14:27

At a busy Glasgow shopping centre at a prime location across from the ice rink, there is what has become known as the “Jesus Shop”. A doctor from a local hospital persuaded the council to give him the use of this shop which was lying empty between leases. He had formed JAM (Jesus and Me) and was given a lot of booklets from C.E.M.—Children Evangelism Ministries. Volunteers from several churches, including members of the Worldwide Church of God, donate their time.

Jesus and Me! at a busy glasgow shopping centre!

Most children who come in think it’s great and so do their parents. So, what do they get? Upon entering the shop there is face painting, popular with young children as well as older youths. Two Wii’s have been donated. Bean bags at the back make a “chill out” area. There are other games available as well as the busy card making tables.

As people leave they are given a booklet—a picture version for the young children, and an adult version for the older children and parents. The gospel is being shown in many different ways to many different people from all age groups. Most people are amazed that everything is free, and people give their time for nothing. Another positive is that we have never seen a discarded booklet anywhere!

A harvest festival took place on Sunday, September 21. After very challenging weather during harvest, the day dawned with blue skies and light winds. All the grain was in the barn and straw bales were used to provide most of the seating. We had assembled a great team for the service. The Archdeacon of East Yorkshire was our main speaker; the local primary school sent their head teacher and choir and a group known as the Hull Evangel Singers co-ordinated the celebration. And believe me, it was a celebration to get this year’s harvest in the barn!

Harvest Festival on the Farm on Sunday, September 21st.

We had sent out lots of invites to the service which had been featured in two of the local papers. One neighbouring farmer whom I personally invited said: “I’ve never been to a harvest festival in my life and I’m not starting now.” Bearing in mind that the average age of Mr British Farmer is 58 and this one had a few more runs to his innings than that, it was with particular gravity he said those words. Happily, however, another farming neighbour described the service afterwards as ‘rip-roaring’. I had to consult the dictionary on this word and it said ‘Noisy, Lively, Exciting.’ I’ll say amen to that.

Of the 80 or so people who came to the service I couldn’t help but note that some whom I had expected to be there weren’t and some whom I thought would never be there were.

We had a lot of positive comments about the venture including this one from the local Methodist magazine: “In Great Hatfield the harvest festivals in the now closed chapel are just a distant memory but happily this year Denys Fell, one of the farmers in the village, turned his barn over to a harvest festival which was widely advertised and well attended. God bless you Denys and family. How things do change!”

The next major event is on Sunday, April 5, 2009, when we will be hosting the Hornsea 1/3 Marathon preceded by a special ‘runners’ service.

Saturday, September 27, 2008, was a wonderfully warm afternoon. Straight after the usual morning service, several of the Camberwell congregation walked round to the Camberwell Green Care Home. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and the residents who had been encouraged to stay in the sitting room after their lunch in expectation of an afternoon of singing and jollity.

Led by Geoff Stilwell on guitar, everyone joined in with ‘olde tyme’ songs such as, ‘Waiting at the Church’, ‘Henery the Eighth’, ‘Pack Up Your Troubles’, ‘We’ll Meet again’ and ‘Waltzing Matilda’. This was interspersed with hymns old and new such as ‘Blessed Assurance’, ‘All Hail The Lamb’ and ‘Amazing Grace’. Some of the residents were really getting into the mood with hands raised as well as their voices. The living room French windows were open and the sound of our songs floated out on warm summer air on to Camberwell Green that afternoon.

Monica, Corinne, Annie & Geoff at the Camberwell Green Care Home

Singing is thirsty work and we all enjoyed a very welcome cup of tea and a chat afterwards. We got to know some of the residents and their visiting sons and daughters. Although it appeared that some of the residents were just sitting very quietly, their relatives told us later that they had really appreciated our visit and would like it more often.

This wasn’t the first time we had been to the care home. Just before Christmas 2007 we sang carols and handed out gifts of toiletries to the residents. We plan to visit again before Christmas 2008 and continue to establish an on-going relationship with the home.

The Manchester congregation joined with the members of St. Andrew’s Church where we meet for services on Sunday, September 28, for a “Harvest Festival Back to Church Unity Service.”

Other organisations which also use the hall joined with us for the service. There were members of the Cubs, the Scouts, the Guides, a keep-fit class, plus a children’s drama class and others. Most were led in by their flags, or banners.

Special Service in Manchester

Lisa Battye, vicar of St. Andrews, led the service throughout. After a representative from each group introduced themselves, Kath Disley of St. Andrews read John 17:20–26 regarding Christ’s prayer for unity. Margaret Bedford then sang “You Raised Me Up,” followed by David Bedford preaching a 10-minute homily on unity in all walks of life. Kevin Fajkis and Zygmunt Bartosz of the WCG led prayers for unity of the families and the races. Two teenagers from St. Andrews offered prayers for unity in the local community. A large amount of food was presented in thankfulness for our needs being supplied over the year. This was later to be distributed amongst the poor in the area. During the service the children individually wove various ribbons symbolising unity. At the end of the service the ribbons were tied together to make a long cord, representing greater unity.

As a result of the Manchester Worldwide Church of God’s meeting each week in St. Andrews, they have been listed on the Church of England website www.achurchnearyou.com. It states: Both of our buildings are well used and on Saturday afternoons St Andrew’s hosts a Worldwide Church of God congregation, with whom we work with shared intent in local mission for the extension of God’s Kingdom.