Emmanuel Group of Churches

 

• A new beginning for minister Rachael Warnock, called to this Ecumenical Partnership in Northampton

• A COP26 Prayer Walk enabled participants to enjoy fellowship, God’s creation, and finding out more about COP26 and the climate crisis

• A yarnbombing project has encouraged interaction and conversation with passers-by

 

I was inducted as Free Church Minister at Emmanuel Group of Churches, Northampton in September 2021. This felt like a very new beginning having moved from a wonderful small community church in Plymouth, into a larger Ecumenical Partnership in a very different area of the UK. It is exciting to follow God’s call here.

It feels like a privilege to step into the situation I am in, it is also a steep learning curve to be a part of the leadership team of a group of churches of mixed denomination, styles and needs. It feels special to be actively seeking unity in this way together.

It has been interesting beginning ministry here during this unsettling time that Covid-19 has produced, people have been understandably insecure and unsure about coming together and how, and they need time to get back in to serving in different ways. The act of sharing communion together as mixed denominations has been impacted, which we have had to navigate.

My hopes are that we can continue to come together to be community across the three churches, built up in God and that we will continue to seek to reach out and serve our local communities. I hope too that we can have a sense of what is at the heart of our localities, the struggles, and joys and that we can join in with what God is doing here.

I feel we should be moving with pioneering spirits, seeking to engage with and serve the communities our churches are situated within. I am still exploring what this looks like here - recently we hosted a COP26 Prayer Walk in and around the local community involving walking between all three churches and culminating in a prayer vigil. I was delighted that the event was well attended, that we were out in the community enjoying fellowship, God’s creation, and finding out more about COP26 and the climate crisis.

A yarnbombing project has begun in a green space outside one of the churches to show our care for the local community space, to bring joy and encourage interaction and conversation with passers-by. It was wonderful to see the area in colour at Christmas and to chat with those walking by, hear their positive comments and answer their questions of why we were doing this.

I am excited to find out more about what God is doing amidst the whole church and our communities as we seek to actively share God’s good news!

Rachael Warnock
Minister
January 2022

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