An inspiring gathering

Our 5th Sunday service for September was hosted by Cheadle Hulme Methodist Church on 29 September. It was attended by members of various of our other Churches including All Saints, Grove Lane Baptist Church, St Ann’s and the United Reformed Church.
It was good to see the Rev Alastair Jones, the new minister. The service was led by David and Pat James; Pat gave an insightful sermon about Esther a young Jewish woman who was chosen as the Queen of Persia in the 5th century BC. Her husband, King Xerxes, has an advisor called Haman who was conspiring to kill all the Jews in the Empire. Esther’s cousin Mordechai urged her to use her position as queen to intervene and save their people. Esther reveals her Jewish identity to the King and exposes Haman’s plot and convinces the king to spare the Jews.

Pat said ‘ I chose this theme because Esther is courageous and inspiring’.
We prayed for World Leaders, asking God to give them wisdom and a heart for peace, and for ourselves, that God would use us as channels of peace and healing. The service finished with a lovely hymn ‘Peace to you’