Good News I have lost count how many times, recently, I have been involved in conversations about the news - with a particular emphasis on the persistence of bad news and the many troubled places and desperate situations around the world. These things are very real and we cannot fail to be moved with compassion and must not ignore them or fail to pray and act in any way we can to bring hope and relief. The trouble is we so easily suffer from compassion fatigue and some folk I know are now avoiding watching the news because it is overwhelming – too much bad news and very little reason for hope. We are called to be hope bringers. Yet we often look on with a sense of despair, feeling helpless in the face of disaster, war and heartless injustice and we wonder where God is in it all. We may pray our socks off, crying out for those we see and hear suffering such terrible situations. What is God up to? Why don’t things seem to change. Easter reminds us that even through the most horrific of situations when darkness has seemingly won, God is at work and God is in control. Even when we cannot perceive God at work, our faith reminds us that God is working. God is sovereign and, even though it may stretch our faith, almost to breaking point, we need to hold on to the fact that God is our only hope. God is the only hope. When we look at the situation facing the church in the UK today the news doesn’t seem very positive either. We may lose heart and feel that there is no future. With ageing and dwindling congregations, fewer workers for the harvest, we may wonder just how much longer things can carry on. But God is not finished with us yet – the future may look different, the way we do church and the priorities we have may look different but there is life and future for the church including our little corners of God’s vineyard as local congregations in the Ipswich and East Pastorate. Here's some good news. In the past few days, The Bible Society have published a report entitled “The Quiet Revival” with the lead line, “Church decline in England and Wales has not only stopped, but the Church is growing, as Gen Z leads an exciting turnaround in church attendance.” Church attendance has risen by 50 per cent over the last six years, busting the myth of church decline. The findings come in a survey commissioned by The Bible Society and conducted by YouGov. They show that the most dramatic church growth is among young adults, particularly young men. In 2018, just 4 per cent of 18–24-year-olds said that they attended church at least monthly. Today, the report reveals, this has risen to 16 per cent, with young men increasing from 4 per cent to 21 per cent, and young women from 3 to 12 per cent. I will aim to make the report available to all our churches and will try and get some print copies produced. Friends, take heart! God is at work, at home and abroad. Behind the scenes perhaps, but God’s purposes will prevail and God’s promises are sure. Let’s hold fast to God, as we read in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Revd Adam Earle

The Sanctuary The sanctuary is also very flexibl e in layout, but as the chairs are m ore substantial, re-arrangements r equire much more work. Ther e is a loop sound system and a projection screen. The organ console se en in the picture to the left is moveable. The organ pipes can be seen above the congregation seating ar ea in the picture below.