Transform Magazine

Transformed people… transformed lives

Family News!

IN THIS ISSUE

Spotlight on Bible Society p3

Focus on Prayer p4-6

Partnership Profile p7

Vision 2012 update p7

Mamma Mia Evening p8

We were immensely

privileged to welcome Tony Campolo to St John’s on Sunday 14th

June.

He‘s a speaker, author, sociologist, pastor, social

activist, and passionate follower of Jesus! Over his many years of Christian service, Tony has boldly challenged millions of people all over the world to

respond to God‘s boundless love by combining personal discipleship, evangelism, and social justice.

Isaiah 65 was the bible passage underpinning his challenging message about transformation, a message which spoke powerfully into our church‘s vision—how transforming our community is not just about social

justice, but about transformation from deep within all of us, in order that we have the heart to bring about the same change in others.

―Christ is here and now. Christ wants to live within you so that through you he can begin to change the world that is, into the world it ought to be.‖

Tony also spoke much about the kingdom of God: ―The kingdom of God is easy to describe – it‘s transformed people living in a transformed world. As it says in the book of James; this is true religion, to visit the fatherless, the widows, and keep oneself spotless from the world. This is part of what‘s involved when the kingdom of God becomes a reality. When God‘s will is done in Egham as it is done in heaven, you won‘t have old people sitting around alone, sad, troubled.‖

The final part of his talk was a challenge to all of us: ―I‘m calling upon you to surrender your life to Christ in the spirit of the living God, so that Christ can enter your life and through you begin to change the world‖

The video of Tony Campolo‘s complete talk can be seen on our church website, www.stjohnsegham.com

Issue 3 July-August 2009 Issue 3 July-August 2009

B aby Gabriel

M any congratulations to Matt, Sam and

Nancy Harris, on the wonderful arrival

of baby Gabriel on 4th June. Sam, who

worked part-time in the Church Office, has

enjoyed the St John‘s baby meals service

featured in the March—April issue of trans-

form. If you‘d like to join the rota to provide

these meals, please do contact Heidi Blake

via the Church Office.

M r and Mrs Wheeler

S aturday May 2nd was a glorious day for the wedding of

Beccah Beer and Andy Wheeler. The sun shone, and the

whole day was filled with music and a celebration of God‘s amaz-

ing love and faithfulness. Alan & Sue Beer would like to thank all at

St John‘s who were involved in their daughter‘s special day.

Beccah and Andy are now living in Byfleet.

M ost of our own homes contain at least

two or three Bibles and it is hard to

imagine not being able to pick one up

and read it whenever we want. But this was not

always the case – many of us have heard the

story of Mary Jones, a fifteen year old Welsh girl

who saved for six years before she walked twenty

-five miles to buy her own Bible. Thomas Charles,

the man who sold her a Bible, was inspired by

Mary. Her story inspired a vision of God's word

being made available all over the world.

Four years later, on the 7th of March 1804, the

Bible Society was launched. During that first year

they completed their first Scripture translation –

the gospel of John into the Canadian Indian

Mohawk language. Since then parts of the Bible

have been translated into over 2,000 languages,

an impressive feat. However, more than 4,500

languages still lack even one book and only three

per cent of languages have the Bible in audio

form, despite the fact that a billion people in the

world can't read.

Editor‟s Bit

transform July-August 09

Can you help?

We need a designer for

Using Microsoft Publisher to produce the magazine‘s

artwork ready for printing every two months.

If you‘re interested, or for more information please email

[email protected]

about

The magazine for members of St John‘s

Church in Egham. It is produced bi-monthly,

with the aim of helping to connect and build

our church family. Its purpose is to provide

information and encouragement on church life

and our family – specifically to show how God

is transforming situations and people.

It‘s not designed for people who don‘t yet

come to St John‘s. But, if when you‘ve

finished reading your copy, you‘d like to pass

it on to a friend or neighbour, then that would

be great too!

Editorial

We welcome items for inclusion or ideas for

stories. Ideally these should be submitted in

an MS Word document, hi - res JPGs or

other e lect ronic f o r m , a n d s e n t b y

e m a i l t o [email protected]

The team

transform is edited by Alison Berry, with the

support of a wider team; Laura Beattie, Naomi

Page and Anne-Maria Roshier. Original

magazine layout and design was by Richard

Jack. Many of the photos are thanks to the

talent of David Charlwood and Sheila Wattley.

Advertising

We accept adverts each issue both from

within the church family, and a small number

of external advertisements. Acceptance of

any advertising is at the discretion of the

editing team, and the acceptance of an

advertisement in transform magazine is not

necessarily an endorsement by the editorial

team of the service or product offered.

Deadlines The deadline for submissions to be

considered for the next edition of transform

(September / October 2009) is 1st August.

The Parable of the Patio

T here was once a

humble garden

patio. Humble,

but still big, stretching

round all four sides of

a garden. Once, a

lovely sandstone

colour, over thirty

years it had turned

black and ugly.

But the owners of

the garden had got so used to seeing it in its

blackened state, they had long forgotten that it

could look any different. Then, one day a new

owner moved in, looking at the patio with fresh

eyes. The owner saw the possible potential of

this patio, but was somewhat daunted by the

thought of cleaning over four hundred slabs

around the garden. Still, the owner decided it

was worth under-taking, and set to work with a

pressure washer. Some of the task was quite

easy, but mostly it was laborious, messy and

time consuming, and many times the owner

thought there must be an easier way, or that

maybe someone else would be better doing it,

or about all the other things they could be doing

instead. But, the results were spectacular! A

complete transformation in fact! From the first

slab that was cleaned up, there was a glimpse

of what the final effect might be, and when

completed, the entire patio was restored to the

glory intended by the original creator.....

Jesus was great at telling stories and using

parables to get his point across. Clearly, I don‘t

have his skill, but wanted to share this very

everyday experience. I can testify to the fact

that God speaks through the most ordinary

situations – in this case, the patio

transformation that I‘ve undertaken at our

house recently. As I‘ve undertaken this work,

he has shown me a little of what “transforming

our community” is all about – how he longs to

see a restoration of his original design and

about the most unlovely becoming beautiful.

There‘s one part I didn‘t include in the

―parable‖. As a bit of fun at the start of the

pressure washing, the first thing I did was to

spray the names of my three children in big

letters on one dirty section. Those were to be

the final part to be removed. But the more I

looked at the names, I realised that

transforming our community isn‘t about

changing a faceless place. It‘s more about

transform Editor, Alison Berry

GOD longs TO SEE RESTORATION AND

THE MOST unlovely BECOMING

beautiful

going under the pressure washer ourselves,

and changing to become Christ-centred, to see

that our community is made up of people -

individuals whom God is calling by name, and

whom he longs to see changed. The work is

tiring, messy, lengthy – but the results will be

spectacular, and unlike my patio clean-up,

they‘ll be eternal.

Banoffee Pie and Bibles

Thank you to all our advertisers

this issue!

Please always mention

When replying to advertisements!

Saturday 29th August 7.30—11pm

Tickets including fish & chip

supper are priced at £12 for

adults and £6 for children are

available from:

at The Members Tent,

Egham Royal Show,

Whitehall Lane, Egham

Sian Williams 01784 439744

Jim Pearcy 01784 432805

Egham Residents Association

transform July— August 09

Mission Unwrapped

St John‘s very own alternative gift

catalogue.

Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries,

baptisms...all special occasions, and the

chance to give a gift.

Use Mission Unwrapped to give a gift that will

change a life. For the better, and forever. A

selection of gifts, which supports the full

range of the church‘s Mission Partners.

Available as printed catalogue, and also all

the gifts can be bought through the church

website www.stjohnsegham.com

Printed gift cards are available.

Banoffee Pie and Bibles

Supporting Mission

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set

you free.” John 8:32

£4 is all it costs to provide a Bible in someone's own language.

Come along to the Bible Society picnic lunch on Sunday 19th July

to see how you can be part of the Bible a Month Club

Faith Hair Designs

Joe McGowan is a Wella Academy trained, fully qualified hair stylist, based in Egham. For an appointment please call Joe on: 01784 434913 quoting “transform” for a free conditioning treatment.

[email protected]

This year‘s children‘s holiday club

August 24-28th 2009

It‘s not too late to come and be part of it! For more

information on how to be involved, please contact Rachel

Upcott on [email protected]

St Johns has been supporting the Bible Society for many years, and many of our mem-

bers support it through the Bible a Month Club. Just £4 is the cost of providing a Bible in

someone's own language. For that amount you could buy a box of chocolates, a ready

meal or a cheap DVD from Tescos. Or you could send a Bible halfway around the world to

become someone's most treasured possession. If you become a Bible Society supporter

you will also receive a prayer letter six times a year. You can also support prayerfully –

thank the Lord for his goodness, for the worldwide work over the last 200 years and for the

Bible. Also pray for God's protection over the Bible Society staff around the world; for His

provision for our needs, and that we know and are obedient to God's will.

A picnic lunch is being held in the church on July 19th at 1pm, after the 11 o'clock service.

Drinks and desserts will be provided (maybe even some banoffee pie!), bring your own

blanket and sandwiches! Information about the Bible Society will be shown on the screen

so this will be a fun way to find out more about how you can get involved. Information can

also be found at http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/.

An AIDS widow in Tanzania receiving a precious family bible

Garden Design, Planting Makeovers, Consultancy, Gardening Do you need help creating your dream garden?

Restoring one that’s seen better days?

Want an inspirational garden, but don’t know where to start?

Sheila Wattley

HND in Garden Design, RHS Hampton Court Show Garden ex-

perience and qualifications in Horticulture.

Tel: 01784 479147

‘Restoring the Soul in your Garden’

mailto:[email protected]

Focus on Prayer

Transform July-August 09

Children and Prayer

A thought provoking quote! We all have that

perfect image of a praying child -- closed

eyes, folded hands, peaceful expression –

but that‘s probably not the most helpful image!

Encouraging children to pray is an important chal-

lenge to parents. It can be a privilege and a joy to

pray with children especially since they often don‘t

have the same concerns about praying aloud as

adults. The style of prayer can be very simple - the

key is to encourage our children to talk to God, to

bring their concerns to Him, and to enjoy spending

time with Him. Children can use their own words -

God doesn't demand well constructed sentences

and fine poetry, so 'Hello Jesus' is a great open-

ing. Here are some more prayer ideas :

A brief mealtime prayer before eating together. Even a simple prayer such as

―Thank you for our food, Amen‖ means that very young children can join in .

Bedtime prayers – simply asking your child what they would like to say thank you

to God for today – then praying a one sentence prayer together.

Conversational praying can be a very natural way of including God in our conver-

sations. It‘s simply very short prayers without the Amens, e.g. Mum : "Thank you

Lord that Granny is feeling better", Sarah "Yes, and we pray that she'd continue to

feel stronger each day.", Jim "Help us to remember to phone her each day", Dad :

"and we ask that you would be with her."

News Prayer - Pray together as a family after watching a news summary. This is

an easy way to start praying for broader world issues, and can encourage children

and young people to develop a practical concern for God's world.

Example - do your children ever see you praying as you go throughout your day?

As Christ was our example, parents are called to be Spirit-led models for their chil-

dren. Start off by saying prayers for your children, while they listen. Soon they will

be praying for you, while you listen.

If we haven’t taught our children to pray,

what have we taught them? (Anon)

“ Ask… and You Will Receive!

Naomi Page shares her experiences of being part of a team that spends more

time praying than just about any thing else….

Anyone at Besom will tell you that prayer is what keeps it going. Without it, not even half of what

goes on there could be accomplished. Here are just a couple of instances of God answering prayer

and encouraging us by it.

A few of the team were praying for cutlery one Tuesday afternoon. The supplies were down to two

mismatched spoons and someone had asked for a set. Thursday morning dawned and those two

spoons languished on the shelf. But among the items the van had brought in on Tuesday afternoon

we found a set of cutlery in a tray. Fantastic – God had answered the prayer. But he didn't stop

there. Someone dropped by halfway through the day with another set – and when the van returned

in the afternoon two more complete sets were found. We started the day with little to send out, and

by the end God had provided even more than we'd asked for.

One of the more unusual items given to Besom lately was a rice steamer. We weren't sure who

God had provided it for, but after some prayer a name came to mind. When we called the family, it

turned out that they had been praying for one that very morning.

If you would like to be involved in Besom, give us a call on 01784 470 387. We

also have an Open Day coming up on Monday 14th September from 11am —

3.30pm. We would love to see you then.

Book Review

A Story, a Hug and a Prayer

is a great way of helping

adults pray with their chil-

dren..

A series of books is for parents and chil-

dren to share at bedtime. Each book

includes forty imaginative and enter

taining stories based on Bible scenes,

each followed by short prayers. The au-

thor, Michael Forster, also gives ideas to

get children talking about their own lives

- what makes them happy, what makes

them sad - and to think about others who

need their prayers.

Available priced £10.99 from Canaan

Bookshop in Staines

Transform July-August 09

“ What part does prayer play in our lives

and how essential is it to us? Do we real-

ise that without it we faint? Our ultimate

position as Christians is tested by the

character of our prayer life.

(Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

M y passion is that prayer is at the heart of

all our lives. God's desire is that we

draw close to him because he loves to

hear from us, talk to us, and transform

us, so that we in turn can transform

the lives of those around us.

I grew up in a Christian home, and our

family church was the Westminster

Chapel in London under the ministries

of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Dr. RT

Kendall. I came to know the reality of a personal relation-

ship with Christ in January 1987 and a favourite verse of

mine is Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God

works for the good of those who love him, who have been

called according to his purpose". I subsequently spent 14

years at All Souls, Langham Place, during which time I

came to live in the Staines area and also became a regular

visitor to St Johns. The warmth of the fellowship and sense

of community were very compelling so I finally - and

prayerfully - joined the church properly in Easter 2006,

at the same time that Jeff became our Vicar.

I was keen to become involved in the life of the church and

soon joined a wonderful Lifegroup, the one through which

Besom was becoming established. Having been invited to

join the group in their first decorating project, it quickly

became clear that God was working out Romans 8:28 in

my life, through the practical, prayer driven ministry of

Besom. It was the perfect fit, with my job as Longhaul crew

for BA giving me sufficient time off to regularly contribute

as a part of the team caring for the practical needs of the

disadvantaged in our community.

Being a part of the Besom ministry continually reinforces

the need for prayer, as every item we supply gets prayed-

in first. We therefore see the Power of prayer at work - of

God answering prayer, opening doors, bringing

his transformation to situations and people, and through

this we ourselves are also changed - all through the very

act of prayer.

Prayer is also very much a part of my role as Church War-

den, and I've just started the second year of what I feel is a

very privileged ministry. Being a Warden was not some-

thing I'd ever expected or even aspired to, but once again

after much prayer and soul-searching I realised that I

could be "so sure that every detail in our lives of love for

God is worked into something good" (Romans 8:28-The

Message).

Touching so many ministries in the life of St Johns as a

Warden has also underlined the need for consistent

prayer for our church and its leadership - which

is also exactly what we do at "Knees at

Nine, Buns at ten" on Saturday mornings.

Knees and Buns started approximately two

and a half years ago when one of our Life-

group felt led to pray specifically for our

church. She committed to doing this, once

a week, sitting in her car parked outside the

church, usually before going off to work. Hav-

ing done this for a while, she shared what she

was doing with the group (we hadn't known until then) and the

response was immediate - we wanted to join her.

So it was agreed that we'd meet every Saturday morning, in

one of our homes, and it would become a weekly prayer

breakfast. Having done this for some eighteen months, really

valuing the prayer-time and fellowship, we felt it right to open

up the ministry to everyone in the church and therefore started

meeting in the Caddey and encouraged the wider family to

become involved.

We pray from 9am to 10am specifically for the Church: for

all the ministries of St Johns in Egham, for our role in the

transformation of our community, for all involved in the leader-

ship of the Church, and for those who are hurting or in painful

situations. Following this at 10am, we tuck into the buns.

Although we remain a small group it's always very encourag-

ing when others come to join us. We'd be delighted to wel-

come anyone who'd like to come along, whether it be regularly

or just occasionally, and even though there's no food from

First Class, the buns, croissants, tea and coffee are plentiful,

and we share a lovely time of fellowship. Why not come and

join us!

A Passion for Prayer

Fred Van Huis talks about Knees, Buns and much more!

“ If my people, who are called by my name, will

humble themselves and pray and seek my face

and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear

from Heaven and will forgive their sins and will

heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Ask… and You Will Receive!

Naomi Page shares her experiences of being part of a team that spends more

time praying than just about any thing else….

Anyone at Besom will tell you that prayer is what keeps it going. Without it, not even half of what

goes on there could be accomplished. Here are just a couple of instances of God answering prayer

and encouraging us by it.

A few of the team were praying for cutlery one Tuesday afternoon. The supplies were down to two

mismatched spoons and someone had asked for a set. Thursday morning dawned and those two

spoons languished on the shelf. But among the items the van had brought in on Tuesday afternoon

we found a set of cutlery in a tray. Fantastic – God had answered the prayer. But he didn't stop

there. Someone dropped by halfway through the day with another set – and when the van returned

in the afternoon two more complete sets were found. We started the day with little to send out, and

by the end God had provided even more than we'd asked for.

One of the more unusual items given to Besom lately was a rice steamer. We weren't sure who

God had provided it for, but after some prayer a name came to mind. When we called the family, it

turned out that they had been praying for one that very morning.

If you would like to be involved in Besom, give us a call on 01784 470 387. We

also have an Open Day coming up on Monday 14th September from 11am —

3.30pm. We would love to see you then.

St John‟s : Becoming a House of Prayer

, People at St John‟s


86 High Street Egham Surrey

01784 438484 / 07966 697810

www.armstronghenry.com

CSCI registered: 0000070117

High quality care, domestic support & companionship in your own home

Local family-run agency with Experienced, mature and local carers

Individual and flexible support to help you live as you choose

Full police checks, supervision and regular training for all staff

Nurses on call 24 hours a day

Regular or occasional appointments. Competitive rates

Private, NHS, carer respite and direct payments clients

Free assessment & advice

Call in and talk to us, without obligation

I n an ongoing series of profiles, trans-

form magazine aims to introduce you to

the people, and the positions, that en-

sure the continued growth of St John’s.

They may not always be immediately visible

but their work is all around us in the body of

our church. Partnership Secretary Lesley

Pocock who manages the Partnership Giv-

ing scheme at St John’s talks to Laura

Beattie about her role.

―The Partnership Giving scheme is actually the

main source of income for St John‘s. There are

182 Partners, which is made up of 112 individu-

als and 70 couples which means that 252 mem-

bers of St John‘s are committed to making

regular financial contributions to the church.

The Partnership planned giving, together with

the Gift Aid accounts for 68% of our annual

income, and literally helps build the practical

foundation for everything you see, hear and

experience in our church. Money can sometimes

be a difficult issue to talk about, but Jesus talked

about money more than anything else except the

Kingdom of God. 11 of 39 parables talk about

money and 1 of every 7 verses in the Gospel of

Luke talk about money.

If you haven‘t thought about giving before then

the first step is to pray – I truly believe that God

will give you guidance, and no-one will be led to

give more than they can afford. Many St John‘s

Partners would testify to how giving actually

opens God‘s floodgates of generosity, and how

we are often surprised at how much we‘re freed

and blessed through actually giving away – God‘s

economy doesn‘t work like venture capitalists!

The truth is that God‘s economy is strong and will

never be in a depression or even a recession.

God is not short on cash and He is a great father

who is faithful to take care of his children. Think-

ing back to the Christmas Kitchen, our aim was to

give out to our community without counting the

cost. Amazingly, at the end of the project, we had

a financial surplus! Praise God for his topsy-turvy

economy!

Think of the parable of the widow‘s mite (Mark

12: 41-44) - whilst we may not be called upon to

give our very last penny, it does highlight that the

actual amount given is less important than the

manner in which we approach the situation. Giv-

ing anything at all, in a genuine commitment to

God deepens your relationship with him. It also

serves to help ground you more fully in the com-

munity of the church and new developments like

the church centre – being both spiritually and

practically ‗invested‘ in each aspect of St John‘s

is therefore also hugely rewarding.

I came to St John‘s over 13 years ago - it was

certainly a ‗God led action‘. I‘ve been Partnership

Secretary for five years, - in some ways an obvi-

ous position for me as I have a finance back-

ground as I was a Senior Manager for Coutts

bank, but a great example of how God gives us

gifts in the form of skills and experiences, and yet

he also provides opportunities for us to give back

to him using those very same gifts! A similar

concept to our children buying us a gift with their

pocket money, when the money came from us

anyway!

The Partnership Secretary position involves con-

fidential maintenance of details of giving and on-

going commitments from the congregation and

the processing of the important gift aid tax claim

which ensures the maximum return on donations.

For those of you who missed the Partnership

Sunday a few months ago, you can sign up to

give a regular donation or alternatively contribute

a one off pledge. In addition, for people with ir-

regular incomes there is the more flexible system

of weekly envelopes which need to be filled in

fully for tax reasons and then can be dropped off

in the collection box at the back of church.

It would be easy to say that the Partnership

Secretary role isn‘t exactly spiritual in nature, but

it is definitely necessary. Similarly, although a

financial commitment might seem unconnected to

our personal spiritual development, the two are

actually intimately intertwined – especially when it

comes to the progression of what we can do as a

wider community, transforming our community to

the glory of God.―

Who‟s that out back?

For more information, or any ideas please

contact Lesley on [email protected] or

alternatively visit the website at

www.stjohnsegham.com under church life/

partnership giving to download a pledge

form.

T.R. GARDEN SERVICES

For all your garden requirements

Seasonal prep & Planting

Pruning—lawns—hedges

Maintenance of shed and fences

Also odd jobs and small DIY

Fully Insured—CRB certificate

Registered with “Age Concern”

YEAR ROUND SERVICE

Terry 07847 531478 (mobile)

01932 568 774 (ansaphone)

“ Giving actually opens God’s

floodgates of generosity

Lesley Pocock — Partnership Secretary

http://www.stjohnsegham.com/

, St John‟s Vision 2012


Alastair Dijksman, one of the Vision

2012 project team explains more….

W hat‟s „Vision 2012‟?

I t‘s the name we‘ve given to

our thinking about how we

live as a church family. It‘s

about the things we do and the

activities we get involved in. And importantly it

is also about the practical facilities we need for

doing these things so we can best serve our

community. In other words it‘s about being a

church family that is welcoming, that helps us

all feel as if we really ‗belong‘ and are able to

grow in our faith so that together we ‗transform

our community‘ and glorify God.

Practically our Vision 2012 work has two inter-

woven parts. One is a small group who are

thinking and praying about all our ministries

and how they might develop. The other is con-

cerned with providing the facilities that we need

for the future, which is what I‘ll explain more

about now.

W hy are we doing this?

T here are many successful things happen-

ing in our church life today that we can all

be thankful to God for. But there are also ac-

tivities we would like to do more of, or start

afresh, but are restricted because we don‘t

have enough space or the right sort of facilities

to do them. For example our various children‘s

groups currently do very well but could poten-

tially expand significantly if we could improve

the quality and capacity of the space we have.

w hat has been

done so far?

A dedicated ‗Vision

2012‘ project team was

set up about two years ago

reporting to the PCC. The team held a number

of consultations with the whole church (for

example during Sunday morning services) to

understand what St Johns needed to both

thrive as a church family and to also make a

real contribution to the community of Egham.

This produced a new expression of who we are

and what we are seeking to be and helped

formulate the idea of being a church family that

can ultimately help transform our community.

With a much clearer sense of ‗vision‘ the pro-

ject team then commissioned an architect,

Derek Kemp, to help design some new facilities

to support this ‗calling‘. Derek has a wide ex-

What‟s it all about?

perience of designing buildings that are dedi-

cated to God‘s work and has deeply impressed

us with his sensitivity and personal faith.

Derek‘s first action was to speak individually to

many in the church to build a more comprehen-

sive picture of what our practical needs were.

Needs which included adult ministries (for ex-

ample to the elderly), expanding our children's

work, providing office space for our staff, much

improved catering facilities, a range of meeting

facilities and so on.

He then created some suggested designs

which were shared with the church family, and

feedback collected. In parallel with this activity

an advisory group of respected external people

(including our Arch Deacon) was setup to help

the project team‘s work.

The next practical step was that the PCC

agreed that we should seek to buy 140 High

Street and speak to English Heritage about a

development to the north of the church (the

High Street side). A number of independent

valuations of the site and subsequent discus-

sions with the owner suggested this was not the

right time to purchase this building. But we do

have a good relationship with the owner and

hope that we may be able to consider purchas-

ing it in the future.

Discussions with English Heritage were also

encouraging and they were sympathetic to our

proposals. However the project team con-

cluded that a smaller north side development

may not provide all the space and facilities that

were wanted , so we‘re now considering further

proposals to see how we might develop a new

enhanced and expanded two story building In

the region of the existing church centre. We

are also exploring how this could be linked to

the church to provide ease of access and maxi-

mum ease of use.

W hat difference will this make?

G od is calling us to build

His kingdom — a king-

dom of people who know they

are loved, forgiven and valued

and whose practical needs are

met. We are already doing that now in many

different ways. The creation of new facilities

will mean we can expand our current work and

meet many more and different needs. We will

be able to offer many more activities outside

Sundays, using our buildings throughout the

week for the benefit of our community.

H ow long will this take?

W e hope to have firm propos-

als by this Autumn. We then

need to ensure that they are the right ones by shar-

ing them with you. And then once we are confident

the choice is right we need to raise a proportion of

the money before starting any building work. The

work will then begin, almost certainly in a series of

phases.

H ow expensive will it

be?

W e don‘t know yet but we are

undertaking a significant

improvement in the church facilities which will carry

a significant cost. We expect it will take some while

to raise the money and we will expect to see costs

from the architect as part of his proposals.

H ow can I found out more and what

can I do to help?

L ook on the web site or talk to one of the project

team… Please also pray for the project team to

be wise and to plan the most effective way to de-

liver this exciting new stage in our life together.


A group of people with a real passion

for music take up the story behind the

Home & Abroad Summer Concert,

which raised £620 for Besom and Tan-

zania.

M usic has always been my passion; it is

something I'm driven to do, even though

I'm not a natural performer. An off hand

comment along the lines of 'oh we should get to-

gether and do a fund raising concert' whilst having

coffee after the 11am service with my sister, Debbie

Benefield, drove Philippa Stuart into action and the

Summer Concert was born. Myself, Debbie and David are relatively new members of

St Johns but the opportunity to do something with our God given gifts seemed too

obvious to ignore. Days before the concert all of the singers were struck down with

illness; Nancy to the degree that she was unable to perform on the night, the remain-

ing three were to be found drinking lemon and honey in the vestry just 5 minutes be-

fore the concert began. The wonderful thing is that even though we each worried

about our performances due to our illnesses, not one of us cracked a note on the

night! Praise God for his faithfulness! Joe McGowan of Fair Faith

F or me music is a lovely way in which I can express myself and my emotions

both physically and spiritually. I chose some Sibelius songs and some Italian

operatic arias to perform in the concert as they are my favourite songs to sing,

although technically difficult. Afterwards I felt elated and awake but with a great sense

of peace. The concert was such an example of people working together in the body of

Christ. I‘d never even met Ingrid Keedy before we starting planning this event, but it

was a real joy and privilege to work with her and be accompanied by her as a pianist,

especially in the way she really brought the music to life. Debbie Bennefield

M y motivation for doing the concert was simply to celebrate musical gifts,

whilst raising money for something worthwhile. Over the last few years I've

discovered jazz, and the relaxed style suits my voice, and my attitude to

performing music, which is simply about sharing a gift and using it to further God's

kingdom in any way possible. Ask me to tip up and sing to raise money for a good

cause and I'll be there! We don't all have things to give to Besom, or money to give to

Tanzania, but we can use our gifts, and have fun in the process. iIf you have a musi-

cal gift and would like to participate in the next concert, or even help in another way,

then please let me know. I know that God honours our efforts - the one thing I can

personally take away from this experience is that we have all been blessed by the

friendships that have been formed, and seeing God's love in action, and answers to

prayers. Philippa Stuart

M y involvement in the concert was playing a selection of wind instruments in Faith

Faith. To find myself playing in St Johns, taking to the stage after the smooth

jazzy tones of Philippa and the beauty of Debbie‘s performance was a unique experi-

ence. In fact the evening was filled with memorable moments; Jeff in his tux hosting

the event and even blessing the congregation after we‘d performed a song called ―The

Curse‖. But the most memorable thing about this entire event was the way that so

many people from St John‘s joined together for one goal, raising money for those who

need it. We needed lights for the concert, there was Chris, we needed superb sound

mixing, there were Matt and James. The list could go on and on. Whatever we

needed, the people appeared and made wonderfully generous donations of their time

and energy. The Home and Abroad concert to me will always be an amazing example

of how the parts of St Johns church join together with positivity and strength of pur-

pose. Oh, and it was a bloomin‘ good night out too !!! David Bartholomew

Here we go again!

How a Life Group idea to raise

some money money money for our

Capital Challenge, turned into a su-

per trouper evening!

The Name of the Game was certainly teamwork –

a group of people transforming the church centre

(by means of several bikinis and sarongs) into a

Greek Paradise, laying on a three-course meal

(including excellent moussaka from Banks res-

taurant), and of course karaoke and dancing.

Around sixty people, many of who were from out-

side the church family enjoyed an excellent eve-

ning, raising just over £846. An SOS to Chris

Mitchell and Geoff Martin ensured that the techni-

cal side of the evening was taken care of.

There were plenty of Dancing Queens strutting

their stuff, and some wonderful costumes – the

question ―Does Your Mother Know?‖ could cer-

tainly be asked about some!

When All is Said and Done – it‘s a great example

of what can be achieved when the body of Christ

works together, using their skills, talents, with a

whole load of enthusiasm. The sense of purpose

and achievement meaning the team gained as

much as they gave!

Recent events at St John‟s

Thank you for the Music

“ an amazing example of how the parts of St Johns church

join together with positivity and strength of purpose

Transform Magazine

Documents

Transcript of Transform Magazine