St John’s and St Michael’s Churches – Notices for Sunday 31st October
St Michael’s
9.30am MORNING WORSHIP: Good morning and welcome to our service today led by David who talks to us about ‘Climate change and the Christian’ Psalm 104.
St John’s
11am MORNING WORSHIP: A very warm welcome to all who have joined us in church today and of course to all watching from home. Today Vikki leads our service and John talks to us about ‘Why does God’s character seem different in the Old and New Testaments? Amos 2:1-11 and Romans 8:9-17.
Please note: We still encourage you to wear face masks especially when going up for communion, moving around the building and singing but can be removed when sitting. We will continue to keep the building well ventilated so please dress appropriately. Thank you.
Below are the links to our website and to our YouTube channel live streaming our services at St John’s at 11am (previous recordings will also be available to watch at your leisure).
http://www.stjohnsmuxton.org.uk/home
or http://www.stmichaelslilleshall.org.uk/home/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB6N81vubkdzSYD7rCPFw5Q
Our SPARK Sessions for young people aged 10 and above and our SAS sessions for children aged 5-10 will begin again after half term (first Sunday in November.) They will run during Sunday services in term time except on the second Sunday of each month. LIGHT (our sessions for under 5’s) will not be restarting at the moment. However, we are planning to make the Acorn Room a place where parents can be with very young children as they watch the livestream of the service.
ST JOHN’S BUILDING MANAGEMENT TEAM are to meet next on Monday 1st November 7.30pm in church.
TELFORD CHRISTIANS TOGETHER has their AGM on Monday 1st November 7pm at Holy Trinity Church, Wrockwardine Wood. Please email chrisdensham@telfordchristiancouncil.co.uk to see if any spaces available.
Bishop Sarah would like to invite you to Shrewsbury Abbey on Monday 1st November (10.30am – 12.30pm) to support the vital and life-changing work of The Children’s Society and to hear first hand reports of their work in supporting children and young people in communities across our country. There will also be an opportunity to hear of an important piece of partnership working between The Children’s Society and West Mercia Police, encouraging and enabling positive life choices for young people. Shrewsbury Abbey, 25 Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, England, SY2 6BS. Attendance is free but, as places are limited, you must pre-register using this Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/174208822277
WORSHIP LUNCH & MUSIC takes place on Thursday 4th November 12noon at St Michael’s.
Our next Youth café sub:Zero from 4pm and sub:Extra from 6pm takes place on Friday 5th November.
The EVANGELISM TEAM will be meeting on Monday 8th November at 7.45pm. Also Sub group ‘Newspaper’ on Wednesday 10th at 7pm and sub group ‘Outreach course’ on Wednesday 17th November also at 7pm.
You are warmly invited to our 6th CAP ANNIVERSARY SERVICE on Wednesday 10th November 7.30pm at St John’s.
St Michael’s invites you to …‘POP IN FOR COFFEE’ …anytime between 10am and 12noon on Thursday 11th November. Looking forward to seeing you then.
IGNITE is a worship and prayer evening at All Saints, Wellington, 7.30pm for about an hour – hour and a quarter, on Saturday 13 November. It’s a great opportunity to worship, meet with and hear from God.
REMEMBRACE SERVICE at St Michael’s will take place on Sunday 14th November at 10.45am (No 9.30am service)…Please wrap up warm as this service is aiming to be outside. Please tell and encourage all your friends and neighbours (Lilleshall) to stand on their doorstep at 11am to hear 11 bell chimes, The Last Post followed by 2 minutes silence and Reveille bugle call, all from the Church doorstep.
ST MICHAEL’S PCC is due to meet next on Monday 15th November 7.30pm in church.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD: Are you ready for Shoebox Season?…National Collection Week is 15-22nd November…This year St John’s is a designated drop off point for the area. You can drop off your boxes anytime during office hours. Thank you for your continued and valued support in providing gifts for children who may otherwise not receive a gift this Christmas.
THE BIG QUIZ NIGHT: We will be holding a quiz to raise funds for Tearfund at St John’s on Saturday 20 November, 7pm. Further details to follow.
A speaker from Nepal Leprosy Trust is visiting St Michael’s and St John’s on Sunday 21 November. There will be a craft stall, open before and after each of the two morning services, featuring goods made by both ex-leprosy patients and other disadvantaged groups living in Nepal. The stall will be selling goods e.g. handbags, wallets, card and glasses cases, pashminas and shawls, batik cards, items made from leather, felt and allo, christmas cards and much more. Please bring cash or a cheque book ifpossible.
Good Morning Sunday (GMS) recently has been happening online. But……the next GMS will happen… with breakfast… in church… on Advent Sunday 28th November 8.15am.
LUNCHCLUB – WE’RE BACK: We are so excited to be able to invite you to our Christmas Lunch on Friday 10th December at 12noon… To book your lunch, please contact Ann 604341, Jane 606105 by the end of November (or Office 670033). The cost will be £7 each.
JOIN US 4 A CUPPA! Are pleased to let you know that £50 was raised during their recent coffee morning in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness. Thank you all so very much. At our next coffee morning we will be having a ‘Gift Stall’ (19th Nov) therefore if anyone has any unwanted gifts these will be gratefully received and can be dropped off at the church office.
VARIOUS CHRISTMAS CARDSwill be on sale from St Michael’s towards the end of November included our very own cards with photos from inside and outside of St Michael’s.
REGULAR GROUPS/MEETINGS/RESOURCES/INFORMATION
TINY TOTS: A Toddler group for parents/carers of under 5’s taking place on Tuesday mornings from 10am during term time.
Calling all walkers! We meet on a Wednesday 10am at St John’s for a gentle, local walk of around an hour. All are welcome. Please contact Jo Lefroy for any further information on 01952 604281.
FROGS: We would like to invite our young people to attend FROGS. This is a youth group which is held weekly at St Swithun’s church in Cheswardine. We have been working closely with FROGS for many years as we have attended Quinta together. Colin Barnett, a member of St Michael’s, is currently a leader there. They meet every Tuesday from 7-9pm, for secondary school pupils and sixth formers. Please see Kathy Tagg or Matthew for information.
WORSHIP LUNCH & MUSICtakes place on the first Thursday of each month except August. (Weekly during Lent) 12noon at St Michael’s.
POP IN FOR COFFEE held at St Michael’s on the 2nd Thursday of the month 10-12noon. (11th November)
FORGET ME NOT FILMS: Takes place usually on the 3rd Thursday of the month. The film will start at 10 am – please arrive any time from 9.45 am. If you have any questions, or to let us know you are coming, please contact Jo Lefroy on 01952 604281 or via the church office.
JOIN US 4 A CUPPA! A monthly coffee morning held at St John’s on a Friday between 11am – 1pm. Litter pickers are also invited to meet just before, litter pick the local area then return for a well earned cuppa!
sub:Zero/sub:Extra our Youth Café currently held monthly on a Friday from 4pm (sub:Zero) and 6pm (sub:Extra). (5th November)
A PLACE FOR CONTEMPLATION AND QUIET PRAYER: Please visit St John’s prayer garden, another bench has been added. The garden is situated behind the beautiful Oak tree in our front garden to the right as you face St John’s front door.
EARLY MORNING PRAYERS: Are you an early bird? A group of us pray for the work of the church at 7.30am every Thursday morning. Join us for half an hour or part of the time on Zoom. Contact Matthew for the link.
Please join us for Bible Reading/Discussion/Prayer via Zoom, weekdays at 9am. The best way to access these is through the “Daily Prayer” app. available from The Church of England but if you want to follow from your Bible this is ok. Please contact Matthew who will give you the details to login.
PRAYER GROUP continues to meet, praying into our concerns and worries and listening to what God might be saying to us on zoom, 7pm on the second Sunday of each month. If anyone would like to join us please contact: Shirley, Vicky or Pam. (Members of St John’s) or Lesley (670033) can pass on your details.
PRAYER CHAINs: If you have any prayer requests please either text (preferable) Lisa 07739 522280 or Email: west.familywest@btinternet.com or St Michael’s prayer chain coordinator Chris R 07834162343 or 01952 604330 or Email: scip@blueyonder.co.uk
Energize website is providing materials each week to be downloaded by families. https://www.energize.uk.net/pages/kids_club_by_post.
FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/stjohnsmuxton – please like our page and share our news stories with your friends.
VIEW OUR MONTHLY CHURCH MAGAZINE BY CLICKING ‘HERE’
Conn3ct is postponed until further notice….you can still see previous services by searching on Youtube ‘Conn3ct’. Please follow https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCSxLC1ssTnZr6h1l6f83ghQ
LILLESHALL POST OFFICE: The post office at the Lilleshall Memorial Hall will be open on Tuesdays 10am -12pm and Wednesdays 10am – 12pm. Please try to support it.
Matthew 7:7 ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
OFFICE HOURS: Monday 9-3pm, Tuesday 9-12noon and Friday 9-4pm 01952 670033Email: admin@stjohnsmuxton.org.uk or admin@stmichaelslilleshall.org.ukWebsite: www.stjohnsmuxton.org.uk or www.stmichaelslilleshall.org.uk
Matthew’s Email: matthew.lefroy@tiscali.co.uk (Usual day off Friday)
Vikki’s Email: revdayvik@gmail.com (Normal day off Friday) – Day off Wednesday 3rd November & 5th Course
St Michael’s only – Psalm 104
1 Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendour and majesty.
2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.
10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work, to their labour until evening.
24 How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number – living things both large and small.
26 There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.
27 All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; may the Lord rejoice in his works –
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the Lord, my soul. Praise the Lord.
St John’s – Our first reading is fromAmos 2:1-11
2 This is what the Lord says:
‘For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.
Moab will go down in great tumult amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.
3 I will destroy her ruler and kill all her officials with him,’ says the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord says:
‘For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees,
because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed,
5 I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.’
Judgment on Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
‘For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name.
8 They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.
9 ‘Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks.
I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt and led you for forty years in the wilderness to give you the land of the Amorites.
11 ‘I also raised up prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?’ declares the Lord.
St John’s – Our second reading is from Romans 8:9-17
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.