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Month: September 2025

Shelley’s update for w/c Sunday 28th September

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Dear friends

We look forward to joining with you tomorrow as we reflect on our theme of the Holy Spirit’s fruit and look again at Galatians 5:22-24.  During this time or through tomorrow’s service you may have some thoughts for yourself based on what you feel God is saying or what you are learning or experiencing.  Some of these thoughts may be for others too.  If you discern that you may want to share something that may be for others too, then do let me know as there will be an opportunity in early October.

We will have a group for our younger friends tomorrow with the same theme.  Prayer available after the service.

Next Sunday it’s our All-Age Harvest Festival café church with fruit, breakfast pastries and drinks.  These will be provided for free.  We will also be collecting food and money to give away as a Harvest gift to Leeds Northwest Foodbank, ‘Caring for life’ and to support our own informal food pantry known as ‘The lord’s pantry’. 

The foodbank has asked specifically for..

  • Tinned Soup
  • Cereal
  • Tinned Tomatoes
  • Jars of curry sauce
  • Tinned Potatoes

Caring for life has asked specifically for..

  • Tinned foods: Meat Meals & Veg, Puddings and Fruit, Soup/Beans
  • Dried pasta and rice
  • Pasta sauce in jars
  • Biscuits and chocolate
  • ​Tea/coffee
  • Cereals
  • Long life milk
  • Pot noodle, cup-a-soup

We will sort the food and money at the end of the Harvest festival and deliver to where it needs to go, if you want to help with this do get in touch with me or Lesley.  For more information online look at Harvest Appeal | Caring For Life and Donate food | Leeds North & West Foodbank

We also welcome Rachel White who has worked with overseas mission and joins in with sharing in a creative way for café church.

Here’s what’s happening over the week…

Sunday 28th September 7-8pm Rock Solid in the building. Do ask if you want more information.

(meeting from 5pm for older youth leaders)

Monday 29th September 10-12midday Beacon Warm welcome café in the building.

Monday 29th September 3pm Health and safety meeting in the building.

Tuesday 30th September 10-11.30 Stepping Stones for under 5’s and their parents, grandparents and carers.  See Diane, Hilary, or Lesley for more information.

Tuesday 30th September afternoon bible study in church See Howard or check with Lesley
Wednesday 1st October Lunch club for all attendees and the lunch club volunteers.  Speak to Rachel or Lesley for more information.

Wednesday 1st October 7.30pm Bible study in church.  Speak or Ruth or Andy Berry, or contact myself or Lesley

Thursday 2nd October 2.00 -4.00pm Craft group and warm welcome space in church building.  Do pop in and say hello.  Speak to Karen, Lesley or myself for more information or if it’s something you might be able to join or support.

Thursday 2nd October Bible Study led by Gareth 7.00 – 9.00pm in church building.

Friday 3rd October Bible Study 10.00am – 11.15 in church.  See Shelley for more information.

Friday 3rd October House Group 8.00pm – 10.00 with Jonathan and Hilary D and Steve and Helen O.  Do speak to them or ask Lesley or I for more information.

Saturday 4th October Craft Fair 10.30am – 2.30pm in the building.  All Welcome, £1 entry going to the Sri Lanka girls refuge project.  See link here Coming up soon, a Craft Fair in support of a girls refuge in Kandy, Sri Lanka – Moortown Baptist Church  Homemade crafts and gifts for sale.  Refreshments available.

If anyone would like to make a cake to go alongside the teas/coffees at the craft fair, could you let Krys or Shelley know please? Thanks so much! (no fresh cream or nuts)

Sunday 5th October All Age Harvest Festival café church at 11-12 midday.

Sunday 5th October Warm Welcome lunch after café church for those who feel they are new to Moortown and want to find out more or get to know some other people.  Speak to Mandy, or contact Shelley or a deacon and they will point you in the right direction to book on.

Sunday 5th October 7-8pm Rock Solid for youth in Church.

A couple of other things going on in Leeds…

Prophet or Provider: the Hook Lecture “How to be a prophetic voice for change while meeting the needs of those at the margins”

Prophet or Provider: The Hook Lecture 2025 Tickets, Tue, Oct 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

Day conference on Isaiah: Discover the Hope of Gods promise with Rev Jon Swales

Conferences – Leeds School of Theology

At Moortown Baptist Church…

7th October Overseas mission meeting at 2.45 in the building.

12th October after church, bring your lunch.  Discovering prayer group.  All welcome even if you haven’t been before.  See Krys or Shelley for more information.  Theme is ‘unanswered prayer’.

15th October Wednesday worship 1.30-2pm in the building

22nd October is the next Psalm Writing/drawing workshop at 7.30pm in the building.  See Krys or myself for more information.

Thanks to all who came to be part of last week’s meeting and AGM.  Do keep praying about what was shared and look out for what God maybe saying.  If there is something you want to chat about, do get in touch and we’ll find a time.  Also, if you or anyone you know connected to church would appreciate a visit, do let me know.

In Christ

Shelley

Minister MBC

More Encounters and Journeys, a lifetime of adventures – a second book from Jane Coates

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It would be more than an understatement to say that during her lifetime Jane Coates travelled far and wide. As the map above shows Jane, who at the age of 74 so sadly died last April, there wasn’t much of the world that either on mission, on business or on holiday hadn’t been touched by what son John calls mums “humanity, humility, her listening skills or her presence.”

The map itself which features in Jane’s second  book More Encounters and Journeys was lovingly created by Laura and  Lucy, and in pin-pointing places as far apart as China and Chile serves as a permanant reminder of a life well lived. 

That Jane’s book is available so soon after her death isn’t simply a matter of good fortune. No, as Phil explains in its introduction that was what Jane was like, everything was ready. In fact short of ordering them into book form the posts were complete, yet his wife of almost 54 years who, in hospital and just hours away from death was still insisting that he emailed out what was to prove to be her final Thoughts and Prayers.

For those of you unfamiliar with Monday Thoughts and Prayers, they were as the name suggests a collection of engaging and inspiring articles, always posted on a Monday, often based on personal experience but always underscored by the Word of God.

This second book, which incidently was officially published on what would have been Jane’s seventy fifth birthday is now available from Moortown Baptist Church. It doesn’t have a price tag, if you want a copy please, just help yourself.  That said, if anyone would like to make a donation rest assured it will, in memory and honour of both Jane and Jane and Phil’s daughter Charlotte who before her death in 2014 had worked at the hospice be sent on to Wheatfields.  

Just a week to go to our Craft Fair, again supporting a women and girls refuge in Kandy, Sri Lanka

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There’s now just days to go before Krys Gadd hosts our third annual Craft Fair.

Saturday October 4th, between 10.30am and 2.30pm, here at MBC are the date, time and venue for this amazing event. Table holders, who have bought their tables for £15 and have also donated a raffle prize get to keep any profits they make, whereas all Krys’ go towards supporting a girl’s refuge in Kandy, Sri Lanka. 

Above you can see just a small selection of the home made crafts that will be on sale on the day. 

Please put this date in your diary, it’s a wonderful cause and brings real hope to the women and girls who either live in or use the refuge’s facilities. 

You can read a report of how Krys and Bela (another MBC member) got on when they visited Kandy earlier in the year by following this link https://moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk/krys-and-bela-report-back-on-their-recent-visit-to-a-girls-refuge-in-sri-lanka/#more-61225

Shelley’s news for w/c Sunday 21 September

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Dear friends

We look forward to joining together in person or online at 11am as we continue our theme of the person of the Holy Spirit.  Currently we are exploring the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in our lives. This is the time of year when some people reap a harvest in their gardens or green houses, fruit including apples, tomatoes and plums being grown and shared with others.  You may have been blackberry picking as Rachel was sharing about at Wednesday Worship.  People are making pies, crumbles or simply enjoying the fruit as it comes.  It’s such a good picture of how the fruit of the Holy Spirit is shared and passed on in lots of different ways, forms and combinations to produce energy, enjoyment and nourishment.

This week..

Sunday 21st September 11am Service with communion.  Fruit of the Spirit: Self Control.  There will be a group for our younger friends to explore the theme creatively together after the first introduction to the theme.  Prayer available after the service. 

Sunday 21st September 7-8pm in church building, Rock Solid for young people.  Do ask if you want more information.

Monday 22nd September 10-12 midday Beacon warm welcome café in the building

Tuesday 23rd September 10-11.30 Stepping Stones for under 5’s and their parents, grandparents and carers.  See Diane, Hilary or Lesley for more information.

Tuesday 23rd September afternoon bible study in church See Howard or check with Lesley
Tuesday 23rd at 7.30pm AGM and church meeting in church 7.30pm.  Everyone welcome.  If you are unable to make it but want to be part of the meeting, a zoom link will go out on the day.  Please have your cameras on if you are voting.

Wednesday 24th September Lunch club for all attendees and the lunch club volunteers.  Speak to Rachel or Lesley for more information.

Wednesday 24th September 7.30pm Bible study in church.  Speak or Ruth or Andy Berry, or contact myself or Lesley

Wednesday 24th September 7.30pm Creative Psalm Writing/Drawing group.  See Krys or ask Lesley for details.  In church.  All welcome.

Thursday 25th September 2.00 -4.00pm Craft group and warm welcome space in church building.  Do pop in and say hello.  Speak to Karen, Lesley or myself for more information.

Thursday 26th September Bible Study led by Gareth 7.00 – 9.00pm in church building.

Friday 27th September Bible Study 10.00am – 11.15 in church.  See Shelley for more information.

Friday 27th September House Group 8.00pm – 10.00 with Jonathan and Hilary D and Steve and Helen O.  Do speak to them or ask Lesley or I for more information.

Sunday 28th September Church with group for children to explore the theme creatively.  The Fruit of the Spirit:  Galatians 5: 22-24

Sunday 28th September 7-8pm Rock Solid for youth in Church.

Beyond…

Saturday 4th October Craft Fair See link here Coming up soon, a Craft Fair in support of a girls refuge in Kandy, Sri Lanka – Moortown Baptist Church  If anyone would like to make a cake to go alongside the teas/coffees at the craft fair could you let Krys or Lesley know please? Thanks so much! (no fresh cream or nuts)

Sunday 5th October café Church Harvest festival.  More information to come next week.

Sunday 5th October Welcome lunch for those who feel they are new to Moortown and want to find out more or get to know some other people.  Speak to Mandy or contact Lesley or Shelley and they will point you in the right direction.

A couple of other things going on in Leeds…

Prophet or Provider: the Hook Lecture “How to be a prophetic voice for change while meeting the needs of those at the margins”

Prophet or Provider: The Hook Lecture 2025 Tickets, Tue, Oct 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

Morning course supporting children and young people’s leaders

Ministry with Children and Young People – Pudsey Parish Church – Diocese of Leeds Learning

Day conference on Isaiah: Discover the Hope of Gods promise with Rev Jon Swales

Conferences – Leeds School of Theology

Thanks to all those who qualified as a First Aiders and completed the course today.  We’ll make sure there is a list on the wall.  Thanks for giving of your time to serve in this way so that we can be a safer place to be!

In Christ

Shelley Dring

Minister

Moortown Baptist Church

Shelley’s update – 6th September

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Dear friends

Today is the start of the National Week of Prayer in the UK.  God loves us to pray to him and listen at anytime in all sorts of different ways.  Sometimes there are initiatives that we feel we could join in with that join us with more people all at the same time.  This is one of them.  There are prayer cards in church and on our website to help you pray through the themes through the week.  See the link here to our website  National Week of Prayer 2025 starts Saturday September 6th – Moortown Baptist Church

There is also an opportunity to join a whats app call just for this week. At 9pm each night there will be a call on the whats app and there will be opportunity to pray with other, say something or simply listen and pray along.  It’s an audio call not a video call.  You don’t have to join every day.  If you have a smartphone you can join the group on this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/IgQB0xCP9jMAaqo7iQlNxu Lesley sent an email out about this this week.

Once you are added to the whats app it is still up to you at 9pm to answer the group call or not. For more information, please speak to Mandy or Krys tomorrow at church or send one of us a message or call Lesley on Monday.   The National Week of Prayer is also having a zoom and you tube prayer session every day at midday.  This is for the whole of the UK.  Do click on the link here National Week of Prayer and look to the top of the page. 

We also encourage you to pray with others.  We’ll let you know of other opportunities to pray together throughout the week.  If you are doing something that others may like to be part of then do let me know and we can pass this on.

Please add your prayer too to the physical prayer book in church.

The Holy Spirit art wall is continuing this week so do bring your pictures, drawings, words, photos, paintings to church.  I have had a couple given this weekend so I will make sure they are up for the week of prayer.  Thankyou.

Tomorrow its café church at 11am with snacks, pastries and drinks.  The focus is Faithfulness.  The reading will be Acts 11:19-30.  Linsey will be referring to a story in the service that speaks about faithfulness.  If you want to hear the full story you can watch it here! https://youtu.be/p-0x8jvT80U  What do you think God is saying through it about faithfulness?

After church there is a get together with Mandy for all those helping with welcome meals.

In the evening there will be Rock Solid for youth in the church building 7-8pm. 

Looking ahead…

Monday 8th September Beacon café and warm welcome space 10-midday

Tuesday 9th September Steppingstones for under 5’s, parents and carers.  It’s back!  (Do pray for them as they start again)

Tuesday 9th September afternoon bible study in church See Howard or check with Lesley

Tuesday 9th September Deacons meeting 7.30pm in church

Wednesday 10th September Lunch club for all attendees and the lunch club volunteers.  Speak to Rachel or Lesley for more information.

Wednesday 10th September 7.30pm Bible study in church.  Speak or Ruth or Andy Berry, or contact myself or Lesley

Thursday 11th September 2.00 -4.00pm Craft group and warm welcome space in church building.  Do pop in and say hello.

Thursday 11th September Bible Study led by Gareth G 7.00 – 9.00pm in church building.

Friday 12th September Bible Study led by Brenda Friday 10.00 – 11.15 in church.  See Brenda or Shelley for more information.

Friday 12th September House Group 8.00 – 10.00 with Jonathan and Hilary D and Steve and Helen O.  Do speak to them or ask Lesley or I for more information.

Sunday 14th September Church with group for children to explore the theme creatively.  The Fruit of the Spirit:  ‘gentleness’ 11-12pm.   

Sunday 14th September ‘unanswered prayer’ course written by Pete Greig and led by Krys G after church.  There is video to watch as part of the course.  Bring your lunch if you want.  Anyone can come whether you have been before or not.

Sunday 14th September 7-8pm Rock Solid for youth in Church.

Beyond…

Wednesday 17th September at 1.30pm until 2pm Wednesday Worship in the music room

Tuesday 23rd September at 7.30pm AGM and church meeting in church 7.30pm

Saturday 4th October Craft Fair See link here Coming up soon, a Craft Fair in support of a girls refuge in Kandy, Sri Lanka – Moortown Baptist Church

Sunday 5th October café Church Harvest festival

There are some new articles again on the website this week including a story about Beacon café receiving the Leeds City Council Owl award as a thankyou for being open for the people of Leeds.. thanks to all who help in this team, give food and go along to share and chat.  Follow the link here Two young visitors to Warm Space pictured with the “owl” trophy MBC jointly won in the Leeds Compassionate City Awards – Moortown Baptist Church

“God’s Spirit makes us loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.” Galatians 5:22-23

In Christ

Shelley

Minister

Moortown Baptist Church 

 

National Week of Prayer 2025 starts Saturday September 6th

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National Week of Prayer 2025, 6th to the 14 th of September 2025.

It says in Matthew 18:20 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven”.

In this National Week of Prayer 2025, we have an opportunity to pray collectively as a church and as a nation. Take time to reflect and pray each day about the topics in the list we have put together. You may wish to journal, paint, draw or write what God might be saying to you in your times of prayer.

Date Prayer Points
6 th September The World – the planet, environmental issues.

7 th September The World – wars, disasters, opportunities and consistent prayer.

8 th September The world and the global church.

9 th September Europe in general and our place in Europe.

10 th September Great Britain –the nations and being part of the UK, the Baptist Union of Great Britain.

11 th September Leeds – people who are marginalised, disabled, homeless, unemployed, refugees, physical and mental illness.
Opportunities and noticing where God is at work.

12 th September Moortown and MBC – the communities we are involved in
the surrounding area. What God is doing near to you and
how you could be involved.

13 th September Our family and friends, neighbours locally and far away.

14 th September Us and our relationship with God.

At the end of the week please reflect on which prayer(s) you would like to share. Then either write or draw out your prayer which we can then include in our Book of Prayer.

https://www.nationalweekofprayer.uk/

 

Two young visitors to Warm Space pictured with the “owl” trophy MBC jointly won in the Leeds Compassionate City Awards

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The first Compassionate City Awards scheme took place in Leeds in 2017. Its aim was to recognise the time, the effort and the dedication shown by volunteers (individuals and groups) throughout the city that like many other places could see its population facing up to enormous economic difficulties.  

By 2023, the first year MBC was recognised, more than 200 organisations had stepped forward to become part of what by then had become the Warm Space Project. These including all Leeds City Council Community Hubs and Libraries, many faith-based groups and no end of supporters from both the private and the third sector.

The idea was simple: to offer opportunities for people to gather for free in a warm, safe, and welcoming space.

As you can see from the picture above, the trophy MBC shares is by custom a statue in the form of an owl. And we’ll be looking after him or her for the next three or four weeks before we need to pass it on to the next worthy winner. 

To use the word “buzzing” to describe something that each and every week sees Beacon, our Warm Space, alive with laughter and conversation should perhaps be described as a contradiction in terms: yes, it’s one thing to say that alongside the Lord’s Pantry MBC is blessed to be in a position to offer anyone and everyone the most basic support. But it’s also sad, in fact it’s oh so sad to think that the need for us to provide such a service still exists. 

Create your own Book of Psalms

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The book of psalms is a collection of 150 poems, prayers and songs. They were written by David mostly, two by Solomon, one by Moses, fifty anonymously and the rest by temple singers and musicians.

The shortest psalm in the bible is Psalm 117

1  Praise the LORD, all you nations.
    Praise him, all you people of the earth.
2  For his unfailing love for us is powerful;
    the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever.

    Praise the LORD!

At the other end of the scale Psalm 119 is the longest with 176 verses, and it also is an acrostic. The first letter of the 22 sections are the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It covers many themes:

Love for God’s Word – The psalmist delights in it more than riches or food.

Guidance – God’s Word is described as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v.105).

Strength in Suffering – The psalmist often faces hardship but finds comfort in God’s promises.

Obedience – A longing to live faithfully, not just know the Word. 

Prayer – Almost every section includes a prayer asking God for teaching, understanding, or help.

Faithfulness – God’s Word is eternal, unchanging, and trustworthy.

I imagine that at the time the psalms were being written and collected people were going through similar situations to those that we are going through today: Grief, anger, frustration, awe and wonder at God’s majesty, despair, elation and joy… to name but a few.

So, we deduced that with just a bit of effort on our part it ought to be relatively easy for us to open our bibles and find a psalm to fit in with anything and everything that we are experiencing today. 

This realisation led a few of us to wonder why, with so many of the psalms we already have fitting into our daily lives, shouldn’t we have a go at writing our own?

The outcome was an invitation to anyone who wanted, and in particular to anyone who wished to deepen their connection to God to come together here at MBC and creatively, through drawing and writing come up with their very own psalms, prayers, pictures or poems.

Such was the success of the evening that we are now planning more of these get togethers, and although times and dates could well change, for now the suggested timetable is 7-9:30 on Wednesday 24th September, Wednesday 22nd October and  Wednesday 26th November.  

Please keep an eye out for more details, but if you can’t wait to sign up just have a word with me, Krys Gadd, and I’ll be delighted to keep you up to date.  

 

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