Weekly Newsletter
Dear Church Family
As this Newsletter is the last of 2025 and the first of 2026, I can say … Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
2025 has been a year full of both challenges and delights for us at HTSB. We had hoped to be further on in the process to appoint our next Vicar, but these things take time and are not just in our hands! BUT, and it’s a big BUT, we are so thrilled and encouraged with all that we have seen God do in us and through us during these past twelve months. HTSB certainly isn’t standing still or going into decline, no, we’re thriving and that’s down to all of you!
It’s been great to see all our groups doing well, growing, responding to the call of God and developing deeper and stronger ministries in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are truly blessed that God is blessing us so richly, both on Sundays in our gathered worship and during the week too.
MentalkHealth, Love, Laughter, Lunch, Thursday Stay and Play have all seen much growth and are such amazing ways in which we are serving our local community. Our Sunday Kids Church and Younger Youth are a real blessing to our life together too, and how wonderful it is to see our children and young people growing in knowledge and love of Jesus. Our Worship Team, Homegroups, Prayer Group, Ministry Team and Service Leaders and Preachers all enrich our lives and take us deeper into God and His Kingdom. Our drinks, doors, garden and flower teams offer people a special welcome but as we all know WE ARE ALL THE WELCOME TEAM! It’s been wonderful to have the Women’s breakfasts relaunched and the Men’s Walking Group getting back together again too.
Through the year we’ve grieved the loss of dear friends and church members and yet we’ve also seen our church family grow. If you’ve joined us this year you’ve brought God’s blessing to us in a special way too; Thank You! We’ve celebrated new or renewed faith in our baptism services both for children and adults and to crown the year we’ve been overwhelmed with your generosity, particularly seen in the incredible £57,000 pledged and given for the Building Fund.
Thank you for being part of our church family, for loving, caring, serving and giving in so many different ways – we wouldn’t be HTSB without you. You are an amazing church family, and we love you and pray for you.
So, throughout this Christmas and New Year season as you celebrate the birth of Jesus our Saviour, may you:
Believe like Mary
Trust like Joseph
Hope like the Shepherds
Seek like the Wise Men
Praise like the angels and
Love like Jesus.
Here are a few things you might like to know about:
The Love Laughter Lunch Café team are having their Christmas break and will be back at midday on Wednesday, 7 January 26.
Thursday prayers have finished for Christmas and return at 2pm on Thursday, 8 January.
HT Stay and Play has also finished for Christmas and will return at 10.00am on Thursday, 15 January 26.
Christmas – we’ll have the following services this coming Sunday, 21 December:
9am – Holy Communion
1045am – Christmas Celebration with All-Age Nativity – let’s celebrate the arrival of King Jesus on earth with lots of joy and fun! Children – come along ready to dress up and join in with our Nativity! Adults – sparkle and shine with your Christmas jumpers, ties, socks, jewellery etc!
6.30pm – Carols by Candlelight –join us for a really special service of carols and readings with both our worship band and our organist accompanying us!
At 10am on Christmas Day (25 December) we will have Christmas Worship with Communion. We’ll be back to our normal 9am and 10.45am services on Sunday, 28 December.
Our first day of prayer and fasting in 2026 will be on Tuesday, 6 January. Let’s pray and fast together for revival to come to Sittingbourne and beyond, and for God to bless our church in the coming year.
With love and prayers,
Ann and the Staff Team