Christ Church is open
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Enjoy the peace, the time and God’s loving presence with you there
if you can’t join us in person, our Christmas Services will be available on line
Eco Stable
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We are doing all we can, along with our wider Swindon community, to celebrate God’s amazing world through practical acts of care and kindness looking after its future recognising the enormous world-wide challenges caused by climate change and the Covid 19 pandemic.
This year, our good friend, Gervin Senior has created a full size replica stable outside the church. The wood comes from discarded fencing panels and local rubbish sites. We even have a star hanging above it and an eco-manger within it!
In Gervin’s words; ‘ Every problem is an opportunity, I am grateful to members of the Swindon community for helping with this project with practical gifts. I hope it gives everybody a lift this Christmas.
The words on the front are;
• From Bethlehem to Swindon with love
• Jesus gives us comfort and joy
• God is with us
We want to be clear- Christmas is not cancelled this year-we are just doing things differently. Our priority is keeping people safe and telling the Good News of Christmas that God has come to us in his son Jesus Christ in a lively contemporary way’.
‘We are enormously grateful to Gervin for masterminding this creative community stable. We hope and pray that people of all ages will engage with this stable’s simplicity and atmosphere and have unforgettable memories by and in our stable which is a gift to our Old Town Swindon parish.’
You are invited to bring:
- A small single object: e.g. rope, stone, pine cone, branch and place it in the manger.
- (It should not include words or identifiers, it’s a personal symbolic gift.)
- A prayer or a longing. A desire for Christ to meet with you.
In this way we build an altar of personal hopes and dreams which will be a Covid safe, environment enhancing and not detracting from the installation itself.
Do come and sit awhile in the stable for your own meditation and prayer, you may want to come and listen to some carols on your phone
Our prayer for people leaving offerings is that they might know the reality of God’s presence with us through His incarnation and that their spirits might be renewed as they join their offering with others.
This week, leading up to Christmas day we are inviting families to dress up as Bethlehem characters and put their photos on our Christ Church Facebook page.
We recognise that many people are social distancing therefore our prayer is that every home may be Bethlehem and every heart a manger. The stable also reminds us of our Bible verse for the year and is part of our strategic plan to develop as an eco-congregation. You can read some of our eco ideas here.
Eco Ideas – What can we do?churchadmin2021-02-09T13:36:29+00:00
Partnership Advent Reflectionchurchadmin2020-12-14T19:37:51+00:00
Community Centre at Christ Church Swindon
churchadmin2021-03-10T13:47:41+00:00We have joined Swindon Community Lottery!
You can help support us by buying lottery tickets via our page.
https://www.swindonlottery.co.uk/…/community-centre…
When tickets are purchased via our page we receive 50% of the purchase price PLUS 10% goes to other local causes and you are in with the chance to win a weekly cash prize with the Jackpot prize being up to £25,0000!
Be in the draw on the 19th of December for your chance to WIN 1 of 5 Entertainment Bundles!
Each Entertainment Bundle includes an Amazon Echo Show8, Echo Dot, & Fire7 Tablet.
Remember there are weekly CASH prizes up to the £25,000 jackpot too! Get your ticket now via the link or scan the QR code below! Good Luck!
Thank for supporting our work.
Chris & Jenny
Community Development Team
Urgent appeal to help our clergy friends in Uganda
churchadmin2020-11-27T19:34:48+00:00Ugandan clergy are reliant on the Sunday offerings for their stipends, but the doors of their churches were closed between March and October. Their congregations also struggle financially due to a loss of jobs and income. As a result, many of our clergy friends are finding it hard to provide for their own families. It is distressing to hear of clergy families eating only one meal a day. Please use the link below to donate directly to the Bishop’s Appeal for Uganda.
Through this appeal, money will go to the Archbishop’s Emergency Fund. Archbishop Stephen will ensure that much-needed supplies are distributed fairly across the dioceses of Uganda.
The appeal will run until Sunday 29 November and offerings should be made as soon as possible so that we can send it to Uganda in good time for Christmas.
Even a small gift of 10 pounds can provide maize meal and beans for a family to survive on for a week; £20 would mean that basic essentials such as salt, sugar, soap and cooking oil could be provided along with the food. £50 would allow a family to meet a simple medical emergency. £200 could provide food for ten families.
To donate please click this link: https://bit.ly/2Twl8jL
Thank you
Ways to keep in touch
churchadmin2021-02-16T18:57:49+00:00Find out how you can join our weekly Newsheet email list and the other ways you can connect with us
Help us spread the Word
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Do you love communicating through film? We would like to film and share more of our worship and ministry, but we need more volunteers behind the camera and people to edit.
If we can, we would also like to purchase equipment enabling us to live stream services in Christ Church for those who cannot join us in church. The cost of this will be around £4,200. If you can help us with a donation or would like to know more about volunteering, please contact Simon Stevenette, tel 529166 or Stephen Grosvenor tel, 341034. (stephen@christchurchswindon.co.uk)
Simon
Donate to our Mission Partners
churchadmin2020-11-27T18:41:18+00:00WaterAid
With our local partners, we work with communities to build low-cost, sustainable solutions that
meet their needs. We also work with local and national government in the countries where we
operate, developing solutions to help them provide water, toilets and hygiene to everyone. And
we work on an even bigger scale, too. WaterAid campaigns worldwide, showing governments
and key decision-makers that investing in these basic services will have incredible positive
impacts.
Online donations can be made here: https://www.wateraid.org/uk/donate
or WaterAid Current Account
Barclays Bank PLC
Sort code: 20-65-82
Account number: 20422746
Other ways to give/support:
If you’re sending in a cheque, please make it payable to WaterAid and send it to:
WaterAid, 6th floor, 20 Canada Square, London, E14 5NN
Swindon Mind
We provide a range of services across Swindon and Gloucestershire to support
those experiencing a mental health concern to improve their overall wellbeing. We strive to
raise awareness, reduce stigma and ensure anyone experiencing a mental health concern has
somewhere to turn.
Donations via: https://www.justgiving.com/swindon-gloucestershiremind
Shoebox Appeal – 2020
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Although we are unlikely to be able to pack shoeboxes with the children this year due to covid, we are still able to collect items for the shoebox appeal. As with last year, we are supporting Link to Hope, who donate the shoeboxes to families and to the elderly. We will be collecting, toiletries, stationery items, playing cards, sweets, as well as gloves, hats and scarves for the boxes. There will be a box for donations at the back of the church in the coming weeks.
Any questions, please contact me, a box will be provided for your gifts at the back of the church in the coming weeks. If you would like to know more contact Sue Clack at the Sunday service or telephone the parish office. Although Sunday Club is not running at present, it would be great to include drawings from the children in the shoeboxes.
Sue Clack
Remembrance Service for the Departed
churchadmin2020-11-09T23:26:17+00:00A service of Evensong and Remembrance led by Rev Simon Stevenette and Anne Macmillan
Remembrance Day
churchadmin2020-11-27T18:53:06+00:00This week marks 102 years since the end of the Great War.