Without a vicar, what we can offer you at St Clare's this Christmas is more limited than usual, but that doesn't mean your options are. We're joining with our friends and partners to offer you an even wider variety than usual.Join us at St Clare's on the morning of Christmas Eve (24th December, 10:30am) for our usual Worship for All with Holy Communion - a moment of peace as we start the countdown to the big event!If you're after something more family friendly, Hope Church, Guildford have their Crib service in our building that afternoon (24th December, 4:00pm).If you're a night owl, or just like to get your Christmas Day off to a very early start, ST Francis Guildford have a midnight service (24th December, 11:00pm).Later on Christmas morning, if you like a traditional Christmas service, but held in daylight hours, you have a choice of joining Emmanuel Church, Stoughton (25th December, 8:45am) or Guildford Cathedral (25th December, 10:00am).For an all-age celebration, join Emmanuel slightly later on Christmas morning (25th December, 10:30am).If that's not enough choice for you, each location has more options on its Facebook page and website, so do check them out and select the best combination for you and those you love this Christmas - it's a veritable pick and mix!Whatever you choose, we pray you will know God's presence with you this Christmas.
Have you heard the news? Or any of the performers hard at work practicing??Our annual Christmas concert is returning!Join us at St Clare's, starting 7:30pm, on Saturday 9th December to help us raise money for a great cause, whilst enjoying some great performances.Wondering which charities we'll be supporting this year? Well, that's up to you - our audience. We'll be voting on the night from a shortlist of suggestions!Tickets are £5 for adults (£2 for under 16s) and can be reserved in advance from Brian on 07510 057 598 or purchased on the door. You're also encouraged to make an extra donation for your interval refreshments, if you're able, to further boost our fundraising total.We hope to see as many as possible of you there.
Keep calm and…How would you finish that sentence right now??Answers given during our service included pray to God, read your Bible, and eat a cupcake. This week in church we were honoured to welcome the lovely Jane Seals who is the manager of the Guildford CAP Debt Centre. She spoke to us about the amazing work they do to help people build the skills to manage their money well so they have a better chance of staying out of debt, and how they support those who are already in debt to find a way back out. They've seen an amazing 85 people in and around Guildford become debt-free since they started! Jane suggested a better response to UK poverty than keep calm and carry on. She suggested we begin by crying out to God, but carry on by taking action that will make a difference. A few months back, we shared a post from Christians Against Poverty on Facebook, about the estimated 8.7 million people who are behind on their bills, and 10.7 million people skipping meals to try and make the money stretch the month. If you're one of them, CAP might be able to help you find a better solution than 'keep calm and carry on' at www.capuk.org/debthelp Alternatively, you can call them FREE on 0800 328 0006 (Monday to Thursday 9:30am-5pm, Friday 9:30am-3:30pm) or send us a message, and we'll put you in touch.
Lent. No, we don't mean borrowed, this is about the other meaning for the word.You might have vague recollections from years gone by about it. It's the time of year when children, especially those who go to church, are encouraged to give up sweets and chocolates for 40 whole days! Only nobody tells you it's actually 46, because the Sundays aren't supposed to count. So what's it really all about?Lent this year began with Ash Wednesday, on 22nd February, in the western church calendar we use at St Clare's. Ash Wednesday is a day when we take time to think carefully about the choices we make, and whether any of them are driving a wedge between us and God. The day gets its name from the ashes that are often used during the service, to mark the hand or forehead of the people attending (don't worry, it washes off when you're ready). They're used as a symbol of death, our sadness over the ways we haven't lived up to the standards we know God hopes for us, and a reminder of what it cost God to make a way for us to come back into relationship with Him.Lent itself is a time of further reflection, where we remember the 40 days Jesus spent living out in the desert, alone, with no food or water, and being tempted by satan (he didn't even get Sundays off!). The reason you may have been encouraged to give up sweets and chocolate as a child are because Christians often give something up during Lent as a reminder of what Jesus experienced. We therefore often choose to do something that is sacrificial, or requires a lot of self-discipline. It's not always denying ourselves a favourite treat (so whilst you could give up chocolate, you don't have to!). It's often giving our own time or money to help others, but there are no set rules. Whatever we choose, we try to make it something that will help us remember our need for God, and deepen our relationship with Him, rather than just making yet another resolution we fail to keep. We often try to build a new habit that will get us just a little bit closer to living the way God asks, because we know it's the best way to live, even though it's usually hard at first.So whatever you do, or don't do this Lent, we pray you will be a little bit more ready to discover just why Easter is so amazing!And whether you give up chocolate or not, we hope you enjoy your Easter eggs (when the time comes)!
