The Ministries at St. Michael's

The alpha course at St. Michaels, Norton.

The Alpha course consists of a series of talks addressing key issues relating to the Christian faith.

Click on the logo to go to the Alpha website.

Talk titles
Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?
Who Is Jesus?
Why Did Jesus Die?
How Can I Be Sure of My Faith?
Why and How Should I Read the Bible?
Why and How Do I Pray?
How Does God Guide Us?
Who Is the Holy Spirit?
What Does the Holy Spirit Do?
How Can I Be Filled With the Spirit?
How Can I Resist Evil?
Why and How Should We Tell Others?
Does God Heal Today?
What About the Church?
How Can I Make the Most of the Rest of My Life?

We will be running an Alpha course from September 2006. Further details soon.

Pre-school

St. Michael’s Christian Pre-school was established in 1993. We seek to follow the Lord’s will in everything we do.

Our aim is to provide a loving, Christian environment in which we can provide high quality care and education.

We admit children between the ages of 2 ½ and 5 years from all cultures and beliefs. We open five mornings per week term time from 9.15 a.m. – 12 noon. The cost is £4 per session for those children not claiming Nursery Education Grants.

God has blessed us greatly since our last update. We have the same team working together. Each one of us has continued to develop professionally by attending courses or gaining further qualifications. God has blessed each one of us and continues to meet our individual needs.

Our new classroom was finally completed in March. It has been an exhausting time for many of us. The classroom was formally opened by the Rt Rev Dr Peter Selby, Bishop of Worcester at our first Open Day this Easter. It was an emotional moment as God’s presence was very evident. It is a wonderful environment to work in and the children seem to be getting an awful lot from it.

Easter was a busy time as we also received the results of our first combined Ofsted inspection. The report was better than we dared hope for. Our staff give so much of themselves in order to ensure the children get the best possible provision. God has honoured these efforts. We gained the highest rating available, not only for our care, but in all six areas of the curriculum.
Inspectors praised our management team and staff. They noted our close relationships with families and how we make each child feel valued as an individual. Our teaching and planning was also praised in the report. To see the full report go to www.ofsted.gov.uk

As ever, we can achieve nothing in our own strength. We look to God for guidance and we receive so much from Him and give the glory for all that has been achieved to the Lord. Your prayers in the following areas would be appreciated:

Our Staff

That God will provide for all their needs and anoint them afresh for the ministry they have been called to. Pray that as they juggle family, work and home, they will find time to rest in the presence of God.

Our Pre-school

Pray that we will continue to develop our facilities, that God’s vision will be followed and finances released to enable us to complete the resourcing of our classroom and to develop our garden area.

Our children

Pray that the seeds sown during their time with us will bear fruit. Also that their families will see and feel the touch of our Lord’s Love on themselves and their children’s lives.

The Well

The Well provides breakfast, lunches and much more. The well is situated in the room next door to the church and is open 9:00 - 2:00pm Monday - Friday.

Through the ministry of hospitality, we provide a listening ear, fellowship, counseling - with prayer where desired and appropriate.
The Well also provides the following:

Fellowship

Refreshments (from £1.40)

Books/ cards

IT courses for beginners FREE (run by Stourbridge College)

Art course FREE (run by Stourbridge College)

Toys and books for young children to play with

A friendly place for you to meet and chat

Pool table for older children in the school holidays

Linda, Chris and Sue share the responsibilities of the overall running with a dedicated team of volunteers.

Why not pop in and see us? A friendly welcome awaits you.

Youth Ministry @ St. Michael’s

Energize Youth Group

Energize is a youth group for 11-14s. It runs on Friday nights during term time, 7.30-9.00. Subs are 50p and the evening includes small group sessions, indoor football/unihoc, table tennis, football table, games console and a chance to just chill out on a Friday night with your mates.

Mick’s Juice Bar

Mick’s is open once a month and is a place to chill for 14-18s on a Saturday night. It is open from 8.00pm till 10.00pm. This is a new thing so why not come along and be part of it from the beginning. We have had a couple of “pub Quizzes” so far, and we hope to get local Christian bands in the future. Come along and sample our famous (in Norton!) chip butties. Next open night – 11th June

Cell Group

For those who are interested in finding out more about what it is to live as a Christian, we have a group on Thursday nights, 7.30-9.00pm in the church buildings.

The Sunday Session

The Sunday Session meets on, err, Sundays, during part of the 10.00am service. We don’t meet on the third Sunday of the month because it’s family service and we are all in the service together. Every other week we meet to look at the same topic as the adults are looking at in the sermon. Everybody age 11-14 is welcome, whatever stage your faith is at.