June

AROUND THE CHURCH

With Adam Brinkley

Adam Brinkley has agreed to feature in this spot this month, and I want to thank him for being so open and giving me the time to have this chat with him.

So, Adam, how long have you lived in Belvedere?

All 23 years of my life I have lived in the same house with mum and dad. I do have an older brother, Matthew, who is 38, but he left home at the age of 16, when I was still a baby, and we have very little contact with him. My mum suffers from MS and my dad is not very well either as he is on medication for his heart. He had a triple by pass in 1994 – before that he used to run miles and miles! So, I have to do a lot of things that normally children don’t have to do for their mums.

About Work?
I am out of work at the moment and have been for a long time but in the past I have had several jobs! I started at Morrison’s as a student baker and was there for just over three years - running the American Shop (jamming doughnuts) and in the Provisions Department of the deli where I rose up to be supervisor – as well as working in the evenings in different pubs. Then in 2008 I worked on the buses, but sadly I was made redundant. I had started training in April that year and it was a case of last in first out, but thankfully I have passed the licence which means I can go back on the buses sometime in the future – unfortunately they have not been recruiting in this area since.

I am having an interview at Sainsbury’s on Monday, having sat Health and Safety, maths and personality tests, which I have obviously passed, so I am hoping that my past experience in jobs which have all been public related will stand me in good stead for a job in their new store which is opening in Crayford.

About your Hobbies?
I like current affairs and I take a keen interest in politics – mainly by reading the national newspapers. I also like sport – motor sport in particular but anything which involves cars and bikes if it has an engine! I go on the internet to look at racing cars and Formula 1 and I try to go to Brands Hatch two or three times a year if I can. I do enjoy all sports and I play tennis with my mate as well as being a member of a Snooker Club in Erith.

How long have you been coming to Belvedere Baptist? And how has it helped you in your life?
On and off, for about 10 to 12 years. It was in fact through a friend who lived in the same road as I do; I used to go round to his house on Sundays to see if he would be coming out to play, and was always disappointed when he could not because he was going to church! One day they decided to take me with them to a church in Crayford and then one Sunday, for some reason or other, they decided to come here and stayed because there was the YPF and also more for children, and I continued to come until the time I was doing two jobs!

Then a couple of years ago, because I was spending so much money on alcohol and ciggies, I got into serious debt and everything started going downhill ending up with me running away from home and being homeless for about 6 months; I only came home in January 2009 with no job, no money and very little prospects of getting a job because of the economic crisis. Then one day when I was in Bexleyheath on my way to the library, where at the time I was spending a lot of time because of disagreements at home, I ran into Becky Ives who told me she had found some old photographs of us as youngsters and invited me to the church to have a look at them. I have been coming ever since and I feel it has really had a good influence on me: I don’t know if it is religious, God or if it is more down to the people here, but it has definitely had a calming influence on me. Otherwise I would still be spending the little money I get on booze and not trying to get my debt sorted out which, with the help of CAP, I am very slowly managing to do and, hopefully, when I get a job I will be able to walk down the street and get a sense of achievement and not feel like rubbish. I am not an overly spiritual person: I think my mind and my thought process wants to tell me that there is something there because I want to believe that there is something more than this, like a lot of humans do, but I do reserve a certain scepticism about many things. When I talk to you all here I can see you are so in touch with your faith and I admire that from afar but at the moment I am sceptical at handing myself over! I suppose my heart wants to believe that there is something there!

What are your hopes for the future?
I would just like to have a relatively safe job, a house of my own and a family; to be able to go abroad on holiday again. Really just to get my life back of track.

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A CHAT WITH - Richard and Coralie Mitchell

Thank you both for agreeing to have this chat. Would you like to tell us about your walk with the Lord over the years (in the good times and in the bad times)?

Coralie: Walking with the Lord has been an experience from the first euphoric beginning through the times of persecution and being unacceptable to family and friends, to the really high times when God answers prayers, and to the change that takes place within yourself. It’s just incredible. Sometimes it’s not easy but always challenging. I have found God never leaves you, He is always there, He never lets you sink too low. Also He has chastised me and the word has spoken straight into my heart, and has eventually made me change, as He kept presenting the same problem until I decided to obey Him – Not easy at all!

Richard: When waiting for Coralie at meetings in her sister’s house I was talking to a friend, John Glanville; he was a lay preacher from Australia and he told me about the Lord. He told me not to drive away when I dropped Coralie off, that I would be really welcome to go in and wait. I knew I needed the Lord in my life but I did not know what to do. After starting to attend the meetings I began to really enjoy them and I started to change. After a few years I was baptised at Cornerstone Church, Bromley – that was a wonderful feeling of release and of joy, and our walk together with the Lord has brought us closer together. I told my brothers and my sister about my being a Christian and they all thought I was mad, as did friends and family, but I kept going and the Lord has blessed me. One thing that is really wonderful is that my children have seen the change in me and our youngest, John, has started going to Bexleyheath Baptist Church, and our daughter, Helen, will pray with us. The others also are amazed at the change and have accepted our faith.

I believe you have just moved house. How did that come about and what difference is it making to you lives?

Richard: Because I have been so ill I was finding our house too big and the upkeep of it was a burden and also too expensive. We prayed for either the means to stay or to move! One day my Social Worker came round unexpectedly, mentioned the steps to the front of our house and the hill to the village and said she would put us on the list for sheltered housing.

Coralie: Our move to Hayley House has been God given! When we were put on this list we were told there would be a 2-3 years’ wait at least – 4 months later we received a letter offering us a flat, No. 23. Also, I wanted to be on the first floor as I like to have the windows open at night and Rich wanted to be on the ground floor. As he is so unwell at times I said OK to a ground floor flat, but God gave us both what we wanted - as Hayley House is on a hill the first floor is at ground level and the ground floor is the lower ground floor! I had also prayed that if God wanted us here in Belvedere we would be in this area and, if not, we would be wherever he wanted us. God really answers prayer – some straight away, some much longer and some still yet to be answered. We are very happy here and Richard gets on with the men and has made friends quite easily, as have I.

What do you do in your spare time? eg around the church, hobbies, socialising, etc.?

Coralie: We like walking and when we are over at Hall Place we do find it easy to pray there, and also when we are in the car. We play the Wii with the residents here and, of course, we enjoy time spent with our children and grandchildren. I work at the church twice a week, on Monday and Friday mornings, where I find great peace and a sense of belonging; it has also helped me to get to know people in the church better.

Richard: Yes, as Coralie said we do like to walk and do see our children a lot, and I do have a lot of fun with the residents at Hayley House.

Do you have a favourite Bible verse?

Coralie: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16) – This is how God loves me. When I first became a Christian I felt very unloved and alone and for months that verse lifted me every time I woke. The fact that someone loved me that much was mind blowing. I have two girls and three boys and I could not give them to that death, so this verse really spoke of his deep love. Also Psalm 118 is another favourite passage of mine.

Richard: My favourite passage is Matthew 6:9-15, when Jesus teaches the disciples the Lord’s Prayer and in verses 14 and 15 talks about forgiveness.

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Easter & beyond (+1)

Well here we are again enjoying an Easter break from work, school and whatever else you do normally. Well I guess that’s OK for the majority but spare a thought for the carers who selflessly spend every day caring for another person or persons, either sick, elderly, disabled young or old they all demand constant attention and there is no respite for the carer, even at Easter, Christmas or any day of the week, they are on duty 24/7 (no not the 24th July, just all day every day, another of those daft abbreviations). Being able to take a break, even for just a few hours, can make all the difference. So, if you have some time to spare next time a Bank Holiday comes around why not look for a carer and see if you can help them by giving them some time off. It might only be a couple of hours out of your day but it could make a massive contribution to help to maintain the sanity of someone who is struggling to care for a loved one who perhaps just doesn’t recognise them or needs constant watching or has other problems.

“I really don’t get what he’s saying” how many times have you heard that or even said it yourself? The person who was talking probably thought that they were making perfect sense and everyone listening would understand. The same could apply to our actions, “Why on earth did she do that?”. Do you ever think to yourself ‘will the other person understand my reasoning’ or “why did they get angry when what I was doing was perfectly normal and surely made no difference to them”. Have you ever been misunderstood? This has been a theme in my daily readings for part of this month and it has had a strange impact on me. No doubt our Lord was misunderstood and

I seem to have struck a serious tone in this article probably because at Easter the suffering of Jesus on the Cross for us all is a sobering thought. The old hymns have long held memories of times past, There is a green hill far away, The old rugged cross, Rock of Ages and many more. But we all have hope because He rose from the dead and is alive today. Hallelujah!!

You may wonder why some of the above appears incomplete: well that’s all I’d written when the editor told me that my article was not needed for the April edition of the magazine as she’d used up all the space writing about the Easter Sunday Baptisms. Well I ask you, after all the criticism aimed at my last article I’m given the cold shoulder and told to make way for a few interviews. I think I have a right to complain of victimisation and feel offended, especially when another piece of nonsense (The Computer Prayer) WAS published (which, I would like to point out only took less than one page!!! Ed.); that is not to say that what I write is nonsense, in fact it makes a great deal of sense to me, and indeed it more often than not has a serious point or two to make.

I didn’t see anything in the magazine about the Good Friday Breakfast (did the Editor go? Until around 10 pm the evening before helping to set up the tables, and colour coordinating the crockery!!! which caused some amusement on the night, and on the morning helping with coffee and tea, etc.! Ed.) and would like to say how good it was to see so many people in our hall again. I wonder if we should have a competition to guess how many Hot Cross Buns were consumed at that event? I seem to remember last year suggesting that this year we went into the streets at Easter and distributed Hot Cross Buns to the people like what Christians did in times gone by, but we didn’t: another missed opportunity? (I definitely would not argue with that! Ed.) We should be using our space in more imaginative ways to fill our buildings with people and whilst the format of the Breakfast is somewhat traditional and perhaps a little dated there must be something we could do to ‘bring ‘em in’ and that could be around food, except someone tells me the cooker needs replacing.

It’s great to hear that the Line dancing has spawned a competitive Tea Dance and I guess the Zone kids will soon want to have a more modern version of the same. Perhaps the worship group could put together a suitable evening of modern music (not too extreme) that could be a good witness.

The country now has a new Government and we wait to learn the consequences of living in a democratic country with an undemocratic and outdated voting system. There seems no doubt that there are major changes ahead.

Poem: since I was usurped by a poem last time I thought I’d offer my own short rhyme (well limerick actually):

There was an editor called Freda
Who removed this article, dear reader
So write and complain
If she does it again
Or I’ll have to go to our Leader.
Anon (but only just!)
(Anon’s words not mine!!! Ed.)

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Refresh Update

As a church we have made an exciting decision at our members’ evening to facilitate a new entrance area for the work of the Refresh Centre, our community outreach.

The month before we shared with the church that as the work had grown we were going to established a “Refresh Centre Operational Board” and asked if any member wanted to offer to be part of the board. Thank you to the two people who responded; we had a great first meeting with a real sense of God’s encouragement and direction. As a group we feel God has called us to regular planning meetings, pray and dedication to continuing in God’s vision for our church’s outreach. With many different groups aimed at different sections of our community we focused on Philippians 2, as a guiding principle of how to work together.

As we move forward it would be good to revisit the vision that God gave for the Refresh Centre. The original vision was of a powerful fountain spraying out of Belvedere Baptist Church, washing and blessing those who came in contact with the water, refreshing our community and meeting a thirst that has, so far, been unquenchable. Every river, fountain and stream has one single source; the Refresh Centre’s is God. Our ‘family centre’ is different, we are not just a good community based project trying to help those in need, we are also here to bring God’s Kingdom to Belvedere, to save souls with God’s love and truth forever on the lips of all our leaders, workers and partners.

I would like to ask our church family to support our workers in prayer as we continue to move forward in trialing a new weekly layout for the buildings. The proposal is that the small hall is turned into a cafe/reception area with the car park entrance being improved with Refresh Centre signage. This is to serve all the partners using the centre. The idea is to increase a sense of unity between all groups, showing one purpose and vision, increasing awareness of what happens in each other’s groups and to help with the fluidity of the use of space that we are blessed with in our church premises. Refurbishments and health and safety issues will need to be addressed and ironed out as we move towards opening and we have a good team to handle these issues. Once again I ask for prayer and active support for our group leaders and our faithful workers as we discuss and try to ensure all logistical issues are cleared up before the work day in July.

I would like to thank God for Andrew’s sermon on ‘The Church as an Army’ on Sunday. He mentioned that when an Army comes together, within their shield walls, it is not comfortable; many people wish they weren’t there, but they are strong, believing and fighting for one purpose, safer together. When just one soldier decides they are going to break away from the unit and do their own thing not only do they themselves become vulnerable and feel under attack but so does the whole army. It is my prayer that as we try to meet the challenges set before us that we do so as one unit, humbly and in love. Let us go forth to the Nations proclaiming God’s glory, as one body in Christ Jesus.

A word of encouragement was given to me from Gwen the other day, (Neil and Gwen Gower are the leaders of ‘The Zone’ a Friday night club for young people). She said that one of the boys who attends has a brother who has been in prison. The brother came and thanked Gwen for the church opening its doors for the teenagers, saying that if there had been something like this when he was young he doesn’t think he’d have got into trouble. Colin Grant was also given the chance to talk to some of the parents of the children who attend; they, too, are grateful and expressed an interest in what is going on in the Refresh Centre, opening new doors and other ways to serve our community. Praise the Lord for the blessing ‘The Zone’ is having not only on the young people who attend but their parents and carers as well. May many come to know Christ through this practical expression of His love.

The following words really hit me when worshipping on Sunday, so I’d like to leave them with you now:

A people without recognition,
But with Him a destiny sealed,
Called to a heavenly vision,
His purpose shall be fulfilled.
Come, let us stand strong together,
Abandon ourselves to the King,
His love shall be ours forever,
This victory song we shall sing.
A new day is dawning,
A new age to come,
When the children of promise
Shall flow together as one.
Hannah Morgan

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Help for Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti is no longer in the news. However the problems for those made homeless by this disaster have not disappeared. Most of those made homeless have also lost their means of earning a living. Fortunately there are many charitable organisations that have stepped into the breach and are helping those in the greatest need. The help is not being restricted to Port-au-Prince either.For example, one of Christian Aid’s partners, Koral, is working in the southwest of Haiti, providing cash for the people who have migrated to the countryside after the quake. One enterprising lady used that cash to buy cloth, which she then sewed into clothing which she was able to sell – making a 50% profit on the money she was given, enabling her to start making a living for her family again. Although this is not really an example of the micro-credit idea in action (the money was given – not loaned, to her), it is surely an excellent example of what a difference can be made with a little help from us who have so much more.

In Petit Goave for example (20 miles from the capital), another of Christian Aid’s partners, The National Human Rights Defence Network has identified 36 camps (see an example in the picture) in which there are extremely vulnerable families. As a result, thousands of people are being helped to buy food in the local markets. This may not be a long-term solution to their current desperate situation, but it is helping many to stay alive whilst they try to regain some sort of livelihood.

Derek Fraser

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WOMEN’S OWN ANNIVERSARY SERVICE

Just over forty people, from our church and other churches in the area, came along to celebrate the anniversary of this organisation – although no-one is sure for how many years it has been in existence – and stayed on for a special tea afterwards, during which time it was announced that the offering, which was in aid of Christian Aid, had raised over £70.00 and Women’s Own had decided to make this up to £100.00 from their funds.

Linda Tythe led the afternoon which included a reading by Freda Ratcliffe from 1 John chapter 4 about God’s love and ours, prayers led by Brenda Fairman and Ruth Johnson and we were blessed by our speaker Maureen Varrall, who, using the book of Ruth, centred her talk around Naomi. She pointed out that Naomi had lived in a time of religious and moral decay when everyone did whatever was right in their own eyes, and how, because of her husband doing what he wanted - because there was a famine he moved his family from Bethlehem to Moab where there was food - and not obeying what God had told him, she had suffered.

As Maureen pointed out when we depart from what God wants us to do it not only affects us but very often those around us! She pointed out that when we make decisions we often see only the immediate effect but when we trust in God he sees the future for us so it is important that we keep in step with him. But, as shown in the lives of Naomi, when she returned to the land where God wanted her to be, and of the Prodigal Son, when he returned to his father after doing his own thing, they realised just how much God loved them and was blessing them.Linda brought the meeting to an end and added that, as had been obvious, love had been the theme of the afternoon, and encouraged people to come along to Women’s Own on Thursdays at 2.30 pm, where “love is what we give and show to one another,” and where you can hear some good speakers and spend an enjoyable hour or so!