What:
Riverside is launching a Food Pantry! We’re remodelling the front of the Fireside Room at Riverside House (room to the right as you walk into the front door) with stocked shelves of food goods across a freezer, fridges and new shelving.

Why:
Many people in our neighbourhood are struggling financially. We decided that we wanted to do more than a handout that is the case for a foodbank. We wanted to welcome people in, provide refreshments and a welcome face and dovetail other support such as chaplaincy and money advice, and provide dignity and choice.

When:
Opens for customers on Thursday 26 January.

How does it work?
Shoppers spend a fixed £5 and choose up to £20 of goods. It’s a brilliant way to multiply up a small amount of income to a good amount of shopping. The food is coming direct from supermarket surplus and other suppliers who we are establishing links with. We’ve affiliated with the national franchise of ‘My Local Pantry’ who are providing all the knowhow and experience to get us up and running.

What can you do?

1. PRAY – the need is pressing and people are struggling to make ends meet. Our money advice team are finding people who simply don’t have enough to both keep warm and eat. We want to be a church community that puts our faith into action and meets the need head-on. We want to do more than just put food on someone’s table – but help people through the other support on offer too.
2. SERVE – there are roles for café hosts, welcomers, and we are looking for an overall co-ordinator (a 2-day/week paid role that will lead this project and oversee food labelling and hygiene provision across Open Lunch and Cafes). The job description and details of how to apply are now available on our website.

Initial training to try out the team and to learn what is involved is available on Thursday 12 January at Riverside House (10am to 12pm). Click here for more information.

Published: Friday 6 Jan
Last Updated: Friday 6 Jan

Starting on Sunday 12 February, we will be changing the times of our Sunday Services to:

RIVERSIDE HOUSE
9.30am-10:45am
This service will be streamed to our YouTube channel and there will be full children’s and youth provisions.
&
11:30am-12:45pm
This service will not be streamed and will not have any children’s or youth provisions.

TALLY HO:
9:30am-10:45am
This service will be streamed to our YouTube channel and there will be full children’s provisions. (Youth will stay in during the service).

TEAMS:
If you are on Sunday Gatherings Team and you have not yet heard from Nathanael Ballew, please know that you can contact him via: nathanaelb@riverside-church.org.uk

Published: Friday 27 January
Last Updated: Tuesday 31 January

We’re Your Local Lifeboat Service

Watch a live theatre performance courtesy of Rowheath Drama Workshop, as they tell the story of three individuals who found their ‘boats’ sinking in debt.

Saturday 11 February
Sunday 12 February

Tickets Available here.

Find out how Money Advice, Pantry, Open Lunch and a local drama come together in this month’s RMA Newsbite. To subscribe to RMA Newsbites please click here.

Published: Friday 27 January
Last Updated: Friday 27 January

Our next Alpha course will start on Sunday 22 January; in-person at Riverside House (11 weeks – 7:45pm to 9.30pm).

Please invite your friends and family along and join us in praying for those running the courses and for those who have already signed-up. For full information please visit our website.

Published: Friday 6 Jan
Last Updated: Friday 6 Jan

When: 8 Jan to 16 Apr 2023

Blog: Series Dates & Outline

We have written this series to help you explore the Bible so that you might know more fully the difference that following Jesus can make to your life. Whether you would identify as not having faith, being a new Christian or mature in your faith, we invite you to journey through a book in the Bible called ‘James’. Together we will explore many of the big questions both believers and un-believers wrestle with today and discover the life-changing reality that a life with Jesus can bring.

As Scott McKnight writes, no book [in the bible] after the four Gospels sounds more like Jesus than James. The ability to sound like Jesus without quoting him reveals that this younger brother of Jesus had so absorbed his Messiah”s teachings that he could not talk without sounding like Jesus! Let this be our prayer for this series too. That through the teachings of James we all develop a new depth of understanding and relationship with Jesus that changes our everyday lives.

THIS SUNDAY: 8 Jan
FREE copies of ‘James: NIV Scripture Journal’ will be available this Sunday. Otherwise, copies are available from here for £1 each.

Published: Friday 6 Jan
Last Updated: Friday 6 Jan

Spring Term information is now available on our website – click here.

Have you booked up for the weekend away? If not, or you need more informaiton simply contact John Goodliff: johng@riverside-church.org.uk

Roc Solid Weekend Away: 17-19 February

Miff Weekend Away: 17-19 March

Published: Tue 10 Jan
Last Updated: Tue 10 Jan

Happy New Year!

I hope that the festive period has brought joy to your household, and that feelings of tiredness and anxiety due to change in routines quickly fade as we return to work and school. Here are a few notices…

Kids Weekend Away – 10-11 March
Last chance to book! Action-packed weekend for children in years 3 – 6. Click Here.

Parenting for Faith Pop-up Groups
How to talk to kids about tricky subjects. Meet up with other parents and carers for these one-off evenings to equip you in talking to your kids and teens about topics such as sexuality, exams, decisions, the media and tough times. The first session is on Tuesday 17th January and is on MONEY. Click here to register your interest, whether online or in person.

New Teaching Series – Distinct
In Kids Church this term we’ll be following the wider church series entitled Distinct, looking at how we live and the difference that can make to us and others.  We’ll be exploring the teaching of James at Tally Ho services and looking at Old Testament characters on Riverside House Sundays. We have a brilliantly talented and committed team who give their time to serve our children in Kids Church. Please do encourage your children to join in and be respectful of their group leaders while they’re in their groups.

Kids Life Groups
These groups are for children in years 3 – 6 and are aimed at exploring faith, developing friendships and having fun! The dates for this term are 11 Jan, 25 Jan, 8 Feb, 1 Mar, 15 Mar, 29 Mar.

Contact saraht@riverside-church.org.uk if your child would like to come along for the first time.

That’s all for now. Praying that you and your family will know more of God’s never-ending love for you this week.

SARAH THOMSON
Head of Children’s Ministry
saraht@riverside-church.org.uk

0121 442 4484

Published: Tuesday 10 Jan
Last Updated: Tuesday 10 Jan

Here are the dates for our Monthly Joint Sunday Gatherigns up to April 2023.

8 January
5 February
5 March
2 April

There is no Tally Ho in May due to the Birmingham Half Marathon and instead, we’re doing the Riverside BIG Weekend Away (Friday 19 to Sunday 21 May!) Do book on if you haven’t: click here.

The dates for all our upcoming Sunday Gatherings are also available on our website.

Published: Tuesday 29 November
Last Updated: Friday 2 December

In a time that is still so complex and challenging, we want to stay persistent in prayer. We continue to invite everyone across Riverside to put aside some time from 8pm each Wednesday to pray. We encourage you to pray with your Life Group,  Community Group or other group setting.

From January prayer and pastoral updates will be sent to all church members via;

e-mail:
We will include all the prayer and pastoral update links for the upcoming month within the existing Riverside News ‘Monthly Digest’ e-mail. Before you pray each Wednesday simple refer back to your e-mail for the relevant link.

My ChurchSuite
Alternatively login to you ‘My ChurchSuite’ account and go to ‘My Events’. You will see the Wednesday Prayer Spaces in your ‘Featured’ events section.

Note: We will no longer send these updates to church members each week via SMS/TXT.

Wednesday Prayer Spaces Contact: Judy Moore
judym@riverside-church.org.uk
0121 827 9874

Please contact Judy if you have anything you would like to include in these weekly updates.

Published: Tuesday 6 Dec
Last Updated: Friday 6 Jan

Riverside Money Advice Newsbite: ….

We reach the end of 2022 weary and amazed – tired from the volume and variety of people we have served as our appointment count rose to 800 (compared to 250 from the year before). But amazed at the wonderful and appreciative feedback and successful journeys that clients have taken. You can read the full story in the latest RMA Newsbite here. 

To subscribe to RMA Newsbites please click here.

Published: Friday 6 Jan
Last Updated: Friday 6 Jan

Join together with other men within Riverside Church on the 4th of February at 7:30pm. Book on now for your spot to have fellowship with one another over pizza and a team quiz, as well as the opportunity to worship and pray together on this relaxed evening. We’ll also be chatting about what opportunities God has in store for each one of us going forward this year.

Choose which pizza you want when you book and confirm your attendance.

Visit event page to book.

Published: Friday 13 Jan
Last Updated: Friday 13 Jan

We Recommend: Healing On The Streets (HOTS) Training

HOTS Teams provide a welcoming presence on our streets; offering prayer to anyone who would like it. The team are providing a training event at St Martins in the Bullring for anyone new who wants to be involved, you’d be very welcome. The training will be 9am to 3pm on Saturday 4 February.

MORE INFORMATION & SIGN-UP:
# Click Here
# Contact David & Linda Isgrove (see your MyChurchSuite account if you dont have their contact details).
# Or for info about HOTS you can also visit: https://www.healingonthestreets.com/

CONTACT:
togetherforbirmingham@gmail.com

Published: Friday 20 Jan
Last Updated: Friday 20 Jan

On Sunday 5 February we will be gathering together at Tally Ho. We are so exicted to welcome as a guest speaker: Damilola Makinde.

Damilola Makinde serves as advocacy engagement lead at the Evangelical Alliance. Her working life to date spans the lines of law, public policy, missional engagement and church ministry. She is passionate about being a witness to Jesus in public through thoughtful Christian engagement in the key cultural and political issues of our time.

Published: Friday 27 January
Last Updated: Friday 27 January

The Bereavement Journey is a FREE 6-session online course for anyone who has been bereaved at any time and in any way. By means of a series of films and discussion groups the course will gently guide you through the most common aspects of grief, enabling you to process the implications and discern next steps.

The next course will start on Wednesday 15 February (9.45am-11:45am) and will run each Wednesday until 22 March.

The 6th session on 22 March is an optional session where faith questions are addressed, where the first 5 sessions are about different aspects of bereavement.

Find our more.

Published: Tuesday 31 January
Last Updated: Tuesday 31 January

It is with great sadness that we announce Mary Coady has recently passed away.

Her daughter, Valerie Egan, would like everyone at Riverside to know that the funeral will be on Wednesday 22 February (2pm-3pm) at: Robin Hood Crematorium, Streetsbrook Road, Shirley Solihull B90 3NL and after at The Irish Centre, 205 Wheelers Lane, Kings Heath, B13 0ST. Everyone welcome.

For catering purposes, it would be helpful to have an idea of numbers at the Irish Centre. So, if you are planning to go please contact Valerie Egan via: vegan1970@hotmail.com

Valerie would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for how they welcomed her Mum to the Riverside family, and how blessed her Mum was by the friendships she made here at Riverside.

Published: Friday 27 January
Last Updated: Friday 27 January

WHAT IS FORGE?

“Helping mobilise and equip the people of God to participate in the mission of God”.

Forge cultivates missional community by identifying, developing, and training missional leaders, teams and practitioners. Forge trains ordinary people to become missional and thrive in whatever context to which one is called. This may be in pioneering new things, church planting, working in and through an already existing church, or serving in a local community, professional or relational network. The cost of Forge is £495 for the year. This includes all costs of the training, coaching, and resources that participants will be given.

HOW IS THE COURSE DELIVERED?
Through a 10-12 month programme involving missional training, practice-led coaching, personal development, the forming of a supportive learning community, and networking events. Forge is operating in missional centres across England and Wales to help birth and nurture the missional church, using zoom workshops.

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
The next cohort starts Friday 13 January 2023. For more information and to sign-up

Visit: The Forge website
(bit.ly/forge23)

USEFUL LINKS:

# Watch Trailer 

# Forge Website

# Sign-up Form

Published: Friday 2 Dec
Last Updated: Friday 6 Jan

Contact: Judy Moore
judym@riverside-church.org.uk
0121 442 4484

We will be holding our next Belonging To Riverside event on Sunday 15 January. This will be 10am to 11am during the first service. 

This is an opportunity to welcome you to the church and to share with you a bit more about our vision and values, as well as getting to know you a bit better.

The session will cover ‘Who are we?’  where we  will share the vision and values of Riverside and  ‘Who are you?’ where we would love to get to know you a bit more and see how we can help you settle in more to church life.

Please do sign-up and we really looking forward to seeing you there.

Published: Friday 6 Jan
Last Updated: Friday 6 Jan

UPDATE: The Weary In The Workplace Workshop has been postponed until April.

About:
You are invited to spend a day understanding more of the impact of the strains of this season, to meet with others and share common experiences and to find a way to discover hope. The workshop will be informative, interactive and have elements of retreat.

Published: Friday 6 Jan
Last Updated: Friday 20 Jan (event postponed)

Contact: 
info@riverside-church.org.uk

Full details are on the Page Page of our website. 

We will be holding 3 days of prayer and fasting from Sunday 22 January to Tuesday 24 January.

Sunday 22 January
# Morning | Extended prayer time within the morning services.
# 8pm | Prayer & Worship Evening at Riverside House.

Monday 23 January
# 7:30am | Prayer on Zoom
# 12:30pm | Lunchtime Prayer at Riverside House
# 8pm | Prayer on Zoom

Tuesday 24 January
# 7:30am | Prayer on Zoom
# 12:30pm | Lunchtime Prayer on Zoom
# 8pm | Prayer & Worship Evening.

We would encourage all households to be represented at the worship and prayer night on Sunday 22 January at 8pm.

If during this period you feel God is speaking to you and you would like to share, please email us at info@riverside-church.org.uk

If you have not taken part in fasting before, you may find this Fasting Information Guide useful. Otherwise please to conatct us, we would love to chat with you. 

Zoom login details are available on our Prayer Page. 

Published: Friday 2 Dec
Last Updated: Sunday 8 Jan (Fasting guide added).