Weekly Bulletin - 24 September
Hello StaStb
Welcome to our weekly church bulletin, here's what is coming up in the life of St Andrew's and St Bartholomew's!
Services This Sunday -
9am Communion service at St A's
10.30am Informal Worship with Children's and Youth Groups at St A's
5.00pm Holy Communion at St B's
6.30pm Revival Prayer at St A's
To find out what's happening during the week click here to view our full church calendar.
Readings This Sunday
9am - Isaiah 58: 6 - 10
Luke 4: 16 - 21
10.30am - Isaiah 58: 6 - 10
Preaching Theme - Youth For Christ
Weekly Prayer Zoom Details
Every Thursday
7.30pm Zoom Prayer
Meeting ID:717 8863 5477 Passcode: STAPRAYER
News and Notices
The Thursday Knitting Group will be holding an autumn sale of knitwear in the Large Hall this Sunday after both services. All proceeds go directly to the Gloucester Foodbank run by The Trussell Trust.
Creation Care Workshop Sunday 27 September, 2–4pm
How can we put our commitment to caring for God's creation into action at St Andrews?
Come along to St Andrews church courtyard on Sunday 27th September 2-4pm to share ideas, explore your curiosity, delve into our Creation Care Policy and help identify practical actions we can take together.
You don't need to be an environmental expert or already part of the Creation Care Team — everyone is welcome! For more information, contact Graeme 07712229976.
Jim Caveen - Jim's funeral service will take place at St Andrew's Church on Monday 28th September at 1.00pm followed by reception in the large hall.
Bible Course 2026 We will be running the Bible Society's excellent Bible Course again this year, with an option for evening (Thursday) or day-time (Friday morning). The course is good for people new to Christianity, ideal as a follow-on from Alpha or for mature Christians wanting to increase their understanding of the Bible. Over 8 weeks it explores all the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, looking at why the books were written, key themes, writing styles and how they all lead us to a greater understanding of the salvation work of Jesus. The course runs for eight weeks from Thursday 1st October (7:30 to 9:00pm) and Friday 2nd October (10:00 to 11:30am) , using videos and group discussion. The cost is £10 for a course manual. To sign up, please click on your preferred date above which will take you directly to the booking page. For more information please contact Neil Carne (alpha@stastb.church).
Love Your Neighbour - Small acts of kindness can make a big difference.
As part of our October IMPACT weekend, we're heading out into our local community to put love into action — helping people with practical jobs such as gardening, DIY, clearing, and other small tasks.
It's a simple opportunity to meet people, lend a hand, build relationships and show something of God's love in a very practical way.
Could you join a team?
Whether you're handy with a hammer, happy in the garden, great at organising, or simply willing to lend a helping hand, we have a range of tasks you can get involved in so please click HERE to find out more. Come along, get stuck in, and let's love our neighbours together.
We are still looking for more people to sign up for St Andrew's Got Talent on Saturday 10th October. There are no judges - it's simply an evening of fun, laughter and amazing talents! Whether you sing, dance, play an instrument or have a hidden talent, please, please, please come and take part! St Andrew's Got Talent (09-Oct-2026) · ChurchSuite Events
Relationships Matter Course starting on Wednesday 4th November - Revd's John and Alice Monaghan warmly invite you to join us for this course as we explore together what it means to build better relationships and grow together in faith. Full details are contained within the attached poster - Spaces are limited to 18 so don't delay in signing up!
Relationships matter poster v2.pdf
If you would like to include any updates in the weekly bulletin, send them to admin@stastb.church. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday at 1pm.
This week's Green Tip! Carry a reusable water bottle, coffee cup, and eco-friendly shopping bags wherever you go, minimise the single use plastic.
Giving at St Andrew's and St Bartholomew's
Stewardship - Income, Investment, Involvement
In my Stewardship talk at the morning services on Sunday 20 September, I spoke about our giving as an investment in God's kingdom; supporting the growth and health of our church and its members and helping us to reach new children and adults in Churchdown and beyond so that they too would come to know and share the hope we have in Jesus.
If you are an existing giver
Firstly, a huge thank you! Secondly, my ask is that you respond to my message by taking a moment to review your current giving. Is it planned and regular, is it affordable for you, does the frequency and timing of payments work, do you need to make changes? If you do not already do so, it would be helpful to our budgeting if you could adjust your giving for inflation, increasing it by c.3% say, to help us keep up with the cost energy, goods and materials and salaries. If you use the Parish Giving Scheme it is possible to opt-in for this to happen automatically in the PGS portal.
If you are not yet a giver
I hope that my talk inspired you to give to the church and, importantly, to think of your giving not simply as a transfer of money from your bank account to the church's bank account, but as the mechanism for investing our money collectively in something that is precious and valuable. In the look ahead to 2027 I highlighted that we do need new givers to be play a part in the work of our church - that is you! There are flexible options for giving. Our preference is that people give using the Parish Giving Scheme, including opting-in to gift aid (where eligible) and annual inflation index-linking. Alternative options for regular giving are the Ephesian Fund or a simple standing order. Links to all of these can be found on the Giving page of the church website.
For both existing and new givers, if you need any help or advice on giving to our church, or in navigating the PGS or Ephesian Fund online journeys, please feel free to talk to me or contact me in confidence.
Please click here to make a one-off donation or set up a direct debit.
Thank you.
Christopher Phillimore
Volunteer Stewardship Advisor
Pastoral Care
As part of our Christian community, we provide mutual support for one another. Much of this happens informally with friends within the church and through the connect groups. However, sometimes people will require more personal support and encouragement either as a 'one-off chat' or on a more ongoing basis. For a conversation with someone on our Pastoral Care Team contact the office admin@stastb.church or phone 01452 712154 during office hours. For issues concerning safeguarding of Children and Vulnerable adults, see our website https://www.stastb.church/safeguarding For other useful contacts including Gloucester Adults helpdesk, Domestic abuse support services, Samaritans or Gloucester NHS Crisis team, visit https://gloucester.anglican.org/about-us/safeguarding/contacts/
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Contact us
St Andrew's Church Centre, Station Road, Churchdown, Gloucester, GL3 2JT
www.stastb.church
01452 712154
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9.30am - 12.30pm
Closed Tuesday 9.30am - 11.30am
Click here to get in touch with someone in the team.