St Clare's is entering a new season. It's one which will bring many changes - from our leadership, to our social media, our events calendar and more! It's a very exciting time for us and for Park Barn. Keep an eye out around our building and online to see how many you can spot…We know that however exciting it is, change can also be hard, so as we move into this new season here are 3 things which aren't changing:Our 10:30 service - we'll still be there, same time, same place with our familiar pattern of morning worship.Who is welcome - St Clare's will still be the church built by the people of Park Barn, for the people of Park barn, whoever they are and regardless of anything else about them. And most importantly of all, God and His love for you will never change, and He always offers a fresh start with each new day:The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise… Lamentations 3:22-23 (Good News Translation)Photo credit: Neil Mark Thomas on Unsplash
Without a vicar, what we can offer you at St Clare's this Christmas is more limited than usual, but that doesn't mean your options are. We're joining with our friends and partners to offer you an even wider variety than usual.Join us at St Clare's on the morning of Christmas Eve (24th December, 10:30am) for our usual Worship for All with Holy Communion - a moment of peace as we start the countdown to the big event!If you're after something more family friendly, Hope Church, Guildford have their Crib service in our building that afternoon (24th December, 4:00pm).If you're a night owl, or just like to get your Christmas Day off to a very early start, ST Francis Guildford have a midnight service (24th December, 11:00pm).Later on Christmas morning, if you like a traditional Christmas service, but held in daylight hours, you have a choice of joining Emmanuel Church, Stoughton (25th December, 8:45am) or Guildford Cathedral (25th December, 10:00am).For an all-age celebration, join Emmanuel slightly later on Christmas morning (25th December, 10:30am).If that's not enough choice for you, each location has more options on its Facebook page and website, so do check them out and select the best combination for you and those you love this Christmas - it's a veritable pick and mix!Whatever you choose, we pray you will know God's presence with you this Christmas.
Have you heard the news? Or any of the performers hard at work practicing??Our annual Christmas concert is returning!Join us at St Clare's, starting 7:30pm, on Saturday 9th December to help us raise money for a great cause, whilst enjoying some great performances.Wondering which charities we'll be supporting this year? Well, that's up to you - our audience. We'll be voting on the night from a shortlist of suggestions!Tickets are £5 for adults (£2 for under 16s) and can be reserved in advance from Brian on 07510 057 598 or purchased on the door. You're also encouraged to make an extra donation for your interval refreshments, if you're able, to further boost our fundraising total.We hope to see as many as possible of you there.
Keep calm and…How would you finish that sentence right now??Answers given during our service included pray to God, read your Bible, and eat a cupcake. This week in church we were honoured to welcome the lovely Jane Seals who is the manager of the Guildford CAP Debt Centre. She spoke to us about the amazing work they do to help people build the skills to manage their money well so they have a better chance of staying out of debt, and how they support those who are already in debt to find a way back out. They've seen an amazing 85 people in and around Guildford become debt-free since they started! Jane suggested a better response to UK poverty than keep calm and carry on. She suggested we begin by crying out to God, but carry on by taking action that will make a difference. A few months back, we shared a post from Christians Against Poverty on Facebook, about the estimated 8.7 million people who are behind on their bills, and 10.7 million people skipping meals to try and make the money stretch the month. If you're one of them, CAP might be able to help you find a better solution than 'keep calm and carry on' at www.capuk.org/debthelp Alternatively, you can call them FREE on 0800 328 0006 (Monday to Thursday 9:30am-5pm, Friday 9:30am-3:30pm) or send us a message, and we'll put you in touch.
