Saturday January 25th was a very special day for many of our congregation, as for them it was New Years Day. The Chinese New Year which last weekend saw in the Year of the Rat is a hugely important date in the Chinese calendar.
It originates from several ancient myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors today, and while certain elements are considered universal local and regional customs and traditions vary widely.
It was fascinating to hear and see first hand from Maria, Ivan, Charles and Teresa how they themselves are keeping these traditions going here in Leeds.
With parts of China currently at the centre of a new and potentially deadly virus we pray for this great nation and its massive population.
Meanwhile at the other end of last Sunday’s second service the children who make up Faith Builders and Pulse came back into church to share with us some of the things they have doing.
In Pulse they had been looking into the difference between knowing of something and knowing about something. Their analogy was a Mars bar. We all know, said Shelley what a Mars bar is but until you have actually tasted one (whether that’s as it comes, as a flavour for an ice cream or as is the custom in Scotland deep fried) you can’t really talk about one with any degree of knowledge. 
Substitute the Mars bar for God/Jesus/faith and you’ll get some idea of where this particular example was heading. As for the props, two bags of bite sized Mars bars, they were handed out.
Faith Builders, meanwhile, had been unpacking Proverbs Chapter 2 and verse 6. The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge and understanding, all come from his mouth. And it was good to hear that on the second time of asking the congregation got the gist and joined in: wisdom, knowledge and understanding indeed.