Christmas comes early at City Church

Christmas comes early at City Church

Gorgeous decorations on sale at Fair Do's

For some it's the John Lewis advert. For other's it's the Coca-Cola truck. But for me, the Christmas countdown well and truly starts with the annual City Church festive evening at Fair Do's.

Now, before you raise your eyebrows and mutter "Christmas is not about adverts and consumerism" I am, of course, joking! I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Crimbo...erm, I mean Christmas. Decorations go up 12 days before and come down 12 days after. Discussions about Christmas begin in my house the same the first advent calendar door is opened. And I rarely watch live television so I easily avoid the emotionally manipulative spend-money-you-don't-really-have-and-show-your-loved-ones-you-care Christmas adverts.

Which one you forgot the festive cheer?

Having said that, I do allow myself a spot of early Xmas Christmas shopping at the annual fair trade festive knees up at Fair Do's. 

Between 1700 and 2000, members of City Church pop along to the fair trade shop in Canton for an evening of shopping and socialising. It's always a very pleasant evening that often include wine. Although, this year someone forgot to bring the booze! I suspect they won't be given that particular task next year!

I'm delighted to report that a booze-free evening didn't impact on the good times. As always, it's lovely to catch up with people you only see once a week in the pews. Which is why it is important to make the effort and attend. A church community is more than once a week worship and at City Church, we strive to be a community community throughout the week. 

I did manage to purchase a few Christmas presents on the evening but perhaps not as many as previous years when a drop of the good stuff was readily available! I also discovered that fair trade quinoa is much cheaper at Fair Do's than it is at a nearby Asda! Just goes to show that shopping locally can save you money as well as supporting small businesses! 

I'll be doing more of that this Christmas.

Until next time,

Best wishes,
Matt the Elder

Ps - apologies for so few blog posts recently. Normal service shall now resume. 

Matt the Elder... one year on

Matt the Swinger

At our last church meeting we were asked to vote for a new elder. Alas, we didn't manage to get a majority vote for the two elders who were up for election and so the elders will need to discuss how we proceed. Disappointing, I'm sure, for the two elders awaiting the news. I remember feeling rather anxious last year at the vote when my name was put forward. I had no expectation that I'd be elected.... 

12 months later and here I am writing about being an elder over the past year. So, how has it been? Was it everything I expected? Has it lived up to my expectations? Have I lived up to their expectations?

The last question is the easiest for me to answer. I can't honestly say I have contributed a great deal. I've missed a number of meeting through illness and work (I travel quite a lot with my job) and during meetings I rarely feel as if I have much to say. Much of the items at the elder's meetings require agreement and some discussion. The ongoing debate about the changes to the current refectory into a modern church cafe is finally developing and I feel strongly that pushing ahead with this is the right thing to do. Some disagree. I feel frustrated that it's developing slower than I anticipated but I am hopeful that things will continue to develop apace. Overall, monthly meetings with the elders is quite enjoyable.

I've also yet to really get to know everyone on my pastoral list. Most of the people on my list are elders who I see regularly or follow on Facebook and Twitter. I suppose that's a contemporary way of keeping up to date with church members!

Being and elder is no walk in the park. It requires commitment and dedication. I am constantly amazed at how hard working the elders are. They work incredibly hard to keep the church going and to keep everyone engaged in the life of City Church. Soup Lunches... Easter and Christmas events... open and closing the church - none of these would happen without the support of the elders. I'm in awe at how hard they all work. I feel sure I don't come close to contributing as much as the rest of the team do!

In many ways being an elder has exceeded my expectations.I feel closer to the life of City Church and I feel privileged to be part of running a church. I think The Minister is pretty awesome and a great leader. Honestly, I am constantly amazed at how good his services are! A lot of effort goes into engaging the congregation. It can't be an easy gig!

A year ago I decided to start this blog to document life as an elder and give a glimpse into City Church community. I enjoy writing it and I hope others enjoy reading it. I certainly wouldn't have started this blog if I hadn't become an elder. I do hope this blog has been a worthy - and welcome - contribution to City Church.

Looking ahead, I hope to contribute more in meetings and to be a lot more available for elder duties. Having said that I have just swapped two duties in June as I'm away at various events. Whoops! I will also do my very best to update this blog every week. It's been sporadic over the last few months.

I'm happy to hear back from City Church members and elders - how do you think I've done? Be kind, yeah?!

Until next time.

Best wishes

Matt the Elder

Easter at Manchester

I hope you had a wonderful Easter. I spent Easter weekend in Manchester and visiting family in North Wales. It was a bust couple of days and I wasn't sure whether we would have time to attend a church service. However, we were able to make time to attend the Easter Vigil service at Manchester Cathedral. And I'm very pleased we did. 

Manchester Cathedral

The cathedral is a magnificent building. Considering I've been to Manchester countless times (we've been attending Manchester Pride every year for the past 14 years) I have never visited the cathedral. 

We were blessed with gorgeous sunny weather (if a little cold) and the blossom trees beautifully framed the outside of the cathedral. Inside staff and volunteers were busy preparing for the evenings Easter Vigil. 

Given that my day job involves enhancing customer experience I'm always aware of the customer service I receive. I'm delighted to report that everyone I spoke to or overheard speaking with others were incredibly friendly and helpful. 

We spent an hour inside the cathedral exploring and sitting in contemplation. It was the ideal respite from the bustling city centre minutes away. In fact, we enjoyed our visit so much we decided to return in the evening to take part in the Easter Vigil. This proved to be a very moving 90 minutes with a most wonderful choir and cantor. The readers were also superb and made we consider whether I should prepare more for when I read at City Church!

Again, everyone was very welcoming and friendly. Lots of people were keen to offer the sign of peace and I particularly like the how the clergy enjoyed sprinkling water over the congregation. The kids loved it... and so did I!

Manchester Jewish Museum

Because of Sabbath, the Manchester Jewish Museum was closed on Saturday so we decided to pay a visit on Easter Sunday. I am so pleased we went as it was AWESOME! 

Honestly, it was hugely informative and we were completely engrossed in finding out about the history of Jewish life in Manchester. 

The curator gave a great 30 minute tour and we had a chance to hear audio recordings of Jewish people who had lived in Manchester. The exhibits also brought Jewish life in Manchester to life. It was utterly fascinating!

I'll admit though that I love an interactive museum so imagine my delight to discover that visitors are encouraged to get involved... I wasted no time transforming myself into Matt the rabbi (albeit temporary)!

We received a very warm welcome and excellent customer service from the curator and front of house staff which means we will be paying another visit when we're next in Manchester.

I'm already thinking about Easter weekend 2015. Recommendations of places to visit gratefully received!

Until next time.
Best wishes,
Matt the Elder

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