PORTSWOOD CHURCH BLOG

Here we’ll be sharing information, comments and thoughts giving a window into what’s happening and what matters to us within our community. It will also be a place for people in our Church to share their stories of life, faith, and experience…

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Learning to love - Easter 2023
Celebrate Easter with usat Portswood Church
Wednesday 29th March 2023
'Isn't that a Catholic thing?'
Growing up in a small Brethren church, Lent wasn’t something I was really aware of. If anything, I thought lent was secular. People giving up chocolate so...
Wednesday 8th February 2023
Letting your light rise in the darkness?
What does God have to say about how we care for the poor? Well, quite a lot actually! Many will be familiar with these verses: “And if you spend yours...
Thursday 28th July 2022
Courage Encouraged
Having just celebrated the Queen's platinum Jubilee it seems appropriate to spend a few weeks looking at the story of another queen, one who experienced a...
Friday 10th June 2022
The big questions...
Jesus is the King! But if he is truly the king when will he exercise his kingly rule? Why do we see so much death and suffering if he is the exalted one...
Friday 29th April 2022
Jesus is the King
This easter at Portswood church
Friday 8th April 2022
New series: What is church?
Before moving to France, I didn’t know much at all about Strasbourg, the city where we lived for over 14 years.
Thursday 2nd September 2021
So what is pastoral care anyway?
We strive to build up the fellowship, caring for one another in our day to day lives, offering support, prayer, guidance as well as practical help where ne...
Monday 17th May 2021
Portswood Pod is back!
The core of what makes Pod special remains the same, an inviting, safe and non judgmental space where parents and carers can share and support each other.
Friday 7th May 2021
Destination K.O.H
Our next teaching series takes us into the book of Hebrews. The writer reminds them of the good news of Jesus and his victory over all obstacles and diffic...
Monday 29th March 2021
EASTER and BEYOND.....
We’ll come together to bear witness to Jesus’ death and look at the truth, reality and power of the resurrection.
Friday 19th March 2021
Worship Drop In is relaunching online in March 2021!
Portswood Church has always been passionate about worship and finding space to engage with God so we have missed our monthly gatherings at Worship Drop In
Monday 15th March 2021
Update on our ICU gift baskets appeal
We smashed our target and managed to raise £1,350 (we had been aiming for £1,000) enabling us to make 201 gift baskets with some left over!
Friday 12th March 2021
We are launching the use of the My Church suite app at Portswood Church!
Why are we making the change? On 25th May 2018, new data protection laws were introduced which put greater requirements on churches to manage, protect a...
Friday 5th March 2021
Showing love and appreciation to our hard working ICU doctors and nurses in Southampton
Weʼre raising £1000 to provide a gift of hand cream and send messages of support and appreciation to our hard working nurses and doctors in Southampton ICU...
Wednesday 3rd February 2021
Unleashed! Words, works and wonders series
News series: Unleashed! Words, works and wonders - starts this Sunday 31st January 2021
Friday 29th January 2021
Coronavirus - Our Response
We're no longer meeting in our building but we're still together as "church" and also seeking to serve the wider community.
Friday 3rd April 2020
Coronavirus: Our Response
We're no longer meeting in our building but we're still together as "church" and also seeking to serve the wider community.
Friday 20th March 2020
Southampton Churches Winter Shelter
We’ve been challenged by the book of James in the last few weeks. James won’t let us just ‘believe’ the right things, but insists that actions
Wednesday 20th November 2019
James. Now to live the life
The book we’re learning from this autumn term is James. Written by James, Jesus’ half-brother, it’s a small letter found in very last pages of the Bible
Tuesday 22nd October 2019
Thy Kingdom Come!
We're praying that the Spirit would inspire and equip us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with our friends and families, our communities and networks...
Saturday 25th May 2019
A miracle in slow motion
Quietly, all over the country, Christians are doing amazing things because Jesus has given them a heart to get alongside people in need and help them
Friday 17th May 2019
Connecting with Easter
Next weekend is Easter! On the Sundays around Easter we’re taking time to look in a bit more depth at what Jesus’ death on the cross means to us.
Monday 15th April 2019
Advent Reflections 2018
‘From Heaven you Came…’ Readings, reflections and prayers for Advent. People talk about ‘the Christmas rush’ and they’re not wrong.
Thursday 29th November 2018
Simply Following Jesus
I wonder if we make the whole business of being Christians – living with Him, and for Him – just a little bit complicated?
Sunday 16th September 2018
Generosity and God
We planned it as the holiday of a lifetime – well, 25 years of marriage. It was good too. The warm sun, the Med visible from the room with a
Saturday 21st April 2018
Skipper or buoy?
I'm sitting looking out at a boat, it is a beautiful little sailing boat, white, with a raised cabin with three fine portholes.
Monday 15th January 2018
Living in the light of Christmas
Readings, Reflections and prayers through Advent. People talk about ‘the Christmas rush’ and they’re not wrong. But what if we were able to take time
Thursday 30th November 2017
Apprenticed to Jesus
“So what do you do with the rest of your time?” I love getting asked this because it means I get to talk about what I’m part of here, at Portswood Church
Thursday 27th July 2017
A God who crosses borders
Since I was accepted as a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators, some people have asked me how I became interested in “cross-cultural mission”
Saturday 15th July 2017
Gideons
Gideons are probably best known for distributing Scriptures in what the founders called the “The traffic lanes of life” ie. hotels, hospitals,...
Tuesday 25th April 2017
The Hidden World
Some scientists have theorised about the existence of universes parallel to ours and have called them ‘multiverses’.
Friday 24th March 2017
The prayer meeting battle
If you think about it, prayer is amazing: The thought we can be intimate with the almighty God, creator and sustainer of everything blows my mind.
Tuesday 28th February 2017
The joy of the workplace
Now anyone reading the title for this may be excused for thinking it was a sarcastic title, as let’s face it, not many people were counting down
Wednesday 15th February 2017
Church Family Party, 18th March
Do you ever wish that there was more time to just be with each other without rushing away to the next thing?
Thursday 9th February 2017
John talk series
During the coming weeks, we will complete the second third of John’s gospel, returning later to finish off in 2018.
Saturday 4th February 2017
January Reflections
Well it really felt like 2016 just came and went, didn’t it? Before we knew it the kids were doing the nativity, the carols were going, the Christmas
Thursday 12th January 2017
January’s Bible teaching - Hope
No matter how we feel about this or any other year, as Christians we’re able to be people of hope, and that is certainly something that’s needed as we go
Wednesday 11th January 2017
A few thoughts on Advent
Advent has begun... kids (and some big kids!) will be opening their Advent calendars each morning and the Christmas Countdowns started in the shops weeks a...
Friday 2nd December 2016
24/7 Week of Prayer
If you happened to wander down the High Street at 3pm one night last week, you may have been surprised to see a light on in Portswood Church.
Wednesday 16th November 2016
Iris' story
I was brought up in an orphanage. My mother went off when I was 2 years old. My grandmother looked after my sister and an aunty looked after my brother
Thursday 13th October 2016
220 coming to faith by 2020?
You may not know it, but this is one of Portswood Church’s strategic goals for the next few years. Some have reacted against this, saying we’re playing a
Wednesday 5th October 2016
Southampton City Mission
Just over four years ago I was invited to join the Southampton City Mission board of trustees. I accepted the invitation and have had the great privilege
Thursday 15th September 2016
Portswood Prayer Team
Portswood Prayer Team is a joint venture of churches in Portswood/Highfield. Two Saturday afternoons a month, a handful of people meet at Portswood Church
Thursday 1st September 2016
Meg Lapworth – 'A very rich life'
Recently Maureen, my wife suggested, ‘Why don’t you write an article about Meg Lapworth especially as she will be leaving us soon to go and stay with some
Friday 26th August 2016
Autumn talk series, Genesis, Who do you think you are?
Our autumn teaching series takes us back into the book of Genesis. In this second section, we’ll journey with a grown up Isaac, through the life stages
Friday 19th August 2016
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Francis Chan takes a refreshing and challenging look at what it means to live as a Christian in our culture today by taking a fresh look at the Gospels
Wednesday 27th July 2016
Prayer Focus - Reading List
In the autumn we'll be running another 24x7 prayer room at Portswood Church. Between now and then we want to explore ways of helping one another to deepen
Friday 15th July 2016
A summer prayer adventure ...
Some prayer book ideas for younger people
Friday 15th July 2016
Faith, Church and the Twenty-Somethings
Working out our faith in a messy decade. It’s a strange feeling that ten years ago I was an 18 year old about to start university. Student life was great,
Wednesday 6th July 2016
Our Queen's Birthday Celebrations
Last weekend communities all around the country came together in celebration of the Queen’s birthday, we thought that a church fun day would be a great way
Thursday 23rd June 2016
The Queen’s 90th Birthday
To mark the occasion, of the Queen’s 90th birthday, Portswood Church will also be holding a ‘Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebration Community Day’
Thursday 19th May 2016
Formation School
Equipping and envisioning disciples of Jesus who then go on to to equip and envision other disciples themselves
Friday 6th May 2016
Open door
‘Where everyone knows your name’ - if you want them to. Imagine what it would be like if Portswood Church could create a ‘safe space’
Tuesday 12th April 2016
Walking the Streets
I found myself walking the streets last Christmas. I took the decision to use some time I had free to deliver flyers.
Sunday 6th March 2016
The Reason Why
It is commonly read or heard that the Christian faith is a ‘shot in the dark’, or believing without any evidence’ or we sometimes
Thursday 25th February 2016
Lent 2016
The 10th February marks the beginning of Lent which traditionally is a time of detoxing the body and soul in order to fully appreciate the impact of Easter
Tuesday 2nd February 2016
The Parenting Course
We ran two successful parenting courses last term using Nicky and Sila Lee’s material ‘The Parenting Children Course’.
Thursday 14th January 2016
Christmas at Portswood
It’s not long 'til Christmas and there’s loads going on at Portswood Church. We’re also running a social campaign called ‘What makes me feel Christmassy’
Thursday 3rd December 2015
A Big Family Get Together
In some regards a church away day is like a huge family get together.
Tuesday 17th November 2015
The Parenting Course
We really enjoyed being on the ‘The parenting children course’ that was recently run at Portswood Church. The course ran over five weeks
Thursday 12th November 2015
Book groups
A few weeks ago, a group of young women in the church gathered around a dining room table, cake and coffee at the ready, each with the same book in hand
Friday 6th November 2015
The English Course
Imagine coming to live in a country where you are unable to speak the language – or you thought you could until you arrived!
Thursday 29th October 2015
What’s the Point?
There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke. What is there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?
Thursday 15th October 2015
The Lounge
We’re very excited to be starting The Lounge, the new fortnightly Sunday evening event for young adults and students
Thursday 1st October 2015
Belief
Do you have that one friend your mind keeps flashing back to? Someone perhaps you weren’t that close to but still see as a friend? I do.
Thursday 24th September 2015
Welcome back students!
September seems to roll along so quickly, and with it the excitement for us as a church of our students returning to us after the long summer break.
Thursday 17th September 2015
Portswood Pod. Portswood Church Toddler Group
So what is the pod? The pod is the new name for our toddler group. We meet every Tuesday morning in term time.
Thursday 3rd September 2015
Naomi's week on camp
Earlier this summer I spent a week sleeping in a tent, surrounded by children aged 9-12. Why on earth did I do such a crazy thing?
Thursday 27th August 2015
Building for the future
Our vision for the re-development of the building has always had at its heart a desire to enable us to serve better the wider community
Thursday 20th August 2015
Befriending Aliens!
Befriending aliens - no, not little green men, but strangers and foreigners who are living among us. Imagine yourself living in a strange foreign land
Wednesday 5th August 2015
Highlights from Indonesia
The Indonesia team have been back for a while now, back to reality in its varying forms. So, what exactly did we do there?
Wednesday 29th July 2015
Portswood Celebrated
On Saturday, Portswood Church opened its doors for our first "Celebrate" community day. The atmosphere around the church really captured the theme
Thursday 23rd July 2015
4 years studying in Southampton - Hugo and Sarah
Hugo and Sarah's story, two of our students who met at University. Read how God looked after them through the ups and downs.
Wednesday 8th July 2015
Belonging
You may remember that back in February, Portswood Church launched a survey about 'Belonging'.
Friday 12th June 2015
Trip to Indonesia
17,000 islands, 3,200 miles east to west, 250 million people, with a Muslim majority of around 80%: that's Indonesia, where a team from church are heading
Sunday 10th May 2015
How to pray for the new government
Today we got the election result and looked at the Proverbs 29:1-14, set months ago for this lunchtime's House of Prayer. It was astonishingly on target
Friday 8th May 2015
The week after polling day
Apparently records are being smashed in this election campaign. The charity CARE reckons that 325 local hustings meetings where candidates get the chance
Monday 27th April 2015
Blessed! 24x10 Prayer. 14th-24th May
10 days of 24-hour prayer, leading us from the day of ascension to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (May 24th).
Saturday 25th April 2015
Easter – Because HE Nailed it
Easter is at the heart of the Christian faith and at the heart of Easter is the cross. It’s for this reason that the cross has been the main symbol of Jesu...
Monday 23rd March 2015
Fond memories of the 2015 Big Party!
So it happened! We had a great big party together again this year, it was great to see people of all ages dancing, chatting and having fun together!
Sunday 22nd March 2015
Study notes on Lent
Many Churches around the world use Lent - the 40 days before Easter to - as an opportunity to focus on the central event of Christianity
Monday 16th February 2015
Photography club photowalk on Friday
The photography club will be meeting this Friday (20th Feb) for the club meetup. This is going to be a Photowalk on and around the Itchen Toll Bridge.
Monday 16th February 2015
So that was Christmas…
We're now half-way between Christmas and Easter if my calculations are right. My memory is already fogging up but somewhere in the mix of misty recollectio...
Wednesday 11th February 2015
Belonging at Portswood Church Survey
What does it mean to belong to Portswood Church? We ran a survey to find out.
Thursday 29th January 2015
Finding Wisdom and Leaders' Breakfasts
Every now and then avid readers of our Sunday notice-sheet in Church will see mention of a leader’s breakfast.
Friday 23rd January 2015
The Big Party!
Following the success of last year’s big party, the guys from life in 3d (the church’s 20-30’s group) will be organising another big party this year on the...
Tuesday 20th January 2015
The 2015 Student Weekend Away
We’re really excited to be planning a student weekend away this year! It’ll be great to just spend some time together, look into God’s word and have lot...
Tuesday 20th January 2015
Hungry, waiting on God
It is a place to individually dwell, but corporately seek God. It is a space set apart on a Sunday evening between 7-9pm to come and just be with your c...
Saturday 10th January 2015
2014 Carol Service Video
A short highlight video of the 2014 Traditional Carols by Candlelight
Friday 26th December 2014
Awayday - Keeping the difference
We did it – we managed to get away for a whole day together at the beginning of half term. Getting together with a substantial proportion (over a 100 adult...
Tuesday 16th December 2014
Looking forward to Alpha!
Looking forward to Alpha. Got questions?
Saturday 6th December 2014
Building project update
Here is some information about the building project. We're nearly there now, we just need to do this and that.
Monday 3rd November 2014
New Student Life Group
We’ve started a student life group, a small group every other Sunday where we’re looking into the bible and workout how it applies to life at university.
Monday 3rd November 2014
The Away Day
We had a great away day
Thursday 30th October 2014