Central Church Newsletter
February 2026
As we approach the second month of the year we are continuing with our positive thinking and focussing on what is good in our world.
- Throughout February the sun sets later, with daylight hours noticeably increasing by the end of the month.
- Snowdrops and Crocuses often begin to bloom, signalling the end of winter.
- February 20th is World Day of Social Justice, focusing on promoting equality and human dignity.
- Last, but not least, is our own Church Birthday when we all came together as one church in 1978. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CENTRAL CHURCH!
Linda and Malcolm Johnson
CHURCH UNITY
Dear Friends,
I find unity a fascinating subject. Everyone will agree that it is a really good idea whether you are looking at family life, the life of a business or the life of the church. But the truth is that unity is always hard work. It makes two big demands on all of us. Firstly, we need to work hard to promote unity and, secondly, we need to resist all those pressures to be disunited. To this extent church unity is just the same as any other expression of unity.
Central Church is an impressive example of unity and on February 15th we will be celebrating our 48th birthday. In 1978 five churches took the bold step not just to work together but to become one church. This involved intensive local, regional and national conversations. Those of you who were around at the time will remember years of debate. I applaud those who had the courage and determination to bring about Central Church.
Unity has been handed to us. We have one congregation and one building, we share a common faith in God and we have experienced nearly half a century of shared life. But that doesn’t mean that we can afford to rest on our laurels. We all need to be actively involved in maintaining that unity. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Paul had a lot of experience of disunity in the early church and he knew that it would take a lot of effort to maintain the God given gift of unity.
In the previous verse Paul tells us how we can maintain unity, and he knew what hard work it would be. He wrote: “Be completely humble and gentle: be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2). To be humble is to be open to one another and to God. Ready to listen and willing to change. Open to the possibility that we might be wrong. To be gentle is to be kind, loving and thoughtful in the way in which we relate to one another. And to be patient, or long suffering to use the more accurate translation of the original Greek word, is to be willing to live lovingly and graciously with one another’s differences. That’s all very hard work but it is essential if we are to maintain the precious gift of unity.
Our second task is to resist every temptation to become disunited. I believe we are a loving and united church, but I promise you that every day there are pressures on us to be disunited. The temptations are in the form of the opposite of those wonderful virtues that we have just been thinking about. Instead of humility we are tempted to be arrogant – to try and get our own way and push our own personal agendas. Instead of gentleness there will be times when we are tempted to be harsh in our language and actions. And instead of patience there will be times when we have had enough and want to show our impatience by having a bad temper and threatening to throw in the towel.
Church unity is a precious gift – but we need to look after it and be prepared to work hard to maintain it.
It’s a joy to serve you and I thank you for all that you do to strengthen the unity of our wonderful church.
God bless you.
Yours ever, in Christ
Revd Jonathan Edwards
Transitional Minister
Sunday services at 10.30 a.m.
- 1 February: Revd Jonathan Edwards, HOLY COMMUNION
- 8 February: Revd Robert Jordan
- 15 February: Revd Jonathan Edwards, HOLY COMMUNION, CHURCH ANNIVERSARY
- 22 February: Revd Stephen Henderson
Dates for your diary, held at the Pilgrim Centre unless stated otherwise. (Please phone Jonathan on 07876 234264 if you need Barbara’s address.)
- Monday 2 February: 10 a.m.-1 p.m: Community Cafe
- Tuesday 3 February: 7.30 p.m: Bible Study at Barbara’s
- Monday 9 February: 10 a.m.-1 p.m: Community Cafe
- Thursday 12 February: 2.30 p.m : Bible Study
- Monday 16 February: 10 a.m.-1 p.m: Community Cafe
- Tuesday 17 February: 7.30 p.m: Bible Study at Barbara’s
- Monday 23 February: 10 a.m.-1 p.m: Community Cafe
- Thursday 26 February: 2.30 p.m: Bible Study
Church Anniversary
On 15th February we will celebrate our 48th Church Anniversary as an LEP. Jonathan will be preaching at the service, and as is our custom, there will be cake afterwards!
News of the Family
Sadly, a number, of our members/friends have been unwell over the past few weeks. Roy Ferris had a short spell in hospital in January following a fall. Rita has also been unwell, and we understand that Ena Lewis is on ‘end of life’ care. June Osborne has moved into Edge Hill Residential Home, but we are unsure, at the moment as to whether this will be her permanent home. We remember all these, and others known to us, in our prayers.
Sunday coffee donations
From January to April, our Sunday coffee donations will be in aid of Open Door. This charity has had their funding cut, and having two of our number who use their services, it will be good to support them. Please give generously if you are able.
Rota Appeal
Due to people having to retire from jobs within the church due to age or ill health, we have a few vacancies and would be very grateful for more volunteers. In particular:
Door stewards who welcome people as they arrive and hand out orders of service;
Vestry stewards who will welcome the preacher, explain our routine, and say a prayer with him/her before the service (we have a book of prayers which can be used); and
Coffee servers.
Also, the collection plate is looking very grubby! Could you maybe volunteer to come in early one Sunday and give it a clean or maybe do it during coffee after service?
If you are able to help with any of these tasks, please speak to Chris.
Thought for the Day – Do the right thing, even when no one is looking. It’s called integrity.
Deadline for March Newsletter – Tuesday 24th February 2026.