WELCOME!

Welcome to the website of the churches of
St Michael’s and St Barnabas, Devonport.

We meet for worship every Sunday,
10.30am at St Michael’s.

For details of our social activities and all other meetings, see the side bar … together with links to our Facebook pages and all sorts of online resources.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Christmas Shoe boxes

It’s that time of year again – time to find, cover and pack a shoe box for needy children. A small shoebox can have a big impact. What goes into the box is fun, but what comes out of it is eternal …

Watch as we go back to Liberia after the horrific effects of Ebola meant we were unable to distribute shoebox gifts in 2014 or 2015. You can see the joy with which children in remote areas received their long awaited shoeboxes.

Please note that this year we cannot accept individual items for shoeboxes … why not get together with some friends and fill a shoe box together.

Bring your completed shoeboxes to St Michael’s by Sunday November 13th at the latest, together with your shipping donation (£3 per box) or make your donation online and include the bar code.

It is also possible to fill a box online … click on the link to choose your own gifts to fill a box.

Praying around the world – Portugal

Portugal is a staunchly Roman Catholic country on the edge of Europe. Its economy was badly hit by the Eurozone crisis a few years back and is heavily dependent on tourism and manufacturing. Few parts of the country have a gospel witness and there are many spiritual needs. Pray for a genuine revival in this nation.

PRAYERCAST

• Pray for traditional religion to be replaced with genuine faith for those in the Roman Catholic Church.

• Pray for believers to catch a missions vision and seize evangelistic opportunities in the greater Portuguese-speaking world.

• Pray for the Portuguese Evangelical Alliance’s initiative to plant a church in every one of Portugal’s 316 counties by 2015.

Portugal still stands in the shadow of a 1974 coup that overthrew a corrupt government and established significant political and economic reforms.  After several years of struggling to redevelop itself, economic growth improved in 1986 after joining the European Union and becoming a founding member of NATO.  As the international market has slowed, Portugal has found it difficult to compete with Asia and Eastern Europe for foreign investments.  Drug use has become prevalent, with half of all teenagers reportedly experimenting with illegal substances.  The country is known as the bridge for shipping cocaine and hashish from Southeast Asia to Europe and North America.  The Portuguese government is still struggling to pull its nation out of increasing debt and social depression.

Though over 94% claim Christianity as their faith, few openly practice or evangelise.  It is a stagnant belief based upon tradition and habit, not a living and growing relationship with the Lord. 

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Did you know that Prayercast also has a section on world religions? Take a look at their resources here.

Coffee morning – food bank

Our coffee morning this week raised over £70 towards the Plymouth Foodbank (Oasis), and we also took in five bags full of food for the bank. Thank you!

Our next coffee morning, on Wednesday, 12th October, will be in aid of TearFund’s harvest appeal.

Praying around the world – Poland

Poland suffered much during World War Two and under the Communist regime during which time the Roman Catholic church witnessed courageously to the gospel. Pray for renewal in that church, and for greater understanding of the small Protestant churches often seen as sects. Pray also for the government seeking to adopt traditional Catholic values often at odds with other governments in the European Union.

Prayercast

• Pray for Catholics to focus on the redemptive work of Christ on the cross and the personal relationship that He desires.

• Pray for hearts open to the message of salvation among the materialistic youth.

• Pray for more national missionaries to take the gospel to other Slavic nations.

Saudi Arabia, one of the most hostile nations towards Christianity and boasting a 100 percent Muslim population, has more evangelical Christians than Poland. 

The Catholic Church still holds sway over Polish culture, but personal faith is nominal and morality is being chipped away from the foundations of Polish society.  There is a desperate need for evangelical witnesses, with 90% of the municipalities having no church.  Pagan, Wiccan, and New Age religions are gaining followers, and there are two Jehovah’s Witnesses for every evangelical.  Poland has the potential to change the spiritual wellbeing of Europe, but it is in need of guidance to be redirected toward Christ’s glory. 

Coffee morning 14th September

Our coffee morning this month is in aid of Plymouth Foodbank.

Come along to St Michael’s from 10.30am for some delicious cakes and help to support this local charity. Everyone welcome – please bring friends and neighbours.

We also will be accepting donations of foodstuffs as well.

See you there!

Letter of encouragement to our Bishops

Last Sunday, Revd Tim invited church members to sign a letter of encouragement to our Bishops, Robert, Sarah and Nick, suporting their ongoing contribution to discussions across the Church of England and it’s synods concerning same sex attraction.

This is the text of the letter, which has been signed and delivered. If you were not present on Sunday and would like to sign, or if you have any questions or concerns about the content of the letter, or simply need to know more about a Christian response to the issue, please talk to Tim.

Please continue to pray for our Bishops, and Christian churches across the country as the debate continues, that they (we) will be faithful to Christ, guided by his word and open to the work of Holy Spirit.

We are writing to you as the College of Bishops prepares to meet in September, and the whole
House of Bishops in December, to discern the way forward after the facilitated conversations.

Our greatest desire is for all people to discover the fulness of life that comes through the
forgiveness of sin and the obedience of faith in Jesus Christ. We wish to welcome and give pastoral support to everyone, whatever their experience of sexual attraction, in the hope that we might all grow in holiness under the Lordship of Jesus.

The Church has always taught that marriage is the lifelong and exclusive union of one man and one woman, and the only proper and holy context for sexual intercourse. It is a sacramental sign of God’s purpose to unite all people in Christ. This is the clear teaching of our Lord in scripture, and the unanimous tradition of the church.

We are grateful for the firm stance of this Diocese, and want to assure you of our continuing prayers for you at this critical moment, when several provinces of the Anglican Communion and many protestant denominations in the United Kingdom have already voted to bless same-sex unions, and there is widespread confusion in our churches and wider society about God’s purposes for marriage and human sexuality.

We are praying that you will contend for the faith once delivered to the saints with courage and
compassion by upholding the clear teaching of scripture and the unanimous tradition of the catholic church and so proclaim afresh the liberating news of the gospel in this generation.

We know this will be costly, and attract much criticism, which is why we are writing to encourage you. We do not see how the church can uphold mutually contradictory positions on what God does or does not bless, or what does or does not require repentance, and we fear that any move to change the doctrine, liturgy or pastoral discipline of the Church of England will only deepen division and hasten the decline of the Church of England.

 

Praying around the world – the Philippines

The Philippines is a country much in the news with a controversial new president who has promised to clean up the country by whatever means. This had led to the deaths of nearly 2000 alleged drug traffickers. The nation is predominantly Christian, but with an Islamist uprising on the island on Mindanao that has lasted for years. Give thanks for the growth of the gospel, and pray for a peaceful and godly transformation of the nation.

Prayercast

• Pray for more Filipino churches to raise up and send out missionaries committed to worldwide evangelism.

 • Pray for honesty, justice, and fairness to replace corruption and greed in the government.

 • Pray for the church to stand firm on biblical truth and to be unified with one another.

The influence of four hundred years of Spanish and more recently American rule in the Philippines can be seen in its architecture, governmental structure, and religion.  It is the only Christian nation in Asia and has the third largest English-speaking population in the world.

For several decades, the Filipino government has fought against the Moro National Liberation Front from the southern island of Mindanao and the communist New People’s Army, with active members found throughout the country. No lasting peace has been made with either group.

The Spanish brought Roman Catholicism to the Philippines in the early sixteenth century.  Centuries later, Christianity in the Philippines is widespread, with over 90 percent of the population having Christian beliefs. Most Filipinos are Roman Catholic and the church and its leaders exercise a powerful influence on politics and daily life.  The smaller, but strong, five percent Muslims are generally in the southern islands, where they seek to consolidate four Philippine provinces as a separate Islamic state.  The Evangelical Christian church is growing and denominations are working together to advance the gospel.  Filipino churches across all denominations are training and sending missionaries around the world.