All Saints School will host the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service that had been planned for All Saints Church at 12 noon on Wednesday 18^th January. Tea, coffee, etc will be available. The school is in Acton Lane, off Springlands Way (the bypass), Sudbury, CO10 0AA.

Please publicise this information, and alter or replace any displayed notices. Here are updated Diary Dates and WPCU Poster with full details.

The aims of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are:

• To pray as Christ prayed ‘That they may be one’.
• To pray for the unity of all Christian people as we share in Christ’s ministry.

The Week of Prayer offers opportunities to meet and pray with fellow Christians of different denominations.

The theme for 2012 is We will all be changed.

Change is at the heart of our Christian faith. Saint Paul said that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, and we are called to live as children in the light.

The theme comes to us from the churches in Poland, who have reflected upon their own experience as a nation, and in particular how, as a nation, they have been changed and transformed by the many upheavals of their history, and sustained by their faith.

Change is also at the heart of the ecumenical movement. When we pray for the unity of the church we are praying that the churches that we know and which are so familiar to us will change as they conform more closely to Christ. This is an
exciting vision, but also a challenging one. Furthermore, when we pray for this transforming unity we are also praying for change in the world.

Resources

The resources for 2012, for use by individuals or leaders, are available as downloads here . There is also an order form to purchase the material in a published format. The Week of Prayer is organised by Churches Together in Britain & Ireland.

In Sudbury the 2012 dates are Sunday 15^th to Sunday 22^nd January.

In Sudbury the week began on Sunday with a United Service led by Future Vision at Cornard Christian Fellowship. It was good to see about 80 people there from at least 12 different churches. During the service we heard about the work of Future Vision in about 13 local schools. We were also reminded of the Covenant renewed five years ago by ministers and lay people. It can be found on churchestogetherinsudbury.org.uk under About, CTiS and it is also included below.

On Monday there was a lunchtime service at St Andrew’s, and on Tuesday at Bures Baptist Church.

The week continues:

Day 4:
Wednesday 18^th January, 12:00 All Saints SCHOOL, Acton Lane, Sudbury, CO10 0AA

Day 5:
Thursday 19^th January, 12:00 Long Melford United Reformed Church

Day 6:
Friday 20^th January, 12:00 Roman Catholic Church, Sudbury

Day 7:
Saturday 21^st January, Suffolk Road Church, Prayer Breakfast, 8 – 9.30 am

Day 8:
Sunday 22^nd January, the week concludes in our various churches, with some exchanges of pulpits.

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Personal Covenant

We, as servants of the church in Sudbury & District, acknowledge with joy our membership one of another in Christ and in His ministry which we share; we acknowledge with sorrow all that hinders the full expression of our union in Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and humankind (1Tim2:5).

Therefore we covenant to come together – in prayer and study; in prophetic and public witness; in planning for mission through evangelism and social action, for Christian nurture, and for the building up of the church locally.

Together we seek the help of the Holy Spirit in these things so that where we live and work the loving purposes of God for His creation may be served.

To this covenant we now commit ourselves, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This Covenant was signed by more than 200 church members at and soon after a United Service in January 2007. It was previously renewed on 19th January 1997.

Sam has been working in Lebanon as a volunteer since September and is coming home for Christmas.

He will give an update about his work on Wednesday 28 December(changed from Thursday 29 December) at 6.30pm in Great Waldingfield Church.

There will be a time for worship and prayer as well as the talk, and the evening will conclude with light refreshments. All are welcome.

Sam is 18 and from Great Waldingfield. He is a member of New Church Suffolk. His mother Lesley worships at Great Waldingfield Church and will be known to some people through her work with Future Vision and Open the Book.

“We’re searching for young people – aged 25 or under on August 31 2011 – living in Sudbury and the surrounding towns and villages, who demonstrate the qualities of good citizenship. They may be helping local charities or good causes, volunteering in their community, overcoming disability or disadvantage, caring for parents, siblings or grandparents.” Click for more information, poster and nomination form.

We warmly invite ladies to our next meeting on 3rd December at Delphi Sports Club, Alexander Road, access off Newton Road, Sudbury; we start at 10.00am and finish around noon when we serve refreshments.

We have asked Wendy Felgate, one of our members to share her testimony with us. Wendy was widowed in 2007 and subsequent years have taken her on a journey she would never have imagined possible.  She has completed three years of study at Charis Bible College, two years of which she was a full time student living in Walsall.  God has given her a passion to share what she has learned with others and will be encouraging us to move in the power that we possess because we are in Christ Jesus.

The cost is £3 which includes refreshments and we would be delighted if you could join us. All members and non-members are very welcome.

Any further information, please contact me on 01787 371867 or msparks114@btinternet.com . Gill Sparks

Minutes attached.

Our last quarterly Forum was on Thursday 8th December 2011, 7 for 7.30 pm at Cornard Christian Fellowship. Agenda, Finance Report and Diary dates attached.

In addition to the usual reports, news and plans, we have a speaker:

Terry Tennens will tell us of the work of International Justice Mission UK. He is the Executive Director.

Refreshments will be available from 7 pm.

All are welcome!

Please display the poster.

“Light up a Life” United Service for St Nicholas Hospice,

Sunday 4th December at 6.30 pm, at St Peter’s Church, Sudbury.

Preacher: The Rev’d Charles Amoah, Chaplain at St Nicholas Hospice.

Open to all.

Download a poster.

Clacton-on-Sea Cooperative Band performs……proceeds to local charities

Saturday 12th November, 7.30pm, entrance (on the door) £7.50

Poster

Sponsored by the East of England Cooperative Society

Saturday 26November

All Saints Church Hall, Church Street, Sudbury

7 pm to 9.30 pm

Tickets £3

Light refreshments and soft drink included (or bring your own wine)

Tickets available 30 October onwards from Robert Fish (Tel: 379407) or Lilian Hutchins (Tel: 376433)

Arrange your own team of six or join a team on arrival.

Proceeds to restoration fund.

From: Chris Proffitt

‘Simon and the French connection’. A talk by Roger Green (possibly accompanied by the reconstructed head of Simon of Sudbury) at the URC in School Street, Sudbury. 7pm Tuesday 1st November.

All welcome.

Friday 25 November 2011, 6 – 9pm

This year’s Christmas Lights Switch On will start with the Long Melford Silver Band playing a selection of Christmas carols in the Old Market Place, adjacent to the Christmas Tree from around 6pm – 6.25 and from 6.40pm; at 6.30pm the Mayor of Sudbury will switch the lights on. There will be plenty of stalls around the market area selling food and other items and inside St Peter’s : a variety of stalls in addition:  Sudbury Choral Society and Bubbles Christmas Party with Magic Show. The popular  Snow Queen and Elf will be seen in and around the area.  Kettle and Fish will be open and mulled wine with mince pies will be served by members of the Rotary Club. Outside – look out for the Hot Chestnuts and Santa’s Grotto – both being run by the two Sudbury Rotary Clubs.

The event is being supported by Sudbury Mercury, Sudbury Town Council, Waitrose, Churches Together and the two Rotary Clubs of Sudbury.

Churches Together is represented on the organising committee and the strong links with the Town Council are greatly appreciated.

Please publicise and encourage attendance, to ensure a strong Christian presence at this event.