Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Church is about to get Messy!

Join us at St Hildeburgh's Church for the launch of 

MESSY CHURCH!

Saturday 18 October 2014

4pm to 6pm

In our Church Centre 

(behind St Hildeburgh's Church - on the corner of The King's Gap & Stanley Road)

FUN, CRAFTS, CELEBRATION TIME & FOOD!

Theme: Jesus - Light of the World

EVERYONE WELCOME: 

Young & old alike, adults, children, parents, carers, grandparents! Come as friends, families, partners

Come and experience church in a way you've never seen it before!

We will finish with a story, some children's worship songs before sharing a hot meal together

Entrance: FREE! (Donations welcome)

Messy Team Co-ordinators: Peter Ham & Jane Langley




Saturday, September 6, 2014

Healing Services & Bacon Butties! The Vicar's Two Penn'orth for September 2014



I
 would like to bring to your attention in this month’s Two Penn’orth some more inform­ation about our new healing service which begins on Sunday, September 21, as part of our 10am Holy Communion service and will contin­ue periodically.
There is a lot of misunderstanding on healing in general throughout the Church of England, so I thought it would be good to take this opportunity to put away any concerns people may have. Christian Healing Ministries affirms the historic Christian beliefs as contained in the creeds (the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed) which have served as the basis of Christian belief since the first century. Because of the nature of our prayer ministry, we stress in particular the need for the power of the Holy Spirit, in order that we might serve as vessels of God’s healing power.
It is important to remember when Jesus announced His ministry in Luke 4:18, He said that He came to proclaim the year of the Lord, a time of restoration.

P
eople today still seek restoration and in my experience they still hunger and thirst to know God in a direct, practical way. The sick very much still need healing, just as much as they did in Christ’s day, in body, mind, and spirit. Our new service offers an opportunity after receiving communion to kneel or stand at the altar of the Lady chapel. There you will receive the laying on of hands and the prayer of healing. You are not required to say anything, rather simply to receive God’s healing touch. Healing is about wholeness and takes on many forms, combining with the expertise of the medical professions. Medical practitioners, too, are call­ed to provide care and healing for the sick. The Church works together with the NHS as they heal the mind and body the Church heals the spirit.

Healing and wholeness is a fundamental part of the ministry of the Church as we are reminded in scripture. James 5:14 says, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the Church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
The laying on of hands is always administered by two people so there is no misunderstanding that one person has the power to heal it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that any healing takes place, and that healing can take many forms, sometimes it is in the healing of relationships or forgiveness, or acceptance to bear illness. Church people act simply as channels of that healing grace.

I
 will also take this opportunity to tell you about our new initiative, which will begin in October on a date not yet fixed. The idea is a drop-in at the Church Centre where we will provide a bacon sandwich (butty) and tea or coffee on a weekday once a week from 10.30am until 12noon. This is great chance to use our new kitchen which will be tiled by then and in all its glory. I will be looking for mainly male volunteers to help me in the kitchen to give the ladies a well-earned rest.
This new outreach will be open to all of Hoylake and this is our opportunity to welcome the stranger and reach out as part of our vision. So please make a note in your diaries for the beginning of October. Let us be reminded, as scripture tells us in Matthew 25:35, ”For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in.”
 
Your friend,
Rev’d Paul

7 September 2014