This Thursday we celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, Lunch Positive, The Clare Project, The Scouts, The Brownies, a maze, a salsa band, Morris men, The Mayor, a bouncy slide, and a whole load of great food, music, and games to boot. The event starts at 2 and ends at 5, although if you’d like to come early and lend a hand you’d be very welcome.
Then this coming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. We celebrate the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the fledgling church and remember that the very same Holy Spirit has been active in the church now for almost 2,000 years! It always intrigues me. Sometimes a dove, a gentle source of peace. Sometimes an eagle, streaking like lightning to create change in very different ways. I’m so excited that Will and Mark are leading a new service on the third Sunday of each month, and the first one is in just a few weeks! It’s been a dream of mine for some time that the church would embody different styles of worship each month. I miss the healing services that Stephen led through lockdown; gentle and supportive. I’d love to have a ‘communion’ service too, much like our annual Seder, where we share a meal. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well
Robert, (as your Lay Delegate) and I, (as pastor), are both registered for General conference. This year I am offering a 30 minute workshop on funerals! It’s all happening online and Robert and I will be looking at ways in which we can create a space so that you can join us if you wish. We’ve not got the details worked out yet but I’ll pop out an announcement as soon as we do.
As we enter the summer we also think of Pride. I have booked the cafe’ at The Ledward Centre for our Pride service this year. With the Street Party closing off James street, and all the noise it inevitably brings, it makes sense to hold the service somewhere a little quieter. The Ledward Centre is perfect, and the cafe’ is a lovely spot. Of course there’s also Doggy Pride (which Odie is looking forward to), and a host of other events to help us celebrate.
Pentecost is about the work of the Holy Spirit, and in my experience it invariably works in ways that we don’t expect. As we move forward I wonder what She has in store for us? Where will Jesus lead us? How will God touch us? In truth I don’t know. But I do know that they have a future in mind for the Village – and I suspect it’s going to be amazing.
Please take care, and I hope to see you soon.
With love
Rev. Michael
If you’d like to contact me you can do so by emailing me at pastor@thevillagemcc.org.
Certainly different to our usual worship format, this style of worship will be much more familiar to those of us who come from a Pentecostal or Evangelical background. It’s a free style of worship, where the Holy Spirit guides the minds and hearts of those there to connect with God and praise God. The bedrock is the calling of the Holy Spirit and the response of the heart. It is a beautiful and experiential form of worship in which the whole self is itself an expression of worship. And if you enjoy worship music then you’re going to love this!
Worship Diary
For more details please see the thevillagemcc.org homepage
Sunday June 19th, The Third Sunday Service in-person
worship service at Dorset gardens Methodist Church – 6pm.
(This is a freestyle service led by Will and Mark in the ground floor meeting room)
Sunday July 3rd, in-person worship service at
Dorset gardens Methodist Church – 6pm.
Sunday services are recorded and then, when available, posted on Facebook.
On the Sundays when the church is not meeting in-person,
please join us for ‘Sunday Connection’ on Zoom at 6pm
The events are recorded and then, when available, posted on Facebook.
Recordings are all available on our Facebook page.
Zoom : 504 390 105, code 2020
Prayers.
I’d like to share a prayer that was written by By Teilhard de Chardin. It’s a prayer of trust, and hope, and faith, in a God who loves us and will not let us down. He writes:
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that their hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.
From our own community, we lift to God: Wendy B as she waits for the results of recent tests and her outstanding surgery. Suzy, as she recovers from her illness. Simon, as he grieves both his partner and a good friend. Wendy F’s friend Jean. that she recover fully from her fall. Patricia as she continues to settle into her new home. Josh as he walks the path into his true self. We continue to lift Chris’ parents Jetje and Jim, and from the Village Mark, Sarah, Charlie, and Robert, In Jesus’ holy name we pray: Amen.
If you would like to add a prayer to the newsletter then please email me at pastor@thevillagemcc.org. – Michael x
The Brighton Bear Weekend Garden Party is Saturday 16th July in Dorset Gardens. Although The Village MCC is not offering a cake stall this year, we will be helping Lunch Positive to serve beverages etc. Please, do let me know if you are able to come and help! Just a couple of hours through the day would be great. Please email me at pastor@thevillagemcc.org. Thank you.
The Church of Scotland is to allow same-sex couples to marry!
When will the Church of England realise that God is Love, and that to deny same-sex couples the ability to marry in church, is to deny the presence of God?
You can read about it HERE
Keeping up to date with MCC Internationally
Do you receive emails from the MCC denomination? There are updates on the way churches around the world are meeting this crisis, along with prayers, support, and much much more. If you would like check out what newsletters are available then please email:
Sarah Barber is our Lay Delegate, and a link with the denomination. Please contact her at the church email address if you would like to know more about how The ‘Village’ MCC fits into the International Church.
Pasto
ral Care Team – 07476 667353
Pastoral care continues. Call or text the church mobile and leave a message, and someone will get back to you. When the pandemic first broke we tried to reach out to everybody at least once a month. As time has gone on we have reduced our pastoral care calls to those who have either requested them or are at high risk. Of course we don’t want to miss anybody out so if you would like to connect then please let us know
Would you like to give a gift to aid the work of the Village MCC?
Giving to The Village MCC.
‘The Village MCC’ is self-financing, we do not receive any central funding. If you would like to support the work we do, there are a number of ways to do so.
Regular giving:
If you would like to set up a regular monthly Payment to The “Village’ Church, which is the best way for us to budget for our work, Please email the treasurer at; thevillagemcc@outlook.com, you will then be sent the details of how to do this.
Single donation
If you wish to make a single donation You can send a direct payment from your bank account using the following details From the UK:
• Lloyds Bank
• sort code 77-91-29
• account number 40361660
• account name The Village MCC
• Please use the reference ‘Collection’
Please also email the Treasurer at thevillagemcc@outlook.com to let them know to expect a payment. • There is also a donate button on the Church Website at thevillagemcc.org if bank transfer is not possible. If you do not have access to the internet, you can still make a donation with your debit card. Please email the Treasurer at; thevillagemcc@outlook.com to arrange a phone call to make this payment.