Riverside Weekly. Do join us for tea or coffee after the service this morning. Happy Birthday to:

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1 27 th January 2019 Number 1001 Riverside Weekly We welcome you to join with us as we Praise & Worship Jesus 11:00 Praise & Worship Rev Phil Poole, including video and report from Dave Cooke. Music by Ted Blackman & Peter Brookfield Margaret Davies welcomed you at the door Elias & Janet are providing refreshments Alan Williams is today s steward Today s flowers provided by Norman & Elisabeth Celebrating their Daughter-in-law s birthdays Loving God, we long for a world transformed, here justice and peace reign, where people live joyfully with variety and difference, where every person is honoured and all are welcomed. Renew in us the vision of your kingdom, free us from selfish interests and all that hinders your liberating love, and empower us to pray and work for the new heaven and the new earth. In Jesus name. Amen. Roger Walton, Yorkshire West District Chair Happy Birthday to: Enid Thursday Don Ware Friday Do join us for tea or coffee after the service this morning

2 Church Diary Sunday 27 th January 11:00 Praise & Worship Rev Phil Poole, including video and report from Dave Cooke. Tuesday 29 th January 10:00 Coffee at the Hall join us at the Memorial Hall for tea, coffee and biscuits Wednesday 30 th January 10:00 Prayer Group meet in the vestry you are very welcome to join us 7:30 Bible Study at Paul & Anna s, starting our studies in the Prophet Habakkuk Thursday 31 st January 3:00 After-school Drop-In at the Memorial Hall Friday 1 st February 12:30 1:30 Souper Friday come and join us for soup, roll, tea, coffee and biscuits at the Memorial Hall Sunday 3 rd February 11:00 Morning Worship Carl Squire Monday 4 th February 9:30 Open the book rehearsal at the Memorial Hall 2:00 Home Group at 5 Gerddi y Bache Tuesday 5 th February 10:00 Coffee at the Hall join us at the Memorial Hall for tea, coffee and biscuits Wednesday 6 th February 10:00 Prayer Group meet in the vestry you are very welcome to join us Thursday 8 th February 3:00 After-school Drop-In at the Memorial Hall

3 Church Garden Now that the season is changing once more, we wonder if any individual, couple or group would enjoy sponsoring or planting up and tending one of the tubs in the church garden. Or you may enjoy gardening and would be able to give some time each month to help with the many jobs in the church garden If this appeals to you please see Elizabeth or Elisabeth as soon as possible Book of the Month club A book reading group reading the Bible Led by Richard Parkes, around the circuit, the group will read a book from the bible each month and then meet to learn more about and discuss the book. (Each months session will be repeated four times, in different places, so everyone can attend when and where it is convenient) Review Leviticus & Numbers prepare Deuteronomy Monday 18 th February 7:30 at Llangollen Memorial Hall Tuesday 19 th February 2:00 at Gresford and 7:30 at Wrexham Friday 22 nd February 2:00 at Caergwrle. More Information from Richard revrparkes@btconnect.com Church Coffee Mornings for 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 5 March 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 2 April 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 7 May 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 4 June 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 2 July 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 6 August 2019 Messy Church Tuesday 13 August 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 3 September 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 1 October 2019 Messy Church Tuesday 22 October 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 5 November 2019 Methodist Church Tuesday 3 December 2019

4 Dave Cooke recognised THE Prime Minister has recognised a charity founder from Wrexham for providing aid, education and healthcare programmes for disadvantaged children worldwide. Dave Cooke launched the Christmas shoebox appeal in 1990, which has seen more than 100 million boxes of aid distributed to disadvantaged children worldwide. He began the appeal to provide aid for Romanian orphans following the fall of Ceausescu s regime, working with friends to lead a convoy carrying 600,000 worth of donated items. Following this success, Dave established Operation Christmas Child to provide further humanitarian aid to communities in Eastern Europe. After 16 years working with the charity, which merged with American charity Samaritan s Purse in 1995, Dave launched Teams4U in 2006, which continues to support children in Eastern Europe through shoebox appeals whilst also providing education and healthcare support to communities in Uganda and Sierra Leone. The charity delivers educational programmes through vocational colleges, supporting more than 25,000 children in Uganda to learn a trade and basic skills, alongside a programme providing sanitary wear and menstrual health education to schoolgirls in the country to encourage them to stay in education. Dave is the latest recipient of the Points of Light award, which recognises outstanding volunteers who are making a change in their community and inspiring others. Each day, someone, somewhere in the country is selected to receive the award to celebrate their remarkable achievements. In a personal letter to Dave, Prime Minister Theresa May said: The Christmas shoebox appeal you pioneered has such a positive impact on the lives of many children. Your success in growing the annual appeal to deliver millions of boxes to disadvantaged children worldwide is a truly outstanding achievement. "You should be very proud of your continued work through Teams4U, which is making a real difference for communities in Uganda and Sierra Leone in helping lift children out of poverty. Ian Lucas, MP for Wrexham, said: I'm delighted to hear Dave has been honoured for his work. He has worked tirelessly to support disadvantaged

5 children across the world and I can't think of anyone who deserves the award more. Congratulations, Dave. Dave said: I feel honoured and privileged to accept this award on behalf of all the amazing volunteers who are the lifeblood of our charity and without whom we couldn t function. Dave is the 1,083rd winner of the Points of Light award, which has been developed in partnership with the hugely successful Points of Light programme in the USA. More than 6,000 Points of Light have been awarded in the USA, and former Presidents have publicly supported the partnership with Points of Light UK. There is a similar cross-party approach to the UK programme and MPs from different parties often present their constituents with their Points of Light awards. Regardless of whether it s a doctor restoring local monuments in her free time, a father teaching young people life skills, or a local musician giving a voice to lonely people, the Points of Light award honours shining examples of volunteering across the UK. The editor s jottings! Coffee at the Memorial Hall during January and February we will keep the hall open on Tuesday mornings. We will serve tea, coffee and biscuits. Some bric-a-brac will be got out for sale. If you can help your assistance will be appreciated, you don t have to do the whole morning or every week, just when you are able to help. Church Coffee Mornings please make a note of the church coffee mornings for the year. Norman

6 Today s Bible Study (from the Methodist Church Website) Readings Luke 4:14-21 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. (v.18a) Background In Luke s Gospel, this passage marks the beginning of Jesus ministry. Previously, Luke has told the story of Jesus birth, including Mary s Magnificat speech in response to the angel s news (1:46-55) praising the God who lifts up the lowly, followed by the story of Jesus as a child in the Temple in Jerusalem. Then Luke turns to the story of John the Baptist and Jesus temptation in the wilderness. This passage follows immediately after. Luke s decision to place this story at the start of Jesus ministry (unlike Mark) suggests he wants his readers to see it as crucial for understanding Jesus mission. In this passage, Jesus returns to his home in Nazareth and is invited to read from the book of Isaiah. He reads verses from the beginning of Isaiah 61 and makes the claim in verse 21 that he understands the words to be fulfilled in his reading of them. We have here both a bold claim that Jesus is the anointed one of God, and a vision of what his coming means: good news for the poor, release for the captives, recovery of sight for the blind and freedom for the oppressed. The year of the Lord s favour refers to the Jubilee. Jewish law envisaged a fifty-year cycle in which people could do better or worse financially, land could be bought and sold, and people could even sell themselves into slavery if they were desperate. At the end of that period, however, at the Jubilee, there was an economic reset ; all land returned to its original owners and equality was restored. This was good news for the poor indeed and Jesus associates his mission with this periodic dramatic act of social justice. To Ponder What does Luke want us to understand about Jesus mission by beginning his ministry with this story? What does it mean for Christians that Jesus is here concerned with poverty, imprisonment, disability, oppression and economic

7 justice? How does it affect your understanding of Jesus teaching in this passage that his message was rejected violently (v )? What reaction would it get in churches today? Bible notes author: David Clough Memorial Hall Open For tea, coffee and biscuits Every Tuesday 10:00 till 12:00 Minister:- Rev Phillip Poole (01978)

8 Be Decisive A double minded man is unstable in all his ways James 1:8 KJV IF YOU RE afraid to make a decision in case it s wrong, read this Scripture: `If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally... and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (w. 5-8 NKJV). President Reagan enjoyed telling the story of how he learned to make firm decisions. When he was a boy, his aunt sent him to a cobbler to have a new pair of shoes made for him. When the shoemaker asked, Do you want a square toe or a round one? he hemmed and hawed, so the cobbler said, Come back in a day or two and tell me what you want. Later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked what he had decided about the shoes. I haven t made up my mind yet, he answered. Very well, the cobbler said, `your shoes will be ready tomorrow. When Word for Today Reagan got the shoes, one had a round toe and the other a square toe! Reagan said, Looking at those shoes every day taught me a lesson. If you don t make your own decisions, somebody else will make them for you. Worst case: if you get it wrong, you ll learn what not to do next time. Bottom line: to succeed in life you must pray for wisdom, and then make a decision. Pray that God would give you wisdom for any decisions you have to make today. Published by UCB, Stoke on Trent For free daily readings see Elisabeth or Norman