Withington Methodist News
December 2016
SUNDAY WORSHIP
4th December
11th December
18th December
25th December
Christmas Day
10.45
Pamela Sewart (Toy Service)
17.30
Promilla Jabeen / Noel Noel
Advent Tea & Worship
10.45
Rev Jane Wild (Holy Communion)
17.30
Vivien Wilkinson
Advent Tea & Worship
10.45
Nativity & Carol Service
17.30
Rev Jane Wild (Holy Communion & Carols)
10.00
Rev Jane Wild
17.30
No service
Evening Services from 4th December until 29th January will take place at 5.30pm
TUESDAY MORNING COFFEE FELLOWSHIP
A warm welcome awaits you at this devotional meeting for men and women of all ages and
denominations. Please check the location with the Church Office.
COFFEE/TEA AND BISCUITS SERVED AT 10:30AM (30P)
6th December
Ann Findlow
Astley, Manchester
Vivien
13th December
Rev Louise Gough, including
carols & mince pies
Ora
From the Editor....
A reminder to anyone who wants to contribute to the magazine, your
contributions are more than welcome and can be emailed to me on
[email protected] or dropped into my 'mailbox' in the
Church Office. I will also gladly take suggestions and requests!
The deadline for the January edition is Friday 16th December.
Dear Friends,
During the four weeks of Advent, we prepare for the celebration of
Christ’s birth through prayer and reflection. We contemplate the First
Coming of Jesus as Saviour, and anticipate his promised Second Coming.
Amid the flurry of Christmas preparations, we look for practical ways to
observe the holiness of the season in our everyday lives.
In Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist calls us to a deeper kind of
preparation: to prepare for Immanuel, God with us. He asks us to
examining fruitfulness of our lives, confessing and repenting from our
sin may be part of our preparation. Another part of that preparation
maybe an examination of our world, identifying and exposing the
power imbalances that have left many oppressed and without essential
services this Christmas. What world are we welcoming this child and
every child into? Advent is not a time of passive waiting but of active
preparation for the coming of the kingdom.
Perhaps you might like to use this short prayer on the days of advent to
help reflect on these things:
God with us, be with me.
When I am called like Mary, help me to obey.
When I am tested like Joseph, help me to trust.
Let me be like the magi, reading the signs of the times.
Let me be like an angel, a messenger for you. Amen.
The culmination of our preparations is the Birth of Christ and great
celebration of the intervention of God into the ways of Humanity which
continues all around us. So May you know the presence of God in your
life and world this Christmas.
With Best Wishes for Advent Christmas and the New Year
God Bless
Jane
Revd. Jane Wild
Minister of Withington Methodist Church
Matthew, Luke and Christ’s Nativity
by Ian W. Mutton
Evangelists Matthew and Luke offer quite different accounts concerning the
nativity of the Saviour. Matthew commences his Gospel with a genealogy which
follows the line of Joseph, Christ’s earthly father, taking the line through King
David back to Abraham. He emphasises that before Mary and Joseph came
together the infant was conceived by the Holy Spirit thus making it clear Jesus is
the Son of God.
Often in those days Jewish children were named after heroes. Our Lord was
named Jesus which is a form of Joshua which means “God’s salvation.” Matthew
also makes it plain this new-born child will be known as Emmanuel which means
“God with us”. Matthew goes on to show Joseph assumed responsibility for the
infant. Jews were scattered far and wide in what is known as the Diaspora.
Wherever they went they took their scriptures and their knowledge of God. They
would speak of their expectation of the Messiah who would deliver them from
their oppressors. Their scriptures pointed to such a person in the Book of David
and the Prophets. Matthew quotes the prophet Micah:
“And you. O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are
by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
far from you shall come a ruler who will govern
my people Israel.” (5.2).
The wise men of the east would be well aware of this Coming One so travelled to
find this new-born ruler, the King of the Jews, to pay Him homage, offering gifts
to Him of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were guided by a star. God was
understood as inhabiting the heavens. He led the Children of Israel through the
wilderness by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13.21).
From the first two chapters of Matthew’s Gospel we find the author dealing with
the questions the Hebrew people would ask when Christians would claim Jesus
was the Messiah. Matthew writes of the Lord’s initial enemy, King Herod, who
saw Christ’s death as competition. He felt obliged to eliminate his opposition,
however, Joseph saw himself as the protector of the new-born King.
Luke wrote for a different constituency. He seeks to answer the questions that
Gentiles ask. Luke was himself a Gentile. The first four verses of his Gospel
reveal he spoke impeccable Greek. Probably a resident of Philippi, scholars think
he was the man from Macedonia who met the apostle Paul at Troas (Acts 16.13).
Luke became a friend and doctor of Paul when the apostle was imprisoned
(Col.4.14). He obviously had an academic background for he researched
thoroughly when compiling his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. The symbol
of Luke is the ox, the symbol of sacrifice and service. As you read the first two
chapters of his Gospel you recognize the accounts of sacrificial service of
Zacharius, Elizabeth, the Virgin Mary, the Shepherds, Simeon and Anna.
The evangelist begins with Zacharius and Elizabeth who was well past
childbearing age. Zacharius offers divine service through his temple duties. As he
participates an angel informs him Elizabeth will bear a son to be named John. The
Virgin Mary is approached by an angel to be the mother of the Redeemer. She
cheerfully commits herself to the task, making her sacrifice of praise, singing:
“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” When
John is born Zacharius also bursts into praise, singing: “Blessed be the God of
Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people.”
The angel host glorify God and the shepherds, watching over their flocks by
night hear them. The shepherds leave their sheep in god’s hands as they rush to
pay homage to the holy infant. Luke, like Matthew, anchors the event in history.
Caesar Augustus decreed that all males be taxed at the town of their birth. Hence
Joseph and Mary are in Bethlehem.
Luke then writes of another act of worship. Joseph and Mary take the holy child
to dedicate Him in the temple. Here Simeon the officiating priest performs the
appropriate rite then he offers his sacrifice of praise as he sings: “Lord now let
your servant depart in peace for I have seen your salvation.” But he realizes the
infant Christ will make a sacrifice for all people . He informs Mary: “A sword
also will pierce your heart.” Finally, the writer mentions Anna who spends the
twilight of her life in the Temple fasting and praying night and day. There is little
doubt Luke the doctor visited Mary in her old age, learning the above incidents
from her lips.
In the third chapter of his Gospel, Luke also presents the genealogy of the Lord
Jesus. Again it is Joseph’s line, but there is a difference – he goes back beyond
Abraham not only to Adam, a Gentile, but to Adam the son of God.
So there are two different sets of stories about the nativity of our Lord. The
reason being Matthew wrote for the Jews and Luke for the Gentiles. Matthew
emphasises the Messiah whereas Luke stresses worship, service and sacrifice.

Weekly events in our Church and Community:
Every Tuesday at 10.30am Tuesday Morning Coffee Fellowship, see
timetable on the inside cover for details.
10.30am every Wednesday in Advent – Bible Study, all welcome
12 noon every Wednesday join us for 10 minutes of prayer usually
in the Quiet Room, or please pause wherever you are.
Every Thursday 2pm-4pm Needles and Yarns – craft group, come
along to do some craft or learn a new one!
Other events in our Church and Community:
Tuesday 13th November 2pm Carol Service at the Downing
residential home, Swinbourne Road. Come and share in worship
with our near neighbours.
Sunday 4th & 11th December 5.30pm Advent afternoon tea &
worship, 5.30pm in the Lounge. Themes are Hope and Joy. There
will be cake, advent hymns, conversation and prayer. All welcome!
Come & join us as we prepare for Christmas.
Wednesday 14th December Carols Round the Tree with the
Brownies & Rainbows, see notices for final details.
24th December 5.30pm Christingle Service
A Christingle looks like this picture! It is an orange, with
a ribbon wrapped around it, with sweets stuck on it,
and a light in the middle. Each item is symbolic and we
will explain it to you during our service on Christmas
Eve.
TraidCRAFT stall after morning worship third Sunday of every
month. There is a catalogue and order forms in the Church Office for
any orders.
ALL WE CAN
Thanks to all who contributed to the ‘Making a Splash’ harvest
appeal! Around £344 pounds has been sent to All We Can
headquarters to be used, particularly in Uganda on their water
programme led by local people, who really understand the
requirements of the local people.
We are also reminded of All We Can’s work in Ethiopia, where
shepherds are changing the future for their families and
communities. The erratic unpredictable weather has left farmers
struggling to know when to plant crops. All We Can’s local partner,
SUNARMA, was able to offer both training in new farming methods
and the provision of a special breed of sheep. Since local farmers
started receiving support they have been able to increase their flocks
and with more training, have been helped to grow vegetables.
Consequently, farmers are now able pay for their children’s
secondary education and university fees.
Copies of the ‘Extraordinary Gifts’ a brochure containing lots of
ideas of life–changing gifts to share with family and friends this
Christmas is available from Jenny Went and around the church!
Light the way this Christmas by giving Extraordinary Gifts!
Withington Methodist Church
439 Wilmslow Road, Withington, Manchester, M20 4AN
Office Tel: 0161 445 0804
email: [email protected]
Minister: Reverend Jane Wild
Tel: 0161 445 3539
Editor: Giselle du Toit
[email protected]
www.withingtonmethodistchurch.com
Sunday Services
Morning Worship* and Junior Church: 10:45 am
Evening Worship*: 6:30 pm
*for Holy Communion see inside cover
Regular Activities
MondayFriday
Morning Coffee – 10:00am - 12 noon
Monday
Monday Monkeys – 10:00am - 11:30am
Tuesday
Tuesday Tots – 10:00am - 12 noon
Tuesday morning coffee fellowship see inside cover
Wednesday
Rainbows – 5:30 - 6:30pm
Brownies – 6:30 - 8:00pm
Thursday
Needles & Yarns craft group – 2-4pm
Friday
Men's Club – 2:00 - 4:30pm
Saturday
Contact Centre – 2:30 - 4:30pm
About Withington Methodist Church
We are a community of people who meet to worship God every Sunday morning and evening
(see inside cover for details). Our services are open to all. At our morning service, we have
both a crèche and Junior Church available for children ('All Age Worship' will only have the
crèche as older children are welcomed into the main service).
During the week we have various other activities & organisations meeting at our premises.
We have two toddler groups a week and are open weekday mornings for anyone to have a
coffee and a chat. Our craft group meets on Thursday afternoons for anyone who wants to
bring a craft or learn a new one.
We have various rooms available for hire for anything from a once off hourly basis to a long
term let, please speak to the Church Office for details, or email
[email protected].