Soul Survivor Watford Church

This Sunday Si will be licensed by the Bishop of Hertford, Jane Mainwaring, at our 6.30pm service. We will also be worshipping together, hearing from God’s Word, and making space to pray for one another. All are welcome to come and join the celebration and to pray for Si in his role as Associate Pastor and to stay for drinks afterwards in Café No.7  If you can’t make it to the warehouse, the service will be livestreamed here on our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/b1Lc_fGO92U

The legendary Soul Survivor Watford panto is back for 2024! Want to get involved? Auditions are this Sunday (15th) from 1.30-3pm, and Monday 16th from 5.30-7pm. Email [email protected] for all the info you need! Children (11 years and under) don’t need to audition; just email their details to the panto team and they will be added to the cast. Rehearsals will take place on Friday evenings and the performances will be on evening of the 6th and the afternoon of the 7th December. We can’t wait!

If you’re new to Soul Survivor Watford we’d love to get to know you! On Thursday 26th September we have a Newcomers Meal for anyone who would like to find out more about us and get more involved in church life. You’ll meet some of the team as well as others who have recently joined us. There’s no charge for food but please do sign up to say you’re coming so we that we know how many to cater for. We can’t wait to say hi! www.soulsurvivorwatford.co.uk/newcomers

This Sunday is Brunch Sunday! We’d love you to bring some cakes along to share with others in between the two morning services. We’ll provide plates, napkins, and plenty of tea and coffee! Please do write the ingredients you’ve used on a card or label so those who have allergies know what they can enjoy. (Apologies to anyone who was hoping for a bacon sandwich – we hope you’ll enjoy the cake instead!)

This Sunday, join us as we share communion, as well as worship, hear from God's word and pray for one another at our 9.15am, 11.30am and 6.30pm services! If you need any more info, head to www.soulsurvivorwatford.co.uk/sundays ☺

We’re delighted to tell you that we have recruited Sarah Neale as our new Head of Operations! Sarah is currently working with Bristol Diocese as a Project Officer resourcing churches in areas of multiple challenge. She will be relocating in the autumn with her husband, Rich, and their son Caelan; and will be starting with us in September.

Sarah has previously been involved in two church plants in the HTB network and is passionate about creating spaces that enable people to thrive in their God given calling. She’s looking forward to getting to know the Soul Survivor Watford community and getting stuck into church life. If you know the place to get the best almond croissants she’d be very keen to hear from you as she’s a big fan! Please join with us in praying for Sarah and the family as they relocate.

Our next 'Hearing the Voice of God' course starts on 12th September! It runs over six Thursday evenings from September to October and will provide lots of teaching around the subject of prophecy, as well as giving us a relaxed and safe space to practice. It will be suitable for anyone who is keen to learn more, with no background knowledge assumed. The course is free but places are limited and the last course was fully booked so please do sign up if you're interested at www.soulsurvivorwatford.co.uk/prophecy. There's also lots more info there on the subjects we'll be looking at in the teaching.

Worship and Prayer nights - These happen on the first Tuesday of every month with the next one being on the 6th August! It will be a slightly more stripped-back vibe with the same heart to worship Jesus, and spend time praying for things happening in our community, our world and in our own lives. See you in Warehouse 5 for an 8pm start 🕯 💛🕯

Mondays are Fundays at Café No.7 over the summer! Got school-age kids? Bring them along on Mondays* during the school holidays and our team will be on hand from 9.30am to 12 to get them involved in some fun activities! The café is open 9am to 3pm and there will also be free craft activities that you can help yourself to, to do with your children throughout that time. As usual, Café No. 7 will be serving hot and cold drinks, delicious cakes, and a great lunch menu so come on over and enjoy!

Cafe No.7 is also open on Tuesday 30th July when we'll be having our Community Closet sale of new and nearly new clothes for 0-11 year-olds. Suggested donation of £1 per item with all money raised going to our Hope Fund to support members of our community who are struggling financially.

*For those planning ahead, Café No.7 won't be open on bank holiday Monday which is the 26th August.

If you’re struggling financially, or you know a local family who are, please do sign up for one of our family meal boxes for the summer holidays. Each box contains recipes and ingredients for three main meals that will each feed up to six people and are fun to make with kids. Please book by midday on Wednesday 24th July so boxes can be made up ready to be collected on Tuesday 30th July between 10am and 1pm from Café No.7. All the info you need is here: www.soulsurvivorwatford.co.uk/summermeals

Family Meal Boxes — Soul Survivor Watford With many families and individuals facing financial hardship we wanted to put together a box with recipes and ingredients for three main meals that will each feed up to six people.

☀ Join us for Big Summer Sunday on the 14th July! ☀ We’ll gather for a service for all the family at 11am, then have an afternoon of fun and games including: a huge BBQ and salad bar, all-age inflatables, live performances of Disney songs (kids are welcome to dress up in their favourite Disney costume!), face-painting, temporary tattoos, bead-braids and kids games. The BBQ must be pre-booked for a suggested donation of £3 for adults and £1 for children but there are complimentary tickets available if you need one. Book now at www.soulsurvivorwatford.co.uk/bigsummer. We hope you can make it!

We’re delighted to let you know that IB will be joining our staff team in July as an Assistant Pastor! IB, and her husband Deji, have been part of our church for seven years and you may recognise her as she’s led a Connect Group, helped out at Soul Kids, and spoken at our services; as well as giving an outstanding performance as the Fairy Godmother in our Christmas panto!

For the last five years IB has been working as a life coach, helping people navigate life’s ups and downs and embrace who they are as they pursue their callings. You’re likely to find her deep in conversation with a perfect stranger or in the throes of an impromptu dance-off with her adorable toddler Semilore!

IB said, “I’m thrilled to be joining the team and be a part of what God is doing at Soul Survivor Watford as we wholeheartedly serve this church and community.”

If you'd like to be baptised, or have a child baptised, you can sign up now for one of our three services on Sunday 11th February! Sign up via ChurchSuite, use the link at www.soulsurvivorwatford.co.uk/sundays, or chat to one of the team on Sunday if you have any questions 😁

Our next Young Adult night is happening next Wednesday (10th January)! Join us for an evening of worship, teaching and ministry from 7.30pm-9.30pm in Warehouse 7. We’ll be starting a new series called Real Talk, looking at some of the difficult passages of the Bible and exploring why they are important to our life and to our faith. All aged 18-early thirties are welcome 😊

Just before Christmas we had the joy of welcoming Rapha Barlow to our family! Congratulations to Be, James & Olive - we're so delighted for you 💖💚💜 If you have some news to share, you can let us know at www.soulsurvivorwatford.co.uk/family-news!

What a joy to celebrate Jesus together over Christmas! Here are some pictures from our Candlelit Communion service on Christmas Eve 🕯 ♥

Want to start the New Year in prayer? We'll be gathering at 8pm on Tuesday evening (2nd January) to worship Jesus and bring our prayers before him for our world, our community, and ourselves. All are welcome 😊

As this Sunday is New Year's Eve, our services will look slightly different. We will meet in the morning at 9.15 and 11.30 (the 11.30 will be livestreamed as usual) but there won't be any Soul Kids or Younger Youth gatherings. Parents are welcome to accompany their children to Café No.7 where there will be games, craft and plenty of tea. We won't be having our 6.30pm service but everything will return to normal next Sunday. We hope you have a lovely time celebrating as we say goodbye to 2023 and hello to all God has in store for us in 2024 💚