Thank you, Alpha
At the risk of sounding like the mother in Miranda Hart’s hilarious sitcom I never knew becoming a Christian was going to be ‘such fun’!  I thought it meant being pious and serious and would mean doing all sorts of things I didn’t really want to do.  And anyway doing as I was told had never been part of my make up!  But I found none of this was true.  Every day I trust that God’s plans for me are good and that He will always be at …

Is ALPHA ‘Life changing’?
I wouldn’t say I came from a religious family, my parents pride themselves on going to church whenever invited – i.e. weddings, christenings and funerals. However I was christened as a baby and went to a C of E school, although that may have been based on location not faith. It was at school that I learnt the story of Jesus, Christian celebrations (Harvest, Easter, Christmas), prayer and sang hymns in worship. This was the foundation of my faith but it wavered through university and my early …

MY JOURNEY SO FAR…
My name is Kerry, l am 36 and have four children, three who live with me, and my eldest lives with his grandparents.  This is my testimony, which l call My journey so far, because it’s really only just the beginning….
Like many people l didn’t have the best upbringing, but l tried to make the best of my life…  I tried, maybe too hard, as l made so many mistakes.  Yet somehow l got through, l always picked myself up, brushed myself down and got on with …

An opportunity to explore the meaning of life
Our Spring Alpha Courses start in January 2011:
Morning Alpha starts on Tuesday 18th January at 9.30am
Evening Alpha starts on Thursday 20th January at 7.30pm

at St John’s Church, Ambleside Avenue, Walton-on-Thames, KT12 3JQ

Read Alpha Dates Spring 2011 for a list of topics and course dates.
Contact John Muggleton on 01932 224244 or Canon Charles Stewart on 01932 227184 for more information, or go to our Alpha page.
To register please contact either John or Charles by phone or email. If you email please provide your name, address, phone number and choice of morning, evening …

Sunday school teachers from both St Mary’s and St John’s attended the recent training day entitled ‘Creating Sparks’ organised by the Diocese. The main speaker was Mary Hawes, National Children’s Adviser, who gave an overview of what life is like for children in this country backed by many worrying statistics. She then laid down a challenge to churches, using research from a book on Children’s Spirituality, to consider 6 issues in relation to our work with children. These are:
Space – consider the buildings and rooms available and …

Children matter to Jesus
Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14, NIV.
He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my …

Come and help build the Kingdom of God!
St John’s Church, Saturday 10th April, 2-5pm We continue to build God’s kingdom through this valuable one-off event for the children in our local community. All the planning and preparation is underway and now we invite you to come and help us deliver a fun-packed afternoon, building relations with children who have little or no Christian understanding, and sharing with them the love of the risen Jesus Christ. It will be an afternoon of games, crafts, food and Christian message. For more information or …