MESSENGER
LEIGH BAPTIST CHURCH VERNON ST / CHURCH ST LEIGH.
Website : www.leighbaptistchurch.org.uk
Contact: admin@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk
Pastoral leader: Mrs Val Hulme
pastoral.leader@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk
also on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM 
APRIL 2019
April 7th 10.45am Mr David Moulson
April 14th 10.45am Mrs Val Hulme (Palm Sunday)
April 21st (Easter day) 10.45am Mrs Val Hulme + infant dedication ** NO LUNCH**
April 28th 10.45am Pastor K Lindsay (Atherton)
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
Coffee and Craft April 6th 10am-12pm £3
Prayer Meetings Tuesdays 2, 9, 16 April @ 11.15am followed by Bible Study at 1pm for light lunch study starts at 1.30pm
Sat April 6th COFFEE MORNING 10.30am -12noon
Visit of Kathleen and Daniel Gula – at Bethany Evangelical church – WN7 3PA Sat 6th at 2.30pm. Followed by tea and biscuits. As they can’t make a visit to LBC it would be good if as many as can , go and hear of their experiences in Nigeria.
FLOWER DONORS April 14th David Ward IMO Mabel and Jim
BMS birthdays April 2nd John Matthias
FELLOWSHIP NEWS AND CONCERNS.
We look forward to the dedication of Willow Allen on Easter Day. We know several members and friends have been unwell and hope they feel better soon. A word of appreciation and thanks to Ken Smith, Deacon, who is ‘first responder’ when the church Alarm rings. This has involved a number of call-outs and false alarms recently and involved long waits. We do appreciate the generosity he shows with this.
BIBLE STUDY SESSIONS April 2, 9, 16, 1pm gather for soup and a sandwich (provided) and then study starts at 1.30pm for about an hour or so.Please let Jean know if you are coming for light lunch.
Churches in Leigh Good Friday walk of witness
April 19th. Short service at St Joseph’s RC Church 10.30am then walk down Chapel St, Bradshawgate and Market St to meet outside the library steps for an open air service. The service will be followed by refreshments in St Mary’s Church (Leigh Parish)
NETWORK PRAISE AND PRAYER EVENING – Bridgewater Baptist Church , Winton/Eccles. TUE APRIL 30th 7.30pm. The future of the Network will be discussed at this meeting, as the changes at NWBA will lead to Networks being disbanded. Ours works well so future meetings may continue under a different name.
Pastoral Leader. Val will be taking a week off beginning April 22nd and resuming April 29th . Should you need to speak to someone please contact a deacon. We hope that Val will take the opportunity to rest, relax a little and ‘switch off’.
SHORT MEETING – there will be a short SPECIAL CHURCH MEETING on April 14th after the service to appoint two visitors as we have had a request for Church membership.
I can’t quite decide whether Spring or Summer is my favourite season. I love springtime for several reasons. Spring flowers are so brightly coloured and fragrant, filling gardens and grass verges with beautiful displays after what was the drabness and dullness of winter. The hours of daylight increase – it’s so much nicer waking up to light instead of darkness. The temperature is, usually, getting warmer. In the fields we can see lambs frolicking and calves sidling up to their mothers. We see birds foraging for nesting materials and hear them singing their hearts out at dawn. All are pointers to nature’s revival and rebirth - and the promise of even better weather to come with the arrival of Summer - lifting our hearts and our spirits further.
Shops, supermarkets and garden centres put up bright, eye-catching displays to entice us to buy seasonal items – plants, daffodils, tulips, Easter eggs etc. Children begin to look forward to their Easter holidays, egg hunts and lots of chocolate.
Sadly, few people make the connection between the Easter displays and nature’s abundant, new life which brings hope for the future, and the hope for the future that Christians have in the events of that first Easter. It’s not just a hope for the future, but a hope for the here and now. A hope that brings new life; a hope that in Christ is steadfast and certain; that, because of his death and resurrection, we are set free from our sins and adopted by God as his own sons and daughters.
Hope 4 Leigh sees the town’s churches reaching out to the community to share this hope with them. Each month, through Hope Out Loud, the churches work together doing random acts of kindness to demonstrate God’s free gift of love for all. Everything is free, just like God’s free gift of his only Son. This month’s outreach is on April 6th on Albion Street, between Superdrug and Lloyd’s Bank, 12:00 – 1:00 pm. Along with free tea/coffee we will be handing out free Real Easter Eggs which contain a booklet telling the story of Easter. Let’s pray that these stories will be read and that people who wouldn’t normally hear the story will read it and want to know more. At this time of revival in nature, let’s pray for a spiritual revival in our town.
Christians against Poverty – LIFE SKILLS COURSE offer a series of 8 weekly sessions to help people with money and life problems. Next course at Christchurch Pennington starts May 3rd till June 28th. See POSTER in foyer for details
For MAY issue please submit by APRIL 21st
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