Church Blog
News, Updates, Thoughts

Thy Kingdom Come is a nationwide prayer initiative that runs from Ascension Day on Thursday 13th May until Pentecost on Sunday 23rd May.  There will be various opportunities to pray in a variety of ways:

Prayer ideas and bible reflections for personal study 

For each day of Thy Kingdom Come via the Thy Kingdom Come Prayer Journal.

Daily Corporate Prayer @ 10am

Online every day and in person on Saturday's 15th and 22nd at St Barnabas and Wednesday 19th May at St Mary’s. Why not make a commitment to join us in person?

Interactive Prayer Stations @ St. Barnabas.

On Friday 21st from 7pm until 9pm and Saturday 22nd May from 10.30 until 5pm there will be Covid-secure prayer stations suitable for all ages to come along and pray at St Barnabas.  Take as long or as short a time as you have to come and pray for our churches, our community, our nation and our world.

Family Activities @ Cafe46

Every day (except Sundays) there will be fun prayer activities for children behind Cafe 46 from 11am-12noon. Please bring your (or someone else's!) children along and invite anyone who might be interested. Weekdays the activities will be aimed at pre-schoolers, on Saturdays they will be aimed at children up to 11. Parents do need to stay please. There's no need to book, although it will help plan if you let me know you're coming along: roo@stpetersyateley.org.uk Here is the full line up:

Prayer Escape Room and Online Family Activities

There are loads more activities including an escape room idea and Cheeky Panda Videos available via the Thy Kingdom Come website.

St. Mary's will be closed on Wednesday 12th May to enable Charles Kingsley CofE Primary School to use it for interviews for teaching posts, without compromising the school year group 'bubbles' or the need for social distancing.

St Mary's will be open for morning and private prayers again on Wednesday 19th May as normal.

Cheeky Pandas and Thy Kingdom Come are partnering together to bring you a variety of free resources that seek to get children excited about Jesus, the Bible and prayer, and ultimately, help each child build a beautiful life-long relationship with Him… with some panda fun along the way!

We have a fun filled, bible-based TV series for use in family services, assemblies, and at home, featuring songs, animated stories, prayer and interviews with special guests. Alongside this, we have activity packs, service plans, a prayer book, a children’s app, and our Prayer Bears - each with an illustrated prayer book in their bag!

These free resources are designed to equip churches and parents in nurturing and encouraging children in their faith. You can fill out the form further down this page to be kept informed of details and resources. 

You can see an overview of the series here.

We will be broadcasting 3 of our episodes via our Facebook page and YouTube channel at 4pm BST on the dates below.

Praying For God to break through in our Nation and around the World.

We are joining in with this in person and online, so why not check out the resources at https://www.thykingdomcome.global/.

We will also be hosting some Covid secure Prayer stations which people are invited to come along and pray at St Barnabas on Friday 21^st and Saturday 22^nd May.  We will also be using special prayers in our regular morning prayers over these 10 days.

This year Christian Aid should be celebrating its 75^th birthday. Created by UK Churches (including ours!) in the aftermath of World War Two, it has gone on to help millions of people in the poorest parts of the globe.

The threats caused by Climate Change & the Covid-19 Pandemic have meant celebrations will be muted but the focus and need continues to be on both issues.

Christian Aid Week (10^th–16^th May) is a main source of income for Christian Aid but the pandemic has meant most local fund raising activities are delayed or cancelled. You can still donate…locally we have a Just Giving page with a somewhat long address :

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/yateley-sandhurst?experiments=b2c_048_show_hide_fitness_data%2Cb2c_054_show_hide_fitness_totaliser&successType=StaticDonateButtonClick

or on the national Christian Aid website:

https://donate.christianaid.org.uk/Donate/Step/1?ApproachCode=A002958

and you can find out much more about Christian Aid Week below, including how the action from the Christian Aid partner, the Anglican Development Services Eastern, in Kenya is helping alleviate drought.

https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/christian-aid-week

For any further information please contact Wilf Hardy……..wjhscot@aol.com 07823 406908

Date for Diary….Sandhurst Churches Together Quiz for Christian Aid ….Sat Oct 2nd

Are you struggling to cope with loss?

St Peter’s are holding a 6-week Bereavement Journey course on Tuesday’s April 27th – June 1st, 7.30 - 9.30 pm online via Zoom.

Topics covered will include: the impact and pain of bereavement, attachment, separation and loss, difficult feelings, rites of passage, coping with others, coping with change, moving forward, and an optional session on Questions of Faith.

To book, please contact 01252 912761 or email office@stpetersyateley.org.uk.

I am exploring whether there is any appetite for a Zoom based Alpha Course to run over the course of the Summer Term.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in exploring the basics of the Christian Faith then please let me know.

You can submit a message to the Church of England online book of condolence for His Royal Highness Prince Philip.

A single bell at St Mary's will be tolled 99 times at 12 noon Saturday 10th April and before the 10am Outside and online Service on Sunday 11th April.

Easter and Holy Week 2021

With gradual easing of Lockdown from next week we will be beginning to return to the mix mode of services which we were using in autumn last year.  You will therefore be able to attend in person if you would like however numbers will be limited and we will be prioritizing those who cannot join us online.  Services for Easter week are below.  Those attending in person will need to wear a mask indoors and will not be able to join in with the Worship Songs / Hymns at the moment – even outside.

Palm Sunday

10am –          Outside and Online Morning Worship from St Mary’s Church Eversley *

4pm –            Messy Church in a bag – online on YouTube,  sign up on Eventbrite

Maundy Thursday

7pm  –           United Churches Online Communion Service from St Peter’s Chapel. (time tbc)

Good Friday

10am –          Zoom All Age Service with join in at home activities

2pm –            Reflections at the Cross, 1 hr online service with music and meditations

Easter Sunday

8am - BCP Holy Communion at St Mary’s *

10am –          Outside and Online Morning Worship from St Barnabas Darby Green *

* For in person attendance at a service please contact Rev. Lerys to book a place*

Thanks to all who joined in – we had a wonderful time with 11 families joining us on Zoom.