'The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord' - Lk 2:10

Regular concerts and events take place at St.Michael's throughout the year. These are all of a high standard and are well worth coming to. Here are pictures of recent concerts with the Eroica Camerata Orchestra and the Darby Singers.

Forthcoming Concerts and Events at St.Michael's Church are as follows:

Saturday 10th December 2011 at 7.30pm Medieval Christmas Concert with John Moore Quire

Saturday 28th January 2012 10.00 - 4.30pm Yoga Exercise Day at St.Michael's Church

Thursday to Saturday 9 - 11th February 2012 7.30pm Pantomime

Saturday 18th February 2012 7.30pm Combined Hadley Orpheus and Much Wenlock Male Voice Choir Concert

Saturday 24th March at 7.00pm The Vigil with Broseley Drama Group

Friday 20th April 2012 at 7.00pm Talent Show at The Anstice

Sunday 13th May at 3.00 pm Hadley Male Voice Choir and Darby Singers

Saturday 23rd June at 7.30pm Concert with the Telford Orchestra

Sunday 17^th June /15^th July  /19^th August  at 3.00pm Strawberry Cream Teas with live music - £2.50

Friday 7th December 2012 at 6.00pm Madeley Townswomen's Guild Carol Service

Bishop Alistair writes about this Lent Course for 2011:

"What do we Christians mean when we talk about or wish to engage in mission. “What is mission?” “Whose mission is it?” “Why is it important?” are some of the questions this course seeks to address. The course uses the lent lectionary gospel readings for Sundays and seeks to apply them through the lenses of the 5 Marks of Mission. What we hope you will discover is that all five aspects of mission are vital. It is not a question of pick your favourites but of seeing how each matters and need to be given its proper place. Have a good Lent.”

In the Parish of Madeley, Sutton Hill and Woodside will be making use of these resources during Lent - from Ash Wednesday 9 March until Palm Sunday - as we seek to explore our parish vision and discover God's will and purposes. On Sundays at Morning Worship, these will be the topics for the service with sermons and time for discussion on the theme of the day. Weekdays we are encouraging all church members to join a home group - arranged during daytime and evenings on different days of the week in people's homes.

Please think about offering your home to host a group, and please join a group for the period of Lent. Details of the five weeks are below - you can find all the details of each week in full from the Diocesan Website.

Week 1 - Preparing for Mission
Prepare, Go and Tell
To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom ("TELL")

Week 2 - Growing Disciples
Teach, Baptise and Nurture
To teach, baptise and nurture new believers ("TEACH")

Week 3 - Caring for Peoples' Needs
Human Need and Loving Kindness
To respond to human need by loving service. ("TEND")

Week 4 - Challenging what is Unjust
Seeing and Perceiving
To seek to transform unjust structures in society ("TRANSFORM")

Week 5 - Sustaining and Safeguarding Life
Chaos, Creation and Resurrection
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth. ("TREASURE")

Our thanks to Brian Fisher Photography for these images - and to architects Arrol and Snell, and building contractors EJ&JG Groom for their work in the magnificent reordering of St.Michael's Church.

A programme of events is planned for an open weekend on 16-17 May. Watch out for further details, or consult the online diary.

Initially this just contains the existing information that we had, but repacked in a new format, and a lot still needs to be worked out, for example:

• Tidying up and updating the existing content
• Designing a new look and feel for the site
• Expanding the range of content available via the site
• Looking into ways that more interactive content can be introduced
• Praying for God's guidance about which direction to take, and that the right range of people will be made available to continue this work

If you would like to be a part of this, or just to contribute information about work you are involved with in the church, please contact us or discuss with a member of your church's DCC.