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Nejebar fled Afghanistan with her family after the Taliban threatened to kill her husband, Noor, who was a teacher.

When the family arrived at the refugee camp in Greece, they thought that they would only stay for 10 days. But they’ve been there six months now and there’s no end in sight.

The only protection that they have against the wind and rain is their tent. There is no school for their children. Five-year-old Sudai, their youngest, is ill. Nejebar is the rock at the centre of her family, holding them together throughout.  “We still have some hope for our children’s future,” says Nejebar. “We only want a peaceful life. We want our children to go to school. The most important thing is our children.”

From 14 – 20 May, during Christian Aid week, churches in Britain will come together to pray, campaign and raise money to improve the lives of people like Nejebar.

In Bowdon, our team of collectors aims to visit every home in the parish.  The money that we raise for Christian Aid benefits people of every faith; it is our Christian response to the needs of the world.  Our actions this Christian Aid week could help to change the life of our global neighbours like Nejebar and her family.

Please respond generously to Christian Aid week, by volunteering to help us to collect or by giving when one of our collectors calls.

Kate Stross, Parish Christian Aid Coordinator

Nejebar

A big thank you is due to Ambi Naylor for the great contribution that she has made to the life of our parish.

In addition to the significant role that she has played in our worship as part of the Ministry and Mission team, she has also taken on responsibility for Adult Discipleship.

I know that it is with some regret that she will step away from these roles at Easter, as this has been a very positive time for her.  As she progresses towards her ordination and PhD at Durham University she has to move on to another placement. Fortunately for us, she will still be a member of our worshipping community when she is not required elsewhere.

The small group life of any church is a key part of how faith is shared and developed. Ambi set up the Adult Discipleship group, which includes Karen Wilson, Mike Duncombe and myself. The group will continue under Karen’s leadership and will run the Life Transformation and Exploring Christianity courses later this year, as well as supporting the other small groups.

Needless to say, the team will greatly miss Ambi’s insightful leadership and enthusiastic approach to discipleship, and we wish her every success for the next stage of her journey of ministry.

Tim Borthwick

A photo of Ambi Naylor that Katharine took

Some of you might remember me as the redhead in the choir who not only loved to sing, but who also served for a short while as a trainee Lay Reader at St Luke’s and St Mary’s.

Since leaving the parish I’ve trained as a music therapist and music for health practitioner and I’ve been carrying out God’s service in the world through music-making with people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. This exciting and challenging vocation has included working with premature babies and their families on a neonatal unit, with men living with schizophrenia in a rehab unit, with adults in intensive care and with children and families in a paediatric emergency department.

Music has an incredible capacity to help the most vulnerable people, giving them a sense of progression. It can offer relaxation and stimulation and can mediate where words fail, providing a means of communication for those who are non-verbal.

I set up the Adages project to give people with dementia the chance to create a beautiful new piece of music which celebrates their creativity. Funded by Arts Council and Music in Hospitals, creative sessions were delivered in local dementia care settings. The sessions included singing, poetry-writing, dancing, percussion improvisations and creative conversations supported by me on the kora (West African harp) with students from the RNCM and local professionals.

So Many Beauties is the resulting musical story, or oratorio. It will have its premier at Manchester Cathedral on Thursday 6 April at 7pm. The hour-long performance will involve a massed choir, featuring members of the Choir of St Mary’s, Bowdon, and a small instrumental ensemble. It will be dementia friendly and accessible for all, and will be followed by informal networking with dementia agencies.

Tickets are available at www.adages.eventbrite.co.uk (07935 601196) and I would love to see people from Bowdon Parish there.

Holly Marland

Holly

Easter Lilies

In Shift Happens, a viral video from 2007, the Americans Karl Fisch and Scot McLeod discuss some of the changes that the world is going through, and the ways in which these will have an impact on education.

They state that “we are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist using technologies that haven’t yet been invented”. Information technology is indeed an area in which we all see change, all the time. I recently enjoyed a conversation over coffee in which a member of the congregation talked about the room-sized computer he trained on at university. The surprise for me was the tiny amount of data that the computer’s memory could hold – only 125 kilobytes.

So how do we prepare young people, and ourselves, for a radically ever-changing world? I have to admit to having struggled with some changes over the last year. One of the things that has helped me is having the foundation of being part of a very diverse church community. The wisdom and perspective that some of the older members of our community have shared have been incredibly useful, as has the stoicism and positivity of some of our youngest members.

The events that we remember at Easter also speak powerfully to anyone going through a time of change or uncertainty. As we follow the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem, through his betrayal and trial to his death on the cross, burial and resurrection, we are reminded that there is always hope for the future. At times our world can feel very unstable but through Jesus we inherit an eternal “kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:29). We would like warmly to invite you to join us this Easter, to share in the pain and deep joy of these events, and the hope for all.

Catherine Cleghorn, Ordinand

APS Easter Tree

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The sermon on the 19th March at Zone2 was delivered by Rev Ian Rumsey.

Entitled ‘Choosing to do know what you will be happy with later on. The sermon comes from a series on Proverbs.

You can listen to the sermon by using the audio controls below, making sure that your computer has speakers.

Or you can download the audio file by clicking on the icon to the right.
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The sermon on the 5th March  at Zone2 was delivered by Tim Garside, Headmaster of Altrincham Grammar School for Boys.

Entitled: “Train a child up in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it”. Proverbs.

The sermon comes from a series called: Kingdom Relationships

You can listen to the sermon by using the audio controls below, making sure that your computer has speakers.

Or you can download the audio file by clicking on the icon to the right.
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