The man shook as he told us his story of persecution: we could see the scars on his head and his hands. Another man in the group flinched as someone he didn’t know came into the room. I promised him “You will always be safe here.”  A woman cried as she told me how, as an out and proud Christian lesbian, she had been told she could not become a member of the church that she had been attending for months. “I am so glad to be back here” she said. A charity that works with children hired a room in the building we use, to run an event for LGBT people interested in adoption – “Because we saw you at Pride and thought this would be a good space to hold our event.” These three things all happened in the past month at MCC Newcastle. They are part of what we do, week in, week out. We offer hope and light to our community and beyond. Often it is in small, unseen ways – small gestures of kindness and compassion, such as the regular donations of clothing that people give to the West End Refugee Service. Sometimes we are able to bring hope at big events like Pride and World AIDS Day. People who may never worship with us follow us online and through social media. We are observed at a distance by many individuals, who may turn to us when life changes for them and they need a safe place to be.

A good while ago Mikee preached on Micah 6:8: What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. He suggested that at MCC Newcastle we are good at walking humbly with God – our worship is excellent and we offer many ways to go deeper in our spiritual life. He challenged us to really step up and step out in acting justly and loving mercy. This message has stayed with me and has continued to challenge me ever since. How do we move out beyond our church walls and how do we make it easier for groups to see us as a resource to support them in what they do?

This year’s Annual Congregational Meeting marks a key moment in our response to the challenge to love mercy and to act justly. The Board is proposing only two aims, which will help us to put our faith into action. Firstly, we are now ready to start looking for our own building, choosing a venue that is better suited to our needs and that will give us the flexibility to develop our ministries more fully. Secondly, we are going to focus on developing activities that intentionally reach out and serve those beyond our church walls.  We are called to bring hope and light. This is our time.

God bless

Cecilia    

“Love is patient, love is kind.” This is one of the most well-known verses in scripture. It is the start of a section describing what real love looks like (1Corinthians 13: 4-7) and is frequently read at weddings. It is a beautiful piece of prose.

Many of you will have heard the Macklemore song “Same Love”, which unequivocally supports gay marriage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0

The female singer on the track is Mary Lambert and the parts that she sings on “Same Love” are from her song “She Keeps Me Warm.” This is a beautifully melodic lesbian love song, describing the beginning of a relationship – “What’s your middle name? Do you hate your job? What’s your favourite word?” At the end of the song, there is the refrain

“I don’t cry on Sundays “and the backing singers sing “Love is patient, love is kind.” http://marylambertsings.com/video/

This gentle singing out of a scriptural truth is such a rebuttal to all those who loudly, aggressively and sometimes cruelly denounce same sex relationships, especially on scriptural grounds. For me, “She Keeps Me Warm” is a wonderful track, not just because I love the melody and am a hopeless romantic (the video is fab). I love it because it effortlessly combines my spirituality and my sexuality. It reflects who I am, in a fully integrated way.

There are many wonderful, moving hymns and worship songs in which I can lose myself. There are powerful love songs that describe my emotional state far better than I ever could. It is just such a delight to find a song that brings these two aspects of me together.

Our mission statement at MCC Newcastle is “Be yourself. Find Meaning. Know God.” We try and create a space where we all can enjoy being fully ourselves, before God and with each other: a sacred space where our sexuality and spirituality can be fully integrated and celebrated. It is a space where we can live out “Love is patient, love is kind.” May love keep you warm this week.

God bless

Cecilia

In worship at MCC Newcastle, we are continuing our theme of #goodnewsgoesviral. Each week, we explore how an individual or group of people gets to hear about
the life and ministry of Jesus. It is a fascinating journey, full of different characters. If you have missed any of the services, remember you can listen to the sermons online.
 
I wonder how I would react if someone told me the story of Jesus today – if the events of 2000 years ago happened instead in the past month in England and I was hearing it all for the first time. Would I be curious, cynical, too busy to even
care? What is it about the story of Jesus that is so compelling? The answer to this question will be different for each of us. For me, the way Jesus engaged with people was new and refreshing. He often challenged their behaviour or tried to make them think in a new way. This was often tempered with gentleness and care. He reached out to those who were seen as “unclean” or marginalised. 
 
All of these things would challenge me, but they would intrigue me too. I don’t know what my logical and slightly scientific view of the world would make of the miracles he performed or the seemingly random way he told stories. What I think I would be attracted to, would be the truth of what he was saying. Sometimes we read or hear something, and it resonates with us deep down. It speaks truth to us in a way that we can’t necessarily articulate. This is why music and poetry can be so powerful. They touch us in a profound way.

The Good News is the same. It touches us in a way that we can’t necessarily explain, but we know to be true. Most of us are not necessarily comfortable with chatting about our faith, especially not to complete strangers. However, the way we behave and the values that we live up to speak for us. When people are able to observe us, and then they hear about our faith, they can see a connection and that it is intriguing or inviting to them.

We are spreading the Good News in many different ways, through our website, Facebook and Twitter. Most importantly, we spread it by how we are in the world. 

What does the Good News mean to you?

 God bless,

Cecilia

Here I am, back at my desk, my tan fading by the minute. My trip to Australia was filled with laughter, good food, the occasional cold beer and lots of storytelling.  Happy and sad family memories, funny childhood stories, tales of wilful teenage behaviour and romantic reminiscences were all covered over the three weeks.

Storytelling stimulates the brain in a very particular way. We can feel the emotions of the moment, recapture the sensations – taste, smell, touch. Scientists can track this brain activity as people are reading a book with a gripping
plot.

Stories stay with us. That is why Jesus used so many in his teachings. He used fictitious situations to help people to memorise important truths. He chose themes that were familiar to his audience. As he was talking, they could imagine what he was describing.

One famous example is the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25 – 37). Take time to read it if you can. The people listening to Jesus would have known how dangerous that
journey to Jericho was, and some would have known people who had been robbed and left to die, just as the man in the story had been. As Jesus started to mention the Samaritan, many in the crowd would initially be feeling hostile and would be ready to see him as the villain of the piece.

Jesus’ story had a surprise ending. It was the Samaritan, the outcast, who helped the injured man. This would have been so confusing to the listening crowd, and I expect some
of them reacted quite angrily to this turn of events.How many of those listening though would have remembered that story and kept mulling it over in their minds or discussed it with friends?

Our challenge, as a faith community today, is to find ways of telling the same truths that Jesus gave us in ways that stimulate and engage people today. If we were to write the Good Samaritan story today, who would be the outsider that
would challenge our prejudices?

God bless,

Cecilia

At the Annual Congregational Meeting last Sunday, the Members of MCC Newcastle unanimously adopted our
Bedrock Belief statements. This really is quite an achievement – the pages of Church history are littered with examples of Christians falling out – even killing each other, over what they believe.

Of course, in MCC Newcastle, we encourage each person to work out their own beliefs and many of us will be able to agree with the Bedrock Beliefs statements – and add to
them.

This week in worship, we are reflecting on the Bible.

 At MCC Newcastle, we believe:
The Bible is there to inspire and guide. It is not a rule book and can be read with love, compassion and
questioning.

At different times, the Bible has been used as a weapon of oppression – against women, against Black people, against LBGT folk. We need to reclaim scripture. We need to learn to read it with our minds, our hearts and our spirits. Although some of it might seem irrelevant and outdated now, there are still profound truths about God and God’s relationship with us. It is also where we find out about the life of Jesus in a unique way - we can’t find that information anywhere else. 

As part of marking the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on Saturday 19th May,  I will be leading a workshop on “What the Bible Really Says” about queer people. This will be after we have gathered at Grey’s Monument and made a big noise against homophobia – with the theme “Equal Before God”.

Much of the homophobia today stems from misinterpretation of the Bible. If we are going to be people of faith who make a difference, we need to be able to show others what the Bible really says about them, and above all, what scripture says about the unconditional love of God.

God bless,

Cecilia