News items for public viewing
This coming Sunday, that’s November the 10th, our morning service will begin at 10.50am.
Being Remembrance Sunday, this slightly earlier start will give us an opportunity to gather ourselves before observing a two minute silence, in which we will pay our respects to all the men and women who throughout the years have fallen in combat.
If you can please join us for this act of remembrance which will take place at precisely 11am.
Dear friends
We look forward to seeing you at café church tomorrow to worship together, catch up, have breakfasts pastries and drinks, pray and hear more from the book of Ruth as we move onto Ruth 4:1-12. Its an all age service so there are things designed for all ages and experiences including a planting activity linked to the themes. We start at 11am in the building and online.
Through the week are activities are as usual..
Monday – Beacon warm welcome café 10-12midday
Tuesday – Stepping stones group for under 5’s and their parents/carers 10-11.30am
Tuesday afternoon – house group in church, see Rod/Howard
Wednesday – lunch club for all those booked in and the volunteers, see Rachel Beedle
Wednesday evening – house group in church, see Andy/Ruth Berry. There’s also a house group of women led by Diane Sunter on Wednesday evenings.
Thursday – warm welcome craft group 2-4pm in church
Thursday – bible study at 7pm in church, see Gareth Gadd
Friday – bible study at 10am in church, see Shelley or send a message to Lesley for more information
Friday evening at 8pm – house group, see Jonathan/Hilary Darling
Do call or send a message to Lesley or ask Shelley for more information on groups through the week. Lesley is in the office Monday and Tuesday 9-4pm and Wednesday until 1pm.
Next Sunday we have a service in church and online with an opportunity to think about remembrance. This service will start ten minutes earlier at 10.50 so that we can observe the 2-minute silence. There will be a group for our younger friends.
The next Wednesday worship is 13th November at 1.30pm in church.
On Saturday 16th November there will be a special art exhibition in church with opportunity to buy box canvases, framed paintings and hundreds of ink and powder abstract works created by Tricia’s late husband. It is called Ralph Bainbridge: The painting machine. It will take place from 11am to 3pm. More information to come but do ask Mandy, Tricia, or Shelley if you have any questions. Messages can also be sent to Lesley to pass onto them. It is open to all. There will be a small table out on Sunday 17th too.
On Sunday 24th November at 4pm, we welcome Sue and John Wilson for a retirement visit and tea at church to catch up with them about life as missionaries in Paris with BMS. All welcome! More details to come.
More details to come about Christmas! Just a couple of dates for your diary and chance to let others know about…
1st December Advent café church together at 11am
7th December at 1.30-3.30pm, sing along Christmas carols and songs with Steel Crazy steel pan band, festive treats and a fun Christmas quiz.
15th December at 3pm Creative wreath making workshop where you will learn how to make your own Christmas wreath to take home, materials and festive refreshments will be provided. £10 each. Please book in with Lesley so that we can provide the right number of wreaths and resources. If you have a favourite pair of scissors/secateurs you may want to bring them along but we will have some for you to use anyway!
“I know that my redeemer lives…I myself will see him with my own eyes” Job 19:25-27
In Christ
Shelley
A bright evening at Moortown Baptist Church last Sunday, the Youth Group, Rock Solid, gathered for a special evening.
Pizza and Pumpkins
Firstly the younger ones of the group played football in the usual way and caught up with their friends.
Then they ate pizza and engaged in friendly conversations discussing about light and ideas they would use for their pumpkin carving and messages.
The buzz of the evening continued as they carved their pumpkins, some had the words “Hope and Joy” reminding all those who saw them of the unwavering goodness Jesus brings into the world.
It was just fantastic hearing the Youth of our church talking about how they could bring light into their own lives and the lives of those around them.
Fifteen pumpkins were carved each with a unique design inspired by the love of Jesus and reflecting on his message of hope and good news.
A message of HOPE and LIGHT instead of the dark and scary perception of Halloween.
There’s a gallery of our pumpkin pictures below. To view any, or all of them simply click on any of the images.
With BMS Missionaries Andrea and Mark Hotchkin leading our morning Service, with Communion and with a terrific shared lunch it’s fair to say that last Sunday, between 11am and about half past two, MBC pulled out all the stops in terms of being a truly community church with world wide vision.
Based in a hospital in Bardai, a small oasis town in the north of Chad, surgeons Andrea and Mark are currently in the UK on a month long home assignment.
As one of their supporting churches it was once again great to catch up with them and to hear first hand exactly what in one of the most challenging environments on earth God is doing in their home life, in their church life and of course at work.
Special thanks to all those people who brought the Service together; to the worship band and Shelley, to Phil and Maria, to the people on the sound desk, to Roger our BMS rep, to those who brought in and served up the food and particularly to those that during Mark’s talk supervised our youngsters as they created some amazing paintings.
Below is a gallery of pictures taken throughout the morning. To view them simply click on any of the images.
Dear friends
We look forward to joining with you tomorrow for our service at 11am in the building and online. We welcome Andrea and Mark Hotchkin from BMS to lead with us. We’ll have a group for our younger friends where we will look at the theme creatively together. We’ll share communion together and after the service everyone is welcome to continue the sharing of food in a bring and share lunch. Do drop your food in the sports hall on the centre tables. We have volunteers to sort out where it can go. A reminder to bring cold pre prepared food that can be eaten without needing heating up. Youth meet in the evening 7-8pm in church.
Monday – Beacon warm welcome café 10-12midday
Tuesday – Stepping stones group for under 5’s and their parents/carers 10.-11.30am
Tuesday afternoon – house group in church, see Rod/Howard
Tuesday evening – deacons meeting in church 7.30pm, do pray for John as he joins the team.
Wednesday – lunch club for all those booked in and the volunteers, see Rachel Beedle
Wednesday evening – housegroup in church, see Andy/Ruth Berry
Thursday – warm welcome craft group 2-4pm in church
Thursday – bible study at 7pm in church, see Gareth Gadd
Friday – bible study at 10am in church, see Shelley or send a message to Lesley for more information
Friday evening at 8pm – housegroup, see Jonathan/Hilary Darling
Do call or send a message to Lesley or ask Shelley for more information on groups through the week. Lesley is in the office Monday and Tuesday 9-4pm and Wednesday until 1pm.
Thanks to all those who came to the church meeting last week. Minutes will be out soon. Do keep praying and continue the conversation before our next meeting.
Last Sunday in the service, at the church meeting and at Wednesday worship, we spent some time thanking God together for things in our world and our lives that we are grateful for. Philippians 4:6 reminds us to “..bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks.” The letter goes onto say that the result will be that the peace of God “…that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus”. It does not mean that we ignore what is going on around us, but our requests are balanced with thanks, and this brings safety to our minds and hearts. God wants us to see and act with passion but he wants our minds and hearts to operate from a place of safety and not fear. Colossians 3:15 says “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” It is this peace that needs to rule, not just have a place or a say, but be in charge, be sovereign, have the final word, over our minds and hearts. This peace brings us unity with others. A lack of peace can bring division and a feeling of separation. We have been reading the book of Ruth together on Sundays. Naiomi’s husband Elimelech appears right at the beginning and his land is mentioned throughout the book. His name means ‘God is sovereign’ and it’s a reminder that even though God is not obviously speaking in the book, God is in control as Ruth follows Him. The story continues.
Further Autumn Sunday dates..
Sunday 27th October 11am service with group for our younger friends
Sunday 3rd November 11am all age café church
Sunday 10th November 10.50am service with a group for our younger friends. Note the slightly earlier start time so that we can have the 2 minute silence for remembering.
Sunday 17th November 11am service with communion and a group for your younger friends
Sunday 24th November 11am service with a group for our younger friends
Sunday 24th November 4pm Tea for all and a chance to join with John and Sue Wilson from BMS on their retirement visit and to hear some of their stories about mission in Paris.
There will be a short service in November to remember those we miss who are no longer with us. Date to be confirmed this week.
Ideas for Advent and Christmas are coming together, dates will be out in the next two weeks. Our Christmas programme will begin on December 7th 1.30-3.30pm, sing along Christmas carols and songs with Steel Crazy steel pan band and festive treats.
Finally, this week at lunch club, Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue visited. It was great to see a rescued hedgehog, but we were reminded of the decline in hedgehog populations. Do check out the webpage here A Prickly Encounter – Wednesday 16th October – Moortown Baptist Church and for those who live in the North Leeds area there is a meeting at St Barnabas on 19th November on how to get involved with the local nature recovery plan. Alwoodley 2030: Climate Action Hub – Nature & Biodiversity
In Christ
Shelley
1955 – 2025. The past, the present and the future
In 1980, Roger Robson, who first came to Moortown Baptist Church in 1955 as a ten year old, was asked if he would write a short history of the first twenty-five years of MBC’s life. This he did, and I suspect that if you’re prepared to search high and low you might still find the odd copy.
Anyway such was the success of Roger’s excellent account that twenty five years later, and to mark the church’s fiftieth anniversary he was again asked to dig into our archives, collate as much information as he could and update his work.
You can see the front covers of both of these booklets above.
The end result was the perfect example of how over fifty years a mix of documented fact, anecdote and old faded pictures can be drawn together to bring the past alive.
In April next year Moortown Baptist Church celebrates its seventieth anniversary, and at our most recent Church Meeting those that were there were not only challenged to come up with even more memories but if possible with specific stories that reflect the ups, the downs, the ins and the outs of MBC; a vibrant community church with world wide vision.
Below you will see a few more quotes from Roger’s second book; the top one is a Charge to the Church issued in April 1955 at South Parade Church in Headingley to mark its founding, the others written since by either former Ministers or members.
One more thing we can promise is that nearer the time you will hear much more about our forthcoming anniversary, indeed you may even be asked to help. But as for now all we ask is that you put your thinking caps on so that by the time we’re ready to launch our dedicated Anniversary Email address you’ll be all ready to go.
Diane and Rhubarb (the Hedgehog) joined us at the Seniors Lunch Club on Wednesday from Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue.
The Seniors had great fun learning about Hedgehogs and how to protect them, also making Hedgehog decorations.
If you want to know more info about the organisation please click here
