January Monthly Message

Dear Church Family,

 

Happy New Year to you all. I hope that managed to find some time and space to relax and find refreshment over the Christmas Season? I come back to work feeling that little bit more relaxed than I did in the run up to Christmas. It was good to have some time off with family and friends.

 

Reflecting back on Christmas I was amazed at how many guests we welcomed to the various services. Of particular note were the services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day which, apart from the 9am, were predominantly full of people I did not recognise. This is encouraging, because it tells me that there is still an openness to the truth of the gospel which Christmas represents. No matter where people are it in life, the Christian message of a God who is for them still resonates in some small way. 

 

Vision Sunday - 7th Jan

We kick off this coming year with Vision Sunday this weekend. Please do come along if you’re able as this is an opportunity for you to hear me to talk about where the focus of our energy will be for the coming year. It’s a 10am service – so we hope that everyone will be able to come.

 

As I’ve mentioned previously, this is the final year of my initial appointment here in Blandford Forum. I’m not intending on going anywhere beyond next Jan – but we still have a way to go before we can declare success as a parish. As we enter this final year of the three, I believe it is helpful to remind ourselves of how far we’ve come, but also to focus on what we still have to achieve in order ensure our future is secure. We’ve got a year left folks. Let’s make it count!

 

Monthly 10am Service

I know for some the monthly 10am service is the gathering that least reflects our preference or comfort in worship. I’ve heard reflections that it’s too like the 9am service from some and that it’s too like the 11am for others. We recognise that we haven’t quite got the format/style right yet. We’ve not found the right balance between the two regular forms of worship. So we’re going to make some adjustments to try and allow everyone to feel like they can meet with God.

 

To be clear, the primary focus of the monthly 10am service is our unity across the two congregations worshipping together – with elements that reflect both services. It’s also about us coming together collectively each month to celebrate all that God has done in our church over the preceding month. We want to make time to share testimonies, and we want to make time to celebrate communion together. We also need to make sure it isn’t too long. We can’t have everything in the service and so we’re having to make tough choices about what to include. With that in mind, please bear with us as we discern together what this looks like, and extend grace where needed. We’re all going to have to sacrifice something of our own wants/needs in order that we continue to flourish as a wider community of believers.

 

Parish Week of Prayer – 8th-12th Jan

Following on from Vision Sunday we’re having a church week of prayer where we commit all that we want to do before the Lord, and ask for his blessing, provision and guidance. We seek to understand where he’s leading and directing us to invest our time, talents and resources in mission. The plan for the week should be attached to the email with this monthly message. Essentially there will be gatherings each morning and evening (7.45pm in church) to come together and pray collectively. Please do contact the office if you haven’t got the details for any reason.

 

Prayer is the primary fundamental posture of discipleship. We pray first before we do anything. And therefore before we seek to enact the vision, we pray for it. We pray that it will honour the Lord, we pray that his Spirit would be given space to work in it and through it, we pray that the vision as its enacted would produce good fruit. The vision card that will be available on Sunday will give us helpful prayer points – these don’t mean we can’t pray for other things – they’re just a tool to direct our prayers if we struggle to discern what to pray for.

 

Children and School’s Minister

I’m pleased to inform you that we’re about to advertise (if not already done so) for the post of Children and School’s Minister. This is a full-time role split between BFPC and The Bridge Project (https://www.the-bridge.org.uk) – with the individual operating as a chaplain in ABW & Milldown a day each per week and the remaining time working as Children’s Ministry Leader at BFPC. Initially funded through a legacy and school contributions, we hope this role will enable us to grow our capacity in children’s ministry, building up the work we’ve done in this area over the last couple of years. Please do be praying for the appointment process, and that the right individual would be prompted to apply. The information about the post is available here: https://www.bfpc.org.uk/resources/vacancies

 

Alpha

We’re excited to be running Alpha again this coming term. Starting on Weds 10th Jan at 7.15pm for 10 weeks in the Parish Centre. If you’ve not done Alpha before I highly recommend attending. It doesn’t matter where you are on your Christian journey – Alpha is for everyone and anyone who has questions of faith and is looking to go deeper with God. Also if you know someone who’s asking those questions, why don’t you invite them along? You can sign up via the church website. www.bfpc.org.uk/alpha

 

I pray that 2024 will be a year of fresh revelations, a deepening of our discipleship, and a growth in our impact across the community. Most of all my prayer is that God would move by the power of his Spirit and we would see people come to faith and lives radically transformed by the gospel and through the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

Many Blessings

 

Chris