Looking Forward to 2010

Believe it or not, I carried the baton for the 2002 Commonwealth Games!

I don’t like jogging, but having been nominated to be part of the baton relay, I realised that unless I put in some effort, I would really struggle when it mattered. The run itself was easier than I thought – there were two experienced runners from the police alongside me and they kept me going. Stitch in my side halfway had to be ignored – I knew I had to keep going. The baton had been handed on to me by a disabled runner who had made it up a large hill - I had to keep going. My glorious run was seen by mum, dad, Nadine and a friend, but as I handed the baton onto a Kent junior athlete (who took off with ease) I knew I had done what I was called to do.

As a fellowship, we have moved forward in the last year in how we reach our community, in order to live out the Gospel in Belvedere. It hasn’t all been easy; we’ve had to rethink some things and the way ahead isn’t always obvious.

Into the new year, our office volunteers seek to be more effective as the needy come into our buildings, we have begun to think how we can create a drop-in zone for young people whilst the Street Pastors are out and God will give us other opportunities to serve Him that we haven’t even thought of yet.

We are called to move forward together, I can’t promise it will all be easy, but let’s continue to serve God in whatever God calls us to.

“I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.” (Phil 3:14-16)

Andrew White, Associate Pastor

Refresh Centre Update

The Refresh Team would like to say a massive thank you to all those of our church family who attended the afternoon tea meeting in November. It was really encouraging to see such belief in community outreach and to share ideas. The following priorities have been identified and work towards these is underway already. One of the main things that Mark and I felt that God was saying through the meeting is that the centre needs to be different to any other Social Action or Community Centre; we need to reach individuals for the Lord so it is vital that careful consideration to the leaders of groups and shared vision with partners is paramount, that God’s voice is forever on the lips of the workers within the centre and His love flows out to the community.

Main priorities are:
Continued prayer – please also be encouraged to join the daily prayer group at church at 9.30 am every week day for those of you who can.

Survey the community – one practical suggestion was to set up drop in centres/chill out places for all age groups so the community can be asked what they feel is needed to help support them within our community – a meeting has been planned for the early part of January to discuss setting up a youth ‘drop-in’ on the nights that Street Pastors are out – if interested in being involved in this or helping to survey other age/demographic groups please let us know asap. Also, display boards are planned for January to be placed in the reception area of our building by the church office, so members of the church and community can voice their views.

Communication board to be placed outside so it is very clear what is happening that day in the church – we are looking into the costing of notice boards, A-Frames and printing. Also table top information/evangelistic notices are being written to inform church members and the wider community of continued centre development.

Regular updates to church family about progress made or how things are going with the Refresh Centre set up so all are involved, consulted and informed – this Newsletter update is an example plus church notices.

Refresh Centre Tag Line – church family to give ideas for a one line phrase that can be attached to publicity for the centre, summing up what the community outreach is all about; this will support marketing – Matthew Ross has collected ideas and suggestions from Church members and is currently addressing this.

More volunteers are needed to make this happen; long term commitment needed in many cases. If anyone is interested in any aspect of what has been written about here please contact us. We look forward to continuing the work God is doing in Belvedere through us at BBC.
Love in Christ Hannah and Mark Morgan

Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

Manage your money, live your life

Some of you may have heard me mention ‘CAP Money’ during the past few weeks. So, what is it?

CAP stands for CHRISTIANS AGAINST POVERTY. It is an organization founded by John Kirkby in 1996 in response to the tremendous poverty he saw in his home town of Bradford. As a Christian he believed God was calling him to use the skills gained through 17 years experience in the consumer finance industry to reach out to people suffering under the burden of debt.

I heard John Kirkby speak at a conference last Spring and was so moved and inspired by his story (he was once in a serious financial situation himself) that I wanted to become part of the CAP Money organisation. I attended a course in November 2009 along with 3 members from Welling Baptist Church to train to become a CAP Money Coach. As a Coach I can run CAP Money courses in conjunction with Welling Baptist Church as they are now designated as a Centre. A course runs once a week for two hours per week and covers different aspects of dealing with finances with plenty of ideas and practical help. The aim is to give people a VISION for a life without debt! This is done through ENTHUSIASM, EMPOWERMENT, GRACE and INSPIRATION – what better way to share God’s love too!

‘CAP Money is a comprehensive yet astonishingly simple money management course to help you get, and then stay, in control of your finances.’ (www.capmoney.org)
‘CAP Money is a revolutionary money management course that teaches people budgeting skills and a simple, cash-based money management system that really works. This course has universal appeal and will empower your church to help anyone get more in control of their finances.’ (www.capmoney.org)

The first course will run on:
- Wednesday 27th January 2010, 1900 hrs – 2100 hrs,
- Wednesday 3rd February 2010, 1900 hrs – 2100 hrs,
- Wednesday 10th February 2010, 1900 hrs – 2100 hrs
- at Welling Baptist Church.

It is free to attend. If you are interested in attending or want more information please speak to me or sign up for the course on the CAP Money website.

"We came out of the CAP Money course with a very clear approach to our finances, it set us up to be in total control"
CAP Money course delegate

'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.' Proverbs 31:8-9
Nadine White

Oakley House Church

Well, it has been an eventful year for us in many ways none more so than the birth of Oakley House Church, a church plant of Belvedere Baptist. It all started with God prompting us through words from separate people that we should be using our house to reach out to the people of Istead Rise and start a house church.

For those unfamiliar (as most are!) the village of Istead Rise is just off the A2 between Gravesend and Meopham, there are about 4000 residents. There are shops, a primary school, a community centre and an Anglican Church (St Barnabas). We have lived here since September 2000, when we bought our first house and since arriving have felt that it was where we should be, and God confirmed this to us on a number of occasions as well as confirming we should be part of BBC. We moved in to our current house two and a half years ago and have been meeting as a home group on Thursday nights for about two years now. Our meetings have always started with dinner so sharing our home with other people has just been part of our life here. We are blessed with plenty of space in our house and we always felt that God intended us to share it and this year (2009) he revealed his plan as to what for.

Oakley House has been meeting on the 4th Sunday in the month since September and is designed to be a meeting with an informal and inclusive feel. We generally spend time in worship and prayer and also have a discussion based teaching time which has been led in turn by Frank, Andrew and Julian so far and we hope to give Martin the opportunity to join us this year too. The children (our own and any visitors) are encouraged to join in the worship time and to do activities alongside the adult discussions so that they are included in the life of the church. After the meeting time we have a shared lunch and time of fellowship which extends into the afternoon as and when people are able to stay. This time helps us to grow as friends and provides the opportunity to continue discussions started in the morning. The members of our home group have been very supportive and we are blessed with a group of gifted individuals who all share and contribute to the group life.

Since starting out as a church (and before) we have been developing links with the local community through friendships, talking to neighbours and sharing our plans with the Vicar at St Barnabas and other Christians in the village. God has really blessed us with their response and support and we are looking forward to seeing some new faces in Oakley House this year. Please pray for us as a group to be willing to listen and act on God’s call and are able to bless the church at Belvedere through our experience at Oakley House. Please pray for us as a family to stay close to God and to each other, and please pray that the people of Istead Rise will come to know Jesus.

PS. For those who were wondering, Oakley House is the name our house had when we moved in, on a wooden board by the door... thanks to Dad for restoring it to it's former glory and more besides!
Jenny and Julian Douse

Christmas Past

Well that’s it, Christmas is past, all done and dusted. I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the peace and calm of an almost white Christmas, and managed to find something of the joy of the birth of Christ in your celebrations. I also hope that you managed to remain injury free over the cold spell: there seems to have been many able bodied people who have found themselves inexplicably lying on the pavement, having slipped on the ice.

If you remember in my last note I hinted at a competition for sentences using the same word repetitively and still making sense. Well one kind reader has produced the following:

“There were two boys in a school, one called Steve and another called Hadd. Steve and Hadd handed in an essay for marking but both essays were word for word identical with one exception. Steve had written "I had a bike several years ago" but Hadd wrote "I had had a bike several years ago". The teacher marking the essay gave Steve 8 out of 10 but Hadd 9 out of 10. A teacher watching asked why they got different marks even though the essay was so similar; the teacher answered like this: "Steve had "had", Hadd had "had had", Hadd had the more correct sentence" (8 had's in a row).The teacher who heard this story, told it to another teacher but this time, the story is in the past, so she told it like this: "Steve had had "had", Hadd had had "had had", Hadd had had the more correct sentence (now 11 had's in a row). Do I win? “

Well, Spero, thank you very much BUT you cannot use a name that sounds like a word in the English language (HADD) and then claim that as the same word especially when it’s spelt differently. Even if you had Had and not had Hadd it would still not count as it would have had to be spelt with a capital H as it is a name and different from the word had that you had. (Had enough yet?) Therefore on my count the maximum number of times the word “had” is used consecutively is only 4, and not 11 as you claim, which is 1 less than the 5 uses of “and” in the sentence I quoted in my article. Nevertheless you win the prize just for submitting an entry and allowing me to use a bit of valuable space when I’m lacking inspiration. Freda does not have a ‘Prize Fund’; however, I have donated the sum of 100 pence to be used for the prize and she will pay this to you shortly.

That brings me to my theme for this month, NOISE. I noticed how quiet our suburban world was with a thick covering of snow. According to the Times Britain becomes louder and louder each year, especially during the night when we’re trying to sleep. But is it possible to find true peace and quiet anywhere now in daylight hours? We are blighted with excessive noise. In our towns there’s the continuous noise of traffic, that insidious constant hum in the background, coupled with the extra noise when a teenager (it’s usually a younger person anyway, they are the really deaf generation) drives past radio/CD blaring loudly through an open car window, even in sub zero temperatures. Oh! that reminds me, I saw in the ‘to do’ list of things for the Refresh Centre that was put up in church that someone wanted to arrange something for ‘late teenagers’. Now excuse me if I’m being rude or stereotyping but I think that most people will support the theory that there is no such thing as an ‘early teenager’ or even an ‘on time teenager’ as almost invariable they are ALL late teenagers. The same of course can apply to adults, but at least they are generally apologetic if late, unlike their teenage counterparts.

Sorry! Back to noise. Did you know that the measured background noise level gets higher every year and the sudden noises such as crashes, shouts, barking and alarms are becoming more frequent and occurring later at night? Public annoyance with noise is increasing and councils’ noise patrols can barely keep pace with demand (is there such a thing in Bexley?). People seem to want to live with noise, no longer content to just read they must sit in trains and read newspapers or books whilst listening to i-pods or even holding ‘phone conversations, sometimes so loud it seems we are expected to join in. These habits will lead to a race immune from the pollution of noise, unable to live in silence. Continuous noise places great stress on the body, according to a Professor of Audiology from UCL London, people think they adapt but all that happens is that they get used to the idea of living with noise but the body doesn’t. Noise is not good for us. There is even an edict from the European Union for every city to create tranquil areas for the sake of our health. How do the experts do that? By using more noise of course, only this time it’s the noise of running water from a stream or fountain to detract from the traffic noise.”

Do you listen to God in silence, or do you play music to help bring peace? Just how ‘peaceful’ is that music? It may be ‘Christian’ but is it really peaceful? Try listening to God in silence, it’s hard but you may just hear Him this time, He doesn’t always shout so we can hear Him over the music!
Anon

A Street Pastor’s Report

Last time we went out street pastoring in Bexleyheath the evening felt unusual somehow. We were a few people short on the team and our most faithful prayer partner had not turned up. This meant we only had one person on the prayer team, so at least one Street Pastor would need to pray, as we would never go out leaving only one person praying. As we were arranging this, another prayer partner arrived, closely followed by the faithful gentleman just mentioned. He said he had something to share with us as an encouragement before we went out. He had written a letter to send with a Christmas card to a friend and had mentioned his involvement with Street Pastors. His friend had written back saying he was very interested to hear that, as they now had Street Pastors in Bideford and since they had been there the police had reported a dramatic drop in the crime rate on the streets. We found this a great encouragement as we sometimes feel a little deflated if we don’t have any really meaningful conversations with people when we are out and this did make us realise that our mere presence on the streets was helpful.

Our team leader than said that she also had been encouraged in the week by the mother of a child she worked with. The mother had come in and said “you are one of those Street Pastors aren’t you?” “Yes,” she replied, wondering what was coming next. The mother then said “My teenage daughter came into contact with one of your Belvedere Street Pastors the other night and I want to thank you all so much that you are out there looking after our children.” We do hear remarks like this from parents from time to time and they are always a thrill to hear and very uplifting. I made a mental note to pass this on to Derek and his team in Belvedere.

We then went out in the rain, which we hardly notice in our uniforms as they are so protective from the elements. We had a good evening, if a somewhat uneventful one. We chatted to one young man who wanted to tell us how he was going to a unit to help him give up his drink and drug abuse addiction. He was determined to succeed as his girlfriend was 11 weeks pregnant. The realisation that he was going to be responsible for another little life, and his girlfriend, was making him think differently about life. We are generally greeted as friends by the club doormen now and one, who has changed considerably over the years we have known him from a very hard man to a much gentler man, with us any rate, is actually asking questions about faith and our churches.

We eventually decided to call it a night as things were fairly quiet and went back to base and our prayer partners. As we were leaving after some prayer time, one of the prayer team said “I think I should share with you a picture that I kept getting tonight. He said, “I seemed to see you walking around with light coming from under your feet.” Someone asked if it had been him speaking in tongues and when he said “yes”, the other person said that he could tell him what he was saying. “It’s like footprints in the sand, but instead of leaving imprints in the sand you are leaving shafts of light.”

Praise God for this wonderful encouragement – it made us feel that we need not be concerned if we don’t have meaningful conversations about Him all the time: what is important is that we go and take His light to the streets.