MCC Manchester News

Special Sparkle Church Service at Metropolitan Community Church, Manchester - 4:00pm on Sunday 29th June 2008

Metropolitan Community Church, Manchester (LBGT) is delighted to invite all participants in the Sparkle celebration to worship with us when our service will be led by our transgender members. The service will be followed by refreshments in church. See here for directions to the Church.

Then the whole weekend ends with…

The Closing Meal - 6.30 pm

A Special Indian meal at a top class restaurant has been booked for 6:30pm. All attending Sparkle are invited to join us at the well known Sangam Indian Restaurant, 9-19 Wilmslow Road, Rusholme, M14 5TB.

This is a restaurant well known to the local trans community, is only a short walk from the Metropolitan Community Church, and is particularly suitable for those not used to being out in public. It is also accessible to wheelchair users and will cater for vegetarians. It is one of the best budget Indian restaurants in Manchester and is very trans-friendly, regularly being used for trans group meals.

Cost is a very reasonable at £ 12-15 per person (including a small tip for the restaurant), depending on what you eat and your consumption of alcohol. This event is being organised by the MCC Manchester Trans Discussion Group and Unique TG Support Network, especially for Sparkle.

E-mail Jenny-Anne Bishop (jennyannebuk@yahoo.co.uk) or phone her on 07776 298708 for more information and to book your place for the meal, or talk to Jenny-Anne and Elen on the TranzNet info stand at Sparkle.

Please follow these links to the Sparkle web site, the Sparkle Sunday programme, and the Metropolitan Community Church, Manchester web site for further information.

Our Holy Week and Easter services were very well received this year: 

• 45 people attended the Palm Sunday service at the start of Holy Week,
• 15 people came to the Way of the Cross service on Holy Tuesday,
• 29 people came to the Passover Seder on Maundy Thursday,
• 17 people came to the Good Friday service at the foot of the cross,
• and 58 people gathered for our Easter Sunday celebration of the resurrection, renewal of baptismal vows, and admission of new members. 

Thanks to everyone who took part in the services and contributed to such a successful week as we journeyed together through the arrest, trial, death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.

Easter blessings to all who journey with us in the Metropolitan Community Church, Manchester.

Dear Friends,

I am contacting you to ask for your prayers for an Iranian woman called Laleh whom the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit are helping.

Laleh is an Iranian convert to evangelical Christianity.  She has been worshipping at a lively church in Manchester for the last two years and has been lodging with one of the pastors.  The Home Office are seeking to deport her to Iran tomorrow - Good Friday of all days - where she fears persecution.

As you may know some forms of Christianity are tolerated in Iran and Christians have some legal rights.  The churches which are tolerared are part of the Orthodox family of churches which worship in Assyrian - a language most Iranians don’t speak.  As such these churches, which are not allowed to proselytise, are considered to be non-threatening by the regime.  Evangelical churches are harshly persecuted.  To convert from Islam is known as apostasy and the penalty is death.

The authorities here in the UK often use public holidays to deport people as it catches their solicitors, and the courts, on the hop.  Generally courts do not sit on Good Friday (unless there is an emergency).  Staff from the Immigration Aid Unit are working on a fresh application this afternoon for Laleh but if it is turned down it will be very difficult to get a judge to review the decision tomorrow.  Many Iranians are not deported from the UK as they did not arrive on valid passports; however Laleh did, so it is possible for our government to deport her. 

Please pray for Laleh, that her application may be successful, that a stay of deportation is granted, and that she is given the strength to face all that is happening to her.  Please also pray for the Immigration Aid Unit as they work on this case. 

Today, on Maundy Thursday,  we are especially mindful of the unjust legal system which sent Jesus to his death; this should add a certain determination to our prayers for Laleh at this time. 

With much love,

Andy

Andy Braunston
Pastor
Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester
www.mccmanchester.co.uk

Sunday 16th March - 4pm

Palm Sunday - Blessing of palms, procession into church, and reading of the Passion.

Tuesday 18th March - 8pm

The Way of the Cross - Audio-visual meditation on the journey to Calvary.

Maundy Thursday 20th March - 7.30pm

Passover Meal at Hulme Hall Chapel - Please bring some food to share.

Good Friday 21st March - 5pm

At the Foot of the Cross - A simple service to mark this day.

Easter Sunday 23rd March - 4pm

We celebrate the resurrection together.

For details of where we are, and how to contact us, please see our main web site at http://www.mccmanchester.co.uk