Broadway Methodist Church

To the Glory of God

Sue’s News

Saturday 19th May 2012

Dear All

This week people are getting excited and preparing for the Olympics. Maybe you have been preparing for a quite a while now and I imagine that the athletes involved have been preparing a lot longer.

Today begins a 70 day prayer relay which will finish on 27th July. As the torch is passed on people will celebrate. It will be the centre of the media. It will be the main focus for many people. It will also mean that some will not be included because either they cant afford to go the events or they are overlooked in the celelbrations. It will mean for some a hard time as human trafficing takes place still. As Christians we remember to pass on the light= the light which is Christ the Light of the World. I wonder how longer we have been preparing and getting ready and celebrating. Do we include all people in our passing on 'the Light of the World'?

There are many things that we can pray for during this time of the Olympics. Will we make the time? Prayer seems to be for many people a difficult thing to do in their lives whether it is because they are so busy or maybe it is about finding the words.

Do you ever find it difficult to pray or perhaps the time to pray? We often fill our lives with many things that as we are rushing around it is quite easy to forget to talk to God or even of God. This is about passing on the Light; sharing our faiths with others in our church and outside in the world.

There is a saying which goes; ‘If you are too busy to pray then you are too busy’. There is some truth in that. It is so easy to get caught up in our busy ness and yet God always has time for us.

Often when I talk to people they tell me they find it difficult to pray and especially out loud in front of other people. I remember the first time I prayed out loud in a small group. I wanted the ground to swallow me up because I felt inadequate. I didn’t think my prayers were very good. They never seemed to flow and other people sounded so much better.

I was given a piece of advice by a very wise lady who said “Remember Sue pray from the heart. That’s what God wants. You don’t have to use difficult words and your prayers don’t have to be long. Just remember they are from you to God. Your prayers are important to Him just as much as anyone else’s.”

I have found over the years different ways to pray and other people use other ways. It needs to be what is right for you, whether it is while walking, with music, candles, a cross, lying down, sitting, kneeling,or even driving, songs and prayer books. Putting a prayer book together can help too and when you know the prayer is answered thank God. Get together in groups of 3 and by prayer support for each other. We could use these next 70 days to follow the website of More than Gold and use the prayers which are on there.

The Bible is our biggest prayer book for us to use. It is full of psalms which can help us in prayer and Jesus used them too to pray. He spent time regularly with his Father on his own and with friends.

Today is our time to show the Light of Christ in the world and pass it on. We are called to him; we are called to shine for him whether it is individually or in groups. Let us pray to be 'his light in the world.'

The following are words from a hymn 'Make us your own, your holy people, light for the world to see...Christ be our light! Bernadette Farrell(b 1957)

May God bless you.

Sue

(Rev. S.Preston.)

Monday 9th April 2012

Dear All

I look out of my window today to the rain. Many days I have looked out and over the past few weeks have seen snowdrops and daffodils one minute peeping through and the next in full bloom and I am reminded how beautiful the world is that God created.

Everywhere somehow looks so much brighter in the sun. A couple of weeks ago the sun had been shining and this makes everything look much better and brings a smile to people’s faces. There is such wonder and greatness in what we see but above all this there is God’s love. We are reminded as we read Genesis and the Psalms and others too, that God knows what is in our heart and mind and even so he will take care of us, we are also reminded that this world also needs both sun and rain for the continuation of the plants and flowers around us. He cares for them all.

Through His great love we are reminded too of His great promise that is seen in the words of John 3:16. God loves and cares for us so much that he came to us in Jesus. Through Jesus we are brought back to God.

As I was looking through an old magazine I found this which says it all:

“His motive was love; his means, grace. His promise for eternity; his resurrection the confirmation.”

Marsh P The gift of a cross. 2005.

Easter is not the end; IT IS THE BEGINNING!

Love always brings a response in some way whether it is too love back or to have a love for someone that is not reciprocated and surely a love like this requires a response from us.

We can choose to reject it or we can welcome Christ once again into our hearts and let his Spirit transform our lives. What change can we expect? Will it be one that reflects that love of God? A likeness in Christ is seen in our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. (Galatians 5:22)

Through Lent we are given time to come closer to God. We are reminded of his suffering and obedience that he was to endure before his resurrection – new life! Is there now a new beginning; a new creation for us after the 40 days? What has our response been as we have followed a suffering Christ through Lent to his crucifixion to his resurrection on that glorious Easter day? Now it is Eastertide. We have celebrated and experienced new life in our churches. I hope and pray this will continue.

There is nothing greater than the love of God.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleulia!

God's every blessing to you this Eastertide.

Sue

Saturday 24th March 2012

Dear all

I don't know how often you read Sue's News but you may notice that I dont write on here everyday. I will write on here each month as often as I can sharing with you. Please continue to follow our website for information and for prayer requests or anything else that you may wish to share with us.

This has been an incredible month for me. I know God has everything in hand. The last 18 months have been quite a rollercoaster which has been filled with ups and downs. These last two weeks has shown me of times of moving forward as I was first given the 'all clear' from cancer and this week (this is now Methodist Church talk) the Probationers committee have recommended that I be received into full connexion and ordained on 1st July in Cornwall. I give thanks to God for all these things and the messages and prayers and support that I have received from friends, family, church family and people whom I dont even know. God is just amazing!

Yesterday I attended the civic prayer breakfast in Stoke. This was not something that I would usually have gone to and I suppose I had made mine own assumptions of what this might be. However, as I looked around at the sea of faces I was just amazed. There were around 200 people there. It was a time of sharing food (of course) and where we were from and what we were doing. I can truly say it was a positive morning of new expectations of building up Stoke-on-Trent and reminding people of their 'Creative History' in helping to do this. I feel sometimes that as we look back we know it can never be the same but we can help people to look afresh and especially to what God is doing here. Prayer and singing filled the hall. The Spirit was definitely moving there.

We are nearly at the end of March and we have seen signs already of Spring and after the prayer breakfast travelled with others to Nantwich .It was great to have time outside in the glorious sunshine, admiring the views of greens of hillsides and trees and the beautiful flowers. It was a great day out. This was another time of sharing and appreciating what we have and looking forward to things to come. This is now the time of year when we move our clocks forward and look forward to longer and lighter days. We move on. It is often hard to do because sometimes the decisions we have to make are difficult ones. I have had to make many myself.

Tomorrow is Passion Sunday. We follow Jesus in our readings as he shares of his suffering and of his death. In John 12 the crowds are gathering and are out to trap Jesus and kill him. Jesus knows that the time is near and readily shares and explains how it has to be. He says "Im telling you the truth: a grain of what remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains.' (Jn 12 v 24). His death was to produce life for many

Over the winter we haven't seen much colour in our gardens but as Spring has approached we have seen the shoots and then the flowers open in full bloom. Many people are out in their gardens mowing the lawns, tidying up the garden or planting new seeds or bulbs. They will not grow unless they are put into the ground and covered in soil. Often mine dont make it as I leave them and leave them but it has to be so for the seed or bulb to produce the plant. We will see that new life!

As Passion Sunday approaches may we be look afresh to God and be reminded that Jesus had to die to produce new life for many. Death itself for Christians brings New Life.

John 3v 16 For God so loved the world so much that he gave his Only Son so that everyone who believes in him shall not Perish but have Eternal Life.

God bless Sue

Tuesday 14th February.

Dear all

Today is Valentine's day. It is the day when we send messages of love to people we care about deeply. This doesn't necessarily have to be about girlfriend and boyfriend does it? Dont all people need to receive words of love? It is when we have a good relationship with others that we can share those messages. Sometimes (as the song goes by Ronan Keeting) it is when we say nothing at all! We dont have to because we just know. It is about the way we are with each other.

When I was growing up, my dad would tell us stories about his family. He came from a large family and this was the story we heard at many a family occasion. My dad came from a family of 15 and lived in a two up, two down. At night all the young ones would go to bed and when they were asleep the older ones would go to bed and prop the young ones up against the wall and they would go to bed. In the morning the older ones would get up and put the younger ones back in bed and wouldn't even know anything had happened. With a family that size I can imagine that it was not easy all the time and like most families they would have had their times of not getting on.

The church too is a family. We probably wont get on with each other all of the time and sometimes we just have to agree to disagree. Building each other up and supporting each other is all part of being a family and hopefully growing together through the love of Christ; the love Christ showed for his disciples. In John 13 Jesus instructs his disciples to show the same love for each as he has for them. God's love for his son is the same love that Jesus shows for his disciples and he wants us to share this too.

People are often quicker to see the bad points in people than the good. A church with divisions can be a barrier to people knowing Christ.

What people want most of all is to be loved. God's love is for all people. Through his love we can draw others to God.

The emphasis in this passage of John is the power of love. Verse 13 goes on to say "the greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them." This is a great challenge to us all.

Today is a good day to start showing our love for others. Today is a good day to show God's love for others by what we say and through our actions both in the church and in the wider community.

I will end here with a blessing that is used by many today:

May God's blessings surround you each day, as you trust Him and walk in His way,

May his presence within, guard and keep you from sin.

GO IN PEACE, GO IN JOY, GO IN LOVE.

God bless Sue

Dear all

As I’m typing this letter we are surrounded by ice and snow which I hope will have melted a little by the time your read it.

Last Sunday morning in the early hours I awoke because my room seemed really bright. I got up and walked to the window. I didn’t need a light on because it was so bright.

As I opened the curtain I looked across the estate. Everywhere was completely covered in pure white snow. I could just about see animal prints in the snow but nothing else. I listened to complete silence. Everywhere seemed so quiet and still. I was drawn to the awesomeness of God’s presence.

Again today as I travelled on the train (I really don’t like to drive in it) I looked out of the window. As we moved along the track I was suddenly aware of a flock of pigeons because as the train passed the field where they were, they suddenly all took flight. I may not have noticed them if the noise of the train hadn’t made them move as they seemed to be camouflaged by the snow. Again I thought how amazing is God that even through all the chaos that the snow seems to cause to us we can still be aware of God’s presence.

I used to be one who never really appreciated silence. Over the years through retreats and theological reflection I have learned to appreciate and love it. I never thought that I such a lively person would ever grow to love it as much as I do.

God speaks to us through noise and silence. It may depend what type of person you are whether you appreciate one or both but I am aware that in silence and in noise it is quite easy to miss God’s wonderful world which he made for us to enjoy.

Elijah had been walking in the wilderness when God spoke to him through an angel who left him food enough for 40 days to give him the strength he needed. In 1 Kings 19 :11 the Bible says ‘Then he was told, ‘Go stand on the mountain at attention before GOD. GOD will pass by.

A hurricane wind ripped through the maintains and shattered the rocks before GOD, but GOD wasn’t found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but GOD wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but GOD wasn’t in the fire, and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper,’

It was in the quiet whisper that Elijah heard God.

Look and listen for God. May your way be clear to not let God pass you by without noticing.

May the peace of God be always with you.

God bless Sue.

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Pickford Place

Meir

Stoke-on-Trent

Staffordshire

ST3 7DX