John Sherbourne

This coming Sunday, 11th June, there will be no morning service here at MBC. The reason being that like last year we sit fairly and squarely right in the middle of the World Triathlon route.

There will however be a Communion Service here at 6pm.

As her theme for our Pentecost sermon Shona chose Making Memories. For Stephanie Whyte (centre in the picture below) one can be sure that the memories of this particular day will stay with her for ever.Following an emotional testimony in which Steph, who recently completed an MBC Alpha Course gave some powerful examples of God’s goodness and grace it was time for her to step in the baptistery. With Shona Shaw on one arm and Janet Walker on the other Steph rose from the water to greet the packed church with a joyful Alleluia!

Sharing Steph’s special day was her mother Sandra, sister Melanie and nephew Jordan.

Another highlight of the service was the return of our “pop up” choir. Under the watchful eye of their leader, Abi Tilley, and after just three weeks rehearsal the singers were brilliant. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Sunday, that’s the 11th of June there will be no morning service here at MBC owing to road closures and us being slap-bang in  the middle of the ITU World Triathlon Series course.

For the elite athletes, and following a 1,500 meter swim in Roundhay Park’s Waterloo Lake there’s a quick change from wetsuit to lycra for their 40 km bike ride into and around town. After that it’s just a small matter of a 10k run: then the rest of the day’s their own!

As an amateur Gareth Davies, however, will be undertaking a slightly less arduous schedule. For him and his fellow athletes taking part in what’s called the Sprint Triathlon involves a mere 750 meter swim, a 20km bike ride and a 7.5km run. “I’m pretty fit” says Gareth “as I do a fair amount of running but swimming that sort of distance in a lake that I’m told years ago was once used as an armaments dump is a bit scary.”

So in readiness for the challenge, Gareth has been honing his aquatic skills by training in a flooded gravel pit alongside students at a diving school near Castleford. Another of his clever tactics is to borrow a bike from Graham and Margaret’s son Aodhan (in 2016 Aodhan rode this particular bike when he took part in the insanely tough Iron Man challenge).

So next Sunday, if you decide to sneak an extra hour in bed, or maybe opt for a drive out in the Dales spare a thought for Gareth. In fact, more than that – go online and visit  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Gareth-Davies96 and sponsor him, because every stroke, every revolution and every step he takes will be counting towards his goal of raising £1,000 for The Bone Cancer Research Trust.

  

 

We want to recognize the changes and challenges this year has held for each young person. We also celebrate their growth and for some the exciting opportunities which await them as they head of to University. On the night there will be a live band, a silent disco, a scalextrics racing track and a whole lot more!

Tickets cost £10 for all this including food! Please RSVP by the 11th June. Or alternatively ring or text 07852388530 to let the youth team know you are coming.

After what must seem like an endless drag up Stonegate Road I can only imagine the relief that the near on 9,000 runners in this year’s Half Marathon dwhen they saw that once again MBC was stepping in with a much needed sustenance.

Okay, so maybe jelly babies and popcorn aren’t the top of every athletes dietary plan but I can assure you that for many they were exactly what the doctor ordered.

Below is a gallery of images captured as the runners streamed past us.  

After two years worshipping and ministering here at MBC Caroline Brown said her farewells on Sunday when she told the church that she was “returning to her roots.” In other words, returning to the Church of England, but this time with the intention of becoming a priest.

Revd Caroline began her final Sunday standing on the roundabout watching out for her sister who was competing in the Leeds Half Marathon. It was then a quick sprint in to church to announce her news.

Surrounded by members of her Home Group and also by regulars at our Monday Morning Café Caroline was thanked for all the work she has done here at MBC and wished God speed as she takes her next steps in ministry.  

Once again MBC’s Plant Sale has proved a great success. With only a few specimens left unsold and with a very healthy contribution coming from the donations for coffee and cake Jenny Dixon and her green fingered team are well on the way to sending more than £1,000 to this year’s chosen charities.  

From the word go there was a steady stream of visitors each of whom left us carrying considerably more than they had brought.

Simon on the Streets and The British Heart Foundation are this year’s beneficiaries so very soon a cheque will be heading their way.

Alongside Jenny’s adult helpers there was this year a new member of the team… 10 year old Nikou Mohammadai who when not helping arrange the cakes was our assistant photographer. In fact, so good were her pictures that almost half of the images in the gallery below are hers.

So all in all a good day, once again many thanks to Jenny and all the team… see you all next year.

 

 

This coming Sunday, May 14th, runners taking part in the Leeds Half Marathon will once again be streaming past us at just about the time our Sunday morning worship starts. This means you will need to plan your journey carefully as there will be a certain number of road closures.

However, unlike in previous years this time MBC finds itself sandwiched between two feeding/water stations which means there will be no need for us to give out drinks. We are though keeping up the tradition of handing out jelly babies.  If you want to help just turn up on Sunday, make your way onto the roundabout and join in the fun.

 

Sorry about the missing newsletter. A couple of weeks ago IT gremlins somehow managed to sabotage our last issue by wiping all the stored images from the website library. However, we are pleased to say normal service has been resumed and provided they don’t strike again there will be a newsletter tomorrow (12 May).

In it you’ll not only find links to a few new stories but also some which if you haven’t visited the website directly you may have missed.