2 Thessalonians - Do what is right!

We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
2 Thessalonians 3:11-13

Feeling Blue

Spotted by a Metro reader up North! Blue Sheep!

Daniel Prayed

Daniel prayed: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king."
Daniel 2:20-23

Back to church Sunday - on a motorbike!

Churches across the UK are pulling out all the stops to welcome lapsed Christians back to church this Sunday.

The Back to Church Sunday initiative has grown year on year since its 2004 launch in the Diocese of Manchester, and bishops and members of 38 churches have come up with novel new ways of making the welcome back for this year’s newcomers and ‘returners’ extra special.

The Bishop of Sherwood, the Rt Rev Tony Porter, will head down to Welbeck Colliery on Tuesday to hand out special Back to Church invitations to miners coming off their shifts.

“I’m looking forward to having a taster of what it is like to work below the surface,” he said. “The coal mines are an important part of our heritage and many of our communities were established around the local pit … Our message this year is that everyone is a VIP and important to God – we are trying to extend our invitations as widely as possible.”

Members of St Wilfrid’s church in Cowplain, near Waterlooville in Hampshire, rolled out a red carpet from the front entrance last week to raise awareness of Back to Church Sunday.

St Wilfrid’s vicar, the Rev Paul Moore, said, “It’s so easy for people who don’t normally come to imagine that they’ll be unwelcome intruders if they walk into a church service,” he said. “In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. We will aim to make them feel really at home.

“Sometimes people lose touch with church because of family commitments or personal circumstances and then feel it would be hypocritical of them to come back again. Our job is to persuade them that they are actually very welcome.”

Organisers are encouraged by recent research by Tearfund which found that around three million people would come back to church if invited. They expect as many as 30,000 people to return to church this Sunday in England alone.

The Team Rector of Ellesmere Port, the Rev Gordon McGuinness, has invited the former town centre manager of Ellesmere Port, Lorraine Taylor, after the pair worked on urban renewal projects together.

“Inviting people back to church is often inviting them to surroundings they are unfamiliar with. For some people, going inside the church after a gap of many years will be like entering a betting shop - unfamiliar and perhaps uncomfortable, and so we have to make them feel as comfortable as we possibly can.”

Five invitees have been invited to Chester Cathedral by the Bishop of Chester, the Rt Rev Peter Foster, for a red carpet champagne reception. The Bishop of Doncaster, the Rt Rev Cyril Ashton, will take to his motorbike on Thursday and ride out to four areas of the Diocese of Sheffield with six other bikers where they will hold a short service of prayer and dedication to promote Back to Church Sunday.

“This is a great way to launch Back to Church Sunday,” said Canon John Thomson. He added: “The bishop’s biker prayer visit will certainly help to energise those taking part. Back to Church Sunday is something any congregation can take part in. It’s simply about welcoming people back to church.”

Churches hope to build on the success of last year’s Back to Church Sunday, which research from the Diocese of Lichfield suggests brought 6,000 people back to church. The research also found that six months later, as many as 900 had become regular members.

The Archdeacon of Walsall, the Ven Bob Jackson, comments: “People invite their friends on Back to Church Sunday with no strings attached. We know many people will gladly respond to this. What we’ve proved is that up to 15 per cent like it so much they want to come back for good. No wonder Back to Church Sunday has been such an encouragement. This year we want to work hard on improving our welcome even more.”

John 13 - Love one another!

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 13:34-35

"and you'll never walk alone...."

Church leaders are turning to football grounds to try to encourage more people to attend Sunday services. Advertisements will appear in match day programmes saying that "because Jesus has already taken the penalty, you can be saved". The idea has been thought up by the Diocese of Lichfield, which serves Staffordshire, most of Shropshire and part of the West Midlands.
The adverts will appear in programmes across the areas on Saturday. They will coincide with Back To Church Sunday on 28 September which will feature four local bishops. The adverts will be placed in programmes for Walsall's match with Carlisle, the Wolverhampton Wanderers match against Bristol City, Stoke City's match against Chelsea, Shrewsbury Town's game with Bradford and Burton Albion's game against Forest Green Rovers.
'Never walk alone'
Those behind the idea said publicity in the run-up to last year's Back To Church Sunday brought an extra 6,000 people to services across the diocese. The idea of putting the adverts in football programmes was thought up by the diocese's director of communications Gavin Drake.
He said: "Die-hard football fans will often admit that you need a sense of humour to follow your team through the ups and downs - so we thought we'd help to inject a bit of humour in these programme adverts. "Some say football is the new religion but in reality far more people go to church on a Sunday than go to football matches on a Saturday. "So if football fans respond to these adverts and come back to church you can guarantee that they'll never walk alone."

Luke 6:27-28 - Enemies

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
Luke 6:27-28

All dogs should go to heaven....

The morning walk with dog friend Hannah and my trusty iPod generated some thoughts. A tune by Kenny Chesney is chock full of catchy rhythms and bad theology. The song is called Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven but the underlying theme is that nobody wants to go there right now. I think that is true for most of us. As long as God allows I want to live and serve here while I enjoy family and friends.
But what caught my ear was the theology. I am aware that Kenny Chesney is not a theologian so I am not throwing him under his tour bus. I found it interesting because the song reflects the theology of many people and churches in this nation. It used to be mine.

Preacher told me last Sunday mornin`
Son, you better start livin` right
You need to quit the women and whiskey
And carrying on all night

My issues might not have been whiskey and carrying on all night but I had plenty of my own. And that was my church upbringing. Preachers telling me I had to do better, shape up, quit sinning and live right. It was always mixed with a large dose of what if. If you don’t live right you won’t go to heaven. If you sin you will lose your salvation and you won’t go to heaven. If you don’t believe the doctrine of this church you won’t go to heaven. So getting to heaven meant conforming my behavior to earn God’s favor.
The problem in the message of this song and my upbringing is that the onus falls on the sinner to shape up and quit sinning. Good luck. Can’t do it. The next verse also suggests that we can do something to manage our sin debt.

Said preacher maybe you didn`t see me
Throw an extra twenty in the plate
There`s one for everything I did last night
And one to get me through today
Here`s a ten to help you remember
Next time you got the good Lord`s ear

Donations for past or future sins won’t get it done. The problem is not a list of bad behaviors. The problem is sin. No word as powerfully communicates any behavior that separates me from a Holy God. The law did not convict me of blunders, slip-ups and shortcomings. The law convicted me of sin. When we reduce the power of the concept of sin we negate the awesome gift of grace. You don't need grace to rescue you from idiosyncrasies. I haven’t been moved by a hymn that says…

Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound,
That empowered a dysfunctional but spiritually seeking and fundamentally good person like me.

Somehow John Newton's original line about saving a wretch like me hits a little closer to my story. I am not talking about self-bashing and looking for fault. I am not talking about the potential false humility of spiritual groveling. I am talking about the mind boggling prospect of facing a holy and sinless God with the resume that I would have to present. Am I a good person? Yeah, I think so. Am I up to that appointment without the redemptive endorsement of Jesus? No way. The classic hymn He Took My Sins Away by Margaret Harris would lose some luster if many in our current culture were writing it today. Here is the refrain as she wrote it in 1901.

He took my sins away, He took my sins away,
And keeps me singing every day!
I'm so glad He took my sins away,
He took my sins away.

One hundred and seven years later it might go something like this…

He recognized my dysfunctional past, He helped me find my inner voice
And showed me it was not my fault
I'm so glad He understood my syndrome
He took away my responsibility.
Same verse…everybody sing along now.

Sin breaks the covenant between a Holy God and myself. God doesn’t have scales to weigh our sins versus our good deeds. Sin separates me from relationship with God. I had a sin problem and I needed that fixed. Jesus came to fix it. That gift of forgiveness is incomprehensible. Jesus called sin by it’s name. And He said if we believe in faith that He came to deal with that sin debt then He will call us by another name. His child. All it takes is accepting the gift of salvation. That is how you get to heaven.

Don`t you wanna hear him call your name
When you`re standin` at the pearly gates
I told the preacher, "Yes I do"
But I hope they don`t call today
I ain`t ready

No matter when the call comes you can be ready. Trust Jesus. Let Him help you change your habits. It is a whole lot easier that way.

Dave Burchett is an Emmy Award winning television sports director, author, and Christian speaker. He is the author of When Bad Christians Happen to Good People and Bring'em Back Alive: A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church. You can reply by linking through daveburchett.com.

Baby Preacher - Hmmm

Ancient Chinese proverb say....

Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.

I find more marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatever.

Isaac Newton
(thats funny coming from a scientist!?)

How to....

From Jokes cotn.co.uk

Nobel now puts nail in box!

The Royal Society’s director of education resigned last night after his comments on creationism last week kicked up a storm of controversy among anti-creationists.
Professor Michael Reiss, a biologist and ordained Church of England minister, said that science teachers should regard creationism “not as a misconception but as a world view” and be open to discussing it during science lessons if pupils raised the issue.
Royal Society Fellows, Nobel Prize winners Sir Harry Kroto and Sir Richard Roberts, were among those who called for Professor Reiss’ dismissal saying that his religious views made him unsuitable for the job of education director at the Royal Society, the oldest scientific organisation in the world.
The Royal Society initially defended Professor Reiss, saying that his views were “completely in keeping with those of the Royal Society”.
In a statement announcing his resignation, however, the Royal Society said that the professor’s comments had been “open to misinterpretation”.
“While it was not his intention, this has led to damage to the society’s reputation,” the statement read.
Professor Reiss will now return full-time to his post of Professor of Science Education at the Institute of Education.
The row over his position at the Royal Society broke out after he told a conference of the British Association for the Advancement of Science that teachers should respect pupils with sincere creationist beliefs.
“I realised that simply banging on about evolution and natural selection didn’t lead some pupils to change their minds at all. Just because something lacks scientific support doesn’t seem to me a sufficient reason to omit it from the science lesson . . . There is much to be said for allowing students to raise any doubts they have — hardly a revolutionary idea in science teaching — and doing one’s best to have a genuine discussion.”The Royal Society said in its statement, meanwhile, that creationism “has no scientific basis” and that it should not be part of the science curriculum in schools, although science teachers “should be in a position to explain why evolution is a sound scientific theory and why creationism is not, in any way, scientific”.
Reactions to Professor Reiss’ departure have been mixed.
Lord Winston, Professor of Science and Society at Imperial College, was quoted by The Times as commenting: “I fear that the Royal Society may have only diminished itself. This individual was arguing that we should engage with and address public misconceptions about science — something that the Royal Society should applaud.”
Phil Willis MP, the chairman of the Commons Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee, was quoted by the newspaper as saying: “It is appropriate for the Royal Society to have dealt with this problem swiftly and effectively, rather than provoking continued debate. I hope the society will now stop burying its head and start taking on creationism.”

Nobel Prize - I thought this was for people who thought outside their box?

Nobel Prize winners have called for the sacking of the Royal Society’s director of education after he said last week that creationism should be taught as part of the science curriculum at schools.
The Rev Professor Michael Reiss, an ordained Church of England minister, said that excluding creationism from science lessons is unhelpful to children who adhere to different beliefs about the formation of the universe.
Speaking at the British Association Festival of Science at the University of Liverpool, Reiss said, “I realised that simply banging on about evolution and natural selection didn’t lead some pupils to change their minds at all. Now I would be more content simply for them to understand it as one way of understanding the universe.”
Now Nobel Prize winners Sir Harry Kroto and Sir Richard Roberts are calling for Reiss’ dismissal saying that his religious views make him unsuitable for the job of education director at the Royal Society, the oldest scientific organisation in the world.
Kroto, a Royal Society fellow and winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, was quoted by The Observer as saying, “I warned the president of the Royal Society that his [Reiss] was a dangerous appointment a year ago. I did not realise just how dangerous it would turn out to be.”
Roberts, meanwhile, who won the 1993 Nobel Prize for Medicine, said, “I think it is outrageous that this man is suggesting that creationism should be discussed in a science classroom. It is an incredible idea and I am drafting a letter to other Nobel laureates – which would be sent to the Royal Society – to ask that Reiss be made to stand down.”
Reiss told the British Association Festival of Science that around 10 per cent of British schoolchildren were from families that held creationist beliefs. He invited science teachers to regard creationism not as a “misconception” but rather a “worldview”.
A spokesman for the Royal Society indicated it would not be asking Reiss to step down.
“Michael Reiss’s views are completely in keeping with those of the Royal Society,” he was quoted as saying by The Observer.

John Chrysostom - Feeding the Hungry

Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead.
... John Chrysostom

Where there's muck there's brass!

San Antonio is going green with sewage by turning it into 'alternative' energy. The Texas city plans to turn the stench of its residents' waste into sweet green cash and renewable energy.
But the idea may raise not only some eyebrows, but also some noses. The San Antonio Water System will sell captured methane gas generated from the utility's treatment of 140,000 tons of biosolids, or sewage, from customers each year. The city-owned utility's board of trustees approved a contract Tuesday to provide at least 900,000 cubic feet of natural gas daily for the next 20 years to Ameresco Inc., a Framingham, Mass.-based energy services company.
"Treating these biosolids generates an average of 1.5 million cubic feet of gas a day," said Steve Clouse, the water system's chief operating officer. "That's enough gas to fill seven commercial blimps or 1,250 tanker trucks each day."
The utility already sells for reuse a portion of the water that's cleaned at its wastewater treatment plants. It also converts some biosolids into compost that's sold for use in yards and gardens.
"As far as we know, SAWS is the only city in the United States that has completed the renewable recyclable trifecta," Clouse said.
The water system will receive up to $250,000 a year for the methane, which will be drawn from the utility's Dos Rios Water Recycling Center.
Clouse said it will take 18 to 24 months for construction of facilities needed for the contract.
"We're very pleased that we can capture and sell this gas, which is good for San Antonio's air quality and puts this renewable energy resource to work for San Antonio," he said.

Teen Schedule

Hi guys!
Here's the list of what we're doing from now until Christmas at teens club:
16th September - Games Night
23rd September - Treasure Hunt
30th September - A British Thai Boxing Champion is coming to show us how it's done. Please wear sports clothes and bring a bottle of water
7th October - Chocolate Night
14th October - Kareoke Night
21st October - NO CLUB!!! because....Friday 24th October we have our club sleepover. Please make sure you return your permission slips and bring your jim jams! We'll be playing games, watching a film and eating loads!
28th Oct - No club because it's half term
4th Nov - Press making
11th Nov - Trip out, hopefully to lazer quest
18th Nov- Police Visit
25th Nov - Making Christmas cards
2nd Dec - Christmas biscuit making
9th Dec - Christmas party
Club restarts on the 6th January

Laura

The Mens Room

Robert Ivey hopes that his experience of finding faith in God will give hope to men who desire to leave behind a life of alcohol, drugs and crime.
Ivey will share his story at the forthcoming National Band of Brothers Conference taking place on Saturday September 27 at Bethel Convention Centre in the West Midlands.
Two thousand men from across the UK are expected to attend the day long conference organised by the Men’s Room, a Christian ministry which aims to help men become better husbands, fathers, and leaders.
Ivey explained, “Since I left school I’ve been involved in all kinds of things, gun crime, football hooliganism, drug dealing, drinking and violence. Although I believed in God, he didn’t play a major role in my life, and I certainly wasn’t looking for God when he came into my life ten months ago.
"However, since becoming a Christian, my life has changed for the better. My desires for the negative things in life have faded and I’m now focusing on being a better person so that I can be a more involved father and supportive loving partner.
"I want men to realise that being a Christian is a positive thing and that following Christian values enhances one’s life.”
Clive Lewis is the founder of the Men’s Room and Chair of the REACH report, which called for the introduction of a national role modelling programme to raise expectations and counter negative portrayals of black men.
He commented, “Robert is a perfect example of what we want the Men’s Room to achieve. We want to demonstrate how faith in God and support from the church can help men become better people and fulfil their calling to be better husbands, fathers and leaders in their community.
“I believe Robert’s story will resonate with a lot of men, both young and old, churched and unchurched and highlight that it’s never too late for a person to change their life direction and make a positive contribution to society.”
Ivey is one of a number of speakers taking part in the National Band of Brothers conference. Other speakers include Health Minister Ivan Lewis, who will address mental health issues, Bishop Derek Webley MBE, a church leader who has been recognised for his work in his local community of Birmingham, and leadership specialist Rev Errol Williams.
The Men’s Room was founded four years ago. As well as helping men to achieve their potential it also actively seeks ways to support some of the most vulnerable men in the black community. Projects it has undertaken include a mentoring service for young prison inmates and ex-offenders and partnering with Royal Courts of Justice to run a crime prevention scheme.
This year’s conference will also seek to encourage delegates to play a greater role in combating some of society’s pressing problems.

John Owen - Help God

God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority. It is not enough that we be just, that we be righteous, and walk with God in holiness; but we must also serve our generation, as David did before he fell asleep. God hath a work to do; and not to help Him is to oppose Him.
John Owen

Stuck for ideas - a gift for that hard to get someone! That's one way to serve the Lord!

Holy images have been popping up all over... A grilled cheese sandwich with the image of the Virgin Mary sold for over 17-hundred dollars on Ebay.- JesusPan is made from durable steel and topped with a non-stick coating. - JesusPan is perfect for holiday meals - Jesus Pan has been featured on Tonight Show with Jay Leno! >> CLICK HERE TO ORDER

C.S. Lewis - Reflections on Psalms

Those who talk of reading the Bible "as literature" sometimes mean, I think, reading it without attending to the main thing it is about; like reading Burke with no interest in politics, or reading the Aeneid with no interest in Rome... But there is a saner sense in which the Bible -- since it is, after all, literature -- cannot properly be read except as literature, and the different parts of it as the different sorts of literature they are. Most emphatically, the Psalms must be read as poems -- as lyrics, with all the licenses and all the formalities, the hyperboles, the emotional rather than logical connections, which are proper to lyric poetry... Otherwise we shall miss what is in them and think we see what is not.
... C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms

Three Nazarene Pastors Killed in India

As the violence continues to spread in Orissa, India, many Christians remain in hiding after days of riots that have left many dead and countless Christian homes and churches burnt or destroyed.Last week, two Nazarene congregations were mourning the death of their pastors--Purna Digal of the Baliguda Church of the Nazarene and Purendra Digal of the Bataguda Church of the Nazarene. Both pastors were killed by a mob on Friday night, August 29, and their churches burned and homes destroyed while the villagers fled into the jungle. Both were leaders of the JESUS Film church mission group in Orissa.In similar incidents, Nazarene churches in at least six villages were burned down and homes of countless Nazarene families were destroyed or burned by the angry mobs. "Tonight I heard that a total of 15 Nazarene churches were burned and a total of 400 houses of Nazarene families were destroyed," India Field Strategy Coordinator Sunil Dandge reported last week.This past weekend (September 6-7), Dandge reported to Eurasia Region Director Gustavo Crocker that another Nazarene pastor had been killed.Pastor Fidem Nayak of the Purunagarh (Berka) Church of the Nazarene had been reported as missing since August 24. Unfortunately, the district superintendent of the East India District communicated to Dandge that Pastor Nayak was confirmed killed by the mobs in his town.Orissa JESUS Film Catalytic Church Planter Bibhu Prasad Nayak says, "We are scared and afraid for our lives and constantly living in fear. Please pray for our safety and of many other members whose whereabouts we are unaware of."Thousands of people, most of them Christians, are still hiding in the forests or have found refuge in the shelter camps set up by the government."Please do continue to uphold the families who have lost their dear ones and who have lost everything," Dandge asks. "Also for the administration that they may be effective in maintaining peace and bringing the situation back to normal. And that relief efforts may be allowed soon."Urgent prayer is requested for Nazarenes in Orissa and other Christians suffering at this time. Pray also for the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and JESUS Film staff who are currently preparing to respond and help wherever they can. A donation account has been established through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries in the General Treasurer's Office. All funds should be forwarded noting the account "India Civil Unrest-AMC1600" to the General Treasurer, 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131. Those desiring to send funds after September 10, 2008, please use the new address: General Treasurer Church of the Nazarene, Global Ministry Center, 17001 Prairie Star Parkway, Lenexa, KS 66220. In Canada, checks should be made payable and sent to the Church of the Nazarene Canada, 20 Regan Road, Unit 9, Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C3. Online donating will be available shortly at ncm.org.

Coalition to fight UK poverty!

Churches and Christian groups are among the organisations coming together to form a new coalition challenging poverty in the UK.
The Get Fair coalition, which launches this Thursday, includes the Church of England, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, Church Action on Poverty, Church Urban Fund and Housing Justice.
The 50 member organisations also include other faith bodies, including the Muslim Council of Britain and Islamic Aid, as well as household charities such as Shelter, Oxfam and Help the Aged.
The launch of the coalition comes not long after the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published research which asserted that “the public are currently a long way from supporting an anti-UK poverty agenda. They are not aware of the problem and do not believe that it is a legitimate issue.”
Get Fair is being launched to drive forward efforts to close the gap between rich and poor in the UK and to transform public attitudes towards poverty.
Get Fair coalition members will lobby the major political parties to ensure they remain committed to ending child poverty by 2020 and seeing poverty eradicated across every generation in the UK.
Niall Cooper, National Coordinator of Church Action on Poverty, and coordinator of the Get Fair campaign, said: “Why is it that in the fifth richest country in the world, poverty continues to blight the lives of far too many people? Why is it that too many have failed to share in our increased prosperity as a nation?
“Ultimately what is lacking is the popular pressure and political will to bring change about.
“In the fifth richest country in human history there is no excuse for allowing the gap between rich and poor to continue to grow.
“It’s time for politicians of all the major parties to sign up to a goal of ending UK poverty: Its time to Get Fair.”
Cooper said that churches had a crucial role to play in eradicating poverty in the UK.
“Make Poverty History showed the power of the churches to take action to end global poverty. Our task, and our challenge, is now to bring this hope back home.”

Cliffs Notes for the Bible

A new reference tool to help journalists and broadcasters get up to speed on biblical issues has been released by Bible Society.
The Bible Style Guide is an 80-page book packed with facts, figures, explanations and overviews to help media professionals report Bible stories with confidence.
It answers basic journalistic questions such as the number of books in the Bible and how Christians deal with violent texts in the Bible.
It also has a 20-page glossary of biblical terms and ideas going from Abraham to Zionism, taking in creation, Judgement Day and Satan on the way. As well as tackling controversial issues, the style guide also includes terms that are often misunderstood.
With the Bible increasingly cropping up in headlines, from the Anglican Church’s homosexuality rows to Kate McCann’s Bible being investigated by police, and with its contents discussed, dissected and debated on a weekly basis, the style guide will be a vital tool for those in the media industry, said Bible Society.
Media professionals have welcomed the guide.
"The Bible Style Guide is an invaluable resource for journalists reporting a post 9-11 world in which religion increasingly dominates the news agenda," said James Macintyre, Religious Affairs Correspondent at The Independent. nformative without being patronising, cliché-busting as well as substantial, it’s useful for those already in the know - as well as those of us who are hastily having to catch up."
The development of the guide is part of Bible Society’s mission to help media professionals report the Bible accurately and with confidence.
David Ashford, Bible Society’s Media Development Officer, added, "The Bible Style Guide provides a crash course in the Bible for busy journalists and broadcasters. Whether you’re covering creationism or Zionism, or want to know your apostle from your epistle, The Bible Style Guide is here to help journalists get started."
The Bible Society has launched an accompanying blog for journalists and broadcasters which tracks and comments on coverage of the Bible in the media accessible at www.bitemybible.com.

Table Top Sale - Saturday 13th September 2008 - 9 to 12

Saturday 13th September 9 to 12 am

Time to do a bit of very early Christmas shopping!!! Donations of goods, time or baked items always welcome. Come by for a free cup of tea or coffee and a natter. This is also a good opportunity to come and ask someone about the church and upcoming events you might be interested in.

Church of the Nazarene, Broadwalk, Knowle Park, Bristol BS4 1BZ

1 Corinthians 16:14 - Love

Do everything in love.
1 Corinthians 16:14

Clergy buy Fairtrade too!

A Nottinghamshire vicar is entering the world of business by selling Fairtrade clergy shirts.
Simon Butler, curate at St Giles Church in West Bridgford, said he came up with the idea after chatting to like-minded colleagues about Fairtrade products. Mr Butler is selling long-sleeved men's and women's shirts with a tunnel collar on a pre-order basis, with 80% of the first batch already sold. A percentage of the profits will be donated to ethical organisations.
Mr Butler said: "Very few clergymen and women would dispute the importance of fair trade in guaranteeing producers from developing countries a fair price for their goods and labour.
"Until now, however, buying a Fairtrade clerical shirt has not been an option."
In order to be granted Fairtrade status, companies must ensure that all those involved in the production process, at every stage, receive a fair price for their labours. The cotton for the shirts, which are currently only available in black - although the range is to be extended to dark blue, light blue, grey and white - is grown is Africa and the shirts themselves are made in Mauritius.
"Almost all of my colleagues seem to be committed to fair trade as an essential aspect of living the Gospel message and so it seemed ridiculous that clergy didn't have the option to buy according to conscience when it came to our own uniform," said Mr Butler.
He has set up the business with his father Richard. Although business overheads will have to be paid out from any profits generated, the Butlers hope to plough money back into fair trade groups or projects to help children in Malawi. He estimates there are about 25,000 Anglican, Methodist and Catholic clergy in the UK.

The Rapped Bible in a Minute!!!

John 15:13 - Love

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

Hurricane Hanna

As Hurricane Hanna, the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, follows close on the heels of Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav, the Caribbean Region is receiving little relief as storms bear down on its most vulnerable residents. With Tropical Storms Ike and Josephine on their way, the tiny islands in the hurricane belt off the coast of Florida are doing what they can to weather the effects of the storms.Haiti, in particular, has been hit hardest. Last week Gustav left more than 8,000 Haitians homeless in its wake. Now, Hanna continues to dump rain on the already waterlogged country, causing life-threatening floods and mudslides. According to news sources, winds are ripping up trees, and flood waters are destroying houses. Local sources report that in certain areas, entire towns are being washed away as the waters continue to rise. All told, floods and mudslides from Fay, Gustav, and Hanna have taken the lives of more than 100 people in Haiti, including a young girl who was part of a Nazarene church in Bombardopolis, a town in the northern peninsula.Bill Dawson, French field coordinator, reports major flooding in all zones of Haiti. "The weather is so bad that no one can fly within the country to deliver relief, and flooding of major roads has made it impossible to drive to areas outside the capital to provide relief," he said. "All of our 11 district superintendents and dozens of our pastors are reporting major damage to homes, crops, losses of animals, and personal losses across Haiti where some 8 million people live - more than 108,000 of whom are our Nazarene brothers and sisters."

read the rest of this story

What was Pastor doing in Germany?

BERLIN (Reuters) - A naked German hiker has vowed to carry on rambling in the nude despite spending 10 days in jail for breaking public nudity laws.
Thomas Kranig, a spokesman for the administrative court in Ansbach, said Siegfried Grawert went to jail because he "refused to pay a fine of 500 euros assessed for violating the public nudity code."
Grawert, a janitor, told a local German newspaper he planned to continue campaigning for the right to partake in organized all-natural hikes despite his troubles with the law.
Naked hiking has gained a following since the German Society of Nudists joined the German Sports Association.
Nude bathing is accepted and allowed in parts of Germany, especially on designated beaches on the Baltic Sea coast. But naked joggers have been fined in the past for running through forests wearing nothing but socks and shoes.

FAFF - August 2008 - Rock of Ages Trip

Only summer day of the year, no need for the cleft today!

Check out other church pictures here!