Make me your church and be with me, always with me; a song of comfort and reassurance from Zsuszi and Andor 

Zsuzsi and Andor Ferco and their two children, whom many here at MBC have known for a good number of years, are currently living and working in a Hungarian speaking part of Romania, and during this time of isolation and lock-down they have recorded a beautiful old Hungarian hymn. 

Pastors Zsuzsi and Ferkő Andor like us are working remotely as alongside a third pastor they address the needs of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Odorheiu. Their church which is called Belvaros Reformatos Egyhazkozseg in Hungarian is featured in the video, which can be found at by clicking on this link or on the photo. 

The words of the hymn are:

Always with me Lord, even when my sinful eye cannot see you.
That is why I sing to the Lord, because He is always with me.

You promised to Your people that your Holy Spirit will live in them.
Make me your church and be with me, always with me.

In my despair and in my fear and in my sadness I know that I am safe in your arms.
During the  days and in the nights of  sorrow the Lord is with me, the Lord is with me, always with me.

When I will see you in the home where sin, disappointment and death cannot harm me,
I will sing forever the Lord is with me, the Lord is with me, always with me. 

Karen crafts some beautiful cards

During the lockdown Karen Ross has started to make cards and pictures using quilling. For the uninitiated (and that includes me) quilling is  an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. The paper is rolled, looped, curled, twisted and otherwise manipulated to create shapes which make up designs to decorate greetings cards, pictures, boxes, eggs, and to make models, jewellery, mobiles etc.

Karen says she had not done it before but is now really enjoying it. So far she has produced  lots of pictures, mainly birds and flowers. Here are a rainbow of smaller ones!

Another home group takes to Zoom.  This picture was sent in by David Casson.

And finally a few more pictures from MBC’s picture archive including: 

Youth Pastor Jonathan Hayward (1988 – 1992), a couple of images from Pulse, day trips (ancient and fairly modern) and a couple of wacky ones from Rewind and Moortots. 

mbcnewspics@gmail.com  WITHOUT YOUR INPUT THIS PAGE WOULDN’T EXIST. PLEASE KEEP YOUR STORIES AND PICTURES COMING IN. 

Mental Health Awareness Week (18^th – 24^th May 2020) is an annual event hosted by the Mental Health Foundation (MHF). Mark Rowland, the chief executive, made a decision to change the planned theme, this year, in response to the coronavirus outbreak when he was moved by an act of kindness from a supermarket staff member who brought umbrellas for people queuing in the rain. As the MHF says: “…kindness is an antidote to isolation and creates a sense of belonging. It helps reduce stress, brings a fresh perspective and deepens friendships. Kindness to ourselves can prevent shame from corroding our sense of identity and help boost our self-esteem. Kindness can even improve feelings of confidence and optimism.”

Carole Smith, MBC Seniors’ Worker says ‘Reading this quote about the power of kindness, reminded me of Jesus’ command to ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Matthew 22 v 39.  I think that sometimes as Christians, there is a tendency to absorb the first part of that command but not the second! We can only love others well if we also love ourselves well. 

In this difficult time of uncertainty and isolation, it is so important that we take care of ourselves and that includes our mental health and wellbeing, as well as our physical health.  Each of us is precious to God and to those around us, and treating ourselves with kindness acknowledges that worth and value. 

In our mailout to Lunch Club seniors this week we have included a ‘Week of Kindness’ planner which Mindwell Leeds have created as a way of encouraging people to consider how to recognise and respond to their own need for kindness, and also how kindness can be spread to others. 

Perhaps this resource would be an encouragement and help to you and your families too?”

Issue 47 of Engage, the BMS World Mission magazine is quite an eye-opener. Yes there are four words on the cover and admittedly much of page 4 is given over to the launch of a “Christian response to a global pandemic” appeal but apart from that neither Coronavirus nor Covid-19 get a mention. 

Instead, amongst other features we find a story about about The Big Read, a challenge set by one London church to read the entire New Testament in a single weekend. We meet Esther Sarker an inspirational teacher providing pre-school learning in Bangladesh. We read a letter from physiotherapist Rexhina Uzuni who helps rebuild the broken lives of earthquake victims and who is based in a BMS supported community centre in Albania. And when we do finally reach the back cover we are met with a stern warning in bold black capitals that coming soon is a new BMS video featuring Operation CHAD that will “inspire your church.” 

If you want a break from the daily grind of lockdown charts and stats and instead want to read something positive look no further than ENGAGE. 

Engage and its accompanying Prayer Guide are both available free of charge either through the post or online here. To read Issue 47 or to sign up for future editions simply follow the link.  

Last week’s reading on Acts 17 reminded us that in Jesus we live and move and have our being.  As a further reminder and a celebration of this Shelley is asking if you could join in with a Pentecost celebration dance! 

No expertise required.  Just record yourself moving for 20 seconds and email it to shelley.dring.mbc@btconnect.com or if you have her number you can whats app it. We’ll put the music over your video so don’t worry about any background noise.

It can be fast or slow, inside or outside, standing up or sitting down but needs to be recorded in landscape and you don’t need any professional equipment or moves but if you want any than that’s your choice!” 

The videos need to be sent to Shelley by Tuesday 26^th May to be part of the Pentecost celebration on 31^st May on Church at Home and Family at Moortown.

For even more info you can watch Shelley’s video invite here 

During last week’s Church at Home service Abi Pitchford shared with us some information about fostering and told us of how a dedicated project is aiming to provide a safe and loving home to every child in the UK care system. Below is a message from Safi Newton, Home for Good’s project worker for north and west and Yorkshire. And then below that is a link to a Home for Good video in which founding director Chris Kandiah of the scheme explains why the current lockdown situation is putting added strain on this area of need. 

Thank you so much to those of you who have shared the Home for Good information and video over the past week.  We are seeing lots of visits to our social media posts and webpage and today we have been able to connect our first enquirer to Leeds City Council Fostering Team.  You may have seen in the media that this week and next are NATIONAL FOSTERING FORTNIGHT so it seems like the perfect time to be drawing people’s attention to the current need locally.

http://www.homeforgood.org.uk/leeds-response

It could be said that even in normal times John Kavanagh is quite used to having the streets to himself. That’s because John’s job in one of our council’s city centre offices requires him to be at his desk just after 7am. However, compared to “normal times” the last seven weeks have, says John “been exceptional.” 

John (left) who began to worship with us here at MBC after being invited by a friend to last Christmas’ carol service travels from his home in Moortown by bus, and certainly up until the government’s last somewhat muddled update he says it wasn’t unusual for him to see just a handful of fellow commuters during his ten minute walk from his bus stop on Vicar Lane to his office. 

However, during that short morning walk and also on his way back home John has taken time out to create a superbly observed and highly personal snap shot of a city in lock down. 

Using only his mobile phone John has shot literally dozens of still images, many of which you can see below as well as a ten minute long video. 

Some of his pictures have been edited, on the whole simply to convert them to fit a certain shape in a collage or to add a touch of detail to an area lost in shadow. But the video is raw, it is as shot. And the reason we publish it exactly as John presented it is to ensure that nothing detracts from its sheer integrity. 

By his own admission John is no Steven Speilberg, nor he says will his film put him in line for an Academy Award. But that’s not the point; in terms of a body of work that sees real life Leeds in spring 2020 what John has produced here, and particularly so by him adding his own off the cuff comments and opinions carries far more weight than any box office smash that tinsel town might drool over.  

We do hope you enjoy looking through the pictures and watching the video, and to John who obviously knows Leeds like the back of his hand we say a big thank you. 

Over the next few months and years umpteen millions of pounds will no doubt be poured into producing TV shows and feature films that will tell the story of how in 2020 a worldwide killer virus claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and as the image above illustrates all too well brought the High Street to its knees. As a research tool and before they begin casting I suggest that the professional film makers start by watching John Kavanagh’s little video.  

You can watch John’s film by clicking here

  mbcnewspics@gmail.com                                                                                

VE Day, the seventy fifth anniversary of the end of the war in Europe was everything you could have hoped for… except that is for not being able to mix with you family and friends, and in what one wag referred to as a new “home front” not being allowed to stray any further than your garden!  

So many thanks to the Meyers, the Coates, the Drings, the Scaifes, the Armstrongs, the Barkers, the Slaters and the Thompsons for making the most of a bad lot and sharing these lovely pictures with us. 

It’s really good to see a couple more Home Groups have moved on line: in one Nathan, Abi, Sam, Andy, Ruth, Ben and Sarah certainly look to have discovered the perfect antidote to lockdown: laughter.

And in the other, Marion, Maria, Jan B, Jan F, Diane, Rita, Nicki who normally meet every other Wednesday at Gwynneth’s home this week spent an hour or so Zooming their way in and out of one another’s homes by courtesy of lap top, tablet and phone.  

More from our archive: 

Among other notable memories this week’s look back in time see Rod and Roger playing table tennis in what looks like a WW2 bunker, former Youth leader John Hawksworth speaking during our 50th anniversary service, the largely youthful looking cast of our circa 2011 Good Samaritan drama, David Vail going ape and an iguana visiting Lunch Club. 

If you have any old pictures of MBC that you would like to share with us, or indeed anything else email them to mbcnewspics@gmail.com and we will include them in a future column.

mbcnewspics@gmail.com

Hello everyone

I hope you are all OK.  I know some of you have had a few challenges, others are busy, others are quiet.  I’m sorry I haven’t had chance to catch up with you all so far but my prayers and thoughts are with you.  It been great to hear that some of you have been tuning into our live Facebook at 11am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and also our new Family at Moortown channel where we upload the week’s live sessions as well as putting on new Sunday sessions that you can see every Sunday on the same theme as Church at Home.  

It was also great to see many of you draw an egg for the virtual Easter Egg Competition.  It was both lovely to see all your faces as well as learning more about you through your artistic representations! 

So it’s time for another one…. I have just put this on the Pulse leaders whats app but I am also emailing this out to Pulse, Bubbles, toddler group leaders, Rewind team, Creche and anyone I know who has responded to me so far on supporting children/families. I’d like you to record your favourite bible story/a story that means a lot to you, either in the past or now in no more than 2 minutes.  You can use props, act it, create it, read it out from a book, speak it, sing it, paint it, whatever you like but all under 2 minutes. The most important thing is that it’s as accessible as possible, for example, if you can use 2/3 words then don’t use 10.  You’ll know this already but as it’s a video then be mindful of what is in the background, look at the camera and try not to wear the same colour as your background, make sure you stand out! The bible stories will be put up over the next few weeks on Moortots Facebook page (that will soon be renamed Family at Moortown to encompass all we do) and the Family at Moortown youtube channel. 

Although this is a challenging time it’s also exciting at what God is doing.  We are getting people tuning into church who have never been in our building and it would be great to support these families as well as supporting our precious families who are already part of MBC on a Sunday.  May is actually national share a story month, so what better way then sharing God’s word?

The deadline for our bible stories/passages is Saturday 23^rd May.  Can you what’s app or email them to me on shelley.dring.mbc@btconnect.com  Please don’t feel this is something that you have to do, I know everyone has different pressures but if you are able and would like to then it would be great to hear from you.  Also if you know anyone who would like to do it, then please let them know.  Do get in touch with any questions

Thank you all so much

Blessings

Shelley