Dear Friends,

Our fortnightly Sacred Space service takes place on Tuesday at 7.30pm in church.

There is a common theme to each of the four types of Sacred Space Service: time for quiet reflection, gentle music, prayers led gently, a time to pause, meditate and enjoy God’s presence, all providing a form of worship different to what we offer on Sunday afternoons.

We change the format of the service sometimes resting in the presence of Jesus, sometimes a simple celebration of Holy Communion,  sometimes sacramental anointing and, like this week,  we listen to a reflection which helps us grow in faith.  We meet the Lord Jesus as we reflect on the deep truths of our faith.

We have a short time for refreshments afterwards too.  I hope to see you on Tuesday as we enjoy His Presence together.

With much love,

Andy

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

Dear Friends,

I suspect that many of us are increasingly fed up with both local and national politics as they don’t often seem to make much of a difference.  We may care about certain issues, particularly as Christians, yet feel we can’t change how decisions are made.

Barak Obama, when he finished his college degree, went and worked as a “community organiser” using principles known as “broad based organising”.  In London an organisation based on these ideas was formed just as I was leaving in 1995.  It’s now called London Citizens and the churches, and other faith groups, are the leading movers behind it.  They campaigned successfully for the “London Living Wage” which meant that low paid workers for the banks and London Assembly (and anyone who had a contract from the Mayor) get substantially more than the national minimum wage – simply because of the pressure that London Citizens could put on them.   Similarly they managed to get all the candidates for mayor to support their campaign for an amnesty for “failed” asylum seekers.

These organisations work by getting local people to identify particular problems and then work on solutions.  They then get different faith groups and community organisations together to influence those in the public sphere who actually make decisions.  All the London Mayor candidates turned up to a meeting of London Citizens as they got 2,000 people together for the meeting; the candidates couldn’t afford to miss it.  The organistion isn’t party political but seeks to get things done by working on a small number of focused campaigns.

So why am I telling you this?  Church Action on Poverty has set up a similar organisation in Manchester called Change Makers.  Their mission is to build a powerful community-led organisation whose members take action on issues of social, economic, political and environmental justice.  They have a video on YouTube that you can see here.  ChangeMakers is linked to The Gamaliel Foundation in the United States. Organisers from Gamaliel regularly come over to the UK to run training courses with ChangeMakers.

They have identified three particular issues to work on in Manchester:

• the plight of destitute asylum seekers (a cause close to our own heart),
• the difficulties faced by those who care for people suffering from drug dependency,
• and mental health, as well as the problems of young white males who have no role models.

Change Makers approached us in September about joining up; I suggested they also talked to the other churches in Chorlton so that if they were interested there would be a project we could work on together.

There are two events that I want to tell you about and encourage you to come along to.  One is the First Assembly of Change Makers in Manchester.  This will be held at St Peter’s House, on Oxford Road (in the Precinct Centre) in the centre of town on Monday 23rd November between 7pm and 9pm.  If you want to go please let me know and I will give you a ticket.

The other is a taster day for churches on Saturday 23rd January at Chorlton Central Church.

It would be really good to get a group of us going along to both represent MCC and to help us consider if we want to be involved.  Both events will help us discern if this is something we can involve ourselves in.

Please do let me have your comments and let me know if you can come along – especially to the event on 23rd November.

With much love

Andy

Andy Braunston (revandy@mccmanchester.co.uk)
Pastor
Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester
www.mccmanchester.co.uk

On Sunday 27th December we welcome the Rev Mia Andersen, pastor of our congregation in Copenhagen.

Mia and her partner, Laurence, will be staying in Manchester for Christmas and it’s a delight to welcome Mia as she preaches for us.

Over the next few weeks we will start to experience the build up to Christmas; the shops will be busier, colleagues will be having their work Christmas parties, the Christmas lights will be turned on (they are already being put up in town) and we will be drawn into the frantic activities that mark Advent.

Yet in reality Advent is a time of waiting – we reflect on the Jewish people yearning for their long promised Messiah, we remember how Christians have always longed for the return of our Lord and the dawn of the new age where every tear will be wiped away.

In our own lives we experience waiting in a number of different ways.  Amongst us are people who still wait for asylum in our country, others wait for respite from illness, for news of a job, for hope of a fairer world.  Like the child longing for Christmas we fear that what we wait for will never come.

We are arranging a 24 hour retreat from Friday 4th December until Saturday 5th of December at Sedgley Park Centre in Prestwich where we will explore this idea of waiting.  It will be led by Elaine Ambrose from our sister church in South London.  Elaine has just finished her Masters degree in theology and is testing her vocation to MCC ordained ministry.

The whole retreat will cost just £40.  This covers the evening meal on Friday evening, en suite accommodation, breakfast and lunch on Saturday as well as teas and coffees.  We have a few subsidized places for people who would otherwise struggle to attend and we are able to offer non-residential places for £20.  If you would like a subsidized place please do let the Pastor know.

Sedgley Park Centre is the police training college and offers excellent accommodation and facilities for us; we will join with the police and support staff on the Saturday afternoon for their annual Christmas carol service.

If you would like to come, you can pick up a booking form in church or we can email one to you.

On Sunday 22nd November we welcome Nigel Biggs from the Boaz Trust who will be preaching for us.

The Boaz Trust is a Christian charity which supports destitute asylum seekers in the Greater Manchester area by housing and feeding them.  They were founded by evangelical Christians but wryly note that most of their support comes from liberals and Buddhists!

Nigel is looking forward to meeting us all and telling us about the work of the Boaz Trust.

Full details of the meeting are available on the TransForum web site via the Events button.

Ian Gregory (left) and Philip Jones (right) receive Certificates of Significant Contribution for the work of the Proud Tameside LGBT Network at the AGM of the Tameside 3rd Sector Coalition.

Two of our members, Ian Gregory and Philip Jones, Vice Chair and Chair respectively of the Proud Tameside LGBT Network, were honoured to receive certificates recognising the significant contribution of the Proud Tameside LGBT Network to the local community at the Annual General Meeting of Tameside 3rd Sector Coalition on 14th October 2009.

The group also featured in T3SC’s Annual Review for 2008-9 and was regularly mentioned in various presentations about the year’s activities.

It was truly rewarding to see the Group affirmed in this way and the Proud Tameside members hope it will strengthen their activities for future years.

Dear Friends,

I wanted to remind you of an event being hosted at church on Saturday 17 October at 7:30pm.

Neil is organising a special event consisting of original music, video, art and poetry to raise awareness of a charity called the Congo Children Trust.  This trust was set up by Ian Harvey, a friend of Neil’s, who is working in the Congo for three years to build a day centre and children’s home for orphaned children who are in acute need in the city of Lubumbashi.  Ian is a social worker who works with children who are asylum seekers in the UK.

The evening will feature a variety of artists from the Brightstar Collective, which includes some MCC folk and is organised by Neil.  There will be items in a variety of styles to appeal to varied tastes and age groups.  The event is being organised in conjunction with our friends at Wilbraham St Ninian’s and Chorlton Central URC, is being held at Wilbraham St Ninian’s Church in Chorlton, and is an ideal opportunity to invite friends along to something a bit different.

The evening is free of charge with a collection towards the end of the evening.  Please see Neil or Steve on Sunday for more information, or contact Brightstar Collective via their website.

With much love

Andy

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