Riverside Weekly. A warm welcome to our New Y ear s Eve Service. 11:00 Morning Worship Martin Woodhall

Transcription

1 31 st December 2017 Number 947 Riverside Weekly A warm welcome to our New Y ear s Eve Service The Church has been decorated for Christmas with Alan s Decorated Christmas trees, Sue s plants and the Christmas Tree Festival trees. Thanks to everyone 11:00 Morning Worship Martin Woodhall Music provided by Ted Blackman and Peter Brookfield. Janet Storm welcomed you at the door. Books were given out by Elizabeth Roberts Readings: Isaiah 61:10 62:3 Page 709 in OT Norman Pybus Luke 2 :22 40 Page 55 in NT Elias Storm Refreshments by Jeanette Robinson Today s Steward is Joan Wilson Happy Birthday to: Jack Lomax (Tomorrow) Gareth Jones (Tomorrow) Anniversary Congratulations to: John & Gill (Today) Do join us for tea & coffee after the service this morning

2 Church Diary Wednesday 3 rd January 7:30 Bible Study Social Evening at Paul and Anna s home. Thursday 4 th January 12:00 till 4:00 Dismantling Christmas Trees 7:30 Worship Consultation Meeting Yvonne & David s house and is open to everyone Friday 5 th January 12:30 Souper-Friday come and join us for soup, roll, coffee & flapjack Sunday 7 th January 11:00 Covenant Service & Communion Rev Phil Poole 6:00 Praise & Worship at the Memorial Hall Monday 8 rh January 12:00 Pastoral Committee lunch 12:00 till 12:30, business from 12:30 Tuesday 9 th January 10:00 Coffee at the Hall join us for coffee. a chat and a bit of Bric-a-brac Wednesday 10 th January 10:00 Prayer Group meet in the vestry you are very welcome to join us 4:00 Cytun Meeting in the Upper Room, St. Collen s Community Hall. Thursday 11 th January 3:00 5:15 After school Drop-In at the Memorial Hall for Secondary School Pupils. Sunday 14 th January 11:00 Bible Club at the Memorial Hall 11:00 Morning Worship Rev Patrick Rudden Monday 15 th January 2:00 House Group reconvenes at 5, Gerddi y Bache, 2:00 for tea and chat, 2:30 Bible Study starts The editor s jottings! A New Year May we all experience God s Blessing throughout the coming year. Norman

3 The President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, The Revd Loraine N Mellor and Jill Baker, have released their 2017 Christmas message on the subject of visitation. Jill: Visiting is at the heart of Christmas. In the birth of Jesus, God became a guest in God s own world - what an amazing truth that is! The familiar Bible stories which will be told and re-told again this Christmas in churches, schools, homes and on television and radio will remind us of many other visits too; Gabriel visits Mary, Mary visits Elizabeth, the angels visit the shepherds, the shepherds visit the Holy Family, the magi come from distant lands, following a star to visit the new-born King... some of those visits were long-planned, others happened spontaneously. Whether or not we feel organized and ready for Christmas now, there is a place for everyone at the manger. In these first six months in our roles as President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, Loraine and I have also been doing lots of visiting. Between us I think we have been in around 25 different districts for one reason or another, Loraine has also been to Fiji and Uganda, I have been to Ethiopia and, earlier in the year, to Russia. We think we have slept in around 50 different beds in total! We are both so grateful for the hospitality shown to us and the generosity of individuals, churches, circuits and districts who have always made us welcome who have always ensured that there is room at the inn. Often there have been special little touches to make us feel at home; decaffeinated coffee for both of us, for example! Loraine: Already during this year we have made new friends, spoken with many of our Methodist people, had some challenging and wonderful conversations, visited churches and cathedrals, holiday camps, food banks, palaces, new buildings, historic buildings, homes, shopping centres, new urban villages, rural villages, and so much more. Very recently we joined in with the brilliant3-generate weekend in Page 3

4 Southport. I loved every minute and learned so much about how our children and young people, all 1200 of them, from all around the Connexion, have so much to offer us and how they want to change the world. They were wonderfully prophetic (which was the theme of the weekend) as they made their voices heard and talked about the things they believed God was calling them to and how God was moving through them in the world today. They were truly inspirational; I stood in awe and admiration; that visit has changed me. So we want to reflect a little further on this idea of visitation as we share greetings with you this Christmas. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Coggan said, When God intends to make something wonderful he begins with a difficulty. When he intends to make something very wonderful, he begins with an impossibility. I often think about the visit which started off the whole story; Gabriel being sent to Mary in Nazareth and wonder what it might have been like from Gabriel s point of view: On a very dusty humid day in late April I found myself standing outside a simple home. As I just sort of landed in front of Mary she looked nervous and afraid and backed away. Do not be afraid, I bring you greetings. I sounded a bit like a taped message so I lowered my voice and changed the script a bit, Mary love, you are going to have a baby now I know this is a bit of a shock. She looked horrified! This baby is very very special and it's God's son. By this time she was as white as a sheet; I ploughed on, Mary you have been especially chosen ; I knew what that felt like! Boy was this hard; I was beginning to wonder if she would ever speak to me. God has chosen you to give birth to his Son, you are a special person, you are precious to God. At that moment the whole atmosphere changed, and at last she spoke, this young girl, this vulnerable, frightened person spoke and her voice was soft and gentle, Me chosen, why? Of course we know how the story continues; that visit changed the course of history as Mary found the courage to accept her role. Praise the Lord!

5 Jill: Perhaps not quite so dramatically, but at a different level, every visit has the potential to change things. Making each visit count, making each visit special, learning and sharing something significant in each place, is part of the joy and challenge of our year, but perhaps also part of the joy and challenge of this season for all of us. As we receive visitors, can we show the grace and openness that Mary showed; and as we visit others, can we do so with the care of the magi? Christmas might also be a good time to make an unplanned visit perhaps to someone who will be spending time on their own, or in hospital let s do that with the enthusiasm of the shepherds! As we all reflect on the visits we have made in this last year in the light of the Christmas story, I find myself thinking about a shepherd I met on a remote mountainside in Ethiopia in August. Through the work of All We Can and their partner organization on the ground, he was now rearing a different breed of sheep, which was more profitable. This meeting had a timeless quality about it. It was not difficult to imagine angels appearing, good news being announced, a journey into the nearest town ensuing and I again felt wonder and joy at the ordinariness which runs through the extraordinary story of the birth in Bethlehem. No-one was excluded then. No-one should be excluded now. The shepherd, Gretachew, told us that he was also a part-time priest in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. "You're a shepherd and a priest?" I asked; he nodded, A bit like Jesus?" I suggested; he beamed. Loraine: This Christmas our prayer is that you might visit the manger once more and know in your hearts the coming of the Christ child, to worship and to hear again this fantastic story of incarnation, of joy and of wonder and give thanks for this marvellous gift and that we might all, through the visits we make and receive, change the world. O come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant. Come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold him, born the king of angels; O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. Minister:- Rev Philip Poole (01978) philpoole@btinternet.com

6 Today s Bible Study (from the Methodist Church Website) Readings Luke 2:22-40 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him. (vv ) Psalm 148 Background One of the first ritual duties for Jewish parents, after circumcision, was to dedicate their firstborn son to God. This tradition looked back to the exodus from Egypt and the years in the wilderness, when the tribe of Levi was dedicated to the service of God, specifically in exchange for firstborn Israelite sons, who belonged to God: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, I hereby accept the Levites from among the Israelites as substitutes for all the firstborn that open the womb among the Israelites. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the Lord. (Numbers 3:11-13; see also Exodus 13:2) At the same time, Mary offered a sacrifice for purification, having been made ritually unclean by childbirth (verses 22, 24; see also Leviticus 12:2-8). So the whole family ensured that its relationship with God was on the right footing, and could carry on with life as good, observant Jews. Another good, observant Jew, according to Luke s Gospel, was Simeon, who came to the temple, guided by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is active already in these early chapters of the Gospel, not least through Zechariah and Mary. God s work through the Holy Spirit is a key concern of Luke s Gospel. The first part of Simeon s prophecy has entered the liturgical tradition of the Church, often used during evening prayers, and known by its Latin name, Nunc dimittis. We are told that the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him (v. 40). This is the first time that Jesus appears as an active agent in the story, rather than a passive baby. Up to now, he had been announced, born, visited, and marvelled over. Now, he grew in strength and wisdom. Note how a similar expression summarises

7 his adolescence, at the end of the chapter (Luke 2:52). To Ponder Simeon is not, of course, the only prophet in this passage. In fact, it is Anna, not Simeon, who is explicitly identified as a prophet. And yet she, as a woman and an ageing widow, may not be the most likely candidate for that title. Who, in your church or wider community, has prophetic wisdom to share, but might easily be overlooked? The child, Jesus, grew and became strong, filled with wisdom (v. 40). How can you help to ensure that the children in your community do likewise? When and how have you learnt from their wisdom? Bible notes author: The Revd Catrin Harland Some of the religious programmes on TV & Radio each week BBC1 15:35 Sunday 31 st December Songs of Praise The Big Sing: New Year s Eve Claire McCollum travels by boat from the London Eye to the Greenwich prime meridian to find out what New Year means to Christians. 5,000 Songs of Praise viewers raise the roof of the Royal Albert Hall with glorious hymns including Let All the World in Every Corner Sing, Crown Him with Many Crowns and Over All the Earth. Plus there are special performances from Westlife s Shane Filan, Mary Jess and all-boy choir Libera. Radio Wales 7:30 Sunday Celebration 9:00 Sunday All Things Considered Radio 2 6:00 Sunday Sunday Hour Rev Kate Bottley 7:00 Sunday Good Morning Sunday Angie Greaves Radio 4 6:00am & 11:30pm New Year s Eve Storms and Stillnesses a look at the past year by former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams 8:10 Sundays Sunday Worship Radio 4 (LW) 9:44 Weekdays Daily Worship Information for Riverside Weekly should be sent to the editor, Page 7 Norman Pybus (01978) editor@llangollenmethodist.org.uk

8 New Year resolutions Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. Philippians 3:13 Be honest: how many of last year s resolutions did you keep? They say, Procrastination is the thief of time. We keep promising ourselves we ll do better. But resolutions only happen when you re resolute. That means having a mind that s made up. So here are four resolutions you need to make up your mind to keep this year: 1) Take time for what really matters. Get up earlier in order to read your Bible and pray before entering the day. Make more time for your family. Start exercising and eating right. Take better care of your body; it s God s temple (see 1 Corinthians 6:19). 2) Tackle one thing at a time. Taking on too many things at once dilutes your focus and makes it harder to stick with things. When you start too much, you finish too little. So start where you are and build on your successes by mastering and maintaining one thing at a time. 3) Start small. Don t try to swallow the whole enchilada Word for Today in one bite; baby steps are the name of the game. Talk in terms of what you will do instead of what you won t. For example, instead of saying, I m not going to be so critical, try saying, Today I m going to look for something good in everyone I meet (see Philippians 4:8). 4) Record your progress or lack of it. You can t manage what you can t measure. By facing the truth you ll see how far you ve come, and what you still need to work on. The Bible says, Throw yourself into your tasks so everyone will see your progress (1 Timothy 4:15 NLT). Published by UCB, Stoke on Trent For free daily readings see Elisabeth or Norman