Our Advent Sunday service is available online now: tinyurl.com/y2eutmf8
Advent Service online
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St Stephen’s Church was open for private prayer
| Last Sunday of lockdown and we were open for private prayer. We hope that services will be able to resume this coming Sunday, 6 December. Remember to book your place with Lynn. |
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Christmas Card service in St Stephen’s Church
We are offering our Christmas card service again this year, where you can drop Christmas cards for the people who regularly attend our services. The cards will be sorted and placed at the back of church for people to collect, around the middle of the month.
A new way to pack shoeboxes online together!
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| Good News. Great Joy. |
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| A New Way to Pack Together – Your Gifts are More Important than Ever! Shoebox Online is a quick, fun and easy way to send a shoebox full of gifts and put a huge smile on the face of a child who may never have received a gift before! If you are unable to pack a shoebox in the traditional way this year, how about packing one online and letting us do it for you? This year every single shoebox counts and with traditional packing harder for some, yours could be the one that ensures a child doesn’t miss out. If you normally pack as a church, group or with family and friends, we also have an exciting new custom goal page feature that will allow you to join together to do this online. |
  Children in developing countries have not only witnessed the spread of Covid-19, but have also seen their already fragile local economies restricted, making life for many even more difficult. Alongside this, some faithful shoebox packers in the UK face challenges to giving a gift due to local restrictions and the need to shield. That’s where a gift packed through Shoebox Online could make all the difference.  New! Pack Together Online This year we have an exciting NEW feature we’ve created to make Shoebox Online packing extra fun for groups to join in together, and reach even more children with the true meaning of Christmas! We’re launching custom webpages that allow you to track the progress of your church, group, or event towards a faith-filled Operation Christmas Child shoebox goal!.  It’s simple: create a goal page through Shoebox Online, then just upload an image or logo, write an encouraging message, and decide how many shoeboxes you want others to pack. We’ll send you a unique link for your goal page so you can share it by email or on social media. Then, spread the word, pray, and watch your goal tracker as it represents more children blessed with a wide smile and a sense of hope! Step 1: Choose whether to pack for a boy or girl and which age group  Step 2: Select the gifts you would like to send.  Step 3: Personalise your gift with a note and photo  Step 4: Donate for your shoebox gift.Then we’ll pack and send it for you! Sincerely, Nick Cole Director of Operation Christmas Child UK Declare His glory among the nations Psalm 96:3 |
A note about the mailing list
| Some of you may receive the weekly news for the first time, even though you have been added or signed up some time ago. I have just realised that there are people on the list who have not been receiving the emails… Hopefully this has been rectified now. If you have changed your mind about receiving these emails or don’t know why you are on the list and don’t want to receive them, I do apologise. It is very easy to unsubscribe. Click on this button and you’ll be removed… |
| Alternatively you can email me on editor.churches@hotmail.co.ukv(or reply to this email) and ask to be removed. |
Alistair’s All Age Service this weekend
This is the link to Alistair’s All Age Service : All Age Service 22nd November
From the Diocese of Chichester…
| Advent and Christmas As Advent approaches we have many events and resources available: Chichester Cathedral Advent Diocesan Advent Reflections Cathedral Carol Service This year we are offering podcasts twice a week as our Advent reflections. The theme will be taken from the lessons contained in the Nine Lessons and Carol service, chosen to help us celebrate the fact the Gospel remains unchanged this Christmas. These will go out Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout Advent on all of our channels. You will find them from 1st December on the Diocesan website here Bishop Martin introduces the Advent podcasts in the video below: |
 Introduced by Archbishop Justin Welby – the line is available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044 – it has been set up for those unable to join online church services during the period of restrictions. Options available include Prayer During the Day and Night Prayer updated daily, from Common Worship. A section called Hymn Line offers callers a small selection of hymns, updated daily. An option entitled ‘Hymns We Love’, provides a hymn and reflection and is based on an initiative by the Connections group. |
Living Faith in 2021
 Applications need to be made by 1st December 2020 for the Diocesan Living Faith course in 2021. Living Faith is for lay Christians to find and develop their gifts and explore what discipleship and calling means for them. It is also part-one of the Authorised Lay Ministry training programme and candidates who wish to train as ALM’s need first to complete Living Faith. |
| Because of ongoing COVID 19 restrictions the course will only be offered online in 2021 on Monday and Wednesday evenings. You can apply and find further information about the course here >> |
No church during the second lockdown
The Government rules for the second lockdown clearly state that places of worship will be closed except for a few specific eventualities, one of which is private prayer. All worship services in St Stephen’s Church and St Leodegar’s Church will be cancelled from Sunday 8 November 2020 until and including 29 November 2020. We are hoping to be able to open for worship again on Sunday 6 December 2020.
St Stephen’s Church open for private prayer
Every Sunday in November from 9:30am till 11am (NOTE CHANGE IN TIME). Please let Lynn know if you are coming to church during these times.
St Leodegar’s Church won’t open for private prayer
You are encouraged to join with St Stephen’s Church. Please remember to contact Lynn if you do.
Christmas 2020 Services
| Thank you SO MUCH to Robert and Lynn, our Churchwardens, for being at church every Sunday so that we have the chance to visit the church for private prayer. We do appreciate the sacrifice of your time. (Please note the change in opening times: 9:30am to 11am.) |
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