Awe, Wonder and The Greatest Gift

December 1st, 2023

Dear church family,

Welcome to this Advent season where we eagerly await the birth of our Lord and Saviour! Sometimes, the run up to Christmas can feel like a list of things to tick off before we finally get to Christmas Day and whatever those celebrations may hold - ticking off shopping lists, people to see, events to be part of, services to go to etc….

However - this year - I encourage you to take a step back and pause….. In all the busyness, we can forget that this season of expectancy is beautiful, precious and full of awe and wonder (if we let it be…!) As we journey through the Advent Devotional that Paula's put together for us (if you haven't got one, please drop by the church and we will give you one - we will also be bringing some to Fountain on Sunday!), let us remember to focus our eyes on Jesus and have an attitude of both gratitude and giving!

I recently went on a retreat where we looked back over 2023 and wrote down everything we were grateful for… I don't know about you, but often we can remember the things which have happened recently that are good, but can only remember things further back which haven't been as good…. As an exercise, I would strongly encourage you to go back through your diary, or your photos on your phone, and write down everything you're grateful for from 2023 as we head towards 2024 - it also gives us an opportunity to say thank you to God for all he has done and continues to do in our lives and the lives of those around us, as we also thank Him for the gift of his son.

As we seek to develop this attitude of gratitude, it's also really important to be reaching out and giving. You may have seen on social media that as a church community, we're encouraging people to join in with "Advent Acts" - acts of kindness throughout the next 24 days, prompted by the videos each day… Today's prompt is "Leave a gift on someone's doorstep anonymously." We'd love to hear stories and see pictures of some of your Advent Acts - please send them to us!

Looking forward to celebrating the awe and wonder of this Christmas season with you all - it is such a joy and a privilege to be part of this church family and I am grateful for each and every one of you…

Every blessing and much love, as always,

Izzy xxxxx

SUNDAY GATHERING 3RD DEC - 4pm - Fountain Church Kent - Units 5&6 Dencorra Way, Montpelier Business Park, Ashford, TN234FG (owing to mezzanine works being ongoing we have a one-off change of venue and time for our service this week - please see e-mail sent by Mark earlier the week for more information and Mezzanine updates!)

If you will struggle getting to Fountain Church and will need a lift - get in touch - similarly, if you know you have space in your car and can offer someone a lift - please also get in touch! It will be so good to have as many of us as we possibly can gather together, together.....

Join us this Sunday as we begin our series in the lead-up to Christmas - The Greatest Gift!
https://youtu.be/E_2pBLEh13g

Christmas sermon slides - Youtube - FOUNTAIN-05 YOUTUBE.png

A Very Messy Christmas is back for another year! For this event to be a success, we will need a large team of volunteers to help set up and decorate the church on Friday afternoon/evening 8th December, for either or both sessions on the Saturday and to help clear up afterwards. Please let Izzy know on 07540070727 if you are available to help at all - at the moment we don't have enough people... Elena also needs more people to help serve in The Well. This is such a great event for outreach to our community - all 420 spaces went within 48 hours of them going live....!

Messy Christmas.jpeg

Fancy Dress Christingle is *also* returning this year! Come one, come all - dressed as Nativity Characters or anything Christmassy! We had great fun last year dressing up together, celebrating Christingle (including our annual juggling competition!), and hearing about Jesus being the light of the world - so come and join us! This service will also see our drama group's first performance so it promises to be a really lovely morning!

Church Family Christmas Meal - we have space for 100 people to come and enjoy a Christmas dinner together, cooked and served by the leadership team and staff teams as we honour you and say a big "thank you" for being part of the church family! Please sign up using this link:
https://willesboroughbaptistchurch.churchsuite.com/events/gkqd8cyr