action - locally by engage 

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Action Unit

Hope08

Christmas Fest

Playaway

'Engage'   Local Mission Team

The Engage or Local Mission Team  works alongside PBC's MIST and National Mission Teams, helps to enable PBC to become involved in mission locally around Poynton.

At one of the Elders ’ Away Days, as we prayerfully considered vision and how PBC would look in the future, the word ‘Engage’ was written alongside a group that would head up local mission.  The word ‘Engage’ seemed to capture something of what God wants us to be.  Will we be people who ‘engage’ with others – who choose to ‘walk across the room’?  Will we be an ‘engaging church’, one that attracts because our lives, our attitudes, our love, through word and action, show others Jesus?

Engage is the final team to be set up to cover different aspects of mission within PBC.  It will be focusing on local mission and in the coming weeks a core team will meet together, asking God to show us His heart for local mission and to begin putting together a strategy for the coming months and years.  It is the beginning of a journey – one that is on God’s heart and one that must be on ours.  

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We apologise....

At our recent invitation service Sean gave a heartfelt apology to those who felt hurt by the actions of others. Many people asked for a copy - click here to read it. If you want to listen to the service you can link to the MP3 file from the podcast link.

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Poynton Christmas Fest

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Click on the photo to see more

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Sign the PBC  Christmas Card

Once again we will have the opportunity to send our Christmas greetings and messages to one another via a PBC corporate Christmas Card. All monies raised this year will go towards helping local people either via the store cupboard, hampers or the planned Christmas Dinner.

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The Dry Store Cupboard at PBC continues to feed the people in need who live on our doorsteps. It is kept well stocked and with food being distributed appropriately.  

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Playaway

The Mum's & Toddler Group 'Playaway' started in 1977 and has, and still remains,  a very successful group, bringing many new people into the church.  

Playaway Team T-shirt

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The New Year sees the start of Hope08 – a year when churches throughout the country will join together with one common aim - to share the love of Jesus with their local communities and ultimately throughout this nation. 

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Local partnerships

We have had discussions with the local police, councillors and teachers to get to grips with the needs of Poynton. We continue to pray and seek God's way forward.  

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Local Transformations

See just one example of the transformation of two local sites in Poynton made by young peoples' teams from Festival Manchester, working with our local Christians.

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The Action Unit has been running since 1975 and we continue to work towards helping others through a practical ministry. A lot has been accomplished through this small group, consisting of members from the Baptist Churches in our area, namely, Bramhall, Stockport, Hazel Grove, Chelwood, Grove Lane and PBC in our acting for Christ through the involvement in other’s needs.  

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AN APOLOGY

A task falls to me today the like of which I have never had to perform before in all my Christian life, so I hope you will bear with my fumbling.

Over the years I have had to apologise too many people for thoughtless and sometimes wilful acts I have committed, which have hurt and upset other people.

However on this occasion I am charged with offering an apology to you my brothers & sisters on behalf of this church body.

We are all the church you and I not this building, but we the people.

It is sadly inevitable that in any organisation such as ours, there will people who have been part of the church family that have been hurt or ill-treated.

The fact that this is inevitable does not make this apology any less important and should not excuse the behaviour which caused that pain.        

There will people sitting here today who have been damaged or mistreated, and have had their mind & soul blistered by the actions of others.

 

Dear sisters & brothers I am here to ask for your forgiveness.

Whether that pain was caused intentionally or unintentionally by thoughtless word and deed, as can sometimes be the case even among Gods people.

We are sorry!

When people are hurting they can be misunderstood and are on occasion left at the roadside to pretty much fend for themselves.

You see I believe the church should be an example, not that we get things right all the time, heaven knows we don’t.

But what should set us apart from the world is that we ask for and give our forgiveness.

We the church should keep a short list of grievances and complaints with each other.

We should regularly ask for God’s forgiveness, in fact we do every time we take communion. We expect God to forgive us our many failings because His Word promises us He will; can we say we forgive others so quickly and easily?

 

A few years ago I stayed at a Christian campsite in France and heard the testimony of a 40 yr old woman.

She told of her brother then aged 20 who had been murdered by his girlfriend’s ex-partner.  The man had killed her brother, the young woman and another friend of theirs in revenge for being dumped.

This incident took place more than 20 years ago and the woman had got to the place where she could consider talking to God about forgiveness. It was not easy.

 

Point being that forgiveness is a process, an act of will and is not always a one off experience. Painful emotions and deep felt hurt cannot be healed with a sticking plaster. They need the healing balm of God’s Holy Spirit.   

 

So if you are here today as someone who has been hurt or ill-treated by the thoughtless or intentional actions of members this church body, then I offer you an unconditional apology. Will you find it in your heart & mind to pull down that wall of anger and resentment that may have been built to protect your self.

If you cannot pull down the wall, may you start to take out some of the bricks of that wall and start to consider what to do.

 

Our act of forgiveness is not necessarily reserved for this church body. It maybe you need to go to someone in your family or a friend and ask for their forgiveness or begin reconciliation. If you would like someone to pray with you to start this process please come to the front at the end of the service where one of the team members will be happy to pray with you.


Let’s stand together and affirm our love for each other and for our Father God by saying the Lord’s Prayer.

 

  30-Nov-09