Healing as a Healthy Part of Witnessing and Evangelism | The Healing Room #3 | Richard & Eileen What would it look like to make Jesus known in our everyday life? When we think about sharing our faith, we often think about telling people about God. And it is! But […]
Edition #40 | November 2026
“After the Rain”
Welcome to our newsletter! Here you’ll find news from across our church community, along with some encouragement and details of what’s coming up. We’ll keep this page updated throughout the month, so do check back e.g. for any new notices you hear about on a Sunday. Well done to Polly for winning this month’s photo challenge. Scroll through above to see all the entries
Good News!
It’s encouraging to see how God is using the everyday life of our church to bring His Kingdom into our communities. Sometimes it’s through the simplest things – a conversation, a friendship or finding a place to belong.
At our Book Exchange, one volunteer who had been feeling quite isolated recently asked for prayer. Since then, she’s built a friendship with another lady who comes along, and they’ve started spending time together outside of Book Exchange too. What a lovely reminder that creating spaces for people to connect can lead to friendships that extend well beyond our ministries.
We’ve also had another lady who has gradually got to know us over the past few years. Initially quite shy and reserved, she’s grown in confidence and is now volunteering at our Thursday Re:Store food service. It’s wonderful to see her moving from simply coming along to becoming part of the team and helping others.
These might seem like small things, but they’re exactly the kind of things that matter. People finding connection, growing in confidence, discovering belonging and becoming part of something bigger. This is what it looks like to see our communities touched and transformed by the love of God!
Food for Thought
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – What Are You Waiting For This Christmas?
David’s article on last month’s Food for Thought:
Notices
Praise & Prayer Evening for the Besom, Wednesday 18th November, 7.30pm, The Message, Tadcaster Way, Woodseats S8 0RF. Come and celebrate all that the Besom is, hear inspiring stories of God at work, give thanks and pray for the future.
- People’s Emergency Briefing Film – ‘An eye-opening film featuring nine leading UK scientists and experts updating us on the latest climate and nature crisis and its impacts on everyday life including extreme weather, food security, health, cost of living, and national security. Followed by free light refreshments, information on local groups, resources and activities that can help and discussion of what we can do together in Dronfield to make a difference.’ On Thursday 19th November, 7.45pm at Gosforth Lodge in Cliffe Park (book here: https://tiny.cc/DronPEB2 ).
- Open Space – Gordon and Luke would love to invite you to Open Space, a monthly evening of worship and prayer, the Wednesday following a Sanctuary. Inspired by Housefires’ song ‘Open Space’, we want to create space to encounter God, draw near to Him, and give Him room to move in our lives. Our desire is to come together with open hearts, listen to His voice, and respond to wherever He leads us, without rushing or distraction. Open Space will include prayer stations following on from Sanctuary’s theme, opportunities for prophetic drawing, time to sing together, and space to share what we feel God may be saying or showing us. Everyone is welcome to come along. Our next gathering will be on Wednesday 25th November, 7:30–9pm at the Lighthouse. We’d love for you to join us!
- Could you be part of something new in Eckington? – We’ve been really encouraged by the growth we’ve seen in Eckington recently, especially with lots of new families becoming part of our congregation. As we look to the year ahead, we want to build a team of people who love Eckington, love our congregation and want to see Jesus made known in our community. The team will meet once a month to pray, seek God’s heart for Eckington and explore together how we can best see our community touched and transformed by the love of God. This isn’t about having all the answers or coming up with lots of new programmes. It’s about listening to God, dreaming together and asking: “What is God already doing in Eckington, and how can we join in?”. We’ll be putting the team together in the new year. If you think this is something you’d love to be involved in, get in touch with the Core Team via our contact us form. We’d love to have a chat and see if it’s a good fit for you.
Photo Challenge
November’s Theme:
“Through the Mist” – Capture the beauty of a misty November morning or evening.
Theologians in the past have referred to the natural world as “God’s second book”. Like the Bible, it reveals something about God in a way nothing else does! Each month, we would like to encourage you to get out into God’s amazing creation and take some photos of what you see! Get involved this month…
Submit your best photo to Emma on WhatsApp before 23/11/26. There will be a small prize involving a bean from South America for the photo our independent judge decides most captures this month’s theme! Happy snapping!
Podcast Recommendation
Verse of the Month
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5–6
Prayer
Pray for those in our communities who feel lost, uncertain. or in darkness, that they would encounter the hope and light of Jesus.
Charlie & Carla’s Corner
An every other Friday in the life of a Young Person in church (part 1)
Best listened to here:
You get back home from a long day at school, and get a message from your pal Carla, saying
“You coming to baking today?”
Your face lights up in anticipation, “Yep!! See you there!! ☺️”
“Okay” she replies, “See you!!”
After a couple of hours of pure relaxation, your mum calls you for tea so you eat and get ready to go out. It takes ten minutes of solid speed walking up the hill, in the rain, until you finally reach the centre of civilization. You wait for one hundred and twenty seconds in pure torrential rain, until Carla suddenly arrives drenched in her big, puffy jacket, swiftly followed by a lively Charlie in her iconic grey denim jeans. “Hey guys!” You call to them excitedly.
“Heyyy!” Says Carla.
“Hiii!” Says Charlie.
“Where are they? Not very scholarly is it?” laughs Charlie.
All of a sudden a bright light streams across the pavement. They had arrived..
Sunday Gatherings
Here’s a reminder of what’s happening across our Sunday gatherings this month (starting at 10.30am unless otherwise stated):
- 1st November — Celebration (Eckington)
- 8th November — Healing Room (Dronfield) / Family Breakfast (Eckington, 9.30am)
- 15th November — Equipping (Dronfield & Eckington)
- 22nd November — Sanctuary (Dronfield) – remember the clocks change on this day!!
- 29th November – No gathering
See the calendar for more details.
Recent Midweek Musings
Read ‘All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd […]
Autumn doesn’t arrive all at once. There is no single morning when we all wake up and suddenly discover that summer has ended. Rather, the light changes, the mornings become cooler, the leaves begin to turn, and gradually we realise that a new season is upon us. Perhaps your transformation […]
‘But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death’. – Ephesians 2.13 The dynamic of the verse describes how we have been moved by an external force. The result is simple and clear. God wants us to be certain we are his. […]
Our Mission Charities
Every month, as a church, we give to the following charities (click on the name to visit their sites):
Preschool Project in Sachibondu
Betel (specifically the Nottingham house)
Get Involved
There are lots of ways to get involved at the Oaks, whether that’s helping at an event, serving on a Sunday, or simply getting to know people in our community. If you’d like to find out more about serving or volunteering, please get in touch.
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