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Harvest For The Hungry 2007 Are you looking for a practical Harvest project this September that
sends much needed food aid to Eastern Europe Last year over 70 tonnes of aid was sent to the poor and needy including
many Baptist causes. For more details contact the web site
www.harvestforthehungry.co.uk or
our helpline 01245 505 888 to find out how to get involved. To date over 75 schools across the Eastern region have signed up. The project is launched at The Odeon Cinema Chelmsford 10.30am on 4th
September.
Waste Watchers comes to Dereham
A couple of sound effects, a burst of music and a flash of action from
stage announces with enthusiasm the start of the 2007 Holiday Club in Dereham. Run by Mid- Norfolk Kidz Klub, Mid-Norfolk Youth For Christ and
Churches Together in Dereham, the Holiday Club aims to be a high
quality week long event where parents can leave their children. The
children learn about the gospel whilst having fun during the wide
variety of songs, games, dramas, films and craft. And they seem to have
a great time doing so.
This year's Holiday Club used Scripture Union's "Waste Watchers"
resource, with some of our own modifications! This script focused on the
environment, and our duty as stewards of God's creation towards looking
after it. We also looked at how God created the world perfectly, how we
messed it up and how in turn God provided a way to become clean again
through his Son; key word being 'transformation'.
As ever, we were blessed with an enormous amount of volunteers,
resources and goodwill from all involved, and we thank God that He
consistently provides for us. It was a privilege to be involved in such
a team and to know that God was using us for His Kingdom. We look
forward to next year's Holiday Club, which will be on the first week of
the Summer Holidays, and urge people to put it into their diaries now,
and if at all possible to avoid booking holidays that week.
Good news at Barnwell On 8th. July 2007 St. Andrew’s Street Baptist Church in Cambridge was
filled with friends past and present to ask for God’s blessing on Revd.
Stuart Wood and his family. Stuart has left to become the full time
Minister of Barnwell Baptist Church Cambridge, with which St. Andrew’s
Street has a long association. Stuart has ministered at St. Andrew’s
Street for eleven years, firstly as Youth Leader but latterly as
Associate Minister. Barnwell was planted by St. Andrew’s Street in the 1950s, and operated
independently for many years, but recently membership numbers there have
steadily declined.
Three years ago St. Andrew’s Street members responded to a request from
Barnwell for assistance, and agreed to send a small team headed by
Stuart to try to bolster the work in the east of the City. Prayer and
financial support was promised as both Churches took this step of faith
to sustain the Barnwell ministry. Stuart has now been called by Barnwell
as their full-time minister, and several members of St. Andrew’s Street
have agreed to transfer to Barnwell to continue the support of the work
there. As well as showing the Church’s appreciation of Stuart and his wife
Hayley and their four boys; Stuart and the team were formally
commissioned for their new ministry. Stuart’s induction at Barnwell will
be held on Wednesday 12th. September, at Barnwell Baptist Church. We
would value your prayers for God’s leading at this exciting time of
change, and for sensitivity in the on-going relationship between the two
Churches.
In September Dan Dowman will be commissioned at St. Andrew’s Street as
the new Youth Pastor.
Hedingham Baptist Church Celebrates 200
Years This has been a year of continuous celebration for Hedingham Baptist
Church. The official birthday was July 2nd when members enjoyed the
birthday cake but July 15th saw the climax of the year when the Rev.
Paul Corson welcomed the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, General Secretary of the
Baptist Union. Jonathan preached on ‘See I am doing a New Thing’ based
on Isaiah 43, 14-21. In his sermon he encouraged the congregation to
look forward to what a creative God would be doing in the next 200
years. So many churches spend their time looking back to the ‘golden
days’ of years gone by and live in the past instead of looking forward.
He encouraged us to think creatively about how we ‘do ‘ church.
Over sixty people sat down to a delicious catered celebration lunch in
the Village Hall followed by speeches from our regional minister, the
Rev. Paul Hills and Pastor Banako Djalla visiting with us from Togo.
Later, in the afternoon, KEGS, the folk group from Castle Hedingham,
played for a Barn Dance enjoyed by many members and their friends.
The next event of the year is a concert by Still Time, a Christian Jazz
band to be held in the church on October 6th. On December 15th there
will be a Steel Band Carol Service in the Village Hall. These events
will be open to the public. Skatepark for sale Life in Abundance have a skatepark for sale. It is a mobile
skatepark that we originally bought 5 years ago for £23,000. We would be
willing to sell it for approx £5,000 however if you had a good home for
it we may be able to reduce that price tag.
Full-Time Youth Worker Life in Abundance is a Christian youth community charity
that is in the unique position of being permanently
based in Shoeburyness High School in Essex.
It is looking for an experienced youth worker to join its team.
For a job description and application form please contact
Juls Hollidge on 01702 292286 ext. 154
or email julshollidge@lifeinabundance.co.uk
Chase Cross Baptism Chase Cross Baptist Church in Collier Row, Romford, Essex were pleased
to
have four Baptisms on Sunday 15th July, Four of our young adults, three
of
which had grown up within the church family proclaimed their faith and
went
through the waters of baptism with our Moderator Rev John Ireland.
Rebecca
Moore, Mike Case, Georgina Cox and Liz Case all gave their testimonies
via a
recorded video presentation. The church all went for a picnic to the
local
park after the service and played games and enjoyed fellowship. We
praise
the Lord for their witness to us all.
Love Southend LOVE SOUTHEND is an inter-church, Borough-wide initiative designed to
symbolise the love which
God has, for every Southender, through acts of generosity and social
concern.
Many of these acts have been carried out under the banner of ‘urban
regeneration’ and much publicity has
been generated, when such regeneration has been performed by Love
Southend Youth – teenagers from
churches of all denominations across the town, who pay for the privilege
of getting their hands dirty and
literally, ‘love Southend’.
Whereas the last two summers have seen them serving deprived areas in
week-long and fortnightly blocks of
time, in 2007 they’ll be in action in two particular estates in town –
every Tuesday, during the holidays.
Youngsters from different congregations will be picking up litter,
clearing away other rubbish, cleaning off
graffiti, running family fun-days, holding sports events for teenagers
and pamper-parlours for hard-pressed
Single Mums, in two areas: Cluny Square and the Woodgrange (formerly ‘Kursaal’)
Estate; the latter of
which, in 2004, held the dubious distinction of the worst record for
underage pregnancies – not just in Southend,
but throughout Europe.
So the Love Southend volunteers will going to the ‘front-line’. It’s
something they’re used to: the very first
time that they held a work-party at the Kursaal, they were clearing away
rubbish by some undergrowth, and
hidden in some bushes were two, extremely lethal knives, which they
passed on to the police.
Over the six weeks, the Love Southend Youth will also be holding a free,
afternoon tea-party for residents
who are elderly in Cluny Square, at the St. Edmunds Community Centre –
the Centre itself has recently
reopened, thanks to the new Cluny Residents Association; itself an
association of local residents and two Love
Southend supporters – Ferndale Baptist Church and St. Luke’s parish
church, both on the ‘border’ between
Southchurch and Prittlewell.
Furthermore, one Tuesday in August will see doorbells being rang in
Cluny Square, where those residents
will be asked if there’s any odd jobs or chores needing doing, and the
Love Southend Youth will do their best
to help. Of course, adult church members will also be involved in
various ways, from offering lifts to
providing evening meals to volunteers, on the premises of different
local churches. But it’s the youth who
will take the lead when it comes to the really hard work.
One week may also see an ‘extreme:MONDAY’ – Tuesday, 7th August, will
see LOVE SOUTHEND throw a
free Beach Party on the seafront, which will be open to all. Although
they’ll probably pick up litter from the
beach as well that day, they may also continue their work in the two
estates, on the Monday before.
LOVE SOUTHEND is supported by 85 local churches, as well as the
respective Bishops’ of Bradwell and
Brentwood; it’s endorsed by Southend and Essex Police, along with
Southend Council.
Chair Stuart Kimber: “LOVE SOUTHEND is all about reflecting the
unconditional love of God to
Southend-on-Sea as a whole. This free initiative symbolises, in a tiny
way, His great love for us all.” For more information about LOVE SOUTHEND, please contact our Chair, Rev.
Stuart Kimber at chair@lovesouthend.org
Motiv8 2007 :
Young People Going Deeper With God The last two years have proved a great success, and you may have some
young people in your church / group who would benefit from the weekend.
What’s different about the weekend is that most of the leaders are young
people aged 16-18. They run most of the activities, including the
teaching sessions which are in small groups. This has proved an
outstanding success both in terms of content and relationships
developed. Do advertise / forward as appropriate before the summer
holidays to give the young people a chance to find out more and / or
book in!.............for more details do get in touch:
A local based weekend for young people in years 7, 8 & 9 from September
2007 (This current academic year 6, 7 & 8!)
Note - The leaders for the weekend are young people aged 16-19
October 19-21st 2007
Venue - St Andrews Street Baptist Church
Cost - £30 (£35 after 5th October)
Who – Scripture Union in partnership with Cambridge District YFC
Games, Ten- Pin Bowling, Evening Café, Small Group Teaching etc. etc.
[Contact details deleted as event has passed].
You’re ‘Welcome’! As Pier Avenue Baptist Church approached it’s centenary year in 2002,
the idea to replace our old ‘Iron hall’ (originally constructed in 1928
as a temporary building!!) was conceived. The vision was to create a
modern, welcoming, multi-purpose space for the work of the church and
the community, especially amongst young people. Our hope was to enrich
the lives of those around us by working in partnership with other
community groups. We actually begun fund raising in 1999 and also began to take the
preliminary steps towards constructing a new hall. There were set backs
such as the dramatic destruction of the old building by a fire during
demolition work in 2004 and the fact that access to the site is only
just over 2 metres wide meant that it was a challenge for any builder!
Fund raising continued and with giving from Church members and friends
and the amazing support of several Trusts plus some loans we were ready
to go. Building work was finally begun in April 2006 and it is now completed. Following a thanksgiving service conducted by Rev. Stephen Biddall who
was Minister of the church until August 2006, the hall was officially
opened by Mrs Heather Baines who is the Treasurer of the Centenary
project. The name ‘The Welcome Centre’ expresses the church’s desire that all
should feel welcome within it. The hall is also the beginning of a
project that will continue with two further phases in years to come to
link it to the existing church buildings and provide other facilities
for church and community use. To hire the Welcome Centre hall; phone Mrs Bigwood on 01255 426757.
6 a side Football Sunday 20th May marked the kick off for a new 6-a-side football ministry
for churches in the Huntingdon area. The first event, held at the St.Ivo
Outdoor Recreation Centre in St. Ives, included adult players young and
old from Bluntisham, Haddenham, Histon and Somersham Baptist Churches,
as well as from non-Baptist churches.
Nick Hudson, minister at Bluntisham, said: ‘For the past three seasons
we have had a team in the Cambridge Churches 11-a-side League. It’s been
a great men’s ministry for us, providing enjoyable fellowship, a ‘level
playing field’ for inviting non-Christian friends and not least, a
discipleship challenge for the Christian guys. The Cambridge league has
now folded, but we see it as an opportunity to provide something for
some of the other churches in our area – especially some of the smaller
fellowships. Raising a regular 11-a-side team is impossible for smaller
churches, but 6-a-side is a possibility. We’ve got a vision for
organising tournaments with a strong Christian ethos of respect and fair
play, so that all the other teams have to do is invite a few
non-Christian friends or men from the ‘fringe’ of the congregation, and
turn up.”
The organisers are hoping that other local churches will now want to get
involved. Russell Banks, a member at Bluntisham and the tournament
organiser, said: ‘We’re encouraged by how the first tournament went, and
the plan is to do it once a month from now on. Some teams played good
football, others just had fun, but all the games were played in a good
spirit which is the main thing. We’re praying this will be a valuable
men’s ministry for churches in the area.’
If you’re interested contact Russell Banks tel: 01487 840930 or
bankc2001@yahoo.co.uk
Church Family Celebrations
at Stoke Green Baptist Church Photo left to right: Chris, James, Sara and Robert Findlay
The wedding of James Findlay and Sara Copping at Stoke Green Baptist
Church on Saturday 9th June was just one of the reasons for celebration
this year. The couple were married by James’ father, the Rev Robert
Findlay, who is now in his 20th year as Minister at Stoke Green. Amongst
the wedding guests was James’ aunt,
Rev Myra Blythe, former Deputy General Secretary of the Baptist Union.
In the photo, James is standing with his bride and parents in front of
the new church doors, which he made and fitted just weeks before the
wedding, in preparation for the church’s 250th anniversary celebration.
James is a skilled craftsman with wood, and runs his own business,
specialising in cabinet making. The doors are a beautiful replacement
for the old doors which were suffering rot, and are much appreciated by
the members.
This autumn, Stoke Green Baptist Church celebrates 250 years as a
continuous congregation since its founding in 1757. The main
celebrations will take place over the weekend of 17th-18th November 2007
when Dr Derek Tidball of London School of Theology will be speaking at
the Sunday services, and on the Saturday there will be a pageant
portraying the history of the church. An anniversary brochure is being
produced and a history exhibition will take place in Ipswich Town
Library.
Stoke Green has been trying to contact all former members and friends
and extends a warm invitation to all to join the anniversary
celebrations in November.
Please contact: Mrs Carole Almond, Church Secretary on 01473 311141.
FREEDOM QUILTERS PRESENT ABOLITION OF SLAVERY QUILT
A quilt made by Wisbech's Freedom Quilters to commemorate the 200th
Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery was presented to Wisbech Baptist
Church during the Sunday morning service on 1st July 2007. The finished
quilt, which was designed and made by members of Freedom Quilters, has
taken seven months to complete, and is already destined for
international acclaim. The quilt will be on display at Wisbech Baptist
Church for the duration of the Rose Fair from 4th - 7th July 2007.
In October 2006 Freedom Quilters, who meet at Wisbech Baptist Church,
decided to commemorate the achievements of, among others, Thomas
Clarkson, by making a quilt that would illustrate various aspects of the
abolition of slavery and the slave trade. The design includes an image
of the Clarkson Memorial which is recognisable by town folk, and the
link between Christianity and the abolitionist movement is also
illustrated.
Ten workshops have taken place between February and June, and some
homework was also undertaken by the nine members involved, in order to
meet Sunday's deadline. Altogether, in excess of 500 hours work have
gone into the design and completion of the quilt.
The group's chairman, Diana Bailey says, "For a group less than two
years old, this is an amazing achievement. The work has been very
intricate and most of those taking part had to rapidly learn new
techniques. The irregular sizes of the images presented real design
problems but with a lot of effort and ingenuity we have produced a quilt
of which we are very proud and which we hope will be enjoyed by the many
who see it. It was important to us to include Christian images in the
quilt because Thomas Clarkson was a committed Christian, his actions
springing from his belief in a God of love. In a world where so many
people disown or are unaware of the influence of Christianity on today's
society, it is good to be able to remind them that God has been and
still is at work and is interested in them. We hope that the quilt will
also speak of the freedom that we have in Christ."
Several organisations and museums have approached Freedom Quilters with
a view to loaning the quilt for display, and international interest has
been expressed by the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg, USA.
Freedom Quilters usually meet on the fourth (4th) Wednesday of each
month from 2.00 - 4.00 pm. However, in order accommodate the Children's
Holiday Club run by the church, our next meeting takes place on
Wednesday 18th July at Wisbech Baptist Church, Hill street, Wisbech at
2.00 p.m. Visitors and new members are always welcome.
Girls learn to care for the environment The 5th Norwich Girls' Brigade Company, which meets at Witard Road
Baptist Church in Heartsease, Norwich, have been working hard all term
learning about 'The World in which we live'. We have two groups that
meet weekly in term time. 'The Explorers' are aged between 4 and 7 and
'J.5.B.' (Juniors, Seniors, Brigaders) are aged between 8 and 16. There
are 30 girls in each group making us the biggest in the county.
We have learnt about composting and written letters regarding endangered
animals and recycling. We have even got the church where we meet (Witard
Rd Baptist) to start recycling! We researched and made projects on the
Rainforest and made Carnival Costumes on this theme, as we will be
participating in the Lord Mayor's Procession on Saturday July 14th.
To run alongside our theme this term, we ran a 'Nature and Wildlife'
Photography Competition. The girls were asked to take photos in their
own time, of anything they liked with regard to Nature. Girls’ Brigade
Captain Kate Doran-Smith wrote to local companies that are in some way
related to the theme asking for donations to be given as prizes. She
said "I was delighted by such a positive response. Thrigby Zoo donated
some free tickets and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust gave some beautiful
resources which make perfect prizes. I think we all have an obligation
to teach the next generation about how vital it is we look after the
World in which we live. Hopefully they will do a better job of it than
we did. Getting local support for a fun activity inspires the girls and
gets the point across."
For more information about the 5th Norwich Girls’ Brigade please contact
Witard Road Baptist Church on 701502 or email
office@witardroadbaptist.org.uk.
East Norwich Youth Project The East Norwich Youth Project (ENYP) is pleased to be able to announce
the appointment of its first employee Danny Doran-Smith as Senior Youth
Worker.
The ENYP is a new charity established to develop Youth Work in the east
of Norwich, which has the support of eight Christian churches across the
area:
St. Francis Church, Heartsease (CoE), Witard Road Baptist Church,
Heartsease Lane Methodist Church, St. David's Church, Thorpe End (CoE),
St. Matthew’s Church, Thorpe Hamlet (CoE), Thorpe Salvation Army, The
Redeemed Christian Church of God, Dussindale and Norwich Vineyard. Other
churches are considering becoming part of the project.
For the past 3 years, Danny has been employed by St Francis Church (CoE)
and Witard Road Baptist Church, as a full-time Youth Worker in the
Heartsease area of the city through the Norwich Youth For Christ Fusion
Scheme. He and a team of voluntary workers have successfully built up a
variety of open and church based young peoples clubs and initiatives.
Danny will commence his new job with the East Norwich Youth Project from
1st September. It is hoped that in his new role elements of this
successful strategy will be extended across the east of the city from
Thorpe Hamlet to Dussindale and Thorpe End. He is also intending to
start from September an ecumenical youth church for 12-30 year olds,
which will meet in different locations across the across the east of the
city. The trustees are delighted with this appointment and believe that
ecumenical co-operation is the way ahead to more effective Christian
youth work across the East of the City.
Norwich Children say Thank You A group of 4 to 8 year olds from Heartsease, Norwich have been busy
writing thank you letters to people in their local community. They all
attend a weekly after-school club called “Trouble Makers” (TMs) jointly
organised by St. Francis’ Church (CoE) and Witard Road Baptist Church,
held at the Witard Road Church.
The TMs have had a busy half term. They have learned how to look after
themselves, including keeping food diaries and learning about safety
whilst travelling or out in the sun. They have learned about caring for
their families and friends, and finally they have been thinking about
their local community. They drew pictures of the locality and made a
large model of the Heartsease area, and wrote letters to many different
people in the local community to thank them for what they do. The
children wrote thank you letters and did drawings, which they handed
over to their chosen recipients. Amongst those who received them were
Doctors, Dentists, School staff (from Heartsease & Woodside First
Schools), Milkmen, Shopkeepers, Football coaches, a firefighter and
childminders.
It was lovely to see the faces of the recipients as the children handed
over their letters and pictures, many were absolutely delighted at being
appreciated.
5TH BIRTHDAY - LEIGH ROAD BAPIST CHURCH & LOVE SOUTHEND On Saturday 9th June 2007 Leigh Road Baptist Church, in conjunction with
Love Southend, hold their fifth Annual Golf Day at Belfair’s Park Golf
Course.
The Golf Day is one of a number of sports activities organised by Leigh
Road Baptist Church, including Football, Badminton, Tennis and Cricket.
This event will see 32 golfers competing (15 church members and 17
guests) in this annual and enjoyable sporting competition. The round of
golf will be followed by a Picnic at the 18th hole for players, their
families and guests. The picnic will also host the prize giving ceremony
for the winners over the day. In addition to prizes for the winners of
the men’s and women’s competitions (high and low handicap), there will
also be a "nearest-the-pin" prize and a longest drive prize on offer.
Last years champions John Bastin (High Handicap) and women’s champion
Rebecca Crane will be returning to defend their titles.
It is great to see that this event goes from strength to strength and is
more popular with our supporters than ever. We have so much interest
this year that places filled up within a couple of days of the
announcement and are now completely sold out. There is a great team
effort from a number of people to make this day special. All we need to
do now is pray for the rain to stay away for this year’s competition
too.
Martin Eady, church member and co-organiser said, “It is great to see
that the Leigh Road Baptist Church golf day has now become a keenly
anticipated fixture in the church’s sporting calendar. We are looking
forward to a day of good golf and an opportunity for church members and
guests alike to meet new people and forge lasting friendships.”
To find out more about life at Leigh Road Baptist Church, please visit
our church website on www.lrbc.org.uk which has a special area dedicated
to our sporting exploits which are open to all. For more info on Love
Southend visit www.lovesouthend.org
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