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)

Christians Standing Together

The Non-Negotiable Truths of the Gospel Proclaimed by Christians of all Traditions.

Members of the Maranatha Community, from different church backgrounds and with much Theological training and knowledge between them, have produced this 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.

Printed copies are available from the Maranatha Community bookshop for 50p
email: shop@maranathacommunity.org.uk with your full name and address, or download here .

The doctrines described in Christians Standing Together are further expanded in Our Christian Faith published here in November 2009.

A Nation in Crisis

The current economic crisis is not just a catastrophic downside of the normal economic cycle, but a financial and social disaster. It is also at the same time a great Spiritual Opportunity.

We have recently produced two documents A Nation in Crisis and A Time of Opportunity which address the current situation.

Report from Weekend in Plymouth

The weekend in Plymouth was entitled "The plans and purposes of God for my life". It quickly became apparent that this theme centred on our intimate relationship with God as our Father (Abba) and that the plans and purposes of God were all about us coming into a greater understanding of how much we are loved and how good God our Father is. The weekend was led in a gentle and thoughtful manner, leaving ample space for each of us to listen and encounter God for ourselves. In the time of sharing which followed the periods of silence, it was very evident that God had been at work at a deep level in the hearts of many individuals. We were reminded too, that fruit grows only as we remain in that deep place of union with the Lord.
We found it to be a rich time of fellowship with the Lord and with one another.

Richard and Heather (from Somerset)

Free Speech Petition 5th July deadline

The deadline to sign this petition against Clause 61 of the Coroners and Justice Bill (currently before Parliament) which will remove the free speech clause protecting those who express views on sexual ethics, is 5th July. If passed this clause would open the door for Christians to be investigated and interrogated by the police, prosecuted in the courts and even imprisoned simply for presenting a Christian view point on sexual ethics.

For more information see this Trumpet Call.

A step towards a Police State in UK

Maranatha is collaborating with a team of lawyers and church leaders, together with Christian Concern for our Nation, to change Clause 61 of the Coroners and Justice Bill which is currently before Parliament. It is being proposed that the free speech clause protecting those who express views on sexual ethics will be removed. This will open the door for Christians to be investigated and interrogated by the police, prosecuted in the courts and even imprisoned simply for presenting a Christian view point on sexual ethics.

For more information see this Trumpet Call.