John Sherbourne This video is a timely opportunity for the Church to get to know the Hotchkins and their work in Chad.
Please take the time to watch it because whilst it is a bit longer than the usual You-tube videos we have got used to during our Church at Home services it is a startling reminder of the precarious lives of so many and the wonderful work of our mission partners.
If you missed any of our Church at Home Service or you would like to watch it again just follow the links below.
Welcome to our opening live spot: https://www.facebook.com/MoortownBaptistChurch/videos/1329522933912953/
This is the link to all our prerecorded material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V7hihYKPxU&list=PLZIQtirtwcWgUgPcojdiy2z7y2yHrS1aB
Back together for our second live feed: https://www.facebook.com/MoortownBaptistChurch/videos/371089667145737/
And here is the link to Family at Moortown where you can follow Shelley’s Bubles and Pulse programme: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu1CPwAaahNoX3sjDXNdzbA?fbclid=IwAR3UQmIDAnAJI2F2OXqQ865_E-SrjJMmP12uCuVIvpkh0U_lRygvj23YP4M
And finally here are a few pictures shot during the Service. Please note, however, these are merely pictures and not links.
Writ-large in banner headlines Moortown Baptist Church thanks the NHS and all our key workers.
As a sign of our grateful thanks, our deep appreciation and our love for all who are doing everything they can to either care for us or to serve us this splendid new banner, designed and donated by Susan Dabrowsky is now on display at the front of church.
Thank you Susan.
As we speak some of MBC’s most talented techno wizards are hard at work setting up a new YouTube channel through which it is hoped that all elements of our Church at Home services will be available to view with greater ease. Watch this space for further information.
Meanwhile, however Shelley already has a channel, Family at Moortown which she will regularly updated with items relating to her work with children and families. Here’s the link to that.
Before we move on the past (that doesn’t make sense but you know what I mean) let’s have a look at some of the stuff Shelley is presently doing with our children and their families.
If you were with us for Church at Home last Sunday you will have heard mention of some special material Shelley has produced which is designed to let those who are in either Bubbles or Pulse follow the same theme as the grownups. Last week that was the account from Luke chapter 24 of Jesus’ journey along the road to Emmaus when unbeknown to them he walked, talked and even stopped to eat with two of his followers. Below there’s a video that Shelley posted on our YouTube channel on Sunday and in it she, Nathan, Daisy and Rowan bring their own interpretation to that story by drawing around their feet whilst talking about Jesus always walking with us even if we can’t see him. There are also a few more images from this brilliant exercise below the video.
We have also had some brilliant news this week from one of our local schools. Allerton CE Primary, where several of our church family already volunteer is planning to broadcast live, online assemblies. John Sherbourne, who is a governor at ACE and who in more normal times regularly presents assembles describes this as “a really important development, as year by year bringing our Key Stage 2 children
together at home but online at the same time as they would usually meet together in the hall should bring a real sense of togetherness to their lives.” John’s first assembly which will be specially for Year 6 pupils is at 2.30pm on Thursday 7th May.
Once things get back to normal you too might fancy helping out at this amazing school. Already as I say MBC has people going in to help provide maths tuition, to listen to young readers as they prepare for their SATS and of course to go on some of the incredible trips that children go on these days. If you do have a word with John and he will be delighted to pass on some contact details.
Another thing Shelley did this week was to invite all our Oasis and Moortots families to join her online in celebrating National Superhero Day. There are a few pictures of this in the gallery above along side the footprints pics but somehow our archivist found this wacky picture in his files. No prizes I’m afraid but let’s see how many of you can email in to mbcnewspics@gmail.com an accurate left to right. 
And finally following on from last weeks church anniversary post a number of you have asked me if we have any more old pictures of Moortown Baptist Church. Well the answer is yes we have, dozens of them.
Today’s gallery spans sixty years; from an extract from our original Church Rule book right through to the programme we produced to go alongside MBC’s 2011 What Matters community project.
There’s a lovely picture of our very first minister, Rev F. W. Bond, and then a much less formal one of Rev Michael Caddick chatting to David and Sue Colledge. There are two pictures of our then “young people.” One taken outside Oxford Place Chapel showing a number of our Young People’s Fellowship members leaving a Sunday evening event, another features many of the same people only this time on a camping weekend at Whitby.
A third pic taken a generation later shows just how big MBC’s youth section was in the 1980’s as over seventy youngsters join Michael Caddick, Michael and June Flowers and Phil Commons for a group photograph.
For many years MBC ran a number of uniformed organisations: scouts, cubs, brownies and guides. Here you can see just a few of these groups – particularly impressive is the picture of our brownies heading off to weekend camp in the back of a Tomlinson’s furniture removal van.
There’s a picture of an early house group, one showing how the sanctuary looked before guitars, drums and a projection screen took centre stage and of course there just has to be one of the pipe organ (above) which arrive in a million bits from a Congregational church in Morley and which for twenty four years (1969 – 1993) dominated our platform.
It’s been good fun gathering these pictures together, and if you study them closely enough you might just recognise some people who are still regular attenders.
To see a larger version of any of our gallery pictures simply click and then click again on the image.
As many of you know, and as Shona reminded us during last Sunday’s Church at Home Service Phil Commons has strong connections with the village of Jhum Para.
Historically Jhum Para was established as a village in the 1970’s by former MBC stalwart Michael Flowers. Michael was a doctor and for many years he, his wife June and their family lived and worked in Bangladesh. There’s a link here to a story which was published on our website back in 2010 which tells you a lot more about how and why the Jhum Para Project started https://www.moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk/mission/the-bangladesh-fund/jhum-para-project
But basically, at the time the Flowers family were living with them people with leprosy were regarded as outcasts. To counter this the idea came about that by housing them all in one village everyone became equal. Over time the villagers were encouraged and helped towards gaining access to clean water, to growing and eating the right food, to educating their children and even through doing menial jobs to generating a small income.
Despite these interventions the people of Jhum Para remain extremely poor. However, right now with the added strain of the Covid-19 lockdown many are completely destitute.
In total there are fifty-three families living in Jhum Para, and as we say many are currently living hand to mouth. If you can help just £20-25 will feed a family for a week, providing them with rice, potatoes etc.
Fortunately Phil has had a long term friendship with Anup, a Christian nurse who works in the area and has been heroic in linking with the village, bulk buying food and transport etc. And again we are blessed in that any donations we receive and subsequently pass on to Anup are sent through Western Union who unlike many organised charities who can use up to 30% of a gift for admin, fund raising etc. guarantee that 100% of any gift we send to Jhum Para goes straight there.
Currently Phil is staying in Lancashire but if you can help she would love to hear from you. Her contact numbers are either 0744 36 123 82 (mobile) or 01282 694 068. Another option is to ring Rod Russell on 0113 2692590. Rod has all the necessary information you will need regarding donating and/or transferring money.
Thank you.
Hi everyone, this morning we broadcast our sixth Church at Home Service which you can see again here. Each week new elements are added and hopefully those that have been there from the start become more familiar to you thus easier to use. However, to make everyone’s life even easier can we ask you to do one more thing. Currently we link all our prerecorded items in a certain way, but we have discovered that if we create our own YouTube channel getting access to this material becomes a whole lot easier. To set up this channel we need a minimum of 100 Subscribers (the last time we looked – a few minutes ago we had 58) and all you need to do is google YouTube, then enter the words Moortown Baptist Church and when it comes up hit the Subscribe tab. One word of caution though… on Youtube there already appears to be a number of items that bear the name Moortown Baptist Church, please make sure the one you subscribe to is the one which already has the most subscribers. Many thanks.
Link to the opening of our Service
Link to all our pre-recorded content
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZIQtirtwcWg8Dd7Y5Y-8uKU9i9nNa_mR
Link to our second live session
Below are a selection of still images taken during our Service, but please note these are not links to items which appeared in it.
Following last week’s appeal for pictures and news Alan and Kate Key (left) were first off the blocks and sent us this. “Here is a picture of us signing the register at MBC on our wedding day, 19th October 1985. The minister (Michael Caddick) was away, so Andy Hobbs conducted the ceremony. He was still Deputy Head at Allerton HS at the time, so this was his first wedding. Michael Flowers led the prayers. Arthur Barr was the Registrar (you can just see him in the background in the picture). Great memories of a wonderful day.” PS “In Alan’s defence” says Kate, “moustaches were very fashionable in the 1980s just as beards are today” !!!
Soon after we received Alan and Kate’s wedding pic Kate and Howard Slater shared one of theirs (above right) which was also taken here at MBC but one year later, in 1986 and then to complete the trio we got this lovely picture of Jackie and Steve Morris (left) from their wedding in October 1998.
Thanks too to Chris Gray for this: Top memories – 2010 it was a snowy day. John Rogers and Glenda gathered all the youth together for a huge snowball fight on the field down the road then hot chocolate, a film and hide and seek back at church. Also love anytime the whole church really goes for a hymn, especially How Great Thou Art. Plus of course Christmas morning and Easter morning services.
For those of you who haven’t managed to walk past MBC lately here are a few pictures of the blossom trees on our roundabout which right now are in all their glory. 
One hint of disappointment, however, came from an anonymous contributor who today sent in this picture of two suitcases. Seemingly they and their owners were due to be sitting on a Jet2 plane bound for the Canary Islands this coming Friday. Never mind, whoever you are you’ll get over it. I’m sure they’ll come in handy another year.
Perhaps, though, the highlight of the week, what we might call our Present part of this post was the virtual tea party that Shelley organised for 3 o’clock on Tuesday (National Tea Day). Here’s a glimpse at just some of the people who took time out join her.
So that was this week, but what could you share with us? The address to email your news, your pictures, your grumbles or your smiles to is mbcnewspics@gmail.com
And finally don’t forget that this week, despite the strange circumstances we mark MBC’s 65th anniversary. You can read a separate post about that here https://www.moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk/news/mbc-marks-its-65th-anniversary-unlike-any-other
Carr Manor Community School is coordinating an initiative to make visor masks for the NHS. They are looking for people who are able to go on a rota to make the masks down at the school, but there is also capacity for some people to work from home on them. As ever, we can’t promise you’ll be used – it’s not in our hands – but we wanted to offer this opportunity to you.
If you’re interested in helping, please send your contact details to luke@interact.uk.net. He will collate the names and send them to the school. It will then be the school that follows this up.
