7/30/2019 Richard's September letter

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/richards-september-letter 1/1

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happy birthday! All Souls’ current congregation becomes a proper teenager this month. It was thirteen years’ ago that All

Souls got its fresh start when, back in 2000, a small group of people from St Stephen’s, Twickenham

(soon joined by others from other local churches) took the risk of stepping out into something new.

Those of us who’ve enjoyed and benefited from being part of All Souls in these last few years have good

reason to be grateful for their courage and energy - and a good example to follow in being willing to take

risks and step into the unknown.

risks worth taking

There’s plenty we need to press on with in the coming year - from developing our small groups and short

courses to improving our support for teams and team leaders across our life as a church. We’ve changes

 this week in our children’s groups (see below); a new computer system for helping us communicate

better as a community; new ventures with the Ivybridge communities; talk of a weekend away; fresh

possibilities in local schools; plans to appoint a children’s worker and big plans for our buildings.

 All of these carry risks - and I dare say not everything we try will work - but if we’re not to get stuck we

have to step into the unknown and take courage from knowing that the God we know in Jesus is always

ahead of us…

thank you

That’s certainly been my experience of the last three months. Thanks so much to the many people who’ve

made my Study Leave possible - especially to the Staff Team and to volunteer Team Leaders who’ve

carried an extra load. It’s been a fantastic time and I’ve learnt a lot, been refreshed and had some great

 family time. I’m acutely aware that there’s not a person in All Souls who couldn’t benefit from a period

of time to ‘stand back from normal life’ and it’s a rare luxury to have enjoyed - I’m very grateful to have

had the chance. I’m back and ready for the next bit of the journey!

new children’s groups

 A quick update for all parents that from September 8 th, children’s groups on Sundays will be like this:

10.30am Service

4.30pm Service

…we hope to start a ‘Gigglers & Wrigglers’ crèche for the afternoon service soon too.

count me in!

 A final word of thanks to all of those (around 100 in all) who completed the Count Me In survey back in

May. Your responses have made a huge difference to being able to plan teams and groups.

 A particular thanks to those who promised to increase or to start giving financially

 to the life of All Souls - and especially to those who’ve already acted

on those promises! We start thinking about our 2014 budget ina couple of weeks’ time and a solid base of regular committed

giving is the only thing that makes planning possible - thank 

you for taking the risk of giving!

Babies & pre-Nursery Main Hall

Nursery Year Stage Room

Reception Year Studio

 Yrs 1, 2 & 3 Small Hall

 Yrs 4, 5 & 6 Underground

Nursery & Reception Small Hall Yrs 1-6 Main Hall