Advent Begins

Christmas is meant to be a time of ‘peace and goodwill to all,’ but the reality of Christmas can be very different. All too often, the ‘perfect’ Christmas gets spoiled as people find themselves feeling alone or as if they don’t have enough, even falling out with those they love. We can find ourselves irritable, grumbling, or arguing. But in Philippians, Paul says, ‘Do everything without grumbling or arguing,’ and even ‘have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.’ That is a challenge! So this Advent, as we get ready for Christmas, we are going to explore how we might do just that… 

One True Gift is a short book by Tim Chester which will guide us through the days of Advent. Each day, it provides a verse from Philippians to read, a thought to reflect on, and a prayer we might like to pray. Each Sunday, we will also be taking that day’s devotion and letting it shape our teaching for that Sunday. 

So why not take part in One True Gift this Advent? Be reminded of the beauty of Jesus and join us as we are encouraged to have the same mindset as Christ. 

Refreshments will be served before and after the service and children’s groups will continue. Prayer ministry will also be available after the service and Livestream goes live from 10.15am.

If you have ordered a book they will be available for you to collect on Sunday at the Welcome table.

Engage - This Week

Since the start of September in our small groups, we have been thinking about how we engage as Christians with the world around us. The last few weeks have had us in the gospel of Mark. We have been thinking about how the central themes of the gospel shape our place in the world. We have considered four different priorities: The coming of the Kingdom of God; Jesus’ promise of Forgiveness; Jesus’ priority on sowing the seed of the Word and, in the last session, we considered Jesus’s promise of Eternal Life. These are remarkable promises of hope and good news.

But what has been equally remarkable is that while some people receive these promises with joy, we have also seen that many people quickly reject Jesus. The super-religious, Jesus’s own family and (we saw last Sunday in our sermon series) even those in Jesus’s hometown reject him (Mark 6:3). As early as chapter three, people began to plot to put Jesus to death (3:6). That in itself should have been shocking. But then, as Jesus sends out his disciples to proclaim his message, he prepares them for the reality that they also will be rejected (Mark 6:11). Even the story of Herod (Mark 6:14-29) gives us a ‘case study’ of someone wrestling with the message they have heard, but in the end rejecting that message.

Of course, if Jesus was rejected because of his message and Jesus’ disciples were rejected because they passed on Jesus’ message, we should not expect anything different when we stand with Jesus and his message. As we engage the world, we should also expect some rejection. But... no one likes being rejected; it is painful, it hurts, it can cause us to doubt ourselves.

So, in this week’s session, we have an opportunity to consider how we might respond to the reality of being rejected for following Jesus.

Vision & Prayer Evening

Along with the Dockyard Project, we have an exciting opportunity to take on the lease of a shop in River Street. This new space, which will be called The Living Room, will be home to many activities such as the Dockyard Cafe, Christians Against Poverty Debt Advice, Christchurch services, some Trinity Youth activities and hopefully will be a base for even more groups serving the city. God willing, it will enable us to expand our ministry and work more closely as Trinity Church. This is a Powder Deanery initiative with funding from the Church of England's Lowest Income Community Fund. 

Please join us on the 1st December for refreshments at 6.30pm and prayer at 7pm as we look forward to our future in Truro city centre. You’ll need to bring along a camping chair to sit on. Parking is available for free along River street after 6pm.

Last Call For Greenery

If you are able to provide any greenery for this week’s Wreath Making event please drop off on Saturday morning at Kea Church from 9am.

We currently have a waiting list of people who would like tickets for the event, so if you need to return a tickets please let the office know by Friday 29th November.

CAP & Lanterns Appeal - Final Week

Thank you so much to those who have already donated towards this year’s CAP and Lantern Christmas Appeal. Your donations really make a difference to our families.

This is the final week to donate. The closing date for this appeal will be the 3rd December ready for distribution.

If you can, we would be enormously grateful if you would consider donating either:

Supermarket Voucher, Argos Voucher or a Financial Donation

Please hand in donations to the Kea Church office or the dedicated Office Box at the back of Church. Please mark donations CAP/Lanterns Christmas Appeal. There will also be a QR code that will be displayed on the screens at church where you can give to the CAP and Lanterns Appeal (please see QR above). Your wonderful donations will be given out at the CAP/Lanterns Christmas Party.

For further information contact Natalie Gavan 07919506203 or the church office.

On behalf of every person you bless this Christmas, we want to say a massive THANK YOU!

Job Opportunities

Many of you will be aware of some exciting opportunities in the Deanery for outreach into communities experiencing deprivation. Our churches already have a long running vision to play a part in this, and have had the opportunity to support some nationally funded Deanery roles since January 2023.

There is sufficient funding for two new roles to further establish this ministry with those not yet engaging with traditional expressions of church. The two roles are part time, one being youth focused and the other being an administrative and operations role. Please look at our vacancies page (by clicking the ‘Vacancy’ image above) and think/pray about who might be able to join the LICF team.

Hope Explored - three week course

In our recent sermon series we've been thinking about having confidence in God's powerful word and the assurance that we will find good soil. We plan to run a very engaging and well-presented course called 'Hope Explored' in January. Click the image above to watch a trailer

Could you:

• Start praying for someone who you might bring along?

• Help us with the running of this course?

We have set aside the evenings of Thursday 16th, 23rd and 30th January, but we're keen to run the course relatively frequently so please do let us know if there is a need for it to repeat in a different time slot/format for anyone unable to make these sessions.

November Eco Tips

As the weather gets colder, find some useful tips on keeping warm at home, while reducing your carbon footprint and saving money https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy-at-home/reducing-home-heat-loss/

Advent Journey of Hope - Tearfund

Alongside our advent devotional ‘One True Gift’ our mission partners Tearfund are also offering Advent prayer emails.

“As we look ahead to Christmas, we remember God’s promises of the coming Messiah and of hope and salvation for the world. ‘In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.’ (1 Peter 1:3)

This Advent, through a series of short, prayerful emails, we can be inspired by stories of hope-filled, life-changing transformation from places around the world where Tearfund works. Places where the local church is making a difference in their community.”

To sign up to the Tearfund emails click on the above graphic and then starting on 1 December, you will receive Tearfund's A Living Hope emails each Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday during Advent.

Key Dates

Wreath Making - 30th November - 7pm

One True Gift Advent Series begins - 1st December - 10.30am

Trinity Carol Service at St John’s Church - 15th December - 6pm

Playing Place Carol Singing - 16th December - 5.45pm

All Age Carol Service - 22nd December - 10.30am

Evening Carol Service - 22nd December - 6.30pm

Old Kea Candlelit Carols - 23rd December - 3.30pm

Crib Service - 24th December - 3pm

Christmas Day Service - 25th December - 10am

Weekly Prayer Points

Each week there will be a few things for our church life and church family that we can join in praying for:

1. Father God we thank you for the opportunity to hold a Wreath Making event at Kea Church this Saturday. We pray for those who will be bringing their friends and family to the event.

2. Heavenly Father, as we begin this advent season, we thank You that You sent Your Son to become flesh and live among us at exactly the right time. Please enable those who experience daily persecution for their faith in You to draw strength as they reflect on You. We ask You to help us all to understand more fully the enormity of Your most magnificent gift, the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whose Name we pray.

3. This week we pray for the Youth Work in our churches - Thank you that we have a core group of older girls and boys who meet each Monday evening. May your spirit guide their studies and open their hearts to your truths. We ask for wisdom next year when there will be more opportunities to bring the youth together at the River Street venue. We also thank you that we have lots of young people attending TNY on a Tuesday Evening and we pray for a new group called ‘Know your worth’ happening this week