THANK YOU to everyone who took part in this year’s brilliant HEROS AND VILLIANS themed Advent Windows. We loved the creativity and imagination as Northstowe’s schools, community groups, and households rose to the challenge! The theme flowed into Northstowe’s Beer and Carols as we wove readings, poetry and music to tell the Christmas Story. Huge thanks to the brass band (the Punting Players and friends), Northstowe Foodies, Northstowe Hub, and the readers from across the community as we united for this fantastic community partnership.Our worshipping communities - Pathfinder Church and Little Explorers - also enjoyed weaving fun, laughter, music, candlelight, and poignant moments of wonder throughout the Christmas season. Highlights included the Little Explorers Christmas Party, Scratch Nativity, Christmas Midnight campfire communion, breakfast and celebrations on Christmas Day, and Epiphany celebrations.______You are welcome and invited to join our regular intergenerational Sunday Gatherings (3.30-5pm at The Pathfinder CofE Primary School) or our midweek eventsOur next special community event is the Pancake Party: Sunday 11th Feb, 3.30pmSee our Easter Page for full details of Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter events www.northstowe.church/Easter
Back in September, we took the Deckchair Listening Project to the opening celebrations for the new community centre (The Cabin), asking “what do you love about Northstowe” and “what are your dreams?” Our giant map was soon decorated with wild flowers, shops, a youth centre, more community spaces, sculptures, and a Christmas Tree planted now in Phase Three so it will be big enough to sing carols round by the time people move in! On All Hallows’ Eve, the Deckchairs were out again, this time asking “what is this night to you?” We enjoyed seeing all the costumes as many families stopped by our multicoloured campfire, decorating lanterns to take out into the excitement of the dark night. See www.northstowe.church/all-hallows-eveNovember also saw those of many worldviews come together to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who work for peace, with the uniformed organisations parading around the lake, before we shared in silence together.We now look forward to more community events as part of the Northstowe Winter Festival, as well as opportunities for worship and celebration during the Advent and Christmas seasons. For Christians, this is when we celebrate the coming of the Light that shines in the Darkness: Jesus, Son of God, Messiah. You are welcome and invited to join us! Full details on www.northstowe.church/Christmas
Summer Highlights: Artistry, Activism, and Belief* joining in with Greenbelt Festival’s 50th anniversary celebrations* exploring Northstowe, with biodegradable glitter as we prayed for peace * painting and re-roofing the Wellbeing Shed in school…* sharing home-made pizza, and baking bread for a deeply poetic communionWe often say we’re “church, but not as you know it”, and this summer has really felt like that!_____Now, you’ll find us back in the Primary School most Sunday Afternoons (3.30-5pm) for our intergenerational Afternoon Gatherings: deep rooted faith... shaped for this time and place. Visit our website to find out more about Wild Church, Compline, Little Explorers, Food and Faith... and more! www.northstowe.church______SAVE THE DATES• 31st October: Drop in All Hallows’ Eve campfire outside Church House on Woodpecker Close from dusk• 12th November: Northstowe’s Act of Remembrance by Bug Hunters Water (gather 10.45 to join the 11am Silence)• 12th November: As part of Northstowe’s Winter Festival, we are partnering with Northstowe Arts for a Lantern Making Workshop with Afternoon Tea (3.30-5pm)____WE ARE:Made up of people moving into the area, rooted and growing here in our new town Those just starting exploring their spirituality and pilgrims dusty from the journeyPeople who love to get involved in our local communities, and want to make a differenceNot just meeting on-site but part of the family at The Pathfinder Church of England Primary School; Founder members of the Northstowe Youth Hive, committed to bringing together young people from all genders, backgrounds, faiths, cultures, and sexualities, to have fun, develop, and make a difference.Here to offer weddings, funerals, and thanksgiving or Christening services to ANYONE who lives in the area Committed to a shared vision with The Church of England, The United Reformed Church, The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and Baptists Together, alongside ever deepening connections with other Christian traditions involved in Churches Together in Cambridgeshire
The new town of Northstowe, being built between Cambridge and Huntingdon, is being marketed as “a sustainable new development”. But is “sustainable” really possible?For local residents joining the Longstanton and Northstowe Sustainability Working Group and those forming Pathfinder Church, the answer has been to take the initiative themselves, with grass roots activism, intergenerational education, and collaboration.Children are often key to helping their families recognise the importance of looking after our planet, and using resources wisely. So it made sense to enlist the support of local social venture ‘A Toy’s Life and Beyond’, who specialise in learning about recycling from a child’s perspective. Together, these organisations hope to attract people from many different backgrounds, from Northstowe and the surrounding area, to have fun and to make sustainability a priority. Northstowe’s First Sustainability Day will be held in Pathfinder Church of England Primary School on Sunday 24th November, 10AM-1PM. It is a free community event, made possible through the generosity of those taking part. Helping those of all ages catch the sustainability message, and commit to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, will be storyteller Marion Leeper, scientist Prof James Elliott of Cambridge University, and representatives from local companies and social ventures. There will be cloth nappy demonstrations, hands-on compositing, and a family friendly “Circular Economy Trail” as well as a ‘leave it or take it’ stall where old books, toys, and clothes can be left for others to reuse. The pop up café and community noticeboard will offer space to chat to neighbours: who knows what new projects might be dreamt up around those tables?Antoinette Nestor, founder of A Toy’s Life and Beyond, explains where her passion comes from: “While many projects begin from “the kitchen table” ours started out from my boys’ bedroom and the need to find suitable recycling places (other than the charity shop) for the toys they no longer played with. Given that at the moment there are no recycling facilities targeted to the toys we buy or acquire one form or another (not to mention the usual phrase every parent says at least once in their life time “we have too many toys in this house!”), and the need to reduce plastic pollution, I decided to create something that would help parents and their families as well as the environment. This is how “A Toy’s Life and Beyond” was born.”But where does a church fit into all of this? Revd Dr Beth Cope, Pioneer Minister for Northstowe, explains: “At Pathfinder Church Northstowe, we are forming a new church community, made up of those of all Christian traditions and none, who seek to make a difference through praying, exploring, and sharing. We believe that we are meant to be good stewards of God’s creation, and love working with anyone who wants to help care for the planet. We look forward to running the café and throwing ourselves into the morning’s activities, before wrapping up the day with a hands-on Forest Church gathering 3.30-5pm.”---------------------If you would like information about A Toys Life and Beyond, please go to: https://atoyslifeandbeyond.org/ • Find us on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/ToyRecycling or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atoyslifeandbeyondIf you would like information about Pathfinder Church, Northstowe, a Church of England Church with an inclusive ecumenical welcome, please go to : www.northstowe.church. • Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/northstowec• Facebook: fb.me/PathfinderChurch• Or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pathfinder_church_northstowe/
