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Messages & Requests…

From Rev. Paul Wilson…

Anyone wishing to speak to Paul will find him in the office from 10.00am – 11.00am on Mondays and Fridays.

If you are new to the town or if you are just visiting, we extend a warm welcome to you - please join us for the Sunday Services.  If you wish you can also enjoy a cup of tea/coffee and chat in the hall after the morning Services.

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From the Methodist Church…

      PRAYNOW to 82088 -  Free weekly prayer-texts

Following a successful pilot, the Methodist Church is now offering free weekly prayer-texts to help Methodists join in prayer with hundreds of others on topical and personal issues.

To receive the texts people simply send a text message, reading PRAYNOW to 82088, which will be charged at their standard network rate.  All of the prayer- texts they receive will be free of charge. 

Users of the pilot service were asked to text in their feedback, and the result was overwhelmingly positive.  June M texted in to say, “I welcome those prayer-time texts, they make me stop & pray, whatever I'm doing, where ever I am. Thank you 4 a valued service”.  Another user said, “Many thanks - this service is of great value and helps to encourage focusing on what is important during what we consider to be our priorities”.

“I feel moved by the idea that people across the country are being connected through the prayer text service”, said David Webster, the Church’s Internet Communications Coordinator.  “Although many find the beeping of mobile phones annoying, for those signed up to PRAYNOW it will remind them that they are part of a growing community of prayer, whatever may be going on around them”.

For more information contact Anna Drew -  drewa@methodistchurch.org.uk

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HAITI APPEAL PASSES £400,000 MARK

Donations to both MRDF and the Methodist Church's World-Mission Fund are
supporting the emergency relief and long-term rehabilitation work being
carried out by the Methodist Church in Haiti.  MRDF is also channelling funds
to Action by Churches Together.  As well as funding food, blankets, tents and
latrines, donations to MRDF have helped to provide a water-purification system in the Belair neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince. This is providing
10,000 homeless Haitians with the first clean drinking-water they have had
since the earthquake struck.

CHRISTIAN MAGAZINE, MAGNET, REACHES OUT TO A BROADER CHURCH

Magnet magazine, which until recently has been published by the Methodist
Church, is now published by its own independent charity, Magnet Resources, with the aim of reaching a wider ecumenical audience.

Magnet is known for colourful and thoughtful meditation pages, its seasonal
worship resources, insightful and stimulating features, Bible-study and prayer focus.  It is of value both to individuals in their personal spiritual journeys, and to leaders of worship, Bible-study and house groups.

You can phone  0844 736 2524  0844 736 2524 or email Felicity at mailto:felicity@ourmagnet.co.uk for a free copy of Magnet - or subscribe online at http://www.ourmagnet.co.uk/.

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About the Romanian Charity – FAST…

From the beginning of May 2010, Rev Kevin Johnson will be on a three month Sabbatical. This is a gift of time given by the Methodist Church to take a break from the regular activity and experience something different, relax etc.  As part of his Sabbatical, Kevin is planning a two-week trip to Romania at the beginning of May to work as a volunteer with a local Charity called FAST.  This is a Romanian charity which Kevin (and STEPS Romania) have been supporting for the last three years.

In particular, Kevin hopes to work with FAST on the Better Homes Project. The mission of the Better Homes Project is to improve the lives of the poorest members of local Roma communities by providing them with safe and reliable shelter in which their families can live in dignity and their children can grow in good health.   Together with the local authorities and members of the Roma community, FAST aims to provide new homes for families living in critical poverty in deprived rural areas in the local villages.

Many Roma in Romania live in functionally segregated settlements, on the outskirts of ethnically Romanian areas, in rundown or ram-shackle homes that lack basic amenities such as plumbing or electricity, as well as insulation to keep them warm in the winter.  The Better Homes Project addresses the need for safe housing in local communities, while employing members of the local Roma community to build this housing.

How the Project Works.  Utilizing a team of local Roma construction-workers, as well as FAST staff and visiting volunteers (like Kevin), Better Homes build simple, prefabricated homes in the community with pieces constructed in our local workshop.  Families with many children in extreme poverty are at the top of the list.   In 2008, 36 family-members benefited from the Better Homes Project, including 26 children.

WITH YOUR HELP …... £4000 will help to build a house.

Kevin would like to help for two weeks in May to build a house and work with local Romanians.  He would also like to take a gift of money which would help with the costs for the materials for a house.  Each house costs £4000, and it would be wonderful if you could support this Better Homes Project by making a donation towards the cost.  Any amount would be fantastic and greatly appreciated.

Donations towards this Project can be made by cheque to Altrincham Methodist Church… and marked on the back ‘Better Homes’, and posted to Rev Kevin Johnson, Altrincham Methodist Church, Woodlands Rd, Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 1H F.  You can find lots more information about the wonderful work that FAST are doing by visiting their website: http://www.fastcharity.ro/

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From Henry Waters…

Keeping in Touch with our Students

We are very proud of the young people within our Church Family, and I‘m sure you all like to know how they are getting on.  Each year, as a Methodist Circuit, we try to contact all the young people within our Circuit before they go up to University or College, and I have the grand sounding title of “Circuit Commender of Students to University Chaplains”.  So during August and September each year I try to contact these young people.

I always try to see them before they set off for University or College for the first time, and I give each a letter.  They have worked hard to earn their place in higher education and most are excited by the prospect.  They will be able to study the subjects of their choice and they will be looking forward to all the other opportunities that University life brings – and sometimes they may be a little apprehensive about leaving home, probably for the first time.

From my own experience I can recommend that they join one of the Christian groups, such as Meth. Soc. and the Christian Union, where they can meet fellow students, enjoy friendship and fellowship, and grow in their faith.  I also recommend that they find a local Church where that can worship regularly and meet other Christians.  I also offer to contact the Methodist Chaplain at their University, but as it is so easy to make such links through the Internet and email I often find that many of the students have made these contacts themselves.

It is always interesting to see the students, either when they come home for a weekend or when they return at Christmas, and to hear of their first impressions of University life.  With a lively Church such as ours at Knutsford, I know that many of you look out for these students as well, and are equally interested in knowing how they are getting on.  So could we, or should we, try to make these links with our students more formal?  A suggestion raised at a recent Young Church Meeting was that we set up a “buddy” system – inviting members of the congregation to keep in regular contact with our students, both while they are away at University and when they return to Knutsford for the holidays.

If any of you would like to consider getting involved in links with our students, I would be pleased to have a chat with you – or you could speak to John Mills, the Chair of our Young Church Committee, or to our Minister, Paul Wilson.  My role is to make the initial contacts - and for this I rely on you all telling me who is going off to University each year.  While most of the young people who are currently at University are from Knutsford, my role is across the Circuit – so I do not feel I can be a “buddy co-ordinator” for our Church as well.  Perhaps some of the young people themselves might be able to help as co-ordinators.

Please remember all our young people in your prayers, and please give the idea of maintaining personal links between our Church and our young people your prayerful consideration.

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From David & Sylvia Griffiths…

Dear Friends,

First of all, thank you so much for the generous contribution from your Christmas-Day offering to help support the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone for its major refurbishment to the Manse in the Sumbuya Circuit.  The gift will be processed through our Church accounts at Central Methodist Church, Chesterfield, and we hope to be able to send it to MCSL, together with other gifts we have received, in time to for the work to begin before the heaviest of the rainy season begins, and causes further damage.

We lived in Sumbuya with our two sons, Christopher & Philip, for four years in the 1970’s, and our brief return there last November was a very emotional one. Many people still bore the trauma of the violence of the civil war, and the carcasses of some of the buildings which had been attacked still remained - but we sensed hope rather than despair in the Methodist Church, whose Minister, Rev. Henry Alieu, works closely together with Father Sam, the local Sierra Leonean Roman Catholic Priest, who has the physique of a weight lifter and rides a scrambler motorcycle!  World Vision are in the 4^th of a 15-year redevelopment programme in the local community and surrounding villages.  This includes agricultural and community development, and supporting the work of the excellent clinic run by the Roman Catholic Church in Sumbuya.

Henry, his wife, five children & mother, now occupy the manse where we lived. The memories flooded back.  Three decades ago the manse, though basic, was homely, and we shared it with many visitors, including our Church fellowship.  But the war, rainy seasons & damage from a fallen tree have all taken their toll. Some attempts have been made, from the Sierra Leone Methodist Conference’s limited resources, to restore the building to an acceptably habitable condition, but the badly leaking roof has caused major damage to the internal walls, floor and woodwork.  Plaster has broken away from the exterior & interior walls, exposing the mud block bricks to further damage.  A new bathroom, toilet and kitchen are badly needed.

The exterior walls need to be repaired and treated, and the rain-water system and detached annexe, which housed an office, store and bedroom, need to be restored.  There was a town water-supply in Sumbuya when we were there, which was supplemented by the Manse’s 10,000 gallon underground water-tank, but neither can be used at the moment.  Henry assured us that an experienced and reliable local builder would be able to undertake the work, which would be supervised by the local Church leaders.  So, encouraged by Rev.David Sam (the Bo District Chairman) and Rev.Francis Nabieu (the President of the Sierra Leone Methodist Church), we opened a fund to supplement the finite local resources, to which you have so generously contributed.

Henry is deeply committed to the ministry to which God has called him and, as Superintendent Minister, he has overall responsibility for a wide-spread rural Circuit.  He has no transport of his own, and public transport is infrequent, and so he often walks 7 miles to the nearest Church in Sumbuya.  The local Methodist Church’s congregation includes a Youth Fellowship of 25+, five of whose leaders (all young people) attended the Church Leaders’ Training Day we conducted during our visit.  Henry is involved with the Methodist Primary Schools across the Circuit.

Our son, Christopher, began his schooling in Sumbuya, and it was a joy to meet his teacher, Ndowu Martin.  The buildings were destroyed in the war, but World Vision helped support the building of new ones to replace them.  Matilda Pratt, also a teacher when we were there, saw the rebels shoot her son in front of her, after which they made her dance down the street or face being shot herself.  Understandably, Matilda went to live with her daughter in America until hostilities had ceased.  She is now Chair of the Governors of Sumbuya Methodist Girls Secondary School, which was opened in Sumbuya last September, at the request of the community, to help protect their daughters against teenage motherhood.  The school presently meets in a building provided by a local trader, and the village has set aside land for a new school.  Supplies and equipment of all kinds are very much needed.

Praise God for Henry - and for the two Churches in Sumbuya.  He is one of a team of dedicated Ministers in Sierra Leone, who, in a very difficult economic climate, serve the Lord with vigour & conviction.  Please pray for their families as well, for whom life is by no means easy.  Praise God for the many young people in Church-congregations throughout Sierra Leone, and for the establishing of new Churches and Circuits.  Praise God for Christians with a heart for mission and evangelism, and from whom we can learn much in our Churches in this country.

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From Daphne Barker…

Do you like reading aloud to children – or dressing up or mime?

If you do, maybe you might consider helping either regularly or on the odd occasion with mimed Bible-stories to Junior Schools under the umbrella of the national “Open the Book” outreach.

The acts consist of a narrator, a few actors, lots of props, a story and two songs.    It is great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed being a creepy snake in Adam and Eve.   I sat on a chair hidden under a black cloth behind a wooden tree and, at the appropriate moment, extended my arm in snake’s guise through a hole in the tree to gasps from the youngest children.  As Adam and Eve (i.e. Marion and Gill) slowly walked away through the doors with their heads hanging low, one little boy said, “Oh!  Where are they going?  Aren’t they coming back next week?”    The little children peered behind the tree as they walked out of the hall line by line, and gave relieved smiles when they saw me smile and wave!   Another time I was Pharoah and had to throw myself down on the floor with billows of blue material as I “drowned”, with my two boy-henchmen, dressed in armour and carrying swords, giggling beside me.   Most weeks some of the children take part - i.e. wearing masks as lions in the lions’ den or holding up pictures of the plagues, when appropriate.  

I am filled with admiration for Gill, Marion and Diana’s commitment each week, finding all the props, costumes, music etc. for this first year’s trial run - each week is totally new.   The teams in the future will have a much easier task.

It is great fun, and the whole school at Manor Park South attend with their teachers.  This year the assembly has been held at the end of the school day.  The team meets for prayer and a rehearsal in Church beforehand.  Afterwards, when the props are put away, some or all of the team gather to discuss any changes that could be made to improve the performance, and to check on the number of people needed and the necessary props for the next week.   This year has been run on a “wing and a prayer” but many prayers have been wonderfully answered.

All ages and both sexes are needed!  You might be an angel, Mary, Simeon, Pharoah, Joseph, or the voice of God behind a screen.

Do prayerfully consider if you could give a couple of hours on a weekly or monthly basis.   Some of the children have no idea about the Bible and one child, when seeing Moses in the bulrushes, thought it was Jesus come back again…..

Join in this very worthwhile outreach and tell the children of Knutsford about Jesus.

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From Mary Gracie and Peter Richards…

Harvest Appeal  - Tools with a Mission

Our 2010 Harvest Appeal is to support the work of TWAM –Tools With a Mission.

TWAM was launched in 1984 with the aim of collecting together tools to support agricultural development work in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo).

The organisation has expanded to such a level that now around 200 collectors regularly send tools to TWAM headquarters in Ipswich.  In 2004 over 130 tonnes of tools were packed and sent by TWAM to support Christian projects worldwide. This enables people with few skills and little education to earn a living and support themselves and their families.

No longer is it just agricultural tools that are collected.  Tools required range from axes & Allen keys, through to wheel-nut spanners.   They are renovated and repaired by teams of volunteers before being shipped to where they are needed. Even tools that are in such poor condition they cannot be repaired can be sold for scrap, the money being used to help with shipping costs.

A comprehensive list of tools required can be found at www.twam.co.uk, but to give you a rough idea of what’s needed here are a few suggestions:

- agricultural/gardening implements (but not lawn tools)

- woodworking tools (chisels, hammers, surform-planes, etc.)

- electricians’ tools

- dressmaking equipment (sewing machines, scissors, haberdashery, etc.)               

- bicycle tool kits (pumps, tyre levers etc)

- vehicle mechanics’ tools (tyre pressure gauge, wheel nut spanners, etc.)

If you do not have access to the internet please ask for a full list from the church office (Kn. 652251), or from Mary and John Gracie (Kn. 653875), or Peter Richards (Kn. 634842).  There are also ways for children to help by putting together ‘Scholar Packs’ to help children with their learning.  Please ask for details.

How can you help?

Please start sorting out and saving your unwanted tools now.  We will be setting up collection-points later in the year and will welcome donations throughout July, August and September.  Our collecting will culminate in a display of some of the donated items at the Harvest Service on Sunday, 3^rd October 2010.  Together we can harvest a bumper number of tools which will go on to generate an even bigger harvest in a third world country.

Annual General Church Meeting

The Annual General Church Meeting, at the request of the Church Council, has been postponed until Wednesday 28^th April and will be held in the Church beginning at 7.30pm.  (The postponement from 29^th March will allow us to report on the outcome of a series of important meetings.)  All are welcome to attend – members and non-members.  This is a very important meeting when all are invited to raise issues about the life and witness of KMC.  Questions may be asked during the meeting.  There is also an opportunity to raise issues of policy, which the Church Council can then follow through.  We urge you all to make this meeting a priority in your diaries.

Also, at this meeting, Church Stewards and Congregational Representatives to the Church Council are appointed.  This year we are looking to appoint 2 new Church Stewards and 2 Congregational Representatives.

As well as being essential to the smooth running of the Church, Church Stewards are the ears and eyes of the Minister, in addition to giving him spiritual support.  Congregational Representatives represent you, the congregation, on the Church Council.   Any concern or comment you may have on the life of the Church can be passed to the Church Council through them.

Nomination forms will be available in the entrance from Sunday 28th February.  Only those who are members of the church are entitled to nominate, or be nominated for, appointments, and to vote on the appointments during the meeting.

Please return your completed nomination forms to Rev Paul Wilson or Steve Atkinson (Church Council Secretary) by Sunday 18^th April.