Welcome to Contact Magazine

June 2013

Issue 309

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In Contact this monthPastor's Letter P.4Family News P.6Annual General Meeting P.8Irene Scott p.9Feedback from listening meeting P.10Street Ministries P.12Greetings from Worchester P.14 Beata’s Brief P.16World Needs Fund Donation P.18

Welcome to Contact Magazine – the Gerrard Street church magazine.

Contact exists as one of the ways we can tell each other what is happening in our church and in our lives – If you have something you would like to share please send it to us at

contact@gerrardstreet.comor

chrissiebeverley@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks, as always, to everyone who has contributed this month.

Chrissie Beverley

GerrardStreet

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Deadline for July/Aug Issue is

Wednesday the 26th June

Pastor’s Letter

Dear friends,

a few years ago, we identified a list of 11 values that we felt described the kind of church we were. It was good list and we preached a sermon series looking at each value in turn.

This list of values was really helpful and I believe that all it contains does describe us in many respects. However, while on sabbatical as I had time to reflect, it struck me that there were simply too many values on this list for it to be useful to us as a statement of our values. For one thing, it was simply too long. I wonder how many of these values you can remember!

Some of the values were maybe a bit too specific. In addition, we also had some other "statements" that appeared in various places l ike Word...Spirit...Mission... and the like. I felt it would be helpful to us as a church if we could somehow draw all of this together in a values statement that would reflect who we are as a fellowship but also be succinct and memorable.

Along with the input and help of the elders, we came up with the following statement that I think really helpfully states our key values as a church.

We......are passionate about Jesus...are dependent on the Spirit of God...are directed by the Word of God...are dedicated to the Mission of God...are belonging as the Family of God

I was able to type that without even looking at my notes because it is quite easy to memorise.

It begins with asserting that we are passionate about Jesus. As I have been preaching through Revelation, it has been easy to get caught up with the Majesty and Wonder of the ascended Lord Jesus. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lamb who has been slain. We want to be passionate about Jesus in our worship, in our conversations with one another and in our life in the world. Jesus is not Someone we merely affirm, he is Someone that we are excited about, thrilled about, fervent about, passionate about.

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Next we affirm that we are dependent of the Spirit of God. As a church, we realise that apart from God's Spirit we cannot accomplish anything of any lasting significance. We need Him to bring God's Presence to us and so make us pure and give us power to see God's Kingdom grow in this generation. We also expect that by the Spirit God will speak to us and so we listen for his voice in our personal devotions and in our worship services.

At the centre of the statement, we affirm that we are directed by the Word of God. In other words, we desire that through His word, the Bible, God would lead us in his ways. As we yield to it, the Bible can keep us right both in what we believe and in what we do. It can keep us both orthodox and orthoprax. It is through Scripture that we learn of the Jesus that we are passionate about and the Spirit uses God's inerrant Word to counsel and help and train us in righteousness.

The fourth statement is that we are dedicated to the Mission of God. As I have said many times, we are wholeheartedly committed to being led by God's Word and empowered by God's Spirit so that we can be effective in God's Mission. Isn't it wonderful that God has called us to join with him as he brings about His purposes for this place at this time? This includes our dedication to missionaries who minister to the ends of the earth, and it also includes our work among the neighbourhood beside the church building as well as our witness to neighbours and friends and colleagues and family. Truly we are dedicated to making Jesus known!

Last but by no means least, we affirm that we belong as the Family of God. United in Christ, one in the Spirit, a community of the Word, together on Mission. The idea of the church as family is scriptural and points to our relationship to God as our Father and to our relationships to one and other as "brothers and sisters". Paul uses the Greek word "brothers" so often when he refers to his fellow believers that a whole stream of Christianity have called themselves "the Brethren". Loving one another is a sign that our faith in the Father is real and genuine.

In the coming months, I will be leading some discussion with the elders about the way forward for us as a church. Please pray for us! It's great that we have a clear sets of non-negotiable values that will inform and guide our thinking.

Values are both descriptive and aspirational. They describe who we are already and they state what we are hoping to become with increasing measure.

Yours in Jesus,

Matthew

Family News Death: Our loving sympathy is extended to the family of Mrs. Irene Scott who went to be with the Lord peacefully on 25th April aged 93 at Angusfield Nursing Home. She has been very frail for some time now. She had 7 of a family, Margaret, Barbara, Muriel, Jim, David and twins Ruth and Elizabeth. She was a loving granny to 12 grandchildren and a proud great-granny to 10. She was much loved and will be greatly missed by family and friends and we pray that they will know God’s comfort and peace at this sad time of parting.

Condolence: We also extend our loving sympathy to Sara and Tom Anderson on the death of Sara’s Aunt Wilma Harkness who went to be with the Lord aged 98 yrs on 4th May after a long illness. Wilma was a long time missionary with B.M.S. serving in both China and India. She and Sara were very close and Sara was devoted to her. She too will be sadly missed and our prayers are for Sara and other members of her family at this time of loss.

Engaement: Congratulations to Don Thomas and Abi Foster who announced their engagement on 9th April. We wish them much happiness.

Births: Congratulations to Gloria and Alhamdu Audu on the birth of their son Tahoma Admiel Aminci John on 19th April, weighing 7lbs 9oz., a brother for Tahiti, also to Shaun and Joy Price on the birth of their son Hugh William on 22nd April weighing 8lbs 2oz, a brother for Augustine and Jane. Congratulations also to Keith and Jen Angus on the birth of their daughter Suzannah Laura on 8th May, weighing 8lbs, a sister for Catherine, and to Ed and Charlene Cheeseman on the birth of their first child, a daughter, Violet Elyse on 11th May weighing 7lbs 11oz.

Baptisms: Jill Shanks, Alice Reid and Lami Dzingina were baptised on Sunday 19th May, their testimonies being also given in printed form.

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New Members: On Sunday morning 5th May the following were welcomed into the Church Family: Tyler and Jessie Wittman, Anna

Rose, Connor Hamilton, Kath Saunders, April Tanner, Fin Gray and Chris Bridle, and on 19th May, after their baptism, Jill Shanks, Alice Reid and Lami Dzingina.

Award: Just a day too late for last month’s magazine came the news that Rick Allen and Sandy Allan did indeed scoop the top award of Piolet d’Or (golden ice axe) for being the first team in the world to summit Nanga Parbat using the Mazeno Ridge route. The ceremony took place in Courmayeur, Italy in April. Rick now lives and works in Australia but visits us from time to time.

“Farewell”: On Sunday morning 26th May we said farewell to Shaun and Joy Price and family as they are returning to the U.S.A. We have enjoyed having them and have appreciated all the ways in which they have been a blessing to us. Our prayers go with them as they adjust to settling happily back with family and friends.Welcome Back: Ed and Alison Spearman arrived home on 29th May after journeying to the other side of the world to represent the church at the launch of the Seimet New Testament in Papua New Guinea. Beata and Theresa have been involved in this translation for the past ten years and we look forward to hearing first hand news of the event. Our prayers have been with them all. We pray also for Ed and Alison as they recover from the long journeys and exciting times.

Commisioning: At the morning service on 2nd June Tom Anderson on his re-election to the Elders was commissioned, as were new elders Jon Hasan and Alistair McIntyre.Prayer Points: Please continue to pray for Barbara Scott that she will have good health, stamina, safety and wisdom as she continues her work in Senegal. Remember Sally Rose that she and the expected baby will be kept safe and the birth goes well. Those of our members not able to join us for worship are getting fewer but Sophie Duncan, Debbie Luke and Chrissie Beverley do appreciate your prayers.

Annual General Meeting 2013The church AGM took place on Tuesday the 28th May with around 35 people in attendance.

The meeting began with Matthew sharing a devotional. Alastair Currie chaired the meeting, and guided us through the various agenda points. There was a Pastors report from Matthew reflecting on what has been a year of change and looking forward to some of what may be ahead for us as a church. Glenn then gave a Ministry report which looked at the various ministries within our church and what has happened in them in this past year.

Alistair McIntyre presented the accounts for the approval of the meeting and also gave a report on our current financial situation.

Matthew then brought a short update on the Building Project and reported that the next step will be a further church meeting after the summer.

Votes were then cast for the appointment of elders and Tom Anderson was duly re-elected as an elder and Jon Hasan and Alistair McIntyre were elected for the first time.

The church was informed that people can now ‘opt in’ to have electronic notification of church meetings. There was the opportunity to sign up for this at the meeting and we will repeat this over the course of the next couple of months.

We then re-appointed Johnston Carmichael as our Independent Examiners.

The meeting closed with prayer.

Full minutes will be prepared and circulated in due course.

Glenn Innes

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Irene Scott 1919 – 2013Irene, who at the date of her death was our oldest member, went to be with her Lord, surrounded by her family, on the 25th April.

Irene was born in Derby, one of six children, and from an early age was an evangelist. Her father was with the Salvation Army and bought her a bicycle, which she used to travel round the area preaching at various churches, and thought little of cycling 30 miles on a Sunday. She trained at the Homeopathic Hospital in London as a nurse and used her nursing skills to help many people during the Blitz in our nation’s capital. After the war she was in private nursing and at one time nursed the then Speaker of the House of Commons. She met her future husband, Arthur, around this time and both felt called to the mission field. They completed their missionary training and went to the Congo in 1947 marrying the following year in Africa where Irene made her own wedding dress.

Always a woman of prayer, Irene felt God asking her to establish a leper colony and she went to Malingwia to oversee the development of the work whilst Arthur went to Belgium for further training. All 7 of their children were born in Congo but Irene and the children had to be evacuated in 1960 at the time of rebellion in that country. Arthur stayed behind to help in the colony but was himself evacuated in 1961. However, he returned to Congo in very difficult circumstances working until 1965 when he too was finally repatriated. This was a very difficult time for Irene, communications with Africa were slow and news from her husband, spasmodic. She was staying in Arbroath bringing up the family when she received news that Arthur was missing, believed killed. It must have been hard for her but eventually she received word that he was safe and well.

Life back in the UK, although not so dramatic, was still busy. She devoted her life to bringing up her family and serving the Lord she loved in many ways. She faced many new challenges with godliness and humility; she was a woman of prayer, always gracious and unassuming. Her interest in Missions remained central in her life and she was a great support to Muriel and Barbara in their work overseas.

In her latter years her health deteriorated and she spent her final days in Angusfield Nursing Home where she received loving care. Irene was strong and respected, not afraid of the future, generous to the poor and needy, an industrious and hard worker. A woman who honoured God and an example to us all.

Peter Forbes

Feedback from the Listening Evening

In January we had a listening evening which looked at four questions which people had been able to think on beforehand;1) What were your thoughts on the process of Building

for the Gospel?2) What are your hopes for the building in ministry

terms?3) What are your hopes for the building in physical

terms? 4) How should we go forward from here?

Everyone had the opportunity to participate in each of the groups and the feedback was collected by the elders.

There were a number of key threads that appeared throughout the evening and across the groups.

Below are the documents put together containing all thefeedback received from the church at the listening meeting onTuesday 29th Jan. This page contains a summary of the keypoints in each

a) Desires for the building in terms of Ministryi) Sanctuary to be a flexible space available to many ministriesii) Dedicated space for TBC, lighthouse, crèche etciii) Use building to reach out to the surrounding community.

b) Desires for the building practicallyi) Significant improvements and repairs to existing building.ii) Additional space for children’s ministries [space to be multi- purpose]iii) Work to the sanctuary to create a more flexible/better space

c) How could the process be improved?i) Communication was not good or consistent.ii) Timeframe became a huge challenge - 12 years, big gaps with silence.Iii) Church meetings - the format, low attendance, voting, clarity were all at times problematic.

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iv) Trust - not an issue of honesty, more an issue that the process was not managed/led well nor did it to be appear transparent.

d) How do we move forward. i) Unity, involvement, of many different people, commitment to church family, importance of relationshipsii) Outward focus. Not just about us

Glenn

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Calm in the StormA woman caught in a frightening storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean had kept all the little children on board from panicking by telling Bible Stories. After finally reaching the dock safely, the ship’s captain approached the woman, whom he had observed in the midst of the tempest.

“How were you able to maintain your calm when everyone feared the ship would sink in this storm?” the captain asked. As she looked up, he noted the same quiet peace in her eyes that she had maintained throughout the journey.

“I have two daughters,” explained the Christian woman. One of them lives in New York. The other lives in heaven. I knew I would see one or other of my daughters in a few hours. And it really didn’t matter to me which one.”

Ron MehlQuoted in “More Stories from the Heart” compiled by Alice Gray

Street Ministries – The past year in review.One of the most significant changes would be Stuart and Katherine leaving and Rachael Kettle taking on the leadership of these ministries. Each of the ministries has had its own successes and challenges this year.

ToddlersContinues to run well and has many relationships with families in this local area and more broadly across the city. They continue to see steady numbers of around 30-40 adults and children each week. There is a felt need for more people to help out both in the practical aspect of setting up and tidying up but also in getting to sit and speak to the women that come allowing relationships to be built.

Wednesday WomenHave seen a dip in the number of women attending each week, but over more recent weeks have seen numbers increase again with new women coming along. There have also been a few changes in those who are part of the volunteer team with people moving on for a variety of reasons and new people joining. They continue to have positive feedback from other organisations across the city and have been building some good relationships with external agencies who would suggest women attend our drop in.

Loch courtIn recent months Brian and Lee Ann Sutherland have taken on the leadership of Loch court. This ministry has also been boosted by the ministry fayre which was very successful in getting people from the church involved. The service they put on each month continues to bless the members of Loch court who come along but it is recognised the numbers have dropped over time and they would like to explore other ways of serving the residents and getting to know more of them. Alice Westland continues to play a key role in ministering to some of the residents there making regular visits and extending a hand of friendship and care to them.ContactJune|12

Prayer Walking group This is a new group that has been meeting since January. This was

something we did though the holiday club week and those who got involved desired to see it continued. I highly value the importance and significance of prayer and this group came out of a desire to see prayer as one of the main things that shapes and underlies outreach to the local area.

Holiday Club and SummerHoliday club 2013 plans are well underway with Heather Blair sharing responsibility with Vivienne Thomson for our club this year. We also hope to do a couple of additional things during the holidays to bless the local area and build our relationships with the local children in particular.

MobiliseFollowing their study inside out looking at community transformation our student groups have been great at getting involved with street ministries this term. One of the main things they did was to carry out a survey of those who live and work in the local area. This has made a valuable contribution to building up an accurate picture of the local area. They have also become involved in getting to know local kids through informal ‘play times’ out in the Catherine Street basketball pitch, prayer walking and litter picking.

Easter Arts ClubWe ran a three day arts club for primary school children during the school holidays. A good mixture of local children and further across the city attended. Those from outwith the local area had mostly been invited by children from our church.

Rachael Kettle

Greetings from Worcester, South Africa

We are now moving into the autumn/winter, believe it or not, we are enjoying the cooler weather:) The schools are now in full swing after the Easter break, which was a great time with the kids enjoying chilled times at home. They have chosen hockey this term as sport and are enjoying swinging the sticks around! They also recieved glowing school reports, with both getting high grades in afrikaans as their second language; quite a surprise!low are some photos from our time in Mozambique as promised:) First picture on left is with the lady we mentioned in previous update who recieved a miraculous healing from malaria within a few days, middle - is with the boys from local orphanage and right - new years eve with some of the team:)

The month of April has been a busy time for the YWAM Worcester base; prior to Easter we were involved with a Youth Conference with the topic 'Remember Who You Are' that took place over 2 days with a speaker from the USA. For Lucy Kileo from Tanzania who was the main organiser; her aim was to gather youth groups from different churches in Worcester to the YWAM base, to hear God's word for them and to worship together. It was a great success as both days were packed with youth from all parts of Worcester. We thank God as many young people were touched by the teaching they received.

Presently there is a revival conference which was originally planned for Tuesday and Wednesday at a local higher education college(YWAM was asked to help in co-ordinating this event) with renowned evangelist Todd Bentley but due to a move of God in Durban he has remained there to continue what God is doing there. In turn Bobby Sullivan( afellow evangelist from the USA) was commissioned in his place.....

...the event has had an amazing turnout, with more than 40 churches in the town being involved; the auditorium was packed out both nights, with a move of God that has seen people being healed from sickness, deafness, being able to walk again and many new believers for the kingdom; due to this outpouring of God's Spirit it has been extended through till Sunday evening.

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Please pray for all the logistics involved in this event; intercession, transport, sound, counsellors, worship, that all would work together in unity and would be covered physically, emotionally, mentally and iritually.

Lastly we are excited to share with you that we are planning a trip back to the UK in June/July this year, we are looking forward to touching base with people again. With our time in the UK we will doing quite a bit of travelling around, it would be great to have use of a car during part or all of our time there; if you are able to help with this please be in touch... 　Thank you for being part of what God is doing here in South Africa, we have appreciated your prayers and support, which have uplifted us during these last few months.

Many blessings, hugs and love Johnny, Susan, Iona and Matthew Neethling

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“God, our wise and creative Maker, has been pleased to make everyone different and no one perfect. The sooner we appreciate and accept that fact, the deeper we will appreciate and accept one another.”

Charles Swindoll“Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life” p.146

Beata’s Brief(some extracts from above)

Letu solian dear Friends and Partners SEIMAT NEW TESTAMENT DEDICATION –THE COUNTDOWN WELL UNDER WAY ...

In February four language helpers flew in to Ukarumpa from Ninigo to continue working with us. As we had many activities lined up, nobody expected that we’d translate 16 chapters of Genesis! Michael and Jon did a great job, and apart from a light cold (not unusual when suddenly switching to the mountain climate) all of us were in good mental and physical condition.

With the assistance of Orderly and Rudolf we made further progress on the Seimat-English dictionary, and all four were glad to have a closer encounter with the computer, learning some skills in typing and the Word programme. They took back two older laptops with them to practice while in the islands.

During their stay, we managed to record a few chapters of the Gospel according to Luke, which will also be used for broadcasting by Manus (provincial) Radio. At the Conference of our Mission in Ukarumpa we presented the Seimat project to a wide audience. The islanders stood up to the task. They told about life in Ninigo, all the stages leading up to the completion of the Seimat New Testament translation and about the benefits for them individually and as whole island communities. And to the great surprise of all gathered, they even learnt to greet and thank in 11 languages that were represented by the conference participants!

Rudolf shared his experience of reading God’s Word for the first time in the language of his heart. He compared his attempts at reading it in English to swimming on the surface of the ocean because he is not able to see what is hidden beneath. And when he reads in Seimat, it feels as if he put on the diving mask, plunged into the sea and can see clearly what lies deep below. ContactJune|16

We ended with a Seimat song based on the translation of John 14:2-3. After the prayer for us and all the Seimat people, we were congratulated and asked to record this presentation in the Pidgin language to use it in other regions of the country for encouragement and promotion of translating the Scriptures into many remaining languages of PNG where the work is in progress or hasn’t started yet. Over 300 people groups still need God’s Word in their language, in PNG alone!

Peter Grainger (Former Senior Pastor at Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh)led devotions every day, based on 2nd Cor. 4-7. It was a goiod reminder that the power in this ministry comes from God. We enjoyed having him and hiswife Nita to celebrate with us the completion of the Seimat New Testament.

In the middle of April, the islanders flew back home and soon afterwardswe got a message about a strong earthquake on the north coast, close to Wewack town (a stopover on the way to Ninigo. After a few days of uncertaint, we found out by radio that everyone was o.k. in the islands.

The Seimat people have been working diligently to prepare for this historic occasion (21 –23 May) We are execting many guests: fromPoland, Scotland, England, U.S.A, from Ukarumpa (missionary colleagues and PNG friends) and other national visitors from different parts of the country. Thanks for prayng for safety and logistics as there are so many arrangements andd details involved. Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

God bless,Beata

World Needs Fund Donation

Tearfund Syria Emergency AppealGerrard Street Baptist Church has donated £500 from its World Needs Fund to Tearfund’s emergency appeal for the country of Syria.

The World Needs Fund is managed on behalf of the church by the World Wide Mission Team.

As you will have seen in the media, terrible things are happening in that country with thousands of people being killed and over a million people having to flee the country, mainly to Lebanon and Jordon.

The WWM team felt that this was a very appropriate use of these funds and that they will be managed effectively through Tearfund, the Christian aid agency which has been working in emergency relief for over 40 years.

The Tearfund website has stated the following:“Many have been forced to leave everything behind. They have no income, no healthcare and no certainty over what lies ahead.Tearfund’s partners are working to help people find food and shelter. Our partners are providing blankets, mattresses and wood burning stoves to help people survive the harsh winter. Eventually, we hope to help them return to their homes.”

Further information can be found at http://www.tearfund.org/en/news/syria/including ways to give individually if you wish to do so.

Ed SpearmanOn behalf of the WWM Team

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