Jars of clay

November 6th, 2026

Dear church family

1 Corinthians 4:7 says,

'But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.'

I love this image of us being these jars of clay that hold immeasurable treasure. There is a humility to this image as well that we need to remember that God is the treasure and we are but jars of clay. But in being just jars of clay God chooses us to hold His presence and His power – what a great honour! It also makes me think of Kinsugi which is the traditional Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics. I always remember years ago when I had been through a particularly tough time that I was feeling quite broken from, God showed me this image of a broken jar of clay and how through the cracks and broken pieces His glory is able to shine out even more. Leading to the next couple of verses in the passage, in verses 8 and 9 it says,

'We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.'

Life can be so tough, but these verses are such an encouragement. Yes, we might feel hard pressed on every side for all sorts of reasons, but we will not be crushed. We may be perplexed (and if you had to google perplexed which I totally did it means 'feeling completely confused, puzzled, or filled with uncertainty because something is difficult to understand, solve or explain'), but we are not in despair. We might be persecuted; in the persecution we are not alone or forgotten about. We might be struck down but not destroyed. This passage gives me so much confidence that amidst difficulty, amidst challenge, even amidst perceived or factual unfairness, God will continue to guard, protect and watch over us. He is our refuge and our strength, and we do not need to be afraid because He has not left us alone and will not leave us to be crushed, abandoned or destroyed.

So let us hold on confidently to God knowing that He will guard us and protect us when we are struggling. And if you are struggling and are feeling crushed, abandoned and/or destroyed know that you are not alone and know that we would love to support and pray for you. If you would like some specific prayer and space to invite God into your situation, we have Prayer Works which you can sign up for via our website or please feel free to reply to this email and one of the team will get in touch with you!

All my love,

Katie

SUNDAY SERVICES | 10:30AM
Join us in person this Sunday in Ashford, Brabourne or Finberry

Ashford - Guest Speaker - Becky Waterman
Brabourne - Sacrifice - Katie Moyles
Finberry - Giving - Andrew Boylan

You can also join us online from New Wells Ashford: https://youtu.be/7Ot8exRurkE

HOSPITALITY TRAINING - NEXT WEEK
Monday 9th November | 7.30pm | New Wells Ashford
Everyone currently serving in hospitality at New Wells Ashford is encouraged to prioritise attendance, where possible, but we'd like to open this also to people who are not currently serving but are considering joining the team. For more information please email Leila maqtan.leila@gmail.com

DATES FOR THE DIARY
Join us this Christmas at New Wells!
With carol services, drama performances & more across all three sites. There is something for everyone and we would love to see you at one of our events this year! Visit www.newwells.church/christmas to find all our upcoming event dates…

HARVEST - THANK YOU
This Autumn we have had 3 different schools in Ashford thinking of The Well when they were collecting food for their harvest festival celebrations! We are so grateful to them, these incredible donations to our community fridge will help so many of our community who are in need. Thank you to anyone who has ever had a cupboard clear out & donated food to others, God bless you! …If you yourself ever have a cupboard clear out or see something whilst out shopping, please do think of The Well, thank you

SATURATE
Thursday 19th Nov | 7pm | New Wells Brabourne
Join us for whole church prayers as we meet together from across all 3 sites. This month we are meeting over at Brabourne

BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE - INTERPRETED SERVICES
We are pleased to have David with us to interpret the following Sunday Services: Ashford - Nov 8th | Brabourne - Nov 15th | Finberry - Nov 22nd

CALEB RISING CONFERENCE - TOMORROW
Saturday 7th November | 9.30am-3.30pm
Preaches, interviews, Spirit-filled worship, encouragement, fire, passion and above and over it all, lifting up the Name above all Names, Jesus Christ! More info: https://gatewayashford.churchsuite.com/events/rmasornw

PRAYER WORKS
Book an appointment via our website: https://newwells.church/prayerworks
Are there times when you just need someone to pray with or for you, but aren't seeing anyone to ask or are not able to get to church? We are offering personal confidential face to face and occasional online prayer appointments with members of our prayer team called Prayer Works (because it does!).

New Wells - Weekly Update-02 Dates for the diary.png

Hospitality Training Mon 9th Nov | 7.30pm | New Wells Ashford
Saturate Thu 19th Nov | 7pm | New Wells Brabourne
AGM Sun 22nd Nov | 6pm | New Wells Ashford