This is our monthly newsletter that highlights some of the things we want you to know about. All the regular events are on our calendar.
Sunday Sermon Series
During April we will continue our series ‘Stronger Together’ looking at what it means to work well as men and women together in every sphere of life. We will look at the story of Ruth and the difference determined women can make when all the odds are stacked against them; how Jesus made a woman feel safe in a context when she was surrounded by disapproving men; why it was so outrageous that women were the first to hear about the resurrection and then on 24 April we will look at the leadership roles that women played in the earliest church and what that might mean for us.
Midweek Groups
There are a variety of groups that meet midweek to offer support and discipleship. You are welcome to come along to any of them.
There are midweek groups:
On Monday mornings there’s a Coffee Morning that you can just drop in for a chat, Tuesday morning there is an Art Class, and the Crafty Crew Lunchtime group.
On Thursday evenings every other week there are home groups: three in homes and two online. These will be happening on Thursday 14th and 28th April.
We pray together in different ways as well:
Every Wed from 10.30-12.00 there is a Midweek Prayer Meeting
On Thursday 7th April there is the monthly Prayer and Prophecy evening in The Vine at 7.30pm; on Thursday 21st April there is the online prayer meeting.
Check the calendar for all this and more.
Breathe
We’ve been busy planning our spring/summer events for the young adults. We hope to make the most of the longer days and warmer weather, and our next social event is a Good Friday walk around Hollingworth Lake. If you’d like any more information about our events, check the calendar or get in touch with Alex and Andrew.
Easter services
We will have a Good Friday service at 10.30 on Friday 15th April. This will be a joint service with St James church.
And of course we will be celebrating the Easter Resurrection on Sunday 17th April at 11.30am.
Can You Help?
We need to appoint a new Safeguarding Officer for the church – in particular someone who either has experience with vulnerable adults or who would be willing to do some training in this area. Some of you might have been involved in Safeguarding at work or might just be interested in helping us stay healthy as a community. If you are willing to explore what might be involved, could you contact Neil?
Baptism
Baptism lies at the beginning of your discipleship journey. It’s the moment when you declare the death of your old life and that life has begun again with Jesus. If you know this is the next step for you – talk to Neil or Ian and we will make sure it happens soon!
Can You Give?
One of the folks in the church, Graham Robinson is doing a sponsored cycle ride in April in memory of a friend who died so that her work can continue.
He explains more here: ‘I first met my friend Angela in 1987 when I did a two-year long Media Studies course at the Brighton College of Technology. It was a very tight-knit group of teenagers who quickly became firm friends.
More recently, she had moved to Tonga in 2015 with her husband James to start a new life there after working for a long time in the advertising industry as a senior producer. In the course of settling in, they opened up a tattoo parlour and also an animal rescue organisation known as TAWS to gather up and rehabilitate the many stray dogs on the island. By the end of her life, she had become something of a well-known local for what she was doing. Tragically, she lost her life whilst trying to rescue five of the dogs that she and her husband owned after a tsunami hit Tonga in the aftermath of one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in the Pacific Ocean in modern times. She was swept away by the water and her body was discovered later on scrubland by James.
She was a mere 50 years old and apart from it being someone I knew and a peer, it’s a huge loss to many as she was doing so much good with her life. She was making a real impact and so much so that at her recent memorial in London the representative of the Tongan High Commission was present and delivered a very touching speech expressing her nation’s gratitude for Angela’s efforts.
As my way of paying tribute to her, myself and a friend called Brendan will be doing a coast to coast bike ride from April the 4th until the 6th from Workington on the west coast to Sunderland on the east. This will come to around 140 miles in total.
Hopefully, you can help continue my friend’s legacy by making a contribution to this page set up by her family. Please can you also offer up a prayer to wish the organisation she founded well and for her to rest in eternal peace.
Thank you for your time.’
Festival Manchester
Friday 1st-Sunday 3rd July
This summer there is going to be a large-scale weekend mission event in Wythenshawe Park. Led by The Message it’s an attempt to draw thousands of people to hear the gospel in a range of different ways. There will be speakers and bands that will especially relate to young people, but also events that will be more geared to older folks.
On Saturday 2 April there are going to be 2 prayer events ahead of that weekend at 2pm and 7pm at Audacious Church (Trinity Way).
Pete Greig, Andy Hawthorne and Andrew Palau will lead people in prayer, and Tim Hughes and his band along with Jake Isaac will lead the worship.
There is lots more information at festivalmanchester.com
