On Sunday December 23rd our build up to Christmas continues to gather pace. A Crib Service (complete with lots of fancy festive outfits) was followed just a few hours later by a Carol Service. There’s a gallery of pictures taken at these services below. To see a larger version of any of them simply click on the image.
The 48th edition of ENGAGE, the BMS World Mission magazine includes news stories, update and features from across the world and it’s available now, totally free of charge either through the post or on line.
Included in the package comes the first part of the BMS World Mission Prayer Guide. This runs from January to April 2019 and focuses on support and encouragement for field workers and action teams working in Africa, Asia, South America, Europe and the Middle East.
There are a few copies of the new ENGAGE magazine at the back of church. There are also a number of pre paid sign up cards which you are invited to fill in and return to BMS HQ in Didcot. That way you would be guaranteed free delivery of this brilliant publication.
Roger Robson is the Moortown Baptist Church lead on all things BMS so if you want more information he’s the man to speak to. Alternatively go online and type in www.bmsworldmission.org and follow the links to ENGAGE.
So a baby is about to be born in this brutal and brilliant world.
A baby come to be the Saviour of the world. This is weird, a way to put the world straight which is either breath-taking in its naivety or profoundly wrong-footing the powers that be.
At the first nativity, Israel was gripped by a face-off between the powers of Herod, religious institutions and Roman empire. This gridlock was further entrenched by internal divisions between these conflicting groups. All the nativity characters were in the sway of these battling players.
One thing was for sure, the power struggle between Herod, religious authority and Rome wasn’t going to beat swords into ploughs, nor going to enable everyone to sit in their own space without fear – to paraphrase Micah 4: 3,4. Indeed the actions of these people would only make matters worse.
Race forward a couple of thousand years and the powers that be in 2018 are in a similar gridlock, riven by internal division and seeking to secure their position rather than grasp the common good.
It could be argued that the political parties and structures today started with a noble intent for justice, improvement and opportunity which they have lost the ability to pursue. So, whilst challenges and opportunities of the environment, care for an ageing population, technological innovation, developing education to equip our young people await attention our politicians are fighting blow by blow to exhaustion over Brexit and businesses are producing winter results showing declining Christmas trading. Then in a few days as the seasonal holiday comes, senior religious leaders will speak messages of peace and goodwill which seem like nice thoughts in a festive bubble. But the vital connections don’t seem to be made.
Maybe we need a radically alternative that is indeed breath-taking in its naivety and profound in wrong-footing power.
Back at the first Christmas it seemed that God was saying that the institutions of monarchy, state and religion were unable to meet the challenge and so nothing short of the personal act of God from the bottom up would bring the transformation, heart change and new order.
It seems that then as now the great powers were casting long shadows rather than light. Then and now a new order was needed. Into that comes the raw vulnerability of the Christ child, gifted with gold, frankincense and myrrh with all their meaning, destined to be the cause of the falling and rising of many. God’s act of hope in those precarious times came to pastoral farm workers, working northern families and Persian magicians, which would be taken up by fishermen, tax officials, revolutionaries and one or two scholars.
The outbreak of hope cut across cultural and social boundaries and it blossomed in homes, streets, hillsides, lakesides and meeting halls. Then in flowed unstoppably into the corridors of power. And all these connections began with a personal encounter with Jesus and an intentional commitment to his message. Then and now this is hope in precarious times.
Similar connections are being made today not in parliamentary chambers or quarterly business statements but in classrooms, streets, homes and around meal tables.
So in this brutal and brilliant world there are two Christian messages:
Firstly, that the powers of religion, state and multinationals cannot bring light in darkness. These powers shouldn’t be thrown away but reordered and recover why there are here in the first place. We need new connections.
Secondly, that the crucial connection that makes all else possible is with Jesus Christ.
This is hope in precarious times – that God has done something different and that we can break the cycle.
Graham Brownlee, December 2018
“Baby Shark” is a song and dance that has captured the attention of young children and families this year. It has had over 2 million hits on Youtube.
Margaret Brownlee wrote some Christian words to the song – many others have done this – so this is just one version. The children at Fairburn View Primary School in Castleford performed this at their nativity. Have a look and listen at their version and share with your friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7aTziRVsJM&feature=youtu.be
Just in case you couldn’t pick up the Castleford accents:
Baby Jesus do do do
Mummy Mary do do do
Daddy Joseph do do do
Shepherds came do do do
Wise men travelled do do do
In your head do do do
Merry Christmas to you you you!
Graham Brownlee, December 2018
The third Sunday in Advent was our annual Gift Service. Once again this year’s donations are being passed on to Leeds Home Start, the local branch of a national charity whose staff and volunteers help families with young children deal with the many challenges they face.
However, for our 5 to 11 year olds in Pulse their part in the build up to Christmas was very much a hands on experience as Ann Kapolio led the group through the Bethlehem story.
With a real Angel holding a “real baby Jesus,” two hastily recruited shepherds and a more scriptural angel who came fully equipped with a heavy duty battery powered torch all that was left was for the children to employ their finest method acting skills and the scene was set.
Next Sunday, at 10.30am is of course our Crib Service and the invitation is there to come dressed as a nativity character. However, don’t worry if you’re clean out of gold, frankincense and myrrh or you haven’t a suitably shepherdy dressing gown because we’re planning on raiding the Rewind costume cupboards and providing a full rack of carefully selected outfits.
Saying goodbye to someone you’ve known and loved for a long time is always hard. However, when one becomes two something difficult turns into something virtually impossible. And that was the feeling on December 9th when Moortot’s lead Diane Towns and her long time “right hand man” Pauline Bridle officially stepped down after fronting and coordinating this wonderful project for 11 and 8 years respectively.
That said the morning service wasn’t quite their final appearance as immediately after both then sped off to prepare for the traditional Moortot’s Alternative Nativity and a whole string of boisterous Christmas parties. Here’s a picture of the production’s finale together with a link to a rather iffy video.
Besides saying goodbye, the service also gave us the opportunity of saying hello to three month old Diana Baniamer. Diana’s mum and dad, Abbas and Atieh, had brought her to church in order to introduce her into the fellowship through a service of blessing and dedication.
Then as part of our prayer time friends joined Graham in praying for Terefe and Denenesh as they celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary.
Finally, it was also great to welcome a visiting speaker. Emma Worrall who is a staff member at mission project Open Doors shared some amazing stories of the resilience and the sheer courage of Christians living in some of the world’s most dangerous areas and how they hold their faith in the face of state persecution. 
You can download an application form here: https://www.moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Application-form.doc
Many thanks to all who supported the Fairtrade Stall on Sunday 25th of November – this raised £303 for Traidcraft. This means that in total the 3 autumn stalls raised over £900.
Traidcraft and Traidcraft Exchange are continuing their work into 2019 but in a new format [ more details later]. However, there is a special Christmas Appeal for Traidcraft Exchange.
Anyone wishing to contribute please see Roger Robson.
Please find below the MP3 files of the different parts for this year’s Carol Service. You can either listen to them by clicking on the link, or download them by right-clicking on the blue title link, then choose “Save link as …” to save them to your hard disk. You can even transfer them to your iPod (other MP3 players are available) so that you can practise whilst out jogging, or in the car!
MP3 Files
MP3 audio files which should download and play on most platforms.
| In Dulci Jubilo |
| This Child |
| Welcome All Wonders ALTO |
| Welcome All Wonders MALE |
| Welcome All Wonders SOPRANO |
M4A Files
An alternative format for those who prefer it.
| In Dulci Jubilo |
| This Child |
| Welcome All Wonders ALTO |
| Welcome All Wonders MALE |
| Welcome All Wonders SOPRANO |
Over the years Diane Towns and her Moortots team have earned something of a reputation in regard to their nativities. Admittedly Jesus, Mary and Joseph plus of course any number of shepherds, angels and kings are a constant. However, quite how they have got away with introducing to the plot numerous Santa’s, a scruffy life sized dog, an incredibly grumpy innkeeper, Whoopsy Daisy, a hapless angel complete with fairy lights, halo and a tutu and most recently a Super Hero who even the most benevolent of souls would have described as well past his sell by we’ll never know.
But you’ll be pleased to hear that this year is definitely no exception.
As I write, rehearsals – yes believe it or not they do rehearse are under way and from what I’ve already glimpsed this Sunday’s offering promises to be one of the best.
Without giving too much away this year’s innkeepers have a prankster son whose antics (and lines) would earn any self respecting sitcom writer the sack. Of course in the end he comes good when he tidies out a stable and invites a young couple to stay the night. The rest of course is history but this doesn’t prevent mum and dad ruing on Shakespeare’s famous line from King Lear that “jesters do oft prove prophets.”
However, in addition to the promise of witnessing some world class drama Sunday’s Service will also be special for another reason; it will be our Toddler Worker Diane Towns and her “right hand man” Pauline Bridle’s final Moortots session.
Even if you’ve never been part of Moortots please, please come along for 3pm and make this Sunday really special because as the search now begins for their permanent successors it would be great to give these two truly great stars a fantastic send off.
