Our Connexion churches and communities have begun meeting online for a monthly prayer evening, led by Sat Deodhar from the Countess Free Church, Ely.

Read Sat's report below for more information:

A Connexion in Prayer: Coming Together in Faith

"I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:19-20

What a wonderful assurance we have of God’s presence when believers come together as a Connexion family. We have been making a firm, regular commitment to gather and spend an hour in dedicated prayer, meeting in a shared digital space via Microsoft Teams.

Our Vision and Objectives

• Fostering Unity: To become more aware of what God is doing across other Connexion churches and to be encouraged by His work within our wider church family.
• Providing Support: To identify, uplift, and stand with churches that may need extra encouragement and vital support in prayer.
• Meaningful Fellowship: To ensure our time together is intentional, keeping strictly to a one-hour format to make the evening both meaningful and accessible for all.

How We Gather

The journey thus far has been deeply encouraging. We consistently see more than 12 devices joining these prayer meetings. Sometimes this represents an individual, and other times it is an entire group of people joining together from a single device.

We meet monthly, usually on Tuesdays. For one of our Connexion churches, this gathering beautifully replaces their regular Bible study, allowing them to join in and pray alongside the wider Connexion family located across different parts of the country.

Our Prayer Focus

During our prayer evenings, we dedicate our time to several vital areas:

• Urgent Needs: Let us pray for any pressing or immediate requests that our members bring to the evening.
• The Connexion Family: Let us pray for the various churches within our network, asking for God's continual guidance, growth, and blessing.
• The Sierra Leone Mission: Let us pray for our ongoing mission work in Sierra Leone, which remains a constant and cherished part of our prayer life.

Join Us

Our next gatherings are scheduled for 5 May and 30 June at 8pm. We warmly invite you to join us on Microsoft Teams as we continue to support one another in faith and witness the power of praying together. 

If you are interested in joining our meetings please contact me by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at the Countess Free Church. 

Thank you!

Sat

(Image by Patrick Fore on Unsplash)

Congratulations to Jennifer and Edith, members of Wormley Free Church in Broxbourne, who have received this year's Care and Commitment Award from Churches Together.

This joint award was in recognition of Jennifer's and Edith's dedication in serving others.

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,
if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus."

(Philippians 2:1-5)

Ben Quant, Minister and Connexion Trustee, said: 'For many years Jennifer and Edith have been at the heart of our outreach. In particular they have helped run our Toddler Group and Drop-In, not just working hard but doing so with ongoing attentiveness and concern towards others. Between them they also play a key role in our prayer life, are involved in the World Day of Prayer and help run our Conversation Cafe. We’re delighted that their efforts were recognised in this way and are inspired by them!'

Over the past year, The Chapel, Mortimer West End has implemented various new initiatives to encourage people to visit and welcome them into the church community.

A New Attendee barbecue, held early in February, provided a relaxed opportunity to meet other fellowship members, and this was followed later in the month by a four-week 'Merge Course’, which takes place after the service on Sunday mornings.

The Elders' desire behind creating the Merge Course was to connect relationally with new visitors, enabling them to meet church members and the leadership team more fully, plus learn more about The Chapel's history, vision and mission.

Additional activities to increase awareness have included the distribution of Chapel calendars in December, holding Welcome Services throughout the year, followed by a shared lunch, and extending invitations to special events and workshops - which cover topics ranging from cooking and baking, to finances, healthy lifestyles and art skills.

By increasing interaction with neighbours and sharing God given talents and skills with others, The Chapel has been delighted to welcome an increasing number of newcomers to join their thriving and inventive church family.

Ken Hart has been suffering from ill health for some time now, and has recently been taken back into hospital, due to further complications with his heart and kidneys.

We would be grateful if you would join us in prayer for Ken's healing and peace during this difficult time, and for his wife Marion, who is also recovering from surgery.

Prayers for healing remind us of God's promise of help in all situations in Psalm 40:1-3

'I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire.
He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to God.
Man will see what He has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.'  Amen

Ben Quant, Trustee and Minister of Wormley Free Church, will continue to represent The Connexion at the Free Churches Group (FCG).

FCG is a network of 29 national church denominations that works to provide a collective voice in the public arena for Free Church groups in England and Wales. Its members include the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion as well as Baptists, URC, Methodists, WRU, Independent Methodists, Churches in Community, the Salvation Army, and many others.

Coming together in this way gives our voice weight that we would not have on our own.

FCG acts as a resource for all of its church members, with particular focus on chaplaincy work in prisons, the Armed Forces, Healthcare and Education.

They are also part of Churches Together and organise several key gatherings, including the Meeting of Representatives from each member denomination. These meetings provide an important opportunity to discuss shared issues and offer mutual support grounded in Christian values.

To find out more about the work of FCG, visit their website: Free Churches Group

Thank you to Simon Allaby for sending a Short Thought message to start off 2026!

This week's recording gives his account of preparing to move to his new position of House Team Leader at Lee Abbey on 2 January, and the process of downsizing.

After 15 years as the Pastor of Bolney Village Chapel (BVC), the decision to move to a new position - and very different life - was made with mixed emotions. In Simon's words: 'As I prepare to lay down many of the plates I have been spinning for a number of years and especially as I say goodbye to my dear friends at BVC. It has been a great joy to be part of the Connexion family since 2010, and I will be sad to step away as I take up my new post. But as I often remind myself and others, we are all just passing through. I hope I have served the Lord faithfully and obediently while I’ve been with you and I look forward to seeing the baton being taken up by whoever will take my place'.

Simon began entertaining us with weekly 60-second Short Thought messages, when we first launched The Connexion's website, back in 2018, and he plans to continue inspiring us with his recordings from his new place in the West Country.

To listen to the recordings each week, just click on the SHORT THOUGHT button, which appears at the top of every website page.

And a link to this week's account of his New Year moving preparations is also available below.

SHORT THOUGHT:  Downsizing

Simon Allaby’s last service at Bolney Village Chapel (BVC) took place on Sunday.

The church were extremely happy to see so many people come and celebrate together.

The service was split into two sections.

Alan led the first part, where Simon was invited to share some thoughts on the highs and lows of his 15 years at BVC. After that, some lovely memories were shared about Simon, including a short video from New Zealand by Jo and Rob.

Simon then spoke about his new role at Lee Abbey and some gifts were presented to celebrate his new role including a plunger, feather duster, rubber gloves, bucket and apron!

The second part of the service was led by Christie. She reminded Simon of some memories by giving him boxes to open, with the last one being ‘God’s presence’. She briefly spoke from various Bible passages about ‘beginnings and endings’, dividing the prayer time into two sections. People were invited to pray first for the chapel as it moves forward into the New Year. People were encouraged to come forward and pray for Simon and his future.

Christie then presented Simon with leaving gifts of a wooden chalice made of Sussex oak, a card and a monetary gift kindly donated by you all.

After the final hymn, Simon was invited to close in prayer.

Simon will be greatly missed by the entire Connexion community, and we wish him every blessing for his new venture at Lee Abbey.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas from The Connexion.

'Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.' (Isaiah 7:14)

Amen!

(Image by Walter Chavez, Unsplash Photos)

Simon Allaby shares with us 140 years at Bolney Village Chapel (BVC).

On Sunday 30 November the present congregation at Bolney Village Chapel were joined by friends from the past to celebrate our 140th anniversary. (Actually we were a day early as the Mission Room was opened on 1 December 1885!)

Not originally a chapel belonging to the Connexion (we joined in 1975) the chapel’s roots lay with a group of Christians meeting during the summer of 1885 to study the Bible and begin an evangelical witness to the village.

From that Bible study the Mission Room emerged in the converted hayloft of Mr James Haslett, a local florist and nurseryman. When the meeting quickly outgrew his hayloft the first Chapel was built on a neighbouring piece of land, and then in 2004 the modern building which stands today.

Our guest speaker was Ian Denyer who lived in Bolney for 44 years - living in the White House that had previously been owned by James Haslett - and a faithful and long-serving Elder. He spoke about the origins of the Chapel but then led us to 1 Kings 8 and the dedication of the Temple in the time of King Solomon. He reminded us that the Temple was built to point people not to itself but to the indwelling presence of a holy and mighty God.

We gave thanks to God for his presence at BVC for these past 140 years and were encouraged to look forward to many more such years to come.

A beautiful cake had been made for the day (even if the figurine of the pastor had rather too much grey hair!) and the service was followed by a splendid lunch and opportunity to catch up with old friends.

Huge thanks to everyone for such a wonderful occasion!

Simon

The Cheshunt Foundation is a trust formed from the funds from the Countess of Huntingdon's Bible College along with other sources. Each year this goes towards supporting theological training in both The Connexion and the URC.

From our grant we have continued to use fifty percent of it to support theological training in Sierra Leone, including a range of activities from ministerial training at TECT (The Evangelical College of Theology) to training Sunday School teachers and supporting the ministers' wives gatherings.

In the UK these funds are used to support the Conference, our ministers' & trustees' gatherings, and theological/chaplaincy training of ministers and lay members of the Connexion, with the expectation that those receiving it use it to support the mission and ministry of the Connexion in various ways. This last year the funds have been used to support amongst other things:

• Emma Houghton (Hailsham Gospel Mission) - BA (Hons) course in Kingdom Theology, Westminster Theological Centre
• Martin Brown (Hailsham Gospel Mission) - Sussex Ministry Training Course, Sussex Gospel Partnership
• Trevor Jones (Sheppey Evangelical Church) - Spurgeon's Ministry Course
• Mark Obray (Sheppey Evangelical Church) - Spurgeon's Ministry Course
• Simon Allaby (Bolney Village Chapel) - Support for sabbatical at Lee Abbey
• Esther Burrage (Rosedale Community Church) - Kyria Collab programme for young female leaders 

This year Graham Squibbs has taken over from Bethany Green alongside Ben Quant as our representatives on the board of the Cheshunt Foundation.

Any interest in applying for or discussing the possibility of a Cheshunt grant should be directed to Ben Quant. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Image of the Cheshunt Foundation is from Art UK, which connects people with the UK's art collections. For more information visit their website: https://artuk.org/visit/venues/cheshunt-foundation-westminster-college-cambridge-7296