From Sunday 11th October we will be broadcasting live on YouTube the 11am service, which will replace the pre-filmed services we have been producing during lockdown. Please go to our YouTube channel or follow the link which will be published in each week’s e-newsletter on a Friday. Please bear with us for a couple of weeks whilst we iron out any technical issues, as yet another new “digital” chapter in the life of our church begins. You will be able to comment on the Live Chat during the service, so please use this opportunity to greet one another, especially if you haven’t seen people in a while!

Our “500 SMILES” Christmas Shoebox Project which supports the children of Apalina, Transylvania is now LIVE! This year more than ever, please stand with us and support children who simply will not receive a gift this Christmas. SJC, with the support of our communities and schools, are looking to send hundreds of presents again this year, but we NEED your help!

This project has always been called 500 smiles, but our goal is to ensure that when the boxes come in and they’re counted, we’re able to give far more smiles than that this Christmas. Please take a look at our dedicated webpage and find out how to get involved BY CLICKING HERE!

We recommend the daily Lectio365 app, by 24/7 prayer, available on both the App Store and for Android, which can even read the devotion to you! Find out more.

Family Worship – Nick & Becky Drake are live streaming worship at 4pm on their Facebook page, called Worship for Everyone

Rend Collective are hosting a “Socially Distant Worship Club” at 7pm on Friday night – see Facebook for more details.

There are many resources available from the Church of England website – we are particularly enjoying the Supporting Good Mental Health reflections.

We are running two courses online via Zoom, the first of which is called ‘Learning The Jesus Way’, on Thursday 17th September, from 7:30-9:00pm. The course looks at the basics of Christian faith, looking at what Jesus taught and what His apostles had to say. We will explore forgiveness, the holy spirit, His scriptures, the principles of worship, following His teaching and trusting Him.

The course is for ANYONE  – those who want to know about Jesus, those who may have done an Alpha course, and also those who want to grow in their understanding. We do need to know contact details for anyone wishing to attend, in order that we can send out invitations and instructions for how to connect to the sessions. Anyone interested is asked to please contact the church office via email on office@stjohnscolchester.org.uk

Communities are the place to ‘feel like you belong’ at SJC.

These communities are where you’re known and grown as a follower of Jesus, meeting regularly to do life, church and pray together. Each community serves a local area or a group of people, whilst studying the bible in discipleship groups and meeting socially to build friendships.

Take a look at some of our SJC Communities on our dedicated page, ask a friend which one they belong to or contact the office outlining the community you’d like to be invited to! Enjoy!

As the festive season approaches, we are very aware that Christmas 2020 will be very different to usual.

With this in mind, we are working hard to find the best way of making Christmas as special as it can be in these circumstances. Rest assured that we will continue to communicate our plans with you as the time approaches, but in the meantime we would appreciate your prayers around the best way of presenting what is a unique and very special time of the year.