News and Coming Up

The period 18^th to 25^th January is designated a week of prayer for Christian Unity. This is an annual initiative whereby Christian communities throughout the world are invited to pray for one another and for greater Christian Unity. The Prayer and Meditation Group are leading worship next Sunday (19^th) based on this theme.

Next Saturday (18^th), Mollie and Brenda are hosting the first Saturday Lunch of year. It will be Cottage Pie – please sign up in the usual way.

Mollie is in the process of drawing up the rota for the rest of the year. If you can host one, please let her know.

The 2019 Panto, Aladdin, will be performed on Friday and Saturday 7^thand 8^th February. On both days there will be a 7pm performance and also a 2pm performance on the Saturday. Doors open 30mins before each performance. Tickets cost £6 each with under 14s being charged £4. As in past years, all profits will go to the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Unit.

At each performance of the Panto there will be a raffle – do you have anything you can donate (such as unwanted Christmas presents) that can be used as prizes? If so, please pass to Steve Yates. Thank you.

The Methodist Centre has written to thank us for the items we donated before Christmas. A copy of the letter is on the back wall of the church.

Wes Talks is a new series of talks inspired by the New Room’s founder John Wesley. He wrote and spoke about many issues in the 18^th century which still resonate today. The first is on Thursday (16^th) at 6pm and is entitled ‘Another Planet? Exploring the future of the natural world’. The nature writer and producer Mary Colwell will be speaking about climate change and the environment. Tickets are £5 and can be purchased on the door. The second talk will be on 20^th February,

The retiring collection on Christmas Day raised £75.50 for the Methodist Relief Fund. The Junior Church Christmas Card raised £152.88 for CRISIS. Thank you everyone who donated to one or both of these very worthy causes.

We have received a letter from the Kingswood Foodbank thanking us for our support during 2019: this is on the back wall of the church. The main.news is that the Foodbank fed 1,604 adults and children during the year, an increase of 14% over 2018. There is no reason to suppose demand in 2019 will be any less.

Pray in 2020 on the 20^th of each month at 20:20 (8:20pm) for 20 minutes. There is a growing sense that 2020 is a year to harvest what’s been sown; a year when God will give many opportunities to share the good news about Jesus. Will you pray that God opens doors for the gospel? More details in a couple of weeks or visit hopetogether.org.uk/Groups/327007/prayer

Make Lunch. Eastville Park Methodist Church hope to begin a 'Make Lunch’ project starting in February 2020, working in partnership with the Christian organisation Transforming Lives for Good in the first year to help get started. Make Lunch is a free 1.5 hour session with craft activities, games and a hot meal for families with primary school aged children who might go hungry during the school holidays (particularly if they are eligible for free school meals during term time). If you would like to know about this project and/ or to see if you can help in any way. please ask for a separate handout.

'God In Love Unites Us'. Further opportunities to discuss the issues raised in the Conference Report will be held on Tuesday 4^th February, from 7:30 to 9pm at Hanham and on Saturday 22^nd February. 10.am to midday, at Badminton Road. Copies of the Methodist Conference Report on Marriage and Relationships together with a Study Guide are available from the Circuit Office (circuitengagement@bsgc.co.uk)

One of our members – Sharon – will soon have to move out of the home she is currently occupying. Does anyone know of a room she could rent?

I am sure you will have noticed a big pile of loose chippings in the church grounds (from where the hedges were cut). Whilst we have a couple of ideas for using them, these will not use up all of the chippings. If you would like to take some of them away for your own use, then please feel free to do so.

One idea for the chippings is to put them in the large plant pots left over from the Fayre and then plant items in them. If you would like to help with this please have a word with Peter.

Joan Green would be pleased to have any old postcards you don’t want. The charity ‘MAF (Flying for Life)” use them to raise money to help Christian pilots fly to remote areas taking them food and flying sick and injured to somewhere they can get treatment.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this year’s Shoe Box Appeal. We have collected 91 gift filled boxes. We have been taking part in this appeal since 2004 and during that time we have packed and sent a total of 1881 boxes from KMC (including this years). Well done everyone!

The 2020 Children’s Bible Holiday Club will run from Monday 10^th to Friday 14^th August.

Does anyone have unwanted balls of wool? Roz Wakeman who be happy to take them off your hands as she is knitting/ crocheting dog blankets for a charity.

The purpose of Kingswood Methodist Church is to respond to God's Love in Christ and to live out that love in God's world.