Groups

Group

Activities

Childrens & Youth

St Helen’s has a thriving youth group meeting on Wednesday evenings. Home based activities are mixed with evenings out for ten pin bowling, adventure activities and many other excitements. Young people play a very full role in the church, assisting with the creche and Sunday School and writing and directing seasonal dramas as well as taking part in the Music Group.

Music

St Helens has an wide music policy, drawing together the best of the traditional, with modern worship songs and choruses as well as Taize and Iona Music. We have a regular music group comprising some fifteen instrumentalists and five singers. The instruments are mainly accoustic, and we take full advantage of our pipe organ which is tuned to concert pitch. In addition we regularly perform longer and more demanding musical programmes. Singers and musicians of all ages are always welcome to apply to join us. The Church is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music, and we are using the RSCM training Scheme “Voice for Life”. An important part of our vision is the ability to support worship in other churches by travelling outside the parish. We would love to visit your church for a joint workshop; to advise and encourage an existing or new music group or to support worship for an occasional special service. Please contact Rev’d Dave Pole if you would like to arrange an event.

Alpha Course

St Helen’s Church is committed to the Alpha Initiative and we run courses throughout the year with our Methodist neighbours. Courses alternate between the two churches. For further details contact Rev’d Dave Pole at St Helen’s Church, or Rev’d George Nuttall (0117 373 1561). For more information about the Alpha Course click on the link which you can find on our links page.

Home Groups

The Alpha Course feeds into our home group initiative. Over the coming years we intend to invest a great deal of time and energy into home groups. At present a “Lent Plus” group meets on the first Monday of each month at 9.45am (Contact Mary Tucker for details). The first post-Alpha group is well established and a second will begin after Christmas. Home Groups will be considering how we can become a missionary congregation, using an outline taught by Bishop Mike at our recent weekend at Lindors. Each topic will be introduced through teaching at the “First Sunday” service. Teaching materials and resources will be available to Home Group Leaders at that service, and the following week at 6.00pm we shall use them on Sunday evening at 6.00pm. It’s an ideal way to “taste and see” before you commit to a home group. All the materials and resources will be available from the website, and there will be a forum dedicated to sharing ideas and insights among leaders and members – also on the website.

Bellringers

Bellringers meet for practice every Tuesday evening between 8.00 and 9.00pm and ring for family services and many weddings. Tower Captain Paul Grainger-Allen is always happy to welcome returning ringers or to teach newcomers. New members and visiting ringers are always welcome. For further details or to book a visit please telephone Tower Secretary Glenys Cowie on 01454-883548. For details of bellringing in the local area see the Bristol and District link on our links page

Mothers’ Union

Meets at St Helen’s Church on the second Monday afternoon of each month at 2.15pm, and enjoys a wide range of visiting speakers. Please contact Rosemary Manley for further details.

Launch Pad

A newly launched Sunday School at St Helen’s Church for children aged 3-11 years, offering songs, Bible stories, games and crafts. The meetings take place at Alveston Youth Centre at 10.00am and the children will join parents and carers in church later. Launch Pad will have a regular monthly pattern, meeting on the first and second Sundays, and joining thre congregation for the Family Service on the third Sunday, leaving the fourth and fifth Sundays free. For more details please ring Alison Rees on 850234, or Adele Moore on 411646.