October News from Churches Together in Kent

Churches Together in Chislehurst and Bickley have been making the most of Harvest Festival. In a very unusual move this group of ten churches have been asked by their local Famers Market to conduct a Harvest Festival service. Most of the churches in the group joined together at a luncthime on Sunday in a beautiful and creative combination of worship and mission. Check out their Facebook page for loads of photos. By the way, a Facebook page is a great way to communicate and link up in a light touch way. Do let me know if you have a Facebook page... then I can tell everyone else! Any other quirky experiments in mission or worship out there?!

DO NOT MISS THE TOOLBOX! The excellent conference, which attracts 100s of workers, is for all youth and children's workers from all denominations or none. It is organized by KEYCOG (the Kent Ecumenical Youth and Children's Officers group). There are many great seminars including... the spirituality of boys, forming a vision & strategy for your work, engaging children in their faith in a digital world ... and dozens more! More info here. What do fossil fuels have to do with poverty? Christian Aid explains in this great little video...The Big Shift... Watch the video, then check out the campaigning and church resources. You could win £5,000, £15,000, £20,000 or even better £25,000 to grow or bring to life a social initiative in the Christian Initiative Trust Awards 2015 (formerly Mustard Seed Awards). A Local Churches Together Group working together would be a great model.   Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2016. Resources are now available to download from the CTBI website. Harbour Bus Company will be running an excursion to Brogdale National Apple Festival on Saturday 17th October. The price including travel and entry will be £23 per person. Pick up points include Hythe, Folkestone, Dover, Hawkinge and Canterbury (subject to numbers). Excursions are designed to offer high quality and relaxed days out, facilitating perfect opportunities for Christians to invite along their friends for fellowship, fun and a small taste of the Kingdom. Contact Norman here or ring on 07905 560614. Please pray for the churches in Bromley as they prayerfully consider how to work more closely together over the autumn. Closer working will help the churches to speak as one voice to the local council & to communicate what is going on in the churches of Bromley more effectively. As this email 'goes to press' the Triennial National Conference of Churches Together in England has just come to an end. We have heard great acocunts of churches working together in mission in local partnerships, an emphasis on Orthodox and Pentecostal churches. Both churches showed an emphasis on the Spirit and a celebration of life in their own ways. There was a sense of needing embody the truth of our oneness in Christ. A great coming together. Canterbury Diocese has updated their very helpful toolkit to help churches of any denomination responding to the current refugee crisis. Take a look here...

Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any help at any time. I continue to be encouraged by the good work going on across Kent as Christians spread the good news of new life in Jesus Christ, across denominational boundaries. If you've received this email from someone else and would like to get it direct, click on 'update subscription preferences' below. Your servant in Christ, Chris Ruddle County Ecumenical Officer 07808 728670

Organ cleaning about to start

The Organ at Seal Church is badly in need of cleaning and maintenance. We've been hard at work raising £5600 for this - many thanks to all who "sponsored a pipe". The work is due to start on Monday 12th Oct.

During the work, lasting about three weeks, the church will be locked when no one is there in order to safeguard both the exposed machinery and the general public.

Services will go ahead as normal, but please take care and keep a special eye on any children in church during this time.

 If you need access to the church at other times, please contact the vicar who will arrange for you to be let in. Keyholders are asked to take care in the church if they need to be there, and to be careful to lock up when they leave.

And the winners are...

1ST PRIZE

Seal Cubs and Beavers  for their Minion Scout Camp.

 

2ND PRIZE

The Firth family for a very regal looking Queen scarecrow.

Messy Church: All God's creatures got a place in the choir...

We had a great Messy Church this afternoon, thinking about the great diversity of creatures in the world. We made all sorts of animals and had great fun. Thanks to all who came and the "team" who got stuck in (quite literally) to help with the crafts and refreshments.

Our next Messy Church is on Sunday Nov 29 at 3pm, and it will have a Christmas theme.

Here are some pictures.

Milk bottle bird feeders

Paper chain snakes, and some good conversation.

Paper plate hedgehogs in the process of being painted.

Putting the Mess into Messy Church.

Balancing parrots lining up for a chat

Many thanks to Nicky for the cakes!

There already seems to be a parrot in this bird feeder!

Two Messy Churchers with a furry friend

Some of the huge variety of creatures we celebrated this afternoon.

Our rendition of "All God's creatures got a place in the choir might not have been quite as polished as this, but we enjoyed singing it anyway...

October news from the Church of England

Latest editions of In Review and In Focus now available for download InReview October's edition of InReview, including details about the Archbishops' response to the refugee crisis, update on the recent Crossroads Mission and more, is available here. In Focus October's edition of In Focus, including a CofE vicar winning Funeral Celebrant of the Year, and more, is available here.  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2015 Archbishops' Council, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 27 Gt Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ

Sermons from St Peter & St Paul, Seal, Kent: Trinity 17: Looking for God's trademark

Sermons from St Peter & St Paul, Seal, Kent: Trinity 17: Looking for God's trademark: Mark 9.38-50 The end of today’s Gospel reading is so gruesome and vivid that my guess is that it’s easy for that to be the only bit...

Messy Church this Sunday

We're planning all sorts of crafts and activities for Messy Church this Sunday. We'll be thinking about the huge diversity of creatures in the world - so lots of animal crafts to make. Come along and join in. All ages are welcome - you don't have to have a child or be a child to join in. Why not invite a friend or member of your family to come along too? 

The scarecrows are back...

Here are a few of the scarecrows I have found so far as I have walked around Seal. As you can see there is a huge variety of entries.

 There should be a list out later in the week, and it's not to late to make yours. If you want us to judge your scarecrow you need to pick up a form (there are some on the noticeboard outside the church) and drop it either through the vicarage letterbox or Highland Printers, with your £5 entry fee. Most of all, though, this is just to make people smile - so do add your scarecrow!

This school girl is catching up with her reading on a windowsill in Childsbridge Lane.

A handsome couple

Scary Steve has an axe in his hand and seems to have chopped up a fellow robot scarecrow... Watch out, Seal!

A worn out farmer taking a rest

Here's Wally!

A cheerful scarecrow in Robinwood Drive

Probably the tallest of our scarecrows, also in Robinwood Drive.

Do we really have to think about Christmas yet...?

An acrobat from "The Cirque de Seal" entertains in Seal High Street.

This little chap is hiding in a flower pot.

Hmm... love the dress sense - a stylish scarecrow.

The new Minion Scout troup set up their camp in Seal.

A welcome sit down for a weary rambler.

And these two are mine, in the churchyard, looking as if they have enjoyed their wedding at Seal.