At the heart of Connect2 is faith, hospitality, and love.

‘Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.’ (1 Peter 4:8-9)

You are welcome to join us each Sunday at 5pm in St Anne’s Primary School for a time of fellowship and open discussion around faith and life’s big questions followed by a meal, and of course pudding!

A poem to encourage and comfort

Welcome to summer at Connect2

Over the summer Connect2 will be exploring the parables of Jesus. Parables are often seen as stories for children but that wasn’t always the case.

Jesus was an amazing and captivating teacher, and he would often teach using parables. Jesus began his public ministry with the words, ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’ The parables were a way of teaching about that kingdom.

Parables appear on the surface to be simple stories but that is far from the truth. A parable has been described as a beautiful present all wrapped up in colourful paper with a stunning bow tied around it. Until you unwrap the present the gift inside remains a mystery. Jesus didn’t tell parables to make everything clear. Rather, he wanted his listeners to take the time to peel off each layer of the story until they came to the truth that is hidden inside. Jesus wanted to provoke the imagination and invite people to see what God is doing in the world from a new perspective.

One day Jesus told this parable:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

The mustard seed was the smallest seed, but it grew into a huge plant. In this parable, Jesus teaches that although the Kingdom of God started small, with Jesus and the disciples, it would grow and spread across the world to unlimited numbers of followers. The birds represent people from every nation. Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of God has space for all people, whatever your background, whoever you are – God’s love is there for you. To find out more take a look at the video below.

Welcome to Alpha @Connect2

Alpha is an 11-week course that creates a space where people are excited to bring their friends for a conversation about faith, life and God. To find out more visit Alpha.

You are warmly welcome to join us in September through to December to explore more about faith in a safe and friendly environment.