Dys issue 41 autumn 2015 3

Elmfield Activities Sundays: Morning Worship Services are held every week from 10.30 am - 12.00 noon. During the service, frequently enhanced by video clips relevant to the theme of the day, we normally celebrate Communion. Any children present leave the service after about 25 minutes for their separate activities in God’z Zone and Revive (for teenagers).

Evening services at 6.30pm involve a series of talks under the heading ‘Sacred Space’.

On the 1st Sunday the Youth group are responsible for the service arrangements.

On the 2nd Sunday of the month we celebrate Communion during this service.

We do not meet on a 5th Sunday of a month.

Refreshments are served from 6.00 pm.

Everyone is welcome to attend any of these services.

Issue 41: Autumn 2015

www.elmfield.org

Down Your Street

Local Community Update

Mondays: 8.00am: Prayer Meeting.

9.30am: English as a Second Language Course for Basic learners. Call Gerry on 01895635337 for details. The course is provided free of charge.

6.00 - 7.30pm: ‘Kidz In the Zone’ activities for Primary School children .

Tuesdays: 9.30am: English as a Second Language Course for Intermediate learners. Call Gerry on 01895635337 for details. The course is provided free of charge.

7.30 - 9.00pm: ‘Reloaded’ activities for High School students up to Year 11.

Wednesdays: 10.00 - 11.30am Parents & Toddlers Club. Suggested donation: £1.00 per week. To book a place call the Church Office 020 8866 0813.

1.45pm Extend - A gentle exercise class for people over 60. Cost per session £3.00.

Contact Jean 020 8866 6344 for more details 8.00pm: Alcoholics Anonymous (Harrow branch) hold their meeting at Elmfield.

Thursdays: 2nd of the month 12.30pm Senior Citizens’ Lunch. Call the Church Office for a place.

4th of the month: Meeting Point where soup and sandwiches are served with tea or coffee and cake before the background to a favourite hymn is explored. No booking needed - just drop in.

A Warm Welcome Maybe you have walked past Elmfield Church and wondered, “What goes on there?”

Perhaps you would like to discover more about the Christian message and what the Church is all about. Perhaps you have attended services in the past at Elmfield, but for one reason or another don’t attend any longer. If for any of these reasons or for any reason at all you would like to join us for “Back to Church Sunday” at 10-30 am on Sunday the 27th September 2015 we can assure you of a warm welcome and a service especially for those who might not be used to church. We would love it if you would stay for a chat over coffee or tea afterwards.

Fridays: 10.00 - 11.30am Parents & Toddlers Club. Suggested donation: £1.00 per week.

To book a place call the Church Office 020 8866 0813.

House Groups meetings for Bible study, prayer and fellowship are held at various times each week. For more information about any of the church activities please call the Church Office: 020 8866 0813, e-mail elmfieldchurch26@gmail.com or visit the Church website: www.Elmfield.org Elmfield Church has a fully operational Child Protection Policy, accredited by the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service.

Elmfield Church 89 Imperial Drive, North Harrow HA2 7DX every Sunday at 10.30 am Come and join us in worshipping God together.

A full children’s programme is available.

For more details ring the church office on 020 8866 0813 or Email: elmfieldchurch26@gmail.com Registered Charity no. 248351

Pastor’s Pitch Dear Friends, I wonder what the thought of ‘Church,’ conjures up for you. Perhaps it is a beautiful building, or a building at least.

There are many church buildings in Harrow some more spectacular than others but are they the church? Perhaps, for you, the church is an organization that does lots of good charity work.

Maybe you see the church as old-fashioned and only suitable for a bygone era.

Perhaps it brings up pictures of music and ceremony and people dressed in strange clothes.

Maybe church means for you a lot of rules and regulations.

Actually, the church is a gathering of people who have discovered that Jesus offers life in all its fullness and have chosen to follow Him. Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” Mt 11:28.

Surely, there is no better offer than to be relieved of the strains and stresses of life, to be free from anxiety and the burden of guilt and regret.

We invite you to come to Elmfield on any Sunday at 10-30am but especially on 27th September 2015 for Back to Church Sunday.

Come and discover Jesus Christ and “rest for your soul”.

In this busy, hectic, confusing world there is surely no better offer around.

Every blessing, Nick .

HOLIDAY AT HOME EXTRA

HARROW FOODBANK

Back in June sixteen over 65s, supported by the team of 12 helpers, thoroughly enjoyed a ‘Holiday at Home’, four days travelling to China, Austria, the United States of America and a journey on the railway, including samples of Chinese tea and snacks, all from the comfort of an armchair. They were also treated to delicious meals each day, culminating with a Street Party of food across the decades. There was also time to chat and relax, craft activities, and a thought for the day. Great fun was had by all. If this sounds like something you would enjoy and you would like to see what it is like, at a free taster session ready for June next year (I am afraid you have to be over 65), then contact the church off ice (02088660813) for further details of Holiday at Home Extra on November 5th.

Scripture tells us that Jesus was a man of compassion and was deeply concerned for those in need. The Harrow Foodbank, is a project which Elmfield supports, along with other churches and organisations across the borough, to help those in food crisis. The charity provides food parcels including some toiletries to those in financial difficulties to tide them over a food crisis and directs them to other organizations that might be able to put them on a sound financial footing.

Interventions made by the Foodbank can help prevent a short term crisis from escalating into a longer term disaster.

PARENT & TODDLER GROUPS For 32 years the Toddler groups at Elmfield have provided opportunities for children from birth to school age, with their parents or carers to enjoy toys, activities, games and refreshments together in a friendly, safe environment. There must be several hundred children in the locality whose early development has been enhanced by these facilities. The Wednesday morning group (10.00 - 11.30am) is always very popular with a waiting list but numbers in the afternoon group dwindled and it closed in 2013. However increased demand has led to a new group forming on Friday mornings. If you are interested in joining with your child contact Pam at the Church Office.

WHO ARE WE ?

Vision: We are a community of people growing in Christ, loving and serving each other and sharing God’s love with others.

Mission: Seeking to serve the North Harrow community with the love of God. Practice: An evangelical church.

Earlier this year Harrow Foodbank celebrated its second anniversary. In the past two years, the Foodbank has fed over 5,000 people with nearly 2,000 of these being children.

The Harrow Foodbank relies on the generous donation of food items by the general public in various locations throughout the borough.

Food and other donations in the last two years have exceeded 94 tonnes. This includes Elmfield and food donations can be left in the shopping trolley in the lobby (9am-1pm weekdays). There is also an army of willing volunteers who generously give their time in order to help with the storage and distribution of the food. Despite the generous donations of food and the army of volunteers it still costs approx £15 per client to store the food and manage this initiative.

FIREWORKS The ever popular Elmfield Church Fireworks Display at Longfield Primary School will this year be on Saturday 7th November, starting with food and games at 5.30pm, followed by the display at 6.30pm.

Tickets, £5.00 per adult, £2.00 per child and for a family £12.00 (2 adults & up to 4 children), for entrance and refreshments costs, will be available from the beginning of October.

Attendance is strictly limited to 200 for safety reasons, so book early as tickets are nearly always sold out before the event.

Contact the Church Office 020 8866 0813 for more details and to book tickets. The Church Office is open each weekday from 9.00am - 1.00pm (10.00 - Noon in school holidays).