Flix in the Stix

At Pott Shrigley Village Hall SK10 5RT BAR OPENS 6.30 FILM STARTS 7.30 At Pott Shrigley Village Hall SK10 5RT BAR OPENS 6.30 FILM STARTS 7.30

8th January – Blinded by the Light (12A) 5th February – Hotel Mumbai (15) 4th March – Judy (12A) 1st April —Mrs Lowry and Son (PG) 8th January – Blinded by the Light (12A) 5th February – Hotel Mumbai (15) 4th March – Judy (12A) 1st April —Mrs Lowry and Son (PG)

Ticket agents: - Anthea Wilkinson (01625 573538) (and St Oswald’s church, Bollington) - Anthea Wilkinson (01625 573538) (and St Oswald’s church, Bollington)

E-mail pottflix@gmail.com https://sites.google.com/site/pottflix/ E-mail pottflix@gmail.com https://sites.google.com/site/pottflix/ Tickets : in advance £4.00 : ‘chance it’ on the door £5.00

Persecuted Christians abroad will have their protection bolstered by the British government following a landmark pledge to adopt a new definition of anti-Christian discrimination and persecution. In 2019 the then foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, commissioned the Bishop of Truro to examine the extent and nature of Christian persecution and the UK government’s response to it. Last week Baroness Goldie, from the Ministry of Defence, indicated that the government intends to implement the recommendations of the Truro report in full. Boris Johnson’s Christmas message stated: ‘Christmas Day is, first and foremost, a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ…Today of all days, I want us to remember those Christians around the world who are facing persecution. For them, Christmas Day will be marked in private, in secret, perhaps even in a prison cell. As Prime Minister, that’s something I want to change. We stand with Christians everywhere, in solidarity, and will defend your right to practise your faith.’ Pray that these promises will result not only in action to help and protect persecuted Christians in their homelands, but also in an increased willingness to give refuge in the UK to displaced Christians. In Sudan a miracle has occurred following continual protests by disaffected young people: Sudan’s new minister for religious affairs, Nasreddine Mufreh, says Christians,

who endured ‘very bad practices’ such as forced transportation, closure of Christian schools and demolition of churches under previous president Omar al-Bashir, have the right to practise their faith freely and should no longer be considered a minority group, forced to live as second-class citizens with reduced rights under Islamic sharia law. Mufreh said: ‘They are Sudanese and their religion is heavenly with its values and beliefs.’ He pledged that property stolen from churches and Christians during al-Bashir’s 30 year rule will be returned. In a separate development, Sudan has repealed the strict sharia law that controlled how all women, including Christians, acted and dressed in public. The charity Barnabas Fund is helping to fund a prison ministry in Sudan to aid Christian women who were jailed, often with their children, for infringing the laws on public conduct. Praise the Lord that the Sudanese government is reducing the influence of militant Islamic fundamentalism and give thanks for the awesome wonders that God is doing in Sudan. A similar situation pertains in Algeria: sustained public protest has removed a hardline president who sanctioned the harassment of Christians and the closure of churches, but please pray for the populace to be persistent until a fairer government is in place and discrimination against the Christian minority ceases. Algerian Christians

The church in China has grown miraculously over the last century; Christians now outnumber members of the Chinese communist party. The politicians are offended by this and so increase their attempts to make Christianity more Chinese by attempting to focus church teachings on Chinese patriotism and the communist party by such actions as forcing a church to paint over its name and replace it with a communist slogan: ‘Follow the Party, Obey the Party, and Be Grateful to the Party,’ or ordering an officially registered church to replace paintings of Biblical subjects with a portrait of China’s President, surrounded with communist party slogans or by threatening elderly Christians with the loss of their pensions if they continue to gather for worship. Superficially the authorities are supportive: celebrations to mark the printing of the 200 millionth Chinese Union Version of the Bible in China were attended by leaders of the state-registered church and by civic dignitaries. However, Bible sales are severely restricted and online sales are banned. Please pray for our Christian brothers and sisters mentioned above, and for all those others in so many parts of the world whose faith leads to persecution and discrimination, that they will be upheld and enabled to stand steadfast in their faith. 200 Million Bibles China Lent: extra time for prayer Lent is a time to take stock of ourselves spiritually. This includes setting aside extra time for prayer. If you want to read some beautiful prayers – and answers to them, browse through the Psalms. Again and again the psalmist writes: “the Lord heard my cry.” So – what do you need to bring to prayer? Just the tiniest amount of faith that God is even there…. Jesus assures us that even faith as small as a tiny mustard seed will be effective. The Bible makes clear that God does not stand on ceremony – in fact, He prefers our personal, spontaneous prayers. Jesus was very matter of fact about it: “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) The Bible assures us that prayer will bring us good things: “we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need”. (Hebrews 4:16) So, what can be the results of your prayers this Lent? Well, here are seven, for starters…. • Joy and deep happiness. (John 16:24) • Relief from your worry, stress and tension (Philippians 4:6,7) • Wisdom and more mental clarity (James 1:5,6) • Protection and deliverance from temptations (Matthew 26:41) • An ability to share the Good News of Jesus with other people (Matthew 9:38) • Strength to persevere when you feel under spiritual attack (Ephesians 6:18) • A growing thankfulness to God, who is worthy of all glory (Revelation 4:11)

Taken from Parish Pump.

Est since 1890