Church News – February 2025

We are pleased to reproduce the article written by Br James Woolford this month. Br James will be our minister until at least Easter. Further details will follow.

As I sit to write this month’s message, I’m in the middle of one of my favourite times. It’s SHOW WEEK! For the past few months, I’ve been rehearsing with Buttershaw Operatic Society for their production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein timeless classic Oklahoma.  At the heart of the show is a love story between Laurie and Curly, Will and Ado Anne and then you have me, Ali Hakim, trying to have his cake and eat it. However, underneath the story of young love is a darker undertone of a community that sticks together and turns on a farm hand name Judd to protect their own.

The USA have now entered a new chapter in our times also as Donald Trump took office as the 47th President, on a promise to Make America Great Again. This appointment has brought fear for many on the margins of society. Within a few hours of his appointment, he issued a flurry of executive orders that strip away rights for people from the trans community, he halted all “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI) programmes within the federal government, withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement and changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. These are just a few of many and a sign of a worrying time not just for the USA but the wider world. 

When faced with challenges like this we have two choices, to speak out or to step aside. It has never been part of my make up to stand aside in the face of oppression and attacks against the more vulnerable in our world. In an impressive show of courage Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, during a service at Washington Cathedral spoke directly to Trump during her sermon and asked for mercy in the name of a loving God. The gist of her message can be found in the media.

Afterwards people called her brave and inspirational. Other people stated that she shouldn’t have spoken up. Donald was less impressed as you might imagine saying the service was “not too exciting” and added “I didn’t think it was a good service…They could do much better.”

One of the proudest moments in my ministry was passing the statement of inclusivity at the Synod of 2022. That statement is posted on the wall in our schoolroom and needs reading often.

Speaking out against discrimination in all its forms is the central calling of all followers of Christ. It won’t make us universally popular, especially among those who are already comfortable and don’t want the world shaking, but it is vitally important that we have the courage of our convictions and act as a welcoming haven for all in need of care and compassion. We must make our church a place where all are welcomed and be the haven for those in need.

My prayers go out to all those scared of discrimination and who are feeling alone and afraid. May God give them comfort and may they find in God and in the church a home and a community where they are loved and treasured as the precious child of God that they, and we all are.

God bless, James Woolford.

Thank you to everyone who has completed their second Project 32 Questionnaire.  Once the information has been assimilated, there will be a meeting with everyone to discuss the findings and to agree a way forward.

As a change this year, our Tearfund Service will be replaced by a Young People’s Missionary Association service.  It is hoped that the YPMA will no longer be viewed as the children asking for money and at the end of the year receiving bars and certificates, but the next step is to show what this giving is actually used for.  I am hoping it will be an interesting and informative service.  We are really grateful that most of the youth are members of the YPMA but there is always room for more.  If anyone would still like to donate to Tearfund, then Sue will be pleased to send any donations on your behalf. 

‘Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.’ (1 John 3:18).

The writer Gary Chapman describes how love can be expressed in 5 different ‘languages’: words of encouragement, quality time, gifts, acts of service and touch. Do you have a preferred language of love? As we think about St Valentine during this month, let’s consider how God’s love language is expressed in the word agape. This is exclusively found in the New Testament and is uniquely defined by Jesus: ‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.’ (1 John 3:16). Jesus’ giving of His life on the cross provides the model for how we can demonstrate God’s love in our relationships with others.

SUNDAY2ndLOVEFEAST SERVICE
with Sr Gillian Taylor
11 a.m.
Tuesday4thBible Study on Zoom
(Zoom details can be provided if required)
7 p.m.
Wednesday5thMoravian Women’s Association meeting in the Schoolroom1.15 p.m.
SUNDAY9thMORNING WORSHIP WITH HOLY COMMUNION
with Br James Woolford
11 a.m.
Monday10thChurch Committee on Zoom7 p.m.
SUNDAY16thYOUNG PEOPLE’S MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION SERVICE led by Sr Sue Selby11 a.m.
Tuesday18thBible Study on Zoom7 p.m.
SUNDAY23rdPARADE AND YOUTH SERVICE
led by Br James Woolford
11 a.m.
Thursday27thThursday Group Meeting7.30 p.m.
ABOVE IS A LIST OF THE EVENTS DURING THE MONTH

Dear Lord, February can be a trying month, but there are special associations too, and we thank you for the hope they bring.

In February, we remember how Jesus was taken, as a baby, to the Temple. Simeon took Him in his arms and by the power of the Holy Spirit, recognised Him as the Saviour You had sent as a light, to bring revelation to the whole world. And how this world needs your light and revelation in this New Year – 2025.

Lord, as we notice more light in the lengthening days of this month, as we see the promise of Spring in the bobbing heads of the beautiful snowdrops – help us most of all to recognise Jesus as our Light and to trust Him as our Lord and Saviour.

Thank you Lord, for the gifts of each new day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

By Daphne Kitching

mouse Makes feb 25