Welcome to the Summer Notices.

During the summer there will be no weekly notices andwe hope that this extended notice sheet will keepyou up to date with everything you need to know for Summer at St Chad’s.If you have anything to communicate in the meantime please contact the church ofce and we’llmake sure your notice is communicated in the bestway possible.We hope you have a restful and wonderful summer!

building community

Summer ServicesWhat’s on

July/August 2010

Going Growing Gathering

St Chad’s: A Community building Communities

Most of us love the Summer and we do so for a number of reasons. We love the long days and the warm weather.We look forward to slowing down and enjoying God’screation - meals in the garden, walks in the hills andtrips to the coast. We plan time to be with our familiesand catch up on ‘jobs’. We all need times of rest andrefreshment, times to recharge our batteries and takestock of where we are going. The summer gives us timeto plan and prepare. As a church we try to reduce our busyness and activities. Our service plan is reduced,meetings take a break and the Lifecentre closes. I want toencourage everyone to slow down!For many it is also a time of pilgrimage, packing their tentsand heading off to New Wine and Soul Survivor. Holidayswere holydays. They were times of pilgrimage with thefocus on meeting God. And I pray that many of us willhave the opportunity to be refreshed spiritually over thesummer period. Get back into the habit of reading your Bible each day. Take a Christian book with you on holiday.Pray about the opportunities of serving the Lord in theautumn. This can be a time of evaluating our ministriesand seeking the Lord for fresh direction.I would love to think that when our new season begins inSeptember we will all be able to come together with freshvision, increased faith and new passion. We want God todo a new thing in our community but he must start withus. Let’s take advantage of the summer to seek the Lordafresh and be renewed. I want to believe that the words of Isaiah 42 might be for us in 2010/11.

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will takehold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be acovenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, toopen eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name. I will not give my glory toanother or my praise to idols. See, the former things havetaken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”

May you know the power of the Creator, the peace of theRedeemer and the presence of the Spirit in whatever youdo and wherever you are this summer.In the life of the church, September often feels like the beginning of anew year. Certainly it is a time for us to return refreshed and excitedabout the new opportunities andchallenges that lie ahead. We will bereleasing full details of the teachingprogramme and new courses soon.We are planning three series for theautumn. The rst - ‘Improving Your Serve’ - looks at how God equipsand empowers us for ministry andmission. As we do this we will beencouraging everyone to have aSHAPE appointment. The second- ‘The R Factor’ - will look at theimportance of relationships and thepower of love. The third - ‘Beforei-phone, i-am’ - will study key Biblepassages related to the season of Advent.One of the things that emerged fromthe church audit held earlier this year was the desire for opportunities toworship together as a united churchfamily. In response to this we areproposing that twice a year, at thebeginning of September and againat the beginning of January we haveone united service for the wholechurch family. It will be a communionservice for all ages, with liturgicalelements and traditional andcontemporary music. So on Sunday5th September we will ‘WorshipTogether’ at 10.30 and this will befollowed by a church family lunchin the Guywood Centre. I do hopeeveryone will support this and givethe new season a great start!

“After the Summer!”

Slowing Down

Our Children’s and Youth work will bestarting back the week beginning 13thSeptember 2010.Babies and Prampushers

Guywood Centre

Morning sessions for babies, pre-schoolers and their carers are held daily from Tuesday to Friday during termtime. All sessions take place in the Guywood Centre onGuywood Lane from 10-11.30am. For more informationcontact Kirstie Goddard on 07970 100778 or just comealong!

Children’s Work4-7s - Firework

Guywood Centre

Fireworks takes place on Mondays during term time from3.30-4.45pm. Aimed at children aged 4-7, this groupincludes games, stories, craft and many other activitiesshow the love of God.

7-11s - Fuel

Guywood Centre

Fuel is our mid-week group for 7-11s. We use games,stories and group activities to talk to children about God’slove for them and good principles to live by. Childrencan apply this to their lives whether they would callthemselves Christians or not.

Youth Work11-14s - Core

Lifecentre

The CORE group meets on Sunday mornings, helpingyoung people to build a strong core knowledge of thebible and to experience God.

11-14s - Hub

Guywood Centre

A new mid week group for 11-14s. Chill out with friends,play games, and chat about what God is all about.

14-18s - Pulse

Guywood Centre

Pulse Small Groups meet in different homes aroundRomiley, providing small, safe places for Christian youngpeople to explore what living a Christian life is all about.The small groups are complemented by the Pulse Caféwhich is a place for young people to chill out with their friends, drink hot chocolate and chat.

Kids&Youth in September...

Jill Hookway meets local MP Andrew Stunell at theGuywood opening celebrationLifecentre Volunteers Summer BBQOver 90 mums and carers came along to thePrampusher’s Summer MealVolunteer team preparing afternoon tea at theGuywood Celebration Day.

Leadership Huddle

The Leadership huddle is a time of resourcing for leaders in the churchso that they are able to resourceothers. Over the next 12 months,there will be a variety of teachingfocused on leadership skills,spirituality and practical ministry.Each session includes: worship,teaching, accountability and half an hour to meet in ministry teamsor small groups to discuss how toput the teaching into practice. Themeetings are for all those involvedin leading small groups or part of ministry teams including youth andchildren’s volunteers and the PCC.Meetings are from 7.30 - 9.30pmin the Lifecentre. We hope that youwill prioritise these dates over andabove normal ministry commitmentsso that you can be even moreeffective and fruitful as you return.We are meeting on the 2nd Mondayof each Month:

13th September;11th October; 8th November;13thDecember; 10th January; 14thFebruary; 14th March; 11th April;9th May; 13th June; 11th July.

Please put the dates in your diaryearly to avoid double booking!

Cave Dwellers-Just for men!

We have now had 3 men’s eventsover the last 5 months and are inthe process of planning a 12 monthprogramme of events includingwalks and curry nights! If youwould like to be part of the team,or lead an event, please contactJoe Pienaar on 07854179087.Otherwise watch this space for future Cave time!

Prayer Night

On the 1st of August many peoplewill be at New Wine and on holiday,but the prayer night will continue withGill Gosling leading the night focusedon world mission. The prayer night isfrom 8 - 11pm at the church. Please join with us as a family in fasting for the church and community in Romileyon that day.

N Counter

Over the last few weeks we beenlooking afresh at Holy Communionas a place of encountering God.We have come to realise again theimportance of this meal and as aresult the N Counter leadership teamhave decided to change the pattern of services.From September we will becelebrating Holy Communion on the1st and 3rd Sunday’s of every month.Many people are blessed throughcoming to the evening service andwe will endeavour to advertise theteaching that we provide.Our heart is that people (young andold) will come and appreciate theextra time and space to reconnectwith God. We now meet at theGuywood Centre at 6.30-8pm. Don’tbe shy, give it a try!!!

Diocesan course comesto the Lifecentre

‘Listening as Ministry’ - An introduction to the Ministry of Christian Listening.

This Course introduces a safe,disciplined way of listening, but is nota training in counselling.It will be held on Thursdays from7.30-9.45pm on Sept 30th, October 7th, 14th & 21st and November 4th.The course fee is £40 for all vesessions.For further information contact JoanReid on 0161 430 6831To book, phone or email Gerri Tetzlaff at Church House on 01244 681973Gerri.tetzlaff@chester.anglican.orgThe Prampushers summer meal took place on Friday 9th July at the Guywoodcentre. The building looked absolutely fabulous. 90 mums and grandmas(including two men!) came and enjoyed a fantastic evening. They were givendrinks on arrival and then served a three course meal. It was such a privilegeto be able to serve and bless them in this way, and many have come back andsaid what a wonderful time they had. Please continue praying for all thesewonderful people and please pray for our teddy bears picnic on Thursday22nd July. Thank you so much to all who helped and all who made puddings.