DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Sun 4th October 10:45 am Harvest Thanksgiving Service/Bring a friend to Church followed by Bring and Share Lunch *
Sun 11th October 10.45am Open Service 1:30 pm Cantonese House Group
Sun 18th October 10.45am Baptismal Service led by Val Hulme
Sun 25th October 10.45am Communion Service led by Val Hulme 1:30 pm Cantonese House Group
Wednesdays 7th, 14th and 21st October Prayer Meeting 10am - 11am. Drinks/chat at 9.45am
Saturday 24th October 10:00 am onwards: PLANNING/VISION MEETING Bring your own lunch. Please make every effort to attend this important meeting.
More information will be shared following the Deacons' Planning/Vision meeting at the end of September.
Other Users of the Building:
Wednesdays 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd Sept - All Singers Great and Small Community Choir 7.30 - 9.00pm
Thursdays throughout Sept 10am - 12 noon Atherton and Leigh Foodbank
Tuesday 6th October 7:00pm: All Singers Great and Small Committee Meeting
Wednesday 14th October 1:00pm: Churches in Leigh Leaders' Meeting
Saturday 17th October 11:00 am - 5:00 pm: Beauty for Ashes
* Our Harvest Thanksgiving Service will be on Sunday 4th October. Please bring donations of tinned and packet foods,(preferably not baked beans as they have plenty of these), toiletries etc for Atherton and Leigh Foodbank. A full list of the items needed can be seen on their Facebook page. The offering received during the service will be for BMS Harvest Appeal. Following the service, there will be a Harvest/Autumn themed Bring and Share Lunch.
We were saddened to hear of the death of one of our members and former deacon Kathie Williams, at the end of September. We should thank God for her long life of faithful service, principally as a Minister's wife and help-mate to her late husband Roy in Barnoldwick and Atherton as wll as her keen involvement with BMS and Baptist networks etc. Her contributions to the fellowship, including writing the reflection for the Messenger for the last 8 years, and her friendship will be sorely missed. The funeral service will be held at Leigh Baptist Church, followed by interment at Howe Bridge Cemetery, date and time to be confirmed. We send our condolences to her two sons and wider family.
Our Pastoral Leader, Val, will be on Annual Leave from Monday 26th October - Sunday 1st November, inclusive.
Psalm 19: 1 - 6; 14
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They
have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In the heavens God has
pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes
its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Where do you feel closest to God? Is it in church? By the sea? In the comfort of your own home, in front of a cosy fire? As you read the Bible or listen to hymns or Christian songs? As you walk in the countryside? I have to say that I agree with the psalmist when he says that the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands. I love seeing the sun bursting through clouds, spreading rays of light in the greyness, reminding me of God's glory; seeing a rainbow, reminding me of his promise; the wonder of a harvest moon dominating the sky. All of these remind me that God created everything. Getting out and about in the countryside or by the coast, nature and landscapes point to the author of all creation. I've been lucky enough to cruise down the Norwegian fjords. Standing alone on the deck as we passed first green, hillside fields, then towering, sheer rock cliffs, it took my breath away. All I could do was to marvel and praise God. To use the psalmist's words, "they have no voice", but to me, they spoke more eloquently than the most gifted speaker. At other times it has been music that has spoken to me, amazed at the talent of the composer who put together a sequence of notes to produce a piece so moving that I could do nothing else but thank God for the gift of music. The psalm continues, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul...The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart... The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the heart." As we look at some of the things happening in our country, and the world, we can feel overwhelmed and definitely need reviving. So, as we head into a new month, let's spend more time in that place where we feel close to God, reflect on this passage, and allow God to revive our souls.
Val
Thanks, Val