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Welcome
to this
newsletter and to the ministry of MCC
Manchester. If this is your first contact
with us, know that you are welcome. You can
take part in our ministry through attending our
worship services or mid week meetings, or by using
the various resources on our website. You
can keep in touch with us in person, by email, or
by text. It is our prayer that our people
grow as committed disciples of the Lord
Jesus.
Today's
Service
marks the fifth Sunday of
Lent. We reflected on the anger
Jesus had when he cleared the Temple of the money
changers and traders. We used
the Prince song â€Å“Thieves in the Templeâ€Â to
set the scene.
This and That
8 people came to the
membership class yesterday and one other will be
meeting Andy in the week to discuss the
material.
If you wish to come to the
Maundy Thursday Passover meal please sign up at
the back of church or email Andy to let him know
you are coming - we have to
know who is coming to help us set
places.
The Rev Pressley
Sutherland of MCC North London has announced his
resignation after 7 years of ministry with
them. Please pray for North
London and for Pressley as they move into this
time of transition.
Thanks.
Thank you for your
generosity last week. 26 people attended and the
collection was £88.50. This is on top of the
£1200 or so a month that is given directly to
our bank account via standing
order.
Immigration Aid
Unit. During
Lent we are using Smartie Tubes to collect money
for the Immigration Aid Unit.
We will look at various case studies to see
the type of work they do, and which we will
support.
Hong is an
elderly Chinese man in a nursing home in Whalley
Range. He became paralysed from his
lower body downwards. He had been residing
in the UK for over 14 years but was a "failed"
asylum seeker. However, China and the UK
have particularly poor relations when it comes to
removing failed asylum seekers. This means
that many Chinese asylum seekers are left in limbo
with no support here but without being returned.
We made an application for leave on grounds
of Hong's ill health and held that removal would
be unjustified in light of his age (70 plus).
Additionally his health was deteriorating.
Our representations were successful and he
has been granted leave to
remain!
Canan
is a Turkish woman who had two young children
outside of wedlock in the UK.
We made representations to the Home
Office based on risk on return for her and her
young children. There was danger to her as she
would be returning to a conservative society with
two young children outside of wedlock and with no
family support to turn to. She has recently
been granted indefinite leave to remain
!
Introduction to Sexuality
Studies.
This
MCC sponsored course will be taught in Manchester
from Sunday 9th â€â€œ Thursday
13th of November this year by Andy and
the Rev Jane Clarke. It will
cover many aspects of human sexuality and how we
unit aspects of our sexuality with our
spirituality. The course will
be held at the police college in Sedgley Park and
will cost £100 for day students and £235 for
residential students. More
details are on our website â€â€œ go to the yellow
bar on the right and then go to the sexuality
page. You can download a
booking form from there too. If
you intend to come please book!
Holy Week Services
Palm
Sunday. We
gather at the church doors to hear the account of
Jesus̢ۉ㢠triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
receive blessed palms and process into
church. We then hear the
dramatic reading of St Matthewâ€â„¢s account of
the Passion.
Tuesday in Holy
Week.
We meet at 8pm for a multi-media
presentation of the journey that Jesus made to
Calvary. We use clips from Mel
Gibsonâ€â„¢s the Passion of the Christ mixed with
music from Handelâ€â„¢s Messiah, reflections and
readings.
Maundy
Thursday. We
meet at 7.30pm at Hulme Hall Chapel for a shared
Passover Meal. We use a form of
the traditional Jewish liturgy and end the meal
with a simple celebration of Holy
Communion. Please bring food to
share and let us know you are coming so we know
how many places to set.
Good
Friday. We
meet at 5pm in church for a simple service At
the Foot of the Cross to mark this most sombre
of days.
You can find more
information about these services on our
website.
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