CROSSGATES METHODIST CHURCH NEWSLETTER MAY 2017

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1 CROSSGATES METHODIST CHURCH NEWSLETTER MAY 2017 Minister : Reverend Susan Greenhart Dear Friends New beginnings every year has lots of them. From a practical point of view, September marks a new church and school year. Advent heralds the time of preparation for Christ s coming, and January a time of turning over a new leaf in the secular world, whilst in the Methodist Church we mark the New Year with Covenant Sunday. Christmas brings the miracle of God being born amongst us a time of great joy. But what of Easter? It is another miraculous new beginning, and yet, preceded by the events of Holy Week, it is a costly new beginning. Jesus washes his disciples feet; he creates a new covenant as he shares the bread and wine. And in that time he doesn t differentiate between those who are faithful, and the one who betrays him. It is that amazing gift of love that he displays even on the cross as he cries out in agony, Lord, forgive them for they know not what they do. In spite of the love he bears to everyone, those closest to him struggle to be faithful. They struggle to believe that Jesus has risen. When the Risen Lord cooks breakfast for the disciples on the beach, he asks Peter three times, Do you love me?. It s a painful question for Peter, because he is feeling the weight of having denied Jesus. But Jesus is letting Peter know, that whatever he has done, he still loves him, accepts him for who he is, and still has work for him to do. It is a message that Jesus gives to us all. It is why Easter is this painful blend of joy and sadness. We are human. In spite of our best efforts, we make mistakes. Like Peter our call is to walk with Jesus, trusting that in the power of his love for us we can start over. We can do as the disciples are called to do: to wait on the coming of the Holy Spirit, that we might serve, not in our own fragile and wayward ways, but by the power of God s Spirit within us. As we walk towards Pentecost, may we all recognise this as a time of new beginnings, trusting that God accepts us as we are. May we listen for that still small voice that prompts us to follow where he leads. Blessings Susan Please remember in your prayers all those people in our prayer book and those we know who are unwell, in hospital, recently bereaved and who find this time of year particularly difficult. Services at Cross Gates Methodist Church at 10.30am 7th Mr Roger Richardson 14th Rev Susan Greenhart 21st Mr Ben Machekanyanga 6pm Circuit Easter Offering Service 28th Rev Susan Greenhart

2 Communion Services in May Tue 2nd 11.00am Tranquility Court All welcome Sun 14th 10.30am Church Fri 26th 10.00am Church Prayer Chapel Coffee Mornings in May Fri 5th Tranquility Court Sat 6th am in Coffee Lounge behind Church Hall Fri 19th am NSPCC in Church Hall Every Monday from am in Church Hall Table Top Sales 6th May, 3rd June, 1st July Tables for the May sale are all taken but there are still tables available for June and July at a cost of 5 for Church funds. Please see Lynda in the Wesley room on a Sunday morning or telephone If you have any items you would like to donate to help raise funds for church, these would be very gratefully accepted by Lynda. Be Happy Enjoy every moment of your life Life is too short to waste on grudges Laugh when you can, apologise when you should And let go of what you can t change Wednesday Group 7.30pm Our Wednesday Group is starting this year for its Summer session on Wednesday 3rd May when we have an opening supper and quiz followed on the 10th May with a talk by David Laycock on New Zealand. Further details of the programme for Summer can be found on the board in the Wesley Room or you can pick up a programme from either Trevor Chorley or Cynthia Best. Meeting in the Summer months proved to be a great success last year and we welcomed several new people to our meetings. If you have not been before do come along and join us. You would be very welcome. Recipes We have been asked for the recipes used for the cakes at our Music& Lunch concerts. Leaflets for the recipes are now available from Georgina Cressey at 50p a sheet. These will be available from Georgina in the Wesley Room after Church and at the Music & Lunch events. Church Flowers Donations for the church flowers during April were very gratefully received from the people listed below and we also thank Barbara Leeming, Margaret Gifford and Betty Sharlott for their beautiful arrangements. We are also grateful to the people who distribute the flowers to our sick and needy after morning service. 2nd Lesley Motley & family in memory of Peter 9th May Brooke in memory of George 16th Betty Sharlott in memory of Bill 30th Hazel Watson in memory of her husband and son

3 March Circuit Meeting A copy of the minutes at the Circuit Meeting, held on 16th March at Christ Church, can be found on the noticeboard in the Wesley Room corridor. Car Drivers There are more and more people who would like to come to Church on a Sunday morning but will require a lift. If there are any drivers who could possibly help would they please contact Christine Holdstock ASAP. Leeds South & East Food Bank This Food Bank is situated at Hunslet and is the Centre where all our food donations at Church go and is run in partnership with local Churches. Food from here is distributed to several points including Seacroft, Osmondthorpe, Gipton, Harehills, Chapeltown and Hunslet. The Leeds South and East Food Bank was opened in Last year 6,234 three day emergency food supplies was given out to people. Last month 735 people were fed (454 adults and 281 children). Various reasons caused these folk to need help from the Food Bank. Benefit delays and changes accounted for 423; delayed wages and low income 248; sickness 10; homelessness 9 and other reasons 43. Thank you for your continued support in this project. KOINONIA A message from the Circuit Administrator Christine Stopford The theme of the next edition of Koinonia will be our Circuit priority of Evangelism. What does Sharing Jesus, faith sharing and evangelism mean to you? How is your church tackling this priority? Have you read any useful articles or books on the subject? Please help to make Koinonia interesting and relevant with your contribution, which should be sent to the Circuit Office before May 15th. Christian Aid Week 14 20th May The focus for this year is the refugee situation. Christian Aid has been there for refugees since 1945 and today the need is at least as great. If you are able to help with this year s collection, which tries to reach the wider community, please see Cedric Robinson or a Steward. Thank you Churches Together The next meeting will be held on 21st June at 7.30pm at St James Church, Manston. I ve reached an age where my train of thought, Often leaves the station without me!

4 Church AGM Meeting 23rd May The people listed below were proposed and seconded to be elected as Church representatives on to the Church Council. Graeme Bentley Brenda Bosomworth Georgina Cressey Sandy Dickson Denise Durkin Beryl Gledhill Kath Harwood Alison Marr Lee Marklew Christine Pickersgill Alan Tate Dorothy Tate Pauline Timms Margaret Wray Two new stewards were also elected John Blyth and Gwenda Towers They will join the team of Barbara Lloyd (Senior Steward), Cedric Robinson, Neil Smith and John Best. Thanks were expressed to Graeme Bentley the retiring senior steward for giving an extra two years and also his cooking at Social Events. Methodist Women in Britain Friday 12th May 11am Oxford Place Christian Bikers Come along and enjoy the Fellowship A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness Over several weeks in Lent a group of us looked at this children s book together along with our Minister Susan and we were surprised at the variety of subjects it covered divorce, bullying, grief, death etc. This awakened a depth of personal feelings in several members of the group. The book is being released on DVD at the beginning of May and is being shown in cinemas around the country. Sound Team The sound team programme and operate the hymnal to play at services, they also prepare PowerPoint presentations to project hymn words onto the screen and control the microphones. Each are on duty about once a month. More volunteers are needed, particularly people with some experience of using computers. Christine Holdstock very happy to show any volunteers how to prepare the hymn words for the service and/or programme the hymnal. We are very pleased that Kath Harwood is playing the piano for services, approximately once a month Circuit Service 21st May - 6pm The money raised for World Missions in the Easter Offering Envelopes will be brought forward by all the churches in the circuit and dedicated during the service on the evening of 21st May. This service has been prepared by the Methodist Women in Britain. We would be very grateful for people to help with the refreshments afterwards. Sunday Picnic Lunches The next bring your own picnic lunch after church coffee will be held on Sunday 7th May. We had eight people in April who enjoyed chatting together over lunch. All are welcome. Tea Towels We seem to be quite short of tea towels in our drawers at Church especially on the Church Hall side. If you have some spare we would be very grateful to receive them.

5 Cross Gates Methodist Church Austhorpe Road, Cross Gates, Leeds LS15 8QR Music and Lunch 2 nd Tuesday in the Month 12:30 13:15 9th May Tad Chorale choir Tickets 6 Order Tickets by Phone from Kath Harwood AN INDOOR PICNIC FRIDAY 2nd JUNE 7pm START A picnic Meal followed by Quizzies, and games suitable for all ages. Come along and join in the fun, meet old friends and make new ones. Please bring a donation of money towards the food. To assist with catering, please complete a form, which will be available in May, from one of the Stewards or Christine Holdstock

6 A Prayer for World Peace Dear God, If there s one thing I know for sure right now, it s that the world wasn t meant to be like this. Nice, Paris, Berlin,. Orlando. Dallas, London, New York These names, and too many others like them, are my nation s newest synonyms for tragedy. For the friends and family of those who have died, they represent moments of agony that can never be unwritten. For those whose race or sexuality or occupation has given them reason to fear the same kind of violence, there are threats, reminders that catastrophe is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Even for me, though these names are little more than headlines to weep over and shake my fist at, they still leave me reeling. They make me wonder how much longer the world as I know it can possibly survive. They make me wonder what I can do, how I should respond, if I too am complicit in this violence. But you, God, know these names better than all of us. They re not just names to you. You ve studied every detail of every life damaged or lost in these tragedies. You ve numbered the hairs on every head, gathered every tear. The people I ve only ever known as victims, you ve known all along as reflections of your own image.