Emmaus, Alpha, Bible Study, Toast, Prayers Halstead Churches

You are very welcome to attend these groups which tend to have a core of 'regulars' but also a number of less frequent attendees so why not give one of them a try? Either turn up and join in, or give the group leader a call first.

Prayer for the Parishes - Saturday 9.00 - 9.30am

Each Saturday morning, an informal group gets together for 30mins of prayer, for the communities of our three Colne parishes and the wider Halstead Area Team. We are praying that more and more people will hear and respond to the Good News of God's love and new life in Jesus Christ and an example of the issues we pray for are:

Prayer for the Parishes at Colne Engaine May 08

Reaching the youths in the villages, particularly those that cause trouble

For those people who are in need of our prayers

For specific groups and activities taking place

For our projects such as the facilities at Earls Colne (the loo and tea point project!)

For spiritual growth amongst the parishes and church goers

For those with skills to come and join us so that we can develop our offering to the community
and more as we never know how the spirit will move us...

We welcome anyone to join us either physically at the addresses below or to join us in silent prayer at home. In the warmer months we meet in one of the Parish churhes but during the winter we like the warmth of a house!

Prayers for the Parishes meet at 9am - 9.30am around the parishes of White Colne, Colne Engaine and Earls Colne. Check out the Parish Magazine for locations.
Can you find 30mins to pray for God’s kingdom to come in our communities?

TOAST
A programme of morning gatherings held in local primary schools throughout Halstead and the Team's villages designed to interest and include non church-going families.

A short and informal celebration of family life where children and adults are encouraged to come together for refreshments, free doughnuts, crafts, christian songs, active prayer and stories.
See the Events Diary for the next date and click here to read the review.

Bible Study Groups

In Earls Colne, Clifford Norris hosts prayer groups on various dates and times during each month. Please contact Clifford on 01787 222015 or check out the Parish Magazine.

The Alpha Course
Come dine with us!

- Churches in the Halstead, Gosfield, Greenstead Green, Earls Colne, Colne Engaine and White Colne invite you to join us for a meal, and to hear a little about the Alpha Course. A National Course explaining the Christian faith. This follows on from last years successful invitation.
A TASTE WITHOUT A COMMITMENT! Why not come to one of our one off ‘Introduction to Alpha Meals’. Coming to these does not mean that you are signing up to the course but it will give you a flavour of the food and what an Alpha course is like?

Read more about Alpha

Contact Geoff Bayliss The Vicarage, Church Road, Gosfield. Tel: 01787 273434

Emmaus - The Way of Faith

We invite you to join us on a journey of faith. Emmaus offers you an opportunity to explore and discover more about God.

'When I embarked upon the Emmaus course I wasn’t exactly sure what I expected to find, but in the dusk of a summer’s evening, in a rectory garden, the voice I’d been straining to hear suddenly resounded. Evening primroses burst into bloom, a blackbird trilled and the church clock chimed – it was the stuff of movies but better – it was God.' Rachael Jennings

Each week there will be time to discuss and reflect together. There are 17 weekly meetings. These are separated into three groups, with breaks in between to give you the opportunity to decide if you wish to continue.
Read more about Emmaus

Bible Readings

At the churches of St Andrew in Earls Colne, Colne Engaine and White Colne, the readings for the Sunday services are all taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. The readings follow the lectionary (schedule of readings, which is found, amongst other places in the back of Common Worship).

This month's bible readings are listed in the Parish Magazine and can be found linked as a 'pdf document Here

Mothers Union
in Earls Colne and Gosfield welcome new members and visitors

The Earls Colne Branch meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 2.30pm in Earls Colne Village Hall. Contact - Mrs Neville Bird (Branch Leader) Tel 01376 562001

The Gosfield branch meets on the 4th Thursday of each month. Contact - Mrs Beryl Watson (Branch Leader) Tel 01787 473784
Click the link to read the Gosfield Mothers Union News Letter and Gosfield Mothers Union Program

What is the Mothers Union?
The Mothers' Union (MU) is a Christian organisation with more than 3.6 million members worldwide. The backbone of the MU is its worldwide network of volunteers. Whatever their individual backgrounds, members are related by a commitment to marriage and family. They give their time to generously help others, whether by running local projects, supporting international campaigns, or fundraising.

The MU also employs over 300 paid workers around the world. These are women drawn from local dioceses, so they speak the language, understand the culture and customs and have first-hand experience of the problems their neighbours face. MU workers provide vital leadership for efforts in the community. They enable people to gain essential skills, develop and encourage sustainable self-help projects, and run training seminars for local MU members and the wider community.

Workers also run the Literacy and Development Programme in Malawi, Sudan and Burundi. This programme enables learners to become literate and numerate as well as gaining skills in health, hygiene, HIV/AIDS and poverty alleviation.

The MU is also involved in campaigning and lobbying on a number of worldwide issues such as parental rights, international debt relief and child poverty. We are happy to be working in partnership with various organisations, including the United Nations and other ecumenical groups. Read about all our campaigns and policy work in What we do?