6 October 2012 10am-3pm Burwell Baptist Church
An interactive day to explore how churches in a rural context can engage with their communities.
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Elmswell Baptist Church is celebrating its’ 125th Anniversary in 2012. To be precise it is celebrating 125 years of the building as it didn’t become affiliated to the BU until 1930 something. The building is a tin tabernacle which we have modernised internally over the years – more needs doing! We are one of the smallest churches in the Union with a membership of 9 and a congregation of 15 if we’re all there, apart from at our monthly All-Age Service at which their might be up to 8 extras. Stephen Spurgeon provides pastoral oversight and usually takes two services a month, including the All-Age Service. We have a monthly Ladies Friendship Group which attracts around 15 ladies some of whom have no church connections. Speakers come to talk/demonstrate on a wide variety of subjects. Also monthly is our Food ‘n’ Friends Club which is a lunch club for the older folk. This was started with help from Age UK and has (along with the church generally) benefited from a grant from Home Mission which enabled us to equip the kitchen which we had installed a couple of years ago and 4 round tables which provide a better atmosphere than rectangular ones. There are usually around 24 people at this club although we catered for nearer 36 at the Christmas meal. Those who come are a mixture of our own folk, some from the other two churches in the village and others who, as far as we know, have no church connections. Our CU at CU Club is for 5 to 11 year olds meets in school term time and currently there are around 10 to 12 children (only one of whom has any connection with the chapel) come each week (it has at times been double this number in earlier years). This was started with help from Kevin Moore (then of Scripture Union now of Face2Face) several years ago, he still comes to lead once a month. We work closely with the other two churches in the village (C of E and Methodist), the big event is an annual Summer Childrens Holiday Club, next year will be our 8th! We’ve had various people come and lead it, Chris and Sue Govis did the first two years, John Hardwick did the next 4 years, Ian and Elaine Coules (Kids Inc) did last year and are coming again in 2012. Our active contribution to this is considerably greater than our numbers proportionately would suggest! We have various special events planned for 2012. An Open Day and Reunion Meal in February along with Rev. Sheila Martin coming to speak at our Anniversary Service on February 19th. Sheila is one of twelve lady speakers coming during 2012 (on the 3rd Sunday in each month) which is to recognise the fact that the work was started and led for over 40 years by Miss Caroline Duffield Watts. In May John Hardwick is coming to do a Praise Party. In September Christians in Sport are coming with their Inter-Active Quiz (all sports fans and players welcome!) and in November we have an Entertainment Evening. Most of these special events are taking place in The Blackbourne (the village hall). We are looked favourably upon by the Parish Council who along with Communities Association gave us considerable financial help when we did the last lot of alterations in the building which included the new kitchen referred to above. We have an increasingly urgent need i.e. some younger folk, preferably with children, who would be prepared to come and work with us. Most of us are retired, or of retirement age and there is an ever decreasing length of time that we can continue all the work we do, especially with the children. But the words of Isaiah which came to us several times in quick succession a few years ago are still relevant “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31) Over a year ago we experienced two burglaries at Church within six months. This meant police visits, rectifying damage, making insurance claims and worst of all, as you probably know, the loss of a few special, more personal things and the sheer sick feeling in the stomach when you are committed to your local community and work with it day by day. At the Sunday service, directly after the second break-in, we were completing a cloth collage. It involved making three cloths that depicted the story of Noah and on the third is a large rainbow, the symbol of God’s promised future protection against any further flood over the whole earth. In our Church prayers, we were praying for this to be true for us, too; that God would protect us from any further burglaries, at least for a significant period. The cloths now hang at the front of the Church and are admired by a lot of visitors. On the Monday (just one day later) the Family Project Manager and I were in the office when a man was shown in by one of the Pre-School team. He wanted to talk to us and had a gift. He explained that recently there had been a local rain shower and that it had been followed by a period of sunshine. During the bright period he had taken a photograph and thought that we might like a copy. He showed us the photo and it shows a full rainbow that extends and arches completely over the Church building from one side of it to the other. We could not believe it and tried to explain to him the significance of this in terms of the biblical image, its meaning and the precise timing that had prompted him to come to Church that day. The picture is framed and now sits in the office as a reminder. And so where is the Home Mission link? Part of my role for the Church is to do Community Development work on the Barnham Cross Estate where the Church is placed. Most significantly, I have Chaired the local resident’s group for over ten years and have been working with residents and agencies to improve the local community in various ways. If you were to visit I could show you lots of evidence of how this has happened. Part of my wage comes from a Home Mission Special Ministry Grant. Jesus challenges us, as His disciples, to actively be salt and light to others, and this is one of many ways in which our Church does this. The man who came to visit had been into the Church a couple of times recently because his road was being earmarked to have some improved parking. The Resident’s Group were working with the agencies and the Church (through me) hosted the meeting with residents from that road and the professional groups involved. And so the building was more familiar to him and he was comfortable walking into it. Had I not been doing that work and had he not attended those meetings, I wonder if he would have taken the trouble to come in. It is an amazing photograph and it sits framed in the Church office as an ongoing reminder and we have not experienced any break-ins since then. I think it is also thought provoking that God prompted a man of no apparent faith to do what he did. And our Church can testify to many occasions when God has used local people, like this, to directly encourage our small fellowship. TIM LOVEJOY
In partnership with Spurgeons College, South Eastern Baptist Association and London Baptist Association, the EBA have been involved in developing a course for core leaders in Baptist Churches. Core leaders would normally be deacons, elders and others on your leadership teams. The course covers six themes, designed to equip present and potential leaders in Baptist congregations. Subjects will include:
Certificates will be awarded by Spurgeons/EBA for those who complete the course. We will be running “Core Leaders Training” at Chase Cross Baptist Church. 83 Chase Cross Road, Collier Row, Essex. RM5 3PL over two Saturdays: 14th April and 26th May, from 9.00 am to 3.30 pm. There is a £25 enrolment fee for each participant. You will need to bring a packed lunch, Bible and note pad. To book a place, or for further information, please contact David Martin (david.martin@easternbaptist.org.uk ). Places will be limited so early booking is recommended. The 2012 Assembly will be held at Hadleigh Salvation Army Citadel 146-148 London Road, Hadleigh, Saturday June 23rd 10am – 5pm. Assembly Booking Form | Annual Assembly 2012 Poster | Assembly 2012 Program and Information As a church, and as a staff team, we have been very blessed by the work of our Home Mission funded Regional Association over the past year. As well as always being at the other end of the phone for all sorts of questions and queries, and offering us much encouragement and friendship, we have been particularly blessed in three ways: FINDING A NEW LEAD PASTOR Our Search for a new Senior Pastor began in September 2010 while our current Senior Pastor (due to retire in June 2011) was still with us. Having enjoyed 29 years of Jim Hamilton’s ministry none of the Leadership Team had experience of looking for a Senior Pastor using the settlement process alone. Sheila Martin, our Regional Minister, had agreed to meet with the Leadership Team to talk us through the settlement process and to give us the benefit of her experience and to support us as we discerned the best way forward in our particular situation. After this initial meeting and our subsequent decision to start a search prior to our Senior Pastor retiring (with his blessing) we invited Sheila to come to our June church meeting to speak about the changes that we were about to go through. Sheila spoke about the feelings and emotions we might experience and the process that would begin to unfold as we embarked on finding the person that God had prepared to lead us into the next stage of our journey as God’s people in Shoeburyness & Thorpe Bay. This was a really helpful time and encouraged us to seek God together as a community of His people for direction and to look out for, and support each other, as we all dealt with the forthcoming changes in our own unique ways. Sheila helped us to find a Moderator to chair our Search Group meeting. Soon after Ministers profiles began to arrive, prayerfully selected and matched to the profile of our church. Whenever we had questions we were able to go to our Regional Minsiter and receive an answer or to be asked a questions that helped us to answer them ourselves. We also knew that we had the prayer support of our Regional Minister as we considered the profiles sent to us. Some 15 profiles later and a few meetings we found the one! After a couple of meetings with Rev David Mayne, a Special Church meeting and an Induction (with BUGB President Rev Dr Pat Took speaking) we are now enjoying getting to know a new Lead Pastor and discovering together the next stage of the journey that God has planned for us and for the community of Shoeburyness & Thorpe Bay.
SUPPORTING OUR PASTORS’ DEVELOPMENT As a team we have been able to access a host of resources through our Association. We’ve attended the Pastor’s Conference and enjoyed building relationships with our ministers across our town, and our region. In addition to this Sarah, our Youth & Children’s Pastor, is currently being supported by the Association’s mentoring provision and David, our new Lead Pastor, has recently finished with his mentor having completed his Newly Accredited Minister (NAM) period. During this time the Association, as well as providing a mentor, has provided regional training days, retreat days, and networking opportunities amongst ministers. We certainly feel like we’re all continually learning, and it is great to have opportunities to do that with others in the Association. TRAINING US TO SHARE OUR FAITH WITH OUR COMMUNITY We looked at practical things like listening skills and how we share our own stories, as well as thinking about how the Gospel is good news for the people we meet. Each week we heard from Sheila and then broke into smaller groups to discuss and think together. At the end of each session there was a small task to do over the coming week which challenged us all to try new things and speak to new people. We’re so aware that we meet lots of people day by day, and we want to share our faith with them, but it can sometimes seem scary, and sometimes we don’t know how to go about it. Working through this course together helped boost our confidence, our skills, and our knowledge, as well as placing real value on our stories and testimonies. It is always a blessing to have Sheila with us. Coming from outside our situation, and seeing trends and experiences across many churches, enabled Sheila to challenge and inspire us in a new way. Her passion for sharing faith was really encouraging too, and we’re looking forward to seeing how this all bears fruit in our lives as 2012 progresses. All of these things have been made possible through Home Mission, and we count ourselves very blessed indeed. We’ve been inspired by the recent Home Mission appeals to give at least 5% of our income to support this ongoing week, and have agreed to meet that commitment as a sign of our appreciation, and because we want others to have the support we’ve had.
Dave, Sarah, Bill & Fiona
Elizabeth was there with her grandchildren Sam and Mark. We first got to know Elizabeth (the Mum of an ex-Cambridge United player) when she was diagnosed with Cancer. Stuart (our Minister) began to visit her and as a Church we prayed for her during this time. When her daughter had the first grandchild, they looked to have him christened but weren’t made to feel welcome at another church so they got in touch with us to see if we could help. Stuart put together a service of Infant Blessing. Soon after this, Elizabeth’s daughter Ruth began attending the Church. When Mark was born we held another service of blessing. Ruth has come through to faith, is now a regular in Church and attends a small group. Stuart will have the privilege of marrying Ruth and her fiancé Stephen this coming summer. Adam and Sue were there. Adam is an ex-Cambridge United player that Stuart still meets regularly. They first attended the Church for our Back to Church Harvest service earlier in 2011. They came again on Christmas Eve, bringing Sue’s Mum and Step-Dad, who apparently “never attends Church”. Adam and Sue got engaged just before Christmas and have asked Stuart to marry them. Bill and Tina attended. Bill is a domestic appliance repair man and has been fixing Stuart & Hayley’s washing machine for a number of years and they have enjoyed some good conversations with him about matters of faith and he has expressed some interest in talking more. His wife Tina works as a Teaching Assistant at the school where Stuart serves as a Community Governor. Having been invited to our Christmas Eve service, Bill even volunteered to dress up as one of our wise men for our impromptu Nativity play! We had the Freeman family with us. Last summer Emily and Andy had been in touch asking whether we would be able to christen their daughter. They’d been to the local parish Church but had been told they couldn’t have one of the Godparents they had chosen as she herself hadn’t been christened. We agreed to host a service of Infant Blessing and at that service in August we had nearly 50 guests in church. Emily’s sister Jane works as a lunchtime supervisor at the school Stuart is involved with. Emily’s eldest daughter used to attend this school and her second daughter and Jane’s son and daughter are still at the school, and Emily and Jane along with their mum Gwen are all active members of the PTFA. So Christmas Eve we had Gwen and her husband, Jane and her husband Simon and two children and Emily’s older two daughters. Unfortunately, the youngest Maggie was unwell so Emily and Andy stayed at home with her. The Brown family came along too. The daughter Nicki was one of the “Godparents” for little Maggie and she along with her Mum and Dad, Mike and Kim, came along to our service, Mike being another of our wise men. All of these families live close to the Church. When Stuart and the team began at Barnwell, with Home Mission support in 2004, there were two groups that were running at the Church – Golden Years, an Over 60’s group and Barn Owls, a Parents/Carers and Toddlers group. Both of these groups were running with minimal input from the Church purely because of a lack of resources. Since then, we have been gently working with these groups to incorporate them back into the life of the Church. At our Christmas Eve service, we had Glynis and her husband, Brenda, Phyllis and her friend, Reg and Pam all members of our Golden Years group – all living near to the Church but not regular church attenders. We also had the three Child minders that have been running Barn Owls – with their own families – Susan, Tina and Julie. This was the first time we had got them all to a service together. Also attending was Greg, his wife Gaynor with their daughter Mary. Greg used to attend Barn Owls but his daughter moved up to pre-school in September. The last time we had seen Greg in Church was at our Barn Owls Graduation service, where we presented a Big Bible Story Book to Mary to mark her ‘graduation’ from Barn Owls. Greg and Mary were our Sheep! Also present on Christmas Eve was Alan and his family – his wife and daughter. Alan is the grandson of Doris who was our oldest member at Barnwell and who sadly passed away in November. We had met Alan at the thanksgiving service and he had found out much more about his Grandmother’s life and so joined us on Christmas Eve, travelling from St Neots. Rob & Wanda and Chris & Sue attended. Rob & Wanda have been to church a couple of times before. Stuart had got to know them through his work at Cambridge United. Chris used to live on the estate right next to the Church and said that it was the first time he’d been into the Church since he was 11 (and he’s now retired). He’s a director at Cambridge United and Stuart had the privilege a few years back to lead the funeral service for Sue’s father. We also had Malcolm there – he came along with his wife Sharon. Sharon is a member and it was lovely to see her husband attend. We also had Max and Len – Max’s wife is also a member and Len is Max’s father. It was wonderful to have them with us too. Then there was the family from Fen Ditton, the nearby village who turned up; there was our local Taxi Driver and his partner and step-granddaughter; and friend’s of the Freeman and Brown families, who are also local people. And we haven’t mentioned Stan, who has come to faith this past year after attending with Jo who professed faith and was baptised herself a couple of years back and then Dom who was also baptised in 2010. It was tangible evidence of the work that has been going on in the community around Barnwell for the past few years – building bridges, showing grace, loving people…and when they attend make them feel so very welcome. It was truly a very special night as we remembered why we celebrate Christmas – we have had so many positive comments back from all of these people. Jesus came, God incarnate, to open up the way back to God. We have been called, to live incarnationally, to point people to Christ, the way back to God. It is happening – through the local community, through families, through the school, through the football club. Without the support of Home Mission, it may never have been possible. Thank you for standing with us – please keep us and all these families and individuals in your prayers. Just imagine… what could happen if there was the opportunity to start all over again? This rare privilege has been the experience of Beacon Community Church in coastal NE Norfolk. For over 150 years a Baptist Church was based in the current buildings. Sadly, over the years, a gradual decline led to the church becoming untenable. In conjunction with the Eastern Baptist Association a decision was made to close the existing church and plant another. Whilst many considered this to be a resurrection of an older work, in reality it was something completely new. I was asked to lead this new work that started in March 2009. The obvious downside to a new venture was that there is no-one else to blame for our mistakes but ourselves! The considerable upside was that we could build firm Word and Spirit foundations, establish a new culture of expectation, and be open to all that God had for us. Starting from scratch had implications in many areas including finance. We are in receipt of Home Mission funding that has been a key part of our financial provision for the past two years and, we trust, for the immediate future. Mission Project grants have also enabled us to facilitate specific ideas, particularly in multimedia. My role at Beacon is currently part-time. In 2011 we were so encouraged to see two people come to faith, both of whom were baptised and two further baptisms followed in November. Two more baptisms are planned for March 2012. The Harvest Fun Day for the community brought in about 100 adults and children who are not part of our regular congregation. An after-school club started last year and regularly sees 10+ children and 3 Mums stay each Wednesday. Connect Groups enable folk in the church to receive and contribute in a smaller group setting during the week. The attendance at the most recent baptism was our highest to that point at 66, though it was topped at Christmas with 80 people of all ages. More regular numbers on a typical Sunday morning are now 40+ on a lower week. Visitors are always welcome! We have been particularly challenged to see church as much more than the Sunday morning service. Church is people, and our times together need to be ‘God Friendly’ so that he is free to act as he wishes. That means that often our corporate times do not follow a conventional pattern but are open to what God is saying on that particular occasion. We (mostly) know how we are going to start, but what happens next can either run exactly as we have prepared, or be completely different. Such flexibility was built in at the beginning and is one of the major benefits of starting something completely new. We also have an opportunity to respond to what God is saying each week. Hospitality and a genuine welcome make a good first impression. To this end a ‘First Impressions’ team was established which looks after visitors from umbrellas in the car park on rainy days, cafetiere coffee and refreshments before and after the service and the option to take food and drink into the main hall for the meeting. This has become a hallmark of our times together. At the very beginning God impressed on me the need to see the church as a well providing life-giving water to which thirsty people can come and drink. Some are only with us for a week or two. Others come from time to time or make longer term commitments. Like the huge sheep farms in Australia that are too large to maintain a fence around the flocks, and where the farmers sink wells to attract the sheep instead, we seek to ensure that God’s refreshment is always available. Our vision: Connect with God – Equip the Church – Transform a Generation. Please pray for us, visit us and check us out online at www.beaconcentre.net Jonathan and Paige Squirrell Gunton Baptist Church is set in the middle of a housing estate in north Lowestoft, an area that has been identified as having many and varied needs. The previous Minister, Rev Colin Napper was in post here at Gunton for over 30 years and he was instrumental in inspiring the church to reach out and serve the community, this was done in many diverse ways. When Colin retired in 2010, this big hearted church decided that they wanted to continue the wonderful community work that was being done, and so working as part of the Gunton Community Partnership, an organisation that had been co-founded by Rev Napper, and also with ‘Signpost’ the outreach wing of the Church that has grown to become a charitable organisation in its own right, the Church continued to reach out and serve the community of Gunton. In August 2011, after being without a minister for just over a year, the church called me, June Love, to be their ‘Minister in training’. This means that I spend my time split half and half between my Ministerial studies at Spurgeon’s College, and the other half here as Minister of Gunton Baptist Church. This small Church, consisting of just 25 members, has a huge heart and is determined to make a big impact in the lives of people in the local community. Some of the activities that take place at Gunton Baptist Church include:
Friday ‘Drop In’ Shower and Kitchen Facilities Parent and Toddler Group The parent and toddler group has been successfully running for many years. Parents get together on a Wednesday morning to drink coffee, and have some adult company and conversation while their children happily play in a safe and structured environment. The church have been able to support the parents by offering one-to-one listening support, pointing people in the direction of counselling services, and offering parenting courses at various times.
Lunch Club Kitchen Facilities Community Larder
DreamworX Gunton Community Park The Church works alongside other people from the local community who are committed to working to see the transformation of a neglected playing field into a community park that will be exciting, healthy and safe place at the heart of the community that can be enjoyed by children of all ages. Community Services Every time the church reaches into the community with the love of Jesus, we are building bridges so that people can cross and explore faith. We can only do this because of support from Home Mission. Thank you. |
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The Eastern Baptist Association is a member of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and a supporter of BMS World Mission Registered Charity number 1089795 Company limited by guarantee registered in England number 4221429 Registered office: 46 Churchill Road, Thetford, IP24 2JZ webmaster Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
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