Our meetings today were led by Lt Colonels Graham & Kirsten Owen
10am
‘Christ in all, through all with all’
Following the Welcome & announcements by CSM Tim Scott we sang our first song of the morning
Song 241 / TB 436 And can it be? supported by the Band
we then had a short Drama Piece called ” Seeing is believing! ” Tim Scott and Lt Col Graham & Kirsten gave a short dramatization based on the story of Thomas – Where Tim was a person of Scientific mind, in a scientific age , who only believed what he could see with his own eyes , Kirsten kept pointing out that you can also believe things you can Touch, and Graham kept butting in talking about a friend who used to be like Tim , but has changed his mind-set recently ( Became a Christian and has faith in his life ) – It was fun, but not easy to explain here .
This was followed by the singing of Chorus 386 / TB 791 Open our eyes, Lord supported by Emma on the Piano
Message from the Singing Company was ” I stand amazed ”
Lt Col Graham introduced the idea of us doing a Mexican Wave! , and explained its origins were from Football crowds , when activity on the pitch was a bit boring.
With The Singing Company on the Platform , the wave started with them, transerred to the balcony, then downstairs and back to the Singing Company on the platform ..we practiced twice .. see quick photo below
next we were told to try it with our eyes closed !! – it didn’t work , in the eyes of one member of the Singing company, who were told to keep their eyes open , our efforts were Rubbish . So the point was made , we need to keep our Eyes open & look out for each other
Our next song was Song 401 / TB 916 We want to see Jesus lifted high
Message from the Songsters this morning was ” People Need The Lord ”
Major Ian gave the Bible Reading Col. 1: 9-14 & 15-20
Which was followed by the singing of the Song Ten Thousand Reasons with Band arrangement
Reflection on the Word – ‘He is before all things, and in him all things hold together’
Lt Col Graham spoke of Pauls letter to the Colossians , as read earlier . In a Previous appointment Graham & Kirsten had been in the most Northerly Corps in Denmark, where due to the quality of light in the summer an art school had been established, leading Grahams thought to Paul setting up an artists easel , and painting a picture of Jesus , for those that had never seen him , but he used words in his letter . Within the letter we can see Jesus the Man , Christ the King & Jesus the creator ( v16-17) . Graham asked if we used our imagination to grasp who Jesus is .
Graham continued with the thought that If we feel that God is remote and on high , our expectations will be low . Pauls letter to the Colossians was designed to describe Jesus to people just like us
Our Final songs of the morning were
Song 376 / TB 722 King of kings, majesty
The Band were then out on the regular High St Ministry following the meeting
Sunday 5pm
‘On the Road to Christmas’
Our Evening Meeting was again led by Lt Colonels Graham & Kirsten Owen
Our first song for the Evening was
Song 365 He is the Lord and he reigns on high
Tune 826 Show your power
Song 330 As we are gathered
Tune 560 “ “
Prayer
The Bands Message this evening , introduced by Bandmaster Nigel Lockwood , was Away in a manger – the arrangement by Les Condon , Nigel chose it as one of his favourites , and partly because it wasn’t requested when the Band played out at St Mary Island Carolling event on Saturday
The Bible Reading , given by Lt Col Kirsten was Matthew ch 1 v 20-23
which was followed by the singing of
Song 925 Let us go out into the world
Tune 937 Love in our hearts
We had some testimonies this Evening ,
Carolynn Woodman testified that a friend of hers is asking questions about faith , and she feels this stems from a Songster event they were present at earlier this year .
Jean Jones testified that we shouldn’t be surprised that God goes before us , after meeting a neighbour while out shopping, who asked Jean when would he be getting his carol concert invite ( that he missed last year due to ill health) , he was waiting for this years opportunity to come to our concert .
Major Alma Brown testified to meeting a Lady , who had taken her children to toddler group run by Alma years before , but still remembered the Love & care shown to her family in those days, and we had members of our congregation whose first contact had been through this group . Major Ian made a point of highlighting the years of service that Alma and had dedicated to this vital work
Tracey Wood Testified to the increasing impact that the New Rd School club was having , 24 children attend and some also come to Sunday School, but relationships are being built with Parents as well
The Drama spot for the afternoon was ‘Incarnation’
Where Lt Cols Graham & Kirsten ( Plus off stage voice over from Major Judith ) , told the story of people going their own way in life , and God being disappointed ( Lt Col Graham was the voice of God – perched on the Ladder ) God had tried speaking to people , but they wouldn’t listen , he tried signs ( rainbows for instance or parting the Red sea ) but people didn’t take notice , so in the end in the end he decided to appear himself & the word became flesh
The Songsters message this afternoon was On the Rock by william Hastings / Andrew Blythe
Thought Lt Cols. G & K Owen
Lt Col Kirsten read out Waiting as a Child , by Ruth Dearnley
and then we were asked if we can remember that Child like feeling , because waiting is hard.
We are children of God, but as adults we forget that as children of God we are awaiting the return of our Lord, Lt Col Kristen tols us that she love Christmas, but think that she loves advent season more, the opportunities that we have to witness. As we move into this advent period , waiting as children of God, remember “Christmas is not Christmas till it happens in your heart ”
The meeting concluded with the singing of
Song 107 Hark the Glad Sound
Tune 87 Joy to the World
and the Band closed with the playing of Repton
Extract from our Newsletter
Welcome to Chatham Salvation Army, a Christian fellowship where we are attempting to bring ‘Christ to people and people to Christ’.
Today we welcome Lt Colonels Graham & Kirsten Owen, to lead us in Worship. Graham & Kirsten are now in retirement after many years of Corps leadership, Divisional & International leadership finalized as the Corps Leaders at Bromley. I know that we will enjoy their leadership, challenge and word that they bring from the Lord for us all today. Our 5pm meeting, with the sections, is entitled ‘On the road to Christmas’ Come and enjoy a meeting of worship, testimony and the word, with a smattering of fun!
There is a lot going on over the next weeks. Please ‘get involved’ wherever you can. Don’t miss the opportunity to share ‘The Reason for the Season’.
I am delighted to inform you that Major Judith has received a new appointment as Training Principal as of the 1st February 2020 with the rank of Lt. Colonel – God Bless Judith as she takes on this task that God has given her – I know that she can and will rely on the prayers of Chatham Citadel.
God bless Chatham Citadel Corps as we worship today. God Bless you all
Ian F Payne – Major
PRAYER REQUESTS
Please pray this prayer:
Father God, I pray for my church today, that you will fill each of us with your joy and peace, and that, in our worship, our fellowship and mission, we will overflow with hope, by the power of your Holy Spirit, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
There are huge numbers applying to the Foodbank for emergency supplies. Our own Foodbank volunteers are working non-stop to help those in need. Please pray into this situation and thank God for our volunteers.
Please continue to pray that God will guide all those who are planning and organizing the Christmas events so that there will be an impact on our local community to bring God’s love to their hearts. Pray for guidance in sharing invitations to Community Carol Service.
Prayers can be put in the Prayer Box at the back of the Hall. They will be added to the prayer book and prayed for on Friday.
THIS WEEK AT THE HALL
MONDAY 10am – 1pm Employment + 10:30 – 1pm Medway Foodbank
10am Mainly Music
10am – 1pm Monday Cafe
3pm-5pm NRS Club 6pm Beavers & Cubs 7:30pm Scouts & Explorers
TUESDAY
6:30 pm YP Band & Learners 7:00pm L.I.F.E. Dinner
8pm Senior Band
WEDNESDAY
9:30am Medway Language Sch
8pm Bible Study led by
T.E. Tony McClure
THURSDAY 6:15pm Singing Company
8pm Songsters
FRIDAY
12 Noon Prayer Fellowship
10:30 – 1pm Foodbank
10am Mummy & Me
7pm Youff
SATURDAY
10am Band – John Lewis
Noon YP – John Lewis
1pm Band – John Lewis
3pm Songsters – John Lewis
NEXT SUNDAY 1st December
1st Sunday in Advent
10am TOY SERVICE
Family Worship
10:30 Sunday School
1pm Band Learners
2pm Band at Rochester
Wednesday 4th – 12th December
At long last our boilers are being replaced on the above dates. The old ones will be removed and new ones installed. Thank you all for your patience in this challenging time, especially as the temperature has dropped.
Sunday 1st December 10am
This is the First Sunday in Advent and we will be holding our Annual Toy Service. Please bring new unwrapped toys to be distributed to families in Chatham. If you require any further details please do speak to Wendy Scoulding. I am very grateful to Wendy for all the time and effort she and her team put into making sure that hampers and toys go to deserving homes. Thanks Wendy
Christmas Advent Hampers
Sunday 8th Dec will be the last day that the Christmas hampers can be brought to the hall for distribution. Again, a big thank you to all of you who have engaged with this fantastic project, especially Sam Wood who, again this year, has coordinated all the work. Any further details please speak to Sam. Well done Sam and your team.
Corps Christmas Celebration Saturday & Sunday 14th – 15th December
Don’t forget to invite your friends, neighbours & family members to this comfortable and exciting celebration. Please be aware that everyone must have a ticket. Even if you come every week you do need to book a ticket, this is for safety reasons – we cannot over crowd the hall. If you are unable to use a computer to order your ticket(s), give your name to Jean Jones and a ticket will be provided for you.
Christmas Day Volunteering
If you (friends or neighbours) wish to volunteer for the Christmas Day programme of activities please see Major Ian or contact Grace, who is coordinating the day on:
07870 636451 or email.
Grace@21centuryflooring.co.uk
Christmas Day
The day will start with refreshments from 9:30am going into the Morning Celebration at 10am; Coffee and Mince Pies at 11am and lunch being served from 11:45am. In the hall building there will be a hairdressers, clothing exchange, showering, TV lounge and support. Please feel free to invite anyone along. Invitation cards are in the foyer. We are very grateful to Medway Sunlight Rotary Club who organise and run the day.
Christmas Message to the Corps
We all send Christmas Cards to each other. Well, this year, instead of chopping down tree after tree, there will be made available the opportunity to have your personal Christmas message and greetings on the screens in the Hall every time it is being used. Forms for this will be in the foyer and I am asking for a donation for the ‘Life Project Christmas Meal’ which will be on the 17th December.
CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR HAMPER
After the amazing success of last year’s Christmas Hampers, we are back again with a new design, slightly altered (using a seasonal bag for life). Each bag of goods will go to a deserving family. Last year over 150 families benefitted from your kindness and generosity. I am sure that this year will be no different. Also, a huge thanks to those companies around Medway that are taking this up as an office project. See Sam for details – Calendars are in the foyer.
COMMUNITY CAROL CONCERT
If you require any posters/flyers for our Community Carol Service please see Major Ian.
CHRISTMAS CARDS
Louise is selling Christmas cards to fundraise for the Transformers+ mission trip to Bangladesh 2020! Subject to availability. So please email Louise with your order! They are blank inside so they can also be used for any occasion! louarobinson@hotmail.com
FLOWERS
We are grateful to Trish & Don Hall for the flowers which adorn our hall. (Thanks to Joan for arranging them). Please add your name to the list of dates on the notice-board if you wish to donate flowers.
Carolling 2019 Collectors will be needed at various times throughout the Christmas period. Please add your name to the list on the notice board or speak to CS Andrew or CT Andy with your name and time available. One hour will make all the difference. Also, we have cards to give out to the public as we are carolling.
CHRISTMAS MAIL BOX The Corps Christmas mail box, for internal Christmas cards only, will be operational from 24th November, last post day 15th Dec, for distribution on the 22nd by the Youff.
