‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’
Matthew 5:4
Sad news - last Saturday, our dear David Thomas passed away in Kings College Hospital. David brought joy to so many lives. We have received wonderful tributes to him: ‘I'm grateful that I met him on my life's journey and have nothing but wonderful memories of him’ from Oneil, his Clinical Nurse Specialist; ‘the nicest, most uplifting person you could ever meet’ from his friend, John, ‘he truly was a legend’ from a colleague on the Bear Cubs team where David served for more than twelve years. We are grateful to Margaret, the Bells, the Dunns, the Vorsters… and so many of The Bear family who brought him into their families. He was a gem and he will be missed.
In Real Life - we are back at The Bear on Sunday mornings! It’s a work in progress, a learning curve, a service under construction, but we are so glad to be able to see each other and worship together under one roof again. There’s no booking system – we have capacity for about fifty people, so come on down. Children’s groups will continue on Zoom for the time being.
The service will also be on Zoom
Covid restrictions will be in place at the building:
· wear a mask
· sanitise hands on arrival
· track and trace
· observe social distancing from those not in your household
· no singing
· no refreshments
If family, friends and neighbours want to tune in on Zoom, please ask them to contact The Bear in advance for ID and Password. We can then explain the protocol and send them the codes.
Electric Eels and Flame Fish - Sunday mornings at 9am. These groups will continue on Zoom from Sunday 13 June to Sunday 18 July. Contact
Youth Alpha - Sunday at 10.20am at Bench Outreach, 14 New King Street SE8 3HS Details from
Sunflowers - how are your Easter blooms growing? We’d love to see these signs of new life, so please WhatsApp any photos of your Teddy Bear sunflowers to The Bear on 07707 524977.
Early Morning Prayer - meeting to pray at 7am from Monday to Friday
Women’s Bible Study - Tuesdays at 2pm at The Bear
House Groups - usually meet on Wednesdays or Thursdays, some on Zoom, some in Real Life. To join one, or try one, contact
Bear Cubs - for pre-school children and their parents/carers. Bookable sessions at The Bear on Monday and Friday mornings and Thursday afternoons. Outdoor sessions in local green spaces on Thursday mornings. Book on Eventbrite or email bearcubs@thebear.tv for more details.
English Fridays - a free conversational English class for students of all levels at 1.30pm on Fridays. Contact
The Bear Men’s Weekend - Fri 2nd to Sun 4th July (if Covid restrictions allow). A weekend on the Norfolk Broads for men aged 15 and over (under 18’s accompanied by an adult). The cost is £60 pp plus travel. Contact Daniel at to book and pay - first come first served.
The Bear Book Club - Thursday 29 July at 8pm – the book is ‘God Is Not A White Man’ and Chine will be taking questions and hearing reflections during the evening. Please contact for details.
The Bear Youth Camp - Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 August. Contact for booking information.
The Whole Bear Camp - Friday 20 August for a weekend of camping in the sun. There are still some places available, both under canvas and in bunkhouses (see attached booking form). Please note, there are a range of activities on offer during the weekend at just £10 per person. Check out www.birchhall.com for details before you fill in the form.
The Ragged Project – on Wednesday, Lewisham Council agreed their grant of 1.7m for our building project. This is fantastic news and we really trust it will open other doors. On Thursday we meet with a major grant making trust – asking for a BIG sum of money! Please pray for the team as they prepare for that interview. Keep up to speed with the building project by clicking on https://www.facebook.com/The-Ragged-Project-Fundraising-101670845368740 Please ‘like’ the posts – the more traffic and likes we get, the better for our fundraising efforts. Please forward the link to friends and family and encourage them to like and share far and wide!
The Bear Church Instagram - username: the_bear_v_church or username: thebearchurch Contact to post.
The Bear WhatsApp Broadcast Group - to receive these updates add The Bear Church 07707 524977 to your contacts, then message the number and ask to join the group.
The Bear Finance Department – do send any finance emails to Tracy at finance@thebear.tv – but do not send them to info@thebear.tv because that person doesn’t do finance.
Giving - is part of our worship. We want to continue to pay our staff, our bills and support our local community and our cross-cultural workers. The Bear Church bank details are 'Deptford Ragged Trust' HSBC Account no. 21361317 Sort Code 40-02-25.
Other Notices
Ignite Prayer evening - iNet’s interactive prayer event is TONIGHT (Friday) at 7.30pm on Zoom. Praying for our cross-cultural workers together with people from other local churches. Please contact for codes and protocol.
Songs Of Praise - David Pott has been busy setting up the Northern Saints Trails in County Durham. This Sunday’s SOP will feature David, Rev Kate Bottley and the team on their inaugural pilgrimage. You can watch it at 1.15pm on BBC2. There is a one minute trailer on Facebook - please share: https://www.facebook.com/bbcsop
Summer Club - Kelly is putting together a programme for local primary aged children for summer learning and fun. She’ll be based at The Albany during the school holidays and is looking for support from anyone with a talent to share – music, dance, cookery, sports, you name it - who can volunteer time or resources. For full details or offers of help, please contact as soon as poss! Thanks.
Bare Christianity - listen to Pastor Paul reading his upcoming book.
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQHVEY0ENv48scStgcYv3Tw/videos
Podbean: https://pauladlington.podbean.com
Summer 21 – if you are 14-24, join REACH London and iNet for a week-long mission experience across four locations in London this summer. Serve a missional project, receive training, and have fun. It's residential and either free or very low cost. Take a look at the promotional video, download the flyer, and click here for the expression of interest form.
Psalms and Stretches - sessions continue on Tuesdays at 8am (free/£5/£7.50). If you would like to find out more about how to become a P&S instructor, please contact Ruth at info@psalmsandstretches.com
This week at The Bear
Sunday
10.30am Youth Alpha at Bench Outreach
10 am Morning Prayer (same codes as service)
10.30 am Morning Service
Monday
7am Early Morning Prayer on Zoom
9.30am Bear Cubs at The Bear
8pm Bear Leadership Team
Tuesday
7 am Early Morning Prayer
2 pm Women's Bible Study at The Bear
Wednesday
7 am Early Morning Prayer
8 pm Housegroups
Thursday
7 am Early Morning Prayer
9.15am Fundraising Team Meeting
10am Bear Cubs Outdoors
1pm Bear Cubs at The Bear
8 pm Housegroups
Friday
7 am Early Morning Prayer
9.30am Bear Cubs at The Bear
1.30pm English Fridays at The Bear
Classifieds
Guitar - has anyone got a spare acoustic they could loan to Wendy Lim? Might be long-term. Please let Brigitte know by Sunday if you can help
Babysitting/Childminding - Miriam Alston, age 18, is available for babysitting & childminding until mid-September. Please ring for details on
Contact info@thebear.tv if you wish to run a classified ad. Please note that all Non-Bear notices and classifieds are included as a courtesy and do not necessarily reflect The Bear leadership or employees' views or beliefs.
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