John Sherbourne

Covid-19 advice

Clean hands, open hearts

We aim to support and care, as a community of people in Christ – keeping one another safe. As this situations develops we are carefully / regularly monitoring advice and the actions we are taking in church.

We seek to offer welcome in a sensitive way and we recognise that meeting together in a safe way is beneficial. We are disinfecting handles and toilets in church before and after meetings.

We are also considering how we can offer the best pastoral care and practical support to all at this time – we see this as an important opportunity.

In regard to this coming Sunday we’re sorry to say that our church breakfast is cancelled although the Music Room will be open between 9.30am and 10.15 for prayer. Communion and the Church Meeting will take place as announced.

Momentum is on this Sunday evening and Beacon Café, Oasis, Moortots and Lunch Club in the coming week. Home Groups should consider this advice as they plan meetings.

The leaders and teams will continue to receive guidance and support from the church.

Our advice for individuals is as follows:

If you have a high temperature or a continuous cough you should not come along to meetings and you should self-isolate for 7 days.

If you are anxious about coming to a meeting or have underlying health issues that make you vulnerable it may be wise to stay at home.

If you are staying away and/or are unwell please let someone in church know so we have stay connected with you and offer support.

 You should:

• carry tissues, use them for coughs/sneezes, and bin them.
• wash hands with soap and hot water  (for 20 seconds) or use sanitiser gel.
• avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Clean/disinfect frequently touched objects/surfaces.
• Avoid shaking hands or sharing hugs.
• Seek to maintain a 1 metre (arms length) personal space from others.

Here at MBC, Lent, that’s the 26th Feb to April 5th will be time when we will be focusing specifically on prayer. Throughout the whole of this time we will be using some material called Try Praying – a novel scheme designed for both those who aren’t religious and don’t go to church but also for those who do.

There’s more about the thinking behind this plan at www.trypraying.co.uk and to help it along there are also two books. One is actually more a booklet which is free of charge and designed to be given out anywhere and everywhere. The other is more a personal prayer guide which costs £3. Both are available from the MBC office.

There’s a chart below showing our Service plan for Lent 2020. Each of these is based on a particular section from the Try Praying guide and reading them in advance will be a great help when it comes to following our overarching theme.

Ten days into Lent, and running in conjunction with the Try Praying project MBC is holding its next Prayer Day. It’s  called Catching the Wave and is happening on March 7th between 10am and 10pm.As you can see above the event is promising: “A day full of prayer through imagery, music, art, quiet reflection and movement.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

For two weeks each year thousands of individuals, companies and groups across the UK come together to share the stories of the people who grow our food and drinks and who grow the cotton in our clothes, people who are often exploited and underpaid.

What happened for Fairtrade Fortnight 2019?

Fairtrade Fortnight in 2019 focused on the people – in particular the women – who grow the cocoa in our chocolate. £1.86* is the amount a cocoa farmer in West Africa needs to earn each day in order to achieve a living income. Currently, a typical cocoa farmer in Cote d’Ivoire lives on around 74p** a day. Almost all cocoa farmers in West Africa live in poverty.  

For the women the situation is even worse. They may plant and harvest on the farm, look after children, carry water, collect wood, cook and clean for the family, and transport the cocoa beans to market but often with fewer rights than men.

This is why we at Fairtrade are campaigning for a living income to become a reality for cocoa farmers in West Africa. If we can work together with governments, chocolate companies and retailers to make the commitments and policies necessary, then we can make it happen. 

We made a huge noise in 2019 with 4000 campaigner events reaching 1 million people, 10,000 new supporters joining us on our journey, and businesses and MPs making their voices heard on the issues of living incomes. On 7 August 2019, Ivorian Independence Day, Fairtrade campaigners joined Fairtrade Foundation staff at 10 Downing Street to hand in a petition with more than 50,000 signatures calling for Boris Johnson to back cocoa farmers fighting for a fairer deal through UK-funded aid projects, business and human rights legislation, and joining international efforts that unite governments, chocolate companies and civil society to achieve living incomes.

_{*WIP estimation based on the Living Income Community of Practice}

_{**This is the estimated daily income per household member based on a typical cocoa farming household}

There’s a link here to Fairtrade Fortnight’s website  https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/en/get-involved/current-campaigns/Fairtrade-Fortnight

We are hosting a Night Shelter for homeless people here at MBC from Monday April 27th to Monday May 4th. We are looking for volunteers in a variety of roles from across the whole church. Our team will be coordinated by Hilary Darling, Hilary Brockway and Ben Powell.

To find out more or to volunteer please speak to one of the above or ask Graham or Shona for their contact details.

Our next Church Meeting has been moved to Sunday 15th March to allow as many people as possible to take part.

The meeting will take place at the end of a shortened second Service.

---

Sunday mornings follow a similar pattern every week, except on the third Sunday of the month when everyone is invited to breakfast at 9.30am and the service at 10.45 which is a communion service.

Beacon Café: for all the community, Mondays 10am to 12pm

Oasis Café: Tuesdays 9.15am to 11.45am

Seniors Lunch Club: Wednesdays 10.30am to 2pm

Moortots: Thursdays 9.45am to 11.30am

Bible Study: Fridays 9.30am to 11am an open discussion and prayer on the bible passage from the previous Sunday

Home Groups: our Home Groups meet at various times in different locations. Check with the office or speak to Graham or Shona to find one near you

Church Office: Kate Slater – 0113 2693750 moortown.baptist@btconnect.com

For a visit: Graham Brownlee 07979 343857, Shona Shaw 07735 458661

To volunteer in church or a group contact the church office

To find out more about our youth programme: James Wilde 07867 387003

To find out more about children’s, toddlers & families groups: Shelley Dring 0113 2693750

To find out more about our seniors work: Carole Smith 0113 2693750

A packed church is always a welcome sight but when that congregation includes the family and friends of someone being baptised the to call a service “special” seems hardly adequate.

Such was the case last Sunday when 14 year old Jihan Ha was baptised. With Shona, and for the first time in his career our Pioneer Youth Lead James Wilde supporting Jihan through his remarkable testimony and then his baptism God’s presence was tangible.

We pray for Jihan, we pray that as he continues his education and then later when he moves into the world of work he will forever call on God to guide him.