Mission news archive
Romania 2012
Here is Iulian, a member of the Calarasi church that has visited us here, along with Andrew from Long Crendon against a background of the Transylvanian mountains. Over the last few years we have been developing a relationship with Calarasi, an independent evangelical church in southern Romania.
Again last summer we sent a team to participate in services on two consecutive Sundays, eighteen in total made up of childreen, teens and adults. In the intervening week they ran a summer camp for children from the church, and about fifty benefitted from twice-daily teaching sessions.
Calarasi is a relatively poor, industrial town struggling with the effects of alcohol abuse, domestic violence and unemployment.The church is reaching out to its community through faithful worship, Bible-based teaching and social interactions with the school, police and other local organisations.
2011
Romania 2011
Saturday 30 July: Pastor Neil Turton sets off for a new country – his first visit to Romania – along with veterans Alan Esam, Tom Baker and Sue Lockton. Their destination, Calarasi in the south-east corner of the country, visiting Pastor Iulian and the churches he serves there.
Sunday morning brought a 45 minute journey to Slobozia for the service there, renewing friendships from previous visits and making new ones. Then back for lunch, some relaxation, and the evening service.
Monday and Tuesday mornings were given over to ‘kid’s club’ in a grassy area near the zoo. Games, songs, Bible stories and great craft work using the materials prepared back in England. Boys and girls of all ages joined in enthusiastically. A local teacher brought most of her class to join in on the second day, althought it was school holidays, accompanied by some of the parents. Wednesday 'kid's club' was in the local Baptist church, and the class acted versions of the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales for us. The team members were always humbled by the warm welcome and hospitality of their hosts at meal times.
Travelling 100km north on Thursday to an extended gypsy family and their neighbours gave an opportunity to experience rural village life. More contact with children, and learning about what Iulian has been able to do, helping give a Christian perspective on issues the community were struggling with. A great day’s fellowship.
Friday was a rest day with a beach bar-b-q, a family visit, a birthday party and an evening of folk dancing. Saturday saw a return to Slobozia to meet with a group of young people working through Bible-based studies on many of the same issues that young people here have to face up to. It was good to meet up with Alina, one of the group who visited Long Crendon earlier in the year, and to see the well-cared-for children in the home where she works.
A (mis-named) sleepover for the Sunday morning service in Slobozia, and then back to Calarasi for the evening, brought a busy but informative week to an end, with a final bar-b-q before packing ready for an early start for the airport. All the team had parts to play in the programme, and will be delighted to tell their story – do ask!
What's your mission?
Saturday 19 March 2011: 12.30-4.00pm
Come and join us for our binennial Missionary Weekend
- Thai lunch from 12.30pm
- Hear about how God called a young missionary couple to work in a dangerous place
- Consider your own gifts, how can you use them in mission?
- Listen to Ray Porter from Oak Hill College, as he explains what is needed to prepare for mission
- Consider what God wants you to do, at home or abroad!
Families welcome, separate children's activities included
2010
Missionary Gift Day for Lifepath - Sunday 28 March
A Challenge for the summer - Mission news about Romania
Burkina Faso - renewing Thame's links with churches there
Missionary Gift Day - Sunday 28 March
The Lifepath Project helps local churches work together to provide an experience for junior school pupils. It is an event, outside the classroom, that explores the life journey of a significant historic Christian figure relevant to the location.
The concept is a simple one. Lifepath runs for up to a week in term time and schools are invited to bring groups of children from Key Stage 2 for either a full or a half day. The children experience re-enactments of the story, workshops with related activities, and have opportunity to reflect on the experience. The aim is for them to discover how a particular individual followed Jesus through his or her life and so how they can follow Jesus too.
Although events are principally resourced by volunteers, Scripture Union provides support from staff workers to oversee the development of the project and support the creation of new events. Our gift will be used to support the establishment of one of the new events planned for this year - enabling SU to reach many hundreds more children with the good news of Jesus.
Return visit to Romania from LCBC
Following last year's trip to Romania by some of our younger folk, there is an opportunity for more of us, of all ages, from Long Crendon and Cornerstone to experience something of this wonderful and varied country.
The dates are 30 July to 9 August 2010. If you're lower sixth age or older, or even much older, and would like to be included, then please contact the church office for details by Sunday 21 February.
The team will shadow Pastor Julian (seen here with Paddy Harris on the visit last summer) and help with some events in the area local to the three churches he serves. You will be staying with members of the Romanian church to get a real feel of the culture. There will be opportunities for outreach, discipleship, work with children and young people, helping to run a sports programme and enjoying church services. Language will not be a barrier, as most people speak a little English and translation is arranged when necessary in services.
Romania 2010 - Report
August saw a return visit with a team of eight from LCBC and
Cornerstone working alongside
Pastor Iulian
and the four
churches he
ministers to
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A children's club ran each weekday morning which included making facemasks,
other craft activities and a Bible story. For the first three days the team was in
Calarasi, then with the gypsy church
in the village of Valea Canepii 100 km
northwest of Calarsi and the next day
at Fundata, a satellite of the
established church in Slobozia.
The team members gave an enthusiastic report of their visit:
"As well as working with the children in the villages we met with the adults before making the journey back to Calarasi. At Calarasi in the afternoons we had leisure time before holding an evening activity or Bible study.
"Leisure activities included playing football, teaching our Romanian friends the game of cricket, swimming in the Danube and on Saturday a BBQ on the beach beside the river.
"On the two Sundays we contributed to the services with singing, testimony and preaching. It would be fair to say that most of us were outside our comfort zone for most of the time! However we were all blessed by what we did and it was great to be involved with Pastor Iulian, an indefatigable bundle of energy and zeal for the gospel."
Members from Cornerstone visit West Africa
Cliff and Patsy Baker and a group from other churches in Thame fly from Heathrow to Ouadadougou on Saturday 13 February. Their ten day programme will introduce them to issues facing the people of Burkino Faso, and how churches there are helping tackle some of these.
Pastor Philippe came to Cornerstone a few Sundays ago to help establish the link. We are glad to have this opportunity of sending back two of our own members with greetings (in English or French?) to encourage our brothers and sisters. They will be visiting churches, schools, a vocational training centre in construction, a Christian radio station and an orphanage - plus some of the usual tourist attractions! Pray for safety, and for insight into the situations they meet that will help us to relate to a very different way of life when they report back.
2009
Our Rarer youth group sharing good things ...back from Nigeria ... returning 28 July Our last Gift Day was Sunday 10 May Inspiring visitors from Russia The world on our doorstep
with their friends
when we supported friends in part
of Africa
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Providing people with audio scriptures in their own language We have a special opportunity to support this work financially |
3 March
John and Abi Hunt have just arrived back in the UK today and will be around for a few months. We look forward to getting to know them again.
John has been teaching at the Jos ECWA Theological Seminary in Nigeria (and serving as Registrar) operated by the Evangelical Church of West Africa. Abi teaches English and is involved in translation into Hausa, the main language of northern Nigeria.
When they return they will be teaching at Tofa Bible College near Kano, helping to start a new Diploma programme.
Romania 2009
Between 24 August and 1 September members of our Rarer youth group will be in Romania on a mission trip. As part of the preparation they are holding two special events where all proceeds will go towards a gift for the Romanian church
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The first event is a Quiz Night at Lord Williams's Upper School hall on Wednesday 15th July from 7:30 - 10:00pm run, planned and delivered by the youth group. Teams of up to eight (£20 per team) will compete to win the inaugural Romania Mastermind Trophy with other prizes available too.
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The second event is an 'Auction of Promises' to be held on Thursday 16th July at LCBC from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. This is an event where young people and church members make promises (eg babysitting, garden clearance, skateboarding lessons, etc) which anyone can then bid on with all monies going to Romania. There will be a chance for people to bid electronically or through sealed bids if they are unable to attend on the night but the night itself should be a fun and exciting way to give! |
Promises...promises...!
Three ways to bid:
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COME ON THE NIGHT!
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email a bid to this address
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Hand in your bid to the church office in an envelope marked 'Sealed Bid' - will be opened before the event and the amount marked but the name kept anonymous
In all cases the highest bid wins! ALL proceeds to the Romanian church
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3 drum lessons of one hour |
'A grand day out' - a trip for a cream tea (travel by airplane - 1½ hour trip)* |
Ride-on lawnmower ride! |
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Learn to power kite - 2 beginner sessions |
Learn to play guitar - 2x45 minute sessions |
1 week's worth of ironing |
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3 hours of driving or advanced driving |
Lawn mowing and hedge trimming |
Free trip for 2 to Thorpe Park |
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2 nights of free baby-sitting (3 items of this) |
Home-made cake |
Spring clean and dusting (2 hours) |
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2 half-days of gardening/DIY |
Lemon drizzle cakes (5 items) |
Ground Force (team of young people to attack your garden) |
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Learn to use the web |
Personal or business logo and business card service |
2 weeks' use of an Xbox 360 |
* To meet legal requirements you would be required to pay £20-£25 towards fuel on top of the bid you make. Guide price for this item £100.
invites you to
From
A multi media testimony filled God focused mission evening
at Long Crendon Bapist Church
on Sunday 15 March at 6.30pm
The evening will feature Ivo and Mirjami Ivanov who head up Mission Possible’s work in
Mission Possible also reaches into Muslim communities in
Ivo and Mirjami are a delightful middle aged couple who not only speak good English but are also good communicators. They are a joy to meet.
You can hear their story from the evening here.
7-8 February was our biennial
...
Missionary
Weekend
Imagine our senior
pastor, Jeff Steadman, crashing through a window on his bicycle to enter the meeting room. In this case, the window was a paper one and the entrance was the door from the hall, but the effect was nearly as surprising.
Alan Storey was introducing the theme Mission Impossible. His point was that in
trying to re-enact a scene from the film, we had to compromise. But thankfully the gospel message we proclaim is NOT about compromise nor will it 'self-destruct' as the Mission Impossible messages do.
The hope and confidence Alan presented were great reminders of the reasons we can participate without fear in the great commission to take the gospel to the entire world. And with this introduction we were reminded that the entire world is within our reach geographically – in London.
Members of London City Mission introduced us to their many and varied types of work throughout the city with children, teens and adults from all backgrounds, needy to affluent. Hearing about the use of music and art in evangelism challenged us to consider how we also might be more creative
in our efforts to build relationships that might one day introduce someone new to
Jesus Christ.
Such reminders and motivators are helpful as we seek to keep our purposes in the proper perspective of God’s priorities.
Makes you wonder if a missions weekend every other year is often enough . . .
The preacher at the Sunday morning service was John Nicholls, the Chief Executive of LCM, and you can hear his challenging message here.
2008
Visit from Le Blanc church 7-8 June
Former members of Long Crendon Baptist, Erik and Sheila Hopma, moved to the
Vienne département of
High Street
Long Crendon
Aylesbury
Buckinghamshire
HP18 9AF