Belle Vue Prayer Day, 20 February
Shine Jesus Shine, or itís correct title, "Lord the Light of Your Love is Shining," is a beautiful modern hymn introduced by Graham Kendrick and one which sums up the February Prayer Day really well.

Arriving at the church ready to open up for 8am I was stunned by the range of things we had all found to reflect the theme - Jesus, Light of the World - and also by the peace and reverence in the church itself.

It's always a joy to walk into church just before a service, when I'm stewarding, and to have a few minutes with God before the hustle and bustle of my duties, but the Prayer Day gave us all the opportunity to spend a few minutes and even longer talking to God and to do this in different ways.

We were encouraged to reflect on items where light makes a real difference, using prisms, a kaleidoscope, a model church lit by a night light and a shape changer, as well as a light bulb, torch and reflective jacket. We were able to reflect on how Jesus was making a difference in our lives.

We then moved on to be reminded practically about Jesus being the light of the world as we made a Christingle and watched a power point display reflecting the different images of Jesus. There was also the opportunity to light a candle and pray for someone or a concern close to our hearts.

Children's activities included drawing on acetate to make a light catcher like stained glass.

People came in throughout the day, some for a few minutes to light a candle and pray quietly, some came and stopped to talk while enjoying a hot drink and a snack. Chris, one of the Belle Vue Community Support Officers came and spent some time with us. He has since been to The Rock Club. Please pray for Chris and his colleagues in their work and also that they will continue to come to our Prayer Days and know that Jesus is their Lord and Saviour.

Later we were joined by enthusiastic groups of Brownies who reminded us that God really does shine through each one of us, including young people.
Reflective music and a wonderful buffet once more made the experience a joyful and peaceful time to reflect and talk to God.
The day ended in a sharing of the Lord's Supper.


Church Prayer Days in April and May
15th APRIL and 22nd MAY

Shrewsbury Youth for Christ

SYFC continue to take many assemblies in our schools.
Launch assemblies were held at the beginning of the year for the new Rock Solid After School Clubs at Mary Webb, Wakeman and Grange Schools. The Clubs at Wakeman and The Grange started on 20 February. The local Baptist Minister and his wife have come forward to help at Mary Webb Rock Solid Club, an answer to prayer, and The Club began on 26 February and meets weekly at lunchtimes.
Christian Unions continue at The Sixth Form College, Meole Brace and The Priory, with help and support from SYFC when needed.
Bishop Alan has requested a review in education and Christian Chaplaincy is being looked at.

A young man has been accepted as a gap year student with SYFC for the next school year. A vacancy exists for another gap year student.
In February a weekly lunchtime ídrop-iní and a mentoring session later in the day were started at The Grange School.

SYFC also led 17 Easter assemblies in our schools. This included the preparation of the material used in these assemblies. Many prayers were said for Cathryn and Andy as they worked on these assemblies. Please continue to pray for Godís wisdom and guidance for Cathryn and Andy and for all involved with SYFC.

60 Years of Local Preaching

It all began rather inauspiciously. I was a member of the Manchester and Salford Mission circuit when I felt the call to preach. There was a minister and deaconess at each church: how different from the situation in our own circuit today! So Local Preachers very rarely appeared to conduct worship - usually in the summer holidays when the ministers were on holiday.

So why did I feel called to preach? This was a question which kept arising, especially as it was many months after I told my minister I felt a call that I was given a note to preach. I once nearly resigned before I started! But eventually I was given a ëNoteí, eventually put "On Trial" - and then left to it! I was never sent out with another preacher, did not have a local supervisor and studied for the exams by correspondence. The study consisted mainly of reading text books on The Old Testament, The New Testament and Christian Doctrine and writing essays which mainly reproduced what I had read. How different from today, when there is a structured course which doesnít just deal with texts, but challenges one to think and with a personal tutor to guide one through.

In 1948 I was accepted on "Full Plan". Since then I have led worship and preached in something like 63 Methodist Churches spread over 15 circuits, a Baptist Church, an Anglican Church and a hospital chapel. Total number of services?? Theyíve been mission halls, large suburban churches, small town churches, in large housing estates and tiny rural chapels.

60 years ago congregations were larger than today and most churches had two services every Sunday. The morning was the smaller composed mainly of church members. The evening was usually the larger made up of what today we would call adherents or the community roll, who perhaps had no very strong affiliation to the church. So much so that one minister told me (perhaps with tongue in cheek), "Preach to the saints in the morning and the sinners at night"
The service always followed the same pattern, with five hymns, always from The Methodist Hymn Book ( no Mission Praise or Songs of Fellowship etc). The sermon always came before the last hymn. Woe betide any preacher who dared to deviate. I was once soundly taken to task by a church steward because I dared to put The Lord's Prayer after the "second prayers." There always had to be a text - and nobody ever mentioned the word lectionary. Today there are "themes".
Over the years there have been many changes. There is now much more variation in the order of worship, regular use of responsive prayer and a much more frequent use of liturgical forms of worship. We now have visual presentations and drama. Microphones are in place in many churches and we have OHPs and Powerpoint. Whereas 60 years ago there would usually be an organ (and someone to play it!) we now have other musical instruments being used.

From a preaching point of view there are far more important changes. People today are used to high quality presentation on radio and TV, and I sense that congregations have higher expectations in church that when I began. There is more questioning among us - and perhaps more to question because of the moral and ethical issues of today. 60 years ago I seem to remember that it was war, alcohol and gambling that occupied our Methodist thinking. Now we are faced with issues like abortion, homosexuality, drugs, "cloning", global warming etc; and because of modern media we are made more aware of the world-wide issues. It is against that background that we have to preach today.

It has been a privilege to be able to preach for so long, to meet so many people and to have been so well supported. It has usually been a happy experience - but there have been hard times, especially during preparation, when there has been much pencil and paper, perspiration and sometimes panic! My preacher colleagues will know what I mean!

I still believe in preaching. Together with all the change I've mentioned, it still has a place. When the Rev. Dr. Colin Morris was head of Religious Broadcasting at the BBC in 1948 he spoke about the possibilities for the good of the Gospel that radio presented. But he ended by saying that in spite of that people still needed "someone to look them in the eye and tell them about Jesus".
After 60 years I still think that is true.

Dennis Holmes