Deepings Week of Prayer 2019 – “Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

The Churches Together in the Deepings have once again organised a week of 24/7 prayer. This year’s event begins at 6pm on Sun 2nd June and concludes with a short service at Open Door exactly one week later.

Most of the prayer will take place in a dedicated room at Open Door church on Spalding Road, Deeping St James which will be furnished with various different aids to prayer, contemplation and reflection. Christians from across the Deepings are invited to participate by signing up for prayer where they can enjoy a peaceful hour in God’s presence.

During the week it is expected that Christians from churches across the Deepings will spend time listening to God and asking Him to bless the Deepings community including its people, businesses, organisations, schools, retailers and children as well praying for our nation and the wider world, particularly that His Kingdom Come on Earth as it is in heaven.

For more information, and to sign up, please visit the the dedicated website

All aboard for the Deepings Literary Festival

On Friday May 24th 2019, Open Door will be pleased to offer a venue for a talk about the poet John Betjemen and his love of railways as part of the Deepings Literary Festival.

The talk by the author, Dr Greg Morse, will be followed by a short film of John Betjemen as well as questions and answers with Dr Morse.

As part of the evening’s entertainment, the Market Deeping Model Railway Club will be displaying their working model railway featuring their 30ft ‘Woodcroft’ layout which is based on a fictitious, but plausible, route through South Lincolnshire in the 1920s. The first ‘departures and arrivals’ will be at about 6pm for anyone who wants to see this intricate model.

“Dr Greg Morse is the author of John Betjeman: Reading the Victorians, a fairly lengthy thing that led to something much shorter and more interesting for Shire. It was here that he first explored the poet’s love of railways, indulging his own love too, as a copper-capped Swindon boy born and bred. Greg works for the railway industry as a safety officer and has written numerous books and articles on rail history and rail safety development.”

Members of the church will be on hand to offer tea, coffee and other light refreshments from about 6pm.

More information, including booking details, can be found at the Deepings Literary Festival website .https://deepingsliteraryfestival.co.uk/festival-programme/greg-morse-at-open-door-church/

Are you sitting comfortably?

On Thursday evenings, we meet at church to study the bible. We’ve recently completed studies of the early church and of the book of Ephesians.

Tonight, we began a look at the life of King David and the people involved starting with David’s turbulent relationship with Saul. We welcome any visitors that might wish to dip in for a week or more.

Next week (Thurs 11th Oct) we will be looking at David’s men.

The following week will be an interlude as we have a Church Members’ meeting.

On Thursday 25th October we will be looking at the women in David’s life.

Finally, on 1st November, we will consider David’s family.

The atmosphere is friendly, the furniture is comfortable but beware of the parental advisory content with strong likelihood that we will be discussing mental health, adultery, murder and war – Now that doesn’t sound too comfortable!

Two more baptisms this morning (30th September 2018)

We’re celebrating two more baptisms this morning with our new portable baptistry. The service starts at 10.30 and will be followed by lunch of chilli, curry and jacket potatoes!

We’re celebrating ‘Tabernacles’!

^“On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees – from palms, willows and other leafy trees – and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.” Leviticus 23:40

Our 2018 tabernacle!

This week at Open Door we are exploring the original harvest festival, the Feast of Tabernacles, and what it means to us as Christians in South Lincolnshire.

During our all-age service on Sunday morning, our pastor, Revd William Booker, blew a traditional horn (shofar, so good?). We then set about ‘building a tabernacle’ at the front of the church. The tallest of our congregation decorated the roof with leafy branches while the smallest made decorations to adorn the construction. The activity was punctuated by joyful songs and explanations of the feast of tabernacles and what it might mean in our contemporary culture.

Part of the original instructions for the festival relate to ‘being joyful’ and so we are doing a few things to try and make people joyful in the Deepings. We’ve already had a community film night but next Saturday we are planning a ‘drumming circle’. This fun event on Saturday evening (29th September) is free and open to everyone regardless of whether they normally come to church.

The following day we are planning a baptism service for two of our members with a ‘feast’ to follow. Everyone is welcome to come and join the celebration!

Deepings Police Forum – 25th Sept 2018

The Open Door centre regularly hosts the Deepings Neighbourhood Policing Forum. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, 25th Sept at 7.00pm. Everyone with an interest in policing in the Deepings is welcome to attend.

The meeting will be attended by Mark Jones, Community Resilience Lead at South Kesteven District Council, who will give a short presentation about the Council’s approach to Anti-Social Behaviour and crime including the role of the CCTV cameras which are deployed in the Deepings (as well as the other towns of Bourne, Grantham and Stamford).

Open Door Church is not directly involved in the organisation of the forum but we are pleased to help facilitate activities which people in the wider Deepings community.

Baptisms in the Welland!

On Sunday 19th August, two of our young people were baptised in the River Welland, Deeping St James.

The event was preceded by a short service at the Open Door Centre where Revd William Booker preached about baptism using a passage from Ezekiel 47. This was followed by testimonies from the two sisters who had decided together to be baptised.

After the service the congregation walked down to the riverside where we were joined by friends from Deepings Methodist Church. There we sang ‘Amazing Grace’ as the young disciples entered the river to be baptised in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit by William Booker and David Edden.

This uplifting event was followed by a friendly shared lunch back at the church building.

Sign of the Times

Please feel free to join our friendly congregation on Sunday, 15th July, we are having an All-age service of worship at 10.30am at Open Door Church.

The theme will be the Lord’s Prayer and the bible passage will be Luke 11 v1-13.

We hope to teach our congregation and any visitors how to say the Lord’s Prayer in Sign Language. This is a great way to explore the prayer because signing helps us to think more deeply about what we are asking from God.

Here’s a YouTube video so you can start practising:

 

QUIZ NIGHT in aid of the Leprosy Mission

On Saturday, 23rd June, Open Door Church is hosting another quiz night. This time it is in aid of the Leprosy Mission which is an charity working internationally from its base in Peterborough.

Everyone is welcome to join us in teams of up to six people. The cost is £2 per person but bring a few quid extra to join in the bonus rounds and to buy refreshments in the breaks.

You will have fun!