March 18, 2012 
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Barry and Susana Davies gave a very encouraging report of their work in Nicaragua and of developments at the School on Wednesday. The Carazo Christian Academy is progressing well and Barry showed pictures of the new assembly building and house for staff and visiting teams. He challenged us to send a team from Wales. There are 1000′s of jobs to be done, he says, and they can find work for everyone according to their ability. Pray for the teachers and ongoing work in the School and the grounding of these young people in the Christian faith. Pray for relationships with authorities in the country and for Joshua and Esther and their education next school year. Also for the health of both Barry and Susana.
Postcard from Gloucester – 15.03.12
Thank you so much for your prayers for the first weekend intensive of the MA in European Mission and Intercultural Christianity. Jim was really happy with the way the weekend went. The group of students included an American missionary working with an international church in Vienna, a Brazilian missionary to the UK working with the Methodist church, a Malaysian missionary working with Chinese churches in the UK, a Polish missionary to the UK who works with Polish migrants, and the German director of MissionNet, a congress and mission movement for young people across Europe. Everybody in the group contributed so much to the discussions and Jim is already looking forward to the next intensive weekend which will be in early May.
Next week Jim will put on his ECM Field Ministries hat and travel to Ireland to work with the ECM team in Tramore and Waterford. Needless to say there are some issues that have prompted this visit so he asks your prayers for safe travel and for wisdom to know how to help the team. On the way back he will take the opportunity to visit his auntie in Dublin.
Christine continues to be very busy in her role at Redcliffe and after some months of stability there are quite a few comings and goings on the volunteers team. There are also a number of pastoral issues both involving volunteers and students which have taken a lot of time and mental energy so pray for her too.
Last Saturday we made a visit up to Sheffield to see Grace. We had a lovely day together and had an opportunity to visit her church and to get out onto the Derbyshire Dales for a few hours. She is really enjoying her studies, but even more excited about her involvement with St Thomas Crookes church. She has got involved in the worship group and has been named co-leader of her student cluster. Pray that God would give her strength to be able to do all that she is involved in. Alex’s interview for school went well and provided he gets the grades this summer he will be able to go to the High School from September. Rosie is considering her GCSE options at the moment so that is another item for prayer….too many choices!
With our love as always,
Jim and Christine
Tags: Jim & Christine Memory Notices – 11.03.12
General Notices:
- Carol & Alan are stepping down from cleaning the church after many faithful years of service. A big thanks to them for all their hard work. A cleaning rota and a laying out rota has been placed on the board for people to sign up to, as there have been no volunteers to take over the role on a permanent basis
- Stuart has submitted his resignation as an elder, although he will continue to be actively involved in the life of Ebenezer in other respects
- Please pray for Jessica as she goes with away with a group to undertake mission work in Cambodia. She will be away for almost two weeks. (Please speak to Graham or read her prayer letter for further information.)
- Please sign the Coalition for Marriage petition, which opposes the Government in redefining marriage to introduce same-sex marriage. This petition has the endorsement of elders and the FIEC (the FIEC is a part of the coalition). You can sign online here.
- Please fill out the questionnaire for the men’s breakfast
Special Activities:
- We celebrate the Dedication of Johann in today’s Sunday Alive Service
- Barry and Susanna Davies will join us on Wednesday 14th March in the church (instead of our usual home group meetings) to tell us about the work he is involved with. People can meet for tea & coffee at 7:45pm with the talk starting at 8pm.
- Wednesday 21st Søren and Ranveig are holding a Sushi evening: there are only 12 places available. Please speak to Søren and Ranveig for further details.
- Ladies are having a generational game on Wed 27th March. Please speak to Sue for more details
Weekly Activities:
Please note that computer
club has now stopped running.
| Mon | 7:00pm | Genesis Youth Group |
| Tue | 10:30am – 12:00pm | Coffee Morning |
| 2:00pm | Men’s Bible Study | |
| 6:30pm | Girl’s Bible Study | |
| Wed | 10:30am | Parents & Toddlers |
| 7:30 – 8:00pm (start time) | Home Groups | |
| Thurs | 6:30pm | Boy’s Bible Study |
| 6:30pm – 7:30pm | Adventurers | |
| 8:00pm – 9:30pm | Raze | |
| Fri | 10:30am | Ladies Bible Study |
| Sun | 9.45am | Communion |
| 11.00am | Sunday Alive | |
| 6.00pm | Evening service |
Readings:
- Sunday Alive 11.00am: In the morning Phil will be speaking on ‘Thessalonica, Berea and Athens’ Acts 17:1-34
- Evening Service 6.00pm: In the evening Julian Haines will be speaking on ‘Gethsemane’ Matt 26:36-56
Next Week’s Readings:
- Sunday Alive 11.00am: In the morning Phil will be speaking on ‘Corinth’ Acts 18:1-18
- Evening Service 6.00pm: In the evening Sonal will be speaking on ‘Before the Sanhedrin’ Matt 26:57-68
Dropaccino
Dropaccino is an informal cafe for young people which is going to be set up in the church in the near future. It’ll be a great opportunity to reach out to those in the 16-25 age group. The costs of setting up Dropacino are fairly high, due to the fact it needs to be perceived as a proper cafe (not just a church hall with a few tables and chairs). Therefore it would be greatly appreciated for anyone who feels the are able to give a donation towards the set-up. Marked envelopes are provided at the back/side of the church.
Church around the World – 11.03.12
Jess is in Malaysia today and at the Christian Life Gospel Church, Kuala Lumpur. They are there to encourage, strengthen and support the church and other churches they are connected with. On Monday they have a tour of KL and then a short holiday starting Tuesday afternoon with a return journey starting on Thursday and getting back on Saturday. Pray for Jess and for her companions and the work they are doing.
Postcard from Gloucester – 05.03.12
This week’s Postcard from Gloucester will be mercifully brief. It is just to ask your prayers for this weekend when Jim will be teaching the first intensive weekend of the MA in European Mission and Intercultural Christianity. The students arrive this afternoon (Fri) and will have one session this evening, four on Saturday, two on Sunday afternoon and two further sessions on Monday morning. Needless to say it will be pretty “full on” so pray for strength and that Jim would be able to inform and inspire the group of six official students and two others who will be auditing the course. This and the other weekend MA intensives and a special event on Saturday has also generated a lot of extra work for Christine so pray for strength for her too.
On Monday Alex has his interview for a sixth form place at the High School in Gloucester so I know he too would appreciate your prayers.
We will send a longer Postcard next week with news of how this weekend went and news about an upcoming trip to support the work of ECM in Ireland.
Thanks for your support and prayers as always,
Jim and Christine
Tags: Jim & Christine Memory Men’s Breakfast Questionnaire
It is felt that the Men’s Breakfast which has been running for a few years now could do with a revamp and the input of some new ideas.
I have the feeling that whilst the Men’s Breakfasts are a good chance to meet up with fellow Church members it is becoming just that. The chance to bring non-Christian friends isn’t being seized upon and as such the breakfast isn’t being used to its full potential.
With that in mind I want to ask what activities that you feel you could bring your non-Christian friends too. With the input of your suggestions we can then tailor the activities of the Men’s Breakfasts or any future men’s outreach to better suit certain people.
To refresh memories these are some of the activities and speakers we have had in the past:
- Bowling – Paul Young 2007/8
- Golf – Pete Hodge 2007/8
- Snooker – Prayer mtg June 21st 2008
- Go-Karting – Roger Carswell 13th Sept 2008
- Logos Ship – no specific speaker. 6th June 2009
- Football – Phil Lewis 19th Dec 2009
- Mens Convention – 27th March 2010
- Speedboat in Bay – Farruk Khan (testimony) July 3rd 2010
- 9 hole Golf, (no speaker). Nov 20th 2010
- Indiaah Meal (no speaker) Sunday 20th Feb 2011
- Men’s Convention – April 2011
- Pen Y Fan (no speaker) – June 18th 2011
- Bike ride (no speaker) 17th Sept 2011
It would be really helpful if you could fill out the following survey. Many thanks.
