Join us this October for our new series “Life Together”. We’ll be talking about how being a Christian involves being part of a community of godly love, in which we do life together rather trying to go solo!
This series then, is really about what it means for us to be disciples. We share, as a loving community, in all of the ups and downs of our lives. We pray for one another, we laugh together, cry together, build one another up, keep each other on the right track and we celebrate and share together – with each other and with people in need of God’s provision locally and far away!
Across the month of October, we will be celebrating a Baptism, sharing in Communion, exploring what it means to go deep with God (and each other) and reaching wide to show our care for people in need. Here’s what’s coming up…
Sunday 6th October: Baptism: Taking the Plunge (live-streamed)
EBC is a Baptist Church (there’s clue in our name!) and this Sunday, 6th October, we have the awesome privilege of being witnesses and supporters as one of our brothers in Christ, Dean, quite literally takes the plunge! Come and hear, or be reminded again, about what Baptism means and celebrate with Dean and his family! If you have been part of EBC for a while, and have been thinking about baptism, come and talk with Simon or Philippa about it. After all, we’ll have a nice baptistry all ready on the 6th... In the words of the Ethiopian believer, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)
Sunday 13th October: Communion: Partaking in Christ (Allsorts service) - (no live-stream)
At EBC, we normally share Communion at one service each month and this month we’re going to do it “Allsorts” style! What does Communion really mean? And what does being in Communion look like?
Sunday 20th October: Going Deep (live-streamed)
Often we hear about churches that want to be “outward-looking” and hopefully EBC is one of them, but what about when we look inwards – what do we find? If the church is the people, what kind of people are we? Do-gooders? “Church goers”? Nice on Sunday mornings? What if we scratch the surface… what’s going on inside each of us and in our community? This Sunday we dig a little deeper into the becoming a Christian, a follower of Jesus – and what (and who) is really involved in that journey of discipleship…
Sunday 27th October: Reaching Wide (Shoebox Sunday) - (no live-stream)
One of the ways we express God’s love for people in need is by joining together as a church family and supporting the wonderful idea of “Shoebox Sunday”, in which we bring gifts together and pack them up to send off and bless families in poorer parts of the world, like Eastern Europe. This year (as last year) we are partnering with the charity “Link to Hope”. Here is what they say about this year’s shoebox appeal:
What makes our Shoebox Appeal 2024 different?
1. Your shoeboxes will go to the poorest people in Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria and Romania.
2. Unlike many other shoebox appeals, our scheme collects boxes for entire families and the elderly, so nobody’s left out.
3. We are small, yet established enough to have personal relationships with the individuals in Eastern Europe who work hard delivering your boxes. For transparency, we also carry out spot-checks to confirm that the right people are receiving your boxes.
4. We believe that sending shoeboxes shows love from British people to those in war-torn or poverty-stricken circumstances, regardless of their background, colour, creed or religion.
Find out more about Link to Hope here.