a family likeness?

The responses to our Count Me In! survey over the summer did more than recruit out our teams, they also gave us a snapshot of our Church DNA! We asked "Can you sum up why you come to All Souls?" and threw all the answers into a 'wordleiser' to get this image: It's one way of picturing what makes us "All Souls" and I think it makes for encouraging reading. As we've grown in size, we've sought to keep our core character, so that whatever way people connect with All Souls (a Sunday service, Little Souls, Ivybridge...), they'll meet something recognisably and consistently "us". I'm really grateful for that gift of God - not to be taken for granted, but worked on and nurtured.

vicar's letter ~ september 2012

one church, four congregations...

That consistent DNA becomes especially important now we effectively have four congregations. The Sunday at 10.30am is our "shop window to the world", being the most likely place for visitors to try and our largest gathering. We also have a congregation serving Ivybridge (in the Bridgelink Cafe fortnightly) and a regular Monday group serving (amongst others) a growing communitiy of retired people. For this month, however, here's a spotlight on the afternoon service: 4.30pm every Sunday - a home for those whose children play Sunday morning sport and for anyone with teenagers (the "Underground" teens' group meets then). There are also those who come simply because their Sunday pattern works better that way and others who pop in occasionally when they've missed the morning service. Why not give it a try sometime this coming term - even if it's just a one-off visit? There are children's groups for pre-schoolers right up to secondary and the shape and 'feel' of the service are recognisable 'All Souls'.

...and one prayer weekend

Something we're sharing across the congregations is our prayer weekend from 13th to 16th September. We're calling it Space because it's about giving one hour spaces for us to pray in. 24 hours a day for three days, the church will have a dedicated prayer space that you book [ www.bit.ly/prayerweekend - or Sunday 9th at church) either to use on your own or with with friends. On Friday 14th, there'll be an evening of worship and prayer and on Saturday morning early, there's a Men's Breakfast with a prayer focus. Whichever congregation you're part of, I hope you'll find a way to be part of the Space weekend and join us in prayer for one another, our community and beyond.

6th Sept 2012