March
2010
Dear Friends,
We
were reminded in February of mountain top experiences, of Moses and Elijah and
Jesus, of disciples dazzled by the glory of the transfigured Christ. Suddenly
they saw him as he truly was. But then we realised that back down in the
valley our faith can run cold and no-one would guess where we have been.
Twenty
years ago the release of Nelson Mandela from Victor Verser
prison was a mountain top experience. The spot light shone on the lone figure
as he walked away from twenty five years of incarceration. That long walk
to freedom was a shining moment and the cameras of the world revealed it and
the joy of it to us all.
In
the one man we saw the personification of courage and self sacrifice and hope.
We saw the fierce gentleness and the truth that nothing no earthly power and
not even death can separate us from the love of God. It was such a good moment.
Now
in Lent “the pancakes all tossed,” as Janet Lees says in the URC Prayer
Handbook, we are undergoing our forty days of self denial or self awareness.
Looking
around us as we travel through these days we cannot fail to be aware of the
terrible injustices that persist in the world. We cannot fail to be aware of
the inhumanity and cruelty which persists. We cannot fail to be aware of how
Christ is betrayed and accused and mocked. We cannot fail to be aware of the
fact that we veil and hide the light which is in us for fear of what others may
think.
“Lenten Christ when we are tempted to practise
skills only for self survival, remind us of the company we keep, of the
revolutionaries and holy fools with whom we travel, of the footsteps in which
we tread and of the timely nature of our journey.”
(URC Prayer Handbook)
Mirella
Moxon
Happy Families
I was amused to discover that one
of my favourite childhood games is now the sort of thing that you find in a Toy
Museum. Do you remember Mr Bun the Baker and his family?
I encouraged a live re enactment in school assembly and got on to
the fact that making a happy family and keeping families happy can be very
tricky.
Then I talked a bit about family characteristics, how for example
I have a nose and chin similar to my mother's. One boy said he had skinny legs
just like his Dad, another that he loved learning just like his Mum. We all
agreed you could inherit physical characteristics and also other things such as
your temperament or abilities from your parents and grandparents.
One thing led to
another and we got on to the subject of Jesus: Jesus and his family. The
children told me that God was Jesus' father.
Well I said, “Did you know that Jesus said”,
“If you have seen me you
have seen my heavenly Father.”?”
Then I asked
“What did Jesus look like?”
“He looked like a
baby.” “He had a beard. He had long dark hair, and brown eyes.” They were
fairly certain of this. One little girl explained that she knew because her Nanna had a picture of him. Any way to cut a long story
short we got on to other non physical characteristics of Jesus which would
explain what he meant when he said “If
you have seen me you have seen my heavenly Father.”
We ran through quite a list and came up with these:
KIND, SLOW TO ANGER, FRIENDLY, CARING OF OTHERS, SHARING,
TRUSTWORTHY, PLACID, PUTS OTHERS FIRST, FORGIVING, LOVING.
These we all agreed and
then we thought about it and realised these are just the characteristics you
need to play your part in a Happy Family.
MMM
Things children ask God...
Dear God,
why did the father like the prodigal
son better than his brothers?
Do you like good people better if they do some sins first?
Dear God ,
Are you watching me now?
Dear God ,
who is your mummy and daddy?
Dear God.
Where did I live before I was born?
Mothering Sunday March 14th
Jesus said: “How many times have I wanted to put my arms around
all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing, but you would
not let me.” (Luke 13:34)
Mothering God, you watch your children grow
AND YOU LET US GO.
Mothering God, you teach us what is true
AND YOU LET US GO.
Mothering God, you show us what is just
AND YOU LET US GO.
Mothering God, you show us what we need
AND YOU LET US GO.
Ruth Burgess
Taken from Eggs & Ashes. Wild Goose
publications. Iona
Betrayed with a kiss
A story from Iona
On Iona, in the early days of the Iona Community, it was decided
to commission a well-known glassmaker to make six glass communion cups for use
in the Abbey. The crafts man was asked to engrave a suitable biblical text on
each of the cups: 'This is the blood of the new covenant', 'This
do in remembrance of me.' and so on.
Now this
craftsman, as it happened, was not a churchman, although he was sympathetic to
Christianity. And when he received the commission he made one request: Could he
choose one of the texts to engrave on the cups? His request was granted .
And when the cups
were delivered, the folk on Iona were intrigued to discover that the text he
had chosen was from the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas
betrays Jesus with a kiss.
And the text that
he had engraved on the cup was Jesus' question to Judas:
Friend,
wherefore art thou come?
John Harvey
Taken from Bread & Ashes.
The Iona Community
xxxxxxxxxxxx
How many innocent people pay the price of dishonesty, of betrayal,
of the abuse of power?
Jesus you didn't hesitate to pay the price for our wrongdoing.
Give us the courage to face the truth when we fail.
Give us the strength to be true to your gospel
and to be true to one another.
HOLY WEEK
We again have the opportunity of joining friends from the Burley and Menston churches as we unite to witness the events of Holy Week and become much more aware of the real meaning of Easter. We have to feel the conflict, the torment pain and suffering and the death of Christ before we can experience the real joy of the resurrection. Please make every effort to attend as many of the services as you possibly can.
PALM SUNDAY
28TH MARCH At 6pm the service will be held in St. John’s Parish Church, Menston
MONDAY 29TH
MARCH 7.30pm ss Fisher More R.C.Church
TUESDAY 30TH
MARCH 7.30pm St.. Mary’s Parish Church
WEDNESDAY 31ST
MARCH 8.00pm Menston Methodist Church
MAUNDY
THURDAY 1ST APRIL 6pm in our Church Hall
An opportunity to revisit
the story of The Last Supper as we eat a meal together. A very moving occasion.
EVERYONE IS INVITED TO SHARE THIS MEAL WITH US.
GOOD FRIDAY
2ND APRIL
10.30am The Walk of Witness commencing at Menston,
involving a train journey, ending at 12noon at The Grange.
4pm Reflective
Good Friday service in our church
9am
a Celebratory Rise & Shine @ 9
10.15am
Our main service will include the greening of the
cross (don’t forget to bring along a small bunch of flowers) and the
celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion
YOUR CINEMA
SATURDAY MARCH
6TH 7pm
Church Hall
JESUS CHRIST
SUPERSTAR Cert PG
A dazzling interpretation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber
Rock Opera
SATURDAY MARCH
13TH 7pm Church Hall
SUPERMAN
RETURNS Cert
PG
After a long visit to the lost remains of the planet
Kypton, Superman returns to earth to become the
people’s saviour and reclaim the love of Lois Lane.
SATURDAY MARCH
20th 2pm Church Hall
BBC THE LION,
THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE Cert U
Based on the wonderful story by C.S Lewis
SATURDAY MARCH
27TH 7pm Church Hall
THE PASSION OF
THE CHRIST Cert 15
Directed by Mel Gibson. The trial, torture, crifixion and resurrection of Christ. Sub titles
AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE TO CHARITY
USUAL REFRESHMENTS
EVERYONE
WELCOME –
BRING A FRIEND !
FRIDAY 5TH
MARCH
2.00pm
has been compiled by the women of Cameroon.
The speaker is Canon Joe Smith
The “Women’s” world day of prayer is not for women
only – it is so named
because each year it is always written by women..
The services are interesting, sometimes compelling
and they always give us an insight into the lives of people who live many many miles away.
DO COME ALONG.
We
all had/have mothers – and have been mothered by the church Let us remember all that our mothers
have done for us as we celebrate on this special day.
There
are rumours that this year there will be a surprise in store – we will
acknowledge the day in a different way.
Curious? Come along at 10.15am
THE YORKSHIRE GOSPELS
Do you remember writing your verse from Luke chapter 20 as our contribution to
the Yorkshire Gospels ? Have you ever wondered what the finished product looks like ? They were on display when attended Synod at Headingley last year and they are certainly worth seeing. The talent, thought and ingenuity which the churches have used in their particular verses are remarkable.
I am delighted to say that you will have the opportunity of looking at the books (they are very large!) on 26th April. Our Moderator the Revd. Kevin Watson is bringing the books along when he leads us in worship on the 19th April and is leaving them with us for 1 week.
On Sunday 26th April lunch will be available in the hall after worship and the books will be on display. This will be the one and only opportunity to see them don’t miss it !.
If you would like to stay for lunch, please put your name on the list in the church vestibule.
Elizabeth Collins
Some creative answers in exam papers...
Q. NAME SIX ANIMALS WHICH LIVE IN THE ARCTIC
A. Two polar bears and
four seals
Q. NAME ONE OF THE EARLY ROMANS’ GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS
A. Learning to speak Latin
Q. WHAT IS A STAND-ALONE COMPUTER SYSTEM?
A. It doesn’t come with a chair
FAIRTRADE
FORTNIGHT
On Friday 5th March at 7.30pm Churches
Together in Burley & Menston are organising a
FAIRTRADE WINE TASTING
in
the Parish Centre in Station Road.
Tickets are £5 each and are available from the Parish Centre (864405) or from Charlotte Montague (872370)
YOUR CINEMA
We
were absolutely delighted to learn from the licensing authority that we are
allowed to advertise the titles of our films in our church magazine
!
Our
next film matinee will be on
TUESDAY 9TH MARCH
AT 2pm
Jodie Picoult
“My Sister’s Keeper”
Cert 12
The
next evening performance will be on
SATURDAY 27TH
MARCH AT 7pm
The final
Churches Together film during Lent
“ THE PASSION”