CRANBROOK BAPTIST CHURCH
WELLESLEY ROAD, ILFORD, ESSEX, IG1 4JT
WWW . CRANBROOKBAPTISTCHURCH . ORG . UK
Late Spring 2009
Dear Friends,
“He is not here; he has risen!" (Luke 24:6) The LORD is risen indeed!
Because of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, we can now live as Easter people – full of the life that He gives us. Lahore Church and Oxford Academy – our mission partners in Pakistan
ELDER: IVAN KING BA MBA 020-8220 3157 IVAN.KING@CRANBROOKBAPTISTCHURCH.ORG.UK A MEMBER OF THE BAPTIST UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN AND THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE
These photographs show (left) the area of the schoolrooms affected by rainwater pouring through the damaged roof (right). Our ‘thankoffering’ gifts from last year are going towards the replacement of the roof. Farasat, the head of the school, asks for our prayers for the repairs as well as the ongoing work of the school and church. She writes: “These photos were taken during the exams being held on 13th March and then, at the last exam on 20th March, a tile from the roof fell down and the same day we had much rain in our area.” She also mentions that the rain got into some of the computers used for teaching, including one on which students were taking their exams. Work on the roof started last week. Brussels Baptist Church Our other main mission partner is the BMS church in Brussels in Belgium, which is jointly led by our own former leaders Phillip and Vivienne Hatton. They produce a monthly email newsletter, which we run-off on paper for those without email. If you want to know more about their work, check out their website http://www.baptiste-bruxelles.org BMS Birthday Scheme Peggy Clark kindly reminded us about the Birthday Scheme which she administers. In this scheme, the church sends you a birthday card (on your birthday!), with an envelope for you to make a gift towards Christian relief work in various parts of the world. Peggy was delighted with the response to her invitation to join the scheme and would be glad to talk to anyone else who is interested. Thankoffering 2009 Once a year we take up a special offering over and above our usual, planned giving to the Lord, to show our gratitude for all His goodness to us. This year we have agreed that our thankoffering gift will go to Teen Challenge, an Ilfordbased Christian work with much success in helping people suffering from addictions. We were very impressed with them when they visited us in January. Please pray now about what you should give. We will take up this special offering on Pentecost Sunday (31st May) and there will be special envelopes available before then. Regular giving to the Lord’s work here Despite the recession, members’ giving is holding up well. I would simply draw your attention once again to the Gift-Aid scheme. If you pay Income Tax, the value of your offering can be enhanced at no additional cost to you. For example, under Gift-Aid a £50 gift from you would result in an additional £10 towards God’s work at no further cost to you. You would just need to sign a form we can provide and every gift must be clearly marked as from you. At present, there are some very generous gifts made in support of God’s work here in cash, which could achieve so much more if the tax you have already paid on this money could be reclaimed by us on your behalf. Do have a word with me if you would like more information. All details of giving remain confidential to the small team entrusted with handling the church’s money. Dates for your diary Saturday 16th May Saturday 13th June Quiz at St Andrew’s in the drive (I have tickets) The London Event – gathering of Christians from across London at Bloomsbury Baptist Church
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1st week of August Saturday 3rd October Saturday 28th November
3-day Summer Holiday Club Barn dance and harvest supper St Andrew's Day Ceileidh.
Work-week Some members regularly share with me about their daily work – its joys and pressures. I appreciate the trust shown in sharing with me what are, sometimes, confidential matters. There is a London-wide initiative in mid May called Work-Week, where church leaders are asked to make time available for members who would like to talk about their work. This might include: • Meeting up in your lunch-hour to talk about what you do (I’d be glad to buy a few sandwiches) • Praying with you one-to-one about work pressures • Or even inviting me to your place of work, with colleagues’ agreement of course, to see what you do. Have a think whether any of these ideas might help and encourage you and then talk to me. Preaching Beginning in May, we will spend a little time running up to Pentecost teaching about the life and person of the Holy Spirit. I hope to lead an exploration of at least the early part of the Book of Revelation in the autumn. As I have said before, if there are topics which you would like to request for teaching I am happy to consider them. We look forward to welcoming the following booked speakers: our former pastor Revd Rodney Sawtell; regional ministers Revd Kumar Rajagopalan and Revd Pete Leveson (London Baptist Youth Co-ordinator); Neil and Rob from the Christian Education Project and Dr Calvin Samuel from Spurgeon’s College. Accreditation The Ministry Committee of the Baptist Union is scheduled to meet about now to discuss my application. As this ‘Portfolio’ scheme is so new, no one yet knows how the committee will approach the matter but I will share any news with you as I receive it. Prayer chain We have developed a very effective prayer chain for urgent prayer requests by means of text (sms) message. If you wish to join the prayer chain, I’d be glad to add your mobile phone number. Numbers are confidential to me and will not be given out to anyone else. Partnership with the other Ilford Churches You may know that the leaders of High Road, Clementswood and Cranbrook Baptist churches meet weekly to pray and seek God’s mind for our work together in future. We have had a growing conviction that God is calling the various branches of His one church in Ilford to express that unity more than we have in the past. Whatever you are doing between 9 and 10am on a Thursday morning, we’d be glad to know you were praying for us too. Youth There are new enquiries from parents about our Kids Klub and Youth Club on Fridays. It would be super to have some more volunteers, not necessarily every week. Please speak to Stephen M about this. Thank you to all those church members who have volunteered to give their testimony at Youth Club.
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Easter Holiday Club was a great success – thank you to all who volunteered and those who supported us in your prayers. We had help from friends from other churches, for which we are grateful. In return, I’d be glad if you might think of joining me by giving 1-3 days’ help to support the Summer Club to be held at Clementswood Baptist Church in the first week of August. Further details from Stephen. Youth Leader I have a meeting with London City Mission on Thursday 30th April to discuss the financing of their placement of Stephen with us for a further year. School Assemblies I was glad to attend the AGM of the Christian Education Project (Redbridge schools workers) to hear their report of so many contacts with local school students over the past year. Neil and Rob will be leading our September family service at Cranbrook. Please also pray for the weekly Cranbrook College assemblies here, which take place from 8.45am on Monday mornings with up to 200 mainly Muslim and Hindu young men here in term time each week. Barnabas Workshops Quite a lot of people are worried about their job security at the moment. One of the ways in which the church can help support people in their employment is through Barnabas Workshops. This is a Christian charity owned by us and 14 other local churches which is very successful at helping people to find new work, to retrain or to gain new qualifications. The number of people helped each year is 500+ and this is across the full range of careers. I continue to attend board meetings on your behalf and I’d be happy to talk in confidence with anyone who would like to know more. The agency is based in the High Road opposite the top of Green Lane. Referrals by member churches have preference. Jury service I have been called for jury service for the second half of July this year. I shall be glad to undertake this important civic privilege but please join the office team in praying that I do not draw a 6-month fraud trial! “The Shack” If there is one Christian book that is capturing the imagination of Christians across the world right now it is a story called “The Shack” by William P Young. Without giving too much away, the chief character is Mack who has had a tragedy in his family life. As the result of a strange letter he receives, Mack spends an extraordinary weekend with God. The author takes some risks with his portrayal of God but every chapter makes you think seriously about what you really believe and why; what is actually biblical, as opposed to ideas we have just inherited. As well as being a good read, it challenges and expands our understanding of Who God is. If you are looking for something to read, the book is available in paperback in W H Smiths and there are some copies circulating within the church. As always, I really do appreciate your prayers and encouragements. Grace and peace.
Ivan
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