Notices 26th March

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Please note that the church will be very busy this week. There are some times when all the rooms will be fully occupied.

Envelope Scheme. The new year for this offertory scheme begins in April and new envelopes are now being distributed. Many thanks to all members of the scheme, which ensures a regular income for the church. If you are not a member and would like details with a view to joining, please see Helen Morris. Confidentiality is always assured. This is also a time when we should prayerfully consider if our giving is keeping up with the church's needs. Thank you.

Wednesday’s Tea Dancing sessions have now finished and will not be meeting again.

The Prayer Space (in a corner of the entrance hall) has been updated. New theme: Lent.

The Sooper Troopers will be performing a play called “Life Journey” on Wednesday 26th April at 1:15pm at the Hillsborough Sports Arena, free of charge.

The Prayer Group

Following all the problems which caused the nominated Bishop of Sheffield (Philip North) to withdraw from this appointment we read from the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 1 about divisions within the church. We prayed for him and for the Anglican church,  especially here in Sheffield.

Prayers too for our own church, its ministers and preachers etc...We remembered again the people of Myanmar as they seek to be free of past oppressions and prayed for their leader - Aung San Suu Kyi.

We gave thanks for all the agencies on hand to help alleviate the problems caused by famine and prayed for all the countries currently affected in this way because of war and/or drought. 

So many thousands of people seeking food and medical help.

We prayed for Tearfund's initiative 'Renew our World'. Many people have to live without access to electricity. Tearfund will supply sustainable solar panels to provide power for lighting, refrigeration, electric pumps etc to make life better. This source of power will not add to climate change and will provide affordable electricity in remote areas.

We prayed for a change of heart by President Trump who intends to withdraw all funding towards finding a solution to reduce global warming.

We referred to the Prayer Book and prayed for those mentioned, for the families who have recently lost loved ones and for the desperately ill. Lord, teach us to attempt what we fear we cannot attain.

Teach us to celebrate the faith we cannot prove.

East Africa Food Crisis.

A catastrophe of this magnitude  means that every response matters. All We Can and the World Church Relationships Team of the Methodist Church in Britain are urgently calling for individual and local community support to respond to famine in South Sudan and to avert famine and further death in other countries across East Africa and the wider region. Ongoing food crises have pushed many countries to the brink of catastrophe with millions facing malnutrition, illness and death.

A month ago it was announced that South Sudan had already reached a tipping point with 2 counties being declared as officially affected by famine. Since then, Somalia, northern Nigeria and Yemen have been categorised as being on the brink of famine, with other countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi and Uganda facing severe food insecurity.

The Methodist Church in Britain is urging people to respond quickly, generously and collectively to this catastrophic situation by supporting the appeal being managed by All We Can.

Lord our God, through the Spirit grant us community with you, we pray. Help us grow in strength to follow what is true and good. May your goodness and your grace be in our hearts to help us in all practical things. Grant that wherever we live we may have something of the power in which Jesus Christ lived and suffered, in which he died and yet lives again. May the world still learn that it has a redeemer and that it belongs to him, to the glory of your name. Amen.