Disciple
The Newsletter of the Metropolitan Congregation
Week commencing 26th March 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 Sunday.
Philip reflected on some wider perspectives of how our church communities can respond to Mothering Sunday, in contrast to the much more commercialised Mothers Day which seems to dominate every retail outlet at this time of year.
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, Elen, Margaret, Pam and Walt 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.
More asylum successes:
- for Albert
We are delighted to hear that Albert Osagie, a regular attender at our church since 2015, has been granted leave to remain in the UK as a result of his asylum hearing some weeks ago.
Albert received the decision in his case at the beginning of March but wished to hold back on his good news until the two-week period had safely passed within which the Home Office could have appealed his decision.
God bless you, Albert, and many congratulations on reaching the end of a long and difficult case.
- and for Sonboy
We heard yesterday that another of our church attenders has been successful in his recent appeal in the asylum tribunal. We wait to see whether the Home Office will challenge the judge's decision, but we can now hope that Sonboy will be granted leave to remain in due course.
Sonboy Ndebele from Zimbabwe has been worshipping in our congregation since January 2016 and we are delighted that he can now live his life free from the persecution that he suffered in his home country due to his sexuality.
Our thanks go to everyone who has supported Sonboy during his asylum process, and our sincere gratitude goes to the ever-wonderful
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit who prepared his case and represented him at his recent hearing at the asylum tribunal in Stoke.
May God bless you Sonboy for whatever the future may hold.
Abbey and 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 and Abbey Kyeyune, that our friends remain in detention and continue to be at risk of deportation.
The full stories of each of their cases are given on their respective petition pages which are still live and for which we welcome your support - Abbey
here, and Cyprain
here.
Your continuing prayers are asked for their release from detention and a just outcome to their asylum cases. Both of them have sent messages of thanks via our congregation to everyone who has supported them so far with their prayers and all who have worked with their lawyers to make a difference in their cases.
If you wish to send personal messages of support, the easiest way is to send a text message to their phones. Please don't expect a reply as their priority is probably to save their phone credit for essential calls to their lawyers and campaign teams.
- Abbey: 07466 819264
- Cyprain: 07405 585508
Trans people's sexual health survey
The LGBT Foundation's online survey which looks at sexual health, and experiences of sexual health services, for trans people in England is now live.
The survey is part of the Foundation's ongoing sexual health project for trans people, and the responses given will contribute to the insights being gathered into what good, inclusive sexual health provision looks like, enabling the Foundation to work with sexual health services to promote good practice in working with trans service users.
All answers given will remain anonymous and confidential, and there is also the option to be entered into a draw for one of two £100 shopping voucher prizes after completing the survey. Click
here to access the survey, which will be
live until midnight of Friday 7th April.
Gardening Morning - Saturday 8th April - 10am till noon
Volunteers are welcome to join us for some tidying, pruning and waste-clearing of the garden areas at church between 10am and noon on Saturday 8th April.
We will provide a soup and sandwich lunch at noon to say thank you for your help.
Manchester Passion - Saturday 8th April - assemble from noon, performance starts at 2pm
When?
Saturday, 8th April, 2017, 2pm
Where?
Cathedral Gardens, Manchester
Manchester Passion will celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, with a simple message of love, hope and forgiveness. The production will include live drama and music with a cast of over 30 actors, The Manchester Inspirational Voices Choir, and the Sweet Rhythm Big Band.
The event has a website
here, a Facebook Page
here, and a Twitter feed
here.
Lent Gift Day - 9th April - 'Laughter Africa'
Our church's Gift Day appeal for 2017 will be for Laughter Africa, a charity working with street children in Africa to help them fulfil their aspirations and bring about positive change in their lives.
You can read about the work of the charity on their website
here.
The Gift Day will be Palm Sunday, 9th April, and enevelopes for donations will be available in church.
Holy Week and Easter
Passover Meal - Maundy Thursday, 13th April 2017, 7pm
Following our custom in previous years, we will mark the Thursday of Holy Week by holding a bring-and-share meal which will be interspersed with elements from the Jewish Passover service together with a simple Christian communion service.
Everyone is welcome to join us for this event, just bring yourself, perhaps some friends, and some ready-to-eat (or
very easily prepared) food to share.
In particular, for those who find it difficult to travel to church over the Easter weekend when public transport becomes restricted, we find this shared meal on the Thursday evening can be a pleasanilt way of coming together socially and spiritually during Holy Week.
Good Friday worship - 14th April - 3 pm
In commemoration of the most solemn day of the Christian year when we reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus, there will be a simple service of readings, hymns, prayers and silent reflection at 3pm in church.
The service lasts around one hour, and everyone is welcome to attend and to spend time in heart and mind with Jesus, as the Passion reading according to St John describes the events of those final days leading up to Jesus's execution as a public criminal.
In the memorable words of Isaac Watts, we shall 'survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died'
Easter Sunday - 16th April - 10.45 am only (no service at 4.30 pm)
In line with our practice in previous years, our afternoon congregation will
join with the morning congregation at 10.45 am for a united service celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and the message of Easter.
Accordingly, there will be
no afternoon service on Sunday 16th April. If you have friends who may not be aware of this, please tip them off and help to avoid wasted journeys.
Our 4.30 pm worship services will resume as usual from Sunday 23rd April.
Conference for Lay Preachers – Exploring Wisdom - Thursday 20th – Saturday 22nd April 2017
Luther King House is hosting Northern College’s popular Lay Preachers’ and Worship Leaders’ Conference when the theme will be Exploring Wisdom. This will be done through Scripture and in a variety of creative and practical ways.
The programme is available
here.
As last year, the dates for attendance are flexible. You can come along for Thursday/Friday, or Thursday/Friday/Saturday, or just for the Saturday.
Paul Barrett in Registry (learning@lkh.co.uk) will be happy to deal with bookings and practical questions; if you would like any further information about the content, please email Rosalind Selby (rosalind.selby@lkh.co.uk).
Full details on this event, along with registration options and printable media, please visit the
Lay Preachers Conference Event Page.
LGBT Foundation - Women's Book Group - breaking for Easter but back in May!
The LGBT Foundation's Women's Book Group won't be meeting this April due to the Easter break but will resume on
Tuesday 2nd May and the book is
The Color Purple by Alice Walker.
This monthly reading group is run by Monica Pearl, who is a lecturer in 20th Century American Literature at the University of Manchester and a keen reader - the group is a safe and fun space to talk about the chosen book, sharing experiences and thoughts with like-minded people!
For any questions or accessibility needs please email claudia.carvell@lgbt.foundation or phone 0345 3 30 30 30
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 cost £8 for adults before 17th April, and after that date they 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.