Weekly Update – 10th September

Hello all,

Following on from Jenny last week talking about Rest, Refresh, Renewal – I am hoping that you all had a chance to do that over the summer. Despite the unseasonable weather (more on that next month!), it is back to normal routines – school, college, work, clubs etc, that restart in September, with renewed enthusiasm after a break in August. As I shared with those at Oasis in the Afternoon on Sunday, September feels like a chance for new beginnings and almost a second chance at the things that haven’t been started yet this year – a fresh page if you will. Many of our young people in church will be adapting to new things as they start new schools (some for the first time) and some will be going off to fend for themselves at university in the next few weeks, we offer all of them our prayers as they make these new starts and for their parents who will need to make adjustments in their lives too!

We have talked about change before, with Jenny sharing her fear of change. I personally, rather like change as it shakes things up and gives us energy and enthusiasm, when we could get set in our ways and stuck. When God calls on us to do new things, He suggests we look where He is at work and join in – much less scary. Isaiah 43: 18 -19

“But the Lord says, “Do not cling to events of the past

or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the

new thing I am going to do.

It is happening already – you can see it now!”

Admittedly, sometimes looking to the “new thing” that God is doing can cause conflict and we will be discussing that on Sunday in Oasis Café church, so if you have a view come along and join the discussion, as we navigate managing conflict as a Christian!

As a church negotiating our way, prayerfully, through the majority of this year we have tried to be aware of where God is already at work and the direction that He is calling us to go in, which maybe unexpected. If we can be bold as a church, perhaps you can be as individuals and in this season of new starts I challenge you to see where God is doing the “new thing” that He wants you to join in with.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

The more observant among you may have noticed that we have changed the format of the weekly newsletter and its attachments. On the first Friday of the month we will send out the Prayer sheet for the month and the subsequent weeks will have a shortened version containing people to be prayed for along with that week’s services and events, hopefully this will mean that it is not such an unwieldy beast in your in tray each week but will still have the relevant information!

Fiona