Bulletin

___________________________

Our minister Louise can be contacted by email louise@newhavenbaptistchurch.co.uk or telephone 07873 635346. Louise takes Saturday as her day off.

We give you all a warm welcome to church. Please join
us for tea or coffee in the hall after worship and say
hello. We meet every Sunday morning at 10.30 and the
service typically lasts for about an hour. Each service
includes a talk or activity for all ages (children, teens
and adults), singing, a reading from the Bible and
prayers. A sermon is preached which focuses on the
Bible passage read, and aims to be relevant to our
place in the world of 2026. We share Holy Communion
together every third Sunday of the month.
Details of our activities and Christmas extras can be found inside and on back page of the bulletin.

Sunday School

Our young people meet with us all for the early part of the service. They then have the opportunity to go into another room where they share biblical based age-related activities. All our Sunday School leaders are fully DBS checked.

______________________________

April Diary 2026

Tuesdays: Scuttlebugz in term time at 10.00 am.

Wednesdays: Tea and Chat 9.30am-12.00pm. Food bank, shower & washing facilities during session.

Prayer Meeting 8th and 22nd at 12.15pm.

Fridays: Tea and Chat 9.30am-12.00pm. Food bank, shower & washing facilities during session.

___________________________

He is not here, He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Matthew 28:6.

___________________________

Dormansland Baptist Church

It’s been a real joy to see how God has been at work in and through our little church over recent months. We’ve been reminded again and again that God delights in working through ordinary people in ordinary places.

Our regular Friday Hub continues as a warm, welcoming space with chair exercises, coffee, cake and lunch; but more than that, a place of belonging. Our lunch club offers the same welcome and a real place of community. Our youth and children’s groups, formerly Urban Saints, continue under a new name, with a residential weekend planned for June and our annual Fireworks Night now a real highlight in the village calendar; a wonderful expression of community and connection.

We’ve begun visiting local care homes to sing familiar songs and pray; simple gatherings that allow everyone to join in. At Christmas we took the local school choir with us to sing carols as one of our deacons helps to run the school KS2 choir. Our minister also takes regular assemblies.

Christmas was a special season: we ran a Community Christmas Choir who sang at our Carols by Candlelight service, we had fun dressing up for a ‘pop-up’ nativity, and sang carols in the local pub. All gentle but powerful reminders that the message of Christmas is for everyone.

Inclusion has been a key focus. We long to be a church where everyone knows they belong. Our activities for children with special educational needs and their families have provided a safe, understanding space where children can be themselves and parents can relax, knowing they are among people who “get it.” Our "Parent Carer Café" has grown to be a real place of peer support. Inclusion isn’t an add-on for us; it’s at the heart of the gospel. We are committed to lowering barriers and making our services accessible and welcoming to all.

We also celebrated a baptism in November and have welcomed new members, always signs of encouragement and new life. When we look back, we don’t see flashy programmes or big numbers. We see faithfulness. Cups of tea served, chairs set out, prayers prayed, songs sung and time given generously. And in all of it, we see God quietly at work.

As we look ahead, with Easter just around the corner, our prayer is simple: that we would stay rooted in Jesus, open to our community and committed to inclusion. We want to keep noticing opportunities, responding with creativity and courage, making space for those on the edge, and celebrating every sign of new life. We would appreciate prayer for all of the above.

Thanks, Louise, for spotting this on a SEBA mailing. As most of you know, Jac, the minister at Dormansland, was our minister until early 2024, and during her time a number of folks joined us. Please keep Jac, Richard, Hannah and Henrietta in your prayers.

___________________________

Please Pray

As we rejoice in our resurrected Lord, we continue to pray for a broken world in so many places. We pray for the Israel/Iranian situation. The continued needless loss of life, something that part of the world knows so much about. The ‘knock on’ effect on energy costs and ultimately the wider economy, small by comparison, nevertheless invariably impacts those poorer people of whom there are many even locally.

As ever, we remember our persecuted brothers and sisters in so many places. As we shout our ‘Hallelujah’s’ loud and long on Easter Day, hoping passers-by might hear, and even come in, theirs will likely be muffled and fearful.

Let’s also pray for those in our town for whom Easter is just a holiday. Pray that the Easter message of hope, forgiveness, new life and renewal may be known by many.

Finally, but importantly, we pray for one another. For Louise and our Deacons, our Sunday School leaders, unsung hard-working folks whose work can be frustrating besides very rewarding. And that each one of us have a Blessed Easter as we seek to walk in the timeless ‘truth which sets us free’.