our Newsletter for Sunday 19th February 2012

‘The same God who said, “Out of darkness let light shine”; has caused his light to shine within us to give us the light of revelation – the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’
(2 Corinthians 4 : 6)

We give a warm welcome to all who have come to worship the Lord our God through Jesus Christ our Saviour. We especially welcome Rev Gareth Jones and Members of MethSoc who will lead our morning worship and Steve & Alison Underwood who will lead us in a Folk Praise Service this evening.

TEA/COFFEE DUTIES
19 Feb - Jane Edwards & Kath Johnson
26 Feb - Janet Jones & Mirriam Mokhuoa
4 Mar - Janet Jones & Mirriam Mokhuoa
11 Mar - Margaret & Malcolm Poole
18 Mar - Ruby Horne & Rita Hill

CLEANING ROTA
18 Feb - Debbie & Paul Westwood
25 Feb - Rosemary & Colin Case
3 Mar - Joan Keightley & Belinda McBain
10 Mar - Enid Billingham& Madeline Blunt
17 Mar - Angus Alston & Paul Brennan

FLOWERS 26 February – Edna Weston

DOOR STEWARDS for – March Joan & Alan Keightley (am) and Paul Westwood (pm)

FORTHCOMING DATES:
1. Monday 27 February – Induction of Rev Katryn Leclezio at St Peter’s Church, Cradley – 7.30pm
2. Tuesday 28 February – Prayer Meeting – Rev David Alford – 7.30pm
3. Wednesday 29 February – ‘Rock’ Musical Practice – 7.30pm
4. Friday 2 March – Women’s World Day of Prayer – Four Ways Baptist – Speaker Phil Hall – 2.00pm
5. Saturday 3 March – Coffee Morning – Holy Trinity Church, Old Hill – 10.30am – 12.00noon
6. Sunday 4 March – ‘Rock’ Musical by Roger Jones – 6.00pm

REHEARSAL for ‘Rock’ Musical is on Tuesday evening this week at 7.30pm

UNFORTUNATELY THERE WILL NOT BE an Ash Wednesday Service in our Circuit this year, but people are invited to go to St Peter’s Church, Cradley at 7.30pm to join with them.

NEXT SUNDAY MORNING Intermission will lead All-age Worship. During this service Pryce will be telling us about the two weeks she spent in Tajikistan with Christian Aid. We very much look forward to hearing about this amazing experience.

OUR YOUNG PEOPLE’S PROJECT this year will be focusing on ISRAEL/PALESTINE. The Culture and Free Thought Association in Gaza is the project they have been partnered with through Christian Aid. It gives children in the Gaza Strip an opportunity to learn about their culture, do activities such as football, and teaches them to avoid becoming an anti-Israeli extremist therefore preventing terrorism.
Two Visitors from Christian Aid will be coming to talk to our young people about the Israel/Palestine Conflict on Wednesday 22 February. The Young People are organising various fund-raising events, the first being a SPRING FAIR on Saturday 31 March – 10.00am-12 noon. As well as the usual stalls and games, Brunch will be served so make a note of the date and invite your family and friends. Poster with full details is in the Foyer.

‘ROCK’ – On the second Sunday of Lent, 4 March at 6.00pm, a 24-strong choir will present the challenging Roger Jones musical ‘Rock’, which tells the story of Simon Peter. This is a good opportunity to invite your family, friends and contacts who would not normally attend church, to come with you.

LENT CHALLENGE – LIVE ON £1 00 A DAY
Around 1.4 billion people in the world live in extreme poverty, while 1% of the world's population has 40% of its wealth.
MRDF has joined in the ‘Live Below the Poverty Line’ Campaign which challenges people to see if they can manage to live with a budget of £5 for all meals for 5 days.
Keith, Nick and myself will be attempting to go for 5 days from Ash Wednesday, 22 February, spending no more than a total of £15 on food and drink, until the following Monday, when, unlike others, we will be able to splash out!
If anyone would like to sponsor us for 20p – £1 for each day that we do, we will put the money to a MRDF relief project. A sponsor form is on the notice board.
Our menus with the costs will be made available for you to check. Rather than buying fresh supplies of tea, condiments and cooking oil, we will put in an amount for what we judge we have used. You might like to give it a try for a day yourself to see how you manage - it's not easy. You can read more on the MRDF site, and also about the experiences of some of the leaders of the Methodist Church as they undertook the challenge. (Margaret Bradley)

FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT – 27 February – 11 March. As one of 6,000 churches who have become Fairtrade Churches, we encourage you all to purchase as many items as you are able that are fairly traded in your local Supermarkets and shops. Sandra will be pleased to offer assistance with any questions you may have and we trust you will continue to support our Fairtrade Stall which is in the schoolroom every Sunday morning after worship.

THE OFFERTORY ENVELOPES for the coming year are now available at the rear of the Church. If you use this way of weekly giving, please remember to take the new ones with you today. If you do not already give in this way and would like to, then please see Pete Jones – also if you are a tax-payer you can Gift Aid the offering so that a further amount can be claimed from the Tax Office. Confidentiality is assured.

THE WOMEN’S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER will take place on Friday 2 March at Four Ways Baptist Church at 2.00pm. The speaker will be Phil Hall. All are welcome.

A COFFEE MORNING for Women’s World Day will be held at Holy Trinity Church, Old Hill on Saturday 3 March 10.30 – 12 noon. Again all are welcome.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY for Edna Weston, Reg & Sheila Evans, Myra Gill, Emma Warriner, Pat Donegan, and Brenda Holyoake. Remember too those of our members who are caring for friends & family and who are anxious for themselves or others.

Please let JANET have any items you wish included on the News Sheet by 6.00pm on Tuesday evening at the latest.

Mark 9 : 2-9
The disciples glimpse something of the true nature of Jesus, but it is something they do not understand until after the Resurrection.

Lord, the disciples glimpsed something of your glory on the mountain top;
the glory of God revealed to God’s people through the written word,
through the spoken word,
through Jesus Christ the Living Word.
Lord, you offer us glimpses of your glory;
in the world you have made,
through other people.
But we confess that, like those early disciples, we do not know how to react.
Forgive us for rarely allowing you to transfigure our lives with the glory of your love.
Fill us with the light of your Spirit,
that in all we think and do or say, your glory may be revealed. (Donald Hilton)

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