BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day this morning was by Jane Leach. Rev'd. Dr. Jane Leach is a Methodist Minister and current Principal of Wesley House, Cambridge.

Festival at Home, a free online festival happening from 22 to 25 May hosted by Cliff College, a Christian theological college in Calver, Derbyshire. With worship, seminars, challenges, prayer, teaching and more for all ages, this is the place to be over the bank holiday! Join them online or on YouTube.

​PLUS Cliff College are also hosting two virtual open days, on June 2 and 3 – you can find all the information on their website.

Jeremiah implores us: "seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you.....and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare". Although it might be a stretch to think of Frodsham as a city, nevertheless all of us around our circuit want to communicate the sense that although our buildings are closed, our church fellowships continue to pray for our communities.

Members of Frodsham Methodist Church have hung bunting that celebrates God's presence and each flag carries a prayer for people in our community who are leading or serving at this time.

Below are just a few of the flags, but do take a closer look when out for your daily walk. 

Since 2018, Frodsham Methodist Church have been supporting Chester Aid to the Homeless (CATH) through our Sunday morning coffee donations and fundraising events. As this is not currently possible, but donations are even more essential at the present time, people might like to consider donating individually to CATH. 

​To donate to CATH NOW, use the CATH JustGiving page or send a cheque to: 
Chester Aid to the Homeless, Harold Tomlins Centre, 24 Grosvenor Street, Chester, CH1 2DD

With this Friday, 8th May, being the commemoration of VE Day, the Methodist Church has a podcast episode available which features a chat to Methodists from the island of Jersey who were liberated from occupation.

​David Wilkinson, who is Principal of St. John’s College, Durham University, Professor in the Department of Theology and Religion and a Methodist minister was the speaker for Thought for the Day today on BBC Radio 4. He once preached in Frodsham. 

​At this unique and challenging time in the United Kingdom over 65 churches and movements (including those from The Methodist Church and, closer to home, Hoole Baptist Church), representing hundreds of others, have come together online to sing a blessing over our land.

This is what they had to say about it:

Standing together as one, our desire is that this song will fill you with hope and encourage you. But the church is not simply singing a blessing, each day we're looking to practically be a blessing. Many of the churches included in this song have assisted with supplying over 400,000 meals to the most vulnerable and isolated in our nation since COVID-19 lockdown began. This alongside phone calls to the isolated, pharmacy delivery drops and hot meals to the NHS frontline hospital staff.

Our buildings may be closed but the church is very much alive!

As we all continue to experience lockdown and find ways in which we can use the time available to us, there are a number of learning opportunities for those of all ages, available through local further education colleges and training providers. Most are short, online courses that can be completed within a number of weeks and many lead to nationally recognised qualifications.

So here are some links to explore which include a wide range of subjects, useful for either learning at leisure or supporting employment and re-employment opportunities. Most are free of charge and available to anyone over the age of 19:

HM Government The Skills Toolkit
Warrington & Vale Royal College
Cheshire College South & West
Riverside College Runcorn & Widnes
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Andrew Ellams