Brookfield Church Gorton

Logos by Mary Oliver, Why worry about the loaves and fishes? If you say the right words, the wine expands. If you say them with love and the felt ferocity of that love and the felt necessity of that love, the fish explode into many. Imagine him, speaking, and don’t worry about what is reality, or what is plain, or what is mysterious. If you were there, it was all those things. If you can imagine it, it is all those things. Eat, drink, be happy. Accept the miracle. Accept, too, each spoken word spoken with love.

Loaves and fishes

'Why worry about the loaves and fishes?
If you say the right words, the wine expands.
If you say them with love
and the felt ferocity of that love
and the felt necessity of that love,
the fish explode into many.
Imagine him, speaking,
and don’t worry about what is reality' (Mary Oliver, "Logos").

In our prayers we thought about what the world would be like if we all saw that of God in each other: if we all treated each other as Christ-like, recognising and welcoming the Universal Christ, as the beloved child of God.

We had a lovely Epiphany Service today. We thought about the Three Wise Men and Journeying. About Journeying out of our comfort zones to find God in the most unexpected, and often the most ordinary of places and people. Everyone joined in with a Panto-Style reading from the Iona Community.

On Sunday 21st December at 3pm we will be holding our annual Carol Service.

We will also be celebrating the 154th anniversary of our current building which was consecrated on 20 December 1871.

We look forward to meeting you at Brookfield Church: a liberal place of witness in the heart of Gorton.

A spray of crocuses as theywere the first flower of remembrance during the Crimean War - the first war to award medals and memorialise the dead, not just the officers or the victors.

Red poppies for Armed forces personnel
White poppies for all victims or war and for Peace
Pink poppies for LGBT+ personnel and victims of war
Black poppies for persons of colour who served
Purple poppies for animals
A cornflower (Bleuet) for France and our Allies

Today we recalled those members of our congregation who died in both world wars, and those called to serve on the home front: in factories, in mines, on the land and on the railways. We created a unique boquet of flowers, each colour representing different aspects of remembrance.

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

Thank you to everyone who came to our Harvest Festival today. It was delightful to see Church so busy! We rang our bells before and after the service. We are blown away by the generosity of our community and Tesco in the donated harvest gifts for the local food and clothing bank.

On Sunday 12 October at 10am we will be celebrating our harvest festival. Giving thanks for the good things around us, but also remembering those who go hungry, those who are without clothes or homes, and those working for a more equitable sharing of God's creation. All are truly welcome🌈

Thanks to everyone who helped make the Heritage Open Days such a fantastic success - church volunteers, bell ringers, and of course our community. Over a hundred visitors and the bells rung both days - as well as the chance to have a go! Lots of stories about railways and Beyer Peacock. Vivat Gorton

We will be open for Heritage Open Days this weekend! There will be bell ringing; guided tours; tea and cake; and Beyer Peacock memorabilia on display. Come and explore one of Manchester's finest Victorian Churches.
All are truly weclome🏳️‍🌈

Thank you to everyone who came and worshipped with us this morning as we celebrated the love we have for our Teddy Bears, and as we love them unconditionally (even if the fur is rubbed off, with a wonky leg or a stain or patch), so too God loves us unconditionally, and we should love ourselves.

Bring your bears to Brookfield on Sunday for our Teddy Bear Service and Blessing of the Bears! 🐻
All are truly welcome!

Thanks to everyone who came to our service day - faces old and new; for the chance to worship; to sit in silence; and for friendship and fellowship. We thought about summer with the story of the Selfish Giant, a reading by Goodwyn Barmby and from the Song of Solomon.

Come along to our service on Sunday at 10am when we will think about Summer. Readings including the story of the Selfish Giant; 'God in Nature' by Goodwyn Barmby and from the Song of Solomon. A chance to reflect, to sing, to light candles and explore silence. All are truly welcome.🏳️‍🌈

Thankyou to everyone who came to our Pet Service today! We heard the story of St Francis & the Wolf and how enemies stop being enemies through kindness - we also had our own big wolf who enjoyed being looked after by our young people. We lit candles for our pets past and present.

Ever fancied bell ringing? Brookfield Church is unique as being the only Unitarian Church having the only full 'Ring' of bells.
Come along at 10.30am tomorrow to have a ding dong and learn about bell ringing!

As the saying goes never work with children and/or animals. So this week....why not both?

Today we also celebrated our Lay Leader Anthony's 20th anniversary taking Unitarian services and leading congregations!

We had such a lovely service today as we thought about Music. We read Psalm 150 together, listened to a poem by William Dryden and sang four hymns about music. We also shared our thoughts about music and our musical talents - singing, Cello, Viola and Organ. There was also delicious home made cake!

"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."

8th May, the commemoration of Mother Julian of Norwich, c. 1343-c. 1416, anchoress.

We have two services on Sunday. At 10am we think about Music, and share our musical gifts and talents as our Lay Leader celebrates 20 years of worship leading.
At 11am we gather at the war memorial for a short act of remembrance for VE Day 80 and think about the call to oppose evil and tyranny.

Brookfield Church joins with Catholic communities around the world in mourning the death of His Holiness Pope Francis. Separate in theology, may we be united in love: love of god, the love of each other, and love of the world.

Our Lay Leader, Anthony, and members of the congregation gathered in Manchester this afternoon with other Unitarians to support trans rights.

Brookfield Church is proud to be an inclusive Church. We honour, and respect, the dignity and worth of all people as the beloved, and wonderfully made children of God. We stand by our trans brothers and sisters in solidarity and in love.

Thanks to everyone who came to our Palm Sunday Service today: we had readings from the Iona Community, Rev Dr Martin Luther King; a guided meditation and thought about 'dangerous unselfishness' via the Good Samaritan, the example of Jesus and Rev Jim Reeb at Selma. We also had 4 visitors with us.

Join us on Sunday at 10am when we think about passion and protest: we will think about the words of Dr Luther King about having "dangerous unselfishness" and "what would you live for?"
All are truly welcome.🏳️‍🌈

Front page of the Sunday Times, however.