We've recently had two unusual and exceptional requests ... might you be able and wiling to help out?
A former mission partner in Uganda Rev Ezekiel Nyende is known to many of us through his long partnership with St James by the Park. Back in 2010, he started St. Andrews Church Matovu in Busoga diocese, Uganda with three other people in his home. By 2013 the church had grown to 30 active members. A plot was purchased and construction of a church building was started. Doors and windows were added, the whole building was plastered and by 2018 the building was finished. The number of Christians had grown to 216 adults and 350 children. Ezekiel would now like to purchase public address equipment such as speakers, mixers, amplifiers and some musical instruments - guitars, piano, drums. So far, the congregation has raised around £400 and Ezekiel has asked if we could make a contribution towards the target of £3,000. As a parish, St James by the Park is moving its focus towards the church in Myanmar so this is a one-off request for any individual who would like to donate. If you would like to give cash, please send this to Theresa in the office or if you prefer a transfer, please send an email to enablebusoga@outlook.com and we will send you the account details. All contributions will be put together and sent to Ezekiel as a gift from 'friends in Shirley'. A family in need in Southampton A few weeks ago, Nicky shared about a situation a colleague's family is in. He writes: A friend of mine named Kieran works with me at the docks. Keiran’s 15 year old son has a brain tumour. They have spent many weeks in London being treated. An operation successfully removed a tumour with the son making a full recovery, but then in a check up earlier this year, a further brain tumour has been found. This situation resonated with me as my own son Jay, who was 23 at the time, was in a coma for 3 weeks and his mum and myself stayed at his Hospital bedside in Wales 24/7. Constant alarms, wires, tubes and machines making these noises was terrifying, so I knew what Keiran’s family were going through. I prayed for Keiran and could not get this family out of my mind. I contacted him to pray and ask his permission to share with my wife, then our church, which he was happy about, and he let me pray for his son on speakerphone. I’ve continued to pray for this family every day and over the course of the last few weeks we text or chat nearly every day. I would like to bless this family of four because I’ve been there. I’ve gone through what they're going through. Not the tumours, but the watching your son be in the hospital, feeling helpless and hopeless...It’s devastating. I praise God that I was a Christian and God helped me through. I would love to be able to send this family away near water, perhaps somewhere on the South Coast for a week to give them rest and space from their home as a part of recovery. Just as a show of God’s kindness. Colleagues from the docks have made a collection as well, but this is a chance for our church to extend God’s blessing to this family at this devastating time. If you’d like to make a contribution, you can give via the Care Fund – contact Theresa to do so.
0 Comments
Last Sunday, Dan reminded us that the first Christians were devoted to the apostles’ teaching and prayer (Acts 2.42) – and encouraged us to go deeper with God by developing Bible reading and prayer as spiritual disciplines for ourselves. (If you want to listen to the sermon, click here.)
But how can we go about that? Here’s some ideas, both for those who are new to Bible reading and prayer – and those who’ve been doing them for years: Bible reading
Prayer
What else would you recommend or suggest? Use the comments box below to join in! Dave Arbery led us in a time of prayer and bible study around the theme of prayer and action. There was time to talk and pray about various bible passage that encouraged us to get the balance right. James 2:14-17 was one that seemed to focus our minds and we discussed whether it was possible to have true faith without deeds, and that we should be known by our fruit, Matthew 7:18.
In preparation for the Annual Meeting the PCC formally approved the required reports. We had received these in advance so we could pre read them. We had three PCC members standing down this year, Rachel Young Nichola Caveney and Geoff Payne. We thanked these people for their contributions. There was an update on who was planning to stand this year. Dan led us in a discussion about the present leadership structures and groups. We discussed how this may alter in the future to better serve Dan and the congregation. We thought and discussed how the new teams UP/IN/OUT related to one another and to the PCC. The Safeguarding component this month included Rosie asking the PCC to re-approve the list of church activities that go on the diocesan safeguarding dashboard. We discussed the list and made sure it was relevant and up to date. We did then approve the activities. The PCC agreed to continue our present staffing levels until the end of the next academic year, August 2025. Dave A gave a short update from the Buildings Vision Group which was meeting again the following week. We raised the issue of asking the congregation to pray regularly about the plans for the buildings, so that we can hopefully get our plans in line with what God wants for the Parish. Dan shared that the May prayer meeting would be focused on the buildings. Dates of next meetings: APCM: Sun 28th Apr Meal: Mon 29th Apr Mon 13th May Mon 10th June Mon 8th July On Wednesday evening, we were privileged to host Shireen, a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem, who teaches at the Bethlehem Bible College ("the BBC"!). She described what life is like as a minority - a female and a Christian - in an oppressed territory under constant threat - and how our Christian brothers and sisters there are holding on to faith in God through such difficulties. She also spoke powerfully about their links with Messianic Jews in Israel, reconciliation and their desire for peace for all in Israel and Palestine, including the Jewish hostages. You can hear some of her moving interview here: We then spent time praying prayers of lament, voicing our sadness, confusion, anger and grief to God at the current situation in Israel / Palestine, using passages like Psalm 143, Psalm 142, Psalm 102:1-11, Lamentations 3:46-51 and Lamentations 5:1-3.
That was followed by praying prayers of healing and blessing over the region, using passages like Psalm 146, Psalm 121, Psalm 91, Psalm 62:1-2, Lamentations 3:22-27 and 2 Corinthians 1:3-6. Bethlehem Bible College run a charity called The Shepherd Society, which are helping provide funds for families in Gaza, amongst other things. (Some of our Christmas services collection was passed on to them.) As most of us know, millions of people in Gaza are at risk of starvation. If you want to make a donation towards food aid, that can be done online or via post to the Shepherd Society. Please joint us in continuing to pray for peace (shalom). Susie writes ...
We opened the meeting with a Bible study lead by Geoff, looking at John 16:5-15, especially verses 8 and 9. Then Geoff read us an article from Christianity magazine about the Asbury revival last year at Asbury University in Kentucky which lasted 16 days with many young people coming to faith, including individuals saved from drugs, porn and addiction. We then prayed in small groups and discussed why we don’t often pray for such revivals to take place here – how awesome would that be? Dan mentioned that his aunt studied at Asbury in the 1970s and experienced a revival there then – a generation or two earlier – what do they do that we don’t? Revival happens when people really want revival - often a group of people praying for decades. This was followed by Dave who gave an update on the current work of the Building Vision Group and Building Development Group about potential Parish Hall developments. There will be an update on this topic at the annual meeting in April. The PCC was encouraged by the 2023 draft accounts. The total income was slightly more than budgeted and the total expenditure was slightly less than budgeted. We still ended the year with a deficit, but less of a deficit that expected. We then worked through a youth safeguarding scenario from Rosie, firstly discussing in twos and then as a group. Dan gave an update of where the Church of England is at on a national level on the topic of 'Prayers of Love and Faith' – it's in a difficult position and finding it hard to find a way forward, with neither side happy with the current situation, making it precarious for the national church. Dan talked about the idea of a potential book club on the topic for those looking to understand the themes on both sides of the discussion better. Three new PCC members will be needed to replace Rachael, Geoff and Nichola as they step down from PCC this April. Please get in touch with Dan, the wardens (Nick and Tracy) or any PCC member if you’d like to find out more about what’s involved. |