John Sherbourne 
Happy 60th birthday MAF Chad!
Sharing a recent email sent from Bangladesh, Phil and Rod report on the support that the villagers of Jhumpara continue to receive.
If you would like to find out more about MBC’s link to Jhumpara here is a post that appeared here in February 2010 and was written by Dr Michael Flowers who with his wife June served for many years in Bangladesh with BMS.
There is a third project supported by the Bangladesh Fund, the Jhum Para Project. Back in the 1960’s there was a shift in the management of leprosy world wide, and all patients except those needing specialist hospital care were to be discharged from Leprosy Homes into the community. Inevitably, as in our case, there were some who were unable to live independently because of disability, or who had nowhere to go, because of ostracism. For them we obtained a plot of land where we built simple bamboo houses for them to live in.
We left Bangladesh soon after that and we lost touch. Although we began to visit Chandraghona again with medical teams from 1985 onwards we were unable to visit the village because of the civil war. It was only after the peace deal was signed in 1997 that June, during one of our team visits, was taken to the village and found the people there, some of them the original patients, with their children and grandchildren, all living by begging, and in abject poverty.
June was appalled and felt a compulsion from God to do something. We began to make plans and the following year a team from this church conducted a careful survey to see how we could help best. So the Jhum Para Project was born.
The urgent needs were for food, (instead of milk, or eggs, or fish, or meat, they ate snails and frogs), for drinking water, for house repairs, and most importantly, for education for the children, none of whom were at school. As an income generation scheme the initial idea of purchasing piglets for them to raise for meat or to sell was an attractive idea when raising funds at home!
Over the years the provision of school uniforms and equipment, tutors for coaching, mosquito nets, blankets, latrines, sewing machines, and adult literacy classes, have brought about an astonishing transformation.
More recently textile training for the girls and driving instruction for the young men, have brought some hope of employment, and the appointment of a pastor has resulted in many conversions and baptisms. The most recent facility has been a brick-built schoolhouse to serve the whole community.
Fresh Streams is a leadership conference held last week in Staffordshire. It was attended by Mandy, Andy, John, Krys, Shelley and Rachel and its theme was Awaken.
Over the next few weeks our team, besides telling us about some of the things they got up to will also be passing on lots of learning and training tips. However, if you can’t wait and you want to get a flavour of the event right now you can by following this direct link https://freshstreams.net
Usually at MBC, if it’s your birthday you get to choose from a jar of sweets. Occasionally, but that’s only if it’s a big birthday you might just get a gift. Today, however, was something different, as tomorrow our minister Shelley reaches the grand old age of 50!
Quite how much Shelley new about this “secret” surprise I’m not at liberty to say, but with the Sports Hall suitably decked out with banners and balloons and with a lovely spread laid out before us it’s fair to say that she, Nathan, Rowan and Daisy certainly lapped it up.
On behalf of us all, thank you Shelley for who you are and for everything you do.
May God bless you and yours.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the last thing a church member needs is a qualification in how to erect scaffolding.
But that’s precisely what Martyn, Rod and Paul learned last week when it was deemed prudent that the ability to safely scale heights hitherto unexplored should be studied and added to the seemingly endless list of safety first protocols.
Anyway, well done chaps, at least we’ll all now know who to come to when we next need a qualified scaffolder.
Dear friends
Blessings at the start of January 2026
Here are the main things going on next week…
Sunday 11th January 11am Service with group for our younger friends followed by cake and drinks for everyone! Service focus follows on from last week with Matthew 2: 13-23
Sunday 11th January 7-8pm Rock Solid youth group in church.
Monday 12th January Beacon Warm Welcome Space 10.00am – 12.00pm – everyone welcome. The Lord pantry will be available during this time.
Just to let you know that at the same time as Beacon café we will be hosting Ed Whiting, Leeds City Council Chief Executive – 10.00 – 10.15am as he meets Leeds City Council employees in the Moortown area.
Tuesday 13th Tuesday Steppingstones Group for under 5’s and parents and carers – 10.00 – 11.30am, speak to Diane S or Hilary D.
Tuesday 13th January House Group in the music Room 12.30 – 2.30pm, speak to Howard Dews
Tuesday 13th January Living Local Hub Craft Group 1.00 – 3.00pm in the meeting area. We are hosting this group for a couple of weeks whilst the roof is repaired at Living Local Hub. It’s an open group so any of you are welcome to go along.
Wednesday 14th January Lunch Club for those in the club and volunteers 10.15am – 1.15pm speak to Rachel or Lesley for more information.
Wednesday 14th January House group in the church building and on zoom 7.30 – 9.30pm Andy B and Ruth B can give more information if you are interested.
Thursday 15th January Warm Welcome Craft Group in the music room 2.00 – 4.00pm Contact Karen R or Lesley/ Shelley for more information.
Thursday 15th January Bible Study in the music room 7.00pm – 9.00pm Speak to Gareth, John C or Lesley for more information.
Friday 16th January Bible Study in the music room 10.00 – 11.00am – talk to Shelley for more information
Friday 16th January House group at 8pm See Jonathan, Hilary, Steve or Helen O
Sunday 18th January Service with Communion and creative group for our younger friends 11.00 – 12.00pm
Sunday 18th January Rock Solid Youth Group 7.00 – 8.00pm
Also coming up…
Wednesday 21st January – PACT Meeting (Policing and Communities together, Moortown area) 6.30 – 7.15pm in the music room. All welcome to share and hear what’s going on in our community in terms of concerns and positives in the local area.
Wednesday 21st January Wednesday worship at 1.30-2pm
Thursday 22nd January LJHA Women’s Self Defense Group – 1.00 – 5.00pm Sports Hall Do ask Lesley or Shelley for more information.
Wednesday 28th January Creative Psalm Writing 7.00 – 9.00pm in the Sports Hall in the church building. See Krys and Cas for more information. Anyone welcome, you don’t need to feel you are creative or an artist but do come and be open with a guided workshop using image and words. All resources provided.
A couple of you have mentioned some UK prayer initiatives in January…
Turn the Battle A national 3 days of prayer and fasting supported by the Evangelical Alliance and others including the Send, HTB… see here.. Team — Turn the Battle
And
A month of prayer organised by National Day of Prayer and Worship. Click at the link below..
NDOPW – National Day Of Prayer and Worship
Church meeting dates are being finalized and will be out for the year in the next 2 weeks.
Next Monday to Wednesday, myself and some of the deacons will be at Fresh Streams Leadership Conference in Staffordshire. We will be praying for the church as we did last Tuesday at our deacons meeting and looking to learn and share with others over the next few days. You can find out more about the conference here Awaken Leadership Conference 2026 — Fresh Streams | Rooted. Alive. Together – Giving Courage!
There have been many things going on in our world locally and globally that we will be praying about, weeping over and asking for Gods wisdom on. This is as well as all the joys we see, the moments we are grateful for, every act of love and there is often more of this than we will ever know. We seek God’s face intentionally in 2026 and look to Jesus as we follow Him this year.
“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”
Hebrews 6:19
In Christ
Shelley
Shelley Dring
Minister
Moortown Baptist Church
As the old year made way for the new our last Sunday service of 2025 reminded us that what we had just celebrated wasn’t simply the update of an age old tradition in which for many people Mary and Joseph, a bunch of shepherds and three learned stargazers have all but given way to the “joy” of exchanging Amazon vouchers, Pokemon and Secret Santas. No, what we were being reminded was that what we had all so recently celebrated was, is and always will be the day Jesus was born; Jesus – the light of the world.
To demonstrate this seemingly simply yet enigmatic truth, Cas, in typical Cas style, set about creating a picture by squirting a single blob of white acrylic onto the top right hand corner of an inky blue canvas and randomly brushing shards of “light” into the dark world.
Either side of Cas’s contribution were songs, readings and prayers all making the overriding message of the service as plain as the nose on your face: yes Jesus is the light of the world but as His followers we too need to be beacons of grace, hope and most especially light.
The service also featured a video about a renowned sculptor called Nic Fiddian – Green. Fiddian- Green excels in two fields. Firstly he’s an expert in sculpting horses heads, and secondly for crafting and casting personal depictions of how throughout his life Jesus might have looked and felt anytime, anywhere and in any particular circumstance.
There are a couple of links here which I would encourage you to look at. The first is to the short video that was shown in church about the sculptor https://vimeo.com/1129579468?fl=pl&fe=sh and the second is to MBC’s YouTube channel on which you can watch our entire service https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHz5u4vFTIs&t=1826she
A message from Liviu Marin, secretariat Biserica Creștină Baptistă nr. 1 Mănăștur Cluj-Napoca, Biserică Baptistă Mănăștur.
We wish you a blessed New Year, filled with peace and joy! Thank you for all the support you have given this year to the various ministries of our church.
We pray that God will reward you and bless the work you are doing in His service.
In the following lines, we share messages of gratitude from the young people/students who have benefited this year from the support you provide.
May God bless you and richly reward you!.. “For God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7
Dear Mrs. /Miss,
My name is Izra FINFIN. I am from Haiti and I am a student in Computer Science, specializing in Automation of Applied Informatics (AIA), in my second year at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. I am also a member of BBM (Biserică Baptistă Mănăștur).
You may not fully realize what you have done for me, but I know that God used your heart at the right moment. That is why I thank you with all my heart. Your help means much more to me than I ever expected to receive this month.
Thank you so much. I believe that God will protect you and your family and bless you every day with His goodness.
Please receive these simple words as a sign of my gratitude.
Sincerely,
Izra FINFI
Dear church in Leeds,
We thank you deeply for you generosity!
In this 6 years of marriage, me and my wife saw the mighty hand of God who always provided for us beyond our shortcomings. In this year, although we’ve encountered financial problems and there were months without revenue, we’ve been blessed beyond any expectation!
When we heard about your generous gift we were filled with gratitude and joy and tears filled our eyes because we know that this is part of God’s grace. So there’s not much to say, but we give thanks to the Lord!
I (Gabriel) have fond memories of Norman Hiley who was many times at my parents home when I was still a boy. His memory still lingers with us and we are glad for his beautiful legacy.
Our salute to you is from Hebrews 13:7-8, which says: ‘Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ‘
May God fill you with abundance and in this days of apostasy (in which most churches are more concerned with entertainment and organizing, than Jesus), may He found you strong and Holy!
With gratitude,
Gabriel and Daniela Cosman
Dear brothers and sisters,
I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the financial support I have received. Your help is a great blessing to me and an important support in continuing my studies.
My name is Marin Andrei, I am a first-year student in Pastoral Theology at Emanuel University of Oradea, and a member of the Cluj-Mănăștur Baptist Christian Church. Through your generosity, I am able to devote myself with greater peace of mind to my preparation for serving the Lord.
May God reward you and bless you!
With gratitude,
Marin Andrei
