St Michael's Church, Stoke Gifford
Living to make a difference
We are so excited to be going to Spree South West this year! Spree SW is an amazing youth festival run in partnership by South West Youth Ministries and Urban Saints. The festival has a huge range of activities on offer as well as different teaching streams aimed at young people across all stages of faith. This will be a fantastic time to grow closer to God, each other and have amazing fun!
It runs Friday 23 to Sunday 25 June
What does it look like to thrive as a single person of faith? What does the Bible say about singleness, and why is this often misunderstood in church?
Join Single Friendly Church and other Christians around Bristol as we explore these themes together.
This talk is for everyone, whether you have been single for a long or short time, and in whatever circumstance.
There will be opportunities for discussion and socialising with others.
Tickets are £5 per person and include refreshments.
Doors open at 11am for refreshments, with the event running from 11.30am -1.30pm.
This Lent we are all invited to explore how we can live well with the mess of everyday life.
Dust and Glory encourages us to take a fresh look at the frustrations and failings that every day brings and, rather than pretending we can always avoid them, seek to learn from them and grow closer to God through them.
Dust and Glory: A Lent journey of faith, failure and forgiveness is the Church of England’s Lent theme for 2023. This year’s resources are informed and inspired by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2023 Lent Book, Failure: What Jesus said about sin, mistakes and messing stuff up by Bishop Emma Ineson, who has also co-written the daily reflections booklet for adults
At St Michael’s we are recommending this book for Lent which is available from all good booksellers.
The weekly themes of the Archbishop’s Lent Book are also explored in daily reflections from the Church of England.
Dust and Glory: A Lent Journey of faith, failure and forgiveness offers a daily Bible reading, a short reflection and a practical challenge, as well as a prayer linked to the week’s theme. Co-written by Bishop Emma Ineson and Abbie Martin, the booklet is designed to be used either in parallel with the Lent Book or independently. The booklet is available to order now from Church House Publishing
An update to the Church of England app for iOS and Android – including daily audio – will be available in mid-February. Anyone who has the Church of England’s #FollowTheStar app installed will automatically get the Lent update. The reflections will also be available via email and also via the Church of England’s smart speaker apps – as well as on the free Daily Hope phone line (0800 804 8044).
The aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria has been devastating.
We join – with so many others – in praying for all those impacted.
In terms of practical support, our Mission Action Group has made a £1000 donation to Tearfund as an initial response to the situation.
If you would like to give financial support, we are directing this to DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee). DEC charities (including Tearfund) and their local partners are among the first responders, working with locally-led relief efforts in Turkey and Syria.
You can give online at dec.org.uk
We are delighted to have a temporary art exhibit in the auditorium in St Michael’s Centre by artist Malcolm Bourne. The piece has come to us directly from Bristol Cathedral where it was recently exhibited.
Covenant is a depiction of a dream. The image is a symbolic representation of the almighty power, light and love of El Shaddai manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. The painting seeks to show the reality of the new covenant, Jesus metaphorically being divided into two as the ultimate covenant sacrifice-reunifying the people of the world to El Shaddai.
The piece has been painted on two 8 x 4ft plywood boards that were originally installed on College Green in 2014 as a prayer wall. The prayers of the Bristol public literally provide the base of this painting.
A symbolic journey from the old covenant to the mediator of the new covenant, Jesus Christ, depicted in Hebrews 12 v 18-24
Malcolm Bourne Biography
“As a painter, I’ve held exhibitions for my work and have limited edition prints of several of my paintings. I love to paint and draw, and rarely leave the house without a sketchbook. When I first moved to Bristol in 2005, I became a resident artist in the Leeky Gallery on Park Street. It was during this time that I realised how inspiring it is to belong to an active creative community. This became one of the sparks that envisioned the inception of Joseph Studios, the workshop and artist collective that I co-founded in 2015. I have a passion for the wellbeing of individuals and communities and have become an advocate of the great health benefits of engaging in the creative process. As a result, this has become an important focus in the coaching and mentoring work I do with individuals and businesses.”
Covenant Dream
“I remember experiencing a most vivid dream. I was in an intensely light-filled environment: the brightness of the light was physically painful and it seemed to penetrate every part of my being. Simultaneously there was a sound, or many sounds at once, it was overwhelming; a bass that created deep vibration and a piercingly sharp tone all of which emanated from the light. I felt transparent to the light and sound. The power, energy, vibration and brightness were unbearable, and they rendered me paralysed. I was terrified. My only response was to drop to my knees and remain as still as I possibly could. I sensed that if I moved even a centimetre, I would explode into a million pieces under this force that was pulsating through and around me.”
“From the centre of this light, I started to see a shadow form growing towards me. The shadow took the shape of a man. Once the shadow had fully formed the shadow began to stand, no longer being the projection of another being but somehow the shadow itself becoming a person. As soon as the form of the man was clear to be seen the atmosphere began to change: I sensed a deep love and peace around me although the sense of being transparent remained. I was no longer afraid. I knew immediately that it was Jesus standing in front of me revealed in this moment in the Trinity, confirming that he was my personal mediator, saviour King. Jesus walked towards me, and we began to talk. I woke up, my whole body shaking from the experience and reflected on its significance.”
Malcolm Bourne 2006