Light of Epiphany: Matthew 2:1-12

‘Thought for the Day’ Sunday 4th January summary:

Epiphany is all about light that guides and prompts action, rather than mere decoration. Matthew’s gospel tells the story of the Magi, who represent outsiders noticing and following the star that leads them to Jesus, and illustrates the importance of paying attention to what truly matters in life. (Rutger Bregman’s book ‘Moral Ambition’ was also referred to.)

5 points on a star - we’ll look at 5 elements of this story and what it can teach us:

1. Noticing the light: The Magi's long-term observation prepares them to see the star, emphasising that the key is whether we are attentive to the light in our own lives.

⏸️ Question: What does ‘aiming your life toward what matters’ look like for you right now—at whatever stage of life you are at, and at the start of this new year? Take a couple of minutes to consider this.

2. Following the light: The Magi act on their insight, wisdom and experience, leaving behind comfort to seek truth, contrasting their ambition for truth with Herod's ambition for control.

3. Bringing our gifts into the light: The Magi offer diverse gifts to Jesus, reminding us that we should bring what we have, regardless of its nature or significance.

⏸️ Question: What is one gift—experience, skill, perspective, or even hard-earned wisdom—that you bring right now?

4. Seeing clearly: The Magi’s encounter with Jesus sharpens their perspective, leading them to act with integrity and refuse to return to Herod, highlighting that moral ambition often manifests quietly. Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” The movement to abolish the slave trade began in the 17th century, with just 12 British Quakers.

5. Going home by another road: The Magi's choice to return home differently symbolises the transformative power of recognising and following the true light of Christ in our lives. 

⏸️ What might taking/ travelling ‘a different road’ look like for you this week—is there a small shift in attitude, attention, or action that you can make?

Community Sponsorship

Through working together as a church, and by connecting with folk locally, our small church was able to partner with Robes to help run the Winter Nightshelter - perhaps there are other projects that we can work with others on to bring and be good news? One of these might be the 'Communities for Afghans' programme.

In response to humanitarian crisis and increased need, the 'Communities for Afghans' programme is a partnership between Citizens UK and the British Government to build a community led pathway for families fleeing Afghanistan to be supported to settle into our communities.

'Communities for Afghans' are looking for people who are ready to play a significant role in this programme over the next two years, which will include:

1. Recruiting a small team of at least 6 people committed to offering a warm welcome to an Afghan refugee family in your community for the next two years;

2. Helping to identify and secure a property to house the family (it needs to have its own front door and be of good quality);

3. Supporting the family to access benefits and public services, and move towards sustainable employment.

You can find out more here: Communities for Afghans

There will also be information evenings on the following dates:

Weds 12th Feb, 16.30-17.30

Tues 25th Feb, 15.00-16.00

Mon 10th March, 17.30-18.30

Get more information and register here: Information Evenings for an online event. We are thinking of having an in-person event at Amott Road, get in touch if you would be interested in coming along!

Thursday 28th March - Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage

On Maundy Thursday 28th March, join us for a walk of solidarity with the people of Gaza as we call for an enduring ceasefire, for immediate humanitarian aid, for release of all hostages (both the Israeli hostages held by Hamas – and the Palestinian hostages held in the Israeli prisons), and an end to occupation so that a just-peace can begin.

We are doing this prayerful walk as part of the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage, a network of autonomous Christians groups with shared convictions who are engaging in a prayerful show of solidarity in cities around the world, where people during Lent will walk the length of the Gaza strip.

Starting from Peckham Rye, we will be walking prayerfully the length of Gaza (41km). Join us for all of the pilgrimage, or along the way for a section of it. We will be stopping for water/ comfort breaks/ prayer and rest along the way.

We ask that people joining the pilgrimage commit to the follow 8 convictions to be found here: https://www.gazaceasefirepilgrimage.com/core-convictions

More information here: https://www.gazaceasefirepilgrimage.com/

There is also a FB page with more information on the route and stopping places. This will be updated regularly. https://fb.me/e/4Ng6uiX0Y

Our community prayer for 2024

On Sunday 21 January, as part of our church gathering we said the following prayer together. This prayer articulates our values around following Jesus, practicing peacemaking, celebrating creativity and working for justice. It was a real privilege to join in this prayer, committing to journeying together alongside others, supporting and encouraging each other as we follow Jesus and seek the kingdom of God in our neighbourhoods in 2024.

Encountering the Anabaptists

At Amott Road Baptist Church we are inspired by the story of the early Anabaptists. If you would like to learn more about these radical Christians, their theology and how we might draw on this tradition for today, this course starting on Wednesday 1st November is just for you!

4 Wednesdays in November: 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd, from 7pm - 9pm.

For more information contact: anabaptist@bristol-baptist.ac.uk

Holiday Club 2022

We hosted another successful Holiday Club at Amott Road this summer. Working in partnership with Spring Community Hub, we hosted 3 weeks of summer fun which included bread making with Leila from Bake 2 Explore, story telling with Emma and Mary, drama with The Blue Elephant Theatre and all sorts of craft and making. It was fantastic to connect with some of our old families from previous years (the kids have all grown so much!) as well as meet new families and start to get to know them. Thank you all so much for being part of a wonderful few weeks. A massive thank you to our fantastic volunteers for making it run so smoothly too. We will be organising other events and gatherings through the year, so keep an eye on the calendar page, or sign up to receive our newsletter.

Enjoy the rest of the summer holidays and see you soon!

Emma telling the story of creation from the First Nations in America.

New logo!

We are super excited to unveil our new logo!

  1. Dove of peace: Jesus “preached peace to those who were far off and those who were near”; made peace between God and humanity possible; and called his followers to a “ministry of reconciliation”. As followers of Jesus, we want to emulate him. His life is instructive for how we should live. We follow Jesus the bringer of peace: so we seek to be peacemakers - actively working for peace and reconciliation in our church community, our families, our neighbourhoods and the earth.

  2. The City: The narrative of the Bible starts in a garden, but ends in a city! Cities are often portrayed as places of corruption, decay and immorality. We believe that by ending with a vision of a glorious city - the New Jerusalem, the Bible celebrates and values cities as places of innovation, beauty and meaningful relationship between all of creation. We love Peckham and we want to see our neighbourhood flourish!

  3. Colours: We celebrate the diversity of our neighbourhood and church community. We also want to encourage creativity: for how we engage in our own faith journeys, and for the joy of being co-creators with God. We must pay attention to the artists, the poets and the prophets to hear the voice of God.

If you would like to know about who we are… get in touch, or come along to one of our events or church gatherings. You are very welcome!