名联系人：Jackie 027 9389182； Sally 021 0798176

This is an exciting new programme!!! Alpha NZ are introducing an Alpha course in the Chinese language (with English subtitles). The launch of the Chinese Alpha course starts Monday 17th October in the church cafe from 10.30am to noon followed by a light buffet.
Please invite your family and friends to join Jackie and Sally for this exciting new venture. 
Book your place on the course through FBC office - Paul 

AGM
Our church AGM will be held next Sunday, 25^th of September, straight after the morning service. The AGM is an important opportunity to celebrate what God is doing in our church community. We also would like to emphasise significant milestones in life and ministry.  Please let us know if there are important celebrations that you would like to make note of this year.  You can email any of these information to leaders@fbc.nz or tim@fbc.nz. 

Toy Library
If you are planning on buying new sheets/blankets/duvets, please save the packaging and bring along to the church office or deliver them straight to the Toy Library for repurposing. These plastic packages are very handy to keep some of the toys in. We also need some bigger toy bags with drawstrings, so if you are a sewer and you have some fabric you can use to sew some up, we would very much appreciate those as well.

Newcomer's Lunch
If you are new to our whanau, please join us for lunch after the service this Sunday, 18 September at 12pm. Come and find out about the various ministries at FBC, and get to know some of our leaders and staff. For catering purposes, please RSVP to sandra@fbc.nz (While we’ve made every effort to send personal invitations, we may have missed some and we would be very disappointed if someone missed out because of that.)

Christmas Craft Market
12 November 2022, 9am - 2pm. Calling everyone who makes things and want to join in this mortgage repayment fundraiser! We’re looking for items made out of wood (woodturners), craft items, Christmas baking and preserves, handmade soaps, etc. Book your table now (tables are $20). Profit you make on the day will be yours to keep or you can choose to donate 10% or more to the mortgage repayment fund. Please spread the word to friends and family. Click this link to register your interest on securing a table or contact Sandra for more information – sandra@fbc.nz or 027 215 7817.

Barn Dance
15 October, 2022. Reserve this fun event in your calendar! Full details to follow.
Click here to see the flyer. Flyers are also available from the info desk.

Prayer Focus
A two-monthly newsletter from the Global Action Team. Click here for the SEP-OCT newsletter. A printed copy is also available at the Info Centre. In the Prayer Focus, this time you will see a new couple mentioned that FBC are now partnering with. Please take the time to read the introduction they have provided. Thanks for upholding them and our other partners in prayer.

Prayer Chain
If you would like to submit a prayer request to the Prayer Chain, please email Arlene Hutcheon on arlene@ps.gen.nz or send a text to 0274726198. All prayer requests are treated as confidential.

Covid Reminder/Update
We are aware that there is a lot of Covid-19 and flu cases in the community at present. We would love to have you join us online for the service if you are unwell.

Giving
You can give online, by automatic payment or direct debit. Our church bank account: 01 0403 0013842 00 or click here to donate now.

As an encouragement to all of you while you're at home...check out some of the songs we're currently singing on Sundays and a few new ones we might sing in the future. If you have a Spotify account, this is the link to FBC Worship on Spotify