Picture kindly given by Dave Stephenson
Here is this month's newsletter for King's Church Cockermouth. Read below to find out what's been happening in the life of King's Church through June. There is also a great book and blog suggestion below too.
Fan into Flame! By Roger Bye 'For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.' 2 Timothy1v6 Paul could have just written, ‘don’t forget the use the gift that God has given you.’ However, he uses a vivid and powerful metaphor of fire. Fan it into flame! Fire throughout the ages has brought light and warmth. It impacts people’s lives. God is stirring us in these times with both desiring and stepping out with the gifts that he has given. Sometimes we can hold back for different reasons, but Paul goes on to address this in Timothy’s life by reminding him, For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. Let’s not hold back but step out and believe that as we do so these gifts that can impact people’s lives with the warmth of God’s love, and with the light of His truth and presence.
A Message from Mexico by Nico Escamila
'Hola amigos! It is a pleasure to say Hi!! In the last few days we have developed addiction and prevention talks which we gave at the centro comercial agropecuario. We had 65 people listening. We have achieved this with the help of your prayers and contributions. Soon we will give talks in a high school. Meanwhile we continue with the rehabilitation program. Muchas gracias por sus oraciones!!' Meanwhile, they are starting to build a conference centre called 'The Conferencia De Eusebia'. Please pray for this amazing work that is happening in Mexico.
Mealshare Update by Paul Mogford
Councillor Alan Smith (Mayor of Cockermouth 2021-2022) nominated Mealshare (a Kings
Church initiative) as one of his charities for his Mayoral year. We were delighted that he was able to donate £400 to Mealshare and are grateful for his ongoing support.
Alan has served our community so well over the years, and we want to thank him for all he has done and will continue to do to support Cockermouth.
Mealshare has seen an increase in the number of people needing help over the past three months due to fuel price increases and the massive leap In the cost of living.
If you know people who need help because of food poverty, please let Paul know so that we can support them if they would like us to.
A big thank you to all our volunteers who turn up each Thursday. We couldn’t do it without you!!
School of Leadership by Joelle Raby
Nearly two years ago, I began School of Leadership, a Christ Central run leadship course described on the website as; 'This is a two year course for anyone who is called to some form of leadership in the church or in the wider world. The School of Leadership gives you a solid grounding in biblical theology, a deeper understanding of church history, time to consider leadership issues and an opportunity to grow in your personal calling.'
When I started the course, we were in lockdown and so a hybrid option of the course was being offered for the first time via Zoom. Every month for two days, I join others for teaching sessions followed by group discussions in Zoom breakout rooms, every month these discussion groups change but for the two days you keep the same groups which works really well as you get to know people and continue conversations through out the time. After time in groups, there is then the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers. Each month you then meet with a mentor from your own church who chats through what you've learnt and discusses any questions.
The course is now run both in person at Sheffield and on Zoom at the same time, so you can choose whether to go in person or take part online (or do a mix of both). I have thoroughly enjoyed the course, the teaching on the Biblical overview of the Bible by Martin Charlesworth has been my favourtie part and I have found this teaching really useful for the work I do with the young people as well as giving me a stronger foundation in my Biblical knowledge. Some days have guest speakers who speak on different leadership themes such as the church and the poor, the holy spirit, pastoral care, and evangelism. These have all been brilliantly communicated and left me with a lot of points to think and pray about. If you are interested in learning more about the Bible and want to be challenged, this course is a great way forward. I have loved taking part each month and meeting new people via Zoom. It has challenged me and stretched my understanding of the bible, the context in which it was written and how we apply it today. For more information go to: https://christcentralchurches.org/school-of-leadership/ You will also find a promotional video which explains more about the course.
Eco-Church – Time to Deliver
Tearfund is running a ‘Time to Deliver’ Campaign which is calling on the PM to use the remaining time of our COP presidency to ensure that promises from wealthy countries around the world to provide $100 billion/year to lower income countries to respond to the climate crisis.
Poorer communities are paying for the devastating impacts of the climate crisis they did not cause. When finance reaches the communities bearing the brunt of the crisis, it will equip millions of people living in poverty to build the future they want.
Tearfund is asking that you sign their petition calling on the UK government to use its COP presidency to influence other wealthy nations to deliver climate finance to frontline communities.
We would love you to get involved in this, the link to the petition and more information can be found at: https://www.tearfund.org/forms/climate-petition
Christ Central Ukraine Support Updates
There are a lot of updates regarding the situation in Ukraine as Newfrontiers & ChristCentral
continue to support refugees and displaced people.
They are now collating news relating to Ukraine on their news feed and on the Ukraine page on the ChristCentral website. So for the latest updates visit: christcentralchurches.org/ukraine
Book Suggestion Invisible Divides by Natalie Williams and Paul Brown
We're called to be like Jesus, not like each other - so why are most Western churches predominantly middle class? Could it be that we're reaching out to people in poverty, but struggling to connect them into church life? Natalie Williams and Paul Brown know all too well that those saved from working-class backgrounds often find themselves discipled effectively - but into middle classism rather than authentic Christianity. Drawing on their own experiences, and mixing theory with practical application, they explore the invisible divides that prevent churches from becoming places of true inclusion and keep poor and working-class people on the edges of faith. Packed full of surprising insights and helpful advice, Invisible Divides will change the way you see church life. Essential reading for anyone concerned with the class divide within the church, it will challenge you to look at the ways in which we inadvertently exclude, alienate and offend people who aren't like us, and equip you to start working towards making church a more open, inclusive space for everyone. Jesus calls for us all to follow him, no matter our background; together, we can break down the invisible divides between us so that people from all walks of life can come to know Christ and find family in our churches.
Vlog Suggestion
Monday Mercy - Jubilee+
Every Monday, Jubilee+ adds a new video to their website which looks at different aspects of God's mercy. These weekly 5 minute videos share encouragements from diffferent people stories. Why not have a watch at: https://jubilee-plus.org/latest/types/video/
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