Part of East Cheshire and Derbyshire Borders Missional Partnership (United Reformed Church ) TTHHEE LLIINNKK NOVEMBER 2020 “The East Cheshire and Derbyshire Borders is a Christian Church, living out the love of God by reaching into the heart of each community and responding to its needs” 1 Dear Friends, November starts with All Saints day which this year is on a Sunday followed by All Souls day on the Monday. This year, more than any other, I think we need to pause and remember all those for whom this year has brought grief and loss when the full celebration of the life of a loved one has been limited and constrained by our journey with ‘the virus’. Remember all the family and friends of the neighbour whose cortege you watched pass, all the individuals who stood at arm’s length from those they would have embraced, all the young people whose first experience of loss has been robbed of the communal and supportive togetherness of grief. Remember the fellowship of the church and our losses, and remember those whose grief remains raw because the opportunities to fellowship have been so few. As we move into winter and the hope of spring seems so far away let our prayer life become deeper and richer as we remember all saints, all souls, held by the Love of God AND all us ‘saints below’ who need the love of friend and stranger to help us through. Every Blessing Alison 2 Prayer and Sunday Service Phoneline: 0161 509 4264 The prayerline will be refreshed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a short service being offered over Saturday and Sunday. I would like to thank all our regular contributors, and hope they will continue to send us reflections as the months go on. Alison From Chris Lomax (MB) I have really appreciated the phone in services on 509 4264 during these difficult days. As we have a phone at my side of the bed I confess to lying in bed with a cup of tea whilst listening in the morning, or listening before I go to sleep I have found them thought-provoking at time, inspiring and often comforting. Thank you so much to all involved, and especially Rev Alison who organised them. They keep me going! Be kind to everyone you meet. One small daily dose of kindness can soothe the mind, heal the heart and strengthen the soul. 3 Finding God in Scripture LAUGH MORE! We were filled with laughter, and sang for joy. Psalm 126 v2 NLT God created every human emotion you feel. He designed you to cry when you are sad and laugh when you are happy: For everything there is a season…A time to cry and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3 v1, 4 NLT). Jesus said: These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15 v11 KJV). Question: how often do you laugh? Doctors say laughter has incredible healing effects on your body. It also has incredible healing effects on your mind and soul. Stop and think about the days you laughed, even when you really didn’t have anything to laugh about. You were far from God and bound by sinful habits, but He set you free didn’t he? 4 In the Old Testament we read: When the Lord brought back his exiles from Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter…sang for joy… And other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy! (Psalm 126 v1-3 NLT) . If God has set you free, then you truly have something to laugh about. Stop being so heavy about everything! Expecting perfection from yourself; your slow growth in God; your deficient prayer life; your failure to remember more Scripture verses; your fear of sharing your faith with others, etc. We carry around such heavy burdens. If you’re “laughter impaired” you may have to work at it. It’s easy to find plenty to worry about, but to be happy you sometimes need to work at it a little. So the word for you today is – laugh more! Taken from the UCB Word For Today, written by Bob and Debby Gass. Free copies are available in the UK from United Christian Broadcasters, UCB Operations Centre, Westport Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 4JF or at ucb.co.uk. Used with permission. 5 ZOOM intO ADVEnt Everyone is invited to an hour of reflection, prayer, study and resourcing for the Advent journey, on Thursday evenings 7:30- 8:30 pm. Bring and share............ a thought, a question, an idea, a poem or prayer or the words of a favourite carol. OR, bring and share your presence and a listening ear. You can join us using a laptop or smart phone as a video link or you can phone in on a landline and listen in. Topic: Zoom into Advent Time: 07:30 pm Every week starting on Thursday 19 th November …. November 26 th 07:30 pm December 3rd 07:30 pm December 10 th 07:30 pm December 17 th 07:30 pm Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81884492931?pwd=VHV0QjdDaU1R RFNtZjl2bjlyOU9OQT09 Meeting ID: 818 8449 2931 Passcode: 674780 or Landline 0203901 7895 (key in this information when asked) Meeting ID: 818 8449 2931 Passcode: 674780 6 Reflections from the Missional Partnership … Message from Rev Alison ….. CHRISTMAS WITNESS I have come across these knitted Angels which I think a few of you have already been knitting. I WONDERED, as we are still likely to be very much locked down through the advent season whether we would like to knit a choir, a flight, a host or a pinhead of Angels and attach a Seasonal message or Blessing and distribute to friends, neighbours, strangers, etc with our Love as a symbol of God's love for his world. Supplies of wool and stuffing could be left in my porch. Completed angels could be left in the porch and picked up by delivery teams, fancy writers could offer to do a number of luggage tags each, etc etc etc. Please let me know what you think. Pattern from Heather Spreckley (M) CHRISTMAS ANGEL What you will need. Some wool (in any yarn or colour) Knitting needles (between size 10-8 (that’s 3.25mm and 4mm)) Darning needle (like a big sewing needle) Small amount of stuffing (if you need stuffing or can donate some please use the Manse porch) 7 The Pattern Angel - Body Cast on 48 sts 27. Knit row 1. Knit row At this point you can change 2. Purl row your colour to create the face 3. K2TOG, K10*, repeat until end 28. Purl row 4. Purl row 29. Knit row 5. Knit row 30. Purl Row 6. P2TOG, P9*, repeat until end 31. Knit row 7. Knit row 32. Purl row 8. Purl row 33. Knit row 9. K2TOG, K8*, repeat until end 34. Purl row 10. Purl row 35. K2TOG repeat to end 11. Knit row 36. Purl row 12 P2TOG, P7*, repeat until end 37. Knit row 13. Knit Row 38. P2TOG repeat to end 14. Purl Row 15. K2TOG, K6*, repeat until end Using a darning needle, thread 16. Purl row the yarn through the stitches 17. Knit row and tighten to create the top of 18. P2TOG, P5*, repeat until end the head. 19. Knit row 20. Purl row 21. K2TOG, K4*, repeat until end - 20 sts 22. Purl row 23. Knit row 24. Purl row 25. Knit row 26. Purl row Turn the angel inside out and sew up the head and the body. Around the neck, take a small amount of stuffing and place at the top of the head, then thread some yarn between stitches and pull loosely together. 8 Angel - Wings Cast on 27 sts, 1. Knit row 2. Knit row 3. Decrease at each end (Knit) 4. Knit 5. Knit 12 rows, decrease at each end Cast off. Sew wings to body. www.christmasangel.net Some other ideas …. Marple are planning an advent calendar idea which would encourage members to pray for a different church family each day. Marple Bridge are planning a number of community carol singing events as members encourage their street to join them as they did on the Thursday 'NHS Clap' for a Carol or two. They are also considering a ZOOM Christingle to which they could link in all their far flung families even if we can’t get together this year. Hatherlow thought of painted stones with Christmas blessings, left in parks and the village for people to find. OR how about building a nativity scene outside your church OR>>>>>> OR>>>>>> OR ???? Ideas welcome …… How will you witness to the Hope and Joy of Christmas this year? 9 From Jill Kenna (M) The £1M church “Let’s imagine your local congregation has £1m every year to tackle poverty and to build a fairer, more sustainable world.” This is the start of a very interesting article in October’s Reform Magazine. In essence it says that the total spending power of a congregation of 40 with an average income of £25,000 a year is £1m a year. We tend to think about the money we ‘do good with’ as the money we give to church and charitable causes. However, every time we use money – whether we spend it, save it, or give it away – we play a part in shaping society.