Thursday Fellowship finished the autumn session with it’s Carols, Candles and Cake service – a very fitting end and a beautiful lead in to our Christmas celebrations.

It was lovely to welcome a few visitors as we enjoyed singing familiar carols and heard the retelling of the Christmas story.   

Sue read a very thought-provoking story entitled, ‘Grandpa’s Christmas Tree’. No matter what state of disrepair the tree was in each year, Grandpa was always able to fix it and make it beautiful and serviceable so that his family could decorate it with lights, tinsel and baubles. Sue’s message to us was that no matter what state our lives are in, God is able to ‘fix it’ and transform us so that we can shine for Him in our lives.

How blessed are we that God sent His only Son to be born as one of us and to die for our sins that we might live! He is Immanuel, God with us.  No longer do we walk in darkness – a light has dawned, Hallelujah!

It was lovely to be able to linger a while, chatting and enjoying a cup of tea, nibbles and of course plenty of cake. We even got to take a piece of Christmas cake home beautifully made and packaged by Lis!

Thursday Fellowship will resume on Thursday 5th March, 2026 but we are planning a Coffee Morning in February so watch this space for further details.

We wish you all a peaceful and blessed Christmastime.

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit..”

Matthew 1 v 20 (NIV)

Remember: The circumstances of life may seem incredible, even unfathomable, like they were for Joseph,  but if you are in the will of God, then He will take care of you no matter what! God is with you in your journey. Are you willing to do what God says?

The verse of the week is usually inspired by the teaching the previous Sunday and you can listen to any recordings by clicking on the link below:

https://downsbaptistchurch.org/resources/sermons/

Thursday, 11th December, 2pm – Thursday Fellowship – Carols, Candles and Cake in the Parish Room of Holy Cross Church

Friday, 12th December, 11am – Carol Service at Dean Wood Care Home

Saturday, 13th December, 10am – Community Carol Singing outside DBC Community Greengrocers

Sunday, 14th December, 10.30am – All Age Nativity Service in Woodingdean CP School

Sunday, 21st December, 10.30am – Carol Service in Woodingdean CP School

Thursday, 25th December, 10am – Christmas Day – short Family Service in Woodingdean CP School

Sunday, 28th December, 10.30am – Open Communion Service in Woodingdean CP School

Everyone welcome. Please do join us!

The Leadership of DBC is delighted to announce that on Sunday 2nd November, at a special Church meeting, the church members voted to call Jeryl Bayona to be the part-time pastor of Downs Baptist Church.

Please pray for Jeryl and his family at this exciting time as they prepare and plan for the big move to Woodingdean.

To know God and to make Him known

A WORSHIPPING CHURCH OF PEOPLE WHO PRAY AND FOLLOW THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE.

Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14 v 6

A WITNESSING CHURCH OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE OUR FAITH IN WORDS AND ACTIONS.

Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” Luke 10 v 27

A delightful in-house meeting this week as we came together to share our stories from Christmases past and to bring our Christmas cards to each other.  We were grateful to John who acted as the postman, sorting and personally delivering the cards – thank you John!

Sue brought along a nativity scene puzzle for us to complete – only 50 pieces, until we found that one was missing! Sue had deliberately hidden the piece in her pocket and of course it was the piece depicting the baby Jesus in the manger! Sue commented that for the most part, the majority of people leave Jesus out of Christmas – how sad and how thought provoking!

It was good to be together in a more relaxed setting, hearing about our friends’ memories of past Christmases ably led by Sue who encouraged all to contribute in some way. We sang, In the Bleak Mid Winter, While Shepherd’s Watched (Sweet Bells) and O Little Town of Bethlehem.

A cup of tea and a mince pie to close our time was most welcome and we look forward to next week with our Carols, Candles and Cake, our final meeting of the year.

Please do consider coming along to join us – we can assure you of a very warm welcome.

The first of our festive afternoons when we welcomed back, Tom, Rosemary and Mike from Seaford Baptist Church to delight us with some Christmassy music, and a short message from Rosemary to help us prepare for Christmas.

What a lovely afternoon we all had, plus the opportunity of joining in with the singing. 

Rosemary’ s message was entitled, ‘bitter and sweet, yet God’ and Rosemary posed the question, “What would we look for in the mother of God?” We would probably think about worldly attributes and yet God’s expectations are way beyond ours! Mary was humble and modest, not at all arrogant or proud. She knew the scriptures and God was at the heart of everything she did. And because of that, Mary found favour with God and was used to bring about God’s purposes.

Although Mary questioned the angel’s message in Luke 1 v 28-33, she believed and was able to respond, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” ( Luke 1 v 38). Mary accepted God’s will for her life which would be bitter and sweet.

Do we always turn to God in every circumstance? Rosemary encouraged us to follow Mary’s example.  

The team then sang that beautiful song by Graham Kendrick – Thorns in the straw – the chorus of which reads:

And did she see there
In the straw by his head a thorn
And did she smell myrrh
In the air on that starry night
And did she hear angels sing
Not so far away
Till at last the sun rose blood-red
In the morning sky

These words remind us of the real message of Christmas – that Jesus, God’s Son, came as a baby to die on the cross for the sins of humankind that we might be reconciled to God and have eternal life.  

We enjoyed tea and homemade mince pies and the opportunity to share together.  What a great start to our Christmas countdown!

What an enjoyable afternoon we had at Thursday Fellowship this week! It was an opportunity to relax together and make some Christmas decorations guided expertly by Lis.

We do so enjoy these craft sessions and even those of us who admit we are not very creative or very good at this sort of thing, had a go and were pleased with their efforts.

Thank you Lis for all of your hard work in preparing the different activities.

On Thursday 13 November we welcomed back our friend Connie Croly as our speaker. Connie’s talk was entitled “Moving On”. Connie reminded us that this week we commemorated Remembrance Day, giving thanks for the sacrifice made by so many to defend our freedom. We too are called to fight – to wage war against darkness and the evils in our society.

The people of God in the Old Testament knew a great deal about war, and the trumpet sounded to call them to “move on”. Christians too need to be moving forward, not backward-looking or stuck in the past.

• Are we moving on in the power of the Holy Spirit? God has promised the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit to all who ask.
• Are we moving on in believing prayer? We need to connect with God’s power in prayer, to recharge our spiritual batteries.
• Are we moving on in our commitment to share God’s good news whenever an opportunity arises?

Connie shared some examples from her own life of chance encounters which have led to interesting conversations about the Kingdom of Heaven.

We had our annual visit from Gillian Carr of Books Alive.  Gillian was accompanied by Amanda who will be taking over as Manager of the Christian bookshop in the new year.

Once again, Gillian brought a lovely selection of books, Bibles, Christmas cards, calendars, diaries and gift ideas for members to stock up in preparation for Christmas.

Gillian’s last message to us was based around Jeremiah 29 v 4-14, focussing on that well know verse, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. Gillian said that this is the verse that people most enquire about and often buy cards, bookmarks, coasters etc to give to others.  But it is important not to take this verse in isolation.  It is always best to read the surrounding verses to get a sense of what the context is.

Gillian shared that in the Jeremiah passage, those who had been carried off into exile were told to build houses and settle down, grow things to eat and to marry and produce sons and daughters, to increase in number and to seek and pray for the peace and prosperity of the place to which they were sent – then they would prosper.  God has great plans for each of us just has He had for Israel, “plans to prosper and not to harm us!” We don’t always understand God’s ways but we need to trust His plans for our lives and His timings, not our plans. For we know that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8 v 28).

Gillian’s plan for the move to be nearer her daughter, seems a long way off at present, but the song we sang, Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord was a timely reminder to wait and trust in God’s plan and timing.

We look forward to welcoming Amanda back next year as she takes over as Manager of the shop.

Head to Books Alive – Christian Bookshop to find out what Books Alive can offer.

Persecution of Christians in Nigeria

Recently the persecution of Christians has increased, and at least 3 and a half million Christians have been driven from their homes.  They are now living in absolute squalor in displacement camps in makeshift garbage bag tents.  They are starving and the women have often been kidnapped and targeted for sexual violence.  Many Christians have been hacked to death or burned alive and their homes burnt down.  More believers are being killed In Nigeria than in the rest of the world put together. The persecution has spread down from the North into the Middle Belt, into Benue State in particular, and even further south.  There is now a sense of urgency before civil war happens.

This persecution has been inflicted by the Boko Haram terrorists together with Islamic militants from the Fulani tribe.  The intention is to turn Nigeria into a Muslim caliphate and the fear is that if they take Nigeria, then the rest of Africa will follow. Several of the Northern States are already under Sharia law.   Sadly, the Nigerian Government is complicit with the terrorists and has failed to protect the Christians, which strengthens the militants’ influence.  It refuses to acknowledge that persecution exists.  The Christians therefore have no access to organisations like the Red Cross.  The Fulani tribe meanwhile maintain that they, as herders are victims too and persecuted in Benue State where most of the farmers are Christians.

Needs of the persecuted Christians

1. To rebuild their lives because they have lost everything
2. Food aid
3. Medicines
4. Sanitation
5. Funds to respond to the attacks
6. Help and support to equip the villagers to prevent persecution

If you would like to help, you can donate online to relieve the suffering of these persecuted believers at Equipping The Persecuted –  To find out more, speak to Maria Nwanwene.

Please pray for our suffering brothers and sisters in Nigeria.