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Avatar photoJohn Sherbourne

Shelley’s weekly message flags up MBC’s AGM, plus two special events aimed at anyone with a heart for children’s ministry, or welcoming families with additional needs

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Dear friends

We have the theme ‘Rooted’ emerging on Sundays.  We’ll talk more about this over time, something to think about. We are taking some time in January to look at the events just after Jesus’ birth to see what God might be saying to us about ourselves, our communities and the wider world. Last week we looked at Matthew 2 and considered what do we choose to follow and what do we choose not to?  I wonder if you have given it some time this week to ponder about the things you follow and the things you don’t in order to be healthy as a disciple of Jesus?  January is full of ideas on how to start strong, some helpful and some maybe not so but its good to have January as a month to ponder things through and be intentional, not rushing but discerning, writing things down, sharing and praying things over.  Tomorrow, we look at the treasures the magi brought and the treasure they found.  We start at 11am in the building and on the YouTube channel.  There will be a group for our younger friends and we’ll also have some stories shared.

In the evening Rock Solid for youth meets  in the building 7pm-8pm.

Most of our groups continue as usual this week apart from Tuesday afternoon housegroup and Wednesday housegroup in the building as they want to allow for people coming to the church meeting on Tuesday evening.  Do keep in touch with your group leaders or contact Lesley at the beginning of the week in case there is a change. 

Tuesday evening is the Church AGM and church meeting at 7.30pm.  It would be great if you can come to this to pray and share and get a feel for what has been happening in the church and what God is doing.  We thank God for all those who volunteer in all sorts of ways including all those who are part of this community.  There will be a zoom link for those unable to be there.  We will send it out next week.

I wanted to let you know that Faith in Kids are doing a few sessions across the country called Raising confident kids in a Confusing world.  Its for anyone connected to any child, so you don’t need to be a parent, just anyone with a heart for children right now (parents, grandparent, those who are like parents and grandparents to others, children/youth leaders/helpers…) Its on Thursday January 30th 7.45-9.30 at Gateway Church, St Marks Road, Leeds, LS2 9AF more info here.  I’m going so if you are interested let me know. Buy tickets – Raising Confident Kids in a Confusing World (Leeds) – Gateway at St Mark’s Church, St Mark’s Rd, Leeds

There’s also a zoom training session on 28th January for welcoming families with additional needs… Buy tickets – Inspire (Children’s Ministry Leadership Training): Welcoming families with additional needs – Zoom for those involved in this area.  I intend to invite Children/youth leaders on your whats apps with some information so I will be in touch this weekend!

Finally this verse from Matthew 5:9 seemed appropriate at this time.  Do pray for all who work for peace.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”

The Baptist Union have released a statement and a prayer that you may want to join with.  Click on the link below

The Baptist Union of Great Britain : Statement on the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow

Shelley

Today and tomorrow – it’s business as usual, Shelley updates us after a somewhat challenging week

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Dear friends

The church building will be open tomorrow for a café style all age service at 11am.  There will be drinks available and some time to chat together.  A big thank you to those who came down to church today to help with clearing snow and ice, and those who have been monitoring it and working with me through the week.  Even if we had decided not to open tomorrow, it was appreciated and it helps us with the groups next week.

A few things to note:

The full car park will not be open tomorrow. The west side of the carpark (the bit that slopes by the creche room) still cannot be used so there will be a small team of people helping people park and move between the cars and building in front of the church and by the entrance and the bins in the available space.

Please use the usual entrance and exits to the carpark.

Please drive slowly.

We don’t want to encourage people to put themselves in unnecessary danger so we have a volunteer who is able to broadcast the service on youtube as usual tomorrow.

Rock Solid youth group is taking place 7-8pm at church tomorrow evening.

Decisions about activities in the week will be made after tomorrow morning.

Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to worshiping together tomorrow.

In Christ

Shelley

After a massive effort, Sunday’s 11am service gets the go-ahead both on line and in the building

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After a massive effort by a small army of snow clearers Sunday’s morning service will now take place both online and in the building. 

Obviously, with our car park nowhere near as clear as it would normally be we do ask that no matter how you arrive – by car or on foot – you take extra care both where you park and how you walk. 

Huge thanks to our intrepid “ice breakers” who incidentally varied in age from their mid teens to their eighties, because without them and their shovels we would have had to cancel our 11am service for a second week running. 

 

 

 

Shelley’s New Year greetings…

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Dear friends

Happy New Year!

Or as Donna Ashworth writes more eloquently..

“…when I say happy new year

I’m really wishing you more happy days

Than sad days

More joy than misery

More laughter than tears

More bravery than fear

And the wisdom to accept that they all belong”

For we know that in the difficult times, God is still good, Jesus is still faithful and Holy Spirit is drawing us close and revealing new treasures (1 Corinthians 2:10). Our hearts go out to people in all parts of the world who suffer, we pray ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven’ and look for ways to act where we are.   We also pray for those in our community, praying Gods healing and peace but also continually grateful for all God has been doing over the last year.  We may not always know what the next step looks like but we know Jesus calls us to ‘Seek the Kingdom of God first above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.’ (Matthew 6:33) 

We continue this journey on Sunday at 11am with all age café church looking at Matthew 2:1-12.  We have been focusing on a ‘down to earth’ God through advent and how we can be ‘down to earth’ too and we will continue to explore this over the next few weeks as we start the new year.  You could say that something that is down to earth is also ‘rooted’.  Last week we were reminded of how important it is to be rooted in God and how God weaved hope through generations of those who sought Gods heart above all else despite and through their struggles.

Next week..

Sunday 5th January – rock solid youth 7pm-8pm in church

Monday 6th January – Beacon warm welcome café 10-12midday

Tuesday 7th January – Stepping stones 10-11.30 in church

Tuesday 7th January – housegroup Tuesday afternoon

Tuesday 7th January – Deacons meeting 7.30pm

Wednesday 8th January – lunch club is back, see Rachel Beedle

Wednesday 8th January – 7.30pm housegroup in church

Thursday 9th January – 2-4pm craft warm welcome group in church

Thursday 9th January – 7pm bible study in church

Friday 10th January – 10-11am bible study in church

Friday 10th January – 8pm housegroup

Sunday 12th January – 11am service with group for our younger friends during the talk connected to the theme

Sunday 12th January – 7-8pm Rocksolid youth

Reminder that there’s a church meeting and AGM on 21st January at 7.30pm in church.  Thank you for your prayers for the church and its work here in North Leeds and further afield.

Over the next week we’ll have more information about whats happening in the next few months.

Do get in touch with Lesley (office 9-4pm on Monday, Tuesday or 9-1pm on Wednesday), or myself or a deacon or group leader if you have questions about any groups advertised above.

In Christ

Shelley

ONE MORE SLEEP! MBC’s Christingle Service lights up the darkness

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At 4.30pm on Christmas Eve, and with four red candles casting flickering beams of hope, joy, peace and love our Advent wreath once again took centre stage. 

Before long, however, and one by one these symbols of the tenets of the Christian faith were joined by a hundred or so others as with great care an array of Christingles were lit. 

In recent years MBC’s Christingle Service has become not only one of our most loved and best supported events, but in terms of community outreach a shop window with which people for whom church is the exception rather than the norm can safely engage. 

Of course the following day, Christmas Day, we lit the wreath’s centre candle, the Jesus candle, which completed the Advent cycle.

But what we all need to remember now is that as one year makes way for another it is only by igniting or perhaps that ought to be reigniting our own flickering flames – those of hope, joy, peace and love that the true light of the world, Jesus, may shine through.  

To view our gallery simply click on any of the images. 

It’s Christmas, and MBC’s Nativity Service asks where would we all be without a little bit of chaos?

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With the exception of  certain elements that are set in stone i.e. a time of prayer, a bible reading and a talk, if anyone were to describe MBC’s 2024 Nativity Service as slick I’d say that to use the word “slick” in relation to the rest of the Service would be an overstatement of near biblical proportions.  

Let me explain, and please believe me when I say I’m not being deliberately critical. 

Just two minutes before the scheduled start time there was no narrator, or was it Joseph – luckily, which ever it was one was found. 

When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem there was no inn keeper to greet them – luckily one was found when Shelley was quick witted enough to dart across from the lectern to fill this small but vital role.

Then there was that precious moment that the angels appeared (one well over 5 foot tall, the other about half her size) which found the one with the dialogue, the small one, jumping up and down to reach the mic.

Finally, when at the very end of the Service we were all invited to stand and sing our closing song, our Worship Leader somewhat sheepishly announced that as he didn’t have another song, why don’t we reprise Hark the herald angels, the last one we did.

Immediately following the Service I heard one person muttering something along the lines of  “blimey, that was anything but reverent,” whilst no more than a couple of feet away and topping up his coffee cup another described what he had just seen as… “a blast, uplifting, joyous, inclusive, encouraging and full of truth.” 

Regarding how we tell the Christmas story, how we worship, far be it for me to cast an opinion one way or the other. But on Sunday morning, here at MBC, the one thought that stuck in my mind was what was it really like in Bethlehem  the night Jesus was born? Was  the stable cosy and warm, were there stars in the bright sky and were cattle lowing etc. etc. or was it more  like MBC’s Nativity – a much more down to earth affair shot through with its very own catalogue of chaos?

I’ll leave it to you to decide. 

Christmas greetings from the First Baptist Church, Cluj, Romania

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Dear brothers and sisters,
We wish you blessed holidays filled with peace and joy!
Thank you for all the support you have given this year for the various ministries of our church. We pray that God will reward you and bless the work you are doing in His service!
 
Through the support you have provided, you have helped us assist hundreds of people in difficulty by offering food packages and, in some special cases, financial aid. 
 
The Roma church in Florești has also been blessed by the support given to them, as have the young people of the church and many other people.
 
May God bless you!
 
”Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalm 27:14
 
Below are some messages sent from the people MBC helps to support. 
 
Hello, my name is Filip Bogoșel, I am 19 years old, and I am studying Computer Science, first year. I’m still trying to adapt to the new lifestyle here in Cluj. I am a music lover and in my free time I like playing piano and guitar. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to study in Cluj and I thank you for your generosity!
 
Hi! My name is Paniță Estera. I’ll be 22 next month and my hometown is Slatina, which is a small town in the south of Romania, aproximately 350km from Cluj. I am a 3rd year dentistry student, at the Univesity of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca. I come from a family of 3, with a younger sister, who’s a preschool teacher since graduating highschool 3 years ago, and a younger brother, a preschooler, only 4 years old. My mom works as a pharmacy assistant and my dad delivers medicine. They’re hard-working, simple people, that made my going to college possible and I love with all my heart.

As for my life in Cluj, i’m glad to have made a few good friends that share my beliefs and to have found a church that preaches the Gospel truthfully. I’ve seen here people my age, that are trully dedicated and have a heart for prayer and serving others, that enjoy studying the Word of God and I am at happy to be able to join them. I hope to come to love God more in the next 3 years and a half i’ll be staying in Cluj. I know God has already blessed me so much and i am thankful that He does so in the most unexpected ways. I thank you too, for being being one of His blessings for me this year! I pray you’ll be blessed as well.

Hello,

My name is Samuel DELPHIN, I am from Haiti, and I am 29 years old. I am a first year PhD student at USAMV Cluj-Napoca. Since I arrived in Romania, God has sent me to the Church where I will grow in His Word and where I will feel welcomed. So, since 2022 I became a member of 1 Manastur Baptist Church and I try to involve myself as much as I can in the Lord’s work to Praise Him for all He has done in my life.

I would like to express my gratitude to you for the way you have thought of the young people of Manstastur Church through this scholarship. Thank you very much for this generous financial support which is crucial for me and which has helped me to realize how well the Lord cares for me and has never failed to respond to my needs.

Know that the word thank you will never be enough to express my gratitude to you! May the Lord bless you abundantly and be with you in all that you do.

Thank you so very muchand be blessed!

Samuel DELPHIN

Hello, my name is Izra FINFIN. I have been in Romania for one year, and I am a student at the Faculty of Automation and Computers.

I am a Christian and was baptized in 2022. The Maranatha Baptist Church is the ideal place for me to follow Jesus, our Savior.

Now, I want to sincerely thank you because your support is very helpful for me and for all the other students.

Thank you very much, and may God abundantly bless you.

Sincerely,

Izra FINFIN                                                                                                                      

Hi! I’m Ilinca Agheniței, a first-year computer science student studying in Cluj. I come from a small village in Northern Romania called Ipotești. Thank you so much for your kindness—it truly means a lot to me. May God bless you!

Hello, my name is Eva Agheniței. I am a second year student in Cluj, studying medicine. I come from Suceava, a city in Northern Romania, close to the Ukrainian border. The church I attend in Cluj, which I chose to attend during university, is Biserica Baptistă Mănăștur. I would like to kindly thank you for your surprise towards us. Your support is greatly appreciated by me and the other students. Merry Christmas.

 
 

MBC’s wreath making workshop turns out some wonderful creations

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Ok, so maybe we didn’t exactly deck the halls with boughs of holly, but few of the 50 or so people that were present at last Sunday’s wreath making workshop would deny that between 3pm and 5 we came very, very close. 

The creativity that each of our guests displayed was quite remarkable. There were wreaths with lights, and wreaths without; there were wreaths with baubles, bangles and beads and wreaths without; there were wreaths weighed down by pine cones, cinnamon sticks and what to me looked like slices of dried up tangerine, and of course there were some without. There was even one wreath that was decorated with strip after strip of cloth. In fact such was the contrast that the only thing this myriad display of eclecticism did have in common was that by the time they were finished what at five to three had started out as a simple 10 inch ring were swathed in enough greenery to cover my back garden.  

Away, don’t take my word for it, judge for yourself. There’s a gallery below which you can view by simply clicking on any one of the images. 

Oh and again, huge thanks to Shelley who owing to a last minute change of plan suddenly found herself leading the entire session, and of course to those who set up, swept up, washed up and served up refreshments.

If over the holiday period you’ve bought some new furniture, L&MFS will gladly collect your old stuff and give it away to people in need

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Currently, with its entire board of trustees now made up of members of Moortown Baptist Church, the Leeds and Moortown Furniture Store is going through a period of change… something you’ll hear much more about in the near future. However, one thing that isn’t changing is the need that many people in our city have for some of the most basic items of furniture. 

For this home grown charity, 2025 will mark its 39th year of trading; almost 40 years of service to literally thousands of folk who for one reason or another are far less fortunate than us.

So, if you  have bought new furniture: a bed, a sofa, a dining table, chairs, a wardrobe etc. please call us on 0113 2739727 and we’ll be delighted to arrange a convenient collection time ahead of passing your donation on. 

Thank you.

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