Wow, how time flies... we're now well into spring and here is our May newsletter! If you have any questions or want to know more about anything below, please get in touch at: admin@kingscc.org.
God-Inspired Prayers! By Roger Bye
When we have a written prayer in the Bible, we know it’s God-breathed and can be confident that it reveals things that God Himself wants us to know and experience. Recently, I’ve been in different settings where one of these prayers has been repeatedly shared. It’s found in Ephesians 1v15-23.Paul is asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, might give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that we might know Him better. He then asks for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened, so that we may know the hope to which we’ve been called. He prays for us to know the riches of his glorious inheritance in His people, and to know His incomparably great power for us who believe.We can be confident that God wants us to know Him better, to know the hope that is ours, to know the preciousness of being His and to know His power, unlike any other, at work in our lives. Let’s be caught up with praying this prayer, it’s on God’s heart for us to know these things!
Church Finances By Patrick Sharman
Below is a chart of a full year's income and expenditure to 31 March 2024 for the church's general funds. The chart is cumulative and shows the position at 3 points during the year. It reflects a second year when elder and trustees have agreed to invest in outreach activities, giving to kingdom building initiatives and those in various forms of poverty, in amounts exceeding our annual income. More recently it reflects our investment in a full-time youth and young families worker for the latter half of the year. We have not been immune from the nation (global) rise in prices so inevitably needed to meet inflationary costs in all areas of expenditure. The shortfall of £37k (draft) has been taken from Reserves primarily those retained from the sale of our Station St property a few years ago.If you have any questions or need more information do let me know at patrick@kingscc.org . The chart will also be available to see on the King's website.
Amplify
Every Friday afternoon in term time, King's Church youth drop-in, Amplify, is open from 3.30pm - 8pm for secondary school aged young people. With PlayStation and Xbox consoles, crafts, board games, air hockey/pool and table football, it is a great place for young people to hang out. Each week, we provide them with a free hot meal (served at 5pm) and there is a tuck shop where snacks can be bought.
Over the last few months, we have had an average of 18 attendees each week. Many of the young people who come do not go to church and have been invited to Amplify by friends, or have come along having seen advertisements in school. Recently, we have had a few new faces, which has been great! Amplify provides a safe and welcoming environment where friendships can be made and strengthened, and relationships formed with young people and their families. It's been wonderful to see some Amplify attendees go to Newday and youth weekends away as well.
We couldn't run Amplify without our amazing volunteers who come and help each week. We have 2 volunteer sessions, 3.30 - 6pm and 6 - 8pm. If you would like to come and help at Amplify or find out more about Amplify, please contact Joelle: joelle@kingscc.org.
Please continue to pray for Amplify and thank God for the leaders and young people who attend! Pray for those who will miss Zoe - that they will come and build relationships with the other leaders and young people. Please pray that Amplify continues to grow, and provide a safe, fun place for young people in Cockermouth and the surrounding areas.
The Big C In Me - A Podcast from Andy Robinson
On Monday 20th May, the latest episode in Andy's podcast will go live. Andy is speaking to Dave Kruczek (Grace Church, Bolton) about his recent journey from Colon Cancer to being Cancer-Free. Andy who was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer back in January last year has been posting regular updates as well as interviewing various special guests. To find out more, head to ChristCentral Churches | News, Articles and Stories.
Eco Church - Personal Care With Less Impact
Did you know that the way you wash can impact the planet? Will Sellar has written an interesting article about how we can make a conscious decision to reduce our impact and produce less waste and pollution. Here’s a summary of how we can swap out 3 personal care products for the better!
1. Swap liquid soaps or detergents for bars of soap
They are less damaging for the skin, produce less waste (that is fully recyclable) and will save you money. Liquid soaps can lead to dry and damaged skin as well as the need for further purchasing of non-recyclable products such as tubes of moisturiser.
2. Swap single-use plastic bottles of shampoo/conditioner/shower gel for reusable bottles that can be refilled, or bars of soap.
Bars of soap (shampoo or likewise) can produce a surprisingly good lather. They are also ideal for travelling as they are small and light. If we all used them when flying, thousands of tons of C02 would be saved by the air traffic industry. They produce far less waste – even that’s recyclable!
3. Swap single-use plastic deodorants or aerosols for solid deodorant
Aerosols consume significant resources and contain damaging propellants that are made from petrochemicals. Solid deodorant come in various scents and come in cardboard tubes or refillable cases. How we wash can make a difference. Shop consciously.
Chaplaincy Training By Gail Robins
It’s amazing isn’t it, the unexpected places we find ourselves in as Christians? What started out as a random conversation, sows a seed, which is watered and confirmed time and again until we find ourselves in surprising scenarios. That has been my experience throughout my Christian walk and again today as I find myself studying to become a chaplain. Initially, I am studying for one year at Waverley Abbey. There are 18 other people studying with me, who come from all over the country and a few from the US and even Ibiza. We study some theology but it is also very practically based, as we consider areas such as faith and non-faith contexts, chaplaincy skills and self-care, how to be relevant to our culture, to name a few. Chaplains are generally understood to offer pastoral support and spiritual guidance and as I work in these areas in the Bridge Café it felt like the obvious choice to study. King’s has very kindly allowed me to use the café as my placement, which I think helps us to enhance our thinking, planning, impact and care of the patrons. My hope is that through these studies, we will be better equipped to serve the community.
Cockermouth Creatures
The Stevenson boys have set up a little business in Cockermouth! If you are going away or are planning a holiday and would like someone to take care of your pets, please consider supporting them. Please speak to Rachel Stevenson for more details.
News from Gud Forst Gothenburg By Josh Bye
Between the 26th-28th April around 100 people from Gud Först gathered to have our annual weekend away in the beautiful Swedish countryside. As always it was an incredible time of getting to know each other and seeing God impact people's lives. What was especially exciting this year was the sense of commissioning as we look to go from one site in the north of the city to two sites (north and south) after summer. The church is excited about seeing what God will do as we look to establish more local bases where people can grow in discipleship with God and relationship with each other. Check out more on our website gfg.church.
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