Event

Summer Break

For the first time ever we’re going on a church weekend away.

This is not a weekend conference – it’s a weekend holiday!

A chance to get away, recharge, refresh, have fun, hang-out, get to know people, enjoy some great food and drink…

The accommodation is at Heatree House, an activity centre on Dartmoor. There are fantastic facilities for us to enjoy a leisurely weekend of fun activities, relaxing time away and each other’s company.

The weekend is fully catered and we’re planning a programme that should have something for everyone and every age – even if your ‘something’ is finding a comfy chair and a book! Everything is optional!

👉  BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE 👈

Provisional Programme

Everything is optional – just join in with what you want

Friday 24th June

 – Arrive from 4pm
 – Dinner 6ish
 – After dinner fun: Open Mic Night with bar : PS4 on projector : Board Games
 – After dusk fun: Wide Game

Saturday 25th June

 – Morning Devotional stroll
 – Buffet Breakfast (open until 10 if you want a lie in!)
 – Morning activities – some have additional charge – see below
 – Lunch
 – Afternoon activities – some have additional charge – see below
 – Dinner
 – Fancy Dress Party with bar, disco followed by karaoke!

Sunday 26th June

 – Buffet Breakfast (open until 10 if you want a lie in!)
 – Sunday service
 – Lunch
 – Depart

On Saturday we’ll have a number of activities available, although of course you can do something completely different or nothing at all: Dartmoor Escape Challenge | Kayaking (+£12 per person) | Archery (+£12 per person) | High Rope Course (+£12 per person) | Walk | Rounders

Cost

This price is inclusive of accommodation, food and soft drinks for the whole weekend.

 – Adults – £75
 – Students and Children 13 and above – £55
 – Children – £40
 – Children under 4 – free

This price has been subsidised by the church, as time together like this is really important. If money is an obstacle please let us know as we have a bursary available and we want you to be there!

We also are giving the option to pay in instalments over a number of months – even beyond the weekend away.

Due to the nature of the accommodation we are planning for family households to be in one room together. 

For the “weekend away sleepover experience”, teenagers and older children can sleep in dorm rooms (these will be single-sex and around 5 to a room).

If there is available capacity you can have a separate room for your children, but there will be a small surcharge.

👉 BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE 👈

Planning for Easter Sunday

We are thinking about how we can celebrate Easter Sunday.

We have two options, but we’d like to know what everyone thinks, as there’s no point doing lots of work, or trying something a bit different, if no one’s around or if no one wants to do it.
So, we are taking an ‘advisory’ referendum – hopefully it won’t be too divisive (#EasterMeansEaster)!
 
This will also help us know numbers, so you will see on the poll there are four options; Option one, Option two, I don’t mind, and I’m away. You only need to respond with one poll per household.
 
 
You can read our plans below or watch the brief video, it’s the same info . . .

OPTION 1
We do a Sunday service – sung worship, small talk – and then, while we have coffee and a snack, have an Easter egg hunt on the school field, so the kids can get some chocolate. We could also have some Easter themed craft stations for younger kids too.
 
We’d start at 10:30 and at 11:15 break for refreshments and the egg hunt and craft tables.
 
We’d want this to be a service people can invite friends and family to, but it especially suits families with young kids.
 
 
OPTION 2
As we are increasingly trying to think of church as a family, option 2 is to have a celebratory Easter lunch together.
 
We would meet later, maybe midday, and have lunch. We would centrally organise the main part of the meal (we’re looking into the possibility of a lamb roast, although that may not be possible, so instead we’re thinking something like gourmet lamb pies) and then do a bring-and-share for accompaniments like salads, bread, potatoes and so on.
 
We would want to do something centred on God, so maybe we’d start with singing one song, have an opportunity to to say a thankful ‘grace’ together and  then, over dessert or coffee, have a short Easter-themed, thought for the day. We want to include God, but this option is much more of a community time – especially as we think about making it accessible for inviting friends – see below.
 
We’d still do a simple an egg hunt and craft options for children.
 
The issue with this maybe that people already have plans for lunch on Easter Sunday. However, as we want to be an inclusive and welcoming family, it could also be a fantastic opportunity to invite your parents, siblings or neighbours to come for lunch.
 
You can take the poll here: https://forms.gle/qTsfVMaCZ4f46Pem8

Plans for our Family Meal

On Sunday 5th September we are gathering as a whole church for the first time since March 2020!

We are doing something new, in a new venue… so we expect to learn as we go along, but the important thing is we’re getting to be together and focus ourselves on God.

Three sections (click to jump to): Details | Covid measures | Video preview

DETAILS:

The venue is Clyst St Mary Village Hall and we are meeting from 10:30 until 12.

We will be sharing brunch together (so don’t eat a big breakfast before you come!)

Food (as well as set up and clear down) is being shared by people in Hubs, so if you’re in a Hub you’ll be told what to do or bring. If you’re not in a Hub, don’t worry – just come and enjoy yourself.

We are going to be sat, cafe style, on tables of six to eight. During our time together we’ll be having a time of sung worship, sharing communion, eating, catching up and hanging out and learning a spiritual practice.

There are no special activities for children, but most children will be able to join in with what we’ll do. You might want to bring activities or (quiet-ish) toys if you think it will help. There is also excellent space outside for playing. Children will be the responsibility of parents/guardians during the morning.

COVID MEASURES:

Obviously Covid is of real concern, especially with local prevalence. With this in mind, we think it is sensible and considerate of others for us to take certain measures as follows:

If you have any Covid-19 symptoms please do not attend and follow the government’s guideline to be tested. Similarly if you have been told to self-isolate you cannot attend.

For those coming, if possible we would like people to do and lateral flow test before arriving. Many people have to do this anyway for work, so it would be great if you could schedule one of your tests for that Sunday. You might want to take a photo of your test strip in case you want to refer back to it later on. We are not requiring people to do a LFT, just strongly recommending it. So, if for any reason, it isn’t possible for you to do one please don’t feel you can’t attend.

On arrival use the supplied hand sanitiser and wear a mask until you are sat at your table.

When you get up to get your food, or when you go to the toilet, please put your mask back on.

We will wear masks while singing (except for the band).

Unless the weather makes this impossible, we will have doors and windows open to ensure good ventilation.

We’re asking people not to mingle while in the hall. There is a lot of outdoor space to catch up and have chats before and afterwards.

VIDEO PREVIEW:

Here’s a quick video tour of the hall so you can get an idea of how Sunday 5th will work:

In Person Easter Service

On Easter Sunday we’re running three consecutive services at the Beacon Centre.
We’ll be watching the video service, but it’s a chance to do it with other real people (!) and have a little bit of socially-distanced social interaction.

You need to sign up to come, so please fill in the form below to book tickets for you and your household.

Click here for the booking form.

 

Graphic vector created by starline – www.freepik.com

Vineyard 21 Days of Prayer

Over January our movement, Vineyard UK & Ireland, are calling the churches to pray for 21 days.

We’re joining in from Monday 11th January to take us to the end of the month.

It would be great if you can start a rhythm of finding a few minutes in your day to pray, along with thousands of others, for each day’s theme.

We’ll be posting each day’s prayer points onto our Facebook page.

Here are the full 21 Days of prayer points:

 

Real People in Real Life

One of the casualties of the Covid-new-normal is the absence of just seeing people you kind of know. I’m not talking deep and meaningful, profound conversations, but the chance to say hi and make eye-contact.

So, before the year is out we wanted to find a way to at least say hi to people in our church family.

On Sunday 20th December we have the opportunity to get about 70 of us together over three sessions.

It’s all Covid-secure and, as such, you need to book on. Please don’t all be so super-Christian that you don’t book on for fear of taking someone else’s place. There’s plenty of space.

We want to sort and allocate session tickets on Thursday afternoon, so please complete the form by midday Thursday 17th.

Click here to book your place.