Our journey as a community

November 21, 2022| Past Issues, Editorial, Emmanuel Church

Thom Jee, Vicar, Emmanuel Church Stoughton

At the beginning of November we celebrate Remembrance Day. Across the country, we will hold silence as we remember those who have died and laid down their lives for us, and as we pray for peace in our world.

This will be a particularly poignant Remembrance Day, with the war in Ukraine raging so close to our own country. We often take the peace we now experience for granted, and perhaps just a year ago we might have thought that war in Europe was something that belonged to the past. As many of us have welcomed refugees from Ukraine into our own homes, we have been starkly reminded of the evil of war and the cost it forces so many innocent people to pay.

At Emmanuel, along with churches across Guildford, we’ve been supporting Ukrainian refugees with food and clothing, with access to pastoral support and English classes, and with opportunities to process what has happened to them. We host a monthly group for the host families of refugees, helping hosts to share wisdom and questions as we go on this journey as a whole community.

We’ve also been gathering supplies to help those who are struggling with the current energy and cost of living crisis. Last month, we sent out 52 hampers of food to families in our community, and gave warm clothing and supplies to those struggling with energy prices. If you’re receiving this and you or your family are in need, we have a hardship fund to support anyone who is struggling, and would love to help you access whatever help you require – whether it’s the North Guildford Food Bank, debt counselling, supplies of warm clothing and blankets, or just someone to talk to. Our café, fair trade shop, and building are open Monday to Thursday, from 9.15am to 2.15pm in term time, and there will always be someone there to help you find the support you need.

In our community in Stoughton, we want to be a place where we look after each other, so that everyone can find support. If you have spare time or resources that you would like to offer to others, we’re always in need of financial donations to our hardship fund, and volunteers to help keep our café and community groups a space that can be open to all. Some might not be in material need, but struggling with loneliness and wellbeing. On Wednesdays we host a friendship club for senior citizens to connect and chat to others, as well as playing bowls and table tennis, and on Wednesday evenings we run a wellbeing group for young adults 18-25 who want to support each other. If you are seeking community, we would love to welcome you too.

On Sunday 13th November, we’ll be holding a service of Remembrance at 10.30am to which all are welcome. We’ll be observing the silence at 11.00 all together, as we give thanks for those who sacrificed so much for us, and pray for those suffering in today’s conflicts.

In our community in Stoughton, we want to be a place where we look after each other, so that everyone can find support. If you have spare time or resources that you would like to offer to others, we’re always in need of financial donations to our hardship fund, and volunteers to help keep our café and community groups a space that can be open to all.

As we do so we’ll be remembering, as we do every Sunday, the greatest sacrifice ever made. For as Christians we celebrate that just as men and women sacrificed their lives in war so that we can live in peace on earth, so God came to earth and sacrificed his own life so that we could live in peace with him forever. Jesus’ giving of himself on the cross was sacrifice on a whole new level: not for the deserving, or the good, but sacrifice for your enemies, for those who don’t deserve it at all. That’s the scandal of the cross, that lies at the heart of the Christian faith: that in Jesus the love of God reaches out to us when we had turned our backs on him. No one is forgotten, no one is abandoned: at the foot of the cross, we’re all welcomed in to know the unconditional love of God.

As November turns to December, that’s what we’ll also be celebrating in our Christmas carol services. God breaking in, into our broken world, coming to bring hope and peace where despair and war are all too common. If you’ve never been to church before but want to experience something of the hope that Jesus offers at Christmas, we’d love to welcome you to one of our carol services to sing carols and light candles together, as we hear again the story of the light that darkness could never overcome. This winter, I pray that we might all know something of that hope and peace, despite all the challenges that our world and our country are facing.

For more information about any of the activities mentioned visit www.emmanuelchurch.co.uk

Thom Jee
Vicar

Emmanuel Church
Shepherds Lane, Guildford GU2 9SJ