MINISTER'S MESSENGER
Hello and welcome to the website of Newtown United Reformed Church!
My name is Diane and I'm the Minister of the church. I've been at Newtown since July 2015 and am enjoying getting to know the people and the area, as well as leading the church in developing its faith and mission.
I do this work for love, not money, and am also the Minister at our sister church, Toll Bar with Prescot URC. In addition I have a part-time paid job, supporting people with disabilities. It is a great privilege to be doing work that is so worthwhile, and above all to follow God's calling in my life.
Newtown is a very friendly church, always looking for ways of reaching out and welcoming new people. We would love to see you at any of our services or events, whether you are a church-goer or not. Do get in contact if you want to know more or if I can help you in any way.
God bless
Diane
Rev Diane Barrow
Pastoral Letter
Greetings to you!
The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:17-18)
Many years ago now, I remember taking part in a survey where we asked people on the streets what they most wanted from life. The answer that came back most often was peace of mind. The longing for peace, whatever form that may take, is something that most people can identify with. And yet it seems that peace is harder and harder to obtain in today's world.
We pray for peace, but cruel wars keep starting and intensifying and rarely come to an end. On a smaller scale, acts of senseless violence keep hitting the headlines. Social media and the internet bombard people with messages, some of which are very destructive and add to a growing mental health crisis. We pray for inner peace, but how do we begin to work for peace, to help create peace?
In this time of Lent, we are looking forward to celebrating the greatest act of peacemaking that the world has ever seen. Jesus, God's own Son, responded to all the violence and ignorance that the world could throw at him, not by hitting back but by laying down his life in obedience to God and opening up the door of forgiveness and reconciliation to all who would give their lives in trust to him. The gift of God to each of us in Christ is shalom – wholeness and peace.
Peace is wisdom from God. It is counter-cultural; it means being willing to be different: to be gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy. It requires patient seed-sowing, maybe over many years without much sign of change, but God will give the harvest in his time.
If we want to be used by God to be peacemakers in his world, we need to keep Jesus at the centre of our focus. I suggest that this Lent, we read slowly through Mark's gospel and pay special attention to what Jesus did and said to bring about peace. And I pray that you will come to a deeper knowledge of the peace of God that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
God bless and shield you and keep you in his peace.
Diane
Prayers for our Church and Community
Please pray for Newtown URC and the community in which we are placed. Here are some points to get you started:
· For us all to grow in love for God and for one another
· For more people to join us at social events and in worship
· For the ability to listen - to God and to the community
·
For the money that we
need, not only to maintain the church and pay the bills, but to expand our work
for the Lord
· For Queens Park Primary School: all the staff, children and their families, and for the assemblies this year which will teach the children the whole Bible
· For the families and individuals living in the streets around us
· For the businesses nearby
· For all those providing services to the community
· For our neighbouring churches: Bethel Mission, St Luke's and St Teresa's.