Sunday 17 May 2026 -   9:30am Bubble Church

                                    10:15am Refreshments served

                                    11am Morning Praise

Readings for Sunday after Ascension

1 Peter 4:12-14 - Suffering for Being a Christian

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

 John, chapter 17, verse 1-11.

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

You can follow the service on YouTube

Here is the link:    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJJ7uMFp9y1d2OIS96CMsOQ/live

The next monthly prayer meeting is on Wednesday 3 June between 7pm and 8pm and will be held on Zoom. Here is the link Zoom link

Services in St Michael's Next Week

Wednesday  20 May                                    9:30am Spoken Communion service

Sunday  24 May,                 11am Morning Worship with Holy Communion

“Growing in Faith” – a new Sunday afternoon gathering

St Michael’s used to host an informal Sunday afternoon service, called Refresh. It seems that there may be a need for something similar to the old Refresh, simple in format, with room for questions. So we are going to try out a new gathering once a month for the next three months to see if there are folk who would like this. We will meet on the fourth Sundays at 1630, so 24 May, 28 June and 26 July. Maybe it is appropriate that our ‘launch date’ is on Pentecost (or Whitsun) – the church’s Birthday nearly 2000 years ago!

If you come, what can you expect? We will start off with tea/coffee, biscuits and cake. You will be invited to collect this and then head upstairs to the gallery where we will actually meet. The idea is that this will be a bit more relaxed than being in the main body of the church. There will be prayer, some Bible reading and discussion and some singing. No microphones or amplification though, to help with the relaxed vibe.

After these three meetings, we will break for August and see if it is meeting a need and how it might be improved. We also have the thought that, when a suitable venue can be found in the new South West Exeter developments, we might also offer something similar there.

If you have any questions or would like to know more, please feel free to contact me via email: Anthony.LLM.Alphington@gmail.com

Born in 1937 or 1947? 

Hey Baby Boomers and War Babies!  If you were born in either of these years please would you make contact with Sue or Roger who would like to chat with you about some plans we have in mind for 2027. 

From Gail Hayes - the 2026 Walk 100 Miles in May in aid of Hospiscare

Many of you sponsored me for last year's similar event and in total over a £1000 (including Gift Aid) was raised to support this amazing Charity of which many of us have had personal experience.  Should you wish to sponsor me, I would be very grateful and will bring a form to Church on Wednesdays and some Sundays and to Chatterbox on Fridays. There is also an option of donating online on my Just Giving page. I understand that Eira Rowe is hoping to register for this too.   With thanks in anticipation  Gail Hayes x

Christian Aid week

Christian Aid week ends this Saturday 16th May.

William Tyndale

An invitation from Ide Congregational Chapel

500 years ago this Year, William Tyndale translated the New Testament into English from the Greek original manuscripts. In 1526 New Testaments in their thousands were being smuggled into England because it was strictly forbidden to own or read a copy of the scriptures in English. In 1536 Tyndale was finally caught and burned at the stake in Vilvoord, Belgium.

To Remember William Tyndale, his life and work, Ide Congregational Church is staging an exhibition which will tell the story of William Tyndale in pictures and words.

THURSDAY 4th JUNE to SATURDAY 6th JUNE from 10 am to 1pm each day.

Please feel free to drop in at any time for a tea or coffee and look at the exhibition.

For more information please call Roy Endacott on 0781 663 6435

We would Warmly Welcome all to come and celebrate this remarkable Man, and how GOD used him to bring us the Scriptures in the English tongue, which he did at the cost of his own life.

Message from CTaX

A group from St Thomas Baptist Church knit blankets for Moldova and Ukraine, sending them out by Christian Aid to Eastern Europe. 

They ask if any of us or anyone we know has any wool, for example tucked away in drawers, which they can put to good use to keep people warm, and if any knitters would like to join their team.

If you can help, either with wool or with knitting, please contact Sandra on 07989550391 or 01392 682396. 

Thanks

Ash

Food Bank news 

The Good news this month is that after a lot of hard work involving many volunteers it has been possible to re-open the Beacon Centre which was badly flooded in January.

It is now restocked and ready to help those in the local community from Wednesday. 

The more concerning news which has become evident in the past 3 months is that the general donations and stock levels are well below those of 2024, 2025 whilst the numbers seeking help is increasing.