We are so looking forward to celebrating LIGHT coming into the world at Christmas at our Christmas Eve Christingle service but please note we will now only run ONE SERVICE at 4.30pm and not two as previously advertised.
Pastoral Letter at Christmas from Rev. Chris Murphy
Dear friends,
Let me begin by wishing you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May you enjoy every blessing over this Christmas season.
As I have been reading the Christmas narratives in Luke’s gospel I have been struck again by how the birth of Jesus is good news. My feeling as I approach the end of what feels like a very strange and difficult year, is that we are all in need of some good news. The good news of Christmas is that a baby has been born who is both Saviour and Messiah. These labels may seem so remote from us today that we can fail to see how it is good news. But 2021 may have revealed more than ever how we need a Saviour and a Messiah.
Please click here to view the full text of Chris’s letter with helpful thoughts for the Christmas season and news of his Sabbatical from Boxing Day until returning in April.
Christmas Food Parcels delivered
Thank you so much to all those who contributed to the food bank appeal through November and December. Food parcels were packed and delivered yesterday. We were able to pack parcels for 18 different households ranging from 1 to 8 persons, using over 1000 individual items donated.
It is our great hope that these parcels reflect the good news of great joy that is for all the people.
Pictures from our Pop-up Nativity
What a joy to spend Sunday afternoon recreating and reflecting on the Christmas story with children and families! There was no sign of any lobsters – just angels, shepherds, wise man (sic!) Mary, Joseph, a shining star and a whole host of animals.
It was wonderful to unpack the Christmas story using The Christmas Promise and to remember that Jesus will be coming again, in very different circumstances, as our Forever King!
Pop-up Nativity | Sunday 12th December
Turn up, dress up, sing up! As more and more school nativity plays go off-script about the Christmas story it’s good to offer children a chance to learn the real story from within.
Discover and do the original Christmas story as we take part together in our Pop-up Nativity. Join Mary and Joseph, a bunch of shepherds, some wise men, and lots and lots of angels as they discover how God kept his Christmas promise.
We will use a storybook called The Christmas Promise by Alison Mitchell and Catalina Echeverri which is published by thegoodbookcompany and available from all good booksellers. The teaser on the back of the book reads, “A long, long time ago – so long that it’s hard to imagine – God promised a new King. He wasn’t any ordinary King, like the ones we see in TV or in books. He would be different. He would be a NEW King; a RESCUING King; a FOREVER King!
There will be refreshments during our rolling start and afterwards, as well as the ‘dressing up and singing up’ of the play itself. We also have Christmas-themed activities planned so get down to St Michael’s from 3pm on Sunday the 12th!
Experience Real Change through Dependence on Christ
The Christian life is defined by growth. We might know that the Bible calls us to grow in godliness but find it hard to answer exactly how this happens.
In his newest book, Deeper, pastor and author Dane Ortlund looks at the Bible’s teaching on how Christians grow in grace – most fundamentally, by enjoying all that is already theirs in Christ.
This book makes the case that a believer’s sanctification does not happen by doing more or becoming better, but by going deeper into the wondrous gospel truths that washed over them when they were first united to Christ.
If you are hungry and thirsty for more life, more joy, more peace and more Jesus, this is a book for you.
Deeper can be ordered for you via our bookstall at Christ Church, Barnston. Do contact Joanna on joannahill@barnston.info for more details if you are interested.
Why not go deeper this advent?
Our Christmas programme of events
It is exciting to launch the programme of events for advent and Christmas this year.
We begin on the first Sunday of Advent with our Commitment Sunday, and continue, over the following weeks, to be inspired by God’s generous gracious gift to us of Jesus, by considering God’s gift to Zechariah, Mary, the Shepherds and Simeon from the account in Luke’s gospel. Luke has an emphasis on bringing ‘outsiders’ into God’s family. He does this by not only showing us who Jesus is but how people have responded to the news that Jesus is the King.
Three of the stories are about angels bringing wonderfully exciting news to ordinary people. These include Gabriel’s visit to Zechariah to tell of the coming of John the Baptist, Gabriel’s visit to Mary to tell of the birth of Jesus and the angel’s appearance to the shepherds to announce the actual birth of Jesus. The final lesson is about Jesus’ visit to the temple as a baby and the warm reception he received from an elderly, but very godly, Simeon who spoke of the mixed response that Jesus’ kingship will receive.
We pray that as we remember God’s gifts to us this Advent and Christmas season that we will respond to the news that Jesus is the King with love and generosity of spirit.
Baptisms in Chile, Barnston and Pensby
We heard recently of the baptism of Lucia Pacheco, daughter of our mission partner in Chile, Diego and Sabrina Pacheco. It is such a joy to see children baptised into the family of God.
Within our own church family we recently celebrated the baptism of Isabelle Lamb at St. Michael’s and look forward to the baptism of Gregory Brassey at Christ Church.
We also regularly welcome families who wish to see their children baptised in our churches and pray that they will find a place with us longer term to help them in their commitment to bringing their children up as part of the family of God.
News and Prayer Update from Neema Children’s Home
Please click here for the full text of the latest November newsletter from Joshua and Miriam Mbithi and the Neema Children’s home in Eldoret, Kenya, which begins with fanstastic words of encouragement:
Greetings from us all here at Neema as we thank God for each one of you. It is our prayer that you all are well and experiencing the goodness of the Lord, the joy of the Lord has been our strength, we thank God for the opportunity to serve here at Neema.
In the Bible, the book of Job 14:7, reads, “For there is hope of a tree,If it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and the tender branch thereof will not cease.” This scripture is such an encouragement. What the human eye may see as the end is not what God sees as the end. God is able to bring forth life where there evidently is no life. In other words, there is hope!
Commitment Sunday Update and booklet
Commitment Sunday on 28th of November is an opportunity for us to reflect. And having reflected, to review how we give our time, and our talents, and our treasure as we seek to follow Jesus. There is no doubt that this review has been triggered by our financial situation, but as the PCC and MLT reflected on this situation we realised that our commitment as Christians is not limited to what we give to church financially. As such, our financial situation presents an opportunity for us to reconsider our personal commitment to Jesus. When we follow Jesus, we submit our whole lives to his Lordship, this means our money, but also our time and our gifts.
That this may look like for us, as we commit or re-commit our life to Jesus will be different for each one of us. For some, choosing to come to church over a football match may be a costly but necessary commitment. For others, attending church every week as opposed to once a month may reflect significant growth. For yet others, helping out in some way, considering confirmation, or even staying behind to chat to people over refreshments may signal a renewed commitment to Jesus and his church. All of us, as we follow Jesus, want to be generous with our time and our talents and our treasure.
Prayer and news update from our Mission Partner – St Peter’s, Rockferry
Please click here for the full textof the latest prayer and news update from Dave Casson andLucy Slavin, working at St. Peter’s Church in Rockferry.
Contained in the newsletter are details of events and progress with the church plant in The Barn at Rockferry Primary School, schools work lessons and assemblies at Rock Ferry Primary School, toddler groups, youth and children’s groups and personal prayer requests.
St Peter’s @ The Barn – Our new congregation held its first service at the Barn (Rock Ferry Primary School) in September. The aim is to reach out to that part of Rock Ferry that we don’t really have much contact with at the moment.
We have been getting 20 to 25 at our services including three families who live very close to the school, one of which used to come occasionally to St Peter’s Church on a Sunday. I (Dave) have responsibility for the services each week and preach most Sundays, so my role has changed to allow time to do this. I still oversee the youth work and am involved in the schools work, but have handed over more responsibility for the weekly children’s work to Lucy.
Commitment Sunday – 28th November
The PCC has recently been reviewing the church budget and financial situation. We have a significant gap between our day to day income and expenses. This has prompted an urgent call on the church family to pause and review our giving as individual church members. As we prayed we felt that we should not limit our review to finances alone, but take this opportunity to consider our wider commitment to the Lord Jesus himself and our service to the church as part of the body of Christ. Between now and Commitment Sunday on the 28th of November we would like to encourage you to think about what God has gifted you with in terms of your time, talents and treasures.
Watch out for the Commitment Sunday Booklet, coming out in November, which will explain more about the budget situation, and help us to explore the opportunities to use our time and talents and treasures for Jesus as we seek to Make Jesus known and grow together in Him.
Church Food Bank Appeal
This year, as we celebrate the birth of our Lord at Christmas, most of us will be once again enjoy the company of family and friends. However, there are still many families on the Wirral living in poverty for whom Christmas will not be a joyous occasion. Even those who are working, will face difficult decisions as to whether to heat their homes or feed their families.
With your generous assistance, we, as a church community, can make a real difference to these families by making donations to the Wirral Food Bank. To receive your food donations there will be a container in the foyer at St Michaels and another at the back of Christ Church at Barnston. These containers will be available for your kind donations from Sunday 24th October 2021.
We’re really looking forward to celebrating Jesus, the light of the world, at our Light Party on Saturday the 30th of October.
The venue is St Michael’s Church Hall in Pensby, with the party beginning at 4pm and lasting until 6.30pm. It is our hope that the party will be accessible for anyone from toddlers to Year 6. We’ve planned some brilliant activities, stories and food and we’ll cap the whole thing off with a neon disco.
The more the merrier but please book in with us. Details of how to do that can be found on our latest notice sheet which is available here
Women’s Breakfast with Lucy Slavin
“Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live” Psalm 116 v 2
On Sat 9th October,just over50 women from St Michaels and Christ Church sat down to a cooked breakfast and fruit salad. Over juice, tea and coffee we caught up with friends and it was very good to be able to do so in person after so long!
Our speaker was Lucy Slavin who is the children and family’s worker at St Peter’s Rock Ferry. Not only are St Peters one of our mission partners but they are also the church our new vicar Chris Slater is coming from. As Lucy reminded us (lovingly) there is a certain church who has taken two of her vicars! It was great to have the opportunity to meet one of our mission partners in person so that we can be better informed as to how we can effectively pray for them.
Please click here to read the full article and learn how you can pray for Lucy and the work of St Peter’s, Rockferry
Real Change
All of us, whatever our stage of life and faith have areas in our lives which need transforming.
What is it for you? Do you find yourself responding in unhelpful ways to situations or people out of habit and long for change? Maybe you tend towards anger or impatience, or towards anxiety, jealousy or discontent. Some of us struggle with addiction, for some fear of what people think is a daily burden and all of us still harbour a measure of pride in our hearts. Wonderfully God does not leave us this way, He promises to work with us patiently in the very place of honest struggle with sin and affliction and He changes us in ways that are truly beautiful, and which bring freedom and hope. It will involve discussion as a group, pair work and we strongly encourage you to be committed to the five weeks so that you can really benefit from the course.
Come along and join us at the Hub from November 4th where Real Change is one of the streams available.
Real Change will help you understand how God is at work in our lives. You will reflect on your own heart, on life’s hardships and on God’s mercies. We won’t be perfect at the end of the course, but we will begin to be moving towards the Lord in our area of struggle and I hope we will all have the privilege of receiving His help.
Please do contact Joanna Hill at joannahill@barnston.info if you have any questions, and do also visit our discipleship page for more information and resources about how we can be working at following Jesus.
