Information for Remembrance Sunday 2023 in Bramhall
Bramhall Parish News | February 2022
Welcome to the newly relaunched Bramhall Parish News.
This publication will be sent out each month via email. For those not on email a printed copy will be included in their weekly Home Pack.
Printed copies will also be made available at church for visitors and those not on our mailing lists.
To read this months edition please continue down the page. If you struggle to view the document in this email you can download it here:
Supporting the Foodbank
Each week we take up a collection for foodbank distribution. We invite everyone to bring something that would be considered an every day essential to donate that will help others less well off in our local community.
Currently we are supporting the foodbank at St Paul's Church of England Primary School in Brinnington, where packs of essentials are made up out of the donated items.
No one should feel forced to donate to the foodbank, but we encourage folk to give as part of the thanksgiving to God for the resources they have. The giving of items to the foodbank is about sharing resources, a biblical precedent set by the early church.
Practically, when thinking about what to donate, please make sure your items are unopened, and that they are still in date too. Donations can be brought to one of our acts of worship or left in or by church throughout the week.
Items to consider in your foodbank donation are:
· UHT Milk,
· Sugar,
· Jam,
· Pasta sauces,
· Tinned fruit & veg,
· Tinned meats & fish,
· Cereals,
· Soups either tins or packs,
· Tea,
· Coffee,
· Cordial juices and
· Biscuits/treats.
· Toilet rolls,
· Shampoo/conditioner,
· Body wash,
· Razors,
· Toothpaste,
· Nappies,
· Sanitary items,
· Washing up liquid.
Annual Meeting
Our annual meeting will take place on Sunday 18th April 2021 at 2pm in Church.
During the meeting we will elect Churchwardens and PCC members whilst also receiving the Annual Report and Accounts for 2020. There will also be an opportunity for members to ask questions of the Vicar and Churchwardens.
The Electoral Roll was closed on 30th March 2021, you can view a copy of our roll here: Electoral Roll 2021
Documents for the annual meeting can be found below:
Minutes from the 2020 Annual Meeting
If you are interested in standing for election to the PCC please contact the PCC Secretary, Tricia Munn, via the Parish Office.
Lent Greetings from Bishop Oscar
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith!
The disciplines of Lent, which began on Ash Wednesday, are not intended to be burdensome, but to open our lives more fully to the transforming power of the gospel. Our mission as the Anglican Church of Tanzania is simple, yet powerful: it is ‘to equip God’s people to transform society with the gospel’. This is a holistic transformation much deeper and more lasting than any government or international agency can bring because it addresses our deepest need, that of a restored relationship with the God in whose image we are made and whose workmanship we are.
The glorious truth of the gospel is that we are justified freely by God’s grace alone, but far from making us complacent about doing good, the abundant grace and full forgiveness we have through the blood of Christ should be a great spur to Christ-like living, to walking in those good works ‘which God prepared beforehand’.
Our Christian faith can also have an impact on the scourge of unemployment; although the immediate causes often lie with economic forces beyond our control, the Christian values of hard work, thrift, enterprise and honesty have the capacity to bring long term prosperity.
These things are not easy. They call for the spiritual depth which comes from a real and growing awareness of Christ’s presence in our personal lives. Otherwise, the good works God calls us to do will simply feel like burdens and we will not sustain them under pressure. During this Lenten season, whatever particular disciplines we adopt, our first aim should be to draw near to God in prayer and through his Word, beseeching him to make in us new and contrite hearts, hearts that will desire the things of his heart.
Without this joyful discipline, we will be vulnerable to taking short cuts that lead us away from the truth of the gospel. Some church leaders seem to think that the transformation of society will simply come through commitment to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, and at home in Tanzania , the Vision 2030 initiative and the new constitution. While it is obvious that such good things as feeding the hungry, fighting disease, improving education and national prosperity are to be desired by all, by themselves any human dream can become a substitute gospel which renders repentance and the cross of Christ irrelevant.
So this Lent, let us seek to experience a renewed walk with Christ in those good works that God has prepared. The good news of the gospel is that transformation begins with ordinary men, women and children, however sinful or insignificant we may feel. It is not a responsibility we can leave to governments and agencies, but a challenge to fulfil the purposes of Almighty God in our place for our time.
May the Lord establish your hearts in every good work as you trust in Him.
Amen.
Yours Servant in the love of Christ,
Rt.Rev. Oscar Stephen Mnunga.
Bishop Diocese of Newala.
Greetings from Newala
We received a message from The Diocese of Newala in Tanzania on St Michaels Day which reads as follows:
Dear Friends at St Michael & All Angels, Bramhall,
Greetings from Anglican Communion Diocese of Newala.
This are specially prayers from the Diocese of Newala for St. Michael and All Angels Christians Bramhall Parish during this pandemic season of Corona Virus.
To our brothers and sisters who have contracted and are suffering due to the Corona virus Disease, we pray that God’s healing hand may rest upon them.
To medical doctors, nurses and the supporting staff who are in the front line of the fight against COVID-19, may the Good Lord sustain you and inspire you to render your lifesaving services with due care, love and compassion.
To all those who have lost their loved ones due to the Corona virus outbreak,we convey our deepest sympathies.
We pray that their souls, through God’s mercy, may rest in eternal peace.
We pray that God may grant all bereaved families his consolation and strengthen their faith and hope in Jesus Christ.
Let us foster respect and solidarity with others, especially those who are weak or poor.
In sadness and grief, for those who don't have anyone to hear their suffering and pain, for those who don't have anyone to love and care, for those who don't have anyone to tell their stories and especially for those who have been suffering due to this pandemic and struggling with corona virus to see another day in their life.
We pray for their courage of heart and strength of mind and body. Keep them safe from harm.
Lord, we pray for those who need ongoing medical treatment who are forced to wait at this time.
God, please watch over their health and help them to stay positive and patient.
We pray that we overcome this global crisis and that after this pandemic, we build a more just and humane world.
Amen
Yours in the love of Christ.
Revd Canon. Jackan Waweru.
Diocesan Information Officer
