Sue Keir died on Monday and we shared prayers of thanks for Sue’s life and peace, hope and comfort for Dave and their children Emma and Jamie and their families.

We knew Sue as a woman of great gentleness, faith, courage and determination, which was an inspiration to so many. The name “Sue” means Lily in Hebrew and points to generosity and gracefulness. This applies so well to Sue. Sue became a Christian in 1982 and knew Christ as her Saviour and one who had transformed her life in so many ways. Along with Dave, they were involved at the heart of Westcliff Baptist Church in Essex and they have been part of our community for just over three years now.

Sue had a lead role in a missionary link with French churches. No one experience tells the whole story of someone’s life, but Sue’s facing of Breast Cancer for the past nine years was significant. She was a wonderful campaigner and witness which encompassed articles, conferences and summits, meetings with MPs, lead roles in networks and Breast Cancer Care including an amazing fashion show in 2007. She spoke at the Metastatic Breast Cancer Summit in Munich in 2010 and her presentation can be found here on this website.

Sue’s life was all about fun, faith, family life and campaigning. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dave, Emma and Jamie – that their sadness will have peace and hope; their tears have deeper joy and memories and that their love together and from God will sustain them.

Sue’s funeral will be held at MBC at 10.30am on Wednesday 23rd May, all are welcome. Donations to Breast Cancer Care using this link please.

Graham

We had a lot of fun last Sunday morning! Knowing that the annual Leeds Half Marathon goes right past our door at or close to the four-mile mark is just a sheer nuisance to some, given that the necessary road-closures can disrupt our journey to church. But instead of being annoyed this year, we decided to join in and offer teas, coffees and squash drinks to spectators and passers-by.

This involved a major logistical exercise. We set up a drinks station in the middle of the roundabout, de-littered the area, served teas to those that wanted them and took it all down again after the last stragglers had come through. We managed to achieve this before the traffic started up again, and just started our church service a little later than usual. We have to applaud Graham and Margaret’s efforts at putting up the gazebo, especially without the instructions. Well, instructions are for wimps anyway…

The reaction to our little gazebo was rather mixed, but many people did take advantage of our hospitality, although some seemed to think that we were running a watering station for runners and we managed to inadvertently steal an umbrella from one of our customers (this was later returned).

We also enjoyed our usual “spot Moira” game which involved working out what time Moira would come through by studying her PB’s and previous timings, and then managing to snap a photo, even though she was hiding at the far side of a group of other runners and her children were unhelpfully vague about what she might be wearing this year.

But all joking aside, this was a great example of outreach into the community, which is something we always need to be trying to do more of. Thanks to all who helped, in whatever way.

Tonight saw the match of the season in the Under 17 Onside football league – it was Moortown City (previous winners of the title) versus new boys Moortown United.

A great effort was put in by all, perhaps apart from the City goalie (see picture) who skills were not really tested. It was not perhaps the most level pegged match, but althoughthe victory by City was well-deserved, but by no means given to them easily by the hard-working United.

In the older league, Moortown put in a sterling performance to secure a comfortable win over New Testament.

In both leagues the title race is now on, and the sunshine is a welcome change from the umbrellas and wellies of recent weeks!

An update of important Youth news:

Reminder there is no GLUE this Friday.

The Big Night Out at Lightwater Valley is this coming Saturday, don’t forget to be at church at 4.30pm.

Wednesday 23^rd May – no Rock Solid or RS2. Both teams are attending the Care For the Family event, ‘Getting Our Kids Through Church Without them ending up Hating God’.

Caitlin & Glenda are away from the office on Tues 22^nd & Wed 23^rd May on the BU children & youth worker conference.

Divine, 27^th May. ‘Bring a friend along to Divine night’. This special service looking at the theme ‘Loved by God’ is designed to give everyone the opportunity to have an easy place to bring friends & family to a church event. Starting at 6pm, this short service is followed by good food for all.

Glenda

MBC is looking for a Youth Worker! This opportunity has arisen following the calling of our current youth minister, the Rev. Glenda Down, to a position in another church after being with us for nine years. If you are interested or know anyone else who might be then please read the information pack which can be downloaded from here. An application form can be downloaded from here. We have taken out an advert in various publications which you can download as a PDF here or view as an image below.

If after reading the information pack you still need more information, or would like an informal chat about the role, then please contact Graham or Marion through the church office.

Holiday Bible Club has played an important part in MBC’s children’s ministry for more than four decades. This year, with many of the regular HBC team otherwise engaged on our mission trip to Kenya, we are looking for just one or two more people to join a core planning team which will pull together the many different elements of this exciting and challenging event.

Holiday Bible Club is penciled in the church diary for the first week of the school summer holidays – that’s Tuesday to Friday the 24^th to the 27^th of July, and signing up for the planning team doesn’t necessarily mean signing up to help lead four days of activity, although it certainly doesn’t preclude it.

With Caitlin poised to take on the up-front  duties whether or not Holiday Bible Club runs really does depend on whether or not we can recruit this core team, so if it’s something you feel able to commit to please contact Graham, Hilary Darling or John Sherbourne a.s.a.p

It all started just over a year ago when to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary Leeds and Moortown Furniture Store’s Chair of Trustees John Sherbourne announced that he was organising a 25 kilometre fund-raising walk.  A year on and it was local runner Andrew Webster’s turn to raise the bar by representing the Store in the 2012 London marathon. However now, and you have to ask whatever next, Dave Gladman a trustee of both L&MFS and St George’s Crypt is gearing up for a quite extraordinary fundraising feat.

Dave gets in some high altitude training in the Scottish Highlands

Next month (20^th June) Dave and two friends will be setting off to cycle an 800 kilometers route called The Camino. Beginning in south-west France and finishing at Santiago de Compestela in north-west Spain this ancient pilgrim route is not only long, it involves cycling over and/or through the Pyrenees.

As his training programme gathers pace Dave says, “Yes this is quite an adventure and I am really looking forwards to it. We have researched the route and there are at least two climbs of over twenty miles each both of which have gradients of one in four. But it’s not only distance and hills we have to worry about, apparently it can snow at any time of the year on some of the high passes so it is going to be a real challenge, to say the least”.

And even when Dave does complete the ride there will be precious little time to relax as he then faces the problem of how best to return to Bayonne to catch the fortnightly cycle bus back to the UK.

Very soon you’ll be able to follow Dave’s exploits in the saddle by going online and reading his blog at http://cryptcaminochallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ and of course you can sponsor either of his chosen charities at his Just Giving page http://www.justgiving.com/teams/davegladman

Next church members’ meeting is at 7.45pm on Tuesday 22nd May. The election of new deacons will take place at this meeting. There is 1 nomination: Helen Pemberton. Her profile is displayed on the notice board.

We extend our sympathy to Dave Keir, his son Jamie and daughter Emma, on the news of the death of Sue on Monday morning, following a long battle with cancer. The funeral will be here at church on Wednesday 23rd May at 10.30am. Please remember Dave and his family in your prayers at this very sad time.

If you would like to make a Donation to Breast Cancer Care in memory of Sue please use this link. http://inmemory.breastcancercare.org.uk/appeal/sue-keir

MBC’s 2012 Locally Grown plant sale has reached new heights. Last May the sale raised a little over £600 which went towards the cost of a Scripture Union X-Site holiday. However, with the tills now closed this year’s beneficiaries - Simon on the Streets, a charity that helps the homeless and CROP (The Coailtion for the Removal of Pimping) will be sharing a total of £880.

Led once again by Nicky Gibb it was obvious to scores of visitors that the Locally Grown team had put an enormous amount of effort into planning the day particularly in terms of nurturing seedlings and cuttings through a cold winter and a roller coaster Spring.