29 August 2010

28 August 2010

27 August 2010

MISSION MATTERS.....24:7 PRAYER - REACHING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH PRAYER

With our 24:7 prayer week just over a week away, "Mission Matters" has it as the focus for today.  It's the first of a number of special focuses we'll be having in September, a key month for NMBC in which we'll have the opportunity to creatively engage in mission in so many ways.  Spearheading 24:7, Ruth Macdonald shared with "Mission Matters" that:

"As part of the Scotland wide commitment to 24:7 prayer during 2010, NMBC will be leading  a week of prayer for Newton Mearns and Scotland as a whole during the Mearns Community Week.  The week of 5th to 11th September will be divided into one-hour slots where individuals and organisations will have the opportunities to pray, and will culminate on Sunday the 12th of September, the concluding day of Mearns Community Week, with a service of prayer.  The ambition is that we:

•    pray for our community;
•    build awareness in our community that we believe in prayer as a church;
•    engage people of all ages in NMBC and other local churches;
•    learn to pray in many different ways (not just the usual prayer meeting style);
•    motivate and enthuse people about using the rhythms of life to pray; and
•    see God answer prayer.

"To help people be aware of what we're doing, we're advertising the fact we will be praying in the Mearns Community Week leaflet and encouraging people in the community to send in prayer requests.  On Saturday we'll be visible at the Fun Day with a special prayer time and space.  There will be a large wooden cross in the foyer to which prayers and answers to prayers can be pinned so everyone entering church can see this commitment to pray and all week there will be prayer space in the sanctuary.

"As people who believe in the power of prayer, this is a terrific opportunity for us to publicly demonstrate our belief in prayer within the community in which we live and work.  We're encouraging people to pray wherever they are - at home, work, leisure, wherever.  We are also encouraging people if they can, to take the opportunity to visible as they pray join the prayer walks, or pray in locations all over Newton Mearns (e.g, at Costa, in Rouken Glen Park, at The Osprey, etc.).

"This is a real mission opportunity to show  that our community matters to God.  By praying for our community we are engaging in mission to our community.  This opportunity is open to everyone, not just members of the church.   The challenge is to pray - how and where you pray is less important than the fact that you do!"

Prayer matters because mission matters!

27 August 2010

Today's headlines courtesy of the Baptist Union of Great Britain   Church must offer alternative to ‘mere consumption’, says financial expert Philip Davis, senior research fellow at the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Editor: and minister at Penge Baptist Church), has called on Christians to be salt and light in the banking system.  More...   Dr Williams warns African bishops to listen and take risks THE Archbishop of Canterbury has called on African bishops to listen more to the people they lead, and to put themselves at risk for the sake of their flock, as he addressed the first All Africa Bishops’ Conference to be convened in six years.  More...

Sideways look in Cheltenham

THOUSANDS of festival goers will descend on Cheltenham Racecourse today for Greenbelt, which is now into its 36th year.  More...

Related: Tatchell 'looking forward' to speaking at Christian festival

More...

City council sets aside sites for gypsies arriving to see Pope in Birmingham

The city council is earmarking sites across Birmingham to accommodate future convoys of gypsies which may travel to the city hoping to see the Pope.  More...

Martin Luther King, Jr. Was a Social Justice Christian

Editor: Article by Sojourners founder Jim Wallis on a conservative rally (Sarah Palin main speaker) being held tomorrow at the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech.  More...

26 August 2010

Today's headlines courtesy of the Baptist Union of Great Britain   EBF Council to discuss future of IBTS The European Baptist Federation Council, meeting in Italy, 22 – 26 September 2010, will consider a strategy report from the Board of Trustees of the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS) about the ethos of the seminary and the focus of its work and location in the future.  More...   Religion may influence doctors' end-of-life care Doctors with religious beliefs are less likely to take decisions which could hasten the death of those who are terminally ill, a study suggests.  More...

Bishop promises to give away £250 Winter Fuel Payment

A senior cleric has joined in criticism of state benefits that are given to all regardless of wealth, promising to give away his Winter Fuel Payment.  More...

Church leaders get behind campaign to remember world’s poor

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are among the church leaders backing a new campaign to inspire people to live lives that remember the poor.  More...

Pastor's 'Jesus had HIV' sermon angers South African Christians

A pastor has angered Christians in South Africa by preaching a sermon entitled "Jesus was HIV-positive" in an attempt to break what he regards as a conspiracy of silence by the South African church.  More...

25 August 2010

The latest Baptist Union in Scotland "Connect" publication's online now.

25 August 2010

Today's headlines courtesy of the Baptist Union of Great Britain   Church denies Claudy cover-up Bishop of Derry Séamus Hegarty has said he is "shocked and ashamed" that a priest would have been in any way associated in the 1972 triple car bomb attack which killed nine people in Claudy.  More...   More students taking Religious Education GCSE Young people are "clamouring" for deeper understanding of religious perspectives, says the Church of England's Head of School Improvement.  More...

African bishops say Anglicans in West strayed from God

The Anglican church in the West no longer adheres to the word of God, African bishops said Tuesday at a continental conference attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  More...

Susan Boyle 'honoured and humbled' to sing for Pope

Scottish singer Susan Boyle said she was "humbled and honoured" to be asked to perform at the Pope's open-air Mass in Glasgow.  More...

Are Christians the Only Children of God?

... Is it theologically sound to call someone who hasn’t confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour a child of God?  More...

24 August 2010

Today's headlines courtesy of the Baptist Union of Great Britain   Peterhead couple admit to fatal stabbing of born-again Christian A man and a woman have admitted killing a young born-again Christian during a knife attack in a north-east town.  More...   BBC should have a religion editor, says Church of England Spokesman praises corporation's output, but says it needs a specialist correspondent to act as 'trusted guide'.  More...

Troops: Skipping Christian concert got us punished

RICHMOND, Va. — The Army said Friday it was investigating a claim that dozens of soldiers who refused to attend a Christian band's concert at a Virginia military base were banished to their barracks and told to clean them up.  More...

China invests in confident Christians

... Christianity is growing in China as never before - and doing so supported by millions of dollars of government funding.  More...

'Facebook fast' looks to build relationships

A church near Houston is leading a National Facebook Fast, calling on people to refrain from using social media for one day, Wednesday, Aug. 25, and instead to focus on building face-to-face relationships.  More...

23 August 2010

22 August 2010

20 August 2010

MISSION MATTERS.....TO THE VERNON FAMILY

After a short summer break, Mission Matters is back!  We're going to be covering lots over the next few weeks and months focusing on people, initiatives and ways in which NMBC is seeking to "build missional relationships".  Kicking off today, our focus is on the Vernon family: Tom, Christine and clan who are back with us for a short while from being engaged in mission with WEC in Spain, and who have a special weekend with us this weekend here in NMBC.  So over to Tom, Christine and family:

"It is great to be back with you in Glasgow for a couple of weeks.  We are enjoying having the opportunity to fellowship with the Church for a few Sundays, and it is always good to catch up with friends and family.  It is lovely to sit in the Church service and understand all that is happening, something we can't yet do in Madrid, though we are settling well into the "Betel" Church in Spain.  As with anywhere it takes time to get to know how things work and also to make friendships but we are getting to know faces and are able to try to communicate with people most Sundays.  Betel is a big Church and has a very international feel to it.  In the crèche there are mums from Germany, Portugal, America and Africa.

"We are also beginning to learn about the evangelical church in Spain.  For example, we rarely have communion and neither would we say the Lord's Prayer in a service.  These would be "done" very frequently within Catholic services and the evangelical churches want to draw a definite divide between Catholic and evangelical services.  A simple way to be distinctive is by sharing communion less frequently.  Also, the evangelical churches usually don't look any different than shop fronts and you could easily miss them walking down a street.  The Catholic churches however, are impossible to miss being very grand and ornate.  To fully understand why the evangelical church feels like it has to be so different you would need to look back to Spanish history under the staunch rule of the dictator Franco when the Catholic church had an awful lot of power, and look to the migration of christians from South America.  As we continue to learn about the history and culture of Spain the more we gain an insight into why the evangelical Church is the way it is.  We are learning a history of a country and not just a language.  Though our "official" language learning period ends this coming December we would really appreciate your prayer now for what we could get involved in after this time.  As many of you know our desire was to be placed within a WEC church planting team but unfortunately this does not look like a possibility.  We had expected to already have an idea of which team we would be going to but we are struggling to see an opportunity for us with WEC in Spain.  Recently a few teams have formed but for various reasons they didn't last for very long.  Also we have found that the majority of the WEC Spain members work as individuals.  It has been a difficult time for us as this has become apparent.  This does not mean that God doesn't have a purpose in bringing us to Spain though we are unsure what His further purpose is for us here.  Thank you for your support, prayers, words of encouragement.  None of it goes unmissed or unappreciated."

20 August 2010

Today's headlines courtesy of the Baptist Union of Great Britain   Ruling could force RC adoption agency closure The last remaining Roman Catholic adoption agency in England and Wales is facing the prospect of closure after losing a battle to protect its religious ethos.  More...   Pope Benedict 'likely' to meet abuse victims Church source involved in drawing up pontiff's itinerary for September visit to UK would be 'surprised if it didn't happen', given gaps in schedule.  More...

Further rise in students taking A-level Religious Studies

The number of students taking Religious Studies A-level continues to rise, figures out from the Church of England today reveal.  More...

Exclusive: Faith School Menace? by Rev'd Janina Ainsworth, CofE Chief Education Officer

Editor: The Rev'd Janina Ainsworth, the Church of England's Chief Education Officer, who featured in Richard Dawkin’s documentary on faith schools broadcast on Wednesday night, has reflected on the programme exclusively on the Church Mouse blog.  More...

Obama keeping public expressions of religion to a minimum

Editor: Interesting feature reflecting on story we reported yesterday on some Americans believing US President, Barack Obama, is a Muslim not a Christian.  More...

19 August 2010

Mearns Community Week's almost here - the 2010 variety.  And with the week nearly upon us the brochure advertising all that's going on during the week's just been published.  You can have a look at an electronic version online here.

19 August 2010

The new Autumn programme of The Edge kicks off this Sunday coming, the 22nd.  Have a look at what's coming up on the Edge programme that's online now.

19 August 2010

There's a new church directory coming.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (07944-793824) tells us the new directory - containing the contact details of friends and members of NMBC - will be published shortly, it having been almost two years since the last update.  And the new directory will have a couple of new features: for example, photographs will be included for the first time, and with so many new people around the place, this'll help us to better connect with one another and know who's who.  The weekly Notice Sheet will have a tear-off slip for people to amend their details, and these should be handed to the photographer when leaving on Sunday morning coming.