BEGINNING UNLIMITED

How do we make people feel welcome? Monday 5th September 2016 As leadership we are struggling with how we as a church should welcome visitors and new people. So far we’ve avoided having a welcome team, in the thought that that somehow means that those not on the team can be ‘unwelcoming’ that week. It seems an obvious and fundamental part of church that all of us should be welcoming. However, we’ve got to recognise that some people are naturals at talking to those they don’t know, and some aren’t. Some genuinely delight in a roomful of strangers and finding out their stories. I fear many more people are like me, where a roomful of strangers is intimidating and daunting. We are also hearing that some members of church resent the fact that they want to catch up with their friends on a Sunday, not always talk to newbies, and we want friendships to grow, to flourish. We know that some church members are struggling to feel that they fit in, that they belong. So our challenge to the...

We're hosting an open mic night in church tonight. There are going to be live bands (including an in-house unlimited band, also known as (don't ask!) 'The Organ Donors')' a BBQ and an early summer message from the Rev Helen! Slots are booking fast. It has always been a popular event. An easy way to connect with young people. I'm excited for what tonight will bring, whilst remembering events past. Saturday 30th November 2013 Tonight saw possibly 100 young people in the church. Music seems to be such a part of young people’s lives. So many that we meet are either in a band or are friends with someone in a band. Tonight we simply opened up church and offered them a microphone. Cheekily we called it Live Lounge after the Radio 1 show. And the bands came and brought their supporters. Some of the music was amazing. Not all was to my taste, but then, it shouldn’t be. If it is appealing to me as a nearly forty-year-old then I’m guessing we’ve got it wrong. But ...

Follow this link for the information:  https://jmp.sh/VJFUfzI I never took gap year. I didn't have anything I particularly wanted to do and I was worried that with no specific plans I would end up wasting both the year and a lot of money. Perhaps I missed out by not being brave enough? I'm excited that yet again as a church we are looking for an intern to start in September 2019. It seems a long time ago that our first intern Jack started... Monday 3rd September 2012 We have an intern! An amazing guy called Jack has come to work with us for the year. From a chance conversation I had over a cup of coffee in March we have got to this point. We can’t pay him anything. We are offering him theological training of sorts, and his bus fare. That’s all. Anything extra he is earning with his job in a café. It will only give him pocket money. He is full of enthusiasm and new ideas. Fresh energy and vision. There will be times when he can’t get the bus home, when we finish too la...

Tonight our church will be open between 12-3am, serving tea and toast to young people out in Exeter. Here are some extracts from the early days... Sunday 28th April 2013 For a long time James has wanted to start a night café. He is just unable to ignore the fact that Mary Arches Church is located opposite two nightclubs. This is where young people come and, if we are serious about going to meet them where they are, then this is where we need to be.  Last November James joined Street Pastors for possibly their wettest evening of the year. He returned absolutely shattered. Tired, yes. But more than that. He was shocked by what he had seen. The level of drunkenness, of violence. The broken bottles, the simmering violence, the language. Young people incapable and vulnerable after drinking too much. Abandoned by friends, either knowingly or unknowingly. Street Pastors have long been using our back room as a prayer base for their evenings spent in and around the town, but Jam...