Welcome Letter – January 2026

Hello and thank you for checking us out!

We are currently working on a new website but waiting for a certain someone (me) to finish a task. We are in the midst of building works but waiting for a certain task (not me) to be completed before we can move forward.  We have plans in the pipeline for developing pastoral care including a wellbeing event later in January. And I have pencilled in the 2026 events into my diary including Christmas!

At the beginning of a new year, with or without resolutions we reflect on what is coming up. A milestone birthday, an anniversary, holidays and events. We might wonder whether we will finally get off the waiting list or if the world will truly go to war again. There is no doubt that the chaos of the last few years doesn’t really seem to be abating. And we can wonder whether there is any point. Yet Jesus said “Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

The challenge that we all face at times is moving forward. I know it as a mum of teenagers, as a colleague who wears a lot of hats, as a daughter with elderly parents, and as an ordinary member of society navigating politics, economics and global uncertainty. Faith in God keeps me centred, or as my star word for 2026, serene. That is a work in progress. :D Faith in God, trusting my life in the hands of God doesn’t take away the challenges or even the mundane. But God gives the strength, the courage, the tenacity to keep moving forward.  Focussing on Jesus, who is the same, yesterday, today, forever gives purpose and meaning, along with the capacity to love even those whom we might deem unworthy or troublesome.

Whatever you start or complete in 2026, please know that a warm welcome awaits you if you want to find out more about God, about faith, about believing in something greater than all that surrounds no matter how loudly they shout. There are lots of ways to connect – on Youtube, through Facebook, a weekly podcast, or this website. Plus we have The Kettle’s On, working with CAP, Chat MPC, the Guild and more. You can even add a prayer here online. Whether you are not sure you want to believe, you can belong first and figure it out with us.  Sundays 10:30am is our main gathering time, all ages and stages of faith, with new people and reconnecters always welcomed.

May you know God’s holy and almighty presence with you throughout this year.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed
and announce that the time has come
    when the Lord will save his people.”

Jesus

Luke 4:18-19