Living Well starts 6 October
Category Archives: Worship
AV FUND
Dear Friends
For some time now we have been frustrated by our attempts to provide a live video of our Sunday Morning service for those who need to worship with us from home. Zoom has been inadequate and we do not have the right equipment to use any other platform. – or to be able to record and save a video to our website.
The Church Meeting in July agreed that we should go ahead with installing the right equipment to allow us to produce good quality streaming of our service, We know this is important for those who are housebound, but it is also good to be able to offer for funerals, weddings and other occasions where people want to or need to join from home. In addition, the ability to save our recording so that it can be viewed on the website at a different time can be a good way of advertising – some people do like a “sneak peak”.
In talking through our needs we also realised that it was a good opportunity to upgrade the microphone cables, speakers in church and most importantly the sound desk to a digital model that will output good quality sound, but can also have a number of presets – making it fiddle proof. The cost is a little bit more than we anticipated at Church Meeting, however the Elders have agreed to go ahead with the work to ensure that we are ready to begin in the Autumn.
The total cost will be £12,500. We have that money available in our Legacy Fund because of those who remembered the church in their wills. However, Church Meeting also felt that as we are needing to use our reserves (including the Legacy Fund) to supplement our regular income, that we should put out an appeal to members to recover some of these costs from amongst ourselves.
I do hope some of us will feel able to support this project and if you feel that you would like to make a contribution then the easiest way would be by Bank Transfer into our usual account
Sort Code 601410
A/c no 89245423
with a Reference AVFUND.
Otherwise a cheque to church For the Attention of Peter Rippon.
Be blessed
Craig Muir
Peter Rippon
Season of Creation
Prayer Walk
I wonder what you reaction will be to an invitation to Prayer Walk as part of a group. Some may say, “I do that on my own whenever I walk somewhere”. Others may feel it would be embarrassing, or intrusive, or inappropriate. I hope some may have good stories to tell and other may be intrigued. I find Prayer Walking a fruitful thing to do, and when done with others it helps me to be aware of things I might not notice myself. It helps me to see the changing shape of a good community and it encourages me to ask, “Where is God in this?”
Loughborough Churches Partnership have committed to a year of prayer in which the whole town is walked in prayer. The Elders would like us to play our part in ensuring this happens. There are some regular walks that have already been arranged, there is the opportunity for you to pick your own routes but let LCP know your route so that we know which places are bring prayed for and which are not. The contact details are in some booklets that have been made available in church and so i would encourage you pick one up for yourselves and some for those who do not make it to the building.
So, it is our intention to host some prayer walks and to concentrate on the area around Frederick Street. We will gather at church the first and third Wednesday of each week at about 4:30pm. One week will walk the area bounded by Frederick Street, Burfield Ave, William Way, Radmoor Road and Ashby Road. The other we will cover the area within Frederick Street, Ashby/Derby Square, Swan St/High Street, Southfield Road, Brown Lane. On each route we will Walk, Observe, and pause to quietly pray. Nothing too embarrassing, or intrusive or inappropriate, but something that will help us to be aware of the community in which this church meets. And if you cant manage to walk with us, then please pause around that time, with a map in front of you and join us in prayer or even be at church to meet with those who return and share in that question, “Where is God in this?”
The dates for your diary will be 4 & 18 May, 1 &15 June, 6 & 20 July, 3 &17 August.
be blessed
Craig
Crossing the Town
This is a prayer for the Loughborough Churches Partnership Service in January. It follows LCP’s theme of crossing the town in prayer and picks up on many of the communities that come together to be the people of Loughborough.
If you feel it speaks for you, please pray it.
Crossing the Town
God of river, hills and plains; We praise you for all you provide, for refreshing water, for arable fields, for the interdependence of all creation. God of town, village and neighbourhood; We praise you for all you provide, for nurturing relationships, for abiding welcomes, for the interdependence of each community. God of path, road and rail; We praise you for all you provide, for adventurous plans, for regular routes, for the interdependence of each journey. God of work, rest and play; We praise you for all you provide, for sustainable lives, for sabbath refreshment, for the interdependence of life rhythms. God of child, youth & adult; We praise you for all you provide, for educators and mentors, for wise heads and foolish plans, for the interdependence of generations. God of settled, transient & stranger; We praise you for all you provide, for places of sanctuary, for truthful dialogue, for the interdependence of cultures. God of faith, hope and love; We praise you for all you provide, for families birthed, adopted and blended, for friendships; new, restored, enduring, for the interdependence of each blessing.
Craig Muir, January 2022 for Loughborough Churches Partnership
Words Matter
I’m currently following a book called “52: Write a poem a week. Start now. Keep going.” It provides a series of writing prompts and some example poems to help an idea start – it’s up to me whether they finish.
My love of poetry comes from an enjoyment of the feel and sound of language. The way certain phrases clatter through the lips, or an image can shift our focus or lead us on a wonderful tangent. But, I’m also conscious that words can be dangerous; they can trigger unexpected reactions, open old wounds, be interpreted in a way that was never intended – but perhaps with a bit of thought might have been anticipated. Sometimes, the words flow and everything falls into place, other times I can spend ages replacing one word with another or a comma with semi-colon, trying to figure out the tone or the rhythm of a piece.
So words matter, what we mean by them and how we use them. We are sometimes known as People of the Word. We read scripture, we consider it’s interpretation, we preach on it, we sing and pray in ways that use words to spark the imagination. So, each word builds our image of God, and shows something about the Christ we believe in.
The other book I’m reading is “God Is Not A White Man” by Chine McDonald. As a black woman she explores the way that language has so influenced her image of God that in her imagination God was white and male. She saw herself as “other” or as an outsider. It was in reading a book called “The Shack” that she first encountered God as a black woman, it was a revelation for her and a shock for many others who were enraged that God could be portrayed in this way.
So, you will find that I am careful about the language I use when speaking about God. As a rule, I do not use pronouns, for in English our pronouns are generally gendered. Sometimes I might use the non-binary term “they” but I know people find that awkward, so prefer to just not use a pronoun at all. I’m aware that I often fell into the habit of using binary examples – boys & girls, black & white, light & dark, gay & straight, left & right, good & evil; but life isn’t that simple. Some people prefer not to think of themselves in gendered or mono-cultural or easily categorised boxes and so when we use such language to describe God, some will struggle to see themselves made in the image of God. You might be amongst those who don’t see a problem, but I hope we have enough sense of care to respect those who do, and to use language that is appropriate and yet still imaginative.
be blessed
Craig.