John Sherbourne 
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.
There will be a coffee morning and table top sale in support of MBC’s Romania Fund between 10am and 1pm on Saturday 21st of March. Please see Karen Ross if you would like to book a table; tables cost £10.
Spring Harvest, a brilliant teaching and worship event is running in Harrogate from the 14th to the 18th of April. For more details visit www.springharvest.org
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.
In the old days this coming Sunday would have been called Mission Sunday, and it would have been a time when we would have listened to stories – some full of daring do, others more mundane from the mission field.
Today, however, whilst we do still hear lots of first hand accounts of how the work people are engaged in through or by affiliation with BMS World Mission is providing both spiritual and practical support across the globe, what we will pick up on Sunday is much more personal: it’s a glimpse at how the support we here at Moortown Baptist Church provide for our named Mission Partners has and continues to be playing out in Afghanistan, Nepal, France and Chad as well of course as via Radio World Wide over the air waves.
In 2019 this church by way of tithe and a number of different gift schemes sent BMS World Mission a fraction short of £14,000. How you can help boost this total is one of the things Roger Robson will be speaking about on Sunday.
Saturday January 25th was a very special day for many of our congregation, as for them it was New Years Day. The Chinese New Year which last weekend saw in the Year of the Rat is a hugely important date in the Chinese calendar.
It originates from several ancient myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors today, and while certain elements are considered universal local and regional customs and traditions vary widely.
It was fascinating to hear and see first hand from Maria, Ivan, Charles and Teresa how they themselves are keeping these traditions going here in Leeds.
With parts of China currently at the centre of a new and potentially deadly virus we pray for this great nation and its massive population.
Meanwhile at the other end of last Sunday’s second service the children who make up Faith Builders and Pulse came back into church to share with us some of the things they have doing.
In Pulse they had been looking into the difference between knowing of something and knowing about something. Their analogy was a Mars bar. We all know, said Shelley what a Mars bar is but until you have actually tasted one (whether that’s as it comes, as a flavour for an ice cream or as is the custom in Scotland deep fried) you can’t really talk about one with any degree of knowledge. 
Substitute the Mars bar for God/Jesus/faith and you’ll get some idea of where this particular example was heading. As for the props, two bags of bite sized Mars bars, they were handed out.
Faith Builders, meanwhile, had been unpacking Proverbs Chapter 2 and verse 6. The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge and understanding, all come from his mouth. And it was good to hear that on the second time of asking the congregation got the gist and joined in: wisdom, knowledge and understanding indeed.
Hilary Willmer has just sent us this. It is a winter newsletter from PAFRAS (Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers). In a note accompanying the newsletter Hilary adds her thanks to all those people at MBC who by donating food and toiletries continue to support this important charity. You can find out more about PAFRAS by visiting www.pafras.org.uk and of course you can always make a personal donation by placing it in the PAFRAS box in the MBC Meeting Area. 
James Wilde is organising a youth residential between the 3rd to the 5th of April at West End Outdoor Centre, near Harrogate.
If you’d like to go see James asap to get hold of a consent form.
Also if you’d like more information about the centre itself visit https://www.westendoutdoorcentre.co.uk/
