P.S. Thank you to everyone who has been knitting/making poppies.

Transcription

1 Marshside Road Methodist Church, Southport The Link November 2018

2 Minister s Letter Dear Friends, Four years ago I met with a group of Scouts to dig a temporary trench in the church garden in Tonbridge to mark 100 years since the beginning of World War I. It was a wet Wednesday evening, the Scouts grumbled a little and we made very slow progress. To be honest I don t think they knew one end of the spade from the other. The trench was meant to represent those used on the western front and we were planting poppy seeds gathered from the fields of Normandy. If all of the trenches built along the Western Front in World War 1 were laid end-to-end, it is estimated that they would be more than 25,000 miles long. As we dug, we talked about what life would have been like for those soldiers. The trenches were dirty, smelly and riddled with disease and of course, the soldiers lived under the constant fear of enemy attack. Official government policy was that you had to be 18 to sign up and 19 to fight overseas, but many young men signed up under age. Slowly we all fell silent. We looked at each other and wondered who would have been called up, who would not have come back and who would have been injured or taken a prisoner of war. The decision was made to leave the trench until we marked 100 years since the end of the war. World War 1 lasted for 4 years, 3 months and 1 week. On Sunday 11th November at 11am the country will fall silent as we remember. We remember the fallen in both world wars but also remember those that have lost their lives in recent conflicts. I will also remember the children who have lost their lives or their childhoods to war. Those who have grown up knowing nothing but conflict. UNICEF estimates that 28 million children have been forcibly displaced in the world because of conflict or violence. They will never forget. I remember those scouts they will be young men now, making their way in the world. I wonder what they are up to? No doubt they have forgotten digging that trench. What I hope they haven t forgotten is their commitment and passion to work for a better world, where all God s children know peace. Perhaps in the next 100 years we too may learn what makes for peace? Marie-Anne P.S. Thank you to everyone who has been knitting/making poppies. Marshside Road Methodist Church, Southport The Link November 2018

3 The Grace Part 1 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The Grace, like the Lord s Prayer, is something we say very often, but don t always take time to think about the words and their meaning. It is a prayer Christians frequently use when we commit one another to God s grace and care. We usually say it to each other either with our eyes open or not, as we feel right for us. In this article, and the next two, we will explore the three parts of the Grace, but first let us look at where the words themselves come from. At the end of 2 Corinthians Chapter 13, we read; May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen. So we begin with the first part May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is one of the most beautiful words in a Christian s vocabulary. It means nothing to a non-christian, but everything to believers. It is then that we first realize that we have been saved by grace and by grace alone! To the Christian, grace is unmerited favour. Nothing gives Christians greater joy than appreciating that salvation depends wholly upon what God Has done for them in Jesus Christ rather than upon anything they do or need to do to earn it! Jesus coming into the world proves that grace cannot be earned. How could we, or anyone, ever deserve not only His coming, but also His dying for our sins? As Paul reminds us, You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that, though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, so that we through His poverty might become rich. One often forgotten expression of God s grace is his nearness and readiness to help us at those moments when we realise how totally unworthy we are of His aid. As our Lord Jesus Christ exercised His ministry during those 3 significant years in Palestine, His grace was seen in the manner in which He was always available to help those who knew or came to see that they deserved no help. We all know that explanation of the word Grace God s riches at Christ s expense! There are many illustrations of grace in the New Testament the parable of the lost son is one of them and grace has captured the imagination of hymn and song writers, like John Newton and his Amazing grace! Adapted from Under God s Smile, by Derek Prime Marshside Road Methodist Church, Southport The Link November 2018

4 Heartbeat Challenge On Saturday the 27 th of October, I completed the Kentmere Round and visited the final 10 peaks of my challenge to visit 45 peaks over 450m in height to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of my hole-in-the-heart operation in The walk was 14 miles in length, with a total ascent of over 4,000 feet and was the hardest walk on my challenge. It was a gorgeously sunny day but very cold with the 50 mph gusts on the tops, bringing the temperature down to -12 at times. As well as completing my challenge, I also reached the goal that I'd agreed with my Counsellor in October 2017, to challenge my anxiety, and it was the perfect way to celebrate the 14th Anniversary of my Catheter ablation on the 27th of October 2004, to cure my Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. It was a walk that would change so many things. I'd already changed a lot but the next 8 hours, 14 miles and 10 peaks, that lay ahead of us, would take me further on my journey of recovery and discovery than the previous 18 months, 100 miles and 35 peaks. I firmly believe that without the other 3 people that joined me on the walk, I would have failed to complete the walk, failed to reach my goal and most likely failed to complete my challenge for Heartbeat. I'd walked the vast majority of my previous peaks on my own and, although I'm very adept at talking to myself, as I completed those walks I was constantly monitoring my heart. But last week was different, even though the walk was a lot more strenuous, than I'd done before, because I spent the walk catching up, laughing, joking, sharing stories and experiences with my good friends, I didn't even notice my heart. The anxiety, that had tried and tried to derail my attempt, didn't get a look in. I was able to put down my guard and the post walk tension didn't get chance to grow. Last Saturday, as we met up in Staveley and, considering the time that had passed since we'd seen Paul Singleton, who used to help out at Youth Club in the 1990s and his wife Clare, we all just clicked as if we'd just seen each other the day before. And, together with Kay, the time, love and support we shared as good friends helped make a challenging experience all the more memorable and I'm extremely thankful for that. Time may pass, distance may grow and circumstances may change but true friendships never end! The current total is 1162, thank you for your very generous support. Lisa the fundraising manager from Heartbeat will be talking at Monday Evening Fellowship in February Mike Owen Marshside Road Methodist Church, Southport The Link November 2018

5 Marshside Road Methodist Church, Southport The Link November 2018

6 Marshside Road Methodist Church, Southport The Link November 2018