M e s s e n g e r
LEIGH BAPTIST CHURCH VERNON ST / CHURCH ST . LEIGH. WN7 1BH
Website : www.leighbaptistchurch.org.uk
Contact: admin@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk
Pastoral Leader – Val Hulme ( Days Off Wed and Fridays)
Pastoral.leader@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk
D E C E M B E R 2019
The following friends will lead services in December
Dec 1st 10.45am Mrs Ruth Brawn ( Harpurhey)
Dec 8th 10.45am Mr John Richards ( Middleton)
Dec 15th 10.45am Mrs V Hulme (communion) then 12.30pm Special LUNCH and favourite carols *Please select your favourite carols and put on list in foyer*
Dec 22nd 10.45am Christmas Service with Puppets
Dec 24th 6.30pm Christmas Eve Carols by Candlelight followed by tea/coffee and mince pies.
Dec 29th 10.45am Mrs Val Hulme
DATES FOR DIARY: Tuesdays Dec 3rd , 10th, 17th Prayer Meetings 11.15am . Tuesdays Dec 3rd , 10th, 17th Advent Bible Studies 6pm meet for light tea. Study starts 6.30pm. Friday Dec 6th Coffee and Craft 10am - 12noon £3 Sat 7th Dec HOPE OUT LOUD/ Hope for Leigh 12-1pm Carol Singing on Ellesmere St.
Saturday Dec 14th NO Coffee Morning but instead 2.30pm -4pm All Ages Christmas Party
BMS Birthdays; Dec 28th Joanne M
FLOWER DONORS Dec 1st Jean Donagain IMO Stephen and Eileen Dec 8th K Morton and D Allen Dec 15th IMO Mrs Novak Dec 22nd Ken Smith Once again the new year will change the dates of Sundays for flower donors – if this is going to affect your choice please amend the list in the foyer. Please ensure you have someone in mind for receiving them after the service.
FELLOWSHIP NEWS AND CONCERNS We are pleased, along with the respective grandparents, to hear that babies are expected in two families during 2020. Prayer requests: we have named before the Lord a number of local friends known to us living with a difficult diagnosis and a worrying time. We pray for strength, healing where possible and a sense of calm and assurance for them and their families. Overseas we pray for Daniel and Kathleen Gula and family in Nigeria, as they mourn the death of a relative in a motorbike accident so soon after the death of their daughter. We ask again for prayers for Nick Fawcett (a former LBC minister) with more health concerns.
REFLECTION:
On Christmas Day we often sing the Christmas Hymn, Joy to the world, the Lord has come. What is it that we are celebrating on Christmas morning?
Firstly, we celebrate God’s faithfulness; the Messiah is promised through all of the Old Testament from the book of Genesis to the words of the Prophet Malachi. It is a great testament to God’s faithfulness that he fulfilled his long-term promise of sending the Messiah, by giving us his only eternal Son, incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth.
Next we remember God’s perfect thoughtfulness. When we seek and search out a Christmas gift for someone, it can take a lot of thought and effort to find the appropriate item. God is thoughtful and kind to humanity by choosing the most appropriate gift of all. He chooses his precious Son to be our perfect Saviour, the only one who can forgive our sins and give us the hope of resurrection life. No other being could do that for us; only God the Son Incarnate in Christ was equipped to fulfil this task for us. We rejoice in God’s perfect thoughtfulness.
Next, God is persistent in his love for us. When we reject that love and go our own way or cave into temptation, he seeks us out again and again until we turn towards him and seek the restored relationship with him that deep down we crave .
Lastly, God is generous in his grace for us. So often we think of Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross as the ultimate expression of God’s grace towards us. Yet if God had not given us the gift of his incarnate Son, there would have been no Cross ©irenebom.com/prayer_matters
AGM update: Financial update and summary was shared. There were no nominations for vacant deacon posts and roles. All remaining post holders were confirmed for another year. The purpose and future staffing and format of coffee mornings and coffee and craft were discussed. FLOWER DONORS are reminded that it remains their responsibility to either pass on the flowers after service or make suggestions to deacons. There were a lot of positive ideas about the Toddler group planned for 2020. Tuesdays 9.30am -11.30am. This will mean rescheduling the Tuesday prayer meetings. The meeting accepted and supported Val’s suggestion that she should be more disciplined about her part time employment hours. It was noted that Val will in future normally take Wednesdays and Fridays as her official days off. Fellowship members are strongly asked to honour this and not contact her on those days (other than an emergency) Flexibility would still be possible if circumstances dictate.
Date of next Church and Congregation Meeting: Sunday February 23rd 2020 12:30 pm. Bring your own lunch.
Coffee mornings. We all agreed that the “get together and chat” at coffee mornings is a worthwhile aim, especially for the socially isolated but the numbers attending are very low indeed. The issue of kitchen volunteers is also one that has slipped so that it usually falls to Val and a very small number of others. We agreed at the AGM that Coffee mornings needed a re-launch , revamp and a more active approach to inviting people to join us when we restart in February. More importantly we need a renewed commitment to staff the kitchen. To be sustainable we need all those who are able, to sign up to just two or three Saturdays through the year, and to find a partner who is a key holder! We will try once more to have a rota on display and to actively twist a few arms to sign up! We are grateful to Angie for her publicity via social media.
God's Gift keeps on giving. "The gift that keeps on giving" is a popular advertising slogan. Well, God gave the gift that never stops. He gave His Son! God’s gift:
A. It is eternal. John 10:27, 28 B. It is unconditional. Romans 5:15 C. It is for all. John 3:17
As we celebrate the great gift of God at Bethlehem we need hearts of compassion for those who have not yet known that Gift. We need to join Christ in His search for the lost of this world and allow them to know His salvation. © STAMFORD BAPTIST CHURCH
WISHING ALL OUR FRIENDS AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY A BLESSED CHRISTMAS TIME.
For JANUARY issue please submit by Dec 24th please admin@leighbaptistchurch.org.uk