St Michael's Church, Stoke Gifford
Living to make a difference
We are so excited to be going to Spree South West this year! Spree SW is an amazing youth festival run in partnership by South West Youth Ministries and Urban Saints. The festival has a huge range of activities on offer as well as different teaching streams aimed at young people across all stages of faith. This will be a fantastic time to grow closer to God, each other and have amazing fun!
It runs Friday 23 to Sunday 25 June
What does it look like to thrive as a single person of faith? What does the Bible say about singleness, and why is this often misunderstood in church?
Join Single Friendly Church and other Christians around Bristol as we explore these themes together.
This talk is for everyone, whether you have been single for a long or short time, and in whatever circumstance.
There will be opportunities for discussion and socialising with others.
Tickets are £5 per person and include refreshments.
Doors open at 11am for refreshments, with the event running from 11.30am -1.30pm.
This Lent we are all invited to explore how we can live well with the mess of everyday life.
Dust and Glory encourages us to take a fresh look at the frustrations and failings that every day brings and, rather than pretending we can always avoid them, seek to learn from them and grow closer to God through them.
Dust and Glory: A Lent journey of faith, failure and forgiveness is the Church of England’s Lent theme for 2023. This year’s resources are informed and inspired by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2023 Lent Book, Failure: What Jesus said about sin, mistakes and messing stuff up by Bishop Emma Ineson, who has also co-written the daily reflections booklet for adults
At St Michael’s we are recommending this book for Lent which is available from all good booksellers.
The weekly themes of the Archbishop’s Lent Book are also explored in daily reflections from the Church of England.
Dust and Glory: A Lent Journey of faith, failure and forgiveness offers a daily Bible reading, a short reflection and a practical challenge, as well as a prayer linked to the week’s theme. Co-written by Bishop Emma Ineson and Abbie Martin, the booklet is designed to be used either in parallel with the Lent Book or independently. The booklet is available to order now from Church House Publishing
An update to the Church of England app for iOS and Android – including daily audio – will be available in mid-February. Anyone who has the Church of England’s #FollowTheStar app installed will automatically get the Lent update. The reflections will also be available via email and also via the Church of England’s smart speaker apps – as well as on the free Daily Hope phone line (0800 804 8044).
The aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria has been devastating.
We join – with so many others – in praying for all those impacted.
In terms of practical support, our Mission Action Group has made a £1000 donation to Tearfund as an initial response to the situation.
If you would like to give financial support, we are directing this to DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee). DEC charities (including Tearfund) and their local partners are among the first responders, working with locally-led relief efforts in Turkey and Syria.
You can give online at dec.org.uk