Newsletter

Central Church

Newsletter February 2025

January ended on a slightly high note with a ceasefire being announced between Israel and Hamas which has seen families reunited after months of being separated. Let’s hope this ceasefire does hold and people can start to rebuild their shattered lives. Our next hope is now for Russia and Ukraine to do the same after nearly three years of war. We need to continue to pray for all those in a position to bring this to an end without any more loss of life.

Linda and Malcolm Johnson

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OUR 47th BIRTHDAY!

Dear Friends,

On Sunday 23rd February we will be celebrating our 47th birthday as a church. I love birthdays! There is always something very happy and encouraging about a birthday celebration. And I love the way in which a birthday encourages us to look in two directions.

First of all, a birthday encourages us to look back. In our own individual birthdays we are bound to think back on the journey that we have come. Some of you were born in Swindon and you are continually seeing reminders of your life from the earliest days. I haven’t lived in my home town in Essex for more than fifty years but I am grateful for the reminders of my family home and of my early years. I recently came across a small pile of letters that were written to my mother at the time of my birth. They were a beautiful expression of the love and prayers of many friends and family members.

As we look back as a church we are reminded of the faithfulness of God through the years. Life has changed out of all recognition from 1978 when Central Church was born. Telephones were things with wires! No-one could have imagined that we would now be using them to get information, send text messages, take beautiful photos, access our bank accounts and get road travel guidance. The centre of Swindon has also changed out of all recognition with the growth of out-of-town shopping centres. But, although the world is now a very different place, God remains the same. He still loves and cares for us. He has never left our side.

Secondly, a birthday encourages us to look forward. As individuals we will receive birthday cards which are full of greetings and good wishes for the year to come. And this is a good moment for us to reflect on our hopes for the coming year in the church. God has placed us in the middle of Swindon for a reason and I have loved exploring that reason with you over the past four years.

When Central Church was formed it had a strong conviction that it was called to be a resourcing church. Through the years that has happened in very different ways. And then came Covid which put everything on ice. Suddenly all the activity came to a juddering halt. At times I know some people wondered whether Central Church still had a future. But look at us today and we now have a firm answer. Our wonderful buildings are humming with life and last month we appointed a Centre Co-Ordinator to help to oversee all the activity. The person we have appointed is Neil Boulton who has done a wonderful job over the past year as our Church Caretaker.

So, happy birthday Central Church! Let’s look back and give thanks and, at the same time, let us look forward with confidence and conviction to the future that God has for us as we serve him together.

With warmest greetings.
Yours ever, in Christ,

Jonathan's signature

Revd Jonathan Edwards

Transitional Minister

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Sunday Services at 10.30 a.m. unless otherwise stated.

  • 2nd February: Revd Ali Boulton
  • 9th February: Revd Jonathan Edwards (Holy Communion)
  • 16th February: Revd Geoff Gleed
  • 23rd February: Revd Jonathan Edwards (Holy Communion) Church Anniversary

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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 3rd February: Community Cafe, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Tuesday 4th February: Bible Study at Barbara’s, 7.30 p.m.
  • Monday 10th February: Community Cafe, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Thursday 13th February: Bible Study, 2 p.m.
  • Monday 17th February: Community Cafe, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Tuesday 18th February: Bible Study at Barbara’s, 7.30 p.m.
  • Monday 24th February: Community Cafe, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Thursday 27th February: Bible Study, 2 p.m.

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Action for Children

The following amount was collected for Action for Children. Many thanks to all who contributed.

  • Lantern Collecting Boxes:     £101.03
  • Christmas Card Donations:  £  59.00
  • Christmas Day Offering        £198.53
  • Total                                        £358.56

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Julia’s House

Our Sunday morning coffee donations from September – December raised £79.38 for Julia’s House  Children’s Hospice.  We will be collecting for Mission Aviation Fellowship from January – April.

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Thought for the day –  “Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe”

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Deadline for March 2025 Newsletter: Wednesday 26th February 2025.