Category: Uncategorized

We want to come to worship poem.

One of the members of our sister congregation at Kennington wrote the following poem during lockdown:

We want to come to worship in the old, familiar places 

Singing old, familiar hymns, seeing our friends’ familiar faces. 

To share again communion, sharing wine and sharing bread. 

And we want to pray together, and to hear the scriptures read 

 

We miss communal singing, one church all sharing praise – 

Though churches all are different, worshipping in different ways. 

As worship draws us close to God, so worship should never cease 

With guitar and drums, or organ, or in silence – perfect peace. 

 

Some take comfort in traditions, like having church bells rung 

Or sitting in their favourite pew, and hearing anthems sung. 

Listening to the preachers as they expound upon the text: 

There is a certain comfort in knowing what comes next. 

 

But in this world of constant change, God’s challenging us all 

Not to dwell upon “what used to be” but to look outside the wall. 

For we are called to care for others, to see the hungry fed 

To love the lonely, and the poor – to go where we are led. 

 

We are also called to keep alive the faith in Christ alone 

With the Spirit and in God, who rolled away the stone 

To set us free from fear and guilt, now free to show His love 

For God is here, in you and me, not just in heaven above. 

 

God means us to be together, drawing strength from those we know 

The saints unite in heaven, just as we should do here below. 

We need to be together, so we can share what God has done 

Giving glory where it’s due – to God’s eternal Son. 

Return to Worship

Here is the Circuit Plan for September only.  This only cover the 6 churches that we currently are attempting to open, further details to follow.

Plan Information Sheet for Sept 20

The Podcast will continue and can be found at:

https://ucashford.podbean.com

Or on iTunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-united-church-ashford-podcast/id1506397897

Alternatively search for United Church Ashford in the Podcasts or iTunes App on your iPad.

The service at the United Church Ashford will also be Live Streamed on our YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQfiOAbUR_mkPOzK5RSTqHA?view_as=subscriber

Fishing for Hope

Thanks to Lisa for posting this on the Circuit Facebook group:

Do you want to be a part of ‘Fishing for Hope’?

The Challenge: Create a fish prayer object. Or, create a shoal! Use your talents and whatever creative resources you have available in your home to make your fish! You could make a fish by: – knitting, crocheting, cutting, sewing, sticking scrap materials, painting it on a stone, paper mache, Lego, iron-on beads, clay, baking – or any other creative means you can think of!

Why a fish prayer object? The fish has long been a symbol of Christian identity, hope and salvation. At times like these, perhaps it is good to hold on to our Christian identity, hope and salvation! Literally! With the fish we create, we can hold them in our hands and we can hold what they represent symbolically in our hearts and minds.

Why do this? The fish could be an object for prayer during this time. They could also be gifts for others; whether they can be gifted now, if there are others in your household, or later, when the time is ‘right’ (according to governmental health and safety instructions and advice).

This is a multi District scheme covering the Southern & Islands region. Share your fish pictures in the circuit facebook group, or email them to me.

Messy Easter

With the current situation we aren’t hosting a Messy Church on Sunday afternoon. So if your little ones enjoy Messy Church, then why not host your own on Sunday. The Messy Church – BRF Facebook group will be online with a story on Sunday 12th April at 5pm. They have provided ideas as well for you to download for a Messy Easter and a Messy Good Friday.

If you want something for this week to replace Sunday’s Messy Church, why not get your little one’s involved in the Eggs and Crosses drive from City Vision. Rather than putting rainbows up in your windows put Eggs and Crosses up.

Alternatively, Churspacious has set a crafty Palm Sunday challenge: make your own palm cross and send in photos of your cross or crosses. This new group, set up by URC ministers, is a place to ‘be church’, whatever that means to you. Search for Churspacious on Facebook or Instagram to find out more.