October 2018 Newsletter from Ben & Katy Ray

Photo of Ben and Katy Ray.

Ben & Katy Ray are our mission partners in Tanzania. In that country, people with disabilities are often considered to be a burden or even a curse. People think that nothing can be done for them. They are often left uneducated and told that the best chance they have is to beg on the streets. […]

Poppies everywhere in Downend

The Downend & Bromley Heath in Bloom team have organised a big poppy display in Downend as we mark the 100th Anniversary of the end of WW1. Local groups, including schools and clubs have painted 600 poppies and in the Church grounds there are 173 special poppies which are named with those from Downend who […]

Where Children’s groups meet on Sundays

While we were meeting at Christ Church Juniors  during the Building4Life project, we had the privilege of using the CCJ classrooms for our children’s Sunday groups. Now we are back meeting at Christ Church, we are very blessed to be using the Christ Church Infants classrooms and School hall for 3 of our Sunday Children’s […]

Trunk or Treat is back in Downend

We had so much fun last year celebrating all the good things God gives to us by having a party in the Church Car Park (North St.) on 31 October, so we are going to try it again.  Come and enjoy a hour of fun, visiting each car boot for some games, some fun and […]

Junior SOUP report October 2018

There was an additional air of excitement on Tuesday 2 October, when Downend hosted a World first Junior SOUP event with some young social entrepreneurs boldly & confidently spoke to the gathered SOUP community. Our 4th ever SOUP event in Downend was a resounding triumph, and especially so for the 3 teams of School children […]

Thank you from Dihlabeng Christian School

We’ve received a letter of thanks from Margaret and the Dihlabeng Christian School Team which you can read here. Letter of Thanks (pdf, 1380kb) If you want to know more, please get in touch with Bill & Sheila Robbins our Christ Church Mission Champions for Clarens or take a look at the Dihlabeng School facebook page.

Grand Re-Opening Weekend Events

Sunrise over Christ Church Downend

After 11 months of building work, it’s almost time for Christ Church to open wide the doors, and there are lots of different opportunities over the weekend of the 5-7 October for you to come and explore the new building. On Friday 5 October at 7pm  Our opening service of celebration is with Rt Rev […]

Latest News from Dihlabeng Christian School

Feeding scheme news, appeal for child sponsors, special educational needs and sports facility provision news and more. Here is the Newsletter No. 23 June 2018 for the Dihlabeng Christian School in Clarens, South Africa.  Here is the update on the Feeding Scheme Newsletter June 2018  . Click Sponsor Needs 2018 to find out more about the […]

What’s it like to be a Youth Leader?

Maria, one of our youth leaders at Christ Church Downend writes a heartfelt message about what it means to her to serve God in this exciting way…. I scratched my head and wonder why ?  Well why not? I volunteer as a youth leader at Christ Church Downend and I enjoy every single minute. After retirement […]

Grants Received! Let’s Celebrate!

We owe a big thanks to All Churches Trust who have given us a grant for £11,000 and Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust who have given us £5,000 to support the Building4Life project. We also thank the Christ Church B4L team for their dedication and commitment to the project and applying for grants. Allchurches Trust support the […]