Connect May 12

Connect

Published by the Baptist Union of Scotland, 48 Speirs Wharf, Glasgow, G4 9TH, [email protected]. Charity Registration No:SC004960

May 2012

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King’s Park Baptist Church,

Glasgow, on a Thursday night, is a

hub of activity. Alan Donaldson

and I recently had the privilege of

visiting them and were so

encouraged by what we saw that

we wanted to share it with you!

If you were to walk past King’s

Park Baptist between 7:00-8:30pm

you’d be forgiven for thinking that

the local youths have overrun it! In

the main sanctuary a kid’s club runs

with a traditional mix of games,

worksheets, tuck shop and ‘God

Slot’. All the children have a brilliant

time.

The leaders, including the

minister, John Hodgkins, all have

different roles, from running the tuck

shop to getting down on the floor

with the children as they do the

worksheets (the only time it is

quiet!), and it is evident that good

relationships are being formed. God

is clearly at work.

The ‘God Slot’ gives opportunity

to share the message that Jesus loves

them, as young leaders creatively

communicate using puppets while

the kids sit enthralled.

Moving through to the back room

the scene is chaotic, but it’s

organised chaos. Liz, the church’s

part-time youth worker, is to be

found in the middle of a group of

teenagers from the local areas,

laughing and chatting away. It is

obvious that she has a special bond

with the group, with her love and

passion for them shining through.

As the programme starts, the young

people are soon caught up in games

and quizzes. There is a prayer wall,

to which their attention is drawn,

times of sharing and, later in the

evening, a time for people to

worship, which for some of the

young people is still a very new

thing.

Liz has spent time developing

some young leaders within the

church and they too lead many

things from the front, at times

dealing with potentially difficult

issues with ease. They have a

growing passion for the young

people in the area, and I couldn’t

help but see the leadership

potential in them, and the missional

lifestyle that is being developed.

At around 8:30pm the youth

band arrives to practice, and others

get ready to take to the streets. A

team from the church, including

some of those who have already

been involved in the clubs, get

ready to go out into the local

Holmbyre Estate armed with cars

full of food.

The team have been working

with Teen Challenge, though

without a bus on the night we

visited. They simply arrive in cars,

open their boots up and work from

a planned location.

The compassion the team have

for each person they encounter is

deeply moving. While some stay

with the cars, talking with people

feeding and praying for them in the

street, others pay home visits to

people with whom they are

The Forfar Files ...

The House in Buckie

We were praying this past

month for Stephen and Julie

to sell their house in Buckie,

they are having many more

folks round for viewings but

have not yet received any

formal offers.

That’s progress, but let’s

continue to pray for that

one person, couple or family

for whom its the right

purchase, that an offer will

be made soon.

Community Involvement

Meantime the family is

settling well into Forfar life,

Matthew at school and

Nathan with his own

activities... toddlers group

with Julie is one of them and

Stephen is helping out one

day a week in The British

Heart Foundation shop as a

means of serving and getting

to know the community.

Steering Group

The first meeting of the

Steering Group takes place

Friday 27th at 10.30am,

please pray for wisdom.

Julie and Stephen Oyarzabal

building relationships. Encouragingly,

there are plans to develop this work

further.

What happens on a Thursday

links into what happens in a

monthly contemporary evening

service they hold, helping them

develop inter-connected

relationships. It was a blessing to be

with the church and see how they

were actively seeking to be

intentionally relational, unashamedly

missional and creatively rooted

in the community.

Something special was taking

place, hard to express in words, but

clearly visible.

As a Baptist Union of Scotland

family we are able to support this by

giving them a grant to help develop

the work in which they are involved.

Please pray for them as they engage

with their community, and be

encouraged by what is going on this

area of our nation through your

support. Mo Gibbs

Something Special’s Going On- at King’s Park Baptist

Connect May 2012


Cid Latty, of

“Cafe Church”

Leven Baptist is the only Scottish

church to be sending a team

overseas with BMS in 2012.

The team of eight from the Fife

church will be heading to Beirut in

July for two weeks to work

alongside the members at Hadath

Baptist Church (HBC), and Arthur

and Louise Brown, BMS

missionaries who have been in

Lebanon since 2005. HBC

describes itself as a church

“working towards becoming a

church ‘of’ the community. It is a

Over the last few years we have

built relationships of trust and

support with a number of local

schools. We have now completed a

week of Prayer Spaces in Northfield

& Hazlehead Secondaries and in

Quarryhill and Kingsford Primary

Schools - with plans to visit

Fernilea in May.

A whole classroom is transformed

into a creative space and, over the

week, the pupils themselves add to

its life by their prayers and art

work.

This concept is catching on across

the country and is being well

Leven Church Team Bound for Lebanon

church that desires to address the

real needs of those around them

and wants to provide multiple

‘entry-points’ into the faith

community of HBC.”

Having undertaken a

community survey, HBC wants to

adapt their building to make it fit

for purpose to serve the needs of

their local community. The Leven

team will, therefore, be involved in

general labouring, plastering and

painting on this ambitious project.

The team will also be working

Creating Prayer Spaces in Schools

received as it fits so well into the

new Curriculum for Excellence.

Simon Dennis, our Assistant

Pastor, and Anna Riach, our

Children & Family Worker, have

been key in opening the doors to

these schools.

It has amazed me how receptive

the students have been to engage

with the Prayer Spaces. They can

connect at their own level and in

their own way, either emotionally or

spiritually. The Spaces vary from a

simple Prayer Wall, where requests

can be written, to looking in a mirror

and listening to an MP3 player

which reminds them of how special

they are in the eyes of God.

There are spaces where they can

reflect and let go of worries by

dropping a stone into water or they

can write their sins in the sand, say

sorry, then rub them out. One of the

spaces focuses on global poverty

and some of the schools have

supported our own project in India

by sponsoring a child and have

given donations.

Teachers were surprised by the

openness of the students and also

the depth of the issues that many of

them are dealing with in their day to

day lives.

“I thought it was useful as it

helped me get a lot of things out

that were bottled up inside.”

–S5 Pupil

“It gave everyone the chance to

voice their opinion and ask

questions that were on their mind.”

–S5 Pupil

“It gave me a feeling of being at

peace for once in my life.”

– S5 Pupil

One of the schools started a

weekly Scripture Union group as a

result of Prayer Spaces, another has

with Hadath’s children’s workers

to provide a children’s club for the

local community.

It is exciting to think that the

Baptist Union of Scotland’s kids’

programme ‘Deep Sea Discovery’

is right now being translated into

Arabic so that they can teach

children in Beirut about Jesus.

This is an exciting opportunity

for the team and the church family

at Leven and they are busy raising

funds to help send the team to

Lebanon – arranging cookery

evenings, quizzes and even

zumbathons! They’ve even painted

parts of the church – in training

for the building at Hadath.

The team are also fascinated

by the prospect of learning from

brothers and sisters in Beirut as

they minister to their local

community of many different

faiths. They hope to come back

with more insight into mission in

a different culture and with much

that can bless our own Scottish

environment.

Hadath Baptist Church and artist’s impression of it after renovation

The Team at the Ready!

An example from the Prayer Spaces in Schools website

of a classroom set up with prayer spaces

asked for a permanent space and we

are continuing to develop our links

by discussing a possible mentoring

scheme. All of the schools were

keen to repeat the venture and it

may become part of their annual

programme.

I sense we have an emerging

generation that are more of a blank

page waiting to be written on and,

as we give them an introduction to

spiritual expression, they are open

to engaging with God and are

grasping the relevance of faith to

everyday life.This gives me great

hope for the future.Stephen Hibbard, Senior Pastor,

Sheddocksley Baptist Church.

Rev Stephen Hibbard shares the experiences of

Sheddocksley Baptist Church, Aberdeen.

A new way of talking to God

Connect


May 2012

An appreciative client!

Dave Bookless

PLEASE NOTE: The events advertised in our publications or on our website cover the wider Christian scene in Scotland and do notnecessarily reflect the involvement or endorsement of Baptist Union staff or any specific knowledge about content.

Notice

BoardBaptist Reading Group 2012On Friday, 1st June, at 7pm for 7.15pm, the

Group will be holding their launch evening, to

pick a few books to read over the Summer..

This evening get-together will be in the home

of Dorothy McQuaker, at 107 Alloway Drive,

Kirkintilloch, G66 2RL. (Easily accessible from

M8, M9 M80 A803.)

We normally choose 3 or 4 books and have

email discussions over the summer and meet on a

Saturday in eary September for a 'feedback' day.

Further info from George Petrie 01506 856271

[email protected]

Pulpit SwapPastor David B. Freeman, of Weatherly Heights

Baptist Church, AL, USA, 256-881-6882

www.weatherly.org, would like to do a pulpit

swap with a Scottish Baptist minister in the

summer of 2013. Please contact him direct if

you are interested.

Masterlife RequestSelkirk Baptist Church is looking for an up-to-

date version of the Masterlife Discipleship

Course. If anywone can help, please reply to

Iain Harris on [email protected] or at

01750 21787.

The 6th and 7th April 2012 saw the first

Aberdeen Passion at Aberdeen Exhibition and

Conference Centre (AECC). It was the

culmination of over a year’s work and the

contribution of more than 150 people. The

script was written by Bridge of Don Baptist

Church member Andrew Sykes in December

2010. He was joined by fellow BODBC members

Frazer Ramsay and Alan Campbell, who formed

the Steering Group to co-ordinate the whole

process. As they investigated passion plays in

other cities and discovered that there had not

been one in Aberdeen in living memory, they felt

led to be more ambitious – by holding the event

in a large local venue (800-seat capacity) and

calling it the Aberdeen Passion. As often

happens, God’s plans are bigger than ours!

The process then began of finding a cast of over

40 to fill all the roles and putting together a live

band and choir – modern songs by the likes of

Take That and Snow Patrol were used with the

lyrics re-written to fit in with the story. Key

people were identified to take on vital roles

such as band leader, choir leader, stage

manager and sound engineer. It was also

decided to employ the services of a professional

lighting specialist. A budget was also

established and a treasurer appointed. It was

clear that this should not and could not be

purely a BODBC event, but rather should

attempt to draw people from as many churches

as possible across all denominations, so

contact was made with over 200 churches

across the North-East of Scotland.

It was difficult to get the word out to the

Christian community about the Passion

because this was a new venture. Cast roles

were still being filled a month before the

performances and churches were visited to

spread the word right up to the last minute. In

addition, tickets had been on sale since the

start of November 2011 – ticket sales were very

slow at first and only picked up real momentum

in the last month.

But then the planning and preparation was over,

and everything was moved to the AECC. In a very

short space of time the set had to be installed,

the lighting rig, all the sound equipment, band

and choir set up. There was only time for one

dress rehearsal on the Friday afternoon before

the first performance on the Friday night. By

this time the first 2 performances were sold out

– the Aberdeen Passion had finally caught the

attention of the North-East. Several articles in

local press featuring superb photographs by

Graham Dargie from Kings Community Church

in Aberdeen, helped raise the profile.

And so over 3 performances, the truth of the

Easter story was seen by nearly 2200 people –

God moved powerfully to move and touch many

there and the results are still being seen now.

So what next? There is a strong feeling that the

Aberdeen Passion 2012 should not be the last!

The Aberdeen

Passion

2012

Scottish Baptist CollegeThanksgiving Service

To mark the end of this academic year, the

students have organised a Thanksgiving

Service, to take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday

1st May at Central Baptist Church, Paisley.

We look forward to seeing many familar faces

from the churches, who have been so

supportive and welcoming towards students

and staff. The College could not exist without

your involvement! This year's speaker is

recent graduate, Rev. Mo Gibbs, and there will

also be time to chat with her, students and

staff over a tea or coffee after the service.

The College is currently taking applications

for the fresh, newly-validated courses starting

this September. Do you know of any potential

students who could be encouraged to join you

for this evening? An informal glimpse into the

life of the College may just help someone reach

a decision to explore study options.

Thank you, again, for your support.

With warmest regards,

Isabella Stevenson

Scottish Baptist College

URGENT APPEAL

Sports Day Helpers Needed

Sports Day is an amazing time when

churches from all over Scotland gather

together for a day of fun activity. It is only

able to run through the help of brilliant

volunteers.

Could YOU be one of those volunteers?

Below are some of the types of jobs you

could get involved with:

n Timing swimming lanes

n Helping at the long jump or the high

jump

n Refereeing or umpiring events like

netball, football and badminton

We desperately need moreWe desperately need moreWe desperately need moreWe desperately need moreWe desperately need more

volunteersvolunteersvolunteersvolunteersvolunteers so, if you or someone from

your church would be able to help, please

get in touch with me. You need to be free

to be at Stirling University on Saturday

2nd June between 11am-5pm, or 6pm if

you want to stay for the awards ceremony.

You can contact me at the Baptist Union

of Scotland offic on 0141 433 4554 or

email [email protected]

Connect May 2012


Prayer Link for May

Other prayer requests outwith the

Prayer Link, but from our Scottish Baptist

family, can be found on our website’s

new Fellowship of Prayer page at

http://www.scottishbaptist.org.uk/content/

fellowship-prayer

If you'd like to submit an item for prayer,

please send it to

[email protected]

Sunday 6th

Rev Graham Bell, Chaplain, Glenochil Prison.

As well as his work at the prison, Graham also

co-pastors, along with Rev Mo Gibbs, St

Ninian’s Community Church, Stirling. Please

pray for him with this challenging workload.

Rev Nick Blair, Chaplain, Merchiston Castle

School, Edinburgh. I’m now drawing towards

the end of a very busy term during which there

have been some encouragements. 110 boys and

staff signed up for a Lent Challenge, reading a

portion of Mark's gospel every day through

Lent. They got an e-mail every day with a word

of explanation, some thoughts and a prayer.

Numbers at our SU group remain strong.

Many staff are very sympathetic to faith and

supportive too. Pray for the ability to remain

fresh and juggle a full-time teaching role with

Chaplaincy (and, of course, being a husband, and

a Dad to three!)

I also have a role as Officiating Chaplain to

the Military with the 3rd Rifles for a couple of

hours a week. They are being deployed in

Afghanistan until October so prayer will be

especially appreciated.

Sunday 13th

Granton, Edinburgh: Revs Ian Dickie and

Garry Ketchen. We are encouraged by our work

with the local community around us as we

seek to be a Church for the community. We have

made great strides in connecting with our

community and building relationships through

events, our internet cafe and our ever growing

work with the children in the area.

Our prayer focus has been and is that we see

fruit coming from these relationships in

conversions and the building up of His church.

Please pray with us. Pray for us also as we seek

to connect with a new housing development

being built on our doorstep.

Grantown on Spey: Rev. Rick Moeller.

Pastor Moeller is now into a second year of

ministry here and God continues to bless the

church and its people. Praise God for:-

n two recent baptisms and new members during

the past year.

n answered prayer regarding the health of

members of our congregation.

n financial blessings.

Please pray for:

n the wife and family of the minister..

n the weekly 'Road to recovery' meeting.

n our ability to take God's word into the local

community.

Sunday 20th

Greenock: Rev Paul Coventry. Greenock

Baptist Church is very much in a state of

evolution, earnestly seeking the Lord’s will for

our future. As a result, I believe that our most

urgent prayer requests would be:-

Pray that the Lord will clearly guide us to the

place where He would have us serve in Christ’s

name. Pray that the Lord will provide the

building from which He would have us serve.

Pray that the Pastor, deacons, members and

friends will come together to earnestly seek the

Lord’s will with regards to the future for our

church. Pray that in the Lord’s grace we may be

privileged to see souls saved in Greenock and

added to the church.

Hamilton: Rev Derek Hutchinson. Join with

us as we give thanks to our Father in heaven for

a real sense of moving out and moving forward

as a church family. From this month, May, we

will be ‘off-site’ from our Church building for at

least four months. Refurbishments, which have

been long planned for and prayed for, are now

taking place in our Kemp Street premises. This

has given us opportunity to develop new

relationships within our own congregation and

forge new links with our immediate sister

churches at Motherwell and Larkhall. Pray that

we will experience fresh new vision of our

calling to be salt and light in Hamilton and

beyond.

Pray for our Associate Pastor, Graham

Shearer, as he and Sarah and family move to

Musselburgh later in the summer. We will

greatly miss them. Give thanks that, under their

care, we have been provided with a growing

network of young men and women with a

sincere desire to live for God. Please pray that

the vacuum left will not only be filled but will

be filled to overflowing with even more

vigorous growth.

In this vein we give thanks for recent

baptisms and conversions. Pray for the

continuing growth of our church leadership

team, and the church family as a whole,

particularly as we seek to re-vitalise team

ministry throughout the church. Pray also for

an outreach week to be held in August based at

our ‘Exodus’ premises in Hamilton.

Sunday 27th

Harestanes, Kirkintilloch: Please pray for

the church and its pastor, Rev David Vogan.

Hawick Baptist: Bob Baxter, Interim Pastor

(part time), Mike Mcleister, Community

Pastor (part time) Thank God for the way our

outreach work continues to grow. Pray for the

work of our recently appointed P/T Comunity

Pastor who sees so many opportunities, open

doors to school etc., and does not have the time

to follow them all up. Pray that in the right time

God will guide us to the right man or woman to

take over as pastor of our church. Pray too for

the students from the Scottish Baptist College

who are filling our pulpit at the moment and for

us as we prepare to take 16 children and young

people for a weekend to Spree in the Borders.

Engagement Diaryfor May

1 The Scottish Baptist College Thanksgiving

Service takes place this evening. Pray for Rev

Mo Gibbs, who is guest speaker.

2 Alan Donaldson attends a Scottish Bible

Society reception in Parliament today. Today

is the deadline for entering this year’s

SPORTS DAY. Pray for Mo Gibbs and the

group tasked with drawing up heats, etc, from

the information in these forms.

4 Jacqueline Primrose and Mo Gibbs attend

the Baptist Union of Great Britain Assembly.

Alan Donaldson attends the National Church

Leaders’ meeting.

6 Judy White is with the church in Pitlochry

today, whilst Jim Purves preaches in Partick

Baptist Church.

8 The DNA group meets this morning.

9 Alan Donaldson, Jacqueline Primrose and

Jim Purves attend the two-day meeting of the

Fellowship of Baptists in Britain and Ireland.

10 Mo Gibbs and the Sports Day Task

Group meet this evening.

12 The Scottish Baptist Lay Preachers’

Association has its conference today, at

which Alan Donaldson will speak.

13 Alan Donaldson preaches at Granton

Baptist’s Anniversary Service.

15 The Accreditation Conference takes place

today.

17 The National Team meets for a Strategy

Day.

18 John Greenshields pays a weekend visit

to the church on Tiree.

19 Alan Donaldson is with the Wick church

for its Anniversary Weekend. The Scottish

Baptist Women’s Fellowship Thanksgiving

Day takes place at Wishaw Baptist Church.

Pray for SBWF President, Andrea Voysey,

and all those taking part or attending.

20 Jim Purves preaches at Denny Baptist’s

Anniversary services.

22 The two-day Residential Council begins at

Gartmore House.

24 The National Team meets today.

27 Alan Donaldson preaches at the

Anniversary Services of Bo’ness Baptist

Church.

28 John Greenshields attends the two-day

National Settlement Team meetings in Didcot.

29 The Union’s trustees meet today.

31 Mo Gibbs attends a Serve Your Local

School meeting today.

Connect May 12

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Transcript of Connect May 12