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In this issue:
Worship in May.
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Mornings (11 am) |
Evenings (6.30 pm) |
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May 7th. |
Rev Sue Jackson |
Rev Sue Jackson |
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May 14th. |
Christian Aid Week |
United Service at St John's Church. |
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May 21st. |
John and Lynda's last Sunday |
No evening service. |
We will be collecting for Christian Aid this month.
May dates for your diary.
5th-7th |
Church Weekend away |
8th | Women�s Own - Speaker Vivienne Miller |
8th | Deacons� meeting |
10th | Pastoral Ministry Team meeting |
14th | Beginning of Christian Aid Week |
15th | Church Meeting |
18th | Evening on Operation Christmas Child |
20th/21st | John and Lynda's Retirement Weekend |
22nd | Women's Own - Brian Manning |
Flower Festival
St. Faith & St. Laurence are holding a Flower Festival 12th-14th May entitled �God�s Wonderful World in Poetry and Verse�. Admission �2, times open 11am - 5pm. Wyn Cubbin is participating on our behalf so do try to get along and admire her work in LOUD whispers! There are other things going on during the 3 days, details of which will be displayed on the notice board (near the lounge) in the vestibule.
Our Minister, Rev John Evans writes:
Thanks and�
My dear friends,
I have never found writing the pastoral letter easy, this one, however, is by far the most difficult! I could look back reflectively over the past 7 years, but so much has happened and anything I say will be totally inadequate. I will not try to sum up my ministry; I�ll let others to do that if they wish.
I just want to thank all those who have supported, prayed and encouraged me during my ministry and without whom I would be a lesser person. It has been a privilege to serve the church here in Harborne. It has been exciting, interesting, spiritually rewarding and at times frustrating. Our deacons and church meetings have been rich in fellowship and we have laughed and cried together. During my time here I have worked with 20 different deacons!
It is not wise to mention people, but I am most grateful to all the officers of the church who have supported and encouraged me and had to put up with my sense of humour! It couldn�t have been easy! They have been good colleagues and I will always treasure their friendship.
What of the future? For Linda and me it is going to be very much the unknown, although Linda seems to have some plans in place. We will always be pleased to see you if you are able to visit us in Ross-on-Wye. Our address, telephone number and a map will be available later in the month. As far as returning, I will observe the protocol of only returning to the church when invited.
I believe that the church is now going through an important stage of assessing where you want to go and the kind of leadership you want. The vital thing is to work as a team, loving, encouraging and supporting one another. It will be a time when you will discover new talents and gifts. This will be exciting.
Thank you once again for the last 7 years, they will be etched in our lives for ever.
Your friend (always) and minister,
John
Operation Christmas Child and Samaritan�s Purse
You are invited to a presentation
On Thursday 18 May at 7.30pm
At Harborne Baptist Church
By Jane Simmonds, the Regional Manager for Samaritan�s Purse.
Samaritan�s Purse is an international relief organisation, whose aim is to meet critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster while sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
As well as Operation Christmas Child � where 1.15 million shoe box gifts were collected this last year in the U.K. � Samaritan�s Purse also works around the world meeting the needs of individuals and communities, from boats in Sri Lanka, to school materials in Liberia and Water Filters in 25 countries around the world.
Coffee and refreshments available before the meeting.
Jenny Smith works for the BMS World Missions teaching theology students in Budapest. It is the seventh year that Jenny has lived in Hungary's capital after spending three years there in the 1990s, returning as a BMS volunteer in 1998 and then training as a full-term BMS mission worker over the last year.
News from Jenny Smith in Budapest.
I have a rather watery theme for this month's update. No doubt many of you have heard about the disastrous floods in this part of Europe, which also affected Hungary. (I have photos if you would like to see them.) The Danube and the Tisza rose to record high levels, and even in Budapest it was quite dramatic. The riverside roads are built to cope with annual flooding, but the water came so high it threatened the roads above that, and was only a few inches short of coming into my local square. One morning on my way to work, I saw water pouring into the underpass of my local underground station. It had evidently just broken through, as there was only a tape round the cascade, a man on a walkie-talkie, and another man with a mop! When I returned in the afternoon, there was a waist-high wall of sandbags in the underpass, and part of the station was closed. Across the region there has been untold damage to property and agricultural land, and further floods are expected when more snow melts in the mountains. �
This week a notice appeared in our block, saying the water mains in the area would be under repair for the coming two months. We are advised to keep a store of water during this time, as the supply may be inadvertently cut off at any time. Initially I was annoyed at the inconvenience, but am reminded what a privilege it is even to have a clean water supply into my home. �
And on a positive note . . . please pray for the four baptismal candidates in my church (30th April). Kati, Angela, Dalma, and Feri bacsi met with the members a few weeks ago to tell us why they were asking for baptism and church membership; we were encouraged to hear their stories and recognise the Lord at work changing lives. �
Sadly, we have had to cancel plans for an intensive summer English course, as there were not enough deposits paid before the deadline. I am uncertain about the future of this particular project. �
My plans for May include giving a talk in college chapel on 2nd May, our mock final English exam on 3rd, the next singles party on 20th, and on 31st departing for a Pentecost break by the waters of Lake Balaton. �
Praise God for his Living Water!
Jenny
21.4.06
Pete and Lizz Maycock were members of Harborne Baptist Church, and are now working for BMS World Missions. They are in Thailand, in language study this year before starting work with the youth department of the Karen Baptist Convention.
News from Pete & Lizz in Thailand.
Did you know that: the Thai New Year 'Songkran festival' (last week) is celebrated by crowds of people armed with waterpistols, hoses and buckets throwing water over everybody else.� We discovered this year that babies are generally not soaked but those carrying babies or pushing a buggy are considered fair game!
March and April marks the Thai school summer holidays - which means that this period is the busiest time of year for the Karen church.� As part of our continuing orientation to the work of the Karen Baptist Church, Pete has been travelling a lot over this period to attend meetings and camps.� One highlight was a youth camp attended by about 140 young Karens, where Pete was invited to lead the Bible studies on 'Being a good example for Jesus'.�The BMS Action Team, a gap year team of four young people from the UK, was able to help Pete by presenting dramas, songs and testimonies during the sessions. The Karen young people really enjoyed the Action Team's enthusiastic and energetic contributions!
Two weeks ago all 3 of us, plus 2 English friends, went to the KBC's annual convention.� It was held in a large Karen village about 4 hours drive from Chiang Mai, and we helped run the youth programme, including Bible-based seminars, art and music competitions etc. Since then we've spent a week in Bangkok catching up with friends, celebrating Easter and getting wet!
Praise God for:
1)Easter
We all need reminding of Jesus' amazing love and sacrifice for us, not to mention His wonderful victory over death. We were delighted to spend this Easter Sunday with good friends back at Sathorn Church in Bangkok.
2) Payap Church
After visiting several churches in Chiang Mai, we've decided to attend this welcoming local Thai church.� About 40 people meet together in Payap University campus; they've recently celebrated their 10th anniversary and as it's only about a mile away from our house we have a chance of arriving on time!
Please pray for:
1)Our work
We know we still have a lot to learn about Karen customs and culture (despite leaving the language for now!).� Please pray for wisdom as we plan where to go/who to visit for our 'survey' of the KBC youth in the coming months.
2) Patience for Lizz
Being able to blend into the crowds of Bangkok a bit has highlighted Abigail's novelty status everywhere else!� Thai and Karen people are generally very friendly and curious about babies and especially about foreign ones.� While appreciating their good intentions, Lizz is finding it hard work to be patient and gracious towards everyone who wants to touch, comment on and hold Abigail!
3) Thai politics
Thailand is now facing a new political situation - the Prime Minister has announced that he is stepping down following the popular demonstrations against his administration. There are still serious issues surrounding the recent election, which was boycotted by all the main opposition parties. Pray for a good solution to the current stalemate - until all the election results are clear, the Parliament can not meet to elect a new Prime Minister.
Many thanks to all of you who have written to us over the past month, we apologise that our email updates seem to be coming few and far between!� We appreciate greatly all of your support, With our love and prayers,
Lizz, Pete & Abigail
18.4.06
Susan Caddy is working for BMS World Missions. She is in Albania.
News from Susan Caddy in Albania.
Dear Friends,
Let me start by wishing you a Happy Easter.
Albania will be celebrating Easter two weeks running, the Protestant and Catholic churches on 16th April and the Orthodox church on 23rd April. During this week leading up to Easter Graham will be speaking at a student meeting on Thursday and we will be showing the film "the Passion of the Christ" at church on Good Friday in order to help us reflect on Christ's suffering and death for us. On Sat 15th we hope to take a group up toTirana to a meeting being arranged by VUSh (the Albanian Evangelical Alliance) for members of the evangelical church throughout Albania. It has been advertised as 'a meeting to celebrate Easter and to worship God together as one body in order to declare the name of Jesus in Albania' and State leaders and the media are expected to be present.� We at Vlora Baptist church will of course have a service of celebration on Easter Sunday.
Thank you to my link churches in the Swansea area for your welcome back in February. I also enjoyed spending time with friends and family. I am sorry that I have not written for a while, in fact since I last wrote I have spent more time in the UK than I originally planned to. I am very grateful to BMS for their generosity in allowing me to take time for rest and reflection that I should have taken during my Home Assignment last year. Whilst I was away exam season came and went for University students and the second semester is now underway.� Having moved into a building owned by the town hall, the Women's Health Centre (Qendra e Gruas) has been closed for the last couple of months due to problems with the contract which need to be sorted out before the centre can get up and running again. The centre's Albanian nurse, Ola, has left to work in Italy so there will be plenty for me to do once the centre does open again.
Vlora team news.
Susan Lodge has now completed her language study in Vlora and ved up to Tirana where she will begin teaching after Easter. She is staying with a BMS colleague until she finds a house to live in. Graham Sansom will be going back to the UK for a 3 month Home Assignment on 15th May and John and Lynne Thompson will be returning to Vlora to help out whilst he is away. Graham has been wanting to move back nearer the church for a long time but is now looking to move a.s.a.p. as work has started on the site of a new block of flats right outside his windows. Finding a place with a telephone is now easier due to new lines being available, the difficulty now is finding somewhere with parking due to the ever increasing number of cars in Vlora!
Vlora news.
We have had almost 24 hour electricity over the last month, I'm not quite sure why or how but it makes life much easier. The future power situation is resting on the building of a thermal power plant just outside of Vlora which will undoubtedly be an eyesore and is bound to bring yet more pollution with it. Environmental groups and individuals have been protesting over the last months but it seems that the final decision has been made.
Thank you for your continuing support and prayers for me and the work in Vlora.
With love,
Susan (11.4.06)