Calendar of Blessings

One afternoon in July, every group, team and course in the church puts a table in the hall and tells you what it does. It is the least glamorous event of the year and by some distance the most useful.

Why we do it this way

For years people found out about things by accident — a conversation in a corridor, a notice they happened to read. About a third of the congregation was missing most of what was on offer, and the third that was missing it was almost always the third that had joined most recently.

So now everything is in one room on one afternoon, with the people who actually run it standing behind the table.

What is in the hall

• All twenty-three small groups, with their host, night and neighborhood
• Every serving team: welcome, music, tech, children, catering, care
• The courses running between September and June, with dates
• The outreach partnerships, with last year’s accounts on the table

How to use the afternoon

Walk in, take a calendar, and speak to two people. That is the whole ask. You do not need to sign up to anything on the day, and nobody will chase you if you do not.

The printed calendar covers September to July, and every date in it is fixed before it goes to press. If it is in the calendar it is happening.

Tea, coffee and a very large amount of cake from one o’clock.