PLEASE PRAY for opportunities to show kindness and gentleness. Bless someone, without expecting something in return. Show God’s love through your acts of faithfulness to Him.

READ THE GOOD NEWS – Colossians 3:12-17 – Such a powerful, uplifting, humbling verse. Let us all strive to live this out everyday, taking pride in the compassion and love we can show to others, as Christ has shown us.

PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN THE COMING WEEK
Monday 25th March
9.30am – Morning Prayer, Christ Church

Tuesday 26th March
9.30am – Morning Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 27th March
9.00am – BCP Holy Communion, St Bartholomew’s
10.00am – Meltham Churches Together Prayers for the Community, St Bartholomew’s

NEXT SUNDAY 31st MARCH – JOIN US FOR MOTHER’S DAY SERVICES ACROSS THE PARISH

St Bartholomew’s, 9.30am
St James’, 9.30am
Christ Church, 11.15am
St Mary’s, 11.15am

OTHER EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY:
St Bartholomew’s Women Fellowship – Tuesday 26th, 2.00pm
Growth & Development Meeting – Wednesday 27th, 7.30pm at The Vicarage
Ladies Supper Evening – Friday 5th April, 7.00pm at St James’ Church
Olivet to Calvary – Palm Sunday, 14th April, 4.00pm at St Bartholomew’s Church.
The Choir will be performing and would be delighted to welcome singers from across the Parish and further afield – whether you’re experienced or
not. If you are interested please speak to a member of the choir or come along to rehearsals, which commence Thursday 28th March, 8.00pm.

Please send all weekly news entries to Amelia at parishofchristtheking@gmail.com

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
PREPARATION OF NEW ELECTORAL ROLL
Forms are now available in each church for application of the new Electoral Roll. All persons who wish to have their names entered on the new Roll, whether their names are entered on the present Roll or not, are requested to apply for enrollment not later Sunday 7th April 2019. The new Roll will come into operation on 14.04.19 Please return all filled in forms in the allotted boxes placed in each church.

PLEASE PRAY for our Nation to turn back to God. During such an uncertain time, pray that we would not try to succeed of our own accord, but recognise that it is through God’s strength and wisdom that the outcome is determined. As our Good News reading says this week, He longs to gather His children, like a hen gathers her chicks under her wing. Pray that our Government would recognise that, and come to Him in prayer.

READ THE GOOD NEWS – Luke 13:31-end ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’.

PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN THE COMING WEEK
Monday 18th March
9.30am – Morning Prayer, Christ Church

Tuesday 19th March
9.30am – Morning Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 20th March
9.00am – BCP Holy Communion, St Bartholomew’s
10.00am – Meltham Churches Together Prayers for the Community, St Bartholomew’s

NEXT SUNDAY 24th MARCH
St Bartholomew’s, 9.30am – Holy Communion
St James’, 9.30am – Holy Communion
Christ Church, 11.15am – Service of the Word
St Mary’s, 11.15am – Holy Communion

OTHER EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week –
Lent Groups continue. Please speak to Jean Burhouse for more details

Wednesday 20th March – Seasonal Holy Communion Service followed by lunch. 11.00am at St Bartholomew’s Church. Please speak to Val White for more information or if you need a lift – 01484 850496

Wednesday 27th March – OASIS Quiet Day – 10.00am – 2.30pm at St James’ Church.

OLIVET TO CALVARY – PALM SUNDAY
The choir at St Bartholomew’s will be performing Olivet to Calvary on Palm Sunday at 4pm and would be delighted to welcome singers from across the Parish and further afield – whether you are experienced or not.  If you are interested, please speak to a member of the choir or just come along to the rehearsals which will commence on Thursday 28th March @ 8pm.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
PREPARATION OF NEW ELECTORAL ROLL
Notice is hereby given that under the Church Representation Rules a new Church Electoral Roll is being prepared. All persons who wish to
have their names entered on the new Roll, whether their names are entered on the present Roll or not, are requested to apply for enrolment
not later Sunday 7th April 2019. The new Roll will come into operation on 14.04.19. Forms of application for enrolment will be available to collect in Churches on Sunday 24th March. If you have any queries, please contact the Church Electoral Roll Officer – Amelia Knowles
parishofchristtheking@gmail.com / 07933 596734

From Pig Farmer to Shepherd (of the ‘sheep’ in #Meltham!)
Our Vicar, Rev John Dracup is telling his story and answering questions at the Waggon and Horses in #Meltham this Tuesday 12th March 8.00/8.15pm.

Please come – and bring along a friend! All welcome.

PLEASE PRAY for baby Jack (Dracup). Jack was rushed to hospital this last week after suffering a seizure. Please pray that he would make a full recovery and heal through God’s Holy Spirit, being able to settle back at home. Pray for John and Fiona as they care for him, and Isaac and Rebekah to feel love and supported.

READ THE GOOD NEWS – Luke 4:1-13 – As Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, we too experience this at one time or another. Prolonged times of feeling abandoned, more things seem to be going wrong rather than right, challenging times. It is during these ‘wilderness’ periods that we need to rely on God’s word, rebuking Satan with scripture, don’t lose hope, continue to trust in Him and His plans for your life.

PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN THE COMING WEEK
Monday 11th March
9.30am – Morning Prayer, Christ Church

Tuesday 12th March
9.30am – Morning Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 13th March
9.00am – BCP Holy Communion, St Bartholomew’s
10.00am – Meltham Churches Together Prayers for the Community, St Bartholomew’s

NEXT SUNDAY 17th MARCH
St Bartholomew’s, 9.30am – Holy Communion
St James’, 9.30am – Service of the Word / Reflection
Christ Church, 11.15am – Holy Communion
St Mary’s, 11.15am – Service of the Word

OTHER EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY:
Monday 11th March – MCT Lent Home Groups
Tuesday 12th – Meet the Vicar @ The Waggon and Horses – 8pm
Wednesday 13th – Mustard Seed AGM – 7:30pm @ The Methodist Church
Saturday 16th – Women’s Fellowship Coffee Morning – Cakes and Tombola items required. Also volunteers to help out!

Please refer to the Parish Magazine for all event details

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
PREPARATION OF NEW ELECTORAL ROLL
Notice is hereby given that under the Church Representation Rules a new Church Electoral Roll is being prepared. All persons who wish to have their names entered on the new Roll, whether their names are entered on the present Roll or not, are requested to apply for enrolment not later Sunday 7th April 2019. The new Roll will come into operation on 14.04.19.

Forms of application for enrolment will be available to collect in Churches on Sunday 24th March. If you have any queries, please contact the
Church Electoral Roll Officer – Amelia Knowles

Lent this year will begin with two Ash Wednesday communion services on the 6th of March. The first being at our usual BCP service at 9:00am and the second being at 7:00pm, both being at St Bartholomew’s and open to the whole parish. Please come along and join us as we start our lenten journey together.

Over the years Lent has been seen in different ways as our needs as a Church, and as a society, have changed but it remains a penitential season. Traditionally this has meant that we are to spend time examining ourselves to identify those things that we have allowed to come between ourselves and God so that we can repent. To really understand how best to make use of Lent we need to understand that there are three parts to the act of repentance. We often focus on the first two parts which are, identifying the wrong things in our life and saying sorry for those things. Of course, I wouldn’t want to underplay the importance of these two parts, the third part simply can’t happen without them. But it is important that our repenting is completed. After we have turned away from those wrong things in our lives and said sorry, we need the third part which is to put our back to them and turn to God.
Putting this rather simply if you believe you eat too much chocolate and choose to give this up for lent then, every time you would have eaten chocolate you will feel hungry and will feel tempted to eat chocolate. Turning to something good like eating a piece of fruit will stop you feeling hungry and reduce the temptation to eat chocolate.
Perhaps, this is why many people in recent years have begun to take up a good thing for Lent, rather than giving up a bad thing.
As Christians this act of taking up something for Lent should be about finding a way to spend more time with God and drawing closer to him, something we hope will extend far beyond Easter Sunday!

God bless
Rev’d John

PLEASE PRAY for our young people, pray protection over them, pray for them to make wise choices, not succumbing to ways of the world but standing firm in God’s love and plan for their lives.

READ THE GOOD NEWS – Luke 9:28-36 – Let us seek God so intentionally and fervently during our quiet times with Him, that our faces and appearance change too. Not necessarily physically, but spiritually glowing as we encounter Him and His Spirit.

PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN THE COMING WEEK

Monday 4th March
9.30am – Morning Prayer, Christ Church

Tuesday 5th March
9.30am – Morning Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 6th March
9.00am – Ash Wednesday Holy Communion, St Bartholomew’s
10.00am – Meltham Churches Together Prayers for the Community, St Bartholomew’s
7.00pm – Ash Wednesday Parish Holy Communion, St Bartholomew’s

NEXT SUNDAY 10th MARCH
St Bartholomew’s, 9.30am – Holy Communion
St James’, 9.30am – Holy Communion
Christ Church, 11.15am – Service of the Word
St Mary’s, 11.15am – Holy Communion

OTHER INSERTS FOR YOUR DIARY:
Lent 2019 – from Monday 11th March Meltham Churches Together will be running ecumenical home study groups on 4 different days each week, for 5 weeks in Lent.
We will be following the New York Course ‘Daring to see God now’. If you would like to join a group, please sign the green ‘sign up’ sheets in each church, the Crossroads Shop or Crossroads Centre. All are welcome. For more information, please speak to Jean Burhouse.

Meltham Mustard Seed AGM – Wednesday 13th March – Come and hear a first hand report from Kyema, Uganda, by Jane Collins. 7.30pm at Meltham Methodist Church

Please note – The Church Growth & Development Meeting has now moved the 4th Wednesday of each month, rather than the 1st. It will meet 27th March, 7.30pm at The Vicarage.

Please send all weekly news entries to Amelia at parishofchristtheking@gmail.com

Read all the latest news from across the #Meltham Parish here. Please also try and use the local businesses who support us by advertising in the magazine.

PLEASE PRAY for yourselves. Sometimes we focus so much on what is going on around us and for others who we care about that we neglect to pray for our own health – physical and spiritual. Pray for a renewing of strength, passion and closeness to God. Ask Him to identify our weaknesses and how we can better ourselves as we serve Him.

READ THE GOOD NEWS – Genesis 2:4-9 – As Spring approaches, let us be reminded of and thankful to God for His creation. As the colours from the daffodils, trees and sky start to shine a little brighter, let us seek to see God in all things, especially in the beauty of His creation.

PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN THE COMING WEEK

Monday 25th February
9.30am – Morning Prayer, Christ Church

Tuesday 26th February
9.30am – Morning Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 27th February
9.00am – BCP Holy Communion, St Bartholomew’s
10.00am – Meltham Churches Together Prayers for the Community, St Bartholomew’s

NEXT SUNDAY 3RD MARCH
St Bartholomew’s, 9.30am – Holy Communion
St James’, 9.30am – Service of the Word
Christ Church, 11.15am – Holy Communion
St Mary’s, 11.15am – Service of the Word

OTHER INSERTS FOR YOUR DIARY:
Monday 25th February – “Journeys” – 7.00pm at St James Church, Meltham Mills. For more information please speak to Rev John Dracup.
Tuesday 26th February – St Bartholomew’s Women’s Fellowship – Sandie Nicholson will be showing slides of local scenes. 2.00pm in church.
Friday 1st March – World Day of Prayer Service at St Bartholomew’s Church, 2.00pm. Followed by refreshments to help raise donations for the Hospice Support Group
Lent 2019 – from Monday 11th March – Meltham Churches Together will be running ecumenical home study groups on 4 different days each week, for 5 weeks in Lent. We will be following the New York Course ‘Daring to see God now’. If you would like to join a group, please sign the green ‘sign up’ sheets in each church, the Crossroads Shop or Crossroads Centre. All are welcome. For more information, please speak to Jean Burhouse.

Please send all weekly news entries to Amelia at parishofchristtheking@gmail.com

PLEASE PRAY for Libby Squire, her family, her friends, the police and all involved. Libby, is a student who has been missing since 31st January, in Hull. Please pray that a resolution is found and for her family during such a difficult and traumatic time.

READ THE GOOD NEWS – Luke 8:22-25 Jesus calms the storm – “Where is your faith?” He asked His disciples.’ During storms in our own lives, let us ask ourselves the same question ‘where is my faith in this situation?’

PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN THE COMING WEEK
Monday 18th February
9.30am – Morning Prayer, Christ Church

Tuesday 19th February
9.30am – Morning Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 20th February
9.00am – BCP Holy Communion, St Bartholomew’s
10.00am – Meltham Churches Together Prayers for the Community, St Bartholomew’s

NEXT SUNDAY 24TH FEBRUARY
St Bartholomew’s, 9.30am – Holy Communion
St James’, 9.30am – Holy Communion
Christ Church, 11.15am – Service of the Word
St Mary’s, 11.15am – Holy Communion

OTHER INSERTS FOR YOUR DIARY:
Monday 18th February – “Journeys” – Our weekly course continues, this week discussing “Does God have real power to change things?”
7.00pm at St James Church, Meltham Mills. For more information please speak to Rev John Dracup.

Lent 2019 – from Monday 11th March
As in previous years Meltham Churches Together will be running ecumenical home study groups on 4 different days each week, for 5 weeks in Lent.
We will be following the New York Course ‘Daring to see God now’. If you would like to join a group, please sign the green ‘sign up’ sheets
in each church, the Crossroads Show or Crossroads Centre. This helps us to know how many resources booklets are required, however you are welcome to join a group at any time throughout Lent. For more information, please speak to Jean Burhouse.

Invest in Love: A Lent Prayer Journey – from Monday 6th March. LICC offers a daily prayer focus during the time of Lent. To subscribe, please visit www.licc.org.uk

~~~
A little note from Arnold Lodge’s daughter, Jenny – visitors would be welcome to come and see Arnold at this time. Please do pop in to say hello and cheer him up. It would really be appreciated to see some friendly faces from the village. Thank you!

PLEASE PRAY for opportunity to share Jesus with others. Pray for chance conversations and meetings to take place. To be able to share the gift
of life that we know and live with others. Jesus has blessed us with His joy, peace and love, let us be inspired to share that with other people, and not keep it to ourselves.

READ THE GOOD NEWS – Luke 5:1-7 – Do you every feel like you’re waiting is never ending, prayer is being unanswered or your efforts seem tiresome? Is God telling you to cast your nets to the other side and to trust Him?

PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN THE COMING WEEK
Monday 11th February
9.30am – Morning Prayer, Christ Church

Tuesday 12th February
9.30am – Morning Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 13th February
9.00am – BCP Holy Communion, St Bartholomew’s
10.00am – Meltham Churches Together Prayers for the Community, St Bartholomew’s

NEXT SUNDAY 17TH FEBRUARY
St Bartholomew’s, 9.30am – Holy Communion
St James’, 9.30am – Service of the Word
Christ Church, 11.15am – Holy Communion
St Mary’s, 11.15am – Service of the Word

OTHER INSERTS FOR YOUR DIARY:
Monday 11th February – “Journeys” – Our weekly course continues, this week discussing “Does this faith thing work in real life?”
7.00pm at St James Church, Meltham Mills. For more information please speak to Rev John Dracup.

Wednesday 13th February – St Bartholomew’s DCC Meeting at the church, 7.30pm
Wednesday 20th February – Church Hall AGM, 7.30pm. For the Church Hall Committee. Nomination forms can be obtained by ringing 07860636931 and must be returned by Wednesday 13th February.

Please send all weekly news entries to Amelia at parishofchristtheking@gmail.com