St. John's Church - Mickleover

Parish life depends on the contribution of many groups. Here are some of them that you might like to join:

Our house group meets at Mavis's home. We meet fortnightly on a Monday evening, starting at 7pm and finishing study at 8.30pm. We usually stay chatting over tea until 9.00 - 9.30pm. We run through most of the year but have a break over the school holidays.

There are about eight of us who have been attending regularly and we would welcome two or three more. If you would like to join us please give Chris a ring on 513672.

At the moment we are looking at Luke's gospel (a chapter a week) but we have used various formats in the past. The evening usually starts with a reading of the passage, and then we try to break into groups of two or three to look at a few questions and see what the text has to say to us. We come together to share our thoughts and then take another piece of the passage. We always close with prayer, using either 'Night prayer' or one of the Iona 'Wee worship' forms, but with time for our own prayers too.

The topic for study may be a book of the bible, a study course or some other format but we discuss and agree together what topics to follow. Leadership is either Chris or Helen.

We are always discovering something new in our faith and it’s good to have time to share and encourage one another on our Christian journey, so please feel free to come along for a taster and see if its for you.

The Music Group

At the 10am service on Sunday mornings and other special services throughout the year a small group of people competently lead the musical side of our worship. It is a real joy and strength that whatever combination of instruments and singers we have it always provides a strong lead to keep us in tune and sing praises to our Father God and His Son Jesus Christ.

Well it doesn't just come together. On Thursday nights the Church is also filled with music as we rehearse! Mind you the small group of people who meet most Thursday's see it as more than just practice. However tired we are when we arrive from the challenges of the day we leave on a high as we are spiritually filled with the words and music we are rehearsing for the coming Sunday. We also laugh a lot!

You may not know that the preacher for the day gets to choose the music. This means that we meet much variety and the opportunity to learn and introduce new things. Also, members of the group hear something somewhere else and bring it along to share. We might then introduce it before the service or during communion before it becomes a regular contribution in the service.

However, we are not an exclusive club. Why not come and join us? We don't hold auditions! Anything you can offer we can use. Voice, instruments, prayers... anything. You can come and just be with us or join in whatever and whenever you want. We won't push you to perform on Sunday if you don't want to.

You know, if we needed to have a label put on us we could almost be called a 'Fresh Expression of Church'. We see our offering on a Thursday in that light. We know that what we are doing is worship and we know who we are worshipping. The fact that we enjoy ourselves while we are doing it is a bonus.

Why not come along on a Thursday night around 7.30pm and see for yourselves? You will be made very welcome.

The Guided Prayer Group

These meet on a Monday each month with a morning group, 10.30 am - 12 noon, and an evening group, 7.30pm - 9.30pm. We meet in the home of Margaret and Michael, and you can choose which group you will attend.

At the moment we are working our way through Margaret Silf’s book, “Wayfaring,” which enables us to walk our Christian journey alongside Christ’s own journey in life. We make this journey in prayer. Michael introduces the topic for the day, and then guides the group in a prayer exercise, which helps us to become more aware of Christ’s presence in our life today and see how we can respond to him. We pray in silence, and then share what we wish to share with a partner, who listens quietly and affirms us.

After a break for refreshments and chat, Margaret leads the group in a follow-on exercise, which we also share in pairs. After that there is a group discussion on what we have learnt from the exercises, and group members then go away with a delightfully illustrated handout (Margaret’s own work) that we can use in our own prayers at home.

It may sound deadly serious, but it’s actually good fun, because we cannot take ourselves too seriously, when we know God’s love for us, warts and all. You are very welcome to join us at any time. Do give us a call on 511259 if you would like to know more or wish to join one of the groups.

St. John's Tots

This is a group for under fives and their carers. We meet every Friday at 2.00pm during school term time and have a lot of fun. We begin in church with some songs, a story and a prayer and then go into the hall for play, refreshments and chat. We finish around 3.15pm. Maureen leads the group at the moment with help from others. If you have young children you are very welcome to come along. For more information ring 513672.

St. John's Friendship Group

The Friendship Group meets every Wednesday 2.00pm to 4.00pm in St John’s Church Hall. We offer a variety of activities - bingo, whist, dominoes and guest speakers but you are welcome just to come for a chat and a cup of tea. Most members are over 60 but that is not essential! Membership is Ł1 each week. For more information - call Pat on 514281.

St. John's Craft Club

The St. John’s Craft Club only started in September of this year and meets on the first Monday of the month, at 1.45pm, in the Church Hall. We have a range of interests and abilities, with the emphasis at the moment being on cards and crafts for Christmas. We have tried our hands at rubber stamping, stitching and embroidery and making small boxes of various shapes – just right for those awkward little Christmas Gifts. If you would like to join us, but are worried you would not know where to start, please do not be put off. We have come together to share our skills, ideas and equipment and love nothing better than to see another convert to our passion. We look forward to seeing you!

Tuesday Home Group

The Tuesday Home Group gets together at 7.30pm, at the home of Paul and Elaine, for a cup of tea or coffee and a chat before beginning the main business of the evening. Most of the people who come have very heavy schedules, so the group is very flexible, varying in numbers, frequency and subjects and material studied. Sometimes it can be a real effort to go out again at the end of a busy day, but the real friendship and fellowship we always experience makes it really worthwhile. If you would like to come along, please see Paul or Elaine for more details, or call 512530.

St. John's Church, Mickleover, Derby. DE3 9HD.

Tel: 01332 513672

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