Riverside Weekly We welcome you to all our services and activities

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1 23 rd January 2011 Number 597 Riverside Weekly We welcome you to all our services and activities Today: 11:00 All Age Multisensory Worship Rev Una McLean Organist: Ted Blackman Book Stewards: David & Yvonne Davies Refreshments: Alan & Joan Rathbone Readers: Edna Smith Matthew 4:12-23 Sheila Spedding 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 Today's Flowers:- Provided by Norman Pybus In memory of his parents John & Rose who had December birthdays, and to celebrate son Edwards December birthday, and grandsons Logan and Benjamin's December birthdays. Happy Birthday to:- Colin McLean (Friday) 12:30 Following today s all age worship there will be a lunch in the Memorial Hall (bring some food and we can all share!) to start an afternoon of art & painting. Everyone with an interest in producing pictures, posters, collages etc., including The Bible Club and Boys Brigade are welcome. The pictures produced will be used in the Morning Worship on Sunday 30 th January. Our theme will be 2011 year of the Bible. Do join us for tea, coffee and a chat after this morning s worship.

2 This week s events Monday 24 th January 10:00 till 4:00 Jan & Don s sale of Jan s art and bric-a-brac for needy people will be in the Memorial Hall Tuesday 25 th January 10:00 Coffee in the Memorial Hall.(See Joan Alan or Clifford if you can help) Good bric-a-brac required for coffee mornings please bring along on Tuesday morning or see Clifford if you want it collected. 6:00 Boys Brigade Bowling at Greyhound Park. Wednesday 26 th January 10:00 Prayer in the vestry (we use the back door) 7:00 Boys Brigade Company & Senior Sections including The Discussion Group when we will discuss the Royal Family. Sunday 30 th January 11:00 Service using art from our art afternoon Rev Richard Sharples Organist: Ted Blackman Book Stewards: Marion Blackman Refreshments: Elizabeth Roberts & Clifford Jones Readers: Colin McLean Matthew 5:1 12 Rachel Horne 1 Corinthians 1:18 31 Prayer breakfast The next prayer breakfast is on Saturday 5 th February at 08:30. Bookings for bacon or sausage or egg bap plus drink (at a reasonable charge of 3) via Rev Una or Colin. Thank you. Riverside Weekly is online at: Page 2

3 The effects of our burglary and changes to keys etc are on page 4. Church council will be soon, details on page 4, for your diary Now is the time to book your place at the prayer breakfast see Rev Una or Colin with your order. Local events The Llangollen Operatic Young Uns will be putting on Annie in the Town Hall on the 3 rd to 5 th February. If you know of any local events happening, please let me know and we will be able to run a Local Events Column. Next weekend is the time for the RSPB great birdwatch, if you can spend an hour listing the feathered visitors to your garden, you can then send them the list to go into their annual survey. Details at birdwatch/takepart.aspx on the world wide web. Norman Step by Step, On and On, we will walk with Jesus till the journey s done. Step by Step, Day by Day, because Jesus is the living way Step by Step, On and On, we will walk with Jesus till the journey s done. Step by Step, Day by Day, because Jesus is the living way He s the one to follow in his footsteps we will tread. Don t worry about tomorrow, Jesus knows the way ahead. Oh-oh, Step by Step..! He will never leave us, and his love will always show, So wherever Jesus leads us that s the way we want to go. Oh-oh, Step by Step..! Reproduced under CCL Licence Minister:- Rev Una McLean (01978) unamcl@yahoo.co.uk Page 3

4 Page 4 Peaceful Llangollen! You have no doubt heard about the armed robbery at the Coop in which thankfully no one was injured although they had a very nasty fright; and the burglary at our church. Thankfully the police saw suspicious behaviour in the car park and caught the thieves with our PA system. Thanks to Peter this is now back in place and working. Damage to the side door means that at present we can only get into church through the front door, Cliff Greenhalgh, Norman King, Norman Pybus and the Rev Una have keys if you require to get in. The thieves hoped to take the safe but only succeed in damaging the lock. To prevent future break ins we hope to install off the shelf movement detectors and alarm, if you can help researching this or help in the installation please see the Rev Una. We are thankful no more damage was done, and see this as a wake up to improve our security. Church Council 3rd February 7:30 Memorial Hall Please collect your minutes of the last meeting either this Sunday or next Sunday. Training for Young Peoples Work Just a reminder that there will be a CDiM training event on February 9th at the Parc Hotel in Cardiff: An Introduction to Children and Young People s Mental Health. The training is being provided by YoungMinds, a national charity with a great reputation for the quality of the training they offer. Although it is being run as part of CDiM, this course would be appropriate for anyone in the church with an interest in young people s work. Please share the invitation with anyone you think would benefit from the experience. Lunch and other refreshments will be provided. See Rev Una if interested.

5 Page 5 Candlemas Groundhog Day 2 nd February The days are getting longer although the mornings a just as dark and as we approach Candlemas we begin to see winter receding and look forward to spring Candlemas, the 2 nd February, lies half way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, so it marks the day upon which winter is half over! Like many Christians festivals, including Christmas itself, Candlemas has roots which lie deep in pagan roots and an understanding of nature. This was an important day in the Celtic calendar. As winter stores of food were getting low there were celebrations centred around the lighting of fires. This lighting of fires celebrated the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months. For the Christian calendar, this holiday was reformed and renamed Candlemas when candles are lit to remember the purification of the Virgin Mary. As Candlemas traditions evolved, many people embraced the legend that if the sun shone on the second day of February, an animal would see its shadow and there would be at least six more weeks of winter. Bears or badgers are watched in some European countries, but the German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania found an abundance of groundhogs and late in the 19 th century a few residents in Punxsutawney began celebrating the groundhog as weather prophet. So we have Groundhog Day. If Candlemas be fair and bright, Come, winter, have another flight. If Candlemas brings clouds and rain, Go, winter, and come not again. We will probably not be watching the local animals to get the weather forecast although the official forecast is often no more accurate! But we can celebrate the this half way point by lighting and enjoying a candle or two and spending time meditating and considering the Purification of Mary can only be a good thing

6 We give thanks for 150 years of the Protestant Church in Japan. We pray for strength for Christians in this grouporiented society where, despite the fact that many claim to be atheists, the culture is intertwined with syncretism, animism and superstition; that God will continue to give perseverance to believers as they live as lights in their homes, schools, and work places; for men and women who are overworked, and for their families; for courage to believers and churches to share the gospel of Jesus who says, Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Daniel and Yasuko Deliming, mission partners, Japan 2 Chronicles 7:14 TAKING THE NEWS TO HEART Why not choose a news story and invest some time praying about it. Reflect on how you might feel if you were involved in that situation, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your prayers as you bring it before God. Acts 2:47 MAKE US KIND IN YOUR SERVICE Father, make us kind in Your service. Unite us in Your truth, instruct us in Your wisdom and assist us in our need. May we receive the sanctification offered by Your Son, and may all Christian people be one. Prayer for Today, available from UCB, Stoke-on-Trent Information for Riverside Weekly should sent to the editor, Norman Pybus (01978) editor@llangollenmethodist.org.uk Page 6

7 Page 7 Prayer & Praise Matthew 21:21-23 Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea, and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (New International Version) Praise & Thanks: = = Praise the Lord for His wonderful love for each of us as we are. = = Thank God for all the good things we enjoy from day to day Prayers & Requests: = = Pray for all those who come to our church = = Pray for the Lords protection to be on our friends and families = = Pray for the young people of our town = = Pray for all those living and working in our local residential & nursing homes. = = Pray for the Local Preachers and Ministers as they prepare for the coming weeks services. = = Pray for our local police as they seek to keep us safe. Prayers for those suffering: = = Many have experienced all kinds of disaster and emergency during the past year pray for the survivors as they try to bring life back to normal if possible. = = Many have had those in their families killed and maimed by the war in Afghanistan and Iraq pray for the Lords peace and blessing for them. = = Pray for those whose lives have been devastated by the floods in Australia = = Pray for those suffering from the mud slides, and those threatened by further mud slides in Brazil

8 Word for today Be Humble!...no...messenger [is] greater than the one who sent him. John 13:16 One of the reasons God chose John the Baptist as Jesus forerunner is because he was humble. He s introduced simply as a...voice... crying in the wilderness (Mark 1:3 NKJV), no pretentious preambles or highfalutin titles. Many notable saints came before John, but Jesus said,... Among those born...no one has arisen greater than John... (Matthew11:11 RSV). John had no hidden agenda or overblown ego; his message was: He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30 NKJV). John Barnett says: Pride is the sin of competing with God...it makes you self-reliant, self-absorbed, self-deceived, selfconfident, self-conscious, selfsufficient, self-satisfied, self-focused, self-centred and self-driven. It makes you unreliable, because nobody can tell you what to do...unloving, because you won t sacrifice for others... unteachable, because nobody can correct you...competitive, because you ll always try to outdo others. Humility means not always having to be asked, reminded and recognised...you go round looking for ways to serve. Somebody asked Hudson Taylor, Are you conscious of the way God has prospered you in the China Inland Mission? I doubt any man has had greater honour. Taylor replied, I don t see it like that. I think God must have been looking for someone small enough and weak enough to use so that all the glory might be His...and He found me. Bottom line: God gives special blessings to those who are humble, but sets himself against those who are proud (1 Peter 5:5 TLB). So, be humble! For free daily readings see Elisabeth or Norman