livingwell.org by Steve Kelly

This weekend marks the official beginning of River Community Church, in Lawley and Lightmoor. It also marks the launch of our new website www.bytheriver.org.uk; we ‘d love to have your feedback on the new site!

On Saturday afternoon, we plan to have a picnic by the river in Ironbridge from around 3.30pm. We will be at Dale End Park which is at the end of the Wharfage/Buildwas Road. Here’s a link to the address: www.multimap.com/s/OpuYgPaq Just turn up and let’s hope it’s a sunny afternoon.

On Sunday afternoon, join us for some family fun up at Lawley Primary School. There will be a bouncy castle, face painting, balloons, displays and refreshments from 3 to 4pm. Then from around 4 to 5pm we move indoors for Community Worship in the school. Bishop Mark Rylands will be joining us to celebrate the launch of our new church.

We’re excited about what God is doing in Lawley. Come and be part of it and see where the River takes you!

Do you have any plans yet for Friday 4th to Sunday 6th June? On that weekend, we are planning to have the official launch/birth/beginning of “River Community Church” Telford.

We have been talking and sharing about the vision and thinking behind the name for a few months now and we now want to mark the occasion in a public way. At this stage, we feel we could mark the event in a number of ways :-

> > on Friday evening, we will have our monthly prayer gathering (mpg) but hope to join with folks from Meole Brace and St John’s, Lawley. 

> > on Saturday afternoon, we plan to have a “picnic by the river” in Ironbridge.

> > on Sunday afternoon, we plan to have a combined “family fun” event and “cafe church” at Lawley from around 3.00 to 5.00pm.

The details are still to be finalised with Lawley School and the Bishop of Shrewsbury but we wanted to let you know so that you could mark the times in your diary.

We would like to gather a small team together to help organise the Sunday activities. The emphasis will be on fun, celebration and community. We’d love to have your help !

More details will follow either via email or Facebook as we finalise things. Do plan to get involved and come along ! !

Not been to church for a while? Why not drop in to our monthly COMMUNITY WORSHIP at Lawley Primary School. Come along any time after 3.30pm for tea, coffee and cake and a chat. Then we have a short informal service lasting about an hour which includes fun activities for the kids, discussion, music and a bible story. This month we’re looking at doubting Thomas and are considering how he honestly expressed his doubts and then found a real, living faith.

Follow this link for directions to Lawley School.

Steve and Maggie shared a number of key things relating to the life and development of the church here in Lawley and Lightmoor on Friday evening. You can download your own copy of the new vision leaflet by following this link. 

Do get in touch if you would like more information about our plans for the future. We are excited about how things are developing here in Telford.

As we share the vision God is giving us for the future, we also have some very practical “next steps” which we will be working on together in the coming months. These include the pattern of our gatherings, work with children and families and outreach plans in Lawley and Lightmoor. Come and be part of what God is doing and dip your toes in the water!

We’d like to invite you to join us at Horsehay Golf Club this coming Friday 23rd April to hear about some exciting developments in the work. There will be worship, vision sharing and a time of prayer for the year ahead. Join us for food from 7pm or come later for coffee and worship from around 8pm. If you are eating, you will need to contact Steve with your menu choices from the list below.  Come and hear what God has been unfolding in terms of vision for the work in Lawley and Lightmoor and where we sense He is leading us this year.

Food options follow:   cottage pie / chicken curry /  gammon / scampi / chilli / cod / lasagne / steak ‘n ale pie /vegetable lasagne (all with chips/rice or jacket potato)

Wishing everyone a joyful and blessed Easter weekend. If you are taking a break from school or work, we hope it is restful.

Our next cafe church is on Sunday 2nd May. Check out the side bar for details of our April events (DNA and 2:42).

Take care !

Join us one evening this week for MIDWEEK MEDITATION – ‘a quiet safe space with God’. A chance to take time out, to reflect on the Easter story and to allow God to draw close to you. Monday to Thursday between 6.30 and 7.00pm at St Johns church on the Dawley Road. Call 01952 501305 for further details. On GOOD FRIDAY, join us at Steve and Maggie’s home at 7.30pm for an informal FAMILY COMMUNION .

The following events provide an opportunity to take time aside to consider the meaning of the Easter story, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Take time with others or time by yourself for quiet, reading and worship:-

Monday 29th March to Thursday 1st April (Holy Week)
‘A quiet safe space with God’ at St John’s Church – 6.30 to 7pm 

Friday 2nd April (Good Friday) 
‘INFORMAL COMMUNION’ at 28 Bartholomew Rd  – 7.30 to 9pm

Sunday 4th April (Easter Sunday) 
EASTER CAFE CHURCH at Lawley Primary School – 3.30 to 5pm

A full programme for easter can be obtained by following this link.

This Easter, millions of people, including families here in Lawley and Lightmoor, will remember the events surrounding the death and resurrection of JESUS. But is it anything more than just a story?

John Singleton Copley, better known as Lord Lyndhurst, is recognized as one of the greatest legal minds in British history. Upon Copley’s death, among his personal papers were found his comments concerning the resurrection in the light of legal evidence and why he became a Christian: “I know pretty well what evidence is; and I tell you, such evidence as that for the resurrection has never broken down yet.”

Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Darling, once said that “no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring in a verdict that the resurrection story is true.”

For Christians, the death and resurrection of Jesus are more than just a story. It is the secure ground for a living faith in a living God. Why not drop in to one of our events this Easter and make your views known. Check out the evidence for yourself and see where it takes you!

If you want to read a fuller account of the evidence and impliactions of the resurrection of Jesus, why not take a few minutes to read this article from bible.org.