Manor Road Evangelical Church

16/03/2026

We all fear something.

Financial worries, relational breakdowns, wars, and towering above it all is death itself.

As the famous 17th-century poet John Donne writes, “For whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.” A memento mori, a reminder that we ourselves will die one day.

But Easter reminds us that death is not the end. It doesn’t have to be.

Jesus enters our mess, pain, and fear. He embraced them. He experienced them all.

And here is our hope - death couldn’t hold Him.

His death and resurrection have become the cornerstone of hope for those who will draw near to Him.

We would love to invite you this Good Friday and Easter Sunday to come and hear why Jesus’ death and resurrection are the harbinger of hope and life for all.

02/12/2025

Genesis, the first book of the Bible opens with awe and wonder. There is beauty, order and worth in all of God’s wonderful creation. And to begin with, there is life and harmony between God and humanity.

But symphony soon gives way to cacophony. When our first parents, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God by blatantly disobeying him, our beautiful world was plunged into darkness. Life gave way to death, suffering and pain.

There is still ongoing war in many places, political instability, and our own struggles and strivings. We all get older, but our pains and problems remain. There are many reminders that we live in a world that’s hurting and broken.

In our search for utopia, we have created virtual realities where we imagine life can be perfect. We dream of making a new start on some distant new planet. Don’t we sometimes feel we need to get away from this world? Or sometimes simply give it all up?

We might even think that’s how God feels toward us.

Christmas is a wonderful reminder that God hasn’t given up on us. In fact, he steps down into our world with all its gore and grime. Instead of deploring and being disgusted by us, Jesus takes on human nature; he becomes one of us.

It can be hard to find hope when we look around, but this Christmas, perhaps we can look back at that humble manger, where hope for all of us is found. Jesus, God Himself, came to share in our humanity and everyday lives.

Hallelujah what a Saviour!

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21

We would love to invite you and your family to any of our Christmas events. Come and hear why the birth of Jesus brings hope.

Hope to see you there.

A.D.

05/06/2025

All are welcome to join us for the annual MREC Big Picnic!

Bring along a picnic, chairs/blankets and enjoy the many activities including an Inflatable Fun Run, Face Painting and Ice Cream Van! And it's all completely FREE!

Please call us on 07947 637765 or email [email protected] for more information.

We look forward to seeing you there!

31/03/2025

“Rage, rage against the dying of the light” wrote Dylan Thomas in 1947, coming to terms with the imminent death of his father.

The reality of living in this world is that death will come to us all. Life ends.

But the good news of Jesus is this : He offers a life without end.

Death is not the end.

Join us this Good Friday or Easter Sunday to find out more about this wonderful life Jesus offers to each one of us.

05/12/2024

Life can be uncertain and precarious at times.

This Christmas we at MREC are reminding ourselves afresh that Jesus is our hope and our Saviour.

Life, light and love is found in knowing and trusting Jesus.

We would love you to come and join us this Christmas at MREC.

Isaiah 9:6

“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be
upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

14/11/2024

GRATITUDE

Gratitude is not a word we often hear these days. I wonder why this is? Perhaps our lifestyle plays a part.

We live in a fast-paced culture. Often our diaries and planners are full - we are always on the move, always planning and preparing for the next thing.

But gratitude requires stopping, pausing and thinking. Not about our future but our present and our past. It takes time, energy and intentionality to recall and remember how God has provided for and preserved us.

In the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, God’s people would often recall the amazing way He rescued Israel from the tyranny of Egypt and this would often lead them to burst into songs of praise and thanksgiving.

What space or place is there in our society to celebrate and remember? Where can we practise gratitude? Where can our remembering give way to praise and praise to worshiping the One who works out all things for the good of those who love Him?

Here, of course. In the fellowship of our church family. Here, in the midst of fellow men and women whose hearts have been captivated by the wondrous vision of Jesus.

The irony is this: when we forget God’s providence and protection in the past, we grow fearful of our future. When gratitude is replaced with a go-get-it attitude, we are simply replacing trust in God’s omnipotence with a trust in our limited human talents and abilities.

Gratitude is an exercise, it takes commitment to ingrain it into the rhythm of our lives.

Take a moment now to think - What are you grateful for?

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed Thy hand hath provided:
great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

A.D.

30/04/2024

GOSPEL UNITY

Jesus prayed for his followers to be united (John 17:11). I wonder what Jesus had in mind.

Did he imagine that Christians around the world and from past centuries would sound, look, dress and eat in the same way? Did he imagine we would be using the same translation of the Bible or have the same hymnbook or style of worship?

That sounds more like uniformity than unity.

The apostle Paul elaborates on Jesus’ clarion call and says humility is the only soil in which unity can grow and thrive (Phil 2:2-4). Paul calls on the Philippian church to have the same mind as Jesus.

Jesus humbled himself (Phil 2:8) and therefore purchased a sweet redemption for sinners like us. Gospel humility forces us to look upward to Jesus and outward to our fellow image-bearers. Gospel humility fosters a willingness to lean on and learn from one another.

Unity forced is never true unity. But where there is Gospel humility, there we find that we are able to celebrate our cultural and culinary differences whilst holding deep unity in the Gospel.

So much so that the church of Jesus becomes a place of welcome and sweet aroma of health and life to the watching world.

Humility starts with you and me.

Our Gospel unity is the fruit of the deep roots of Gospel humility.

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:2+3

A.D.

11/03/2024

We would love to invite you to our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.

John 11:25-26

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

26/02/2024

30/12/2023

NEW LIFE

Another year comes to an end, and a new year is about to begin. Maybe some of us have made a few New Year resolutions. To eat well, exercise, spend more time with family, etc. Maybe some of us are already looking forward to the spring, the summer, the sun!

There is something about the word “new” that brings excitement and gives us an adrenaline rush. Whether that’s a new year or a new born baby or a new job or a new book. There is something beautiful in witnessing the beginning of what is new.

Our life begins when we come kicking and crying out of our mother’s womb. But there is a second birth that takes place when we choose to trust and follow Jesus. Often the Bible simply calls this “new creation”.

Often our second birth takes place in the ordinariness of life. Unseen and undramatic. But at the same time, there is something quite extra-ordinary about this new birth. Our old self, that fought and rebelled against the truths and reality of God, is now transformed into a new life. A life that seeks to make Jesus the epicentre of all that we are and do.

Celebrating a new year is wonderful but greater still is the celebration of a new life - the second birth that Jesus brings. This new year will eventually come to an end. But life with Jesus will never end.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17

A.D.