Aylesbury Methodist Church & Centre

If you haven't been already, why not come and visit our Welcome Space Coffee Shop? It is open each day from Mondays to Saturdays from 10am to 12 noon. We have Fairtrade filter coffees and a range of teas, home made cakes and snacks. There is free wi-fi and a friendly welcome.

There is plenty going on this week, despite the Monday Bank Holiday. such as Prayer Group, Banner Group, Boys' Brigade, Organ Concert, Sunbeams Babies & Toddlers, In Stitches and Mahjong. All are welcome..

Newly refurbished, The WELCOME Space was officially opened on Saturday by Pauline Latham, wife of the late Brian Latham, who first championed and led this project. The event took place at an afternoon service, led by our minister, Rev. Helen Kirk who explained the story so far and vision for the future.

There will be a memorial concert In Stratford-upon-Avon for former AMC member Brian Atkins, who passed away last July. It will be given by his friend and international concert pianist Philip Dyson, who gave a superb concert for us here in Aylesbury The Concert is to be held at Stratford-upon-Avon Methodist Church on Saturday 25th May at 7 pm. It is on the weekend that would have been Brian's 80th birthday.

Now that the Welcome Space is up and running, we need to concentrate on raising the last bit of money that is still needed. With that in mind your fundraising team is going to run a tombola stall at Stone village fete on the May bank holiday, Monday 27th May. So please let Gill Marks have any items that can be used on the stall.

Next Wednesday 8th May at 7.30pm, our Annual Organ Concert will feature the Scott Brothers Duo. That is Jonathan Scott on organ and Tom Scott on piano. Tickets are £12 at door or £10 booked in advance, with students having free admission.

The Official Opening of The WELCOME Space is on this Saturday 4th May at 2.30pm. Pauline Latham will unveil a commemorative plaque remembering her husband Brian, the first champion and leader of the project. The service will be led by Rev. Helen Kirk.

This week, a trainer from the Acorn Listening Trust is coming to do training on 'Practical Listening Skills' The course will be in room 4 on Thursday 2nd May from 9.30am- 4.00pm and Friday 3rd May from 9.30am- 1.00pm. Participation is free. If anyone would like to be involved and join the ten other people who are coming along for the training, please let me know on Aylesbury 488963 or revhelenkirk@sky.com.

Tomorrow, Saturday April 27th at 7:30pm, the SOS Group celebrate 47 Years of ABBA. There was a time before Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid were part of our lives, but Waterloo changed everything. CDs, stage shows and films followed, and this evening we enjoy all things ABBA: their music to sing along to and the Swedish food they were raised on.

Learn & Play Mahjong. Come and join us for an evening of Mahjong, the traditional game for four people that is similar to rummy. It is a social, relaxing, and fun game. Our next game will be on Friday, 26 April in Room 2 at 7:30pm.

On Easter Sunday, our packed, multinational church, was united in its celebration of the Easter message of love and hope. But amidst the celebration, there was also time to remember and pray for our Sri Lankan members and their family & friends back home.

This year's Easter breakfast raised £400 for London's Whitechapel Mission and the homeless they care for. The full English Breakfast with a vegetarian option, cooked and served by the SOS team, is an established part of our Easter tradition. It's a mixture of food and fellowship to start this day of celebration.

Christian Aid's Chief Executive, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, is travelling to Washington DC and New York for a series of high level meetings at the World Bank and Finance for Development conference respectively, where she will be promoting the cause of the world's poorest. Amanda will be arguing that the global economic system is broken at the World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC from 8-12 April, and the Finance for Development conference in New York from 12-16 April. Despi...te convincing rhetoric and grand gestures from those in power, and despite the pledges to leave no one behind, Christian Aid believes that the oppression of marginalised people is deeply embedded in how the global economic system operates- a system which prioritises insatiable growth beyond the Earth's ecological limits and one which devalues the lives and dignity of billions of people across the Global South.
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We live in uncertain times. Does faith in Jesus transform the world for us? How can faith change how we love and understand our neighbours? The time between the first Easter and Pentecost was a time of uncertainty when the disciples were left asking, "What does all this mean?" Life is an uncertain endeavour and our faith in the risen Jesus involves ongoing discovery, which takes time and attention. Thy Kingdom Come is a global initiative, in which Christians are called to pray for the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost.

This evening at 7.30pm, we have our Maundy Thursday service. Tomorrow's Good Friday service is at 10.00am. Easter Sunday begins with pre-booked Easter Breakfast at 9.00am and family communion service at 10.30am.

Like many of you I watched the spectacle of Notre Dame engulfed in flames on the rolling news on the tv other evening. Astonishing and dreadful images as a devastating fire ripped through a historic building, gobbling up everything before it, regardless of its importance or cultural significance. It seemed the whole of Paris watched in horror and the whole of the world sent messages of condolence to a nation in mourning, for this was no mere building but an iconic structure that represented the heart of France.

We are getting ready for Christian Aid Week, which is from 12th- 18th May. That is when we have house-to-house collections in some areas of Aylesbury. We would very much welcome some new collectors for this, as a number of our collectors have now 'retired'! You have a choice of putting a collection envelope through doors and returning a few days later to collect them in, or to make one visit using a collecting tin.

Yesterday, our congregation received an envelope for their Easter Offering for the work of the world church. This offering forms a very large part of the world church budget, enabling Mission Partners to complete their work, for emergency help in times of disaster and much, much, more. There are many calls on the purse and pocket and people's budgets are very different, but I encourage you to be generous in your giving.

Last Saturday's Ghanaian Night raised a total of £1,011.70 to be split equally between the Alfan Foundation ) and Karibuni Children ). Albert Odro, organiser of the evening's entertainment and meal said, "It was a brilliant evening with colour and atmosphere and people liked the food."