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    

Here I sit, back in the church office for the first time since the end of June. All around me are the signs of all that has been going on in my absence. There is the fantastic artwork from our Messy Church Pride service – “What makes you proud?” – our families have written in hearts what makes them proud – “my two mummies”, “for being my teacher’s top writer”, “my fabulous family and pets”, “singing with the choir”. The powerpoint printout from Sunday’s service sits on my desk, reminding me of our current worship theme
– “Exploring Spiritual Types”. I am SO looking forward to worshipping again with everyone this Sunday! I’ve heard about the wonderful “Write a Psalm” workshop and have caught up with the news from Chill and Grace, our monthly
lunch.

One of the real strengths of MCC Newcastle is that we believe that everyone has a part to play in the ministry of our church. All of these activities, and others besides, are led by members of our congregation, using their gifts and skills.

Of course, the office is full of stuff for Pride this Saturday. Northern Pride is one of our greatest outreach opportunities and this year we have “Fabulous and Beautiful” stickers to give away, as well as everything else. Every year, we have at least one person who starts worshipping with us on a regular basis, because of seeing us at Pride. What is also important is that our presence is part of a “drip-drip” effect. People see us at Pride, at IDAHO, at other events around the region. They repeatedly hear our message of God’s inclusive love and they get a chance to observe – from a safe distance, what we are like as people.

Because of our constant presence at these events, people check out our website, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We might never see these individuals at worship, but they know that we are here if they need us, and some day, some of them will come and find us in person.

All of us have had to walk through the doors of MCC for the first time. For some, it is an instant homecoming, for others it is a scary step into the unknown. When someone comes to MCC Newcastle for the first time, it is great when they can
recognise one or two faces, either from Pride or from our amazing website. It helps to make them feel more at home straight away. If we can offer more activities and events beyond the worship service, we are more able to support
each person in their faith journey and in daily living. It takes all of us to offer a “safe, warm, welcoming home.”

Happy Pride!!

God bless,

Cecilia

“Who inspires you?” That was a question that I had to answer recently. It was quite a difficult one to answer, as there are many people who inspire me in different
ways. When I was a child, the person who inspired me to want to preach and celebrate communion was our parish priest, Father Puttman.  Over the years, I have been inspired by amazing leaders within MCC, including our Founder, Troy
Perry, our Moderator, Nancy Wilson, and Elders such as Don Eastman, Arlene Ackerman, Darlene Garner and Lillie Brock.

In church every Sunday, I am inspired by so many people in our congregation at MCC Newcastle, who are faithful, committed and amazingly talented. Yet, my experience is that if I tell any of you how inspiring you are, most respond with a rather embarrassed British shrug.

As part of our series on the Psalms “Honest to God”, we recently read together the response “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” from Psalm 139. Charlotte, our preacher reminded us of how difficult we often find it to accept this, even though as a church, one of our core values is
“We value the fabulous and beautiful in each of us”.
 
From 21st September to 23rd December, there is a portrait exhibition at the Hatton Gallery, which is part of Newcastle University. The exhibition celebrates the lives of women associated with the North East who have made a difference.
“Inspirational Women of the North East” (www.iwne.org) includes historical figures, such as suffragette Emily Dickinson and famous names, such as Mo Mowlam and Catherine Cookson. Alongside these amazing icons, there are women who are alive today, and just doing what they do. I am deeply humbled and actually very chuffed to find
that I have been included in this exhibition. If you go on the website, you can nominate other women, who are an inspiration to you and there is also a photography exhibition to enter.

God does not call us to be anyone other than who God created us to be. Then all God asks is that we live our life to its fullest. That does not mean it will be pain-free life, or an easy life always. However, it does mean that we are open to all that God has for us and wants us to be. Being fully ourselves, at home, in work, with family and friends, means that we will inspire others, because each of us is “fabulous and beautiful, fearfully and wonderfully made”. 

Perhaps you could tell someone this week that they inspire you.

God bless,

Cecilia
 

In 2010, we went through a discernment process at MCC Newcastle called “Harvest for our Future”. We concentrated on a few questions and held “vision parties” and other ways of making sure that everyone who wanted to, could contribute to the discussion. One of the questions was “What you value about MCC Newcastle?” Out of the answers to this question, we developed our Core Values, which you can find on the fantastic postcards and badges that we use for outreach.  

One of the other questions that we asked was “What will MCC Newcastle be like in 10 years time?” From the answers to this question, the Board drew up a list of key aims to guide us in our planning from 2010 – 2015. Each year at the ACM, the Board has put forward actions for approval by the Members of the church, based on these key aims. This year will be no different.

At the recent Saturday Seminar, we discussed the Church Size Summit and the recommendations for progress made by our Elder, Reverend Elder Darlene Garner. 

We compared her recommendations with the 5 year key aims that we have been following as a congregation. Guess what? They were very similar. This is really positive because it means that we are about ready to take the next steps in our growth as a faith community.

One of our five year aims is:

This was also one of Darlene’s main recommendations to us. We love being based at St James’s, and it is also time to start looking for a new home. This will take time, finances and above all, a great deal of prayer. Please keep this exciting vision in your prayers. The seeds that we sowed in 2010 are beginning to germinate into a “Harvest for our Future”.

God bless,

 Cecilia