Dear Friends,
It is a privilege to write this newsletter for the first time! And It has been so good to be able to meet up again in person for prayer meetings and services, as it says in Psalm 133:1 ‘How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!’
Our youth work has taken another exciting step forward: we have begun a series of socially distanced walks to raise money for Ibba Girls’ School South Sudan.
Our first walk was Sunday 12th July, and we covered thirteen kilometres. We started in Stow and walked down to Lower Swell, then we joined the Roman Road known as ‘Ryknild Street’ (where we saw a snake!) to Condicote. From Condicote we walked to Donnington and thence back to Stow! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the light turning golden as we moved from afternoon to evening.
Next Sunday we will be starting from Lower Slaughter and I think we’ll do a good loop to Naunton and back. A highlight of this walk will be following the River Windrush through a steep wooded valley and then into lazy meanders in flat meadows.
Ibba Girls’ School provides a quality education for girls and young women in the youngest country in the world. This is an education which changes lives and society for the better. As Christians we believe that God has made us all, male and female, in his image, and therefore we all have a great potential which can be unlocked by education. If you would like to hear about how Ibba Girls’ School does this, please visit www.friendsofibba.org.
Finally, there has also been another change to our youth programme — we are now running a ‘Bible Breakfast’ over Zoom every Sunday morning. If you or a young person would like to come to this and to hear from the God who still speaks today, please be in touch with myself (07584561378) or Lydia (07852329193). And don’t forget that our online services are still happening twice a month!
Best wishes in Christ,
Mark Smallwood (Youth Minister)