March:
This month, we celebrated with joy and thanksgiving when we were priviledged to witness the baptism of four of our young men. Tom Rawlinson, Michael Clowes, Peter Hall and Richard Cleaver all took that great step in their Christian walk and publicly declared and witnessed through the act of baptism, that they are followers of Christ. It was a most enjoyable and positive experience and we all, collectively pray that they will come to a deep and meaningful relationship with Christ as they mature in their faith.
We were very grateful to Salem Baptist Church in allowing us to use the baptistry facilities, and many thanks must go to all those helpers who provided refreshments afterwards.
After the event the lads presented a joint letter to the Church:
"We would like to thank all those who came to our baptism service last Sunday. It was a very emotional and exciting time for us and we really do appreciate all your prayers, support and presents!
The evening of the Baptism we all [Mike, Peter, Tom and Richard] went to Fusion (the Christian Youth Group that meets in Cheltenham) where we were all prayed for. During the prayer, one of the leaders described us as four boats out in the sea. The sea was stormy and rough, but not one of the boats leaked; and after a while the sea became calm. We simply pray that we will be those indefatigable boats throughout the rest of our lives on earth."
September:
We celebrated the 150th church anniversary this month, recognising, together with the community, that the church building is the only Christian place of worship in the village. Through faithful service and dedication by previous and current generations it maintains a presence within the community of Woodmancote.
Celebrations started with a fun quiz in the New Village Hall, together with 16 teams made up from representatives of the various organisations in the village including the Parish Council, Woodmancote School Prayer Group, Women's Institute, and others, and of course some of the church family. A great time was had by all, with some quite tricky questions, courteousy of Andrew Hiscock [quiz master]. Of course, the fact that we had really yummy puddings to follow wasn't the sole reason that so many folk entered!
Saturday saw the church decorated with fantastic floral displays depicting different aspects of the church life, including prayer, youth and age, families and the Countess of Huntingdon.
Sunday we celebrated with a special service to remember the church witness within the community and to look forward to all that God can do with us, in his service. Afterwards the church community shared lunch together in the old village hall.
November:
The church AGM was held on 17th November. Keith introduced the evening with a short review of the 'ups' and 'downs' of the previous 12 months.
The 'ups' included:
- Baptismal service (4 of our young men were baptised earlier in the year)
- 150th year anniversary
- Increased attendance at the Wednesday@8 evenings
- Introduction of the prayer chain
- Encouraging signs that God is at work
- Consistent support within the Ladies Prayer Group
Some 'downs' included:
- Decline in SPLASH numbers
- Loss of GForce leader
- Loss of some familiar faces on Sunday mornings
Keith introduced the theme for early 2005 as 'Make disciples', 'Mark them' and 'Mature them'. This is based upon Matthew 28:19-20 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you".
As part of this, the leadership team recognise the need to mature us and to that end, some Christian courses will be run next year.
The leadership team will also be considering the future structures within the leadership, considering the roles of Elders, Deacons and Pastoral care.
Keith announced that Nigel had volunteered to serve as GForce leader.
On a practical front, the church finances were presented and accepted (as our legal requirement to do this). The meeting room at the rear of the church has had its roof replaced - having suffered some leakage and water ingress for a period of time. Disabled access is to be considered and efforts to update the church heating system continues.
Keith outlined the plans for the December services, including Carols by Candelight, the Nativity service and our Christmas Day service.
We also looked forward to our Church Weekend at Lindors, due to take place in early March 2005.