BUILDING OUR HOUSE TEAMS
Life at Sannox Christian Centre (SCC) is always evolving as we build from the future. We’ve had many blessings and good developments in recent years, and we give thanks to the Lord for his leading. Our range of day and residential retreats, teaching programme, and creative projects are growing, and we are continually exploring new opportunities for the future. This can only develop in line with our volunteer capacity and valuable input from others.
Over the next few months in our News Updates, we want to highlight a few new ‘House Teams’ we are seeking to develop that you may feel able to be a part of. Some will be suited to those resident on Arran, whereas some can be participated in from a distance or as part of your visit to us. So, let us introduce you to the first two of our new teams:
Host, Hospitality and Housekeeping Team
Hosts: You may already be aware of opportunities to come to SCC and be a ‘host’ – being onsite to welcome guests, support the work of the centre practically and to participate in our rhythm of prayer and worship. That is still an opportunity that is open to more people. We have a brief orientation process for this which imparts all the info you need. Hosts have use of our static caravan on-site free of charge, which includes all you need for a comfortable stay. If you are interested in this, please contact admin@sannox.org and we can arrange for you to visit us and have an orientation session.
Hospitality Team: As we expand this team, we are also in need of those who can help with our residential retreats, day retreats and occasional events including Sannox Saturday, particularly in the area of hospitality which includes, but not limited to, helping with refreshments, making participants feel at home, and other practical assistance to support the retreat leader. This might suit island residents, especially for occasional or day events, but hosts staying in the caravan are also welcome to participate in this role during their stay. If you’d like to be a part of this team please email andrew@sannox.org
Housekeeping: we are so blessed to have our Housekeeper, Michelle, and she does amazing work for us at Sannox. However, if Michelle needs to take her annual leave or if she is unwell, for example, we can have a bit of a gap to help us with cleaning and the change-over of rooms after guests have left. We are looking for a few volunteers who may be available to be called upon to help with this on an ad hoc basis to cover for times when Michelle isn’t available. Again, if you feel you could support with this, please contact admin@sannox.org and we can arrange a time for you to come and meet with Michelle so she can show you the ropes!
Communications Team
We already have a few folks involved with our communications, such as those who help prepare and send out this monthly email you receive, but we have some needs moving forward to help us get the news out about SCC. In particular, we need people who have good communication skills in the area of social media (Facebook and Instagram), helping spread news about our events and about the centre both online and through other means. We also have need of some individuals with an understanding of basic website content creation who are familiar with WordPress and can help keep our website up to date with events and news. Additionally, we need people who can edit simply audio recordings and upload them to YouTube for us. Again, if this is of interest and you have suitable skills in this area, please contact andrew@sannox.org.
SANNOX DAILY PRAYER
You may or may not know that SCC observes a simply rhythm of prayer each day, consisting of Morning, Midday and Evening Prayer. We have our own liturgy to help facilitate that, not only for guests who come to stay, but for others who are engaged in the life of SCC. In recent years, we have been ‘test driving’ this liturgy, making gentle tweaks here and there and allowing the rhythm to embed itself into the life at the Centre. One of our deepest hopes is that this resource will be available to guests and to you, Friends of Sannox, who might wish to connect with us in prayer, either through using the whole rhythm or even just one element of it. We are moving towards getting these resources updated and printed. We anticipate launching these and making them available to the wider community of SCC in the near future. We’ll keep you up to date!
Come and Visit Us
Bookings at SCC are always open! Come aside and enjoy for rest and restoration, with some time away from it all. Or, you might need to just have some time to seek God in this season and explore what he is saying to you just now. You can join in with daily morning worship and prayer, explore the island, take light or challenging walks, see the wildlife and seek after God in this beautiful island. The team look forward to welcoming you!
September Prayer Gathering
Our next Friends of Sannox prayer gathering will be at 8.00pm on Monday 1st September. We hope you can join us for a time of prayer and worship. Contact us for Zoom details.
PRAYER REQUESTS
Give thanks for:
– A great weekend at Arran Open Studios and for the opportunities to meet and spend time with a number of visitors to the centre over that weekend.
Please pray for:
– The autumn’s residential and day retreats
– Bookings for the Sannox programme for the rest of 2025
– Preparation of the Sannox programme for 2026
– The development of a ‘House Teams’ to take the work of the centre forward
– Ongoing plans for the Beehive Chapel, funding for the Manse, and ongoing running costs
– An individual who could be on the Sannox Board as a Trustee and Treasurer, working with Heidi, our Administrator who looks after our bookkeeping
– God to call people to serve as Trustees on the Board from Arran and beyond, to ensure continuity in the future, bring new skills and strengthen our representation on Arran
Sannox Saturday
Our next Sannox Saturday takes place on Saturday 6th September. As usual, we will start at 2pm with coffee, then a time of worship, prayer and a message following. We look forward to seeing all who are able to gather with us! Andrew Clark will be speaking this month.
Upcoming Events and Retreats
Sannox Stitches Retreat: Friday 5th – Sunday 7th September
This will be our 5th Sannox Stitches knitting and fibre crafts retreat! Take some time out to invest not only in your current knitting project, but also to invest in your peace and wellbeing as we gather for good conversation, prayer and worship. This year, the Saturday afternoon will include our monthly ‘Sannox Saturday’ with a time of worship alongside the wider community of the island.
We will begin just after 1pm on Friday and close after lunch on Sunday, but please feel free to book in an extra evening. Suggested donation for this self-catered weekend is £120pp.
Please get in touch with Heidi at admin@sannox.org to book for the weekend.
Day Retreat: ‘Kingdom Prayer’: Saturday 20th September
What does it mean to pray, ‘Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done’? We will gather to consider the call to prayer that calls the Lord to move in power and display his Glory in out communities. Most of the teaching for this retreat will be in the morning up until lunch, and then there will be an opportunity to journey out into the communities of Arran to pray God’s blessing the island.
Those coming to participate are invited to give a donation towards the work of the centre – suggested donation £25.
If you’re planning to come from further afield, you’d be most welcome to come and stay for a night – our suggested donation towards the ongoing ministry of Sannox is £40pppn. To book for the day, and also any accommodation, please email Heidi at admin@sannox.org
Day Retreat: ‘Open the Book’: Saturday 18th October
This retreat was initially planned for 2024, but the weather wasn’t cooperating! We’re now pleased to get it back in the schedule for the rest of 2025. The day will be a devotional orientation to the story of the scriptures – a refresher of God’s great, epic story. We’ll also explore ways to read the various biblical genres and a number of tools to enable us to get the best of engaging with the Bible.
Those coming to participate are invited to give a donation towards the work of the centre – suggested donation £25.
If you’re planning to come from further afield, you’d be most welcome to come and stay for a night – our suggested donation towards the ongoing inistry of Sannox is £40pppn. To book for the day, and also any accommodation, please email Heidi at admin@sannox.org
Day Retreat: Celtic Advent: Saturday 22nd November
The Celtic saints, like the Orthodox traditions, celebrated a 40 day period of Advent. Come and share in some Celtic Christian flavoured reflections as we head towards Advent 2025, which will culminate in a reflective sharing around the Lord’s table using beautifully poetic Celtic liturgy.
Those coming to participate are invited to give a donation towards the work of the centre – suggested donation £25.
If you’re planning to come from further afield, you’d be most welcome to come and stay for a night – our suggested donation towards the ongoing ministry of Sannox is £40pppn. To book for the day, and also any accommodation, please email Heidi at admin@sannox.org
The Sannox Prayer
“Today I choose to stand in this place you have called me to,
And I declare that You are a Mighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
Your Kingdom shall endure and will never be shaken.
Open the windows of Heaven and pour out Your promised blessings in this generation.
Revive us, restore us and heal our land.
Thank you for going before us to open the way and remove all obstacles.
Increase our Faith, stir up Hope and keep us grounded and walking in Love.
Thank you that You are creating a dwelling place for God and man here – in Sannox, on Arran, for the nations.
Amen”
We bless you in the name of Jesus, to receive all that the Father has for you, and we thank you for your continuing support of His work at SCC.
The Trustees and staff of Sannox Christian Centre
