Greeting The Passers-By at FOMC

Thanks to a generous donor and some excellent work from The Printers, Four Oaks Methodist Church has put up a lovely new Christmas banner to cheer people this Christmas as they drive round the roundabout and come into Lichfield Road.

This sturdy banner will withstand all the winter weather that comes its way, and will still be able to be stowed away afterwards for re-use of course. It also looks great next to our Christmas tree!

After a year which has been so hard for so many, we can still celebrate the Light of Christ who enters our dark world. As you read this, may you too know Christ’s peace, hope and joy this Christmas.

Thy Kingdom Come

A few years ago the Archbishop of Canterbury started an annual prayer initiative called Thy Kingdom Come to run between Ascension day and Pentecost. The basis of this is that each of us sign up to pray each day for five people we know who are not Christians. Although it was initially an Anglican initiative its now totally ecumenical; the Methodist Church has contributed a free prayer manual for each day and there are resources for Catholics and Orthodox Christians to use. Further information on how to download or get hard copies is available by clicking https://www.thykingdomcome.global/lightuptheworld

I’ll post further updates on how we can be involved but I wanted to draw your attention to the Digital Family Interactive Prayer Map  so that you can order or download to get ready.

This is a fun way of using a smart phone app to learn to pray together and you can find full details on https://www.thykingdomcome.global/resources/digital-family-prayer-adventure-map.

It’s well worth a look and there are podcasts and instructions how to get started as well as a great video from Justin Welby & Gemma.

 

 

Outdoor Pentecost Service at Four Oaks

Pentecost Sunday was planned as a Local Arrangement at Four Oaks. We decided to use the opportunity to hold our second outdoor service. The sun shone as we set up and as more people arrived, we had to find more chairs!

It was an uplifting service of praise and testimony. To the delight of young and old, a bubble machine reminded us that the Holy Spirit lifts ‘our’ Spirits, makes us joyful and colours our lives.

As we worshipped together we were reminded that our faith and witness in our neighbourhood needs to be ‘outside our church walls’ as much as possible.

Thy Kingdom Come

Ascension Day (Thursday, 30^th May) to Pentecost (Sunday, 9^th June)

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer, which the Methodist Church is very much part of.

During the 11 days of Thy Kingdom Come, it is hoped that everyone who takes part will

• Deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ
• Pray for God’s spirit to work in the lives of those they know
• Come to realise that every aspect of their life is the stuff of prayer 

After the very first Ascension Day the disciples gathered with Mary, constantly devoting themselves to prayer while they waited for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Like them, our reliance on the gift of the Holy Spirit is total – on our own we can do nothing.

Through the centuries Christians have gathered at that time to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ picks up this tradition. Over the past three years more and more worshipping communities have dedicated the days between Ascension and Pentecost to pray ‘Come Holy Spirit’.

We are praying that the Spirit would inspire and equip us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with our friends and families, our communities and networks. It has been amazing how many varied ways there have been in which people from every tradition have taken up this challenge. The effects have been remarkable.

It is our prayer that those who have not yet heard the Good News of Jesus Christ and his love for the world will hear it for themselves, and respond and follow Him. Specifically, we again invite each and every Christian across the country to pray that God’s Spirit might work in the lives of 5 friends who have not responded with their ‘Yes’ to God’s call.

Whether you have joined in ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ before or not, the invitation is to take part this year – along with people and churches from over 65 different denominations in 114 countries around the world.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses …to the ends of the earth. When he had said this…he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight…Then they returned to Jerusalem … and were constantly devoting themselves to prayer… When the day of Pentecost had come they were all together in one place… All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit… and that day about three thousand persons were added.” 

Acts 1, 2

For more information and to see a message from our Methodist Youth President,

Jasmine Yeboah, about Thy Kingdom Come – please go to:

https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-faith/prayer/thy-kingdom-come/