Focus 14
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details of EBA events. Please send your items for inclusion to focus@easternbaptist.org.uk.
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very latest news from the EBA.
An apology for the
Transatlantic Slave Trade
From
Eleanor Reed, EBA Secretary ….
I attended the BUGB Council in November, during which we engaged in a
very moving discussion regarding the Slave Trade and what our response
should be today. God was very evidently at work among us and the
following is the text of the Resolution which was formulated:
As a Council we have listened to one another, we have heard the pain
of hurting sisters and brothers, and we have heard God speaking to
us.
In
a spirit of weakness, humility and vulnerability, we acknowledge
that we are only at the start of a journey, but we are agreed that
this must not prevent us speaking and acting at a kairos moment.
Therefore, we acknowledge our share in and benefit from our nation's
participation in the transatlantic slave trade.
We
acknowledge that we speak as those who have shared in and suffered
from the legacy of slavery, and its appalling consequences for God's
world.
We
offer our apology to God and to our brothers and sisters for all
that has created and still perpetuates the hurt which originated
from the horror of slavery
We
repent of the hurt we have caused
the divisions we have created,
our reluctance to face up to the sin of the past,
our
unwillingness to listen to the pain of our black sisters and
brothers,
and
our silence in the face of racism and injustice today.
We
commit ourselves, in a true spirit of repentance, to take what we
have learned from God in the Council and to share it widely in our
Baptist community and beyond, looking for gospel ways by which we
can turn the words and feelings we have expressed today into
concrete actions and contribute to the prophetic work of God's
coming Kingdom.
Following the Council my husband and I had a few days break and
stayed at Rothley Court Hotel in Leicestershire where we discovered, to
our surprise, that this country house was where William Wilberforce was
staying when he wrote his treatise on the Abolition of Slavery. The
actual table where he wrote is still on view, as you can see in the
photograph.
It made for a very moving end to an extraordinary week
Mildenhall Youngsters
Mission to Moldova
Two youngsters from Mildenhall Baptist Church flew out to Istanbul on
22 July and then embarked on a long, hot day’s travel (45C) to Moldova –
a former Soviet Republic to the East of Romania. Hannah Finnis and
James Morehouse, both aged 16, were in a party of over 20 youngsters
going to help a rape victim and her 6 year old son and run family fun
days. The trip was organised by Urban Saints, a Christian organisation.
They lived with host families and, as Moldova is a very poor country –
annual income £260, about 80% of men are unemployed, 60% have a serious
alcohol problem and living conditions are primitive by our standards.
Hannah and James often started work at 6am and, in addition to their
other tasks, they had to fetch water from wells some distance away in
very hot temperatures and help with meal-time jobs. One afternoon they
had to stop work as it reached 52C.
The rape victim was a social outcast and they spent the first week
improving and rebuilding her house. In Moldova, the whole house is
judged by the fence around it and they tore down the old crumbling fence
and put up a concrete post and wire mesh fence. They then cleared the
kitchen and bedroom before concreting the floors, painting the walls and
cleaning everywhere. James said “Our reward was the tremendous joy on
the woman’s face when she saw how much love we had for her. It was very
hard going in the heat but we knew we could rely on each other and God”
The second week, they ran 5 separate family fun days in 3 different
villages. About 70 children attended each family fun day. Hannah said
“The group agreed that organising these fun days was much more
challenging than renovating the house but it was also much more
rewarding. It was great when, by playing simple games and showing them
love, we could make the children smile as smiles and laughter are not
part of their culture. One little girl ran round smiling for the rest
of the day when I told her “Jesus loves you” ”.
Hannah and James were asked to raise a minimum of £650 each towards cost
of the flight etc and building materials. Between them they raised
£2700 by painting fences, writing letters to family and friends, making
a presentation in Church and grants from local organisations. They
prepared themselves through a number of weekends away with Urban Saints
where they met other members of the group and learnt about Moldova.
They also spent time with a local learning mentor going through God’s
call to mission and how to help and show His love.
Hannah and James will be sharing more of their experiences at 6.30pm on
Sunday, 9 September at Mildenhall Baptist Church and everyone is welcome
to come along.
Contact: for more information, please speak to Judith Squires, 01842
861457
Mildenhall Baptist Church, Market Street, Mildenhall, Suffolk, IP28 7EF
Church Office: Tel 01638 515411 email:
administrator@mildenhallbaptistchurch.org.uk
www.mildenhallbaptistchurch.org.uk
LIGHT OF THE WORLD PARTY -
31 OCTOBER
Hadleigh Baptist Church, Essex held their 3rd Light of the World
party on 31 October. The event was open to youth groups that meet at the
Church and their friends, and 25 youngsters ages 4-12 came for a fun
time of messy games, craft, snooker, darts and other challenge games.
The halls were showered with decorative lights inside and outside, and
pizzas, hot dogs and cakes were enjoyed by all.
It was a great place to be on 31 October, and enabled many of the Church
fellowship to work together using their gifts to serve God.
Pudsey Party
Leigh Road Baptist Church (LRBC) Dads & Kids Group had a great time
this afternoon (Friday 16th November), when they hosted a PUDSEY TODDLER
& PARENT FUN PARTY!
Over 50 parents and their children attended the event held at Leigh Road
Baptist Church Hall, on Marguerite Drive in Leigh. They had great fun
face painting, Pudsey painting & colouring and filling their belly’s
with Pudsey biscuits, cakes and drinks as well as playing with many
other games and activities.
Volunteers from the Church got involved to host the event which was
hailed as fantastic success raising over £60 for the BBC’s Children in
Need.
Alan Cook, organiser of Dads & Kids at LRBC said “It was tremendous to
see so much fun be had by children and parents alike. Such generosity
meant that in just 1 ½ hours we raised a fantastic amount for Children
in Need.”
“More to Christmas”
“More to Christmas” comes to Leigh at the invite of Churches Together
in Leigh and Love Southend as part of a nationwide tour on Saturday 8th
October, 2007 at 7.30pm.
Christmas is a great time of the year. Carols, candles, giving and
receiving gifts and children’s nativity plays combines to provide a
wonderful atmosphere which helps everyone enjoy the Christmas season.
This entertaining multimedia event is brought to Leigh Road Baptist
Church, Marguerite Drive, Leigh-on-Sea by Viz-A-Viz. It includes an
amusing theatre performance of the Christmas story and reveals its
relevance to individuals today.
The presenter of the event, Mike Simmonds, comments, “’More to
Christmas’ is both magical and meaningful. As well as being entertaining
it will help in understanding the message that lies behind familiar
stories and events of the first Christmas.”
“We’ve invited Viz-A-Viz to present ‘More to Christmas’ in Leigh“, adds
David Elcock the local organiser of the event, “because we believe the
message of Christmas is really good news and we would like people in the
area to have the opportunity to hear it”
This is a turn up on the door event and is free of charge, although a
retiring voluntary donation will be taken. As part of the evening mince
pies and Fairtrade hot beverages will also be served and the event is
suitable for and aimed at adults. All are welcome. More details can be
found at www.bigwelcome.org.uk
Norwich Teenagers Work in
Bulgarian Orphanage
A group of teenagers from Norwich are going to work in a Bulgarian
orphanage during the October half-term. The team will be travelling to a
small town called Burzitsa where they will entertain the children
through craft activities, playing games and singing songs. “I’m excited
about going to Bulgaria because it is a practical way to share God’s
love”, explained Ben Gathercole, “I’m looking forward to seeing what
it’s like to be a missionary in another country and experience a
different culture.”
The visit to the orphanage is organised by Peter Barnes, a member of
Norwich Central Baptist Church, on behalf of The Saltmine Trust. The
links between Norwich Central and Burzitsa orphanage are well
established and teams have been going to Bulgaria for many years.
Ben Gathercole, Stephen Martin and Becca Genders from Norwich Central
and the rest of the team from other churches have been busy raising
money to fund their trip. They have already completed a 50 mile
sponsored bike ride, organised a cake stall at church and plan to hold
an auction of promises in a couple of weeks.
For more information about the work of The Saltmine Trust, visit
www.saltmine.org
Back to Basics with
Christianity Explored
If you could ask God one question, what would it be? What is your
view of Jesus? Do you ever pray? These are some of the questions asked
by Norwich Central Baptist Church in the new course they are running.
Christianity Explored is a ten week introduction to the Christian
faith. It aims to give an overview of the basics of the religion and
offers people the opportunity to ask questions and share their opinions.
The course is open to everybody, regardless of belief. Each session
starts with a meal so participants can get to know each other. A
different topic will be covered each week in an informal way by using
DVD clips, talks and discussions.
The course is run by the two pastors of Norwich Central Baptist
Church, Rev James East and Rev Mark Tall. “According to the BBC Faith
Survey, more than two thirds of Britons say they are Christian but only
17% regularly go to church. This course gives people in Norwich the
chance to come to church and find out what Christianity is all about”,
explained Mark.
The first session starts on Thursday 4th October at 7pm at Norwich
Central Baptist Church, Duke Street, Norwich. For more information or to
book a place call the church office on 01603 760497 or visit
www.norwichcentral.org
New Youth Worker
Burwell BC are delighted that Nathan Shipley (picture attached) has
been appointed full time youth worker. Nathan has been worshipping with
us for about 18 months & it became clear in the summer that the Lord was
leading us in this direction. The church has a youth group established
in 2005 & a very lively Sunday Club for children as well as other
midweek activities for youngsters. Nathan will be working with those
groups & forging new links when he begins in the new year.
Care Team
A new initiative was launched at Burwell Baptist Church on Healthcare
Sunday where volunteers will give practical help to others in the
congregation as well as doing some visiting to strengthen relationships
in the fellowship & give support where needed. Hazel Kelly, a community
nurse & member of the church is our coordinator.
Chaplin Road celebrated
it's 80th anniversary
On 21st October 2007 Dagenham Baptist church, Chaplin Road celebrated
it's 80th anniversary with a buffet lunch followed by an afternoon
service led by the Rev Ian Bunce.
A number of former ministers, members,and friends came to join the
celebration, as well, of course, as present members and friends.
Greetings were received from former Minister, The Rev J J Brown (who
attended the service) and founder member, Will Tilyard, sent a poem
specially written for the occasion. The whole afternoon was enjoyed by
all.
Chase Cross Baptist Church
celebrated with Molly Watling
On Saturday 27th October Chase Cross Baptist Church celebrated with
Molly Watling for her 100th Birthday as well as all her friends and
family that were present she had a visit from local MP Andrew Rosindell
and the local papers.
Molly was amazed to see everyone there as she thought she was going
to a church meeting! Everyone had fun listening to some of Molly's
poems, singing some good old sing along tunes and eating the wonderful
grub brought along by everyone. Then at church on the Sunday morning we
sang her favourite hymn "Father I place into your hands" and Molly read
Psalm 23. May
God bless her as she goes on to be an example to us all.
Jfish
Jfish’ is a Dereham based band who lead worship and play secular
music for various occasions, across the age range. Using a mixture of
styles from traditional through soul, blues and jazz, pop and folk,
‘Jfish’ perform a variety of original and more well known material.
‘JFish‘ has led worship in Sunday services, at youth events such as
‘JDI’ ’06, and performed across their repertoire at outreach events and
in support of charities, as well as town functions, parties, weddings
and the like. In short, if you need a band, ‘Jfish’ will probably fit
the bill - for further details, or to book, please contact Debby Jones
on 01362 698253 or 07799 536147.
More to Life
Last summer, 12 people completed The More to Life Evangelism Training
Course (known as Years Ahead at that time), run between the Eastern
Baptist Association and Viz-A-Viz Ministries. The people who joined that
course were all passionate about their faith but hesitant to share the
truth they knew. Here is what Bob Sullivan has to say about the impact
on his church following 3 people doing the course:
“Since Years Ahead we have run a two part training session at the
church based upon the material from the course. Doreen
Henderson from the course, was very nervous speaking publicly but by
the end of the course she gave a solid, yet nervous, talk in front of
everyone - that took a lot of courage. Since then she has gone from
strength to strength and is part of our team working on the Bar'N'Bus
bus which comes to Corringham every Thursday evening. We have two very
successful outreach activities for
senior folks. A twice monthly meeting called Gazelle which provides a
relaxed atmosphere to chat, play games, get involved in craft activities
and listen or be entertained by guests. The second is called The Lunch
Bunch and they meet once a month for lunch. Again it's for the older
folks and it's a time when the sound of laughter is always heard amongst
the chat, music and munching. Both activities provide opportunities for
bridge building and we are delighted that some of the folks now attend
church regularly.” Bob Sullivan, Pastor, Corringham Baptist Church.
If you or your church would like to be part of this course and see what
impact it can have then please contact Beth Powney at the Viz-A-Viz
offices on 01268 530531.
The next course begins on 7th January, 7.30 @ Ardleigh Green Baptist
Church, Hornchurch.
SHOP ‘N’ CHOC AT EASTWOOD
During the past year or so, Eastwood Baptist Church, Leigh on Sea has
hosted a “Pamper Evening”, a “Chocolate Night” and a “Mind, Body and
Soul Evening.” On Thursday 18th October 2007, the church was transformed
into some people’s idea of heaven…lots of shopping and lots of
chocolate! Seventy ladies (many who have no experience of church) joined
us for a relaxed informal evening. More than a dozen sellers attended
from various home selling companies like Body Shop, Virgin Vie, and
there were also stands from Tearcraft and our local Christian bookshop.
The stands were open for business for the first part of the evening and
lots of chocolatey refreshments were served during this time. Towards
the end of the evening, there was an optional opportunity to stay and
listen to Rev Sheila Martin, who told something of her life story under
the headings “Sex, Shopping and Chocolate!” - after all, isn’t that what
ladies often talk about when they get together? She arrived
appropriately clad in fish-net tights (the moral of the tale is never
double dare her!) The media often has such a stereotypical way of
portraying ministers and I will never forget the shock on the audience’s
faces when halfway through her talk, she made an aside comment, “I’m a
vicar by the way.” Many of them were pleasantly surprised by her down to
earth attitude, honesty, openness and humour. There was much laughter!
Our prayer for the ladies who came was that those who do not yet realise
how much they are loved by God would come into a welcoming and relaxed
atmosphere and go away feeling that church is a relevant place to be,
and God is good!
Over £200 was raised to support the work of the Special Care Baby Unit
at Southend Hospital, a cause close to the hearts of the parents at
Pinocchios (our church’s parent and toddler group.) We have also heard
some really positive feedback from those who attended. One seller
commented that she had a great evening, everyone had been so lovely to
her and she would love to know about any other ladies evenings that
might happen in the future. Another lady was heard to say “I thought
church was stuffy – I was wrong!”
For more help and support in ladies ministry and evangelism I’d like to
recommend ACTIVATE (www.activateyourlife.org.uk) a national organisation
that aims to motivate women to be who they are, where they are, for God.
Norwich Central Celebrate
“Shoebox Sunday”
Last Sunday, Norwich Central Baptist Church collected in a mountain
of shoeboxes from the congregation as part of the Operation Christmas
Child initiative.
The scheme is run by Christian charity, Samaritan’s Purse and each
year sends thousands of shoeboxes filled with gifts to children living
the poorest areas of the world. The gifts are small toys, school
supplies, sweets and toiletries, which are treasured by the children who
receive them.
James East, pastor of Norwich Central preached during the service on
James 2:14-26 which speaks about how faith leads to actions which help
meet other people’s needs. The shoeboxes are a powerful way of making a
difference to the lives of children who would not normally receive a
present at Christmas.
LEIGH ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH
AND THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH EAST ESSEX GIVE MASSIVE BOOST TO AID FOR NEEDY
CHILDREN THIS CHRISTMAS
One of Britain’s biggest annual relief this month and Leigh Road
Baptist Church (LRBC) and the people of Leigh have pitched in to make a
major contribution towards its success.
Operation Christmas Child (OCC), the Christian relief project which
delivered over 1.3 million gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children in
Eastern Europe last Christmas along with LRBC, called on schools, other
churches, organisations and individuals to build on the help they gave
in 2004-06 to ensure the 2007 campaign brought much needed joy to
underprivileged children. The gift boxes will go to many countries in
Eastern Europe, including Bosnia, Serbia and Azerbaijan – some have
already gone from this area Kurdistan.
Last year over 2,500 were donated from people and friends of LRBC, and
this year local organiser Stephanie Nobes saw another great amount be
delivered to the church over the past few weeks. This year we have
already seen just short of 1,000 boxes leave LRBC. The success of the
past few years, with many more churches and schools joining in the
campaign has meant that LRBC and OCC has had to create more depots for
collection across the area. Pick up points have stretched from
Shoeburyness to Corringham and from Canvey Island to Chelmsford. This
has meant that over 35,000 individual leaflets have been distributed at
the request of people wanting to send in their decorated shoebox. Yes,
that means that a potential of 35,000 boxed presents from our area will
be received by needy children across the world from our area alone this
Christmas. The people of South-East Essex are tremendous!
“The people of Leigh did a fantastic job contributing last year, and
this year, along with the rest of Southend the effort has been
tremendous.” stated Stephanie Nobes. “Sadly, there are still large
numbers of children in many countries where war, poverty and natural
disasters have left them with nothing. We deal with families living in
awful conditions – in old railway trucks, buildings partly destroyed by
shellfire and even with street kids who live in sewers.”
“The tremendous impact that a shoebox containing some simple gifts has
upon a child with nothing - and their family - cannot be over
emphasised. The gift box brings toys and clothes to brighten difficult
lives and most importantly, hope and love from the person packing the
box here in Britain. It is very much a gift from someone here direct to
a child who greatly appreciates what they receive.”
“Our thanks go out to the many schools, churches, cub groups,
businesses, organisations or individuals that have taken part in
Operation Christmas Child this year. If you still want to help call
Operation Christmas Childs helpline on 0870 011 2002 and you will be
sent the simple set of instructions on what they need to do.”
“The leaflet provides guidelines on what to put in the shoebox, how to
pack it and where to send it for collection and onward transportation.
All we ask is for a two pound contribution towards promotion, transport,
processing and distribution. At the final destination, the boxes are
distributed to needy children regardless of their” nationality,
political background or religious beliefs.
“It is a simple process, yet means so much to the children.”
Youth Help Operation
Christmas Child
Young people from Mildenhall Baptist Church are again helping with
Operation Christmas Child which sends shoe boxes filled with gifts and
basics, such as soap and toothpaste, to children who are the victims of
war, poverty, famine disease and natural disaster while sharing, where
appropriate, the good news of Jesus Christ. Over 100 boxes were sent
last year.
However, this year the youth are not doing it as a group, but some young
people have got together themselves and decided that they wanted to help
by going to the warehouse in Ipswich and checking boxes to make sure
they do not include inappropriate items such as chocolate, liquids,
crisps, biscuits etc.
Matthew Furlow, 18, has been organising the trip and he and his friends
will take boxes and individual items to Ipswich on Saturday 24 November.
They will then spend all day working at the warehouse. In all eight of
them are going and their ages range from 13 to 18.
Made up shoe boxes and individual items, such as toothpaste, tooth
brushes, soap and flannels which are always in short supply, can be left
with other gifts at the Church on Sundays and on Fridays between 10 am
and 12 noon.
Matthew Furlow said “We have gone with the youth group in other years
and felt this was something we really wanted to do. It is one way we can
make a difference to children’s lives. We all get lots of presents at
Christmas, but these children have nothing, not even a tooth brush.”
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