The Cross and garden on Easter morning. The Cross was set-up outside the front of the chapel. It gave all who visited an opportunity to write a word or phrase that represented their fears or griefs at this time and another label for their hopes and joys and attach them to the cross. The flowers represent the new life that Jesus brings to all who believe.
The Sunrise Service held at Stoke St Gregory Baptist Church in 2021. The sunrise was beautiful and it was a lovely time to share together Easter morning.
A letter from Sonya about the way forward as lockdown restrictions begin to ease:
Hi Everyone,
We have all been through a difficult time over the last year which has affected us all in many different ways. In the face of these hard times, we have found new ways to be church. We have made use of Zoom for services, meetings, homegroups and prayer groups. We have found new ways of practicing our faith and sharing with one another. We have also found new ways of caring for those around us.
As we emerge from lockdown, we will start by having some services in the church building or outside it, and some services on Zoom. Over the next few months, we will focus on providing opportunities to rebuild community as we have had to be apart for so long. We are aware that all of us need time to recover, to process what we have been through, to reflect on what we have learnt and to recover from all the stresses of the last year or so. We will be exploring ways that we can help everyone in the community to do this.
This will be followed by a gradual process of reviewing ministries and reopening them when the time is right and in ways that are safe for everyone. We will keep you up to date with what is happening in the church Newsletter, the website, emails, and personal contact. Please look to the calendar here and in the Newsletter to receive updates on how things are progressing.
We thank God for His faithfulness, love and grace to us, and all of you for your support, love, prayers, and patience during the past year and look forward to continued blessings from God for the coming year.
Blessings to you all,
Sonya
STOKE ST. GREGORY BAPTIST
CHURCH OPENS FOR PRIVATE PRAYER
With the lifting of some restrictions on churches, we are opening the Stoke St. Gregory Baptist Church for private prayer. The church will be open for private prayer once or twice a week for the time being. Starting with 8-10am on Sunday 5th July, and 10am till 1pm on Monday 6th July. It will be open every Monday from 10am-1pm. We will let you know about any further Sunday openings.
This creative activity was hosted at the Church.
Since March 2019 we have been joined by Sonya Setchell who has taken up the role of Minister at Stoke St. Gregory Baptist Church.
After a series of meetings and discussions, backed by considerable prayer, we have put together our church profile. The full text can be found here. The summary is as follows.
'And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.'
(Colossians 2:6+7)
