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Ministers Letter - February
2008
My Dear
Friends,
It doesn’t seem
long since Christmas when we were singing about Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem in
terms of:
“The hopes and
fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”
Well, 2008 is a
year of hope and Churches are encouraged to get involved with an initiative
called Hope 08 when they might run the sort of events they have always
wanted and might do it together with others.
The year is
based round five high points of activity that tie in with the Christian
Calendar.
* Fresh
Hope, from January to Easter, might be an opportunity for helping people
from the local community by running lifestyle courses and offering support to
folk.
* The Big Hope
celebrates Easter.
* Hope Where
You Live in May around Pentecost time
(May 11th) - Churches
around the UK are pledging
to bring 1 million hours of kindness to people around them.
* Hope Explored
in the Autumn offers a chance to invite people
to explore Christianity, perhaps through courses such as Emmaus, Alpha or
Christianity Explored.
* The Gift of
Hope
at Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus
and perhaps is a time when we might invite more people to hear the good news.
Some are certainly more open to hearing it around that time.
If you want to know more, then Hope 08’s booklet “Great
Ideas” costs £2.99 from Christian bookshops or can be downloaded free of charge
from the Hope08 web site,
www.hope08.com.
What do you
think? Might we as a Church do something in some of these areas? Might we do
something together with other churches in Tadcaster? I’d love to hear what you
think!
With much love,
Your Minister
and friend,
Ray
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