Disciple
The Newsletter of the Metropolitan Congregation
Week commencing 11th June 2017
Welcome to our newsletter and to the ministry of the Metropolitan Congregation of Wilbraham St Ninian's URC - serving and celebrating the LGBT communities of Manchester and the North West.
If this is your first contact with us, we are delighted to greet you here.
Sunday Worship
Philip Jones was our preacher on Trinity Sunday.
In his sermon he considered a passage from the 55th chapter of Isaiah where the prophet speaks about the nature of God, and Philip reflected on how his own understandings of God have been nurtured by the symbols, insights and experiences of the Christian tradition.
You can read the text of Philip's sermon
here, and you can hear the audio version of it on the
Audio and Video page of our website
here - just scroll down to the Sermons section of the page.
Our sincere thanks also go to:
- Jenny-Anne, Susan, Margaret and Ian who assisted with various parts of the service;
- our singers and musicians for their dedicated ministry of music in the church;
- and the team of helpers who prepare the church for worship, provide us with refreshments, manage the distributions from our foodbank, and clear things away at the end of the day.
Church Meeting - Sunday 18th June - 1.45pm
Our next quarterly Church Meeting will take place on the coming Sunday, 18th June.
All members of our church, from both congregations, are asked to attend as the Church Meeting is the primary decision-making body of the local church.
The timings are as follows:
- 12.30 pm - Bring and Share lunch - in the church hall. Everyone welcome.
- 1.45 pm - Church Meeting - in the church.
- 3.15 pm - Set up church for afternoon worship.
Apologies for absence should be sent by email to the Church Secretary, Kath Lacy - kmlacy@btinternet.com
Third Street Mcr - Gay women's book club - meeting in Chorlton on Thursday 15th June
Third Street is a book club for women who identify as lesbian or gay whether wholly or in part. At their June meeting they will be discussing Fannie Flagg's novel "Fried green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe".
Further details are on the group's website
here and on their Twitter feed
here.
To sign up and confirm the venue details, email thirdstreetmcr@gmail.com
Commemorating Refugee Week - Sunday 25th June - a special invitation to members and friends, past and present
Refugee Week takes place every year across the world in the week around World Refugee Day on 20th June.
In the UK, Refugee Week is a nationwide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK, and encourages a better understanding between communities.
Refugee Week for 2017 runs from 19th to 25th June and full details of events nationwide are available on the Refugee Week website
here.
As a way of acknowledging the many members and friends of our congregation who have sought, and are still seeking, asylum and refuge in the UK, we invite all those members and friends, past and present, to join us on
Sunday 25th June, at
4.30pm as usual, for a special service on the theme of asylum, refuge and sanctuary.
First Wednesday - support and social group for LGBT asylum seekers
At the recent meeting of the
First Wednesday group on 7th June at the
LGBT Foundation:
- Aderonke Apata, the leader of African Rainbow Family, spoke and shared publicity items about a workshop scheduled for the 21st June, 0900-1700, at Methodist Hall, Oldham Street, Manchester. M1 1JQ
- Philip Jones gave a presentation on the importance of creating a detailed and accurate timeline of the key facts in an asylum case - dates, times, people and places.
- Alistair Cooper, from the LGBT Foundation, shared some images from the IDAHOBIT celebration - International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia - held on 17th May.
Seven guests were attending their first meeting with us, in addition to 65 of our regular attenders, and we wish them a very warm welcome.
The notes from the meeting, including links to the presentations, were emailed during the week to everyone on the group's distribution list
The next meeting of the group will be on Wednesday 5th July and will be an informal drop-in session.
Thank you to all our guests for coming. Thank you to the presenters and facilitators who share their knowledge and quietly ensure that such a large meeting runs like clockwork each month. And sincere thanks to the LGBT Foundation for their continuing hospitality and generosity towards our group.
The First Wednesday group has a website
here, a Facebook page
here, and a Twitter feed
here. Emails can be sent to contact@firstwednesday.lgbt
Pride Events and LGBT Celebrations 2017
Many of our members and friends take part in Pride and other celebratory events in support of LGBT organisations that they belong to.
Representatives from our own congregation take part in the
Christians Walking With Pride group at Manchester Pride each year.
Two of the best lists of Pride events are the ones compiled by PinkUK - see
here, and ILGA Europe - see
here.
A brief list of some of the 2017 Prides, and other events that our members have supported in the past, are given below. Details about each event are usually available via links in the lists mentioned above or via a simple search on Google or in Facebook.
- UK Black Pride - starts 28th June
- Trafford - 1st July
- Sparkle - starts 7th July
- London - parade 8th July
- Liverpool - 29th July
- Oldham - 29th July
- Stockport - 30th July
- Brighton - starts 4th August
- Leeds - 5th August
- Burnley - 5th August
- Levenshulme - starts 11th August
- Wigan - 12th August
- Chester - 19th August
- Wythenshawe - 19th August
- Manchester - starts 25th August
- Preston - 9th September
Cyprain - still in detention at time of writing
Many of you will be aware, as a result of the campaigning and social media messages relating to Cyprain Buh Tah, that our friend remains in detention and continues to be at risk of deportation.
The full story of his case is given on his petition page which is still live
here and for which we welcome your support.
Your continuing prayers are asked for Cyprain's release from detention and a just outcome to his asylum case. He has sent messages of thanks via our congregation to everyone who has supported him so far with their prayers and all who have worked with his lawyer to make a difference in his case.
If you wish to send personal messages of support, the easiest way is to send a text message to his phone -
07405 585508. Please don't expect a reply as his priority is probably to save his phone credit for essential calls to his lawyer and campaign team.
Big Day Out - 8th July - Southport Convention Centre
The North Western Synod of the United Reformed Church, together with Mersey Synod, are holding another
Big Day Out on
Saturday 8th July from 10.00 am, at
Southport Convention Centre.
Tickets for adults will be £10 each; children 16 years and under have free entry. Please note that, although there is no cost for children to attend the day, they will need to book a ticket.
The programme will include:
Speakers:
- Revd John Proctor - Acts: the Church in Action
- Revd Steve Chalke - The Church and Peacemaking Initiatives
- Revd Richard Church - Walking the Way
- Revd Andrew Roberts - Holy Habits
- Lawrence Moore
- Grace Pengelly
Workshops:
- Dementia – awareness in worship and work within the community
- Developing the Church in the community
- Gathering and telling stories
- Puppets in worship
- The Naked Vicar
- Magic/clowning
- Art in worship
- Drama
- Crafty Christians and Fun Science
Latest details and a downloadable booking form are available
here. Additionally, a Twitter feed for the event is available
here, and a Facebook page is
here.
