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Some highlights to share: We've got some fun Summer volunteering opportunities with Chomp! The eco bamboo coffee cups are still available at the market and at Sunday services. Come along next Monday for an evening on "Marriage and Relationships Support" at Dave and Becky's. Read on for more details...
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Last Sunday, Dave continued the new series with the beatitude, "Blessed are the meek." You can listen to the sermon here.
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This Sunday we are continuing a series that will be taking us through the next couple of months. The beatitudes form the cornerstone of Jesus' manifesto for radical living, and we’re going to go through each one week by week. This week Avril will be discussing "Beautiful Attitudes: 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.'"
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Please note: This Sunday (9th July), we do not have use of the Downs School car park.
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Open Sky Forest Church
This Sunday is another gathering in the woods to consider how nature helps us to connect with God. All are welcome, we meet at 3pm at the Upper Lodges car park off Ditchling Road. Dave is leading through this week with an option of a walk afterwards as well.
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Marriage and Relationships Support
Come and join us for an evening of open conversation about the joys and struggles of marriage and relationships. Whether you are just starting out or are on a well-trodden path we want to look at how we can support one another, as well as consider what One Church can do to encourage flourishing relationships within our community. We’ll meet over a meal at Dave and Becky’s on Monday 17th July at 7.30pm. As we will be eating together we do need an idea of numbers, please contact Claire if you would like to come.
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Diary Dates:
9 July (3pm) - Open Sky Forest Church @ Stanmer Park
12 July (9am) - Wise People Walk @ Fiveways
17 July (7:30pm) - Marriage and Relationships Support @ Dave and Becky's
18 July (4pm) - Parents' Bring and Share Picnic @ Blakers Park
22 July (3-7pm) - Saying Goodbye to Donna @ Florence Road
1 August - Chomp @ Gloucester Place
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Chomp
Summer is upon us and I for one am looking forward to hanging out with my kids soon! As the school holiday begins, our project Chomp, a lunch club tackling holiday hunger takes centre stage across the city. It is targeted at low-income families, though anyone can come along, and eat a hot nutritious meal together and enjoy different led activities.
Holiday hunger is a growing problem nationally: The National Teacher’s Union conducted a survey this year and shockingly ‘…78% of respondents who had witnessed holiday hunger … said that children were turning up to school showing signs of hunger; … and more than a third (37%) said that pupils were returning to school with signs of malnourishment’. It is not the case that this is largely because parents don’t work: according to the Children’s Society, 67% of the four million children in poverty have at least one parent in work.
This is exactly why Chomp exists and is no doubt the reason why we have built strong partnerships with many different organisations, including businesses like Brakes Bros, the Council, schools and funders. In this year alone, we have grown substantially and now run 12 clubs across the city so that there is a hot meal provided on every week day throughout the holidays.
You can only imagine how many volunteers this takes. We are so lucky to have a dedicated crew who chop and cook, create engaging activities, hang out with parents, set up the spaces, wash up… and I’ve no doubt they do it because they feel the value that they are bringing, they enjoy the sense of team and accomplishment, they learn something by hanging out with a diverse set up people… As we grow, we need more and more people and that is where you come in. If you have any free time this summer come along and help Chomp realise it’s ultimate aim: to eradicate holiday hunger for children.
There are a wide variety of roles available from chopping carrots to befriending and there are clubs across the city in different geographic locations. If you want to get involved long or short term, please email or ring our amazing interns, Christy or Bekah, who have travelled from America to help us superboost this project. They'll both be at church on Sunday to chat with too. christy@onechurchbrighton.org / bekah@onechurchbrighton.org / 01273 694746
Blessings,
Jen
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Saying Goodbye to Donna
As Dave mentioned at the Weekend Away, our lovely Donna’s time at One Church is coming to a close at the end of August. We’re having a pre-Summer Holidays goodbye party at Florence Road on the 22nd July from 3-7pm. Please come along to hang out with Donna, help us celebrate the wonderful person she is and say thank you for all her hard work over the last three years at One Church.
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Celebrating Pride
Families and friends have often been on their own journeys in respect of their LGBT loved ones, often in difficult circumstances, yet these are stories we rarely hear. It is in these stories that we can see the connections between church, family and LGBT folk, the bonds that are common between us all. Sharing stories also helps other families and friends who may be isolated or struggling with feelings of shame or fear.
So to celebrate these relationships we would like to invite you to share your stories. This would be for the weeks of the Pride season, and the shared stories will be published on the OCB website (onechurchbrighton.org/news/pride-family) with links from both LOOC and the Facebook page. These stories can carry your name or if you prefer be anonymous – we can help anybody who wants to tell their story but who doesn’t like writing - just ask.
If you would like to share your story please submit a short piece (between 200 and 400 words) to themackenzieparrs@gmail.com or give a paper copy to Nina and Avril. We would love to hear from you. (If you wish to remain anonymous please make sure that you state this, or submit with no name).
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Ecoffee
We are thinking about how our values feed into our everyday behaviour. As coffee is such a large part of One Church we want to get better at how we serve it, at the market, events and our services because every year 100 billion single use coffee cups go to landfill and we want to stop being part of that. So, our very own coffee nerd Ben has road tested these eco bamboo cups and thinks they should go mainstream! They are portable, lightweight and they don’t taint the coffee…. If you want to know more read on https://ecoff.ee/pages/about-us.
We are selling them for £5 at Sunday services and at the market. We encourage you to either buy one or bring your own reusable cup along to church or the market. If you’ve bought one please post your pics and comments on Instagram with the hashtag #onechurchcoffee.
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Women's Prayer Group
Hello women of One Church! If you'd like to join the Whatsapp women's prayer group to keep conversations going between prayer breakfasts and share prayer needs, then just send Sally MacLeod your number. Also, get in touch with her if you want to be added to the prayer breakfast email list. You can contact her at sally_bryson@hotmail.com.
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One Youth
One Youth had an ace time at Globalls on Thursday! If you're interested in helping at One Youth and building relationships with some great young people, chat with Andy.
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Wise People Walk
Wise People Walk is a walking group for women, with regular walks from 1 hour to a full day. The regular 1 hour walk from Fiveways heading up to Hollingbury golf course and beyond starts Wednesday 12th July, 9-10am. There's also future 1/2 day and full day walks to the Downs. Come join for friendship, creating a healthy habit, adventure, and physical, emotional and mental benefits. If you're interested, just email Sandra at Sandrachitty01@gmail.com.
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Parent Present
Tarner Children's Centre are hosting a course to help you 'calm your mind before you react, develop clarity, empathy and calm, to better handle the tough times with your children.' The course runs over two sessions: Thursday 13th and 20th July. 9:30am-12pm. £15/Free (dependent on benefit/income status). For more information on the course, call 01273 810210.
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