I wonder if you ever have trouble sleeping…? One Gospel passage tells us that ‘Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up to pray… It would not surprise me at all if difficulty sleeping led Jesus to get up and pray. He had much to be concerned about - powerful people in the community and places of worship were plotting and scheming to be rid of him; trying to balance his time amongst the many who wanted his attention and presence; thinking about how best to maintain his favour with people yet knowing there were systems and attitudes which needed to be challenged to bring about God’s righteous and just ways of love and kindness, mercy and truth. Spending time in prayer is what enabled Jesus to be consoled or reassured. Comforted is another word we could use. There’s something about praying to God which opens up a new way of seeing things. We are able to view things through a different, more life giving lens. There was an old song called Count Your Blessings which sums up what prayer can do - recalling the many instances which reassure or comfort us. For example most recently during one early morning prayer time ( yep, I couldn’t sleep!). I took great consolation from being warmly invited to a 90th birthday party and a wedding reception, being asked to conduct a loved one’s funeral, being given the gift of a painting with an affirming letter of appreciation. Thankfulness, friendship and hope for the future are all common features which console and encourage us. When we are consoled, this can help us get a good night’s sleep! I wonder if next time you pray you could ask God to direct your thoughts by his Holy Spirit ….then notice what happens next. Prayer : Loving God, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – help me to think about such things (Philippians 4:8). Amen Revd Carol Bates
These eight country churches are all lovely for baptisms and each has a beautiful stone font.Baptisms or christenings are usually part of a regular Sunday service, where the congregation can welcome the newly baptised into the church, but in special circumstances a baptism can be arranged as private service (usually later in the day on a Sunday).Scroll down for more photos!<br>For Baptisms please contact Alison Dale, Benefice Administrator:beneficeadmin@elhamvalleygroupofchurches.co.uk
GIVING – ELHAM VALLEY GROUP OF CHURCHES Everything we do is made possible by your gifts of time, talents and money, reflecting the generous God who loves us and all those we live alongside. In normal times, your giving enables us to hold our Sunday services, work with pre-schoolers, children and families, young people and older people, outreach to our local schools in the Parishes through events and assemblies, provide pastoral care and support and to conduct key life events like weddings, baptisms and funerals as well as seasonal celebrations and memorials. Additionally, through your generosity we support projects that benefit the community such as our local Food Bank, and also the many other community groups and activities that would normally take place in our churches and halls. Our churches are finding this increasingly difficult currently as we are unable to hold fundraising events and, with no services taking place in our buildings, no collections are being taken. It’s only made possible by God’s generosity working through those who pray, serve and give to the work of the church. We could not do it without you! Please consider giving what you can spare to enable us to carry out God’s work in our communities. Thank you Ways you can give: GIVE REGULARLY BY STANDING ORDER Monthly giving is vital because it means we can plan in the longer term things that will reach more people with the love of Jesus. To set up or amend a standing order, please contact the Benefice Administrator, Alison Dale (via the Contact Us link on the home page of this website, or tel. 07985025381- Thursday and Friday mornings). She will put you in touch with the relevant Treasurer. SEND A CHEQUE To give via cheque, please make the cheque payable to the relevant church’s PCC. Please contact Alison as above for the address to send it to. PAYROLL GIVING VIA YOUR EMPLOYER Many employers offer Payroll Giving which allows you to give directly to your chosen church from your salary before tax is deducted. This means if you give £100 per month and are a basic rate taxpayer, the gift will only cost you £80 from your net pay. If you pay a higher rate of tax, £100 a month will only cost you £60 from your net pay. To find out if your employer offers Payroll Giving, contact your HR office. EMPLOYER MATCHED GIVING Some employers offer matched giving schemes. In most cases, the company will match your donation pound-for-pound up to a specific amount; a handful of organisations will even double your gift. Do contact the Human Resources or Social Responsibility Office at your workplace to find out if they operate a matched giving scheme. Some employers may not match giving for religious purposes, though most will match gifts for our heritage work – so it may help us with repairs and upkeep of our ancient buildings. GIFT AID If you pay Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax in the UK, we can claim back 25p on every £1 you donate through the Gift Aid scheme. To permit us to do this, please contact Alison as before.If you pay tax above the basic rate, you can personally claim the difference between the rate you pay and basic rate on your donation (25%). You can do this either through your self-assessment tax return, or by asking HMRC to amend your tax code. *Note: Please do not fill in a Gift Aid declaration if you give via a pre-tax Payroll Giving scheme as you are giving ‘pre-tax’, and thus we cannot claim tax back on the gift.
