MCC Newcastle was recently featured both on BBC Newcastle Radio and on the BBC Tyne and Wear website.  Members of diverse ages talked about their experiences of being LGBT and Christian and what it was like finding MCC Newcastle for the first time. You can read/hear all about it by clicking the links below...

The Article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-15495681

The Radio Interviews:
1. Ernie and Ian (Skip to 1:38, and then again towards the end) http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00ky9hh

2. Cecilia and Charlotte N (Skip to 1:44  and 2:19) http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00l6wxt

 On the mountain, in the wilderness, in the night, by living streams, we journeyed together seeking “More of YOU in my life” during March worship. Lime and chilli flavoured locusts, panoramic videos and slideshows, starry skies, luscious waters and music to move mountains were but a few of the features which invited us to engage the gospel in fresh and meaningful ways. There has been a palpable sense of spiritual presence at the church as our worship teams have encouraged us with care and creativity to search more and more of our innerscapes in order to meet God in our 'thin places.'

A thin place is a Celtic concept referring to special locations where we feel the separation between the seen and unseen is very slight indeed. We are seeking nothing less than the extraordinary within the ordinary on Sunday evenings these days. Something good is happening, and we hope that more and more of you reading this newsletter will come and be part of it again or for the first time.

In April, our worship teams will be immersing us in vivid stories from the New Testament which lead toward the extraordinary remembrance of Easter Sunday. April worship leaders chose “Love is...” as our theme, identifying qualities of God's love as seen through Christ in these stories. Each week will also highlight one of the awesome and vital MCC Global Ministries we have decided to support through a special Easter Sunday offering. Come and see how hand-in-hand we are joining with other courageous inclusive communities in small and large ways.

And finally, please do not underestimate how important your presence on a Sunday is to others. Often we have no idea that just by being at worship, we are encouraging and supporting one another along this spiritual path in a profound way.

See you next Sunday

Pressley

  Calling all musicians … worship leaders … readers … budding interior designers …artists... well, everyone really!

Over the last year, MCCN has experienced tremendous growth in spirituality, service and … numbers!  All of this growth means that we are now a little crowded on a Sunday when we worship in the hall, and we need to think about how we can create a space for worship that allows us to really maximise all of our talents and abilities.

The first step is to move into the main church from Easter Sunday.  This will allow us more space, flexibility and opportunities for creative worship experiences.  And this is where you come in!

We need your creativity, vision and passion at an ‘Embrace the Space’ workshop event on Saturday, 19th March from 10:00-12:00.  We invite you to spend a few hours with us in the main church, considering ways we can transform the existing space into one that feels truly ‘ours’ on a Sunday night.  If you are a musician we invite you to bring your instrument and plan to play it in the space.

Breakfast provided!  See you there!

For our Visioning Day on 12th February, new attenders and regular members got together to think about how we are going to move forward as a church in the year ahead.  Guided by our Interim Support Pastor, Pressley, we first reflected on what the church has achieved in the past last year.  As we listed each memorable event month by month, it was remarkable to see how we have grown and changed, almost without noticing.   We have two new church employees (Charlotte N and Kate), new people are attending worship and becoming members; we have seen friends graduate from our Creating a Life that Matters course; new groups have sprung up, from Art and God to Kairos; the Young Adults’ Ministry (YAM) has flourished, and exciting new social events have taken place, from Turkey and Tinsel to regular Listening Lunches.  Some of us feel we have grown and deepened in our spiritual journey.

 Thanks to Pressley, we learned about other MCCs around the world where he has had first-hand experience – in New York, which has wonderful outreach mission to the homeless and LGBT youth; in Cape Town, where church volunteers work with residents in a local township, and whose Christmas party now attracts 300 children; in Cologne, where a small MCC congregation runs a café that has become an essential community venue; and in North London, where the Biblical quotation ‘No Fear in Love’ has become their kerygma or rallying call.  We experienced the sensory delights of sweets and cakes, themed according to the countries we were learning about – genius – including some home-made South African doughnuts that expanded my waistline just looking at them…

We also spent time identifying those areas of growth and spiritual vitality (‘noticing spirit and momentum’), those where there is a steady-state, and those where additional support is needed (or perhaps those areas where the spirit has moved on, guiding us somewhere else).  In teams we came up with five ideas from the least to the most audacious, from the easily achievable (better advertising outside of the church, for example) to the vision of one day having our own worship space. 

In the afternoon the Board, staff and ministry leaders took stock of the ideas we had discussed in the morning with the aim of formulating some action points.  We grouped ideas among four areas in particular: having our own space, producing well-written and exciting resources to inform and educate people about MCC Newcastle; reaching out to queer and marginalised groups who are on the edge of mainstream Christianity; offering dynamic and transformational worship.  These areas had been highlighted in the morning as of particular interest and concern to the congregation, are key components of our five year plan, and will inform our planning process in the months ahead.

In all of this, one thing I have learned is that prayerful consideration, consultation and respect for one another is absolutely crucial.  Growth involves loss – certain things will pass away, and we need to respect the sensibilities of those for whom change can be difficult, as well as having a keen sense that the time to tackle injustice, and do more is now!   How many people out there need to hear about Jesus?  How many of them need the safe haven and acceptance that we at MCC can provide?  We need to broaden our vision, to make sure our worship is inclusive, our spaces accessible, and welcoming of children.  We need to be attentive to gender imbalance, and to our need to become more aware through training where needed of issues that affect our congregation.  We need to listen and respond to ministries involving trans- people, asylum-seekers and the homeless – often marginalized people among those already on the margins.

In all of this, and as we continue to work on translating our vision into action, we need to be patient with one another, to speak openly and acknowledge that we are all doing our best.  Sometimes we may disagree, but in a healthy family, it is possible to disagree without falling out.  One of the best ways, as the apostle Paul recommended, is to try and leave our egos at the door and instead see ourselves as conduits for God’s work.

This will start with small steps that could have big consequences.  Personally I would like to see us hold our big Easter service, (how about making it a musical bonanza, our best yet?) – held in the main church, then I would like to see us remain there for regular worship on a permanent basis.  That is just my view, and I would like to know yours.  Without space, and the provision of a decent piano and instruments for our talented musicians, we cannot grow in the quality of worship we provide, or in numbers.  As St. Paul says in this week’s reading from 1 Corinthians 3, 1-9, ‘I planted the seed, [another] watered it, but God made it grow’.  There are challenging but exciting times ahead - let us do the work, dance forward together, and see where the spirit guides us, in Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

Helen Berry, Vice Moderator