Slough

Layleader : Mrs K. Maringa

Associate Layleader : Mrs M. Nyachengwe

 (2019-2020)

Contact Details

Layleader 

Tel: 07734954850

Email: umcslough@outlook.com

Service Times 

10:30-13:00 hours

Pastor in Charge

Pastor KH Mudambanuki

Tel: 07428129908

Address:

SDA Church
56 Albert Street
Slough
SL1 2BU

The birth of Slough UMC

Slough UMC started as a little mustard seed as previous historians noted. As recounted by those who were available at the start, a few families met as a prayer group (section) and had links from Zimbabwe. With time more families joined and the problem of a venue became apparent. Consultations under the leadership of Mr Daniel Mapfeka were made with Rev. Sakutombo who agreed to look for an appropriate place of worship. On 24 August 2000 a place was found in Hackney Central. The fellowship eventually started on 01/10/2000. The first service was attended by 18 people including children and a Sunday collection of £24 was collected. With time the numbers grew and a bigger venue was desperately needed.

The Layleaders at that time were as follows:

Layleader: Mr Daniel Mapfeka

Vice Layleader: Mrs Mabvira

There were a few teething problems around Nov/Dec 2000 with regards to registering the church and a task force comprising of (Sisi Jayne Chitombo, Mrs J. Mutasa, Mr & Mrs Muguwe) was formed. Rev. Sakutombo could not continue helping as he was with the British Methodist church. On 01/12/2000 members broke away from Hackney Central and moved to Peckham which they only used for 3 months as it became too small for the growing church. Eventually they moved to London Vauxhall which is still in use today. As the church was growing, Rev. Shepherd Kudakwashe Makina namai, provided pastoral care and backstopping services. They worked very hard to get the church to where it is now. Word spread and some members were coming from as far as Luton, Portsmouth & Slough.

Mr Kadzirange who was the Layleader at the time, moved to USA in Dec 2001 and Mr Raphael Mujuru took over the role. Mr R. Mujuru and the leadership facilitated the registration of the church as a charity organisation as enshrined in the Charities Act. The church was formally registered on 11/11/2002 with registration number 1094560. Slough and Luton were sections of Vauxhall church then. With the phenomenal growth that was taking place and the need to reduce travelling distances, efforts were made to establish Slough & Luton as preaching points. Slough was granted preaching point status in 2003 and service commenced on 01/05/2004. From then on Slough UMC grew until today, and we are still growing. In 2005 Slough UMC attained local church status. Rev. TK. Mapfeka namai were appointed in April 2003 by the ZAC. They led Slough UMC from glory to glory. The work that they did for Slough UMC is very evident and it still echoes in our hearts. And today we are still growing spiritually under the leadership of Pastor KH Mudambanuki namai who have taken over the button stick. It is true to say, we have truly come a long way. Indeed EBENEZER, this far the Lord has taken us.

Highlights

On 23/06/2018 we visited the John Wesley Centre which was organised by our CM. It was truly memorable and humbling to be in John Wesley’s house. This was followed by lunch at the London eye then a boat cruise across the Thames River.

We celebrated our 15th anniversary on 07/04/2019 where we were on UK MA live stream and we had a lot of visitors who came to witness this special occasion. What a joy and a proud moment for Slough being a little mustard seed to having over 120 church members. Ebenezer!

CHOIR: We are very proud of our vibrant choir that sings melodiously. The 1st place trophy for UK MA Music festivals has been to Slough UMC over 5 times over the years. We also have a vibrant praise & worship team that puts everyone into the mood of worship before service.

BEAUTIFICATION: A special mention to our ladies who work tirelessly to make our place of worship beautiful. Our church feels very warm and welcoming because of how they decorate it.

COF: Our COF Team is brilliant as they give quarterly updates of our income and expenditure, making sure that all congregants are kept informed of church finances and ways of boosting our income.

BOT: This team is simply amazing! We worship in a clean and tidy church and they even stay quite late afterwards to make sure it is immaculate. Our inventory is up to date and they do a fire register every Sunday to comply with the Fire Regulations.

PAC: This team looks after the welfare of our pastor and his family as well as the congregation. They organise regular parsonage visits where we spend quality time with our pastor, namai Mudambanuki and the girls.

CM: Our CM team is the pillar in our church making sure that church programmes run smoothly, and coordinating all 3 organisations.

CYM: CYM coordinators work tirelessly with JSS, making sure our kids grow knowing who God is from birth. On their week they lead in sections then lead on the JSS Sunday from being Layleaders of the day, the choir, bible study to the sermon. The JSS choir have done brilliantly over the last 2-3 years with their marvellous singing. In 2018 they took 1st place as part of South Charge at the MA Family Retreat, which was brilliant. Truly our church of tomorrow will remain alive, long after we have left this earth.

UMYF: A vibrant group that is forever seeking to know Christ. The Teen Church (13-19yrs) is growing spiritually and they hold their own service once a quarter. The youth lead during UMYF week in their respective sections and it’s just uplifting to watch. On UMYF Sunday 2019 they led the whole service and you really could feel the Holy Spirit moving in the church. Their highlight in 2019 was that on the South Charge Joint Organisations Revival in Portsmouth one of their own was a guest preacher (Miss Mercy Matambanadzo – Vice Chair Evangelism). What a blessing it was to see our daughter preaching the word of God with boldness.

MUMC: The main aim of this organisation is to bring more souls to Christ. Chibvuwi do this by being more visible in the community. They meet regularly on average every 2 weeks usually at a Big Sunday service after church or at members’ houses. Average attendance is 8 members per session.

RRW: Kushandira Kristu nevamwe. Our ruwadzano is very vibrant in the church and they take part in many church activities including outreach programmes. For the last 3 years the ladies have supported cancer research by running Race for Life 5K in Aylesbury. In 2017 they raised over £3,000, in 2018 they raised a whooping £4,367.50 then 2019 they raised £3,100. RRW have rumuko every Sunday morning 5-6am on the South Charge prayer line and everyone is welcome to join (free line 03306060182, access code 667555#). They have machishanu mudzimba then 1 big Sunday per month. They have hosted madumba several times over the years with great team work. Last year they did a walkathon where they tracked steps and walked the equivalent of getting to mai Bishop’s house and back to Slough, which promoted exercise & good health. One of their own (Mrs M. Nyachengwe-Evangelism Chair) was a guest preacher on the South charge Good Friday Service 2019, which was quite uplifting. They also published their first Newsletter in 2017, where they put all their highlights and sell them as a way of boosting Project funds

What to expect

At Slough UMC service starts at 10:30am with the procession of our vibrant choir. We have Sunday school/Bible study first followed by announcements then straight into the sermon of the day. Our service is 2.5hrs and we endeavour to keep service within time. At the end of the service we always get a cup of tea or a cold drink
depending on the weather, courtesy of our Entertainment team. We have quite a number of visitors that come from Zimbabwe and within the UK, which is amazing. What makes Slough UMC special is our warm hospitality, vibrant worship through singing, well researched Sunday school to challenge our knowledge of the Bible, spiritually inspired sermons from our local preachers and Pastor, weekly Newsletter published by Secretariat and a high level of giving.

Upcoming Events
  • Mid Harvest Celebrations 30/06/19 at our local church
  • Harvest Day 28/07/2019 at our local church
  • Parsonage visit for a BBQ organised by PAC on 07/09/2019
  • Trip to the Holy Land Monday 28 September – Monday 5 October 2020. Being organised by Slough UMC but invitation open to the whole MA or any non UMC friends who may want to join. For more information contact Pastor KH Mudambanuki (07428129908) or Nurturing Coordinator Mr I. Nyachengwe (07899046195). Total per person is £1395. A deposit of £200 is required this year then the remaining balance 10 weeks before travel. You can book direct with Worldwide Christian Travel online www.christian-travel.com or calling 0117 973 1840. This will make the bible come alive, so you do not want to miss this opportunity of a lifetime!

Slough 2019-2020 Leadership

LayleaderMrs K. Maringa
Associate LayleaderMrs M. Nyachengwe
SecretaryMiss K. Simango
Vice SecretaryMiss R. Ndagurwa
COF ChairpersonMrs T. Chambara
COF Vice chairpersonMrs S. Ndagurwa
TreasurerMr G. Simango
COF SecretaryMrs B. Malunga
COF Vice SecretaryMr T. Muchemeyi
AuditorMrs T. Chademunhu
CM ChairpersonMrs J. Matambanadzo
CM Vice ChairpersonMr O. Ndagurwa
Nurturing CoordinatorMr I. Nyachengwe
Nurturing Vice CoordinatorMiss C. Chikukwa
Outreach CoordinatorMrs P. Matambanadzo
Outreach Vice CoordinatorMr C. Chambara
Witnessing CoordinatorMr C. Rimbani
Witnessing Vice CoordinatorMrs M. Sharara
CYM CoordinatorMrs C. Chinaka
CYM Vice CoordinatorMrs C. Dumba
CYM Committee MembersMrs M. Konde
Mrs F. Mubayi
Mrs M. Rimbani
Mrs E. Zhungu
Mrs P. Cano
Teen CoordinatorMrs Z. Nyerenyere
Teen CoordinatorMr F. Chandigere
Young Adults CoordinatorMrs S. Chenjerai
BOT ChairpersonMr E. Chinyerere
BOT Vice ChairpersonMr C. Chikukwa
BOT Committee MembersMr F. Chandigere
Mr J. Chademunhu
Mr R. Mutanga
Safeguarding CoordinatorMrs S. Chenjerai
Safeguarding CoordinatorMr C. Chambara
PAC CoordinatorMrs S. Hokonya
PAC Vice CoordinatorMiss E. Makamanzi
PAC Committee MembersMr M. Zhungu
Mrs B. Svinurayi
Mrs T. Makurumure
Mr J. Chademunhu
Mrs T. Mukuvari
Entertainment ChairpersonMrs E. Buba
Entertainment Vice ChairpersonMrs F. Stone
Entertainment Committee MembersMiss Z. Chambara
Mr D. Dumba
Ms M. Nzara
Mrs C. Mutanga
Beautification ChairpersonMrs S. Chenjerai
Beautification Vice ChairpersonMs J. Gwarada
StatisticianMiss C. Simango
Publications ChairpersonMs M. Gwasira
Publications Vice ChairpersonMr T. Ndagurwa
UshersMr T. Hokonya
Mrs J. Ndongwe
Miss T. Gwarada