News and Coming Up
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The Methodist Church announced that all church premises should be closed for all events and activities. Next Sunday (14th) should have been our Church Anniversary Service and Gift Day. We are now thinking about holding Gift Day in September on what will also be a Service of Celebration. Please remember that the church still continues to incur various costs, such as Assessment, but has very little income at the moment. If you can pay any of your collections now it would be much appreciated. Please contact Peter for details. From the main Methodist Church web site, an update on 4th June: We continue to heed the Government guidelines for churches and to consider carefully the needs and risks involved in reopening places of worship. At this point, we do not anticipate making any changes to our own guidance until after the Conference which takes place between June 25 and July 2. As announced during the week, there will be a Church Council on Wednesday 17th June at 4:30pm via zoom. On Wednesday 10th June the Circuit is introducing 'A day without screens'. A range of practical ideas and activities will be made available to encourage people to have a day away from computers and screens. As soon as this list is published, I will circulate it. Were you outraged by the sight, during the week, of Donald Trump holding up a Bible? Here is what one church official in the USA thought: “This is an awful man, waving a book he hasn’t read, in front of a church he doesn’t attend, invoking laws he doesn’t understand, against fellow Americans he sees as enemies, wielding a military he dodged serving, to protect power he gained via accepting foreign interference exploiting fear and anger he loves to stoke, after failing to address a pandemic he was warned about, and building it all on a bed of constant lies and childish inanity.” Your prayers, please, for MHA as 10% of residents and 3 members of staff have died of COVID 19 in the past 2 months. Next Sunday (14th) is Methodist Homes Sunday. There will be another Church Zoom worship at 10:30am on Sunday. This Sunday is Peace with Justice Sunday and that will be of the focus of the worship. Scripture is Genesis 1:1-2:4 & Matthew 25:31-46 and Music is #780 Sof How Deep The Father's Love For Us (not in STF) & #663 STF (830 SoF) I, The Lord Of Sea And Sky. With effect from this week you will need to log in for the service using the code 820 7268 5897. Pray As You Go are producing a daily retreat for people socially isolating: www.pray-as-you-go.org/retreat/pray-as-you-stay Lectionary for 7th to 13th June. Genesis 1.1–2.4a; Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 13.11-13; Matthew 28.16-20, worship and witness, Jesus has summoned his disciples to a mountain in Galilee. He tells them that all authority is his and that they should make disciples all over the world, baptizing them and teaching them to obey his commandments. He promises to be with them always. Explore being caught up in the life of God, and helping others to find that life. Other Sunday Worship services: Methodist Central Hall Westminster at 11am - www.youtube.com/mchwevents and, at the same time Wesley's Chapel London will live-stream from the chapel (the Minister lives on the premises) - www.youtube.com/channel/UCUAUqhmhevz5sqhh72LIMxA The Circuit web site has a number of coronavirus worship resources on it. These include a daily prayer to share for 10 mins at midday each day - https://www.bsgc.org.uk/coronavirusworshipresources.htm The Methodist Church has introduced 2 free phone lines, 1 for prayers and 1 for news from the Methodist Church. To listen to a prayer, call 0808 281 2514 and to listen to news call 0808 281 2478. The content is updated every Thursday afternoon. KMCs 2 main sources of income are collections and Pre School rent. With the Pre-school being closed there is no income from that source. And with no services there is little income from collections, only that from 6 people who pay by monthly direct debit. That means the church is facing a cash flow problem. We could dip into our investments but that would mean reducing our income from interest. So, can you help? There are 2 ways in which you possibly could. Firstly, you could make a one-off donation in lieu of the collections that you would have put in the plate had you been at church each Sunday. If you have internet banking you could make a transfer to the church account – Peter can provide the necessary details. Or you could send him a cheque made payable to Kingswood Methodist Church (KMC is not acceptable for banking purposes). Second you could set up a monthly direct debit and again Peter can provide details. A Virtual Church Choir. The National Methodist Choir want to provide all singers from all denominations, and all corners of the globe, an opportunity to come together and worship God with our voices. See www.nmcgb.org/ for details of how to get involved New sales figures indicate that the Bible has experienced a dramatic surge in sales as readers search for hope amid the current coronavirus pandemic. Book sales data provider Nielsen BookScan said that Biblical and liturgical texts had been rapidly climbing the charts in recent weeks, noting that the clear uptick in purchases was an "unusual pattern in comparison to the same period in recent years." Nielsen added that the closure of churches is likely to be a factor, before adding that "perhaps people are turning to scripture for comfort in these abnormal and melancholy times...or perhaps people are curious as to whether Coronavirus is prophesied in Revelations”. Thank you everyone who has provided feedback on the daily KMC Emails.. What has been What is in them has not been all my own work, some thanks must go to Cora and Steve. If you have anything you would like to share with everyone else, please let me have it. 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. 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. |