From the Editor

Promise. Thats the theme of this edition. It brings hope, expectation, sometimes disappointment and most often change. Change for the better, change for the worse. Promise is an active word - and sometimes there is a part for us to play for it to be met.

One of my favourite ‘God’ promises is Proverbs 3:5, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” I love this promise that I don’t have to always have the answer - but there is a catch and its actually a hard one if you think about it. I need to trust in the Lord - with ALL of my heart. I’ll be honest, thats where the difficulty lies, but I feel great joy in the moments I am able to do that and I see a resolution that I could never have foreseen.

Promise. Expectation. Hope. Participation. They all go hand in hand.

We make promises to ourselves and others, others promise us, God promises us and we promise God...the world it seems depends and turns on promises and their outcomes.

We hope that as you read through this edition, there will be something that quickens within you, encourages you where your at and propels you to where you’d like to be.

We hope that you find a promise for you, that you can give to someone else, because a promise can bring hope and hope can stir life.

Melissa

Kids, if you are under the age of 12 thanthere is an Easter Egg hunt within these pages for you! See how many you can f ind and then come and f ind me and swap the answer for something...Chocolatey!!

This magazine only happens when you contribute - this is YOUR magazine. If you’d like to contribute to the May/June edition please send your contribution to:winbapeditor @ gmail . com by the 23rd of April.Thanks!!

Lost - One male church cat. Loves its tummy being rubbed, warm milk at any time, easily distracted by a bal l of wool and looks like a snowbal l after its been bathed. Answers to the name of “C law”. If found please return to Tim.1

From the Editor

Promise. Thats the theme of this edition. It brings hope, expectation, sometimes disappointment and most often change. Change for the better, change for the worse. Promise is an active word - and sometimes there is a part for us to play for it to be met.

One of my favourite ‘God’ promises is Proverbs 3:5, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” I love this promise that I don’t have to always have the answer - but there is a catch and its actually a hard one if you think about it. I need to trust in the Lord - with ALL of my heart. I’ll be honest, thats where the difficulty lies, but I feel great joy in the moments I am able to do that and I see a resolution that I could never have foreseen.

Promise. Expectation. Hope. Participation. They all go hand in hand.

We make promises to ourselves and others, others promise us, God promises us and we promise God...the world it seems depends and turns on promises and their outcomes.

We hope that as you read through this edition, there will be something that quickens within you, encourages you where your at and propels you to where you’d like to be.

We hope that you find a promise for you, that you can give to someone else, because a promise can bring hope and hope can stir life.

Melissa

Kids, if you are under the age of 12 thanthere is an Easter Egg hunt within these pages for you! See how many you can f ind and then come and f ind me and swap the answer for something...Chocolatey!!

This magazine only happens when you contribute - this is YOUR magazine. If you’d like to contribute to the May/June edition please send your contribution to:winbapeditor @ gmail . com by the 23rd of April.Thanks!!

Lost - One male church cat. Loves its tummy being rubbed, warm milk at any time, easily distracted by a bal l of wool and looks like a snowbal l after its been bathed. Answers to the name of “C law”. If found please return to Tim. 2

So how does that affect our view of God? Do our bad experiences of broken promises make us sceptical about God, that even he will fail us? The Bible is overflowing with God’s promises, assurances and predictions, some fulfilled, others awaiting fulfilment. Most importantly, God’s promises in the Old Testament of a coming Messiah have been fulfilled in Jesus. Particularly significant at Easter are words from Matthew 16:21, ‘Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go

him from the dead. Not to die again, as Lazarus had done, but to ascend into heaven. Our God keeps his promises – he is totally trustworthy and reliable. At one time Promise Boxes were very popular, filled with 365 small scrolls of paper each bearing a promise from the Bible. However, if we take a promise at random we need to check its context. Is it right to appropriate it for ourselves today? Is there a condition to fulfil?

As fallible human beings we need to realign our thoughts and perspectives to God’s continually, so that we have a proper understanding of his promises. Then in our world of uncertainty and brokenness, we have confidence to take hold of the promises of our God, who is totally reliable and trustworthy, who does what he says, though not necessarily in the way we expect, nor in our time scale.

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So what promises can we appropriate for ourselves? Wonderful promises that only God himself can make and keep. Fearful of the future? Jesus says, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you’. ( John 14:27) Can we really know forgiveness for sin? ‘If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins’ (1 John 1:9). Are we tired? Worn out? ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). Do you long to be fruitful in your Christian life? ‘If

I wonder how many promises we have made and others have made to us over the years. Promises made in good faith, some kept, some broken. We all know the anguished cry when a child is suddenly deprived of an anticipated treat, ‘Mum, you promised…..’ If you were a member of Scouts or Guides, you would have promised ‘…to do my best, to do my duty to God and the Queen’. When I was baptised we sang, ‘O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end.’ Years later some friends are still serving Jesus, others have different priorities now.At times our lives have been enriched by the promises of other people to us, or we have been desperately hurt when they have been broken.

to Jerusalem and suffer many things... that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’ Predicted hundreds of years before, here Jesus confirms what was going to happen. And it did. Jesus died on the cross in our place, taking the punishment of our sin upon himself. Then, as a sign his sacrifice wasaceepted, God raised

a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit’ ( John 15:5). The lovely promise, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ ( Jeremiah 29:11) has been an encouragement to many people. And there are many, many more.

STOP PRESS - The only Iraqi Anglican priest in Baghdad, Rev Faiz Jerjees*, has recently visited the UK. He has faced death threats for his work, and his children have suffered intimidation. “I and my family are sticking to the biblical promises that God has prepared for us, which states 365 times: ‘Do not be afraid.’ Every morning, when I leave my house, I talk to God and ask that, if he wants me to serve him in this life, that he protects me from all evil. So I live a normal life, relying on God’s promises to triumph over my fears…. the Lord has not promised us that everything will be fine. He promises us that he will be with us, and will help us through the difficulties that face us.”

* Rev Faiz Jerjess is the Assistant Curate at St George’s, working alongside Canon Andrew White who is speaking at our morning service on 29th April.

Margaret Pickett

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9 … 9 is the number of different houses we have lived in since arriving in Winchester as fresh faced students nearly nine years ago. That is one for every year we have been here! Now some of you will be thinking nine years, wow that really has gone quickly and you would be right. You see next September we are planning on leaving you lovely lot for pastures green. Ali has applied to go to Moorlands Bible college this Autumn to study a BA in Applied Theology which means another move for the Tuft household. Where has this decision come from I hear you ask? Well its been on the cards since Ali finished his internship here almost three years ago now. Back then the elders recognised his call into ministry but thought it wise for him to work in the ‘real world’ for a few years first and get some more experience. Since then Ali has worked at Osbourne school working with sixteen, seventeen and eighteen year old six foot tall autistic young people, something I could never do! He has loved aspects of it but now as a family we feel it is right to move on. Why now? Well there was no roaring voice of God pointing a giant finger at us and saying ’Now’, or even a whisper in the wind saying ‘this September’.In fact as nice as it would been to be given a date to go by God, we believe that’s not going to happen. Instead last summer it started with a feeling of ‘itchy feet’, we love this church and all you fantastic people but we didn’t seem as content as we were. By the time River Camp came and went, we actually started talking and praying about maybe this year was the time to go. We looked at the practicalities and things like when Lily will start school,

having our home ready to rent out to some students for extra income and me wanting to move on to a different school all seemed to fit. By November last year, we had gone from the ‘maybe’ to this is what we are going to do, and with it has come a sense of excitement, and a bucket full of peace.

Why not stay here? Well, we love you all to pieces. However we want to honour God and we know it is time to move on.

Ali has applied to do the placement based course, which means he needs to work for a church for 20 hours a week to practice what he is learning. Ali has been the cleaner here, the intern, the youth worker, the student worker, the drummer and the worship leader as well as preaching. We want to experience something new. So please can you pray for us as there is still so much to do. We need to find this placement church first, and then find a house close to it.Next I will need to find a joband Lily will need childcareas well. It’s a real puzzlewhich may involve usleaving our jobs before wehave new ones, andgiving our home away tostudents before we havesomewhere else to live.This is a huge leap of faith for us and we arerelying on God’sfaithfulness, which Hehas shown to us in the past and Hispromise that he will neverleave us or forsake us, that He has good plans for us.

Please do come and talk to us about this adventure, if you want to know more about what is happening, or ways you can support us.

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Naomi Tuft

Promise yourself to live your life as a revolution and not just a process of evolution.Anthony J. D'Angelo

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King David is one of my favourite Biblical heroes. Voted at his high school Most Likely To Appear On Young Talent Time, he had it all: good looks, great tan, musical talent, deeply spiritual, glamorous, daring, caring … okay, slightly neurotic, possibly bipolar. But totally droolworthy, for all his faults. I was recently re-reading of the famous showdown between the terrifying giant and the boy next door. I love this story, and I wouldn’t want it to end any other way; but this time I began to wonder: what other way might it have ended? This is the bit in 1 Samuel 17 that caught my attention:

Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was [3 metres] … His shield bearer went ahead of him. Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. … For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.

At this point I need to admit that I haven’t really done any study on this passage. For all I know, singlecombat challenge was a perfectly

sane way to settle international conflicts in 1000 BC. But that’s my point. Why did the Israelites feel compelled to take this challenge seriously? Later in the chapter, we’re told: When the Philistines saw that theirhero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron [a good 15 miles as the crow flies]. So we can infer from the ending that the Israelite army was fit, numerous, and rested. So my point is this: why on earth didn’t they just rush the guy? An army that proposes single combat challenge might have one of two different motives. One, they don’t think they can win in open battle. Or two, they are very confident of their champion. And I would add three, they have a reasonable expectation that the challenge will be accepted as the decider. Let’s stop for a minute and think about how the story might have run, if the challenge had not been taken up by Israel. Who says it had to be? There’s nothing in the Torah about championship fighting, is there? Until fairly recently, Israel had been a theocracy: God was their King, and the priests His officers, voicing the Law. They had a series of judges dealing with the day-to-day conflicts, ranging from civil disputes to military uprisings, which culminated in Samuel the Seer.Now they’ve gotten trendy like the

nations around them: they have a human king, Saul, “as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.” So, perhaps, to stay trendy, a nation needs to adopt some of the other customs of the people around them. One of those might have been this idea that the army with the tallest, fiercest dude wins. Having the Worldmaker on your side just wasn’t in vogue anymore. And clearly, the tallest, fiercest dude Israel had on offer was just not quite as tall and fierce as the tallest, fiercest Philistine. So the tallest, fiercest Israelite sulked in his tent for a month, while team morale plummeted. I can’t say I blame him, by the way. To walk up to Goliath with his 7 kg spear-point on a shaft three times as tall as you, toting your wee sword which might weigh 1.5 kg, tops, and never come within swinging distance … that would daunt the bravest warrior, let alone the guy who hides in the baggage, when the

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spotlight comes on, however far he’s come. (No wonder Jonathan took up archery.) Consider also that Saul knew by this time that God’s favour had moved on from him because of his penchant for doing things his own way. So it is perhaps understandable that while Saul might call out the army to meet a threat, he was not at all confident of victory, even if he had superior numbers and firepower, so to speak. Saul had no reason to suppose that, even if he could summon the courage to face Goliath, God would back him up. Except for one factor. God might have rejected Saul as king, but nowhere is it hinted that God had rejected Israel. If Saul had at any stage gotten to know God as someone other than “the Lord your God”, this would have been a big clue for him. When David did finally go out, what had really got his goat wasn’t the demoralisation of their forces, but the fact that Goliath was in complete oblivion to WHOSE army he was dissing. David took a shot at Goliath because Israel belonged to God. In another scenario, the drama might have gone like this: • Philistines array themselves

against Israel.

• Goliath swaggers out and bellows his challenge.

• Israel completely ignores him and overruns the whole lot of them because God is with them and they’ve been promised that territory.

• End of story.

• 20,000 Likes on Facebook

Of course, there is fantastic stuff in the true story, stuff we don’t want to do without. David the shepherd, clothed in youth and weakness but full of the will of God, defeats the indomitable giant and his people then liberate the nation. There’s a type in there of Jesus, the Son of God, the “son of David”, clothed in humanity but full of the will of God, defeating the monster Sin because we belong to God. And there’s also a broad hint for the people of God to then work hard to chase out the evil that surrounds us. David didn’t go out disguised as Saul – either to protect the whereabouts of the real Saul, or to puff himself up. Despite being anointed for it, he wasn’t going out onto the field as King, not yet. He was going out as Servant. He was armed with the Name and handful of stones (which some say represent the fivefold ministry gifts). And there is a certain glee in the picture of the gobsmacked Philistines realising that if even an Israelite teenager was bold enough in the name of his God to strike down their tallest and fiercest … what might the adults be capable of ? Had Israel been waiting the whole month for their weakest member to turn up, to make a point? Had God? But think on this. Just as there was no real, legitimate reason for a fully-equipped army on their own turf to listen to the squawked demands of a big pagan bully, so too it is with us. If God’s told you the path to walk in, don’t let the size of the obstacle in front of you define your next step. For He is with you.

Rebekah Robinson

“Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again.”

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

The Lord of the RingsGandalf and Frodo Baggins, Chapter ‘The Shadow of the Past’.

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XLP are a youth work charity that take on gap year students to get alongside the youth in inner city London, with the aim of helping young people to express their talents and prevent them from getting involved in London’s notorious gang culture.

When I was asked to write a short article about my gap year, my initial reaction centred around the challenging task of summing up such an intense year in one page. But I’ve tried my best to give you some sort of insight into my year with XLP, so here goes. I felt God had called me to try something different after completing my A-levels and not simply continue in an academic daze. So in September 2009, I found myself in Newham, east London. We started with an induction week, which consisted of team building activities and practical training about what we could expect from the year. It was a great way to get to know the other students, but no amount of training could have prepared me for what was actually in store. So in an average week my time was divided between theology/youth work training, working in schools and working as a youth leader at a church I was assigned to. The training covered a wide scope of topics and really helped us to engage with the bible

before putting it into practice throughout the rest of the week. We worked as part of a team during the week and organised after school clubs, mentoring with some of the children who had come over to London from other countries and were struggling to fit into school life, cookery clubs, lunch clubs and assemblies.

We also worked on XLP’s mobile youth centre, a converted double decker bus, decked out with everything from PlayStations to manicure kits. As the youth leader of my church, I ran a weekly discussion night centred around different topics that members of the youth may be struggling with or issues they wanted to explore on a deeper level. The year also consisted of some of the most random experiences of my life. At no other stage have I catered for a charity function one night and been a quiz master the next! As another part of the year, we were fortunate enough to spend just over a week in the beautiful country of Ghana, where we spent time helping out with various community activities, including sports which were slightly challenging in 40 degree heat (you probably won’t be surprised to hear that we lost most of the games)! What really struck me about Ghana was the amazing attitude of the locals that lived there. They taught me what it really means

to rely on God and stay faithful to Him throughout everything. The year as a whole consisted of some of the highest and lowest moments of my life. I learnt so much about patience and persistence as well as how to cling to God because He is the only one who can give us strength and provide us with all that we need to survive. It was definitely the biggest learning curve of of my life and I’m so fortunate to havebeen given the opportunity to experience a year like it. If you’d like to find outmore about XLP then please come and speak to me or visit www .

xlps . org . uk

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Why I chose to “Obey”“You have a choice”, the

vicar said, as we sat in the study at his manse during our wedding day preparation chat. “Helena, you can either choose to obey, in which case Keith, you will choose to worship- or you can omit the worship and obey elements altogether; which would you prefer?”Naïve as we were about the resulting outworking of our commitment we had already thought this one over; Keith would promise to love, cherish and worship me, and I would promise to love, cherish and obey him, for as long as we both shall live…Our journey as a married couple may well have since taken paths we were both unprepared for, but we have never looked back on this decision with an ounce of regret. Ephesians 5 urges women to submit to their husbands, and men to love their wives as Christ loves the Church- and I am privileged to say that, in a real and tangible way, Keith has lived up to this goal! And what of me? Well Keith has certainly made my response easy. The response to real love is always obedience. Not a mindless assent to a forceful, demanding or controlling lover but a yielding and (mostly) happy submission to a husband on whose shoulders I am so grateful to lean!

For a Christian couple, what is more beautiful than the

wedding day, with its ceremony, sense of God’s presence, the joy of the guests? We were not that young at the time in Northampton, but the Lord had brought us together in a wonderful way. The life of service He had in store for us proved to be such a blessing.

Two other church couples were married a bit later. Both were determined to serve the Lord, just as we had done, and had made the same “in sickness and in health” promises. The first couple had a time in Bible College, and then their first church. Sad to say, the situation in that church was so bad that soon the young pastor had to leave, totally broken. Years of severe depression followed, and life at home became almost intolerable; his wife was at the end of her tether. She cried to God: “Lord, I promised before you and our pastor that I would be faithful to David, whatever the circumstances. Please help me to keep those promises.” God did just that. The husband sought professional help, and all the things that he had kept bottled up inside “came out like a torrent”. He was set free! They visited us last summer, and it was a joy to be with them, hear their testimony, laugh together and praise God for His faithfulness.

Obviously your wedding day, the day you make those

special promises to your other half in front of all your friends, family and God, is an incredible, exciting and wonderful day. But what does it mean two years on, when you’re actually in the promise?!

A very wise woman once described marriage as a bit like a fruit cake, full of many different flavours, some interesting, some sweet, some sour, some dry, some juicy, some spicy, some that taste disgusting on their own, some that you’d get sick from if you ate too much of, and some flavours that are just plain ordinary on their own (or maybe she just meant I was a fruitcake, I’m not sure…!). Along with a huge dose of God’s grace, the promises I made on my wedding day are what holds this wonderful cake together, in the interesting times, the sweet times, the sour times and the just plain ordinary times.

For us, being in the promises of marriage has meant learning to become softer in heart, slower to speak, spending time practising listening to one another and learning to lay down our lives for one another. Most of all, walking in the promises we made on our wedding day means every day committing again to loving each whichever flavour the day offers.

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When you start to think about it we are all surrounded by promises. Promises that the train you are waiting for will arrive on time, your online grocery shopping will arrive and what you ordered will have been picked carefully by someone and each item will have a decent shelf life i.e. Not every items best before date is the day it arrives etc...etc.As I was sat on the 7.18 train to Waterloo Station thinking about promises I began to realise that I was surrounded by people who had all paid over £60 for the promise of a seat on a train that would get them to work on time. As the many people sitting on the floor or standing in the area outside the loo’s will tell you,’ promises aren’t always kept or valued by those who make them.As I sat there surrounded by people in their suits and smart work clothes each trying their hardest to ignore the people around them pressing in on their personal space, I noticed evidence of many promises. Wedding rings, engagement rings, work badges, computers linked to the internet, mobile phones, loved ones pictures on the phones or I presume in wallets. All of these items as wellas many more not mentioned are all connected or significant

because of the promises that they relate to. The computers and phones are there because of their promise to work and connect us to others through communication or for information extraction or input. The wedding rings and engagement rings are there because of the promise of love, significance and faithfulness. The work badges and even the very presence of most of the train’s passengers were there because of the promises made between employer and employee.Where would we be as people if there were no promises at all, no trust, no mutual commitment or contract between us as human beings or between us and technology? However, promises are strange things. Some we know are likely to be broken right from the start, yet we seem to persevere with them. For example: despite us all knowing that our mobile phones are unlikely to always work or that we are unlikely to get a seat on an early morning train to London we rely on our phones more than ever and get on the train hoping for a seat only to be disappointed. We seemed to grade a promise and alter our expectations accordingly but, without promises and hope that they bring through their fulfilment, our lives would be very lonely and dark.For example, the promise that your wedding ring brings, that

someone will be your partner throughout the ups and downs of life, for many is simply the greatest reason to hope and carry on in life. However, as Christians we have such a richness of promises to draw upon. The most important of all of course being that our final step from this life will be our first in our promised new life in heaven. A wonderful new life filled with joy, peace and love but, how much of our lives are lived in the knowledge of that reality?There are many reasons why we might not live in that hope: too much pain, too much to do, too much to enjoy now or too much to buy – maybe. However, if we were to really live fully in the hope that eternal promise brings would we live our lives differently? Once when in a very difficult and dark part of my life, a good friend of mine decide to make me a promise box. With the help of her children they wrote many of 3000+ promises in the bible on to small pieces of paper, rolled them up and put in a little pot. She told me to take one out every morning and to read it before I went to work. I did this and sometimes the promise I read seemed to have little relevance to my day but at other times the promise was very significant and special. However, as the days and months went past I could not help but be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the wonderful promises that

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God has for those who love and follow him.I don’t know if you are currently living in the hope of a specific promise from God or whether you are living with some of the fulfilled promises from God for your life like I am with by having my two precious miracles. Or whether you are living with the hope of promises that won’t be fulfilled this side of heaven, as I am in regard to seeing my first daughter again. However, despite our joys, pain and struggles with our unanswered questions I wonder how different our lives would be if we really appreciated the amazing wonderful news that the creator of the universe has made an eternal promise to each one of us. A promise of hope, love, forgiveness and of eternal life with Him in heaven where there will be no pain, no suffering, no illness, no death and where every heaven promise will be truly fulfilled.“... now we see through the glass darkly, then we shall see face to face.” 1 Cor 13v12

Apromiseis a cloud, fulfilment

is the rain.An Arabian Proverb

How many times have I made a promise and not kept it? How many times have I made a promise without any intention of keeping it? …How many times has God done that? Through these questions we catch a glimpse of how truly incredible our God is. God has never ever, ever, ever broken a promise and that is mind-blowing. Even when the Israelites in the days of Moses kept going their own way, God was faithful to Abraham and kept his promise, leading his descendants into Jerusalem.

That we have a friend who is able to keep so many promises is amazing in itself; even before we look at how exciting those promises are. The most fundamental and reassuring promise we are given in the Bible is possibly Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave you or forsake you”. When we’ve heard that, what is there left to worry about? We know from experience that God always keeps to his word, and we know that being with God is the best thing ever.

But it gets even better: 1 John 2:25 “And this is what he promises us—even eternal life”.

Wow. Nothing at all could beat eternity with God. And we haven’t even done anything to deserve it! Again, we have no need to worry because the very best is definitely going to happen. Rather than filling our heads with comparatively minor concerns we should never cease to be singing God’s praise that we are saved. Luke 10:20 “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” This means that we shouldn’t become obsessively happy with the little perks of life, or get fed up when we trip over one of those many molehills and mountains that come our way, we must be content with what we have and our source of joy should come from the knowledge of God’s promise for eternal life with Jesus.

It is very easy to be skeptical when thinking about whether promises will be kept or not, but we absolutely must rest assured that when God makes a promise, he means it. This also means that we don’t have to worry about fulfilling God’s promises ourselves in our impatience. We must be patient, trust our faithful friend and be content in God’s promise whatever comes our way.

Ruth Mutton - NWCC

Ruth is in her final year at Peter Symond’s College and attends North Winchester Christian Church.She also attends Edge.

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Q. What happened to the egg when he was tickled?A. He cracked up! Q. What did the eggs do when the light turned green? A. They egg-cellerated.

Q. What do you call a sleeping egg? A. egg-zosted!

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When asked last summer if I would lead the second small group for Connect cluster as the original group had become too large, I had two thoughts:

Firstly, I thought back to a book I read years ago called “Red Moon Rising; The Story of 24-7 Prayer” by Pete Greig. It tells the story of how 24-7 prayer movements have sprung up all around the world and how lives are being transformed through ordinary people committing themselves to praying continually.Secondly, I remembered the verse “Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18v1).

Connect cluster is predominantly (but not exclusively) made up of people in the Kings Worthy area. I felt that we all had friends, neighbours and colleagues who we saw every day and that if we really started to commit ourselves to praying for each other and the people we know, we could begin to see God moving in their lives. In our small group we spend the first half of the meeting meditating on or studying the Bible, and then the second half praying for the situations we want to see God move in.

At the start of this year I read in The Message: “The resurrection life you received from God is ... adventurously expectant” (Romans 8 v 15) and I decided that that was how I wanted to view this coming year for the group – to be adventurously expectant for all that God will do. If members of the group are struggling then that may mean that we are to be adventurously expectant for them as we stand with each other through difficult times, but also we are to be adventurously expectant for all God will do through us and through our prayers in the lives of those we spend time with and care about.

Connect Cluster meets every fortnight at the Dawson’s - if you’re interested in joining them please contact the office 01962 868 770.

Editor’s note: There are copies of Red Moon Rising available from Becca Baxter for £4

RED MOON RISING0972927662Pete Greig//Dave Roberts

An extraordinary story about the adventure of faith and the power of persevering prayer…On a summer’s day in 1727 a community of Moravians started praying and didn’t stop for more than 100 years. Throughout history God has mobilised such movements and moments of 24/7 prayer – from the Upper Room of Pentecost to Azusa Street in Los Angeles, through ancient Celtic saints and extraordinary characters like Alexander the Sleepless.

This is the story of a movement of the Spirit in our time, a move as ancient as it is modern.

Peter’s review July 02,2011This is written as an adventure story. In fact, that is really what it is: an adventure story of being part of something special that God is doing. Very easy reading, emotional and highly encouraging.

Stephanie’s review July 27 2011This book has really brought to light for me just how powerful speaking to my Father can be... I am enticed by his ever unfolding mysteries and beauty.

Reviews from Goodread.com

Rachel Dawson

Connect Cluster

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The first thing that springs to mind is “You cannot be sad when Molly’s around”. We came to the Church over 40 years ago and it wasn’t long before I was at Molly’s house having a cup of tea. Oh how she loved her little stories! The first one I remember was when she was a little girl, she was scared of rats so she pinned a notice on the gate “Beware of the dog”. When her father questioned her, she replied “It would frighten the rat away”. Most of her stories were against herself and my how she would laugh.

Like the letter in the Hampshire Chronicle, most people owed her a debt and mine was when she asked me to speak the Ladies Meeting. Terrified at what I had agreed to I joined a Public Speaking Class and was glad to see that there were about twenty other gibbering wrecks on the same mission. Well, I guess it was the best thing I had ever done. Fourteen years ago she was desperately looking for a secretary to run the Af-ternoon Women’s Meeting. I knew I couldn’t say no, but it has been a real blessing to work alongside Molly who was the Honorary President. Her wise counsel, guidance and affection along with a dedicated prayer life means that she will be greatly missed.

The Meeting was one of the most important things in Molly’s life. She joined in 1973 - thirty-nine years of dedication. She was also the Northern District Representative for many years and always in great demand as a speaker.

I’m not sure how long I have known Molly, but in some ways it doesn’t matter because you could meet Molly once or meet her many times and you knew you had met with a remarkable and special lady. Her energy for life remained with her to the last. Molly was passionate about her faith and sharing the love of Christ: at 96 she was leading an ecumenical Bible Study. She was passionate about her garden and all things to do with nature and the environment; she was passionate about crocheting, producing exquisitely designed blankets which now adorn homes in this country and several orphanages in Romania; she was passionate about her family and their achievements. Yes, Molly was a lady of passion and also one of remarkable knowl-edge….identifying a verse in Scripture, a line from a poem, a piece of literature, the name of a tree or flower, a Hampshire cricket achievement!

I could cite more but sufficient to say that life was Molly’s passion and included in this were the people she met. Molly took a genuine interest in those she met, praying regularly for friends and family. It wasn’t easy to pay a quick visit to Molly but on reflection I’m glad! I feel I have shared in some small way in a big life – and those sharings needed and deserved time.

Thank you Molly for a friendship that defied age: on a personal note thank you for the prayers for my family and for loving them at a distance. Thank you for engaging conversations and intimate moments of sharing and praying. Thank you for leaving a most cherished footprint on my life.

“

““

“

Jean Davis

Janet SparkesMolly came from Odiham to Winchester soon after the war. She taught at Stanmore Junior School until retirement, ran Christian Endeavour for many years and the Tuesday Afternoon Women’s meeting for many years becoming their President. She had a very keen interest in gardening, attending many day courses at Sparsholt Farm Institute and kept a small patch of the garden at the rest home where she lived until the end. One of Molly’s warm attributes was her visiting of the sick and when she was unable to continue, she took on a telephone ministry. She was elected as the first woman elder in WBC in 1974. Molly had a keen sense of humour and a deep faith. Paul Tipple13

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Back in December Friday Club held its Christmas Party, but it was no ordinary Christmas Party for it was also a Farewell Party! After 27 years of WBC providing an open youth club for 11 to 16 year olds, it was time for change. The objective of the club was to provide the church’s young people with an opportunity to be missional to their peers and to be the “out” element of the church’s cluster model. After much consideration it was felt that the club was no longer serving its objectives and with numbers having dropped down to as low as 1 to 5 young people attending, it was becoming increasingly difficult to run as an effective club.

So what has been happening for the past 27 years down in the church hall of a Friday night and how did the youth club start up in the first place?

As a relative newcomer to the church Sheila McAulay was very conscious that there was no youth provision for the young people attending or connected to the church. With children of her own she was keen to establish specific teaching for them as well as a social group to which they could belong and grow.

Having initially set up a special

Sunday School class for teenagers (which later became PowerPoint and is now Fresh), she, together with John Hilbourne, set up Friday Club in September 1984. Shortly after this Jeremy and Fran Tickner (also newcomers to the church) became involved and when Sheila’s daughter Kirstin was old enough to attend the youth group, Sheila felt the need to pass over the running of the club to Jeremy and Fran and their helpers.

By the late 1980’s David Duffin was leading Friday Club assisted with Sarah Butt (now Sarah Stickland). It was Sarah who invited me to come along and help, so back in January 1990 I started to help out and shortly after, Barry started helping too. David was succeeded by Robin Smith our first youth pastor and when Robin moved on, back in 2005, I took over responsibility for the club.

The dynamics of the club have changed several times over the 22 years that I have been involved. There have been times when there have been very few young people attending and other times when we have had to physically limit the numbers attending due to space and the quantity of leaders available. Some seasons have seen

predominately girls present, whilst others have seen highly energetic, football loving boys!The most challenging period for me was back in 2007/08 when we reached capacity. We initially had some 20+ young people attending each week, mostly boys, of whom only 5 were connected to a church in the city. This was such a harvest ground, one which we could not ignore. So each week we introduced a 10 minute slot to share something about God and our Christian faith. Contrary to our fears this did not seem to put any of the young people off; in fact more just kept on coming until we had to limit the group to 32 each week!

Beside the regular activities such as crafts, energetic games, pool, table tennis, air hockey and of course the Tuck Shop there have also been trips out swimming, ice skating, ten pin bowling, laserquest, meals out and many a summer evening spent playing rounders, etc.

There are however many special memories for me personally over the last 22 years. The earliest of which was on the evening before our wedding, when the young people persuaded David Duffin to walk them down to the hotel, where I was helping to arrange the decorations,

so that they could come and wish me well… this was really lovely. Then having come back from our honeymoon we spent the following weekend with all the young people from the church at an activity centre at Wanbrough Swindon, where I shared a room with Sheila McAulay and Barry a tent with David Duffin!

There have also been popular “all nighters” where the objective of the event was to try and stay awake! We have called many a favour in from people within the church, getting them to come into the hall at some unearthly hour of the night or early morning to provide another activity or some form of entertainment. By 6 o’clock in the morning we would usually then be found running around down at the River Park, just to ensure that they all stayed awake until their parents arrived to take them home after breakfast!

There have also been night hikes, tramp suppers, fashion shows, short sketches have been written and then presented, chip shop challenges, cooking evenings, treasure hunts on foot and in cars, barbeques in fields or down on the beach, kite flying, girls pamper evenings and boys Scalextric evenings, to name but a few.

The most important thing though is that literally hundreds of young people have come through the church’s doors that would never otherwise have done so and they have enjoyed a safe and caring environment in which to relax and engage with their peers - one in which they have not only hopefully experienced God’s love but also have gone away with a little more knowledge of His love for them too.

Thanks to everyone, particularly the many helpers who have given up their Friday evening and played a part in this ministry over the years. Without your help it would not have been possible. I’m now off to discover what everyone else does with their Friday nights!

Heather Mann

Back in December Friday Club held its Christmas Party, but it was no ordinary Christmas Party for it was also a Farewell Party! After 27 years of WBC providing an open youth club for 11 to 16 year olds, it was time for change. The objective of the club was to provide the church’s young people with an opportunity to be missional to their peers and to be the “out” element of the church’s cluster model. After much consideration it was felt that the club was no longer serving its objectives and with numbers having dropped down to as low as 1 to 5 young people attending, it was becoming increasingly difficult to run as an effective club.

So what has been happening for the past 27 years down in the church hall of a Friday night and how did the youth club start up in the first place?

As a relative newcomer to the church Sheila McAulay was very conscious that there was no youth provision for the young people attending or connected to the church. With children of her own she was keen to establish specific teaching for them as well as a social group to which they could belong and grow.

Having initially set up a special

Sunday School class for teenagers (which later became PowerPoint and is now Fresh), she, together with John Hilbourne, set up Friday Club in September 1984. Shortly after this Jeremy and Fran Tickner (also newcomers to the church) became involved and when Sheila’s daughter Kirstin was old enough to attend the youth group, Sheila felt the need to pass over the running of the club to Jeremy and Fran and their helpers.

By the late 1980’s David Duffin was leading Friday Club assisted with Sarah Butt (now Sarah Stickland). It was Sarah who invited me to come along and help, so back in January 1990 I started to help out and shortly after, Barry started helping too. David was succeeded by Robin Smith our first youth pastor and when Robin moved on, back in 2005, I took over responsibility for the club.

The dynamics of the club have changed several times over the 22 years that I have been involved. There have been times when there have been very few young people attending and other times when we have had to physically limit the numbers attending due to space and the quantity of leaders available. Some seasons have seen

predominately girls present, whilst others have seen highly energetic, football loving boys!The most challenging period for me was back in 2007/08 when we reached capacity. We initially had some 20+ young people attending each week, mostly boys, of whom only 5 were connected to a church in the city. This was such a harvest ground, one which we could not ignore. So each week we introduced a 10 minute slot to share something about God and our Christian faith. Contrary to our fears this did not seem to put any of the young people off; in fact more just kept on coming until we had to limit the group to 32 each week!

Beside the regular activities such as crafts, energetic games, pool, table tennis, air hockey and of course the Tuck Shop there have also been trips out swimming, ice skating, ten pin bowling, laserquest, meals out and many a summer evening spent playing rounders, etc.

There are however many special memories for me personally over the last 22 years. The earliest of which was on the evening before our wedding, when the young people persuaded David Duffin to walk them down to the hotel, where I was helping to arrange the decorations,

so that they could come and wish me well… this was really lovely. Then having come back from our honeymoon we spent the following weekend with all the young people from the church at an activity centre at Wanbrough Swindon, where I shared a room with Sheila McAulay and Barry a tent with David Duffin!

There have also been popular “all nighters” where the objective of the event was to try and stay awake! We have called many a favour in from people within the church, getting them to come into the hall at some unearthly hour of the night or early morning to provide another activity or some form of entertainment. By 6 o’clock in the morning we would usually then be found running around down at the River Park, just to ensure that they all stayed awake until their parents arrived to take them home after breakfast!

There have also been night hikes, tramp suppers, fashion shows, short sketches have been written and then presented, chip shop challenges, cooking evenings, treasure hunts on foot and in cars, barbeques in fields or down on the beach, kite flying, girls pamper evenings and boys Scalextric evenings, to name but a few.

The most important thing though is that literally hundreds of young people have come through the church’s doors that would never otherwise have done so and they have enjoyed a safe and caring environment in which to relax and engage with their peers - one in which they have not only hopefully experienced God’s love but also have gone away with a little more knowledge of His love for them too.

Thanks to everyone, particularly the many helpers who have given up their Friday evening and played a part in this ministry over the years. Without your help it would not have been possible. I’m now off to discover what everyone else does with their Friday nights!

Heather Mann

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“Truth is truth… regardless of the vessel used to convey it. It’s just unfortunate that

sometimes because those vessels are so flawed or unexpected, we dismiss the message.

Or the wisdom. Or the promise.”

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, because He who promised is faithful.” Heb 10:23

This scripture has been rolling around in my heart for a few days. “..He who promised is faithful…” is like an anchor. But even while our heart rejoices in the simplicity of that statement, we’re prone to adding our own qualifications to it, aren’t we? Well… only if I’ve been faithful in my daily time with God. Only if I’m not struggling with that habit… Only if I have my life together and I’m worthy enough.

Fortunately, God’s not that complicated! Unless we come back to basics and read His promises for what they are – simple truth and statement of fact – our prejudiced worldview will always cloud our vision and hold us back from receiving all we were intended to have through Him.

The last two years have been challenging. In May 2010 I was diagnosed with a cyst in the tail of my pancreas. Many hospital stays, tests and scans later, I’m on the other side of surgery, have recovered well and am waiting for

my last scan to give me the all clear. I recently met a young girl who lost her mother about eight years ago. Her mother was my age at the time and had the exact diagnosis I had, although they didn’t remove the cyst in time, it turned nasty and she passed away within months from pancreatic cancer.

I remember waking up in hospital the morning after my first admission with an incredible peace and an unshakeable conviction that God hadn’t been caught by surprise. I knew He didn’t wake up that morning and say “What the…? What’s happened to Kath overnight?…. I didn’t see THAT coming!” The knowledge that He knows the end from the beginning assured me of His presence for what was about to unfold. He’s not the author of disaster. He won’t allow situations into my life that I haven’t been prepared for and equipped to handle.

When we’re faced with life’s situations; a difficult teenager’s journey, a daunting doctor’s diagnosis, sleepless nights over a newborn with colic, an unbelieving spouse, a doubting best friend, a promise that’s taking years to fulfil… how do we respond? What gets us through?

The active belief in Truth. It’s not good enough to know it, we need to believe it. Belief isn’t passive. It’s an active, conscious, daily

decision, regardless of the bias of our nature, upbringing, education or life experience. The Truth found in the Word of God is universal, which means it applies in any situation, transcends any culture, gender or class.

When we realise that our life experience is perfecting our faith and moulding us into the person we’re to become, we realise our journeys can profoundly affect those around us. It’s a joy to be called upon for wisdom and advice by someone who’s facing what you’ve already walked through. You become the hands and heart of a God who touches people, through people.

Paul says in Philippians 4:12 “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” I don’t think he meant “I’ve learned what the secret is, but you’ll have to figure that out for yourself ”, rather, “THIS is the secret… BEING content in whatever life throws at me.” Verse 13 ties it all together “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

Happily unmarried, yet hoping beyond hope for a life partner. A woman increasing in age, desperate for a baby, yet genuinely thrilled at the news of a birth. Contentment while waiting for the answer to a promise, contentment while enduring a difficult season of life, is testimony in itself. Content, knowing, 19

believing and trusting in a God who promises His faithfulness, is an attractive example that points others to Him. Contentment in the life of someone facing incredible odds is a sweet thing to behold.

Don’t think you can do it? Yeah, you can. He believes you can, or He wouldn’t have allowed you into this season. (Remember, that’s a promise too!) If the Creator of the Universe believes in you, that’s all the endorsement you need!

While you’re persevering through, go look for someone you can help – particularly if it’s a journey you’ve walked yourself. Or not. Bake a cake, offer to babysit, grocery shop for the elderly. Hope starts with me. There are opportunities all around. Here’s MY promise to you… you won’t believe how content you’ve become.

Kath O’Hanlon

“O Shepherd. You said you would make my feet like hinds’ feet and set me upon High Places”.

“Well”, he answered “the only way to develop hinds’ feet is to go by the paths which the hinds use.”

Hannah Hurnard, Hinds’ Feet on High Places

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I can’t believe where the year has gone? (I pray this one goes just as quickly) It was this time last year that we made the decision to expand our family. It wasn’t happening the conventional way so I handed in my notice at work and made plans to purchase a puppy. A cockapoo – ‘a what’ I hear you all cry! Yes a cockapoo – what some people call a designer dog. Cross with a Cocker spaniel and a Poodle. Very intelligent but also loads of energy! I called a friend to say we are getting a dog from Wales and were just going to call them up. She immediately called back to say ‘no don’t’ that she knew a friend of a friend who had just had puppies and they live in Portsmouth – wow! What amazing timing! (God timing!) I was on the phone to the breeder that afternoon and asked lots of questions and she sounded so lovely. I don’t know why but I wanted a dog rather than a bitch. She had one left but some other people were ahead of us but by coincidence they didn’t mind what they had. She put us down for the boy that was left. Carl and I had chatted a year previously driving back from Christchurch where we’d seen two cockapoos and they were so cute and had decided on a name which we stuck with for him. We arranged to see them as soon as we could and were

We found a great dog trainer (who trained us really) and we had some great fun learning all sorts of new tricks and some great advice. We hope to go along to the dog show she is organising at the end of April and show off some of our tricks. Jasper was one year old on the 12th March! He now seems to be entering the terrible twos or in dog years teenager mischief, and has started to chew the furniture and his lead again. He loves lots of attention and is whining for me as I write. He is such a comfort though now while Carl is away and we love snuggling up on the sofa of an evening (ummm...yes the sofa!) He does a cool little thing when he wants some attention: he wraps his paw round my arm while I tickle his chest and nudges me for more if I stop!I believe that my little angel Jasper came into our lives for this season in our lives. He is the reason I have to get out of bed in the morning and knowing I’m not on my own that I have a responsibility to take care of him as best I can, is keeping me going and of course all of you and most importantly Papa God. So I want to thank God for Jasper and I know you pet owners will feel a similar feeling about your pets as I do! If you ever fancy meeting up and dog walking give me a call. I plan to organise a regular doggy walk on Sunday afternoons (weather permitting). If you are interested in joining us please email me (address in book) or check out Sunday doggy walks on my facebook page. Even those who don’t own a dog but would love to join us you are very welcome to come along too!

so excited. We immediately fell in love with Jasper – there was something very special about him even then. On one visit, as we went in he must of heard us and was the first to come running in to see us before all his sisters and his brother piled on top of him in the rush to have a cuddle. He always fell asleep in my arms and seemed very at home with us. We seemed to have made a connection with him, his eyes melted my heart every time he looked at me and nibbled at me or licked my face.We were very lucky to live so near and were welcome to visit every week sometimes twice. The breeder was so warm and welcoming and was so happy that one of her puppies was so loved. I read everything I could and checked out vets and classes etc. The day finally came to take him home. In all the excitement we forgot to let him go outside for a final wee. He cried nearly all the way home and we thought it was because he was missing everyone but on him entering our home he did the biggest wee on the tiled floor, luckily, in the hall and had held on! Oh that first week there was so much to learn. I thought what have we done then he became poorly and had to rush him to the vets and he was on a drip. Heartbreaking moment but he pulled through, then the fun began. He was fairly quick to conquer toileting and I taught him to ring a bell that I hung by the back door to tell us when he needed to go, but in the early days it was a case of encouraging him out every hour and once or twice in the night! We began some basic commands as you do and he seemed to pick these up quickly too!

Clare Smith

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It’s a couple of years since we stopped recording our Sunday services on cassette tape and switched to MP3s, and since people borrowed any of the tapes to listen to at home. We are therefore about to dispose of around 1500 cassettes recorded over the past 20 years or so, plus about 500 pre-recorded tapes. We have selected a small representative sample to be deposited with the Wessex Sound & Film Archive at the Hampshire Record Office.

Before we throw away the remainder, there’s an opportunity for you to take any that you would like. In addition to over 1000 ‘standard’ services there are: • about200tapesofguestpreachers,specialeventservices (baptisms, dedications, carol services, etc) and conferences hosted at the church • about300teachingandworshiptapesfromNewWine, Spring Harvest and Filey between 1981 and 2001 • varioussetsofclassical,popularandChristmas music tapes • 5unusedC90cassettes • 3largewoodencassettetapestorageboxes. • asetof100colourslidesoftheHolyLand • onecopyofour2002‘LiveWorshipfrom WBC’CD

Please see me by Sunday 15th April if you’d like any of these.

Ed Jackson

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From the library....The Relational Way: from small group structures to holistic life connections.9780978877903 M. Scott Boren

Before reading “The Relational Way”, I had heard it said by someone in our congregation that if ever a book encapsulated how that person wanted church to look like, this was it – and now having read it myself, I would love church to look this way too. It is about how God wants us to build his kingdom through relationships (nothing new there!)but these are not necessarily the type of relationships that we have now. The relationships we need to build up are based upon how Jesus built up relationships, mainly with His three closest disciples, Peter, James and John, and then the rest of His disciples, as He mirrored the heavenly relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I was personally struck by the fact that Jesus’ relationships were not numerous, yes he preached to crowds of thousands, but his relationships were within His group of 12 disciples but were quality relationships. These kinds of relationships in the book are described for our culture as “refrigerator rights” relationships, where people are known so well that they can just come into your home and help themselves to the contents of your fridge! This point is made near the very beginning of the book and so presents us with the first challenge - to look realistically at the relationships we have with other people, whomever they are, and to decide if we really want the quality of those relationships to change, because changing might mean becoming very “un-British” and much much more vulnerable! In exploring the concept of Kingdom relationships and “The Relational Way”, we are of course invited to look at Jesus’ example. In our humanness we jump to wanting to see how Jesus did things so we can emulate them; how He did those quality relationships with His disciples so we can “copy” Him if you like. But that’s the point at which we are challenged again by the book, because it wasn’t about what Jesus did, it was about the way He was – being, not doing. It was from the way He was (God’s Son) that led to the doing of His Father’s will, not the other way around. The challenge therefore is again to look at whether we have got things the wrong way around, that we think by focusing on what we are doing for God we will attain to being God’s child, rather than developing as His child and what we do coming out of this identity and our obedience. As a piece of “research” albeit, a Godly-inspired one, the main body of “The Relational Way” goes on to intelligently explore “the doing side of church”. The author presents the background, then the practical outworking of the whole gamut of House-Cell-Small Group, Clusters etc etc models and structures and the successes and failures. I felt it was a well-researched piece in its use of a wide variety of sources, stories, opinions and statistical evidence, with citations from other countries and cultures,

and the thought occurred that it could perhaps sit well as a PhD thesis. However it is the amazing message which comes out of this thoroughness which gives the book such integrity and sets us a real challenge. Each main chapter investigates a ‘Myth’ and an associated ‘Relational Truth’. There are ten structural myths addressed which cover the ways we think about and do church ie the beliefs which underpin why we do the Sunday services and mid-week activities the way we do and what the logical conclusions are in practice. For example, the first myth explored is doing the right thing (such as a small group program) without consideration of the right relational way, will produce community – it obviously won’t but how many of us unconsciously subscribe to this myth? – whereas the truth is that God’s relational kingdom is a product of leaders who establish a way of living that stands in contrast to the culture (the Relational Truth). The relational truths in this book are the myths turned upside down and presented within the context of Kingdom relationships. They give us new ways of being as individuals and as His body, the church, and show how God’s kingdom can be grown from this different perspective in terms of community and cultural change. This book doesn’t just give us the theory, but clearly explains what this can look like in practice too, which is helpful and encouraging, scary but exciting.

“The Relational Way” is the book to read if you never think you are doing enough for God.

“My Bible tells me in Psalm 121 that He who watches over us is not sleeping. He is not taking a break from your dilemna. In actual fact, He is very much at work behind the scenes, preparing the way, orchestrating the victory, turning every circumstance around for His Glory and for your good.”

God in Him are Yes and Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20. These are all our promises. They have our names on them - His exceedingly great and precious promises according to 2 Peter 1:4. Be encouraged today that God’s purposes for you will be fulfilled as you trust in Him and continue to delight yourself in Him…for He who has promised is faithful and will surely bring it to pass.

A Promise is a word that can bring such delight, challenge,

pain, blessing, encouragement, hope or even despair, depending on what the promise is and who it is that has spoken it… The true power of a promise, I believe, is found in the one who has spoken it. Are they a person of their word? Can they be relied upon to follow through with what they have said? Do they have the capacity to fulfil their promise? Our world is full of broken promises and because of that, broken dreams and broken people. Marriages have failed, lives have been destroyed, future dreams have been crushed by careless and flippant promises spoken on the wind. I think everybody at some time or another has beenpromised something and has been let down when that person failed to deliver. I guess it’s just human nature, and we too, I am sure, have been guilty of not fulfilling our promises to others.I am so glad that there is one who is true to His Word, who does what He says regardless of the cost. One of my favouritescriptures is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:24 and says, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it!” God is not a man that He should lie. His Name is Faithful and True. What He has promised, you can be guaranteed that He will do. Sometimes it is so easy for us to look at the circumstances around us and lose hope, and lose faith in the One who has Promised, because we can’t yet see the answer to our prayer, we haven’t yet received the breakthrough we have been desperately seeking. But God isn’t finished yet. He is at work in the

darkest hour when all hope seems lost, when the enemy of our soul seems to be gaining ground.The Bible is filled from cover to cover with God’s faithful promises to His people. He is our help, our strength, our glory and the lifter of our heads. Romans 15:13 calls Him the God of Hope. I love that! He promises to never leave us nor forsake us, to finish the work he has begun in us. He promises, as His Name declares, to give us peace in the midst of the storm, deliverance in the day of trouble, salvation for our souls and new life for a new day, “ If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new!” 2 Corinthians 5:17. He promises to remove our sins from us as far as the east is from

the west, to give us a future and a hope in Him.He promises protection, provision and power to live the life He has called us to. As He turned the water into wine, He also promises to bring beauty and blessing out of our own brokenness. What more could we ask for? Who greater is there to put our trust and hope in, than the One who has proved Himself time and time again, who has laid down His very life for us and who cannot ever fail because of who He is. If God has said, then I believe it. “For all the promises of

Angela Armstrong

Angela Armstrong is a Pastor’s wife from Sydney, Australia. She and her husband David work with the local indigenous population.

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“My Bible tells me in Psalm 121 that He who watches over us is not sleeping. He is not taking a break from your dilemna. In actual fact, He is very much at work behind the scenes, preparing the way, orchestrating the victory, turning every circumstance around for His Glory and for your good.”

God in Him are Yes and Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20. These are all our promises. They have our names on them - His exceedingly great and precious promises according to 2 Peter 1:4. Be encouraged today that God’s purposes for you will be fulfilled as you trust in Him and continue to delight yourself in Him…for He who has promised is faithful and will surely bring it to pass.

A Promise is a word that can bring such delight, challenge,

pain, blessing, encouragement, hope or even despair, depending on what the promise is and who it is that has spoken it… The true power of a promise, I believe, is found in the one who has spoken it. Are they a person of their word? Can they be relied upon to follow through with what they have said? Do they have the capacity to fulfil their promise? Our world is full of broken promises and because of that, broken dreams and broken people. Marriages have failed, lives have been destroyed, future dreams have been crushed by careless and flippant promises spoken on the wind. I think everybody at some time or another has beenpromised something and has been let down when that person failed to deliver. I guess it’s just human nature, and we too, I am sure, have been guilty of not fulfilling our promises to others.I am so glad that there is one who is true to His Word, who does what He says regardless of the cost. One of my favouritescriptures is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:24 and says, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it!” God is not a man that He should lie. His Name is Faithful and True. What He has promised, you can be guaranteed that He will do. Sometimes it is so easy for us to look at the circumstances around us and lose hope, and lose faith in the One who has Promised, because we can’t yet see the answer to our prayer, we haven’t yet received the breakthrough we have been desperately seeking. But God isn’t finished yet. He is at work in the

darkest hour when all hope seems lost, when the enemy of our soul seems to be gaining ground.The Bible is filled from cover to cover with God’s faithful promises to His people. He is our help, our strength, our glory and the lifter of our heads. Romans 15:13 calls Him the God of Hope. I love that! He promises to never leave us nor forsake us, to finish the work he has begun in us. He promises, as His Name declares, to give us peace in the midst of the storm, deliverance in the day of trouble, salvation for our souls and new life for a new day, “ If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new!” 2 Corinthians 5:17. He promises to remove our sins from us as far as the east is from

the west, to give us a future and a hope in Him.He promises protection, provision and power to live the life He has called us to. As He turned the water into wine, He also promises to bring beauty and blessing out of our own brokenness. What more could we ask for? Who greater is there to put our trust and hope in, than the One who has proved Himself time and time again, who has laid down His very life for us and who cannot ever fail because of who He is. If God has said, then I believe it. “For all the promises of

Angela Armstrong

Angela Armstrong is a Pastor’s wife from Sydney, Australia. She and her husband David work with the local indigenous population.

Don’t forget to have a look at the MAG board this month - it reflects the work of CAP.

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So, I have been asked to write 600-800 words on myself on becoming Church Secretary. What should one say? What can I offer that might be of some relevance to the role of Church Secretary? In truth, not as much as would be ideal. However, as CV’s in this area go, this is mine. I was brought up in a Christian family, and made my own decision to become a Christian in 1984. From then, until I went to University in 1990, I attended both the local Anglican and Baptist Churches, I was baptised in Ashby Baptist Church in about 1989. I did a law degree at Southampton University and loved it; when I qualified as a Barrister in 1994, I went to Liverpool in order to get a job. I thought I would stay there for 3 years but seemingly forgot to leave and was still there in 2008. In the meantime I had joined Frontline Church and served on its board of trustees for about 6 years, been a part time lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University in Employment Law and an occasional lecturer at Salford University, had married Rachel and we had Ben. Ben’s arrival prompted us to decide what we really wanted for both us and for him, which was to be nearer to our families, and so, a job interview later, we moved to Winchester in 2008. We settled, had Izzy and joined Win Bap. I am still working as a barrister, now for a London set of Chambers which has a Winchester branch and attempting to specialise in Employment and Personal Insolvency law. As to the role of Church Secretary, there are 3 points to make: Firstly, I’d like pay tribute to Ed, whose shoes I cannot hope to fill; but who has left the secretarial affairs in a state which is second to none. One could not hope to take over from a wiser, more capable, more diligent predecessor. Because I am not Ed, the church have agreed that someone will assist me- I am most grateful for that. Secondly, because of the nature of my job there may be meetings I cannot make. I will, however, be keeping abreast of things even if I am not at some meetings. Finally, I haven’t been a church secretary before and if you think I am missing something or getting it wrong, it is probably because I am - feel free to tell me. This piece is 445 words long and I can’t think of anything else to say, so it appears I have failed in my first task as secretary. Things can only get better (we hope)....

MeettheChurch

secretary

Church Secretary’s report

As I sit to write this I have been the secretary for almost exactly 48 hours. I am, therefore, relieved to say that very little has happened during my tenure upon which I can report. I can however tell you the main points of the Church Meeting on 21/3/12; which were:

• Alan&ClareGregorywere welcomed to their first church meeting.

• BarryandHeatherMann had been accepted to go to Lesotho with AIM. A vehicle has been purchased for their use by the Church and awaits their arrival.

• DorisPierceyconveyedher thanks to the congregation for their prayers and concern.

• Thewriterofthisemailwas elected church secretary, on the proviso that someone will be appointed to assist with the more administrative parts of the role.

• Itwasexplainedthatat least 6 people had been approached to carry out the AdvocateforBuildingaCommunity role and all had declined.Thesearchforasingleperson to carry out the whole role istobeputonhold.Howeveryou

new

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are asked to consider volunteering for aspects of the role, such as overseeing welcoming etc. If you spot a gap that you would like to fill, please talk to the leadership team- don’t wait to be approached! • EwenpaidtributetoEdJackson as Church Secretary; he has been the man for the moment, diligent, careful, had an eye for detail and given all round excellent service in the role. • Wediscussedtheprocedure for leadership nominations. The mood of the meeting was that an invitation should be issued for the congregation to suggest people to the leadership for roles, prior to the formal request for nominations being made. • HannahStruttreportedback on an excellent training day for Seniors workers and asked for prayer for the forthcoming concert, involving 20 students.

• Judyadvisedthattheorgan would undergo an overhaul in the near future and, amongst other things, work would start on a new website. • Ewen’slastSundaywillbe 22 July; there will be a farewell event on Friday 13th from 4:30-9:00pmatLittletonVillageHall • AlisonStanbrookistobe appointed as book keeper, she brings great experience fromtheYMCAandelsewhere.CongratulationstoAlison! • Atthenextmeetingthechurch would be asked to consider proposals for Tim’s salary during his sabbatical, and thereafter. • Inrespectoftheaccounts

the projected deficit by end March 2010 is expected to be substantially lower than expected - £16k compared with the planned £39k shortfall, even allowing for £13K of unexpected calls on our funds during the year. • Inrespectoftheaccountsthe projected deficit by end March 2010 is expected to be substantially lower than expected - £16k compared with the planned £39k shortfall. • EdiscallingforanyonewhowasbaptisedinWBCbetween 1990 and 2005 to contact him- he is compiling a register. • DuringTim’ssabbatical,WayneIsaacwilllookafteryouthwork at leadership team level and child protection will be handled by Caroline Feltham King. • Timthankedthechurchfor the opportunity to go on sabbaticalandfinishhisMA. • ItwasagreedthatEuniceNicholson would be appointed for a further yearAnd,also,

Baptism Register

EdiscallingforanyonewhowasbaptisedinWBCbetween1990and 2005 to contact him- he is compiling a register.

Ride & Stride

The annual “Ride and Stride” takes place on the second Saturday in September. For those who don’t know, there are 2 parts to the Ride and Stride;

• lotsofchurchesacrossHampshirewillbeopen,forvisitors, refreshment and other convenience, and

• peoplewill,eitheronfoot or on a bike (and there is some reference to horses in the literature) attempt to visit as many churches as possible for sponsorship. You can go via the countryside, tea shops, pubs etc. You can take your dog or other cherished pet, or even your family if you want to.

I think the idea is that its a good, fun, family day out. If anybody would like to volunteer to run the WinBapangle,I’dlikeverymuchto hear from you.

Amended Dates for the Church Meeting

Finally, the next two Church Meetings will not be on the 3rd Wednesdayofthemonth–May’swillbeon4thWednesdayandJuly’sonthe2ndWednesday.

James Dawson

You can contact James at churchsec @ winbap o. org . uk

Be yourself, everyone else is taken.

unknown

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Whats on.... Sunday

10am - Tea & co� ee provided afterwards Creche - up to 3 yrs Sparklers - 3 to Yr R All Stars - Yr 1 - 3 Trailblazers - Yr 4 - 6 FRESH - Yr 7 upwards

6.30pm - Tea and co� ee provided afterwards

Monday

Re:store - 10am creche provided Helen Revans

Tuesday

2.15pm - Tuesday Afternoon Women’s Fellowship alternate weeks - Jean Davis 8pm - Church Prayer Meeting (� rst Tuesday in the month) 8pm - Teg Down Small Group (Favour Cluster) Jo May 8pm - Location Cluster (2nd & 4th) David & Ann Hook 8pm - Sparkford Road Small Group (Favour Cluster) Nick Allenson 8pm - Kings Worthy Small Group (Connect Cluster) Ben Clifton (Connect Cluster) Rachel Dawson Wednesday

7-8am - Prayer Meeting in Tweedley Room 8pm - Chandlers Ford Small Group (2nd & 4th - Favour Cluster) Carol and David Bailey 8pm - Stanmore Small Group Luke & Jo Meharg

� ursday

1.30pm - Silver Service (1st in the month) David & Hannah Strutt 7.30pm - � e Edge (Yrs 9 and above) Becca Baxter 8pm - Badger Farm Small Group (Honour Cluster) Jean Sweetenham

Friday 9.45am - Real Life Cluster Tony Mundy 10am - Friday Fun (2 ¹/2 - 5 year olds) Diana Wills

•

PastorRev Ewen Huff man ewen @ winbap . org . ukAssociate Pastor (Youth)Rev Tim Williamson tim @ winbap . org . uk

Mission to SeniorsHannah and David Strutthannahanddavid @ winbap . org . ukChildren’s Ministry WorkerEli Stewart eli @ winbap . org . ukAssociate Youth WorkerBecca Baxter becca@ winbap . org . ukPastoral WorkerEunice Nicholsoneunice @ winbap . org . uk

EldersSheila McAulay sheila @ winbap . org ukAndy Marshallandy @ winbap . org ukCarol Baileycarol @ winbap . org uk SecretaryJames Dawson churchsec@ winbap . org ukTreasurerPeter Howes churchtreas @ winbap . org uk

DeaconsSmall GroupsGareth Bartlettgareth @ winbap . org ukWayne Isaac 01962 868770MissionJoanne Meharg mission @ winbap . org uk

Ops ManagerJudy Marshall 01962 686770opsmanager @ winbap . org . uk

Winchester Baptist ChurchSwan Lane

Winchester SO23 7AA01962 868770

offi ce @ winbap. org . uk29

April ‘12SUN MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT

8 9 10 11 12 13

16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26

14

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29 30

Prayer Meeting 7-8am

Prayer Meeting 7-8am

Prayer Meeting 7-8am

Silver ServiceEaster

Friday Fun

Friday Fun

The Edge

The Edge

PM Communion Service

AM Communion Service

Re:store -Ladies Group

1 2Prayer and Praise

8pm

3

Re:store -Ladies Group

15

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4

Women’s Tuesday afternoon fellowship.

5 6 7

Re:store -Ladies Group

Good FridayPalm Sunday

DAT E S F O R Y O U R D I A R Y

1st April - Dedication of Isla Meharg

3rd April - Prayer and Praise Evening 8pm

18th April - Church Meeting

20th April - W2W ‘Summer Snacks, Suppers & Celebrations’

29th April - Canon Andrew White, Vicar of Baghdad

Easter Sunday Easter Monday The Edge

Silver Seekers

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