West View e-Letter
February 24, 2023
Dear West View Family
Warm Lenten greetings. This week we had the Ash Wednesday services online and on campus, Ash Wednesday is the start of the 40-day journey towards Easter. The season of Lent is a season which invites all of us to intentionally reflect on our relationship with God by paying attention to our sinfulness. Lent, I believe, brings us face to face with our sinful human condition and makes us realise that sin is not just a personal fault that deprives us of grace; but that sin alienates us from God and from others. I do not know what goals you have set for yourself this Lenten season but my prayer for you is that this Lent may bring you to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the historical life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
LENTEN SMALL GROUPS One of the gifts of the Christian faith is fellowship, this word simply means having opportunities to read scriptures together with fellow believers and supporting each other on the journey of faith. Here at West View we believe that one of the ways through which Life change happens is through small group life, this is why I am encouraging all of us to be part of a small group here at West View. If you do not yet belong to a small group would you consider signing up for a 6 week small group that will meet during Lent? You can contact Dikoti at services@westview.org.za or simply visit our website here
to sign up for a small group.
LENT 2023 PREACHING SERIES : WITNESS AT THE CROSS In our new sermon series “Witness at the Cross” we are called to examine how the people at the cross each have distinct roles to play in the Gospels. For each, Jesus has a particular meaning and message, and from each, we learn how those meanings and messages traverse the centuries to any who would come to the Cross today. As we prepare for Holy Week and Easter Weekend, we will be reflecting on what our possible witness at the Cross of Christ would, should and could be. Nobody said this was going to be easy. As always, getting to Easter means time at the Cross and time at the tomb
ALPHA COURSE We are excited to be able to run an Alpha once again here at West View after 2 years of not running it due to the Pandemic. If you or someone you know is new to the Christian faith or perhaps just have some real questions about the Christian faith, then Alpha is the course to help broaden your understanding about the fundamentals of the Christian Faith. Alpha is also a great course to invite a friend who is unchurched to come alongside you as you explore questions of faith and life. West View will be running an Alpha Course from 23 February 2023 – 20 April 2023, on Thursday nights from 7pm – 9pm. The cost is R200.00 per participant. For more info or to register please contact Dikoti at services@westview.org.za
Note: Even if you do not have the R200 Registration fee please contact us we will arrange a sponsorship for you or someone you think might benefit from the course.
DISCIPLE 1 The Disciple Bible study course is an in depth study of the Bible designed for people who want to grow and broaden their understanding of the scriptures. The course is structured in such a way that the group meets once a week to go through the material together, and get some work to do in between the meetings. If you would like to be part of Disciple 1 this year please contact Dikoti on services@westview.org.za for more information, the course will start on Wednesday 1st March 2023.
2023 CONFIRMATION CLASS AND INFO-EVENING We would like to invite teenagers 16yrs + who wish to take their relationship with Christ to the next level to please register for the 2023 Confirmation class. The confirmation class will start on the 05th March 2023 and will meet every Sunday afternoon at 4pm. We invite all high school students (16yrs+) who are interested to bring their parents to the parents information evening on Thursday the 2nd March 2023 at 6pm.
FOUNDATION An invitation is extended to everyone who has joined the West View community over the past few months and has not attended the foundation course to please contact Dikoti on services@westview.org.za or fill in the new members form click here to sign up for the foundation course.
The foundation course is an opportunity for new members to get to know a little bit more about West View and to meet with the ministers and the course is run over the period of 4 weeks online. The next course will start on the 7th March 2023.
MARCH CHURCH EXPRESS Church express is an interactive worship experience that happens once a month here at West View, with a focus on Youth and Young Adults topical issues. Our next Church express will be on Sunday the 12 March 2023 at 6pm. We would like to see all our Youth and Young adults as we begin to re imagine what Youth and Young Adults Ministry might look like for us here at West View.
GOOD FRIDAY REMEMBRANCE SERVICE As we continue our journey towards Good Friday and Easter I would like to remind you of our annual Good Friday Remembrance service that we have every year on Good Friday afternoon at 5pm. The date for this service this year is the 7th April 2023. If you have lost a loved one we would like you to consider being part of this service or if you know someone who have lost a loved we would like to extend the invitation to them even if they do not worship at West View. In preparation for this service we invite you to bring white flowers to the service and a photograph of your loved one.
PLEDGE FORMS As part of the stewardship campaign here at West View, we are all encouraged to prayerfully consider our financial support to the work of God here at West View. When we have decided on how much we are able to give we are asked to please fill in the Pledge forms available at the church entrance and the website click here .
If you have not yet done so, please take a Pledge form from the church entrance, or email lianda@westview.org.za for more details. Kindly update your pledge details with us, as this assists us to plan properly and budget correctly
IMPORTANT DATES Alpha Course 23 February
Disciple 1 March
Parents Evening Conformation Info 2 March
Confirmation 2023 starts 5 March
Foundation Course 7 March
Church Express 12 March
Remembrance Service 7 April
Your Servant for Christ’ sake
Siphiwe