Login

Avatar photoJohn Duffy

Despite a bomb scare taking us all by surprise Krys’s Table Top Sale still raises over £750

by
Last week Krystyna Gadd’s Table Top Sale (that’s Krys above) was a brilliant if somewhat bizarre event.* With all fourteen tables let, on show was a wonderfully eclectic mix of novelty gifts and crafts.
 
These ranged from bric-a-brac to high end glass crafted items, from weaving to knitting and crochet, and from quilled items such as cards and pictures. We also had a sweet stall selling not only sweets but Christmas wreaths! One lady had made and was selling some beautiful scented products such as melts, lotions and room scents. Tricia Bainbridge was there showing her late husbands art work. And for children there was hair braiding, face-painting and henna. 
 
* Following brisk footfall in the morning, sadly, in the afternoon a sudden incident involving police and a bomb disposal team led to many of the roads around MBC either being congested or indeed closed.
  
However, as many of the folk who couldn’t get here in person still donated to the cause the total so far reached from the sale has topped £785 – a remarkable sum when you consider that £700 covers one month’s food for fifty girls and eight infants.
 
If, though you yourself would like to donate then you still can by using Krys Gadd’s Just Giving page which you can reach via the link below. 
238823ff-af9b-4486-be80-789c588b0c46.jpg
“It was, says Krys “a lot of work but having seen the work of the Woman’s’ Development centre for myself I know that this is such a worthwhile cause. The girls we support live in the refuge in Kandy, Sri Lanka and many have been subjected to gender based violence, something that is not recognised in their country as being serious. The refuge is their escape to a new life free from abuse. However, it is not simply a refuge, no, it’s a home that’s filled with love, somewhere where they get to complete their studies and vitally discover ways to support themselves.”

Krys adds “It was in April 2024 that I went out to help the girls improve their weaving skills, having sent out 13 looms in April 2020, at the start of the Covid lockdown.  Through Just Giving, Their Future Today, this UK based charity is the project which is providing a large portion of funding to the WDC”.

“I plan to go out again in 2025 but ahead of my trip I want to raise some much needed funds purely to help the girls, even with such basic needs as buying groceries”.

“I would love to post pictures of the girls, but they are in a secret location for their own protection and anything on social media may lead to their abusers finding them”.

Please see some more images from the day below

13th September – Shelley’s weekly message

by

Dear Friends

On Tuesday, people shared some of the things going on in our church community, in Moortown, Leeds and further afield.  We heard good news, concerns, and personal stories as well as some decision making too.  The minutes will be available next week if you missed it.

God has called us ‘a city on a hill’ (Matthew 5:14) to be a community of light.  That’s why Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians…

“…Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”  (Ephesians 4:2-3)

Paul writes this ‘as a prisoner’ so he was well aware there are times when we may not feel part of that community due to distance of some kind, but Paul knew he was part of it and our calling as Christians is worked out with others in mind.  To bear with others, suggests patience and time.

The result is that all are honoured whether they play a big part or a small part.

“But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other” (1 Corinthians 12:24-25)

As we move into the Autumn, we continue to walk alongside each other. Let’s pray for every part, those who are at a distance in some way and those who are right in the middle of something.  Pray that God will continue to raise leaders in our church to work alongside all ages.

Here are a few things ‘the body’ are doing this week…

This Sunday we continue in John’s gospel with a story with similarities to the woman at the well.  Its John 6:1-15 and all ages will be in the room with activities for our younger friends.  We will also share communion.  We start at 11am in the building and on YouTube.

Rock Solid youth are back together again on Sunday evening at 7pm-8pm.

It’s the final instalment of the prayer course this Sunday.  See website  Prayer Course – see Krys Gadd for details – Moortown Baptist Church  This week it’s a Zoom meeting at 7.30pm.  Details from Krys or ask a deacon on Sunday.  As the last one is a Zoom, anyone who has joined at some point is invited to meet face to face to chat/pray on the 6th October after church.

Tomorrow, 14th September, it’s the tabletop sale, full of carefully made crafts as well as drinks and cake,  you can also get your face painted or hair braided by experts!  Its 10.30-2.30pm in church. Table Top Sale – 14th September – Moortown Baptist Church

On Monday 16th September it’s Beacon warm welcome café.

On Tuesday 17th September it’s Stepping Stones for under 5’s and their carers.  We had a busy but fun first week last week.  Contact Lesley if you are new and would like to come.

Tuesday afternoon House Group in church, see Rod or Howard

Wednesday lunch club for those booked in (see Rachel Beedle for details)

Wednesday worship at 1.30pm, all welcome for half and hour together, this week’s theme, God in the storm.

Wednesday night House Group in church, see Shelley this week for more details.  7.30pm

Bible study in church at 7pm (see Gareth or ask Lesley/Shelley/deacon for details).

Friday evening House Group starts at 8pm on Friday.  See Hilary/Jonathan or Steve/Helen or ask Lesley/Shelley/A Deacon for more details.

On the 29th September we’ll be celebrating a baptism in church!  If you would like to be baptised on that day too then do get in touch with me (or contact Lesley in the office to get hold of me) for a chat.

October café church, 6th October, will be our harvest and thanks service at 11am.  All welcome!  We are collecting food for North Leeds food bank and money donations for Caring for life but more details this week.

Some other things happening in Leeds..

“Dance, music and praise in Leeds City Centre!
We’re gathering children and young people from Leeds to be part of this exciting event. There will also be a live band!
Our hope is that people in Leeds and beyond will be able to witness a tangible expression of joy and hope that leads them to God’s love.”

And beyond…
http://worldinprayer.org Lots of prayer resources connected to world news to help us pray across the world at the moment…

In Christ

Shelley

Shelley Dring
Minister

Shelley – June 8th 2024

by

Dear friends

Last week we heard the story Jesus told about a good Samaritan.  Many of you have shared new things that you think God has shown you through this story and it’s been encouraging to hear.  Let’s keep sharing our stories and thoughts with each other, writing them down, drawing them..

The week has been full of national stories too, for example the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, known as D-Day, the allied invasion in 1944 that played a crucial part in liberating western Europe from Nazi occupation. Many individual stories were shared about those who played their part, there will be stories that are only known to some, even one…these stories help us to engage and think in a different way.

More stories were shared as part of National Volunteers week this week, a week designed to celebrate all those who give of their time for free to help others.  Although we may use different language for this in church, we recognise that we are all called as part of the body of Christ on earth to support, serve and encourage others both in and out of church (Matthew 10:8).   If you would like to know more about roles or activities in church or in the community then do ask myself, send a message to Lesley or ask a deacon.  Thank you to all of you.  There are some of you unable to do what you have done or would like to do due to health problems for example.  We continue to pray for you and want to encourage you that you are very much a part of the family at MBC because of who you are not because of what you do.   

As we approach tomorrow, we have the privilege of hearing from Diane, Candice and Mike as they are baptised.  The stories of how people come to baptism help us to reflect on our own and remind us that we are on this journey together but we have an individual story too.  We start at 11am and we’ll have drinks and cake after the service.  You and your friends and family are very welcome.

There will be a rock-solid youth group in the evening for our younger youth, the older youth group will have a break this week.  Both are back on the 16th June.  If you are a parent of one of the young people who attends and haven’t sent your information form back to one of the leaders can you do so by the end of next week please?  It can be given as a paper copy or electronic, thank you.

Some dates…

Monday 10th June  10-12 warm welcome Beacon café.  Come share a free drink and breakfast snack.  Chat or just spend some time in the space.

Tuesday 11th June  Stepping Stones under 5’s group for children and their parents, grandparents and carers 10-11.30pm

Tuesday 11th June Church hosts the Alwoodley Community Forum, 1-3pm

Tuesday 11th June Afternoon house group in church

Tuesday 11th June Deacons meeting with Shelley 7.30pm in church

Wednesday 12th June  lunch club in church for all those registered with Rachel Beedle and the volunteers

Wednesday 12th June  7.30pm house group in church and online.  See Ruth or Andy Berry. 

Thursday 13th June  2-4 pm warm welcome craft group in church.  See Karen Ross/Diane Sunter for more information.         

Thursday 13th June  No bible study at 7pm-9pm in church. See Gareth Gadd for the next one.

Friday 14th June bible study 10-11 in church.  See Shelley if you are interested.

Friday 14th June  8pm housegroup See Hilary, Jonathan or Steve, Helen or Lesley for more details.

Sunday 16th June 11am service with communion

Sunday 16th June 7-8pm Rock Solid group for young people (both groups) in church.

Also…

Whole church meeting on Tuesday 18th June at 7.30pm with zoom room.  Agenda will come out on Monday/Tuesday.  For any agenda items, do let Shelley or one of the Deacons know in advance of the meeting.

Wednesday 19th June Wednesday Worship at 1.30pm.  Open to all.

Walk organised by Krys Gadd on Saturday 22nd June in Ilkley.  Click on here for details Summer Solstice Walk – 22nd June 2024 Ilkley – Moortown Baptist Church

Wednesday 26th June – Deacons and Shelley Away Day

Sunday 21st July Strawberry Tea 1-3pm raising money and awareness for those churches and individuals we are connected to in Romania.  More information to come.

Tuesday 10th September – whole church meeting 7.30pm in church and on zoom.

Finally, do keep an eye on the website for latest stories and news Moortown Baptist Church – Loving God, living generously, following Christ.

We also have a facebook page, look up Moortown Baptist Church or let us send you a friend request.  Thanks to all those who are working on this aspect of our ministry.

In Christ

Shelley

Shelley Dring

Minister

Moortown Baptist Church

 

Plant Sale 18th May – Come and join us!

by

Come and join us on Saturday 18th May 2024 at Moortown Baptist Church for our annual plant sale.

1.00pm – 3.00pm

House plants, Bedding Plants, Perennial garden plants and more…
Refreshments : Tea – Coffee – Cakes!!

Free entrance

All proceeds in aid of Moortown Furniture Store

Schedule for Easter Weekend

by

As we approach the Easter weekend here is a little reminder of what is going on at MBC…

Day and Time What’s On
Good Friday 10am Reflection in the building – time to sit, be, reflect, draw, read on Good Friday
Good Friday 10.30am-11.00am Service
Good Friday 11.00-11.45am Reflection in the building – time to sit, be, reflect, draw, read on Good Friday
Good Friday 12.00 midday All Age Easter egg hunt with some craft activities
Good Friday 2.00pm MBC Walk

Meeting Point: White Wells Car Park, Ilkley, Google Maps Ref: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gW4wfiJfv7TmmWJB8 (If there are no spaces then you can park in Darwin Gardens or on Wells Road itself). Length of walk: 1.5 hours in total (maximum) From the car park is the steepest part of the walk, for around 10 minutes and after that it levels off for a while. The inclines are not too steep and the path is a gravel one with few muddy bits. I would recommend walking boots or sturdy trainers if you have them, just for your comfort. Feel free to take it at your own pace. You might want to bring a warm drink and a snack as well as suitable outer wear as it can be a little windy at the top! Krys says that there are a few roadworks A65 in Burley in Wharfedale that are creating a bit of a hold up in central Ilkley so you may want to allow a bit of extra time or go via the Cow and Calf pub instead. Otherwise, just sit and enjoy the scenery.
Easter Sunday 11am Sunday celebration service with baptisms and everyone welcome for Easter refreshments and tea/coffee after the service. We encourage you to share lifts, walk up to church if you are able and arrive before 11am. Extra chairs have been put out too. Look forward to seeing you! Do pray for Jason, Rebecca and Rowan being baptised from MBC.
The next Beacon Café is Monday 8th April 10-12am. Craft welcome space group will run as usual on Thursday 4th and Thursday 11th 2-4pm.

A reminder that the funeral of Barbara Dews, Howard Dews’ mother will be on April 11th at 12pm with refreshments and drinks in the building after the service. All those who knew Barbara or would like to support Howard are welcome to both.

In May … calling all gardeners! The church will be holding its annual charity plant sale again in May this year and as always it is your contributions that will enable it to happen. The weather has been awful, but now is the time to split and pot perennials, sow seeds and pot up runners so they will be attractive plants by May. If anyone needs advice or pots, please contact Jenny (or Lesley to pass onto Jenny) and also if you would like to help on the day (either 4th or 18th May).

Finally thank-you to all who were able to come to church on Tuesday for the church meeting. Thank you for your prayers and kindness on the evening. Also to our tech team who made a private YouTube channel possible for those who were unable to get there but wanted to be part of it. We continue to seek God in the new season and pray for all those who were mentioned on the night in any capacity.

Blessings

Shelley

Website update!

by

Moortown Baptist Church has had an online presence for well over 10 years. In that time, web technology and tools have both improved in leaps and bounds. As the technology changed, so our website became less state-of-the art and definitely less secure and it became imperative to catch up.

As we enter into our new and exciting future, it seemed like a good time to bite the bullet, and we have been working hard in the background to build a replacement site. We are now delighted to announce that our website has been migrated over to the new platform, and is now up and running.

If you already have credentials for the website, you should be able to sign on with your existing username and password. If you have any difficulty with this then please let us know, preferably by email to webmaster@moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk

As with all new things, we are expecting a certain amount of teething problems, so please report anything that you notice is wrong.  Any comments and suggestions are also welcome, to the same address.

Church at Home – 10.45am, 26th April – prerecorded content

by

Here is the link to the prerecorded parts to today’s Church at Home – 19th April 2020. As you will all know by now our first live stream begins at 10.45am and this week we are planning to come back to for the second as near to 11.30am as possible. We look forward to you joining us. 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZIQtirtwcWjDHU_VDkEr58nSSy2gD6hA

Christmas Choir 2018 : Carol parts for download

by

Choir2011Please find below the MP3 files of the different parts for this year’s Carol Service. You can either listen to them by clicking on the link, or download them by right-clicking on the blue title link, then choose “Save link as …” to save them to your hard disk. You can even transfer them to your iPod (other MP3 players are available) so that you can practise whilst out jogging, or in the car!

MP3 Files
MP3 audio files which should download and play on most platforms.

In Dulci Jubilo
This Child
Welcome All Wonders ALTO
Welcome All Wonders MALE
Welcome All Wonders SOPRANO

 
M4A Files
An alternative format for those who prefer it.

In Dulci Jubilo
This Child
Welcome All Wonders ALTO
Welcome All Wonders MALE
Welcome All Wonders SOPRANO

 

Photographs on the MBC website and Social Media

by

Quite often we take photographs which we then publish on the MBC website and on Social Media. Indeed many of our children’s and youth work projects already make a point of seeking parental/carer consent in regard to this matter. However, if for any reason you or anyone in your family would rather not appear in any of these posts would you please let us know by emailing us at photos@moortownbaptistchurch.org.uk.

Please mark your message WEBSITE PICTURES and be sure to tell us the names of whom we need to be aware of.

Thank you.

Boys in the Cave an article by Haddon Willmer

by

Of course, we are concerned for the faraway boys in the cave in Thailand and pray for their full rescue.

We do not just feel for them, we feel with them. Though we are not in a cave under a mountain, is not our plight in life well pictured in theirs?

Lost in Darkness
Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness….

….. on them has light shone

After nine days in the darkness, there was a shining beam, a face, a voice…

Then they know they are not forgotten,

They get a bit of their story back, finding out what day it is, for in the cave they could not know night from day.

Not lost, but found…

Found by people who come through dark waters and tight tunnels to be with them…

Found but still in the cave…

Found but not yet rescued and restored…

Waters of Death
Blocked by waters, held back till they learn to swim…and dive?…

Even then, could they get through the narrow stretches where each must go alone…? Expert cavers take five hours to do it. It’s a big test.

Black waters signal death. They are not yet safe. There is no easy euphoric way to life. There is a baptism to be baptised with.

There is waiting with Noah in the ark until the waters begin to go down.

Can the waters be drained enough for the boys to wade, waist high, not needing to scuba? Perhaps.

Will the monsoon be considerate, delaying itself? Unlikely.

Might another shorter drier way be found and opened up? Air is getting into their cave so there is a continuous crack in the mountain somewhere. Unlikely.

Courage, brother, do not stumble, though the way be dark as night
The boys might get out in the next few days or they might not…

If not soon, they must survive in the depths for months… an unthinkable time in such conditions? At least the darkness will be lighted, with lamps not the sun… at least they will be supplied with daily food and warm clothes and health care… at least they will have lines of communication with their families…

Yet they need extraordinary strength to wait patiently… to hold together… to begin to bear the trauma which may stay with them long after they come home.

Hope given in the moment
There is no slick easy uncompromised recovery for people caught in any cave comparable with this one. Scars will not quickly fade.

Hope with the One who comes into the cave bringing light, who leads out of darkness and death along the long hard way, always bearing on his hands the signs that he comes to us all in the dark night where death is in life.

Subscribe to the MBC Newsletter

Weekly news and stories about everything that is happening at Moortown Baptist Church

PHP Code Snippets Powered By : XYZScripts.com