OCTOBER 2017 SUNDAY SERVICE 10.45 a.m. ALL ARE WELCOME 50p Unitarians are a religious denomination that believe in a united world community and individual freedom.
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OCTOBER CALENDAR 1 st Oct Sunday Worship 10.45 am 4 th Oct Women s League Meeting 2.00 pm 8 th Oct Sunday Worship (Harvest/Gift Day) 10.45 am 15 th Oct Sunday Worship 10.45 am 15 th Oct Church Committee Meeting 12.30 pm 22 nd Oct Sunday Worship (Women s League Service) 10.45 am 25 th Oct Women s League Halloween 12.30 pm Hot-Pot Lunch 29 th Oct Sunday Worship 10.45 am "Don t call it a dream, call it a plan. THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH TUESDAY MORNING IS COFFEE MORNING! Our weekly coffee morning on Tuesdays in the church hall continue, with refreshments and companionship available from 10am till 12pm, do please tell your friends about it. There is no charge for the refreshments, though donations of cakes or biscuits to share on the day will always be welcome! VISITS FROM THE MINISTER I can be contacted throughout the week on 07769 038 773 for a chat. If you know of anyone else who might appreciate a call or visit, please do let me know so I can get in touch with them. - 3 -
MINISTER S LETTER Dear friends As I write this, I m preparing for our 24-hour peace vigil in the church some of you will have joined us for some of it, others will have acknowledged it mentally but have had other things to do that day. It s always one of the dilemmas there is so much conflict, destruction, fear, in the world, that we want to tackle, we want to stand up against, we want to try and heal, and yet we know that we are just little people in a little place, with very little influence. When we planned the Peace Vigil, we knew it wouldn t change the conflict between the USA and North Korea, or stop the fighting in Syria, but we felt we needed to make a gesture, however small. And equally, we know that we have to carry on with our lives regardless, we have to keep things ticking along, the minutiae of our lives. We are just little people, and we can mostly only affect the people around us, but that s still important. Some of you may remember the story I told one time, about the young child on the beach after a storm, picking up the star fish that had been washed up by the big waves and throwing them back in to the sea one by one. A man walking by asked the child what she was doing she couldn t possibly hope to save them all, so why bother? Her answer was simple as she picked up the next star fish and threw that back in the sea, she smiled and said, I made a difference to that one, didn t I? It may be that all we can do are small gestures a prayer here and there, a donation here and there, or more personally, a time to care for a person who needs you. But those gestures make a difference to the people near us and they make a difference to us. Our prayers may not change the world out there but they change us. And maybe that alone can be enough. So in this world of many challenges and conflicts, may we find ways of making small gestures, and trusting that those small gestures will save a star fish or two. Many blessings, Rev Anna - 4 -
WELCOMING AND COFFEE ROTA ON SUNDAYS Please have a look at the noticeboard in the hall and see if you can sign up to help either as a welcome / hymn book putter-away-er(!), or in the kitchen making tea and coffee after service in the hall. We ve slipped down again so that this is falling on just a few people each week, so please consider helping us. Full guidance is given, and you can be paired up with an experienced volunteer to start off with. DATES IN OCTOBER Sunday 8 th October is our Harvest Festival please bring non-perishable goods, e.g. tins, packets, etc. These are then taken to St Ann s Hospice. The service starts at 10.45am as always, and is a time for giving thanks for all the blessings in our lives, whether of food or of fellowship. Sunday 15 th October is our joint committee meeting with both the church and the hall trustees. If there are any issues you wish to raise, please approach either Rev Anna or our Chairwoman Lynett Dean, and we will do this for you. Sunday 22 nd October is our Women s league service, designed and led by members of our Women s League. Do pick up a leaflet about the Women s League if you wish to learn more about this group, and speak to Mavis Sumner or Irene Hitchcock, the Chair and Secretary, if you would like to get involved. HEATING DECISION On 12 th October, please pray, cross your fingers, touch wood and do anything else that might bring us luck, as the national Viridor-Credits board makes the decision as to whether to grant us 71k to upgrade our heating system. We will know within a few days of that decision, and I will email the result as soon as I have it. If we are successful, work will begin almost immediately, and hopefully should be fully completed before Christmas! - 5 -
OCTOBER FLOWERS 1 st October Miss I Hitchcock in memory of Mr & Mrs Hitchcock & their daughter Mrs K Searle Mrs S Johnson in memory of her husband George. 8 th October Mr & Mrs P Coomber in memory of Mr & Mrs D Coomber. Mr & Mrs J McIntyre in memory of Mr & Mrs E Haslam. 15 th October Mrs S Johnson in memory of her Mum & Dad Mr & Mrs J Pullen. Mrs J Erlston & Mrs S Wakerley in memory of Tom & Doris Nixon. 22 nd October Mrs R Summers in memory of both families. 29 th October In memory of all late Church Members. FILM CLUB Film Club has restarted! We were unable to get details of the September date in time for last month s calendar, but the October meeting is on Friday 27 th October at 7.30pm. Details of the film will be found on the facebook page Monton Film Club. Come along and join us! - 6 -
WOMEN'S LEAGUE The Women s League will hold a Business Meeting in the Hall, on Wednesday the 4 th October at 2.00 pm. Our Halloween Hot-Pot Lunch, will be held in the Hall on Wednesday the 25 th October. The cost will be 5.00 and there will be a raffle. Hats, cloaks, broomsticks, fancy dress is optional. Everyone welcome, lunch is 12.30 pm. If you would like to come to this event, please let Mavis Sumner know by Sunday, the 22 nd October, as we need to know the numbers for catering. On Sunday 22 nd October, the Women s League will hold their Annual Service, the theme will possibly be famous Unitarians, poems and hymns. Some of our ladies will be door stewards and help with hymn books. After the Service a Coffee Morning and Raffle will be held in the Hall in aid of the Project Fund, Prostate Cancer UK. We were pleased to welcome Margaret Harwood, to the Women s League and hope she will be happy amongst us. Thank you. Irene Hitchcock Women's League Secretary MDA MEETING On Tuesday 12th September, I attended the quarterly meeting of the MDA. Grants were discussed and it should be noted that Monton was the only Church to have it s MDA grant towards the Minister s stipend increased by 4% to cover inflation. Maybe we should also consider increasing our negligible annual subscription to the MDA by inflation. - 7 -
The closure of Dob Lane Failsworth Chapel was discussed at length. Auction appears to be the best way of disposal quick, clean and decisive. Consider the problems of selling a Church, adjoining land and a sizeable graveyard! I am amazed that it seems possible to sell the land for building purposes and the graveyard will probably end up being paved over to make a carpark! The duties and means of appointment of a paid administrator were agreed. The position would include being Secretary for the MDA, administrator/book keeper for the MDA, networking MDA events and organising social media. The administrator would also help member Churches with accounting and payroll problems. Anybody interested? The next meeting will be in December. Michael Couser A GRAND CHURCH WEDDING Saturday 28 th will be a special day in the life of the church two of our newest members, Adam and Sylvain, will be getting married! It s a special day for them it s also a special day for Salford, as they will be the first same-sex marriage to take place in a Church in Salford EVER! We are delighted to be able to celebrate their love with them. All their church friends are welcome to join them in the church at 3pm, but please sign up on the noticeboard so that they know who s coming! - 8 -
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP Our church is a very special community, made up of people who, though they may not think alike, do love alike. That is to say, as a community that has no creedal basis for membership or attendance, we all come with different faiths and beliefs, but within the differences lies a commitment to living lives that are as true, honest, compassionate, equitable, and loving as we can. We do not have to agree on our faith, or our politics, but we do agree to do our very best to make this community, our local society, and our world a better place by the way in which we conduct our lives. While everyone is equally welcome to any and all our services of worship, our social events, our spiritual explorations, there are some who wish to make a more distinct commitment to our community by becoming a member. This generally involves making three pledges. Firstly, to attempt to honour the ethos of our church in their everyday lives to care for others at home and abroad, to treat all people as equally worthy of love and compassion. Secondly, wherever possible, to be involved in the life of the church attending worship, contributing as a welcomer, coffee maker, committee member, or in any of the many different roles that a church like ours needs to keep going. Thirdly, to make a financial commitment currently we ask for a minimum donation of 75 per year, paid either through Sunday envelope collections, or as an annual one-off payment. This pays the GA quota for each member (a levy for our national General Assembly), which the church itself would otherwise have to pay, and contributes towards the upkeep and activities of our building and congregation. We recognise completely that people have varying levels of time, energy, skills and money available thus we have some people who contribute financially each year, but who are rarely seen, and others who come almost every week but do not make any financial commitment. Both are valid ways of supporting us as is the offer to come as and when we can, and donate as and when we can. Life is not always easy, or predictable! But if you would like to discuss this further, please approach Rev Anna. - 9 -
MONTON UNITARIAN CHURCH ON THE INTERNET Please do remember to like our pages, join our groups, and generally spread the word to all your social media friends! Website: www.ukunitarian.org.uk/monton Twitter: @montonunitarian Instagram: www.instagram.com/montonunitarians Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/montonunitarians/ Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/montonunitarians/ EXTERNAL NOTICEBOARDS The committee are beginning to look at replacing the external noticeboards in the church grounds, by the gates and in the far corner of Stableford Avenue. There has been a proposal of wording that is going to be put to the committee, but we are interested in your views too please have a read below and see if you would be happy with this replacing the big blue sign at the front Monton Unitarian Church We meet to nurture faith, to embrace life and to celebrate difference. We bring our open hearts, open hands, and open minds and work to serve our community. We offer a sacred place of safety, of peace and of compassion. All are welcome here. MAGAZINE If anyone would like to contribute any articles for the magazine, please send them to the editor by the second weekend of the month by post or by email. Please contact me for email address. Thank you Debbie. - 10 -
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MONTON CHURCH is open to all who wish to worship with an open mind, in a spirit of freedom, reason and tolerance. No doctrinal tests are imposed on anyone. Rather, each person is encouraged to develop his or her own faith. Our Congregation is affiliated to the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. - 12 -