30 Northumberland Square | North Shields | NE30 1PW
Weekly Update #21: Sunday 9th August 2020
From the Minister
It’s really, really hard not to read the biblical story of Joseph through the lens of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, which is good news for Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Unfortunately though, that’s saddled us with the catchy but nonsensical musical number, “Any Dream Will Do”. Really? Any dream? Joseph did not endear himself to his brothers by telling them of his dream where they all bowed down to before him, so they sold him into slavery. In every century, including this one, slaves dream of freedom, slaveholders of an unchanged world, but only one of those dreams will do. Knowing that God ‘is the Lord of all and generous to all who call on him’ (Romans 10:12) puts us on the side of dreams of freedom from slavery, whatever form such slavery takes.
Trevor
Watch a young, smooth-faced Jason Donovan sing “Any Dream Will Do”
Image: Ferenczy, Károly, 1862-1917. Joseph Sold into Slavery by his Brothers, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved August 3, 2020]. Original source.
Prayer
Generous God,
We dream of a world where all are free to flourish,
So bring freedom to everyone, we pray,
Including those forced into slavery in this country.
Amen.
Worship in the church buildings recommences – Sunday 16th August
Worship recommences in our church buildings from Sunday 16th August. There will be two services in the morning, one at 10.00 a.m. and one at one at 11.15 a.m. The content of each service will be the same and will last for approximately thirty minutes. There will be a maximum of thirty people allowed at each service.
In order to be able attend you must first contact Alison Drew between Monday 10th August up to midday on Friday 14th August. (Contact details below.)
Please note, the government requires that you must wear a face covering when taking part in worship in England.
We also intend to record the service and make it available to those unable to attend at this time: further details to follow.
But worship in the building probably won’t be quite like this…
Fans of the recent smash hit musical, Hamilton, particularly will appreciate watching this take on returning to worship in the church building (or maybe they won’t!).
How would you respond if you were in the same boat as the disciples? That’s one of the questions to ponder when looking at this window at St Columba’s URC, North Shields, which shows Peter preparing to walk on the water with Jesus. Read our leaflet about the window and the associated Bible passage, Matthew 14:22-33 online here. Alternatively, download a PDF version here.
For further reflections and prayers relating to the readings, click here.
St Columba’s Coffee and Conversation – Saturdays at
10.00 a.m.
Join the conversation on the day by clicking here.
Meeting ID: 883 2621 0020, Password: 463190
To join by telephone, dial this local rate number: 0131 460 1196
To join, when the time comes click here.
Meeting ID: 815 4593 6926 Password: 149520
PLEASE NOTE: There will be no online prayer gathering on Sunday 23rd August. Meetings will resume on 30th August
Bible Exploration Meetings
Bible exploration meetings are taking a break for August, returning in September.
Keeping in Touch
We will keep in touch with each other. Elders will have a list of members and friends to contact each week, both to provide information and to ensure that people are safe and well. You can contact your designated Elder, the Minister, or Church Secretary.
How would you respond if you were in the same boat as the disciples? That’s one of the questions to ponder when looking at this window at St Columba’s URC, North Shields, which shows Peter preparing to walk on the water with Jesus. Read our leaflet about the window and the associated Bible passage, Matthew 14:22-33 online 
