Thank you so much to everyone who sponsored the three of us from St. Martin’s who did the St. Basil’s Big Sleep Out in December.  It was cold and exhausting, but at least it didn’t rain and it was fun to meet so many people for such a special event. We are still collecting in the last bits of our sponsorship money, but between us we have already raised over £700 (not including Gift Aid)!  At the event we were part of a much larger group of young people from churches all over Birmingham (about 17 of us).  We are hoping to find out how much we all raised together, and will let you know when we find out…  Thank you all again for helping us to support this fantastic charity.  If you would still like to make a donation then you can give cash or cheques (payable to St. Basils) to Oli Preston or you can donate online through www.virginmoneygiving.com/OliPreston. Photo by Jas Sansi (Birmingham Post)

We are launching a new student group at St. Martin’s starting on Wednesday 29th January at 1:30pm. This is for you whether you are here for a few years or visiting on a short term placement. Our location in the Bullring is a great place to meet up, worship, grow in our faith and think about God’s mission through us. Students at St Martin’s come from Britain and all over the world attending the many universities and colleges across the city. There are several services so it is not always easy to meet up with other students after church. This week we will meet in the Tea Lounge. Please come along as we plan for this term or get in touch with Dom (the curate) on dom@bullring.org.   Image from Flikr by Sean MacEntee

Listen to Stewart’s sermon, “Mission“.

Painting Course:  Wednesdays 2-4pm. 6 weeks starting from 15th Jan. £25 for the course. Art Therapy Group: 10 weeks on Fridays from Feb. Please contact us for details of how to apply. Friday Lunchtime Concerts: 12:30 – 1:00pm. Admission free. All welcome. 10th Jan: Angela Zienko and Jung Hee Keum, violin and viola Duo. 17th Jan: Clare Jones, Piano Solo. 24th Jan: Paula and Anna Downes, Voplin and Soprano performing Sacred mass, composed by Andrew Downes. 31st Jan: Dominic Mason, Piano   Images: Violin by crazybobbles flicker Paint pots by simon miller flickr  

Excited Obadiah passes his overseer exams and is now able to do everything an angel is gifted to do. But he misunderstands these gifts and has a hard lesson to learn in how to use them. Amazingly, he does this, and God Almighty is so impressed that Obadiah is chosen to take one of the most important messages ever to earth. But he doesn’t do the task in the expected way, and so discovers something about himself and God’s plan. A great gift for children This story is the prequel to ‘Albert the forgetful Angel’ and tells the story of how Obadiah became the kind overseer of that book. Oh and look out for Albert in this book too! To find out more, order an e-book version of this book or to buy Albert the Forgetful Angel visit St Martin’or www.stewartjonesbooks.co.uk. This book is written by the Rector of St. Martin’s, Stewart Jones and the sale of the books goes to support the work that the church does for the vulnerable. Amazing Kindness of Obadiah flyer

We trust you all had a good Christmas and were able to receive and give many blessings during this time. The passage from Isaiah 2 was very much part of our encouragement as we went out on Edgbaston Street in December. As it was expected the town was crowded with people and there were activities of all kinds to mark the Christmas festivities. We were one of them. However, the verse we had on that day from Isaiah affirmed us we stand in a different position from all others: ‘In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s Temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it… ‘Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord……He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths’ ( Isaiah 2:2-3) The Land on Edgbaston Street were occupied by many and yet we had the sense that we owned the land. We thank God that he establishes his presence amongst his people. Here are some of the effects of God’s presence amongst his pe