Christmas

Hi friends! Happy nearly Christmas!

This Sunday we have our services of Carols by Candlelight. They'll be at 4.00pm at Bradfield (along with our Methodist friends!) and 6.00pm at Mistley.

Please note that Mistley's service particularly will be mainly candlelit, including the use of hand-held candles. If you would feel safer not holding a candle, please bring a torch instead!

But that's not all: oh no! Christmas starts with Christ, and definitely does not end with our carol services. Please come along to our services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Take a break from all the rest of the festivities to remember what it's really about. 

Our Crib Services (3pm, Christmas Eve at both Mistley AND Bradfield) are suitable for all-ages, retelling the Christmas story along with songs, a craft, and a biscuit on the way out. 

Our Christmas Communion (11pm, Christmas Eve at Mistley) is a formal-style late night service. 

On Christmas Day, we'll be joining together (10.30am at Bradfield) for a Christmas Family Celebration with Communion. 

Please do join us for any and all of the services to remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Following Christmas, there will also be a joint service of Family Christmas Communion, Sunday 27 December, 10.30am at Mistley, but no normal early 8am service of Communion.

Happy Christmas!

Cafe Church...where on earth am I going?

Come along to Mistley, 10.30am on Sunday 22 November for Cafe Church, where we'll enjoy each other's company along with food and drink (bacon and veggie sausage sandwiches...), our usual children's programme, film-clips, music to listen to, images to think about, discussions and opportunities to listen to others, thinking and exploring all on the subject of...where on earth am I going?

Everyone welcome! Please tell your friends, family and neighbours!

Pamper Evening

God of Every Story

I'm starting to think that we should all hold funerals pre-death. 

Hear me out. It seems such a shame that the wonderful stories of people's lives are only told once they aren't there to embellish them. Almost every funeral that I've ever attended has made me realise that I barely knew a fraction of the person who had died, and now, too late, I can't discuss these amazing stories with them. 

Our stories are extraordinary. We too often package them up into boxes, themed and sorted by suitability, revealing only certain boxes to certain people. Maybe this is why our stories spill out after death, when friends join together and open all the boxes at once. 

Our Life Group spent the summer eating together. We dumped our usual worship and Bible Study in favour of setting the table, eating, chatting, washing up, and praying together. In amongst the chilli and the cake, and discussions on films and history and flea circuses, we found out more about each other than we had before. We found out how very different we are. We heard each other's stories, which, while showing our differences, showed even more that ours is the same story of rescue and redemption and love in the hand of Jesus.

I went to a funeral last week of a lady whose story is far removed from mine. Her troubles were much worse. Her exuberance was extraordinary. Her enjoyment of concerts and live music made her effortlessly cooler than me. Her story, however, was the same as mine. It was one of grace. Of God's faithfulness. Of his unending love.

So here's what I'm suggesting: I think we need to share our stories now. I think we need to talk about the times where we've felt blessed, and the times where we've had to reassess what 'blessed' really means. 

I'm bored of the sound of my own voice.

I like writing, and chatting, and expressing myself, but right here, there's too much me, and not enough you. I was thinking this today, and then I read an article that said that we should use our church websites to share our stories. So for once, I listened.

We're going to keep using this website for information. For notice of events. For occasional posts where I assert theologically suspicious things (I had a great one on St. Michael half written before I started to doubt most of what I had actually written...). But I also want us to use it to get to know each other better. To tell each other our stories, and to encourage each other.

Because here's the thing. He is the God of every story. He sees each tear that falls. We may not understand, but one thing is certain: He's a faithful, faithful God.

'God Of Every Story' by Laura Story (c) 2013

Learn and Remember

September

September is upon us - where did that come from? I thought it was still June, and yet the schools appear to be starting up, and I appear to be dressing as if it's November.

You might not be thrilled that the nights are drawing in, or that you might be back on a school-time schedule, or that strawberries are nearing the end of their season...

...however, apples are coming into season. You can wear layers again. Porridge is calling. And it's very nearly harvest.

We've got two different harvest celebrations this year. Bradfield's is in the evening, likely to be a bit more traditional-style, and will involve supper. Mistley's is in the morning, will include the children's work, might be a bit more of a mix of older and newer stuff, and will include a lunch! Something for everyone. Unless you don't like eating. Or harvest in general...

Also, it now being September, I present you with your new memory verse. This one is easier than last month - I promise.

The Lord is good;
his love is eternal,
and his faithfulness lasts forever.
Psalm 100:5

See? Much easier. To help you, however, you can save it as your phone wallpaper now, to get ahead for Sunday. Do it now. You'll look so very holy.

(What's that? It's curiously like the harvest poster? Why yes. We do like a theme here.)

Happy harvest, friends. If I get myself together, I might be back soon with more thoughts. We can but hope.

Sorry and Learn and Remember

OK, so first off, I'm very sorry this has been so long! The Church Office has been buried under one landslide of paper after another. The website is now updated again, just about, with more photos in the Media Gallery, all the services to Christmas now in (yes, I know! Remarkable...), and hopefully more updates on events and activities coming very soon!

In the meantime, I am starting a new era: for quite a while now, every month we've had a memory verse based off the children's teaching which, as a Church, we try to speak over each other, and have a whack at learning. Suffice to say, we're very good at the proclaiming bit, not so good at the learning bit.

Therefore, how would you like your very own phone wallpaper, inscribed with the very verse that you're trying to learn? You WOULD? Well then...

'Come back to the Lord your God. 

He is kind and full of mercy; 

he is patient and keeps his promise; 

he is always ready to forgive and not punish.’ 

Joel 2:13

Easter Services

Everyone is welcome to any and all of our Easter services. 

Please come and join us to celebrate God's love for us!

Christians Together will also be giving out hot cross buns outside Manningtree Coop on Good Friday,

and there'll be more buns (!) after the Christians Together Service at The Hub.

Our two main Easter Sunday services will be different in style. Mistley's will be more like our usual first Sunday service, with a mix of more formal and less formal elements, while Bradfield's service will be a more formal service. The children's work (Treasure Seekers) will be at Mistley.

Please note that there is no evening service on Easter Sunday

Mistley Church Hall

Mistley Church Hall is over 100 years old, and considered by many to be an architectural gem! 

If you'd like to hire a venue with character, well placed between Mistley and Manningtree, near the Church and the Animal Centre, not to mention within sight of the river, please consider contacting us!

See here for more information about the Hall.

This February, MISTLEY CHURCH HALL NEEDS YOU!

If you take an interest in the Mistley Church Hall, please come along to our Hall Open Day,

Saturday 21 February 10.00am-1.00pm

at Mistley Church Hall, New Road.

Chris will be giving a talk at 10.30am and again at 11.30am on our current situation with the Hall, and our plans for the future. We would really like to know what people in the Mistley area and beyond think of our Hall, so please do come along and let us know!

Messy Church!