Looking back and forward – 31 December 2013

We hope you had a very Happy Christmas and will enjoy a peaceful New Year.

Carols by Candlelight

We’ve had a great time over the Christmas period, particularly thinking about the real reason that we celebrate Christmas – that of the birth of the Lord Jesus at Bethlehem.

Our December Family Service was followed by an excellent Christmas lunch which proved to be very enjoyable.  We also had over 80 people along for our Carols by Candlelight service on Christmas Eve, which was brilliant.

Final view before the big pack up began
Parkside stall at Maidenhead Festival

Aside from Christmas, we’ve had a busy 2013 with Family Services being held each month as well as enjoying a busy day with our stall at the inaugral Maidenhead Festival, back in the summer.

We had good numbers for our two BBQs in the summer and Mother’s Day Tea in March.

Our young people had a great weekend away at Swindon, where they studied the Seven Churches mentioned in Revelation, as well as at the annual camp in Romsey.

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Mike Wells

2013 also saw the commencement of our ‘Men’s Night’ and ‘Ladies Night’ activities.  The men enjoyed a meal and also had a walk and BBQ evenings.

It’s also been a sad time in some ways as we said goodbye to Karla Cordell, back in January who had been suffering ill health for some years.  Later in the year, we also bid farewell to Mike Wells who passed away after a period of illness.  We had an excellent Thanksgiving Service for his life, with over 150 attending.

We’re thankful that both Karla and Mike are free from their discomfort and are with their Lord and Saviour.  We continue to remember their families in prayer.

In practical matters, 2013 has also seen changes to the outside of the building.  We put up a new sign on the front and also resurfaced the car park and created additional parking.

In 2014 we’re making some changes, as we begin our new discover service on 5 January.

discover

This will be a combination of our monthly Family Services, our weekly Sunday Club and The Link Coffee Bar and will contain activities for all ages.  We’ll begin with talks for the adults from the popular Christianity Explored course, for the first six weeks in January.

As a consequence of the changes on Sunday mornings, our Evening Service at 5.30pm on Sundays will no longer take place.  Instead, we’ll be moving our Bible Teaching from Tuesday evenings to Sundays, beginning at 6pm. Our Prayer Meeting will also be moving from Thursday night to Wednesday night at 8pm.

We’re excited with the plans that lie ahead for 2014 and go into them all with an air of expectation and faith.

We don’t know what the Lord has in store for us at Parkside during the next year, but we look forward to every opportunity that we’ll have to tell others about our Saviour and what He has done for us.

Below are a few tweets from 2013:

https://twitter.com/quenchshops/status/326600264608002048

Friday Club: Autumn 2012 – 8th September 2012

Our Friday Club, for young people over the age of 10, meet (unsurprisingly) on Friday evenings from 7.30pm to 9pm, normally at Parkside.

We usually get a good attendance with around 15 to 20 children most weeks.

Activities planned for the autumn term:

  • 7 September – Games Night
  • 21 September – Quiz Night
  • 5 October – Evening Walk
  • 12 October – Games Night
  • 26 October – Travelling Meal
  • 9 November – Craft Night
  • 23 November – Games Night
  • 7 December – Visit from Bracknell
  • 14 December – Christmas Party

A typical evening will consist of the activity for the night mentioned above which is followed by light refreshments and a short talk or video.

If you’ve never been before, you’re sure of a warm welcome.

Friday Club – Summer 2011 Dates and Activities

The Friday Club at Parkside takes place, unless otherwise indicated, between 7.30pm and 9pm and is for children age 10 and over.  We regularly attract between 15 and 25 children along and it’s always a lively night!

Each week we will look to do a different activity and will finish with a short epilogue, taken this series, from Acts.

Dates an activities are listed below:

6th May      Games at the Hall      Peter rescued from Prison – Acts 12

13th May    Evening Walk              The Philippian Jailer – Acts 16

20th May   Baptism @ Bracknell

27th May   (Romsey Camp)

3rd June     Games at the Hall     Eutychus raised – Acts 20

17th June    Meet up with Bracknell YP @ Bracknell.  Meet at PCF @7.00pm

1st July       Evening Walk              Paul’s arrest etc – Acts 21-26

15th July    BBQ Evening                Paul’s journey to Rome – Acts 27/28