News and Coming Up

The Methodist Church announced that all church premises should be closed for all events and activities. 

The Easter Egg raffle draw took place on Monday and all winners have received their eggs. Thank you very much everyone who supported this fund raising effort by donating eggs and/ or buying tickets. Thank you too Helen for organising it.

Good news from Operation Christmas Child - an update regarding the 2019 Shoe Box appeal. Our boxes from KMC were part of the 52,451 boxes that were sent to children in Central Asia. The 398,664 boxes collected in the UK were distributed in 10 countries and globally 10.5 million boxes were given to children in 100 countries. That's a lot of shoe boxes! If you are in isolation and also a knitter, the appeal is this year accepting knitted toys in the boxes. The stuffing in the toys must be new material and not rice, lentils etc. Perhaps you could keep yourself busy by making a few and passing them to friends at KMC for their boxes when the current crisis is over. All being well we will be taking part in this year’s appeal again in November.

As I expect you all know, whilst funerals and cremations can still take place during the crisis, attendance at them is very limited. Consequently, the Methodist Church has produced ‘A time of reflection when you can’t attend a funeral’.  This is a short period of worship to help you say your goodbyes to someone whilst remaining in your own home. A copy is available on the Methodist Church web site.

Also on the Methodist Church website, under ‘Worship during the coronavirus pandemic’, you will find resources for personal prayer and Bible study should wish to make use of them.

The Methodist Council has announced that the Methodist Conference cannot meet as planned in June and is looking at ways to meet in an alternative form.

A Palm Sunday Worship service is being broadcast at 8:10am in Radio 4. It will reflect on the way that the faithful accompany Jesus spiritually, as He accompanies Christians when facing times of trial, suffering and bereavement. Songs of Praise, broadcast at 1:15pm on BBC1 on Sunday, comes from Glasgow cathedral.

 P.J. is intending to hold a short Easter morning service by zoom. This is a video conferencing facility by which you can see and hear what she is doing via your computer. It will be a communion service but you will have to supply your own bread and juice. If you would like to participate, please let me know so that you can be sent a link

Not having Sunday Services means no collections. Would any of you consider switching to paying your collection by monthly direct debit? Currently 6 people do that, could we double that number? Please contact Peter on how to do it.

Does anyone have some good news stories that they would like to share with the readers of this Newsletter? I would be delighted to receive some.

It is with sadness that we have to report the death, after a long illness, of Bob Andrews. Bob, a great friend of KMC, passed away on Sunday 22^nd March. Our thoughts and prayers are with Brenda and the rest of the family.

The funeral of Doreen Iles will be on Monday 6^th April. Due to the current lock down/ safe distancing procedures it will be family only,

Two of our young men – Adam and Carl - have now met all the qualifications needed to be presented with the Queen’s Badge, the BBs highest award: very well done, no easy achievement. The badges will be presented in church once we can get back to holding normal services. Please hold them in your prayers too as both are hoping to go off to university later this year. This must be an unsettling time for them.

Before the break from attendance at KMC came into force, the sugar jar normally kept in the coffee morning cupboard went missing: does anyone know anything about this?

If you are someone who normally contributes to the Foodbank, if you would like Peter to collect your donation, please let him know.  Or you could, if you prefer, do what some people have already done and give him a financial donation and he will buy it for you, just let him know. 27 clients this week, double the norm, we need donations to keep pace.

For S. Glos residents. In case you have not heard, with effect from Monday (30^th), the collection of food waste and recycling items will no longer be weekly. They will be collected every other week at the same time as the black bin is emptied. The ‘Sort It’ centres are now closed.

What follows is a link to home schooling on-line resource. It is also for those who are young at heart: www.integra.co.uk/home-learning/

From previous week’s Newsletters

If you would like to worship at home/ on your own, a suggested ‘service’ is available and will be sent out with the email version of this Newsletter. It is a different one to last week.

For those you who have IT, you can watch a service streamed live from Wesley’s Chapel in London on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 12:45 and on Sundays at 9:45 and 11am. This is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUAUqhmhevz5sqhh72LIMxA

If, during this crisis, anyone finds themselves with financial problems and are struggling to buy food, toiletries etc. please contact Peter. He will arrange a Foodbank parcel and it will all be in the strictest confidence.

If anyone has problems with shopping, also contact Peter. There is a list of volunteers that gave offered to help with this

Finance. If you are a member of the envelope scheme, if you put your donation in the envelope every week and bring them to church when we next meet, the church will not lose out financially from this crisis

Fund raising Do you shop on line? Do you book travel on line? If so, if you do it via the web site easyfundraising,org.uk/panel you can raise funds for the church at no cost whatsoever to yourself. The retailer you purchase from will make a donation to the church – there are 3700 of them.

Are you someone who worships at KMC but has never become a full member? Would you like to become a member? Would you like to find out what membership involves? If so, please have a word with P. J..

 

The purpose of Kingswood Methodist Church is to respond to God's Love in Christ and to live out that love in God's world.