When communities change rapidly, it is easy to lose touch with our neighbours!

In a big city we can become more and more anonymous! It means that  Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan has always rung a chord. Who is my neighbour? How do stangers become friends? How do we become a family of faith? Drop in and share some breakfast from 9am-10.15am this Sunday, and enjoy our informal service to follow.

Do you have to be special to have a vocation? What does it mean to be called?

Surely it’s the vicar’s job to preach and teach and minister in the church? Jesus sent out 72 people to go before him into all the villages, he calls us all to be the church, to carry our faith into our daily lives. Come and discover what God is calling us to be and to do today!

This week we will be hosting the Methodist Ordination of Deacons, so in preparation Revd Adrian Burden will be sharing the morning service with one of the deacons who will be ordained in the afternoon. Come and hear about this distinctive community facing ministry!

How has your faith changed over time? Do you still think in the same way you did as a child?

Sometimes we can end up with a childish faith that has never been tested in the grown -up world. Jesus said “I have many things to say, you cannot bear them now” He knows that our faith needs to grow and develop as we become more mature. What needs to change? Come and join the conversation.

Father’s Day meets Trinity Sunday!

We will be giving thanks for the gift of fathering, for those who have cared for us, and for our relationship with our heavenly Father. Come and light a candle for your dad! It is also Music Sunday, so listen out for some amazing choir pieces, and be prepared to buy a cake on the choir cake stall!

What is the basis of a good relationship? What is the key building block for a community? It’s got to be communication, being able to understand one another!

On the Feast of Pentecost the disciples were not communicating, they were meeting in secret behind locked doors, for fear of being overheard.

Something happened that changed everything, a mighty rushing wind, tongues of flame, the doors and windows burst open and soon everyone outside could hear!

Today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, who breaks down the barriers, and helps us to hear for ourselves. Come and find out more!

There are so many things that can divide us, accents, skin colour, language, religion, politics!

Differences can keep us apart and lead to conflict and division. But Jesus had a very different approach – he called us to be one! He said that we are all brothers and sisters, children of the same heavenly father. This week we will be exploring that call to be one, and finding our unique place in the mosaic of God’s love.

John Wesley had an experience of his heart being “strangely warmed,” an encounter with God that changed his life.

This week we will be celebrating Wesley Day, to give thank for his amazing ministry and for the creation of the Methodist Church. We welcome Revd Adrian Burdun to lead our worship and to preach.

Do you like clear rules? Or do you like freedom to decide for yourself?

The Hebrew Scriptures are full of commandments, rules and laws, regulating every part of life. But they were very hard to live with. Jesus seemed to have a very different approach. His new commandment was to love one another. Instead of rules from outside, these are rules that we hold on the inside. Instead of being told what to do, Jesus asks us to decide what is most loving for ourselves. Come and join the conversation.

Have you ever run a marathon? Have you ever tried a Park Run? Have you ever been tempted to try the Shifnal 10k?

As the runners set off this Sunday they will be hoping to complete, or achieve a personal best, or even to win! This week in church we will be thinking about how God equips us to take on a challenge, and gives us stamina to stay the course. We will be exploring the much loved 23rd Psalm – The Lord is my Shephard. Come and join us for breakfast from 9am, or for worship from 10.30am.

Has anyone ever given you a second chance?

When we have been hurt or betrayed it can be hard to forgive. When Jesus was arrested, Peter denied three times that he even knew him. Peter ran away, terrified and ashamed. But in our Gospel reading this week, Jesus gave Peter a second chance. He asked Peter three times – “Do you love me?” and each time, gave Peter a new charge “Feed my sheep.” Jesus continues to believe in us, and always gives an opportunity to begin again. Can we do the same? Come and join the conversation!

Do you have your doubts? Do you dare express them?

Thomas was definitely a sceptic! He was always asking questions! So much so that they called him Doubting Thomas! But his questions led him to make the strongest affirmation of faith in the bible, when he called Jesus "My Lord and my God" Come and explore your questions and doubts, on Sunday at church or on Tuesday at the Alpha group!

What do we do when it hurts too much?

We try to put a lid on it, like the stone over a tomb; or we rush around and keep busy to avoid having to think about it, like the disciples on that first Easter day; or we stand still and open our hearts to the full impact, we stand with Mary and weep, and through our tears we glimpse the possibility of a new beginning, resurrection life.  Come and join us in church to celebrate the promise of new life for all of us.  (We will be inside because of the cold!!)

Why not come and join us for breakfast on Sunday?

It’s a lovely, relaxed way to prepare for church. We start serving from 9am. This week it is Palm Sunday, so we start our service at 10.20am in the Sensory Garden with the blessing of palms and then walk to church to hear the whole story of Jesus being arrested and crucified. We look forward to welcoming you!

When the worst happens and everything has gone wrong, it can feel as if the world is against us.

It is easy to give up hope.  But sometimes it is in these toughest moments that we can be most open to God.  God promises "to make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."  Come and join the conversation.

The tough side of being a mother isn’t represented on Mother’s Day cards!

Like being worried sick at where your teenager has got to and what is happening to them! When Jesus was 12 years old, he went missing for three days, they didn’t know what had happened, they were beside themselves. This week we give thanks for our mothers and for all they have done for us. Come and light a candle for your mum!

No one likes to be thought of as a fool! But this week we are all called to be fools for Christ!

When so much in the world seems like madness, we remember that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom!” Our call to love and forgive, to be generous and to welcome the stranger can seem like foolishness, but turns out to be the deepest wisdom of all. This week our service will be a Methodist Communion.

Where do you come from? Shifnal? Scotland? Wales? South Africa? Pakistan?

Each one gives a different set of experiences, a different flavour, a different culture. But beneath it all we belong to another place. St Paul said that we are citizens of heaven, that we belong to the Kingdom of God. Come and joing the conversation!

Why do we do the things we do? What are our true motives?

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness to turn stones into bread, to leap from the temple pinnacle or to rule the nations, but chose to reject all these temptations and instead to walk alongside people humbly. This week is Breakfast Church, come and share our relaxed informal family service.

After the grey and cold of winter there have been signs of the coming spring - some sunshine and spring flowers emerging. It can be like that in our lives.

Some days when we can only see grey and everything seems lifeless and other days when life feels very different - bright, sharp and alive. It's as though suddenly we can see the real beauty that is hidden in plain sight. That is what the disciples learned when they went up a mountain with Jesus and saw him transfigured. God is in the ordinary if only we can see it.

In the storms of life, we can sometimes feel like we are sinking, especially at the moment!

When the disciples were caught in a sudden storm, they thought they were going to drown. When they turned to Jesus he quietened the raging sea and brought them safely through the waves. It’s amazing how prayer can give us the anchorage we need, where we can be still and know that we are held by God.

“Bless you!” Its something we say all the time, but what does it mean to bless someone?

The most famous set of blessings are called the Beatitudes, from Jesus teaching the Sermon on the Mount. But it turns out to be the most unlikely people, the most unexpected times that are called blessed. When we are poor! When we are hungry! When we weep! Come and find out more, join the conversation!

“Gone fishing – there’s a sign upon my door!” Do you remember the song?

But what if you have fished all night and caught nothing – it is so easy to just give up! But when Jesus asked the fishermen to give it just one more try, they took a chance, and found the nets were full to bursting! It’s a picture of what can happen when we start trusting God! Come and enjoy breakfast from 9am and relaxed family worship from 10.30am. See you there?

Victor Meldrew was renowned for having one foot in the grave! He was a grumpy old man, and railed against the modern world, and change of all kinds.

So different to the old man Simeon who recognised Mary and Joseph as they brought their baby in to the Temple. He recognised that this child would change his faith, his life, his whole world. This week as we celebrate Candlemas we explore what happens when new meets old.

Have you ever felt unwanted, unneeded, out of place?

Have you ever felt looked down on, belittled, taken for granted? St Paul said that we are all one body, that we all depend upon one another, we are all needed and all equally valuable. And there is a huge task ahead of us. Jesus called us to be Good News to the poor, to bring release to the captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. Come and join the conversation.

Imagine getting to a wedding and discovering they had opted for Dry January!

That’s what it must have felt like at the wedding in Cana of Galilee when Jesus was invited as a guest. They ran out of wine! What a disaster! In our lives we can sometimes feel like we are running on empty, just running out of energy, patience, time, or hope! What can we do? In those moments we are met by God’s generous, overflowing love, which can make all the difference. Come and find out more!

Can you remember your baptism?

Many won’t be able to because it was when they were babies. But in Jesus time it was adults who were baptised, as a sign of putting the past behind them and making a new start by becoming a Christian. This week we will be thinking about what baptism means for us today. It is Breakfast Church so do come and enjoy some delicious Breakfast from 9am, and worship from 10.30am.

We understand that many of you wished to attend Revd. Sally's funeral at St. Andrew's Church but were unable to do so. For those who couldn't join us in person, we live-streamed the service online. If you were unable to watch the live stream, we invite you to view the recording at your convenience. Simply click here to access the recording on our YouTube page, where you can reflect on and honour Sally's life through this heartfelt service.

What will your New Year resolutions be this year? What will help you to keep them?

For the first Sunday of the New Year we will be renewing our commitment to God in a Covenant Service. We welcome Revd Roger Dunlop to preach, and Revd Mike Shaw to preside at the Eucharist.