is the theme for the next Manchester Maranatha Gathering at Brunswick Parish Church this coming Saturday 5th December 10:30am – 4:00pm. Do come and join us for the whole day, or any part of this day of praise, worship and sharing as we encounter the Living Word!. For more details see this email which contains a link to the location on google-maps.
The brochure detailing all the Maranatha Christian Weekends and Retreats for 2010 has just been published here, and the weekends pages of the web-site will be updated in line with this over the coming month. This brochure has all the details of our forthcoming Weekends, Teaching Retreats, Prayer Retreats and contemplative Retreats, and bookings are now been taken.
For booking forms for the individual retreats please contact the Maranatha Office.
The Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Spotlight – News and Views for Local Groups, by Local Groups, has been issued today and can be downloaded here.
In this issue, news from: Eastleigh Trumpet Call, South Midlands and Yorkshire Regional Gatherings, the men’s weeked at Llandudno, Brigg local group and reflections on Christmas.
This is the first edition with Matthew Doherty as editor, and we thank him for taking this on. If you are a member of a Maranatha Local Group then perhaps you might like to contribute to the next issue – just email Matthew. You can also give us your thoughts via the comments facility here.
Earlier this year members of the Maranatha Community, from different church backgrounds and with much Theological training and knowledge between them, produced the very significant document Christians Standing Together which outlines the non-negotiable truths of the Gospel proclaimed by Christians of all traditions, referring to scripture, and outlines twelve prime truths based on the Constantinople-Nicene Creed.
The doctrines described in Christians Standing Together have now been further expanded in Our Christian Faith which is free to download here.
We arrived on Friday 23rd October at the Loretto Convent in Llandudno in a mood of expectancy; it was a privilege to be there and the Holy Spirit was everywhere to be experienced. As so often is the case, when Christian men get together to worship, something very special happens (Phil 4: 4-9). The atmosphere was electric.
One day into the Retreat, the nun looking after us was told to leave us to go on an errand; her reply was “Its not very often we get a bunch of men together praising God and listening to the Holy Spirit. This lot are great and I’m not leaving them.” AMEN.
The Role of Men (Proverbs 24) Is it the Lamb or the Lion ?
We are ‘comfy’ projecting the Lamb – He seems to make little demand on us and the Church.
But what is needed today is Jesus the Lion – the one who speaks with Authority and whose Name is above all others Lord and Saviour (Rev 5)
Thoughts: An army in waiting and prepared for war (Psalm 16) (1 Peter 5: 8 -11)
Words: Urgency, Scattered, Salt, Sealing, Solidarity, Number three, Concluding Prayers of the Methodist Covenant.
LUTHER: “Sola Fides, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura”
Saturday afternoon – huge storm – team work – so important in danger
Great Orme rescue operation – we prayed into the danger
Invited Christ to be with us as Light and the Living Word
We were invited to to lay our burdens down and to come and sit at His feet.
Proverbs 24 – Keep yourself pure
Psalm 16 – Wrong priorities and boundaries
Joshua 1:6-9 – Commissioning
1 Peter 5:8 – Guarding your back
Ephesians 6 – The full armour of God
The weekend drew to a close with us renewing our covenant and promising to continue to pray and meet soon.
God Bless,
George (from Lincolnshire).
On Saturday 10th October two Regional Gatherings were held bringing together Maranatha members from across the whole of the north of England and Wales for worship, fellowship, news, support and encouragement. The Gatherings were held at St. Mark’s Church, Sheffield and in The Emmanuel Christian Centre, Llandudno and between them were attended by over 100 people.
The gatherings were blessed by having members present who are not normally able to get to regular Maranatha Local Group meetings, and we were able to share together what God is doing through this Community ie through the individual members and groups scattered throughout the UK.
If you were present at one of these gatherings then perhaps you might like to share your thoughts here.
This Saturday: 28th November – Maranatha is pleased to support “We are One” – Manchester’s walk of Christian Witness from Salford Cathedral to Manchester Cathedral, starting at 10:15am with a service in Salford Cathedral (RC), and finishing with service in Manchester Cathedral (Anglican).
Come and join in the walk with Christians from all different nationalities and traditions – African, American, Anglican, Asian, Baptist, Caribbean, Catholic, Coptic, Chinese, European, Episcopalian, Evangelical, Indian, Methodist, New Churches, Orthodox, Pakistani, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Salvationist, United Reformed, indeed everybody who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ.
For more information see www.weareonemanchester.org.uk
where you can watch a 6 minute video summary of the similar walk in January 2000, and download a poster for your church.
In September twelve of us went to Kalah House at Helmsdale in the far north east of Scotland for a very challenging but rewarding training week. There were moments of pain and moments of joy, there were tears but also lots of laughter. The praise and prayer times were wonderful. The hands on training was daunting but with it came many rewards. Each time we prayed all was handed over to the Lord, and the Holy Spirit did not disappoint. The prayer was gentle and not probing; we were led along gently both when praying for others and when being prayed for.
I would recommend this week of retreat and training to anyone interested in Life Prayer. We all have so much to learn from each other, the blessings flow both ways, not only to the person receiving but also to the people praying. I myself feel very blessed. At the start of the week I knew only three of the twelve taking part but by the end of the week I had a whole new set of friends who cared. I would also like to thank our hosts Dave and Marie for making the week so special by their warmth and love.
God Bless.
Evelyn.
This is the theme for the next Manchester Maranatha Gathering at Brunswick Parish Church on Saturday 3rd October 10:30am – 4:00pm. Do come and join us for the whole day, or any part of this day of praise, worship and sharing as we encounter the Living Word!.
For full details including how to get there download the PDF flyer.
(NB. 1MB, so takes a while to download). Please consider printing this flyer, but note that if you are printing this pdf then in print / Page Scalling select “Fit to Printer Margins”
The August issue of Spotlight – News and Views for Local Groups, by Local Groups, has been issued today and can be downloaded here.
In this issue, news from: Belfast, Entebbe, Conwy, Taunton, Eckington, Plymouth, West Wiltshire, Todmorden, Eastleigh, a meditation on “who am I ?” and even some “beauty tips”.
Click on the comments button to read what other folk are thinking and to give us your thoughts. If you are a member of a Maranatha Local Group then perhaps you might like to contribute to the next issue – just email George and Mary who produce Spotlight.
