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 A belated happy new year to everyone! No Family News in Januarymeans that this greeting is always a little late, but it’s sincerely meant nevertheless.

A new year inevitably means we take a look back at the year that we’re leaving behind , sometimes with regret and sometimes with relief. As a church leadership we were kept busy; this building is in itself always a huge commitment and in addition to all of the usual servicing and running repairs, we had major work done on the roof (and a highlight of 2025 was finding we could reclaim the VAT on this) . Behind the scenes a massive amount of work was carried out by Barry in applying for grants, having a Quinquennial Report carried out to facilitate this, and liaising with a consultant architect. Hopefully this will now bear fruit and we will reap the benefits and soon see more improvements to our historic building.

Our great hope for 2025 was that we would welcome a new minister but, sadly, that wasn’t the case. Despite much time being spent in meetings with the regional minister, putting together a church profile etc., the lack of available candidates has meant that our search continues. We were pleased to welcome one minister in training who was interested in taking up a post here but, after several meetings and a Sunday morning visit, the feeling at our church meeting was that this wasn’t where God was leading us.

However, undaunted, we carried on as usual. Our regular activities, due to our ethos of every person ministry, all continued. Sunday services, café church, church meetings, Dwelling Place, Craft & Chatter, Renew and the women’s breakfasts carried on as usual, as did our regular work days. In addition we enjoyed Arderne’s course on Daniel, held a service on Good Friday, joined the Palm Sunday procession, were involved with The Light- house prayer event, took part in the joint Pentecost praise service, and hosted Jesus: the Evidence. .We also enjoyed social events with the men’s curry nights, ladies’ lunches, bring and share lunches, a bbq that ended up being cooked indoors due to the rain, a summer picnic and even a bird watching walk in Rufford. In summary then, 2025 had the usual share of ups and downs but church life here at SBC has been largely positive with God guiding us and walking with us faithfully throughout the year.

So, what of the coming year? What are we expecting of 2026? Did you make New Year Resolutions in January? I personally gave them up a long time ago as it seems we just set ourselves up to fail and then feel bad about ourselves. Additionally, I find that whatever plans I make don’t necessarily align with the ones God has for me, so making them is a waste of time. I find it more fruitful to pray for guidance and direction (those of you who have ever seen me try to navigate my way around know that this is badly needed – I can get lost anywhere!). I then stumble off in the hope that I heard and noted His directions down correctly, but also knowing that God will pick me up and put me back on the right path if I didn’t, without any judgement, so long as I keep checking in with Him

And 2026 at SBC? February will bring the AGM, where we will need to make decisions about our leadership structure for the immediate future.

Whilst our search for a minister continues this is a long process and we need to function well in the meantime. Hopefully the grant applications will bear fruit in 2026 and we see benefits in improvements to the building. We will plan to carry on with any activities that are viable and sustainable, and also continue to look for new opportunities to serve and spread God’s word.

However, any plans that we make and decisions we take need to be aligned with God’s plans for us, so we need to tread carefully and prayerfully. Perhaps the only resolution we should make for the year ahead is to pray more and, not only that, but to listen carefully to His replies, so that we are as sure as we can be that we are going in the direction that God wants us to take,and not just wandering off into the desert.

A  happy and blessed new year to you all, and may we long continue in this wonderful fellowship.