Church News
(and past events)
Cafe-Style Fun and board Games Event!
18th May 2024
10am till 3.00pm
Come along and learn something new!
Suitable for families and children over 11yrs old
For further details click here
"Big Box Challenge"
As a church we decided to challenge ourselves to fill two large boxes with Food Bank items, for Easter!
Everyone donated and a full car load was delivered to the Food bank.
Juice, Soup, Biscuits, Tinned meat, tinned fruit, rice pudding PLUS toiletries such as, shampoo, shower gels and Size 3 Nappies as well as other non-perishable items.
Easter 2024.
The Easter Story
This Tableau, created in our Chapel, reminds us of the Good News that Easter brings. Jesus was raised from the dead, after three days, and now sits at the right hand of God, having defeated death. And anyone who believes in him, will too have eternal life, HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!
If you want to know why we Christians get so excited by Easter, read about what happened by clicking here
"Christ died for our sins according to scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day.. (1 Corinthians 13:3-4)
If you've never been to church before, or haven't been for a long time, there's no time like the present to come along and join in our friendly services, a very warm welcome awaits.
Our First Fun Gaming session of the year was excellent fun,
and took place on Saturday 6th April 2024 - 10am till 3pm
Several families enjoyed the excitement of playing games, learning new skills and strategies and having fun together!
Christmas 2023
What a wonderful time to find out about a small baby who grew into a wonderful Man, the Son of God.
Here's some more good news!
The construction work is now finished, and our lovely Church building is looking amazing, a real beacon in our community!
September 2023
We would love to welcome you to this beautiful place and join us in worship and praise!
For more detailed information about the construction journey please click here
Easter celebrations
There was so much going on around Easter that it was difficult to keep up with sharing the images. We had an Easter Event with the children, including an Easter Egg Hunt, a 'Seder' meal at the chapel and an Afternoon Tea.
Here are a selection of the pictures taken.
These photos taken at the 'Afternoon Tea' held in the chapel, Our Pastor David and his wife Sue were present and the above photo shows them at the photo booth prior to the tea. Our members were also treated to a performance of songs by Joan Hocking, We were so grateful she could come along and sing for us and she really 'put the' icing on the cake' on what was a very special afternoon.
Seder Meal
This was at the 'Seder' meal, where Pastor David explained the types of food served at the Passover, the seating arrangements that were quite strict and would have been used by Jesus and his disciples at 'The Last Supper'. The various foods were explained and then we got to have our own 'Passover meal'.
This was a most enjoyable and informative evening.
Easter Celebrations
The Children had fun this Day. First there was a 'scavenger hunt' where clues to the Easter story were hidden around our field and a questionnaire was filled in by finding the clues. Then we had our usual Easter Egg hunt, and afterwards the children got to open the 'plastic' eggs to find the chocolate inside. They went home with lots of chocolate!!!
Craft workshop
The ladies from the Chapel got together and took part in Flower making. As you can see from these photos their results were very colourful. Those flowers were later used in a service to decorate The Cross as you can see below
Mothers Day Sunday
What a lovely service we had in the chapel on Mothers day. It took the form of a Café style service with Hot drinks a croissants, pan chocolate and pancakes available throughout. Pastor David's sermon was based around the wonder of creation and the congregation had various activities that they could take part in. At the end of the service all the ladies received a gift of daffodils.
Church "Away Day"
28 of our Carleton Rode Congregation went to Wymondham Baptist Church for an 'Away Day'. We had some interesting, challenging and enjoyable teaching from our guest speaker, Graeme Dodds, who leads a Baptist Church in Leeds. We were very well catered for and welcomed by the Wymondham Pastor and his wife who also provided the buffet style lunch .Graeme was also the guest speaker the next morning at our Carleton Rode Church. He is a personal friend of our Pastor David and we always look forward to his visits
Valentines Afternoon tea.
This event was held over three sessions in the afternoon and was sold out. It was greatly enjoyed by all who attended. Many thanks go to those who organised the event, produced the food and who helped on the day, to make this such a special occasion.
Community meal
This Community meal was held in the chapel on 14th December when a traditional roast dinner was served with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding for dessert.
There was a good turn out as you can see from the picture below, and afterwards there were Christmas Carols sung by everyone. We were pleased that Alan Ludkin played his accordion, ably accompanied, as always, by his wife Gwenda. We must just thank all the Chapel members who helped cook and serve and wash up afterwards, Of course without you this event would not happen. God Bless you.
For more information about our regular Community Meals please click here
Little Loft Baby and Toddler group.
Our Baby and Toddler group started in April 2022 and is lead by Mandy Shaw. The group is gaining in popularity with parents who are bringing their young children and babies to the chapel and spending time with them and other parents in a safe environment where age appropriate play equipment is provided.
These pictures show a typical layout and provision at one of our sessions. On this occasion it included lots of play items and a 'stable' area complete with crib and baby Jesus.
To go to the Little Loft page click here
Wreath Making.
On an evening in December several ladies gathered for a Christmas wreath making session.
It was a very enjoyable evening, helped along, no doubt, by the lovely warming Mulled wine.
Sponsored Christmas tree
Two of our members, decorating a Christmas Tree at Carleton Rode Anglican Church as part of their sponsored Christmas Tree festival.
Advent Season!
Each Advent season, come and check out our Coffee Shop windows at the Chapel. Each day will show a Poster on the Christmas theme advancing to that special day when we will all celebrate the birth of our Saviour.
"Good News Tuesday" - A Summer holiday adventure!
This Summer holiday event was hosted at the Chapel by a brilliant team of volunteers
Children age 6 years to 12 years, enjoyed games, crafts and Christian teaching.
The Loft Youth Club summer BBQ
What fun we had at the Loft evening BBQ. 50 people, adults and children, came along to this event on the Chapel field. It was a lovely evening, a time to chat and have fun with burgers and hot dogs included.
Open Air Services
What a lovely service we had this day on the field behind the chapel.
The weather stayed dry and the sun shone even though the wind was a little chilly.
And after the service we all enjoyed a picnic lunch and a good natter.
Jubilee celebrations 2022
The church joined in with the village celebrations, held on the playing field at Bunwell on Sunday 5th June and what a wonderful day it was. The Lord certainly looked after us, because the weather forecast leading up to the event was dire, to say the least, yellow warnings of heavy rain and thunder storms. But on the day, though cloudy and slightly damp, it was essentially dry. The villages turned out in good numbers and our church had a plant stall with donations going to the Ukraine appeal. Our music group performed, after the Sunday service, in the Marquee and The Loft youth Club had a Marquee with various games and a Coconut shy. Monies raised here will go to equipment etc for the benefit of the youth club children
.
The Easter Story
This Tableau, created in our Chapel, reminded us of the Good News that Easter brings. Jesus was raised from the dead, after three days, and now sits at the right hand of God, having defeated death. And anyone who believes in him, will too have eternal life, HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!
If you want to know why we Christians get so excited by Easter, read about what happened by clicking here
And if this wasn't enough!!
On Easter Sunday we had Three Baptisms.!!!!!
Praise the Lord!
Ground works day
Our grounds around the Chapel are extensive and we rely on volunteers from our congregation, to keep it in order. But its a tough job and every now and again needs a special push. So it was decided to have a full days gardening. We had many willing helpers, who all worked tirelessly. Strimmers, chain saws, pruning saws etc were hard at work and a big bonfire was essential to burn the mountain of prunings.
The Cafe, being open, and despite being very busy themselves also managed to provided the bacon and sausage rolls and hot drinks to the workers which was much appreciated.
Harvest festival flowers
The Chapel looked particularly lovely and was full of beautiful displays. Rosemary and her helpers did a magnificent job thanks to the donation of flowers from local gardens. See some of their work below:
Harvest BBQ
What a lovely afternoon was had by over 60 adults and children who came to the Chapel field. Great fun was had completing the treasure hunt, and there were various games to keep the children entertained including hard fought tug of war trials .We were blessed with warm sunny weather and the BBQ was very popular as were all the delicious cakes.
Waffle Camp (2021)
'The Waffle', was the name of the young persons group at Church. It has ran for some months and the breath and scope of the activities was growing. For a bit of fun, the jolly band of volunteers organised a camp on the chapel field. It began at 1.30pm Saturday afternoon with the pitching of tents. Then there were team games, afternoon tea, craft and more games. A camp fire was lit before camp dinner and later there was a camp fire bible chat, worship and discussion time, before s'mores and toasted marshmallows and Pastor David paid a visit. They closed the evening with hot chocolate as the sun went down. Sunday morning breakfast was Waffles, of course, and then the young persons attended the church service.
The weather was challenging at times with a monsoon like downpour on Saturday afternoon, but it did nothing to dampen spirits and did not stop the fun.
(Nov 2023 - Update, sadly this group is no longer running, however, if you feel you can help, please contact us)
Induction Service 26th June 2021
What a wonderful afternoon it was on Saturday, when at 2pm our Pastor, Revd. David Humphries was officially 'inducted' into his new position as the Minister of our church at Carleton Rode. The chapel was full to capacity, though this was severely curtailed due to Covid restrictions. We at the chapel were pleased to welcome friends of David and his wife Sue, who had come to be part of the service and there were also local friends of the chapel, members of the Anglican community as well as our congregation.
The service was presided over by Revd. Neil Walker, who for the last 3 years of 'interregnum', has been our 'moderator'.
We were pleased to welcome our Regional Minister, Revd. Beth Powney who led David in the 'Confessing of Faith' and 'Promises of Faithfulness'. Followed by the Deacons of the Church and then the whole church similarly making their promises to support David and the Church. Following this, Revd. Dr. Sally Nelson led the assembly in prayer, before Revd. Graeme Dodds gave the sermon.
We were blessed with music and singing from our worship group throughout the service and though covid rules forbid singing from the congregation, we did stand, clap and make our worship known to God.
After the service, refreshments were served outside, on the patio and the field, where we were blessed with sunshine and warm weather and had time to chat and relax and enjoy time together (socially distanced where appropriate, of course!)
So now, a new chapter in the 200 year old story of Carleton Rode Baptist Church, begins. David and Sue, having moved from Leeds, need time to settle in their new home at the Manse in Bunwell. They are looking forward to meeting and getting to know, the church family, the local inhabitants, exploring the area locally and the wider Norfolk. We wish them well, give them our wholehearted support and prayers and look forward to the future together.
Easter celebrations
From Friday 26th March our thoughts turn to the Easter Story which is so significant to Christians. Christ was to complete the task assigned to him by God by becoming the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Remember His last words on the cross " It is Finished".
We have created a tableau outside the Church, which depicts the story, from the Cross, to the Tomb, to the Resurrection. We hope all that pass will look on this and give a moments reflection on the real meaning of Easter. To read a bit more on the Easter story, click here
Easter Sunday
We had an Easter Celebration on the field at the chapel on Sunday morning. All were welcome to come to this, and either remain in cars as we did for our carol service, some brought their own garden chairs to sit outside, suitably distanced! We are delighted that our regional minister, Beth Powney, was the speaker at this service. It was good to rejoice together again in our living Lord Jesus.
Lunch Box Project 2021
The Chapel felt compelled during this February school half term to do something practical to show our love, concern and support for the community around our us. Particularly, but not exclusively for hard pressed parents and their children.
Well!! what a wonderful, God Blessed, two days we had. We thought and planned for about 200 lunches over the two days.
Our hopes were exceeded when we handed out 260 lunch packs, together with 50 wellness packs to hard pressed mums. What a wonderful God we have. The Chapel were so pleased to be able to show Gods Love in word and Deed.
Private Prayer
God,
You are good, and Your steadfast love endures forever!
Even in the hardest
seasons, I always have a reason to worship You.
Thank You for giving me victory and abundant life in Jesus Christ!
Although I don’t deserve it, You shower me with unconditional love and forgiveness.
And so no matter what the future may hold, I will shout for joy because You are with me. You comfort me and bless me in the presence of my enemies. Nothing compares to You and no weapon can stand against You.
In all things, I am more than a conqueror through You!
Be glorified through me, God. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart bless Your name.
I want my life to bring You praise.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.