Event

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.

 

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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.

Exeter Vineyard Book Club

We’re thinking of ways to socially connect people while we have to remain socially distant… so we’re launching the Exeter Vineyard Book Club.

We’re setting up mini-book clubs to encourage connection with each other, while at the same time being inspired and encouraged by God! For the pilot scheme we’re going to read “Chasing the Dragon” by Jackie Pullinger.

We’ve chosen this book because it’s an exciting page-turner, with some really inspiring stories and challenging ideas. You may have already read it, but we think it’s still going to be enjoyable and give God an opportunity to speak into our here-and-now lives.

And, because it is a bestseller that’s been around for a while, there’s a good chance people may have it on their shelves. However, even if you don’t, it’s easy to pick up a second-hand copy on Amazon or eBay. You can also get it for Kindle. The Amazon listing (for new, second-hand or Kindle) is here. Alternative link. Or a omnibus edition, which has two other biographies, is available second hand here.

How’s it going to work?

We’re going to put people into groups of 3-8 people with a facilitator. The facilitator will arrange when you’ll meet and how you’ll e-meet. They will also have a set of questions for discussion.

You will read a chapter and then have a virtual ‘gathering’ where you’ll get to discuss it. We expect these sessions to last 20-30 mins, depending on how chatty you are! There will also be opportunity to pray for each other.

If you want to take part fill in the form here and get hold of a copy of the book.

We expect these to start the week beginning 6th of April, although there’s no set timescale or requirement. Each mini-book club can set their own schedule.

Vision Night

On Friday 17th April we’re gathering in the evening to hang-out, have fun, eat, pray, worship and think about the future . . . 

Vision Night is our new name for Church Family Night. We want to talk about the direction we feel God is taking us and, especially after making some changes at the start of the year, we want to talk how this fits into the bigger picture of God’s call for our church.

Instead of bring-and-share desserts, we are going to have gourmet hotdogs in brioche buns, with sauce stations!

7:30-9:30 at St Leonard’s Primary School.

There’s no provision for children, but we will be screening a kids film in the Launch hall.