Housegroups
Currently we have seven groups meeting fortnightly (avoiding school holidays), with around eighty members who share a common interest in exploring and developing their Christian faith.
This term, all Housegroups are meeting via Zoom technology until we are able to meet in person. If you would like to know more please contact Lynda Duttine.
The full pattern of Housegroup weeks can been seen on the Housegroup Weeks page, which also includes local school holiday dates.
From September 2020 our Housegroups will continue to follow material from the book ‘Holy Habits’ by Andrew Roberts in their fortnightly meetings. Andrew is a Methodist Minister presently serving as a discipleship specialist in the Discipleship and Ministries Learning Network having previously been Director of Training for Fresh Expressions. The book is highly recommended and we hope it will form the basis of much discussion, sharing and learning as we dip into it over the coming months. If you would like to know more or would like to join a group, please contact me via the Church Office or the Christchurch pigeon holes. Lynda Duttine
From January our Housegroups will be looking at study material produced by the Methodist Church entitled Talking of God Together. The sessions are designed to help people take part in conversations with others, both inside and outside the church, about what really matters to them. Each session includes people’s stories, Bible passages, questions and activities. Why not come along to a Housegroup and join in the discussion? The groups meet fortnightly and dates can be found on the Housegroup Weeks page.
Our Housegroups this Autumn will be focussing on the very topical theme of migration. Although very much a part of our present world, migration has been taking place, often on a massive scale, throughout history. To help us tackle this frequently emotive topic we shall be using a study guide published by The Bible Society which uses both Old and New Testament scriptures to help us explore the many ways in which the Bible addresses the issue of migration, and to help guide our thinking. In his Foreword to the study guide, entitled ‘Love the Stranger, Migration, the Bible and our societies’, the Rt Rev Steven Frost, Bishop of Oxford, writes: “Understanding migration is an inseparable part of loving our neighbours as ourselves. To love means to imagine ourselves in other people’s shoes, to listen to their experiences, to see the world and our towns and cities and churches through their eyes.” The Joint Public Issues Team of the Methodist Church, United Reformed Church, Baptist Church and Church of Scotland have just published a paper on the subject of migration and the ‘Hostile Environment’ encountered in so many ways by those caught up in migration today. This will be part of the discussion material available to Housegroups and will also form part of an evening open to anyone who wishes to come along, which is planned for Thursday 11 October, 7.30pm at Christchurch. If you would like to know more or would like to join a group, please contact me via the Church Office or the Christchurch pigeon holes. Juliet Amos Housegroups from January 2018 From January 2018, Christchurch Housegroups will be using study material produced by The Joint Public Issues Team entitled ‘Art of the Possible’. The Joint Public Issues Team is a venture of the Baptist Union of GB, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Church of Scotland. Its aim is to allow the four churches to work together in living out the gospel of Christ in the Church and in wider society. ‘Art of the Possible’ is a resource which enables groups to consider the role of politics in the Church.
At a time when a lot of people say they are turned off by politics, many in our churches are still greatly concerned about what is going on in our world. ‘Art of the Possible’ contains six sessions which cover different aspects of Christianity and politics, including our images of God, why politics is about more than voting, whether Christians should break the law, and why Christians should do politics. The six sessions are entitled:
Each session has Bible references, discussion handouts and plenty of focus on our present day lives as Christians. It looks an exciting resource for a very practical and contemporary topic and anyone who is not already part of a Housegroup but who would like to join in would be most welcome. Please speak to Juliet Amos or contact her by email or leave a message in the church pigeon holes. Housegroups meet fortnightly in school term time and the dates from January to July can be found on the Housegroup Weeks page. Housegroups Autumn 2017 Housegroups September 2016 – July 2017 This theme will also be followed in our Sunday services throughout most of the year and by other churches in our local Methodist Circuit. Housegroups September 2015 – July 2016 Our theme for the Autumn is based on the book of Ephesians and how this book can help us see how we might live a Christ-inspired lifestyle in our lives today. Then from January, Housegroups will be focussing on Listening which will be part of the Listening Year which Christchurch is undertaking at present in a whole variety of ways. As a church we are encouraging each other to listen in a better way: listen to God, to ourselves to each other, our community and to our world. Housegroup material will reflect this, with time for discussion and learning as well as time for listening and reflection. Housegroups Autumn 2014 From September we shall be studying a book entitled ‘Let us Bless the Lord ~ Rediscovering the Old Testament through Psalm 103’ by Stephen Dawes. By studying this psalm, the author challenges us to think again about the Old Testament and discover within it the gospel of love, more generally associated with the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. The pattern we shall follow is to read and study a chapter at a time so that discussion can be centred around the book itself and the questions suggested at the end of each chapter. Christchurch has been given an electronic copy by the author which we are able to copy and distribute to group members or which on request can be sent to you by email as a pdf file. The book itself is available in a Kindle version (2011) if any of you wish to access it that way and there are some second hand published copies available if you prefer to search for them yourselves. Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ will form the subject of the post-Christmas sessions. Housegroups 2012-2013 Go to the Top of the Page 2011-2012 Housegroups 2010-2011 Go to the Top of the Page Housegroups 2009-2010 Enquirers
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