Here is a few snippets of what members of the church have been up to through the first couple of weeks in September.
Engaging with Acts 2 - Roger Bye
We have now started our next preaching series, focusing on Acts chapter 2. Our desire is to press the reset button to all that God calls us to as church.
Here are some encouragements to help us to get the most out of it...
A = Authentic! Let’s be authentic. The early church was not perfect but it was authentic! We will make mistakes, we will get things wrong, and we have much to learn. We won’t be perfect but we can be passionate for the authentic!
C = Choice! Let’s make good choices to follow Jesus! We read of God pouring out His Spirit and we see peoples lives changed, as they became disciples. As we hear the good news of Jesus crucified, risen to life and now exalted, let’s choose to follow Him!
T = Thirst! This chapter has stirred believers throughout church history to great longings and passionate prayer for God to break through with His Spirit. Let’s thirst for this in our times!
S = Sacrificial. In Acts 2, we see people cut to the heart by the message and then living out a radical lifestyle that expressed their whole-hearted devotion to Jesus. It was challenging to their priorities and lifestyle. It will be sacrificial!
Let’s give ourselves to all that God has in store for us over these coming weeks as we engage with this history-making chapter!
A Church Update - Paul Mogford
As you may know, there is a great deal of information about what we can do under the governments current Covid19 guidance, and as a church. we’ve been monitoring it quite carefully to see how we should and could work as a church. In general terms, the new rule of 6 means that we can get together in groups of up to 6 people, but no more than this. As a church, however, we have been encouraging you to meet as 2 households or bubbles so that we can join in the services on Sundays together. Some of our house groups are also meeting, and we would like you to continue observing the governments guidance. We need to be sure that we are covered by our insurers for any Kings Church activity, so its important that as a church we don’t go beyond anything the government is telling us to do. We are also sending out some guidance to our bands and small groups so that we continue to be compliant. We are currently recording some musicians together, but only one person can sing, no blown instruments and all socially distanced. We could have a choir singing, but we’ve not really had one in our worship before, so now might not be the time to start! We are looking at how we could meet as a church, as the guidance does allow this to happen in certain circumstances. We are working with the school, but as you can imagine, their primary (and rightful) focus is on the children and the issues the school faces in being Covid compliant. We are also having to produce quite detailed Covid risk assessments for all we’re doing. This means that any activity we agree to do, we need to make sure our insurers are happy with our risk assessments, and that we do try to follow them. If you’re planning a Kings event of any kind, it would be really helpful for us to know well in advance so that we can all remain safe and compliant. There are now so many ways we can meet as a church: in our houses, as small groups, in our gardens, in the Hub downstairs (we can now accommodate up to 6 people if its a church activity such as small group - please book through admin@kingscc.org), zoom prayer meetings, walking together, praying together - lets be creative in getting together and spending time with each other. And don’t forget to look up the excellent pastoral encouragements and our Youtube channels. As always, looking forward to seeing you all soon.
1000 Meals Distributed - Dave Dunlop
When food distribution started at the Hub we travelled to Cleator Moor to pick it up. In those days it was a refrigerated van that we shared with about 8 other charities. We used to then get chilled meat, as well as ambient and dry food from Fare Share at a cost of £1 a tray. I think on one of the early trips we were supplied with 5kg of diced pheasant breast.
Now 12 jars of pasta sauce, 12 tins of beans and soup, 24 boxed of cereal are all easy to distribute to individuals, even a whole D shaped ham or 10k block of cheese can be sliced and portioned, but 5 kilo of diced pheasant is something else. So the freezer started to fill up with bags of pheasant, boxes of sausages, ox cheeks, mince and chicken.
Just before lock down started, I thought I could start a “ready steady cook” with some of the food we had acquired to give local families we are supporting. So the first homemade ready meals were born. My aim was to cook 40 portions (about 13 litres) a week in my kitchen only using what meat was in the freezer. It was at first a bit of a challenge, how to make diced pheasant taste and look like chicken casserole. Each plastic lidded container needed to have a label on it stating the name of the dish, where it has come from and a “made on date”. Also each family needed to have an accompanying sheet explaining the ingredients and cooking process. I think the first label read “Diced Pheasant Breast Casserole (tastes like chicken casserole)”.
Things have changed a bit now. We have our own Fare Share van that comes to the Hub on a Thursday where we are now a distribution centre for 7 other charities, plus our own purchases. Unfortunately this van is not refrigerated which means no meat. So when the stock in the freezer ran out, the church stepped in to buy meat from the Cash & Carry.
The dishes are simple, always in a sauce of some description and not heavily seasoned or spiced. I don’t know where the time has gone, but surprisingly this week will see our total meals cooked and distributed reach 1000.
An Interview with Zoe Fielden
1a) What is your favourite chocolate bar? All of them - I am a chocoholic!!!
1b) Favourite crisps? McCoys Steak crisps
1c) Favourite board game? Articulate
1d) Favourite Bible verse? 2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind"
2) So this year, you're going to be working for the church whilst also studying at university, please can you tell us more about both?
I'm so excited! I will be mainly working with our young people, organising our Friday Night youth club - Amplify, looking at ways to outreach locally and also supporting Joelle with Mobilise and Dave and Hazel with Move.
In October I will be starting a degree in International Law at Lancaster University, whilst still being based at Cockermouth, which I am very much looking forward to!
3) What are you excited about for the year ahead?
I am excited to get to know some of the people in church and youth who have joined since I have been away. I am also really looking forward to looking into how we can build and take forward Amplify, believing that more young people will be blessed and impacted by it.
4) What can people be praying for you?
Please pray - For favour and good relationships with the young people of Cockermouth, understanding in my studies and grace for my time management!!!
Returning to School - Ali Fielden and Mobilise Youth
Firstly, a look at the return to school from Ali Fielden who works as a primary school teacher: For most children this will be the first time since March when they have been back to school with all other pupils. Schools have managed to get some areas back to normal whereas other areas are very different. Most places have staggered arrival times, break times and lunchtimes. This is so that schools can be arranged in bubbles, then if a child gets infected the whole school doesn’t have to shut. It’s great to see children enjoying times with their friends again and starting to settle in to the routines that help them progress. However, continuing to wash hands regularly and being aware of other people moving around the school are new areas where we have to be constantly vigilant. Please could you pray for:
1. Infections not to start or spread. 2. Children who are finding it difficult to settle into the new set up. 3. Children who are trying to catch up after missing so much school. 4. The difficulties for teachers distancing themselves from pupils but still doing their job properly. Thanks so much, Ali The return to school through the eyes of our Mobilise youth (school years 6-9):
School is different with socialising in bubbles (these bubbles can be a class in primary school or a year group of 250 in secondary school). Each bubble has their own area in which they have to stay. At primary age, these bubbles are given a specific area outside to play in, at some schools this is rotated weekly so the young people can play on the different apparatus or play football in specific areas.
There is regular hand-washing in primary schools (which takes a long time to get the full class through) and in secondary school, a lot of hand sanitiser is used.
In secondary school, masks are worn on the school bus and in the corridors when moving between classes although there isn't much movement between classes for the students (the teachers move from room to room regularly and have to clean their desk, chair, door handles, etc when they arrive).
The young people are enjoying being back at school for some normality, as a couple of them said, 'I feel like my sanity is returning'. Some of them are also finding that their school day is shorter due to having to stagger the times young people arrive and leave school.
Although, there are a lot of differences, the young people seem to be coping well with the differences and the schools seem to have done a great job of helping them to settle into new and different routines.
Here are prayer points from the young people:
1) Please pray for energy for the young people as they have found being back at school very tiring (many having not been in school for 5 months)
2) The young people also asked for prayer with their organisational skills as there is more to think about and remember throughout the day (and more to remember to take to school too)
3) Please pray for the students (and teachers) that they will get used to things quickly and become less worried/nervous about school and coronavirus as they get back into routine
4) Finally please pray that the heads of the schools will have wisdom to make good decisions if the rules change
Save the Date: 4th October 2020
Christ Central Sunday with Jeremy Simpkins speaking. We will share more information
with you soon.
Resources….
An amazing online resource by Martin Charlesworth has just been released. It is a unique teaching resource about the life of Jesus using all the material in all the four New Testament Gospels and set in chronological order. The 184 sessions are available free in both video and audio formats. This resource is designed for worldwide use as a Christian discipleship resource and also for finding out more about the real Jesus.
More details found at… https://wordonline.org
Book Suggestions
Straight to the Heart of Acts - Phil Moore
God inspired the Bible for a reason. He wants you to read it and let it change your life. If you are willing to take this challenge seriously, then you will love Phil Moore's devotional commentaries. Their bite-sized chapters are punchy and relevant, yet crammed with fascinating scholarship too. Welcome to a new way of reading the Bible with fresh eyes. Welcome to the Straight to the Heart series.
Acts for Everyone by Tom Wright
Writing in an accessible and anecdotal style, Tom Wright helps us to approach the rich and many-sided story of the book of Acts. Wright shows how the book builds on Luke's gospel, laying out the continuing work and teaching of the now risen and ascended Jesus in the power of the Spirit. His writing captures the vivid way in which Luke's work draws us all into the story, while leaving the ending open and challenging, inviting Christians today to pick up and carry on the story as we in turn live our lives in the service of Jesus.