From the Operations Manager

As this will be my last ‘from the’ in the role of Operations Manager, as I will be leaving next Friday, 22nd November, I wanted to take this opportunity to again express my gratitude to all those I have worked with during my time working at All Saints.

The role of Operations Manager means you get to work with everyone in every aspect of Church life from the Sunday services to the finances to the trees and badgers! It is a lot to keep an eye on, but it is made all the more manageable by the amazing volunteers and staff team that All Saints is blessed with.

I have met so many wonderful people through this job, made firm friends and beautiful memories that I will carry with me for years to come (including being levitated!). The experiences I have had will enable to me to embark on a new and exiting role with confidence and passion so once again, I thank you for having me as your Operations Manager and I hope to be back for a visit soon.

Steph

From the Vicar

I commend this week’s prayer to you with some suggestions for specific items for your thoughts as you say it on your own or with others.

Which countries of God’s world do you feel lead to pray for?
Who in authority in the world or the church can you pray for?
Who can you pray for to bring unity where there might be division?
Where do you sense gentleness is needed?

Almighty Father;
Whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the King of all;
govern the hearts  and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reign with you
One God now and forever, Amen.

Restore O Lord the honour of your name this Remembrance Sunday.

Mark Brown

From the Children's Minister

I write this with a grateful heart for those who prayed for our light party and for those who helped with the planning, preparations, delivery and clear up. This evening we opened our church and 50+ children and their families came and enjoyed food, games, crafts and music as we celebrated Jesus as the light of the world. We saw children come who are part of our church family, children who we have connections with at our local schools, children come who came to holiday club, some from the uniformed organisations and some who saw our advertisements and just came.

The evening ended with us going up into the balcony with the lanterns we'd made, hearing the gospel message using a pumpkin to tell of what Jesus has done for us and then switching off the church lights so everyone could see the difference their light shining could make. It was a beautiful moment and one we pray lasts with those who experienced it. So please join me in giving thanks to God for the evening going so well, for the volunteers who made it happen and for all those who came and please join me in praying for the seeds that have been planted.

With thanks and blessings at this special time of remembering all the saints,

Rosie

From the Assistant Minister

The Minister heard a knock on the door and went to see who it was. A young teenage girl called Mary Jones stood on the doorstep. She had walked 26 miles to buy a Bible in her own language, Welsh. He sold her three for the price of one! From this encounter, just 4 years later, the organisation we now know as The Bible Society came into existence. Over the 220 years since then about 155 Bible societies have been formed around the World, to provide Bibles and Scripture portions to the nations.

Today is Bible Sunday, the date each year when we rejoice in God’s Word and remember why the Bible matters so much - “... the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim 3.15b-17.

50% of the world’s people now have a whole Bible translation, thanks to Bible Society. 5.6bn people have access to Bibles online through the Society’s YouVersion. The Society’s work in making Bible translations in more and more languages points toward another 600m people having access to Scripture in the next 20 years. Wycliffe Bible Translators does similar work and tell us that 1.5 billion people still wait for access to a Bible in their first language.

We worship a God who is real, is alive and is not silent. He is a God who speaks in words. We classically hear from Him as we read the Bible. The Scriptures we find in the Old Testament bear witness to Jesus – we know that because He told us so- John 5.39b. We find in the books that form the New Testament yet more testimony of God’s work for us in and through Christ – so that we can be “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

We hear the thrill of the Gospel message and can find joy as we immerse ourselves in God’s word, by reading and studying our Bibles faithfully and regularly. This is not an old-fashioned habit we can lay aside, it is our engagement with the vital tool for the advancement of God’s Kingdom, for the enrichment of our individual relationship with God and for the spreading of the Gospel of salvation - “For the word of God is alive and active” Heb 4.12.

May you have joyous reading

Godfrey

Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

From the Stewardship Team

Financial Stewardship: Seek the Lord, Serve the Church, Play your Part

Stewardship Sunday provides an opportunity to celebrate all that God is doing in and through our church, and for us all to prayerfully consider how to play our part through financial giving. We give thanks for the faithful financial generosity of many of our church family. We also give thanks for the many and varied activities of our church, and the way they have grown in recent years.

As we look back with thanks, we look ahead with faith, expectant of all that God will do in the year ahead. The big financial headline for 2025 is that to continue and develop all that we do to grow God’s Kingdom in this place, our collective regular giving needs to increase by 10% or £40,000. As part of your Christian discipleship and playing your part, could you increase your giving or be one of 25 new households to join our pledged giving scheme? We would love to reach the milestone of 225 households in 2025.

The Stewardship letter, available in church and electronically https://www.allsaintsecclesall.org.uk/stewardship-sunday-2024 , provides more details on our church finances and how to respond. We are seeking responses no later than the 3rd November to allow PCC to set budgets for 2025 at its meeting in November.

With thanks for your partnership in Christ’s work,

The Stewardship Team (Julia, Roland, and Simon)

From the Vicar

Good Lord deliver us

This is the title of an evening held at All Saints on Wednesday 6th of November at 7:30pm. I am delighted to share in this time with St Gabriel’s leading worship and sharing in ministry time. This event is primarily for our Parish family but we will also be resourcing other churches and Church leaders. I will be giving a talk of about 40 minutes on living a victorious life in Christ with reference to issues of mental health in caring for others and seeking the Lord’s protection in keeping with the prayer all disciples make in the Lord’s prayer, namely “deliver us from evil”.

I will include some input from the Church of England’s latest information on so called deliverance ministry and offer tried and tested methods (based on my own experience) as to how our evangelistic ministry to friends and communities can be enlivened. Amy will be sharing from her work and training as a clinical psychology to give a wider perspective on caring for others. The evening is open to everyone and my hope and prayer is that we will all become more confident of the resources we have in Christ for our own lives and in caring and sharing our faith with others. Do pray for myself, my daughter, those leading worship and offering prayers for the evening.

Yours in Christ’s service

Mark

From the Curate

On Harvest Sunday we celebrate God’s abundant goodness to us in its many and varied forms. Today is an annual reminder of all that God gives to us, and an opportunity to give joyfully out of the generosity that God has shown to us. Our gifts will be going to a variety of local charities including The Oakes, Gold Digger, Roundabout, The Grace Food Bank and The Archer Project.

Across the Scriptures, the term harvest appears 111 times and has a rich meaning. It encompasses God’s faithfulness to his creation, the call to celebrate his goodness, and to give generously. Jesus famously said that ‘the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few’ (Matthew 9.37). This reminds us of God’s purpose to bless all people with his abundant love so that we may live life to the full and be fruitful in his service.

For church family members, today also marks the beginning of our financial stewardship appeal for 2025. In the coming weeks we will celebrate all that God is doing in and through our church, and prayerfully consider how we can continue to play our part through our financial giving. Please check your emails, the Stewardship Sunday page on the church website or collect a Stewardship letter from the welcome area for more details.

With thanks,

Simon Oatridge

From the Operations Manager

As you will now know, I will be leaving All Saints at the end of November (22nd to be precise), I am sure I will include a few words in the notices closer to the time but I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has made my three years here so wonderful.

Getting the opportunity to work for the Church is something I wish everyone could have the chance to do. I have found it to be a safe space to grow and flourish, surrounded by people who genuinely want the best for you and who want to see you succeed. People who aren’t just interested in your output but also what fills you up and are committed to taking care of you as a whole person.

I couldn’t be leaving to do what I am going to do (Estates Operations Manager for Young Lives V Cancer) if it wasn’t for the multitude of lessons I have learnt here so thank you for the opportunities I have had and connections I have made.

I am very much looking forward to the Church Weekend on the 12th and 13th October as a chance for me to spend some time with the many friends I have made during my stint as All Saints Operations Manager, please don’t forget to book for your events, activities and food before Tuesday!