Northern Pride is nearly here, despite torrential rain and the threat of drag queens getting their heels stuck in the mud! It takes a large team of people working all year round to make this huge community event happen. These folk give tirelessly of their time and energy to produce a programme of activities which seems to get better each year. Most are volunteers, who manage to fit all this in as well as all the other demands on their time.

Most people, at some point in their lives will be a volunteer or serve others in some way or another – looking after
a relative or keeping an eye on an elderly neighbour. It is a part of human nature to think of others, to reach out and to give of oneself. That is why we can be so shocked and disappointed when we find people who are completely self
absorbed and self centred. These inward looking folk miss out on the rewards that come with serving others – the satisfaction of seeing a job well done, the great feeling when someone takes the time to say “Thank you” and just seeing how even the smallest kindness can really make a difference in someone’s life.

In our worship theme Learning from Jesus, we have been looking at how Jesus lived his life and how that can help us. Sometimes, Jesus was intentional about what he did and where he went. Often though, he just seemed to come across people in the street, as he was going about his own business and started a conversation with them, which often led to healing. Jesus took the time to help those he came across, sometimes just by giving them a chance to express their faith.

Many folk at MCC Newcastle already give of their time and energy in the church through our various ministries and activities. Often, they also volunteer elsewhere as well. However, living like Jesus can be as simple as just saying “Hello” to someone on the street, or listening to someone in a supermarket queue who is lonely and just needs to talk. 
 
May you find a chance this week to give a little time to someone else and help build a little bit of heaven on earth.

 God bless,

 Cecilia 

On my desk sits a useful little book called “Vows and Partings” It was produced by the Methodist Church in response to the ups and downs of life. The prayers contained in this book recognise that relationships can be wonderful and also can end badly. There are prayers to recognise the changes that retirement brings and prayers to help both parents and children through different stages of life. Some of them read like modern day psalms, expressing human confusion and bewilderment.

For so many people who look at the church from the outside, it can seem irrelevant and outdated. It can appear that the pomp and preaching bears no relation to the everyday lives that most people are leading. This is why it is so important that MCC Newcastle gets out and about, in the
places where our people are. This year, as always we will have a strong presence at Northern Pride. We will also march in Sunderland Pride in September. We need to show our people that God is there for them and the church is rightfully theirs.

So what sort of rites and rituals might be more relevant to our community? How can we bring the sacred into the human – just as the prayers in the Methodist book do?

Naming ceremonies for babies are less formal than baptism and don’t require parents and godparents to say things that they don’t really believe. If a child decides to make a commitment to Christ later on, they can always be baptised then.

For people who are transitioning, having a blessing which celebrates their new name and embraces their gender is great way to support and affirm individuals.

How would it be to have a prayer or ritual for couples who are breaking up, especially those who have been together
a long time? Our community is so small, that learning to end relationships well helps us and our friends to live alongside each other without some of the hurt and bad feeling carrying on for years.

Where will you find the sacred in the human this week?

God bless,

 Cecilia

Out of the depths I cry to you O LORD

These are the first words of Psalm 130. This psalm seems to be following me around the moment – turning up when I don’t expect it and working its way into my thoughts and prayers. It is quite a short psalm and is packed with meaning – longing to be heard by God, asking for forgiveness, waiting with hopefulness, and trust in God’s unfailing love.

The Psalms are brim full of human emotion and are a great place to find comfort and inspiration. I always find it an encouragement that so much anger, bitterness, frustration and doubt are included in this part of the Bible. It is recognition of all of the human condition, not just the virtuous and pious bits!

Some of our congregation, as well as the wider community are coming to terms with the impacts of last week’s freak storms. The office fridge has out on temporary loan to help one couple, who have lost almost everything and will have to be re-housed. For many people at this time “Out of the depths I cry to you oh LORD” would be a good start to any prayer.

However, just as Psalm 130 ends on a positive note, there is also blessing in many difficult situations. Alongside the terrible stories of people losing everything in the floods, including those precious items that no amount of money can replace, there are also stories of great kindness, generosity of spirit and communities working together to bring good out of tragedy.

In his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Harold S. Kushner says that all we can do is choose how we respond to difficult events in our lives. We are often powerless to prevent them happening. We can decide how we want to respond.

This week I invite you to look out for the blessings in your own life, even if you are struggling. Perhaps you could take the time to be a blessing to others too.  
 
God bless,

Cecilia.