Here is 'The Messenger' downloable for free: June Magazine.

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Dear brothers and sisters,

As I write, I am currently on a curates’ pilgrimage to Wales. A part of being on pilgrimage is meant to be about discovering God on the journey, in the people you meet and the places you travel through. This has given me plenty of time to look back and give thanks to God for all that he has been doing in recent months and to look forward with hope at what is coming next. I hope that this will inspire you as you read through the rest of the magazine to have hope as you see some of the ways that God is at work in our parish. The last few months at All Saints have been an exciting time for our small but growing congregation. And it seemed only right that we write to share the good news of what God is doing in our church in this parish, through your prayers and support. In doing this we hope that you will continue to pray for all the amazing things that are taking place.

Looking Back

Many of you will know that, since the January launch, our afternoon ‘Closer’ service has been blessed with a lot of growth. We’ve seen a large number of young people come to church every week with their families, averaging around 50 people over the last month. Many of these young people and their families are choosing to be baptised and confirmed as they have become a part of the church family at All Saints.However, many of you may not have heard we have also begun to significantly grow our ‘Little Saints’ tots and toddlers group. This has been a wonderful opportunity to meet parents who weren’t otherwise connected to church and to form relationships with them. We have already seen one family start coming to Church through tots and toddlers and there are many others who have been encouraged and come away with a positive experience of All Saints.

We have also had an amazing time over Lent and Easter and were overjoyed to welcome nearly 300 people through our doors for All Saints’ school Easter service and large numbers of people into Church for the passion play, as well a number of other beautiful services that were enjoyed by many. During lent we also had our first ever ‘youth alpha’ series which has helped to lead to All Saints having their first confirmation service in decades.We have also tried to put our money where our mouth is and to not become too inwardly focused. All Saints held a coffee morning to raise money for Mayfield special school and raised nearly £200. This comes amidst a growing relationship with Gillibrand primary school and it looks like we will have three primary schools that will be having their Christmas assemblies in our church this year!

Altogether there have been so many great things happening at All Saints that we could fill a whole magazine talking about everything that God is doing in this place. But the work is not done! There is still a lot to do and a lot of great events coming up over the next few months.

Looking Forwards

Over the coming months we are hoping to encourage our new members and to help our church to keep growing. To do this we will be focusing on new ways to engage young people and to help teach them the bible, such as with our Holiday Club, which will take place on the mornings of 13th-15th August 9:00-12:30 in All Saints’ Church (see the ad for more information), and the confirmation classes which will lead to a confirmation service on the 5th June at 7pm.

Yet, not everything is aimed at the younger ages. We are soon to have a choral evensong, led by the St George’s choir, on the 1st June at 5pm. For all those who love choral evensong, please do put this in your diary. It will be a beautiful service and shall include cheese and wine for refreshments afterwards and a retiring collection. We are also planning a number of social occasions such as coffee mornings, beetle drives and youth socials for later in the year, as well as a few more exciting changes that are soon to be announced.

There are still a number of problems at All Saints’, particularly as we look at finances. Whilst much of the country is still going through a cost of living crisis, we know that there will be a lot of work ahead especially with regards to All Saints’ church building. Yet, in all that we do we know that God is on our side and, as we have seen his hand at work over the past few months, we know that there is hope in Him.So, as you read this magazine, may you do so with hope in our God and, as you traverse the months ahead in the pilgrimage of life, may you seek to find God in the people you meet.

Fr Jordan