On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39 (NIV)

On the day of Pentecost all the members of the very first Church were gathered together. We think of them as being a holy lot. They were certainly good; they were committed to Jesus’s teachings and to prayer, they shared in loving fellowship and were generous towards each other, but were they the perfect Church? Of course not; some of them like Peter, were still brash, and some like Thomas still had doubts, they all had imperfections.

So, why is it that God considered them ready to receive the Holy Spirit? They believed that Jesus was there Lord and saviour. They knew that Jesus was their king, enthrone for all eternity in heaven, and they knew that he had died on the cross to win forgiveness of sins for them.

The early Church didn’t receive the Holy Spirit because they were “good enough”. The Holy Spirit came to them because they needed help to become “good enough”.

Like the early Church we must be ready to acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and saviour, and to receive the Holy Spirit as a gift of grace. Only with the Holy Spirit’s help will we ever be the kind of Church that Jesus, our king, is calling us to be.

Reverend John (Vicar)

Social distancing, services and buildings.
I am aware that some of the recent anouncments from the government were not as clear as they may have been. However, the position of the Church of England and the diocese of Leeds remains to be that all of our buildings must remain closed for now. If any body feels that they need to access any of our buildings they must contact me so to see if it will be safe for them to do so, and so that I can maintain an accurate register of access.

Website
Our parish communion will be posted on our website www.melthamparish.co.uk this will be pre-recorded but Rev John will be repeating the service at 10:30am so that it may be considered spiritually live. Please join in if you are able.

Zoom
There is a weekly service available at 11:15 via Zoom. The link is available on our website. Help can be given if you haven’t used Zoom before.

#melthamprays

Many people are looking for a simple way to pray. I hope that this will offer an opportunity to do so. Please look at the magazine, facebook, or our website for more details.

Apologies that this was not published last Sunday as originally intended.

Hello!
Welcome to the June edition of the #Meltham Parish Magazine. Firstly apologies for the delay in getting this month’s magazine published. Family life in ‘lockdown’ is very busy in the vicarage! The main thing is, YOU are able to read this now so it all came good in the end!

I hope you enjoy this Lockdown edition, there are a number of updates from different groups, as well as many pictures taken for a number of different reasons.

If you would like to take part more in our future editions please do let me know, I am currently a team of one as Kirsten has had to step down. I personally want to say a big THANK YOU for all she has done for this magazine since taking over from Amelia. All ideas and articles are welcomed and you can contribute as much (or little) as you feel able.

God bless, Fiona

Hello everyone

On the day of Pentecost Jesus’ disciples experience being filled dramatically with God’s Holy Spirit, the culmination of many centuries of waiting for the fulfilment of God’s promise, made known through Old Testament prophets. Acts 2.1-21

Long before the Holy Spirit became an article of the creed, He was a living reality in the experience of the early Church. Edward Schweizer

The whole (ecumenical) enterprise is the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of love, working in us, uniting us in love and building us up in the truth. Those are the things that matter. We must avoid binding the Spirit by our stupidity and narrowness and lack of faith. Archbishop Michael Ramsey

On Sunday 31 May Christians all over the world celebrated the day of Pentecost.

Disappointed followers of Jesus were locked-down in an upper room filled with more perspiration, than inspiration. The disciples were afraid they would suffer the same fate as their master. They listened and prayed that no one would discover their hiding place and the world would leave them safe in their isolation.                                                                                                               Yet the Holy Spirit is not stopped by locked doors or locked hearts. the Spirit comes, not like a spring breeze passing gently through a room, it is more like a hurricane, flattening all the protective barriers against it force. The Holy Spirit takes this group of disappointed followers and on the day of Pentecost completely transforms them.

Try and place yourself in this scene.

What similarities do you see in the short account of Pentecost with effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic in our world today?

Please allow the Holy Spirit a few minutes to guide your thoughts and knowledge to pray for our world.

Gaps are left for personal thought to be expressed and you can add to the list

Heavenly Father hear my intercession for ……..

All Nations of the world…. our own nation……our own communities …our township.

For our families ….friends….neighbours ….those alone….. giving thanks for them.

Giving thanks for those who are selflessly serving others at this time.

For those supporting the Crossroads project and its food bank….

Help us Lord in the midst of our own weakness and anxieties, to be able to help others….

This week marks the start of a rolling programme for getting staff and children back into school starting with Early Years, Reception and Year 6..….our leaders are also relaxing some of the measures in place in the world of business, commerce and manufacturing from 1^st June.

We need to pray earnestly for our Leaders…..  It will have not passed notice this week that there has been confusion and a great deal of anger from all quarters of leadership

A week after the celebration of Pentecost…. we give thanks for the virtual services…online.

We ask that the Holy Spirit will increase our trust in God’s presence and His same transforming power…. Alive and with us now   AMEN

Keep safe. Keep praying
Peter

Sunday 31st May – Pentecost (Whit Sunday)
Join us for a special on-line Parish Communion for Pentecost! – 31st May. This week, not wanting to miss out, Jack, the youngest member of the Dracup family gets in on the act following the appearance of his older brother and sister last week. This can be viewed at any time but Rev’d John will conduct the service from the vicarage at 10:30am so that the worship may be considered spiritually live. Today’s service again features our Virtual Parish Choir who have attempted singing 4 part harmony for the first time.

The service can be viewed here via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqACAIdz5Uk

The service booklet can be downloaded here:

For this service you can:

Wear your hat of flames, if you made one!

Have these items ready for your children to find when we play ‘go and find’:

1.Cake/bun/biscuit/drawing

2.Birthday cake candle (or any candle) or a drawing of a candle

3.Icing or similar to decorate with

4.Sprinkles, smarties – anything to make the decorating fun

5.Balloon, party popper or anything you would use at a celebration

See you tomorrow!

Jacqueline France is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Family service

Time: May 31, 2020 11:00 AM Wilshaw

Join Zoom Meeting link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86258106024?pwd=cFV4N3NNVG5YeGxraXh5NG43Wm5MUT09

Meeting ID: 862 5810 6024

Password: 274452

There are two special Sundays still to come before we enter the period in the church liturgical calendar that is known as ‘Ordinary Time’ – these being Pentecost (or Whit Sunday) and Trinity Sunday.

Rev’d John would like you to join him in some fun activities to co-incide with these special days and if you’re willing, he would like you to provide photos so he can use them in our online services:

“My hopes for the next few weeks are;
Sun 31st May – Pentecost – make yourself a hat of flame(s) (not real ones) and wear on your head.
Sun 7th June – Trinity – examples of the trinity i.e. things that come in Three’s or work in Three parts.
Sun 14th June – 1st of Ordinary Time – examples of people being normal doing ordinary things (or not) requires personal interpretation 🙂

Please provide photos of yourself (doing) (flame / ordinary person stuff) or of your Three’s.
In providing these photos you understand that you are agreeing for them to be used in the online Parish Communion services between the above dates and which may remain available through our Parish website for some time and the Parish YouTube channel”

Please include the following statement along with your photos in your email replies:
I agree for these pictures to be used in the Parish Communion service for (date) and I do have the permission of all those who appear in the pictures.

Please email your photos to Leigh-Anne Willitts at parishofchristtheking@gmail.com before or on the preceding Friday for each of the Sunday services.

We hope you enter into the ‘SPIRIT’ of these ‘THREE IN ONE’ fun activities during these extra-ORDINARY times 🙂

Have fun!

Hello everyone

“If you look at the world – you’ll be distressed –

If you look within – you’ll be depressed

If you look at Christ – you’ll be at rest ”

Corrie ten Boon

Often when we pray, we ask God for things we want or need, and there is nothing wrong in that. But sometimes prayer is not about asking for things; sometimes prayer is more like this;

just enjoying God’s presence and saying, ‘I have you, Lord, I have enough.’

Remember His words – ‘Be Still and know that I am God.’

The first prayer of intercession for this week spells out what a difficult task is set before all the leaders of the nations. Here in the UK, our leaders are tentatively allowing or relaxing some of the measures in place at present in certain categories in the world of business, commerce and manufacturing.

We might focus our prayers for the re-entry of certain Primary School children on the 1st of June.

We need to support the teachers and all auxiliary staff in the difficulties they are about to face.

So we start with a comprehensive prayer that we have been using over the past week as it is so inclusive in its structure.

Prayer for those taking decisions for the future that will shape the lives of us all

So much, Lord, is in the melting pot –uncertain, unsure.

It’s not just risks to health, though that’s scary enough; it’s the very fabric of our society: our schools, colleges and universities, our shops and stores, our arts, sport and leisure facilities, our businesses, factories, financial institutions, economy.

Everything, everywhere, is under threat, and though governments across the world are doing their best to limit the damage, desperately trying to keep the plates spinning, the balls somehow still juggled, there’s a danger that it will all come crashing down, leaving hardship in its wake such as we can scarcely begin to imagine.

Give wisdom, Lord, to those who must take decisions, those who must formulate plans, those who must weigh up the options and decide on the path least painful for all. See us through this difficult time, we ask you, but see us also through the time beyond that, and the challenges it will surely bring. Amen.

Our second and new prayer for this week starts us thinking about the work of our scientists.

For scientists seeking to develop a vaccine against coronavirus.

Hear my prayer, Lord, for scientists, for all involved in seeking a vaccine against coronavirus, a way of releasing us from its stranglehold, and from the threat it poses to the elderly and vulnerable.

Guide them in their research, in their experiments, in their early trials with volunteers, and keep them and all who work with them safe.

Give them insight in to the nature of this disease – into the way it develops, the way it spreads, the way it affects the human body, and help them to unravel its secrets so as to find solutions affectively to combat it.

Grant that through their efforts, we may look forward soon to a time when this pandemic is consigned to history, and it presents a danger no longer. Amen

Scripture Reading – Numbers 6 : 24-26

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Keep Well, Keep praying

Peter

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
John 17:1-5 (NIV)

On the day of ascension Jesus went up. He went up to heaven and sits on the throne of glory. John 17:5 makes it clear that he shared the Fathers glory from before the world was made, ascension is when he returned to that place of glory.
When he came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem the angels declared that he was king, throughout his ministry on earth he remained king, and he was still king when he was lifted up on the cross.
Jesus’s sovereignty over all of creation is never in question. The question that we all need to ask ourselves is, whether we accept Jesus as our king? Do we acknowledge his sovereignty in our own lives?
This means accepting his plan for us and acknowledging that we don’t always get things right. The good news is that as our ascended king, fully God and fully human, he understands our struggles and is always ready to forgive us and help us.
Reverend John (Vicar)

Social distancing, services and buildings.
I am aware that some of the recent anouncments from the government were not as clear as they may have been. However, the position of the Church of England and the Diocese of Leeds remains to be that all of our buildings must remain closed for now. If any body feels that they need to access any of our buildings they must contact me so to see if it will be safe for them to do so, and so that I can maintain an accurate register of access.

Website
Our parish communion will be posted on our website www.melthamparish.co.uk this will be pre-recorded but Rev John will be repeating the service at 5pm so that it may be considered spiritually live. Please join in if you are able.

#melthamprays

Many people are looking for a simple way to pray. I hope that this will offer an opportunity to do so. Please look at the magazine, facebook, or our website for more details.

Rev John thought it would be fun to share a parish quiz night together.

This will be on Saturday 6^th June at 7pm using zoom.

Save the date!!

A zoom link will be sent out for you to join nearer the time.

Sunday 24th May – Ascension Sunday
Join us for a special on-line Parish Communion for the Sunday after Ascension – 24th May. This can be viewed at any time but Rev’d John will be conducting the service from the vicarage at 5pm this evening so that the worship may be considered spiritually live. The service words will appear on the video to enable you to join in easily. Today’s service features our Virtual Parish Choir singing a new song for us all to learn and a special demonstration of Jesus going UP! – don’t forget to watch the funny out-takes at the end.

The service can be viewed here via YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSXnlH6Mh1Q

The service booklet can be downloaded here if required: