Our youth worker Ellen Dann started maternity leave in July 2015. During the last few years she has made a huge contribution to the life of Christ Church, while her own life too has gone through dramatic changes. We give thanks for Ellen and all that God has done through her in Christ Church, and look forward to what is still to come.
On three Thursdays in August, at a time of year when most regular activities take a break, we opened our building to provide play, company, crafts and more for adults and children.
What are the things we value that are threatened by climate change? In an All Age service we expressed our concerns in words and pictures. Later in the month a group of Christ Church members took the message to Parliament as we joined in a national day of action.
Two years after visiting Kenya and Tanzania as part of the Youth Encounter team, Jack is returning to Africa in summer 2015 to spend a few weeks working alongside a Christian mission agency in Mozambique. Before leaving he told Christ Church about his plans and motivation.
As Liz England prepares to get ordained and take up a new post outside Birmingham, she looks back with thanks on her time at Christ Church.
In summer 2014 the sight of a small building in a village in Kenya reduced Bobbie Frere to tears. A mud hut, used by the church’s primary school as a kindergarten, had a floor infested with insects that made the children ill. A year after that encounter, thousands of pounds have been raised and a new brick-built kindergarten is nearly ready for use.
We looked back with thanks and looked forward to building a deeper relationship with God as we gathered for our Annual Parochial Church Meeting in April 2015.
Six local churches have joined together with award-winning national charity Christians Against Poverty to offer advice and support to people in South Birmingham who are struggling with unmanageable debt. Our Debt Advice Centre launched in April 2015. Centre Manager Judy Ward is building a team of volunteer helpers from each of the partner churches.
Messy Church at Christ Church started in February 2014. Our first year has been a time of enjoyment, learning, growing and, yes, being messy. We had a lot of questions when we started: here are some of the answers.
In summer 2013 a group of young people from Christ Church took part in a Youth Encounter trip to Kenya and Tanzania. In September 2015 an adult team from Christ Church is following in their footsteps to further develop our links with churches and other organisations in the area.