This was the one everyone has been waiting for, the most asked question and the stumbling block for many. How do we reconcile the promises of God with apparent evidence of unanswered prayers? How can God be all powerful and all good, and yet we have free will to influence events for good or evil? […]

I wonder whether you enjoy sitting still and soaking up the atmosphere, or whether you’re an activist who thinks a moment of rest is a moment wasted. Whatever our spiritual temperament, we can all benefit from learning to still ourselves and be more aware of God’s presence. In his sermon on 2/2/20 Jo Vickery described […]

So much to pray for, so little time! You might feel overwhelmed by the amount of things in the world to pray for, or a bit guilty that you only tend to pray for your own needs and haven’t really thought about praying for others. Or you might feel that you want to pray, but […]

Have you been looking around lately and wondering who all the new faces are? Each year in January we submit various figures to the Diocese of Bristol so that they can see what’s going on in each church and compare year on year. Is it growing? Shrinking? Is the demographic changing? While the figures don’t […]

Petition simply means asking. Asking God for things that we need, asking him for help. This is the simplest form of prayer and also the most natural. We don’t need to discount it, however. What could be more natural for a loving parent than to meet the needs and hear the deepest cries of the […]

Prayer isn’t just about asking God for stuff. It’s good to pause first and be aware of his presence. To thank God for who he is. Here are the tools for Session #2: try one or two out and you may discover a whole new world of prayer that suits you. http://christchurchdownend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/4-2-Breath-Prayer.pdf http://christchurchdownend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/5-How-to-Pray-the-Psalms.pdf http://christchurchdownend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/6-How-to-Practise-Christian-Meditation.pdf http://christchurchdownend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/7-How-to-Pray-Creatively.pdf […]

Here are the useful tools for prayer, from Session 1 of Lord, Teach us to Pray series, and the first session guide. How to have a Quiet Time, How to pray the Lord’s Prayer, and How to pray the Examen. http://christchurchdownend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/session1_why_pray_study_guide.pdf http://christchurchdownend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Tool-1-How-to-Pray-the-Lords-Prayer.pdf http://christchurchdownend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Tool-2-How-to-have-a-Quiet-Time.pdf http://christchurchdownend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Tool-3-How-to-Pray-the-Examen.pdf

We probably all pray at moments of crisis, and we don’t worry much how we do it then! Prayer can be so much richer and deeper than that, and our souls long to connect with God, even if we don’t yet recognise that longing. But HOW? To start 2020 we will look in our services, […]

There are so many different events that might appeal to you this Christmas. You might enjoy the beauty of Carols by Candlelight with the traditional readings and carols. (5pm & 7pm Sunday 22 December) Would you be inspired by seeing in the day itself at the Midnight communion? (11 pm 24 December) Maybe you and […]

Over the last 8 weeks we’ve been asking this question, at all our services. We really want to know the answer. We want everyone to be asking the question, debating the answers, moving towards being a church that Jesus would feel at home in. Hopefully you’ve caught at least some of the talks and caught […]