Disciple

The Newsletter of the Metropolitan Congregation

Week commencing 24th June 2018
 

Sunday Worship

Last Sunday - 24th June - National Refugee Week

Our preacher last Sunday was Walt Johnson. He considered the passage from the 17th chapter of the 1st Book of Samuel in which the story of David and Goliath is told.

As we commemorated the 20th anniversary of National Refugee Week, Walt reflected on who we might name as the 'Goliaths' in our lives - who seek to bully and dominate us, in contrast to who we might name as the 'Davids' - who seek to protect and nurture us.


During the service we also lit candles in celebration of all who have achieved refugee status and in prayerful support of all who are presently pursuing their cases in the asylum process.



You can view the text of Walt's sermon on our church website here, and you can listen to the audio of the sermon via the link on the Audio and Video page of our website here - just scroll down to the 'Sermons' section.

Our sincere thanks also go to:

• Jean-François, Philip, Pam and Kevin for their contributions to the service;
• our singers and musicians for their dedicated ministry of music in the church;
• Jean-François and the team of helpers who prepare the church for worship, provide us with refreshments, manage collections from FairShare, organise distributions from our food-bank, and clear everything away at the end of the day.

Next Sunday - 1st July

Songs this Week

One bread, one body is a modern hymn from the Roman Catholic tradition, first publsihed in 1978 by John Foley SJ, an American composer of Catholic liturgical music and a professor of liturgy at St. Louis University. The hymn is popular across many traditions and reflects the theology of St Paul in his letters to the Corinthians and the Galatians that "though many throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord".

When I needed a neighbour, were you there? was written by Sydney Carter (1915-2004) for the use of Christian Aid and widely circulated for Christian Aid Week, 1965. It has been included in over 40 collections of hymns and worship songs and turns into questions for today the challenges we face when we ask ourselves what it means to be a neighbour to other people. Carter calls it a song, not a hymn, written to be sung by Christians and non-Christians alike, despite its strong Biblical basis.

Lord we are your servants comes out of the Metropolitan Community Churches and is a particular favourite in that denomination. It was written by gay writer Leroy Dysart in the 1980s and speaks of a community seeking to follow God in both the good times and the bad so that ultimately we shall be 'free to love, free to live...'

Please pray for...

• Our first-time visitors this week.
   
• The celebrations of LGBT Pride and all people of faith who promote God's message of welcome, inclusion and unconditional love.
   
• People seeking asylum; people with refugee status who are seeking to rebuild their lives in our communities; people awaiting Home Office or judicial decisions following interviews or hearings.
   
• People we know who are receiving medical treatment, coping with stress, or feeling unwell at this time.

Pride Events 2018

Now that the warmer weather is with us, it must be LGBT Pride season!

Below is a list of regional Pride events:

• Manchester Sparkle - 6-8 July
• London - 7th July
• UK Black Pride - 8th July 
• Salford - 14 July ("The Pink Picnic")
• Liverpool & Sheffield - 28 July
• Stockport - 29 July
• Leeds - 5 August
• Chester & Wigan - 11 August
• Manchester - 24-27 August (Parade: 25 August)
• Bolton - 21 September
• Preston - 29 September

Daily Prayer Resources

Daily readings, reflections and prayers via email are offered by the United Reformed Church. To subscribe to the free service please complete the online subscription form here.

You can access an archive of all previous URC Daily Devotions here.

If you would like to explore some additional online prayer resources, please visit the Daily Prayer and Devotion page on our website here.

Foodbank

Many thanks for your regular and generous donations to the foodbank. You make a real difference to people's lives - some will have a meal on their table today solely because of your gifts!

We provide a bag of food and other basic essentials to a number of people each week which supplements either the meagre allowance they are given by the state or the Red Cross food parcels they receive for a limited period. We know that some people rely significantly on the food we provide as they are not entitled to either help from the state or the Red Cross.

As a general rule, we always need long-life foodstuffs such as:

• rice,
• pasta,
• pasta sauces,
• tinned vegetables (peas, carrots, baked beans, kidney beans, potatoes, chopped or plum tomatoes),
• canned fruit,
• jams and preserves,
• tea, coffee, sugar,
• and any other long-life basic larder items such as herbs, spices and condiments

Meetings Calendar

Church Meetings (Sundays at 1.45pm)

• 16th September 2018
• 16th December 2018

• 16th July 2018 (changed from 23rd)
• 22nd October 2018
• 26th November 2018

Previous issues of Disciple

If you missed an issue of our weekly newsletter Disciple which comes out by email, you can view previous issues covering the last 12 months.

Just go to our website here and click on the links in the right hand column of the home page headed 'Recent Newsletters'.

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