Events

There is normally plenty going on for the community and we want to keep you up to date with all our news. There are different types of event that take place including courses [e.g. Alpha], socials [e.g. quizzes, music events, drama], presentations from the church calendar [e.g. nativity plays], and meeting needs in the community in various ways.

Below you will find some of the happenings in the recent past and coming up in the near future.  If you would like any further information about upcoming events or any previous ones then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Past and Future Events

Saturday 25th January 2025 - Paul Kerensa Show
	Christian comedian Paul Kerensa is back at Sheldon Road with his one-man stand-up comedy show The BBC & Me: Then & Now.  Paul is one of Britain's leading writers and comedians.  He's written for various TV comedy dramas including the popular Not Going Out and Miranda, and is a regular at the Edinburgh Festival. Come along to hear his tales from behind the scenes! Tickets are £10 and available from Rachel Nuttall - rnuttallsrmc@gmail.com

January to March 2025 - The Alpha Course
	Alpha is a 12 week course exploring life, faith and meaning. Using video material, it enables participants to ask questions and share insights in an informal setting around a meal table. It's designed for the curious.  No question is out of bounds, nor is there any pressure to share. Just come along and see where it leads you. Monday 13th January from 7.00pm, and every Monday till 31st March. Register your interest at alpha@sheldonroad.church, use the contact form on this website, or leave a message on the church answerphone: 01249 444375

Wednesday 25th December - Free Christmas Day Meal
	A free Christmas lunch for anyone who would otherwise be spending Christmas Day on their own. This will be a fully subscribed event so book early to ensure a place - email admin@sheldonroad.church or call 07717 210840

Saturday 30th November – Community Arts & Crafts Day
	Our community Arts & Crafts event returns for another year after a very successful first outing in November 2023.  Come along for a chance to support some local businesses, join in with craft activities, grab some refreshments and get ready for Christmas with us - everyone is welcome.

October to March 2024 - Free Community Lunches
	Our initiative to provide families and individuals that are struggling financially continues throughout the winter and into spring.   We are providing a simple 2 course lunch to anybody who walks through our door on a Saturday lunchtime - anybody can come, there is no qualification.  Please contact us if you need further information.

July 30th to August 2nd - Summer Holiday Club
	The Holiday club for Summer 2024 will take place July 30th to August 2nd at Sheldon Road church.   This Holiday Club, a day club, is for  5 - 11 year olds.  More information here.

Saturday 18th May 2024 from 10am – Plant Sale & Beacon Lunch
	The Creation Care group will be selling plants outside church, and from 12 noon there will be a simple lunch available in order to raise funds for Creation Care work in the church courtyard, and for the church.

Saturday 27th April 2024 – Teen Takeover Lunch 12.30pm
	Chippenham Area Board (Wiltshire Council) are organising a teenager activity weekend [see website for more info] on the 27th and 28th April.  SRMC will be hosting a lunch in support of this event on the Saturday at 12.30pm – at SRMC.  This will be organised by Adrian Foster – and requires a team of 8 people on the day to assist.

March 9th 2024 – Wiltshire Wildlife Community Energy at Community Lunch
	At the regular Community Lunch event on Saturday March 9th, Wiltshire Wildlife Community Energy [WWCE] will be manning a stand providing advice and the potential for some funding on saving energy for those suffering from fuel/food poverty.  More info on WWCE.

January/April 2024 Free Community Lunches
	The initiative to provide families and individuals that are struggling financially continues throughout the winter and into spring.   We are providing a simple 2 course lunch to anybody who walks through our door on a Saturday lunchtime - anybody can come, there is no qualification.  Please contact us if you need further information.

December 16th 2023  Paul Kerensa Show
	On Saturday 16th December 2023 Christian comedian Paul Kerensa is visiting Sheldon Road church with his one-man stand-up comedy show.  Paul is one of Britain's leading comedians, both as a writer and comedian.   He writes for various TV comedy dramas including the popular Not Going Out and After You've gone, as well as sketch shows including Dead Ringers.  He is a regular at the Edinburgh Festival.  Further updates will be posted regarding ticket sales etc when available.  Not to be missed!
November 25th 2023 Craft Day
	In the Church we will have stalls giving an opportunity for Artists and Crafters to sell their products.  If you have something to sell from your £5 idea please contact us. There will be Sheldon Road tables available to share if you cannot fill one on your own. So even if you just have a couple of things, that’s fine.  If you have a business as an Artist or Crafter you can host a table for £15, after which all the proceeds are yours.  There is a lot of interest in this so please contact us by the end of September to book in your table or share of a table.
October 7th 2023 Tearfund Big Quiz
	We are taking part once again in this popular quiz to raise funds for Tear Fund. It'll be a fun evening to which to invite your families and friends. The suggested donation is £5 per person, with kids free of charge. You can form teams on the night, or come with a team ready formed. Team size is up to you, but about 6-8 works well. Please use the sign-up sheet at the back of the church to give us an idea of numbers planning to come, thanks.  Please see Stuart & Caroline Lay with any queries. Or contact us to sign up or for more information.
September 2023 Alpha
	Join us on Alpha at Station Hill Baptist Church starting on 6 September @ 7.00pm with a shared meal; and every Wednesday evening till 22nd November.   Contact us for more information.
August 2023 Holiday Club
	This year's holiday club is planned for 1st - 4th August 2023 at Sheldon Road church.  It is a day club for 5 - 11 year olds.  This year's club is called 'The Restoration Station'.  Once again it is to be led by Trevor Ranger of Synergy Christian Trust and assisted by various members of the church.   This is a very popular event usually reaching maximum capacity - so please book early to avoid disappointment.  Children must be registered before joining - registration forms and full details may be downloaded here.
July 2023 Philippa Hanna Concert
	We are pleased to confirm that Philippa Hanna will be performing in concert at Sheldon Road Church on Saturday July 22nd, at 7.00pm.  Tickets are now available.  View here to get a flavour of her work.

January/April 2023 Free Community Lunches
	The initiative to provide families and individuals that are struggling financially continues throughout the winter and into spring.   We are providing a simple 2 course lunch to anybody who walks through our door on a Saturday lunchtime - anybody can come, there is no qualification.  Please contact us if you need further information.

December 2022, Christmas Day Lunch.

December 25th, 12.30 for 1pm.  A free Christmas Day lunch for anyone who would otherwise be spending the day on their own on Christmas Day.  This will be a fully subscribed event with limited numbers - and so book early to ensure a place.

October/December 2022 Free Community Lunches.

The initiative to provide families and individuals that are struggling financially continues throughout the autumn until Cristmas.   We are providing a simple 2 course lunch to anybody who walks through our door on a Saturday lunchtime - anybody can come, there is no qualification.  Please contact us if you need further information.

 

October 2022 Light Party.

Monday 31st October 6 to 7.30 pm.  A fun party for children in years 1 - 6.

 

September 2022 Earth Care Choices.

Saturday 17th 10.30am to 3pm.  A celebration of all that people are doing locally to care for our planet, and be challenged by other ideas to carry on making a difference.  An open day for everybody.

 

July 2022: Holiday Club
	A holiday club was run at Sheldon Road church 26-29th July 2022, led by Trevor Ranger from the Synergy Christian Trust and supported by a team from Sheldon Road.  As always the [at full capacity] club for 5-11 year olds was  enjoyed immensely by the youngsters.
January/March 2022: Alpha Course
	Another opportunity for for anyone and everyone to explore questions of faith.  Held January 10 - March 21.
December 2021: Christmas Day Meal
	On Christmas day a meal was held catering for those who would otherwise be spending the day alone.  Read the full account here.
December 2021: Community Christmas Event
	On December 4th 2021 we held a community event, 'Christmas Starts here!'  There were activities for all ages and everyone who came, from toddlers to 90 year olds, seemed to enjoy what was on offer!  The O gauge model railway was hugely popular as was the Mario Kart game on the Wii and it was good to see children and adults engaging together.  Christmas crafts and decorating biscuits, playing African drums, hunting down clues to a trail and families dressing up to have their photos taken in the Nativity scene all put smiles on people's faces.  Bacon butties, hot dogs, coffee and cake were served and everyone had a great time!
November 2021:  Tearfund's The Big Quiz
	A great fun time!  Last held in November 2019 which was a tremendous success, this year's quiz event was once again hosted in the Sheldon Road Church building on November 20 at 4.00 pm, raising money for tearfund.

September 2021:  Litter Pick
	Care for the environment?  We can all do this in many small ways.  One day in September a team set out to do just this - to clean up the streets in the vicinity of the church.  Sadly, in just one hour all this litter was found, but gladly it was removed from the streets improving the local environment and people's lives. See the full report.

June - July 2021:  Worship in the Wild.
	A six week ‘Worship in the Wild’ was enjoyed by up to 30 people each Saturday in June/July, meeting on Riverside Drive, a beautiful location by the river and we were blessed with dry weather.
Each week we enjoyed a picnic - it was good to catch up with those we had not seen in person for many months. This was followed by a time of worship - we discovered that worshipping God in nature offers countless possibilities. We were able to enter into God’s imagination, being surrounded by trees, flowers and creatures which are covered with the footprints of God the Creator. We relived Bible stories which happened outdoors and we all felt better for being in the fresh air.  It was wonderful to see many different ages engaging in the various activities, and in conversations of faith.

Easter - April 2021: Easter Trail
	On Saturday 3rd April, SRMC held an Adventure Trail around 2 areas of Chippenham, to encourage our church families plus their friends to celebrate Easter together, socially distanced, of course!   There were 2 trails and about 9 groups joined in, accepting the challenge of making the QR codes for accessing clues, and finding their way from one post to the next.  And there were rewards!  At both finishing points were bags of goodies for each family, including a copy of Dai Wooldridge's book,  A Seriously Surprising Story.    The idea and materials for this event were supplied by Scripture Union, as a safe way for families to explore the meaning of Easter together, outdoors, and it proved to be a great way of learning and sharing together under restricted circumstances.  And the sun shone!

 

March 2021 COVID-19 Day of Reflection.   To encourage people to join this opportunity to come together with hope for the future a window display was created with many contributions from within the fellowship.

 

February 2021 Pancake Party on ZOOM.
	On Shrove Tuesday, February 16th, we held a pancake party – on Zoom! We would normally be doing this in the church building of course, but desperate times called for desperate measures! The invitations went out, and families got their ingredients ready, and at 6pm we all switched on with the laptop/tablet/phone in the kitchen or dining room. 22 groups of all ages logged on, and the 45 minute programme included a couple of videos from Scripture Union to help our understanding about the start of Lent, background music while we cooked and ate our pancakes, and a poll to find out the most popular toppings (lemon and sugar).

 

December 2020.This year's Nativity occurred as a video presentation, published on December 20th on social media including ourYouTube channel.
August 2020.  Summer Holiday Club.
	This year COVID disrupted plans for the annual Holiday Club normally held on the church premises, but instead an online Holiday Club was compiled and published during August [also September through October].  Further details of the event here.
April 2020. The Pilgrim's Progress.
	A theatre retelling of a much loved story by the Oddments Theatre Co.  Sadly cancelled due to COVID-19.
March 2020. Earth Care Exhibition.
	Sadly cancelled due to COVID-19.

 

Christmas 2019 Nativity Play.
	The cast photo line up for Straw and Order - the 2019 Nativity play.
November 2019 - TearFund Big Quiz
	A montage of images from the Big Quiz event, held one Saturday evening in November.  90 people attended, £565 was raised.  This was a country-wide event organised through Tear Fund with 506 churches and some 23000 people taking part.  A great evening of raising funds and having fun.
July 2019. Toilet Twinning Campaign - Cream Tea. The first fund raising event for our Toilet Twinning campaign. A Cream Tea at The Conigre Hotel in Melksham on Sunday July 14th.
May 2019. The Big Brekkie.
	The Big Brekkie - a fund raising breakfast for Christian Aid held on a Saturday morning in May.