In 2010 Phil and I went to the Atacama Desert in Chile. Not your usual holiday destination of course, but this was a working trip for Phil to Santiago, Chile, and I had the opportunity to travel with him. We spent several days in the desert, walking Rainbow Valley and the Valle de La Luna where the moon landings were trialed (2,250 meters above sea level), enjoying the hot springs in the desert, observing the night sky, the sunsets, the extinct volcanoes and enduring the vast differences in temperatures between night and day. It was a very memorable trip. Now, if you tell someone that you were to holiday in the desert, they might think that you were slightly crazy. But the desert is beautiful and magical. The colours of the rocks, earth and sand dunes are breath taking. It can be a place of stillness.

Many individuals in the Bible accounts had key times when they experienced life in the desert. I think of Abraham, Moses, Elijah and of course Jesus himself. Times when they were isolated or wandering in these arid, bare, wilderness places- times which dramatically shaped and transformed their lives.

In 1 Kings we read that Elijah spent several periods in the desert or wilderness. He had challenged the evil King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel about their Baal worship. Consequently, God sent drought and famine for a period of years.

God instructed Elijah to go to the Brook Cherith in the wilderness where he would be fed by the ravens. His desert stay was a place of rescue, hiding, safety, protection, and stillness. A place of quiet and hiddenness.

God then sent Elijah to Zarephath where he, the woman and her son would be cared for and miraculously provided for, as protection from the intense three-year drought and famine. The desert was his place of refuge, rest, and recovery and provision. God had pressed the pause button for Elijah.

After Elijah returned to challenge King Ahab and Elijah’s victory over the prophets of Baal, Elijah once again ran to the desert in fear for his life. Elijah had been hounded, hunted, and was in a place of exhaustion, isolation, and depression. Sitting under his broom bush, the desert was a place of despair. But it became the place of grace, re-setting, reassurance, and recommissioning. Elijah was not left in solitary isolation. After declaring to God, “only I am left!” he is reassured that there are 7,000 men who have not worshipped Baal. He is not alone. And then the rains come. The drought is over.

The desert or wilderness can be beautiful, providing lessons that perhaps cannot be learned elsewhere. We should not be afraid of the desert. There is water in the desert.

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
²⁰ The wild animals honour me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
²¹     the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise.

Isaiah 43 v 18-21

A prayer… Father God

I want to stop and be still. The world is a noisy and distracting place.

Help me not to be alarmed by the lonely place, the dark place, the wilderness and the desert. You are there with me. You will never leave me.

What feels like a wasteland, can be turned into a place of plenty.

You will hide me and shelter me. You make a way in the desert places.

Amen

Jane Coates

Next Monday, June 7th via Facebook you are invited to join with the Wyatt family and their invited guests at a Service of Thanksgiving for the life and work of Irene Wyatt.

Following a private cremation the Service starts at 2.15pm and will available by going to the MBC Facebook page, by visiting facebook.com/moortownbaptistchurch or by clicking HERE

This coming week MBC’s king sized gazebo is going to come into its own. 

On Monday morning Beacon café will be in full swing if you’d like to pop in for a chat and a coffee, on Wednesday Carole and the Lunch Club team host the first of two cream teas and then on Thursday lunchtime between 12 and 1.30pm there’s our new drop in prayer time. Immediately following that Karen Ross and her Thursday afternoon Craft Group will be hard at it doing anything and everything that craft groups do. 

With the exception of the cream tea each of these events are open to anyone who fancies calling by… you will be most welcome. 

John Doran who is the Area Volunteer Coordinator for West Yorkshire has been in touch to ask us to share a need. Here is his letter. 

Our Oxfam shop on Harrogate Road at Moortown is currently in need of volunteers, and I wondered if you could ask your members if anyone would be willing to help. 

There are a number of different roles, on the till and shop floor and in the sorting/pricing room too.  The work is varied and fun, and we usually ask volunteers for just four hours of their time each week.

If anyone is interested they can call or email me directly or they can visit the shop where Lisa, the lovely shop manager, will be very happy to talk to them.

Lisa’s email address is lrorke1@oxfam.org.uk mine is jdoran1@oxfam.org.uk

Thank you.

This morning in place of our usual Church at Home playlist we joined with over 5,000 other worshippers for the Baptist Union Assembly’s online Service for All. The Assembly began last Thursday evening and over the course of the last few days it has played host to a whole raft of activities and events. 

Throughout, the gathering’s keynote speaker has been American evangelist, activist and author Shane Claiborne (above) who today delivered a powerful and inspirational message based around the theme of “Heal our hearts – Heal our street – Heal our world.”

However, one very special moment for many of MBC’s long serving members must have been when Geoff Colmer (top row right in the pic above) was inducted as the Baptist Union’s 2021/22 President. Geoff began his Christian journey here at MBC and is remembered fondly by many people.

With musical contributions from choirs and bands from as far apart as East Lancashire and Uganda, bible stories, prayer and a moving appeal on behalf of BMS World Mission for help funding Covid-19 support the Service really did reach out across the whole world. 

You can catch up with this morning’s Service, and find the links to the funding appeal by clicking on this link HERE or if you would like to follow any of the Assembly’s other features simply visit

The Baptist Union of Great Britain : Assembly Recordings

With Jenny Dixon, Nicky Gibb and Karen Ross in charge this year’s rain battered Plant Sale raised an astonishing £1,269.20.

But even with Jenny, Nicky and Karen at the helm, like every successful event an awful lot depended on team work. That’s why there’s a special mention for John Duffy, Paul Chadwick, Howard Slater, Rod Russell, David Vale, Howard Dews and Roger Robson for help with the second gazebo. Further help came from Kate, Jean Carlisle, Karen Handley, Jan and Geoff and Helen Colling plus there has to be a special mention for Steve Olinjick following his heroic efforts helping to transform the new garden. 

The money we raised goes to two churches in Romania. One is in Oedeheu, and which is pastored by our friends Zsuzsi and Andor. Together they plan Christian summer camps for young people, so besides helping them fund a large weekly youth club our donation will go towards that. The other church is in Cluj where our support is used to support university students and a gypsy pastor.

However, the final word of thanks needs to go to you. To everyone of you who braved the torrential rain and either donated or bought plants. 

Your Interim Leadership Team invite you a Church Meeting/ AGM at 7.45pm on Wednesday the 26th of May. A Zoom invitation and an agenda have been sent out by email in the usual way.

As this is the first meeting since the team was elected this will not only be a good opportunity to hear what has been occupying their minds but also for you to share your thoughts.