Captain's Log January 2017

December 2016 began with my being part of the Christmass Tree Festival at St Mary’s, Stafford. With over 80 trees and a steady flow of people it provided a unique opportunity to raise the profile of FCN in the County. St Mary’s is a large and impressive church set in the heart of the town. As people were passing through I heard numerous comments not only about the trees but the beauty of the building. The Christian Enquiry Agency have recently produced a lovely postcard ‘What Do Christians Believe’ that outlines something about the Christian faith and with an invitation to send the card back to CEA for further information.  The are really excellent and suitable for any church that has visitors because of its beauty or architectural merit.  

enquiries@christiniaty.org.uk

Two preachment's this month. One with my friends at St Thomas’s and St Andrews’, Doxey and the other my ‘regular’ slot at St Anne’s, Brown Edge.

One of the highlights of 2016 was the visit to Stafford of young people from Soul Survivor who joined in with numerous initiatives under ‘Love Stafford’ bringing a blessing to the town.  We had a Church

Leaders Meeting recently where plans where outlined to do the same in 2017.  There is a hope that even more young people and a greater number of projects will be set up. Please pray about the planning and good working relationships between Soul Survivor and participating churches/projects.

Another Love Stafford initiative this year was a Carol Crawl around the town centre.  Around 50 people from a wide range of churches took part as we sang carols in various locations.  We also handed out specially commissioned Love Stafford John’s Gospels.

As to be expected I had several Christmass gatherings including a trip to London for the National Missioners. I was joined later by Jane and Tabitha and we had a wander around the Winter Wonderland and the lights of Oxford Street and Regents Street.

Another lovely evening was with our home group as we went to a local Indian Restaurant. This group that meets regularly on Tuesday nights has become very important for us and offers a great deal of support.

Another very interesting experience was visiting HMP Stafford for a Carol Service. They have an excellent choir, a rock band and a drama group who offered a brilliant portrayal of the Nativity. HMP Stafford is mostly sex offenders and therefore have a very high proportion of older men.

As it is holiday time the number of available e-responders for ‘Search for Jesus’ has reduced. Therefore I have had more than the usual number of questions, etc. Some of these are not easy to respond to. For example I had one from a man whose mother had recently died. As she had not confessed faith he wanted to know if she was now going to be condemned to hell. The answer has to be no more than 400 words because of the medium. It is a huge challenge, always remembering that behind each question, query or comment is a real person. www.searchforjesus.org.uk

 Some appointments and activities for January 2017

3^rd Tuesday

Growth Group social evening

4^th Wednesday

‘Faith Pictures’ with St Peter’s Rickerscote

http://www.churcharmy.org.uk/Groups/266913/Church_Army/ms/Faith_Pictures/Faith_Pictures.aspx

5^th Thursday

Small group meeting to discuss ideas for a Church presence at Shrewsbury Flower Show

8^th Sunday

Preaching at St Anne’s, Brown Edge

In the afternoon facilitating a ‘Thrive Group’ discussion for Swynnerton Benefice

9^th Monday

Meeting with JC as his Spiritual Companion. After lunch Diocesan Mission Team meeting.

10^th Tuesday

In the evening meeting with Hanbury Ministry Team

11^th Wednesday

Personal Quiet Day. In the evening ‘Faith Pictures’ 2

12^th Thursday

‘Love Stafford’ leaders prayer meeting

15^th Sunday

Preaching at St Bartholomew, Norton-le-Moor

16^th Monday

Meeting PCC of St Bartholomew, Norton-le-Moor.

17^th Monday

Morning with Steven Dyson (Bidulph) discussing Church Growth programmes

18^th Wednesday

Planning group meeting for Stafford County Show 2017. (I have been appointed Show Chaplain this year) In the evening ‘Faith Pictures’ 3

20^th Thursday

Informal FCN meeting ‘Chewing the Cud’ in the morning and over lunch ’Chew & Chat’ informal lunch-time gathering

22^nd Sunday

‘Love Stafford’ Evening Celebration with Market Place – I have a Church Army display

23^rd Monday

St Bartholomew’s ‘Mission Action Plan’ Meeting

24^th Tuesday

Tutbury Deanery Standing Committee meeting to discuss their Deanery MAP.

25^th Wednesday

‘Faith Pictures’ 4

29^th Sunday

Church Army preachment at St James’, Barton-Under-Needwood. In the afternoon Christingle at St Mary’s, Ingestre.

30^th Monday

Frontline Discipleship. Continuing work on the LICC material going to be pushed out into the diocese http://www.licc.org.uk/

31^st Tuesday

Meeting with Bishop Geoff and Archdeacon Matthew for Review and planning ahead.