Be strong and take heart Cry. Declare. Trust.

Psalm 27:1 and 11-14

Online

AT CHURCH

Children & Youth this Sunday

10:30AM Explorers on Zoom

0-11s (Ark and all ages) come along to the last 4PM Outdoor Family service.

3.45PM Pathfinders, The Hut (sign up required)

5PM Prayerfest 0-30 on Zoom

More details for each service can be found when you click the button to sign up, but in short we are continuing to follow the government mantra: Hands. Face. Space. Hand sanitiser will be available on entry to the services, face coverings must be worn and social distancing of 2m will be observed.

Please also help Busbridge&Hambledon Church to comply with NHS Test and Trace, and save a little time when everyone arrives, by signing up to the services in advance.

NEW: Smart phone users may also have the new NHS COVID-19 Test & Trace app - a QR code will also be on display at Busbridge Church, Hambledon Church and the Old Rectory, and you are requested to check in to all BHC venues using the app too. (Yes, please sign up and check in on both systems so we can establish and alert close contacts in the church community should a + test be reported.)

The Notices

HARVEST
Next Sunday, 4 October, is our Harvest celebration. There will be a traditional collection of non-perishable gifts in aid of the Godalming Food Bank and Community Store, so please bring your offerings to any of the three services next Sunday:

You can sign up to next Sunday’s services by selecting the service above.

Our Harvest Appeal this year is for Tearfund, and there will be a video talk about the international work of Tearfund at each service. Giving envelopes will be available, but ideally donations should be made by bank transfer to Busbridge PCC: sort code 60-09-04 | Account No: 00705349 | Ref: Harvest.

See Tearfund.org, and ask Anto about the Tearfund bible study course that Ichthus are following this term.

BUSBRIDGE CONTEMPORARY
It’s back! The contemporary congregation is returning to Busbridge Junior School next Sunday at 10AM for an all age Harvest special in and around the school hall. It aims to be short and simple to test all our coronavirus safety processes in a different worship setting, before the service resumes with children’s work from 13 October. An email with more information is going out to those in the Contemporary congregation this week.

Restarting the Bible course
Does anyone remember that evening, and the anticipation back in March, when 100+ people from all congregations gathered (shoulder to shoulder) in the Busbridge Junior School hall for the introductory session of the Bible Course? A most promising of starts was soon dampened by the imminent lockdown, and we hoped that the course would have a short postponement. Now that the vision for a whole church Bible Course is not possible anytime soon, the course is going to run in Small Groups. All the info is under the Courses menu on the web site HERE, where you can find the great little promo filmed by Simon Willetts. Ignore the dates, because the message is still true. If you are not a member of a Small Group and would like to do the 8 week course, please contact Cat Garner as soon as possible and we’ll link you in to a group that best suits you.

“Doing Life Together”
Over the coming weeks you will start to hear the phrase ‘Doing Life Together’ as Sunday worship, mid week ministry and mission and outreach are linked, interwoven and streamlined to foster discipleship as we journey through challenging and uncertain times. It’s based on the theology of Acts 2: 42.

Small Groups are central to the plan to create a better relationship between Sundays and everything that happens mid-week, and to keep people connected in bible study, outreach activities with local “mission partners”, and serving the church and one and other.

Mid-week church events and activities, teaching, training, courses etc. will be run via small groups, on the night they meet, to keep to one night a week and reduce diary conflicts and overload. Lots of people have joined a small group in lockdown, and Simon Willetts has worked with Small Group leaders to design a monthly and annual plan for groups to follow, with ongoing support and training for the leaders. For some of our 35 small group leaders this has required a step up in commitment, and we are very grateful for their positive response and example. New members, and those who want to connect less formally, are ALWAYS welcome and we can find a home in a small group for everyone.

3 Sunday Services, available online - we need to keep Sundays simple, and be able to reach those who wish to gather as well as those who can not. The aim is to start live streaming from Hambledon Church and Busbridge Junior School by the end of October so that those who can not come to church can feel part of the service in real time, or watch and worship later. (Live streaming is up and running well at Busbridge Church). There will be some flexibility to evolve the format and monthly pattern of each service as time goes on. However, with current restrictions and safety procedures, and changes in many of our lifestyles, we know from the summer survey and feedback since, that running six services every week is neither viable or desirable.

P.S. “Available Online” are two little words which are hereon indispensable to church mission, but carry with them a lot of background work and investment. Once the equipment has been bought and installed (broadband, cameras for Busbridge and Hambledon churches, and the Junior School etc.) you will need people to set up and operate it. Thanks to those who have come forward to make it all possible. #alwaysroomformore!

Specific Age Ministries
Children, Youth & Families - Creative, flexible & lots outdoors. Physical and online meetings are restarting for all age groups, and there will be groups for children attending 10AM services at Busbridge every Sunday from 13 October. (While we can’t provide a creche to leave little ones, there will be a break out room (with a live link from the Contemporary service once the tech is installed) for parents with wrigglers! Information is going out to parents this week and next, and will be published on the CYF pages of the web site. Plans for the Unplugged youth service are also in progress.

Older People - many of those involved in Prime Time and other Older People’s work are vulnerable or shielding, and the much enjoyed social events and outings are not possible under the current ‘rule of 6’. Penny Naylor and the team will continue to plan fun events on Zoom for those that can access them, but the weekly email, also sent by post, and telephone calls are the main method of connecting and caring. Isolation and loneliness among older people in our community is a big concern, and Older People’s Ministry and the Befriending initiative is an example of the local mission groups that Small Groups will be able to partner with.

There is more to say on every area, and this will be explained in services and on the web site in the next few weeks so you will know how and where to connect. And though we are still in September, please rest assured that we are starting to plan for a different kind of Christmas.

Busbridge Church Heritage Weekend Quiz - Click here are the answers. If you missed the questions that went out for Heritage Weekend the week before last, you may still find out some interesting facts about Busbridge Church in the quiz answers, without doing the hard work!

OUR PRAYERS

We have heard the sad news that Jean Whitehouse died peacefully last week, in a nursing home in Eastbourne.  Please pray especially for her family, still mourning Harry, who died in June.  Because of Covid restrictions on the number of people who can attend funerals, friends who would like to see the service online are warmly invited to do so.  It will be held at Eastbourne Crematorium on Monday 5 October at 2.00 p.m.  Please contact Ed and Chris Payne, if you would like the link for the service.

We have also been deeply saddened to hear that Betty Towner died peacefully on Wednesday (23rd September).  She has been a member of Busbridge church for a great many years, but has been resident in a nursing home in Hindhead for the last three months.  We don’t yet know about funeral arrangements, but will let you know as soon as we hear.  Please pray for Betty’s family and many friends, especially her grandson William.

Film Night Discussion: Lady Bird - All invited to a zoom chat on Monday 28 September at 7.30pm to discuss this 2017 coming of age film. The film is available in iPlayer at the moment, or to rent on Amazon. Email ladies@bhcgodalming.org for the Zoom details.

Please pray for Please pray for these roads and their residents, and perhaps include them on a prayer walk this week:

• Parkfield and road steward Alan Betts

• The Hydons

  Click Here for What’s on this week
  Prayer Meetings, Toddler Sing Along and Film Discussion: Lady Bird

  PRAYER MINISTRY TEAM AVAILABLE

To contact the EMERGENCY prayer chain, email prayer@bhcgodalming.org  or call 01483 421267.
Listening prayer is available mid-week.