Family Service – 20th January 2013

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Despite the inclement snowy weather, we had around 35 hardy people who joined us for our first Family Service of 2013.Jan Family Service

The service was hosted by Phil who began with the hymn I do not know what lies ahead, followed by prayer.

Phil ran through various notices, including clarifying that in 2013, Family Services would be on the third Sunday of each month.

The second hymn was one which we had learned at our November Family Service, and was Stuart Townend’s There is a hope.

Afterwards, Brian came up to introduce various children’s choruses, before Alan stepped in with an amusing box quiz, consisting of a number of different lengths of string hidden in a box.  Each team answered a question and then withdrew a length of string.  Each length was tied together and the team finishing with the longest overall length of string was the winner.  The quiz was created by Paul, who was unfortunately unable to join us.

Our final hymn was O Lord my God, after which, Matthew Hall came up to speak.

Matthew enthusiastically talked about different famous people and questions that you could ask them.  These included Lance Armstrong, Winston Churchill, Beethoven and The Queen.  He then finished with the final person which was Jesus.

After the service, most people stayed behind to enjoy warming soup, bread and other refreshments, which Lesley and other helpers had put together.

Thanksgiving Service for Meg Stanton – 17th December 2012

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Meg Stanton Thanksgiving Service
The front of the Order of Service for Meg’s Thanksgiving Service

We had a good turnout for the funeral service of Meg Stanton, who had passed away a few weeks ago.

The service was taken by Ken Hill who welcomed various friends and acquaintances of Meg along.

The first hymn was O Lord my God, which was followed by the opening prayer, led by Paul Cogger.

Phil Bray read a tribute to Meg, which included reference to her many years spent working with horses.

Brian Sparks read the following from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

‘Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.’

Ken gave a short address, using the words read by Brian to bring out Meg’s faith in her Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The service ended with the final hymn The King of love my Shepherd is, and prayer.

A short committal service at Braywick Cemetery followed the Thanksgiving Service.

We will miss Meg’s cheerful smile and presence with us, but are all so thankful that she is now free from her discomfort and at peace with her Saviour.

Perspectives of Christmas: Mary – 2nd December 2012

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We had an encouraging start to our series taking place during December looking at different Perspectives of Christmas.

After spending most of yesterday morning clearing up the hall following the recent painting and laying of the new carpet, everything was in place in time for our opening carol service this evening.

Like last year, the series is being hosted by Phil Bray and each of the four weeks consists of a similar format with a mixture of carols, a quiz and a short talk.

Tonight the carols were ‘O little town of Bethlehem’, ‘Away in a manger’, ‘See Him a-lying on a bed of straw’ and ‘Unto us a child is born’.  We also enjoyed a debut performance from the Parkside Voices with Paul, Rachel and Judith singing their version of ‘Mary, did you know’?  The accompaniment was a mixture of piano playing from Paul mingling with guitars from Jon and Judith.

This year’s quiz consists of two teams – the Turkeys and the Crackers – each taking it in turns to remove a layer from a big parcel.  This reveals an envelope containing a number between 1 and 24 which then gives a question for the team.  The quiz  will run over the four weeks with the final prize being revealed on 23rd December.

The speaker for the opening service was Alan, who had the subject of Mary and spoke bringing out her blessed nature.

The service was followed by a selection of mince pies and other festive treats as well as a hot drink.

The second in the series takes place next Sunday at 4.30pm, when we’ll be looking at the story through the eyes of Joseph, told by Paul.

Family Service – 18th November 2012

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We enjoyed a great Family Service this morning, hosted by Phil and ably assisted by Brian.

The service opened with In Christ Alone followed by prayer, after which Phil ran through some of the upcoming activities at Parkside including Toddlers, The Link Coffee Bar and the various Christmas services which are planned.

With the help of Kerry and Judith we were able to learn a new song – There is a Hope, by Stuart Townend:

After singing some of the kids choruses from Sunday Club, led by Brian, we had a slightly chaotic ‘pairs quiz’ which was followed by two readings (the parables of the Wedding Feast and the Great Supper) and singing Majesty, before Dave came up to speak using the two readings as a basis for his talk.

Dave used the idea of receiving an invitation from various people and how we would react, finishing with receiving the offer of salvation from God and whether would choose to accept or reject his invitation.

The service was followed by soup, bread and other refreshments, organised by Lesley.

We now look forward to our first Christmas Carol Service in two weeks time.

November 2012 Conference: Kevin Oh – 10th November 2012

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This evening we enjoyed the first of our winter series of Monthly Conferences with the overall topic of ‘Important Spiritual Issues for believers today‘.

We welcomed Kevin Oh along to share with us his thoughts on the subject ‘How do I obtain guidance?‘

You can listen to Kevin by clicking on the link below:

Our next Conference is on 8th December at 7pm when we’re expecting Steven Buckeridge with us.