Our Christian Faith

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.

Rise Up Men of Faith

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).

Regional Gatherings

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.

We are One

Maranatha is pleased to support “We are One” – Manchester’s walk of Christian Witness, which will be on Saturday 28 November 2009 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.

Twelve Disciples went up to the Mountains

Report from Healing Training Retreat at Kalah House.

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.

Manchester – 3rd October

‘The Word – Building up the Weak’

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”

Spotlight Issue 15 – News from Local Groups

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.

We are One

Maranatha is pleased to support “We are One” – Manchester’s walk of Christian Witness, which will be on Saturday 28 November 2009 from Salford Cathedral to Manchester Cathedral, and to invite you to

We are One – Sharing the Vision - A Prayer Evening
Wednesday 16 September 2009, 7:30pm
St Ann’s Church, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, M2 7LF.

At this sharing the vision evening we will:

• pray for God’s guidance and support on that great day
• share the draft ideas for the walk
• enable you and your Church to get involved

For more information see www.weareonemanchester.org.uk
when you can watch a 6 minute video summary of the similar walk in January 2000.

August Newsletter

Reaching Out in Unity

The vision of the Maranatha Community is of “the people of God united, healed and renewed, walking the way of Jesus in love, simplicity and poverty with the urgent fire of the Spirit burning in their hearts”. It is the vision of the Church of Christ united across the globe – believers from all nations, tongues and traditions…read-on

Inside this Issue

The vision of maranatha, A time of opportunity, God’s call to wait, Prayers by Dennis Wrigley, New Publications, The life cycle of a local Maranatha Group, Maranatha Events Calendar.

Click here to download the full August edition of the maranatha newsletter

We would also like to draw your attention to the following: (click on each)

Maranatha Gathering in London – Saturday 12th September

Maranatha Gathering in Manchester – Saturday 3rd October

Out of the Courtroom - 23-26 September. The Ark, Flixton, Manchester

School of Prayer - 16 – 18 November. Douai Abbey, Woolhampton, Reading

Prayer Network - August edition

Trumpet Call - August edition

The Communications Team have been meeting regularly all year. Since launching the new website we have turned our attention to all the different ways we communicate within the Community. Our first job was to re-vamp the newsletter, hopefully to make it more easy to read and in line with the web-site. If you have any comments on this newsletter then please do leave them.

Report from Silence of the Desert

“It wasn’t what I was expecting”. ‘That’s what you’ve said about every Maranatha retreat or conference you’ve been on’ I was told by a friend. Maybe that’s because it sums up very well what a Maranatha Weekend is all about – allowing God to do what He wants, being willing to listen to what He’s saying and to allow the structure and content to fit in with His agenda.

“The Silence of the Desert” weekend at the beautiful Beachwood Court in Conwy was no different. I arrived just before tea on the Friday evening looking forward to a weekend of mainly silence and quietness similar to the Light out of Darkness Retreat I had taken earlier in the year, but this weekend was different. Although there were periods of silence together, quite a bit of time made available to go off on one’s own, and it was quieter than many other Maranatha weekends, there was opportunity to chat over meals and other times. There were a number of planned sessions on contemplative prayer, with excellent input from our two leaders Ann and Karin. In fact there was a good balance between learning about this kind of praying and actually doing it. The times spent worshipping together, and the early morning prayers, were also highlights.

For me the weekend was a time of affirmation to what God has been doing in me over the past months and a challenge to continue to meet him, both in silence alone, and as a member of his family. A good weekend!

Heather (from Manchester)