Issue 29, February 2015 Winchmore Hill Baptist Church Magazine

Issue029

Andy’s message

Announcements and news of the family

Missionary news

Church News

Sermon

Diary

Poem

Contents

Flower rota and services

ContributorsAndy PotterAndrew ForsterRachel ForsterBinnie WestonJenny LaneJean DanielsCarolyn Greenaway

Editors note

Welcome to another edition of Spotlight

We’re into our third year of editing Spotlight and it’s been enjoyable and rewarding for the both of us. We’re still very much interested in hearing your ideas and suggestions for content so please do let us know.

In this months issue we have a included Andy’s Sermon introducing our new church motto. Andy had also received an update from Ackec, which he has decided to kindly share with us.We hope you enjoy this issue.

God Bless, Derek and Serena

The copy deadline for the December issue of Spotlight is Friday 20th February 2015

Cover image - Annette Raff, A stormy sky in Yorkshire

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me. (Matthew 25:40)This verse is the one I have chosen as our motto text for the coming year and elsewhere in this issue of Spotlight you will find an edited copy of the sermon I preached to introduce this text. Do take time to read the sermon and reflect on it and what it means for you and for us as a church at this time.

During that sermon, I quote a saying of Nick Lear, one of the Baptist Regional Ministers for the East of England, whose motto on his website is this:

Be blessed, be a blessingThis verse has echoes of God’s foundational call to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-2 where God says:I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others … All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

There in a sentence we have our vocation – we are blessed by God and we are to be a blessing to others so that ultimately God might bless the whole world.

Now blessing is, in a sense, such an ordinary thing – it does not require heroic acts of service, just a servant heart that is aware of and open to the needs all around us. And so may our acts of service, of kindness and of compassion echo across the ages, and may God use them in the coming of his eternal Kingdom. Thanks be to God.

Shalom,Andy

Message from Andy

PS - A few people have asked for a copy of the blessing I used at the end of the service on 5th January.

As we step forward into 2015May God make our year a happy one!Not by shielding us from all sorrows and pain, but by strengthening us to bear it, as it comes;

Not by making our path easy, but by making us sturdy to travel any path;

Not by taking hardships from us, but by taking fear from our hearts;

Not by granting us unbroken sunshine, but by keeping our faces bright, even in the shadows;

Not by making our life always pleasant, but by showing us when people and their causes need us most, and by making us eager to be there to help.

May God’s love, peace, hope and joy sustain us for the year ahead. Amen

[Origin unknown, adapted to 1st person plural language by Catriona Gorton]

Sundays in FebruarySunday 1st February Morning Worship led by Andy [1 Thessalonians 4:9-18]

Sunday 8th February Morning Worship. Guest Preacher – Mr John Hyde (Tearfund)Sunday 15th February Communion Service led by Andy [1 Peter 3:13-18] Sunday 22nd February Morning Worship led by Andy [His Story, Our Story, Part 1]

Betty Caplin, South Africa.

Betty had a good Christmas. After a service at church and a visit to Emmaus hospital she enjoyed spending time with Cynthia (the widow of Betty’s former chemist) and a lovely Christian couple who were staying at Cynthia’s home.

In January Betty was hoping, God willing, to go to the mission’s days of prayer at the mission station near Pretoria.

Recently Betty’s neighbour Anna had her vehicle broken into by thieves and her four wheels were stolen. Since that time Anna’s big dog has got sick and has had to be put down. Some of Anna’s family have been able to help her with shopping, but she mostly goes with Betty of late as she has a quadripod and is unable to go far due to uneven pavements and a lack of pavements in places. Please pray for her and that Betty will be a good support to her.

Peter and Janet Dallman, Japan.

Please pray for guidance for Peter and Janet about what God has for them for 2015.

The new Assistant Miss Matsuhara and the Deputy Language Advisor Haruhi Widmer have been appointed to work with the Dallmans. Please pray that they will work together harmoniously and that the right balance of workload will be found. Please also continue to pray for Alaric Dunsmore-Rouse, the OMF Japan Language Adviser, has gone on Home Assignment for a year.

May the word of the Lord continue to spread forth and be honored in Japan.

Missionary newsBy Rachel Forster

Notice of Annual General Meeting

The Church’s AGM will take place on Saturday 28th March at 4pm in Carey Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend, though only Church Members may vote. This year the terms of office of Ian Blunn, Carolyn Greenaway and Veronica Henly will be coming to an end. There is also one long-standing vacancy for a deacon. As such we will be looking to elect a treasurer and three deacons. Letters will go out to all Church Members in mid-February advising them of the process for making nominations, which will close on 8th March. Please pray for those whose terms of office are coming to an end as they decide whether to seek re-election, and for others who may be considering joining the diaconate.

Leaders of organisations should also be advised that the deadline for content for the Annual Report will be Sunday 22nd March.

Website Improvements

Following its launch in the Autumn, we are continuing to make improvements to the content available on the church’s website, www.winchmorehillbaptistchurch.org.uk . As well as the main website which is accessible from computers there is also a modified version which is designed to be accessed from tablets and smartphones. Starting from mid-January, the Church Notices are now uploaded to the website at the same time as they are sent out by email - click on the blue button one the front page labelled ‘What’s happening this week.’ Immediately below this is a link to listen to an audio file of the previous week’s sermon. An archive of older sermons is being built up in the ‘Worship’ section. In the ‘Members’ area, there is now an archive of past Spotlights and Church Meeting minutes.

The 6 month trial period with the website hosting company has come to an end. As it has been successful so far, we have signed up to a 2 year contract, which means we get a discount on the normal price bringing the cost down to only £5 per month.

One of the fascinating features that we have is that the website managers now have access to data showing the number of people visiting the website and by what means they ended up there. On average since the start of the year there have been 10-15 different people viewing the website every day. Of the people who didn’t enter the web address directly, the majority found us via Google, though a few were referred from the LBA, Find-A-Church and Boys Brigade websites. Apart from the front page, the page which has been visited the most is the one on Communion. Similarly, one of the most frequent search terms that people have put into Google which has led them to us has been ‘Communion Prayer Baptist’. We’re only guessing, but we reckon that there is a school somewhere where an RE teacher has given the students homework of finding an example of a Baptist Communion Prayer, and Google has brought them to us! Andy has obligingly uploaded one of the prayers we use most often.

Do please let us know if you have any more suggestions as to how the site could be improved.

Church news By Andrew Forster

FeatureIntroducing the 2015 Church MottoA sermon preached by Andy Potter on Sunday 11th January 2015Text: Matthew 25:31-46

You know the story – the Son of Man [Jesus] comes in his glory and all the nations are gathered before him and the people get separated sheep on the right and goats on the left. And to those on the right he says:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (34-36)

And, of course, the righteous ask, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger, or in need, and the King replies …

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (40)

So on the right we have the sheep, those who are blessed, and on the left the goats, the cursed ones. The goats are the ones who haven’t fed the hungry or given a drink to the thirsty and so on. I don’t know about you but it is at this point that I become distinctly nervous as I remember the times I’ve walked past the person begging in London or the times I have not been welcoming to the stranger or given to the person in need, wondering if those are the times that I’ve turned my back on Jesus.

You see, if the law I must keep in order to be righteous is one of perfect charity and hospitality and selflessness then I am in big trouble; trouble with a capital T. You might be OK, but not me. Of course, I could try and do better in the hope that somehow I might do enough to earn the king’s favour. Not that I actually know what ‘enough’ is – is it once? If once in my life I feed one stranger then I’m in, I’m OK. Or am I aiming for a 50% target? Or is nothing less than 100% good enough?

That’s how some people (both outside and inside the church) see the Christian faith - God has set these targets about what is ‘good enough’ and it is our job to hit those targets so that we can earn God’s favour and to deserve our place in his kingdom.

But when you begin to look at this story in a bit more detail, you begin to notice some very interesting things. Firstly, you notice that the ones in the story who fed the hungry and clothed the poor and welcomed the stranger did not do these things in order to inherit the kingdom … they were totally surprised when Jesus told them that all along they had been ministering to him - “Did we really?” you can hear them say “… Sorry, we didn’t know … we didn’t recognise you!”

Then there is verse 34, where the king says to the sheep:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

It’s that first bit that fascinates me … “come, you who are blessed by my Father.” The question I have is this – which came first the blessing or the acts of compassion? In other words, were the ‘sheep’ blessed because they acted compassionately to those in need, or did they act compassionately because they were blessed?

Well let’s stick with the second option. These so-called sheep have been blessed – they have experienced the goodness of God, they have experienced grace. They didn’t deserve it, they didn’t earn it, they don’t even understand it, but Jesus has come into their life and in Jesus they have experienced the love

of God and have come to recognise and to know that they are beloved of God, part of his family. And out of that place of blessing they quite naturally served the neighbour. Because they had experienced the blessing they fed the hungry and gave the thirsty something to drink and welcomed the stranger and clothed the naked and visited the sick and visited the prisoner, not realising that all the time they were serving Christ.

Nick Lear, is one of the Baptist Regional Ministers for the East of England and he writes a blog, and every time he posts his thoughts, he ends with the wordsBe blessed, be a blessing.

And it seems to me that this is how things work in God’s kingdom - he blesses us and we share or distribute the blessing as it were … You my friends, my brothers and sisters in the Lord, are truly blessed by God. You are God’s beloved, God’s friends, but to live as those blessed by God is to know that Christ is King and his law is love. To live as those whom God loves is to serve the other in that same love so that we might bless them.

Now that is a pretty long introduction to a sermon, but I thought it important to set the context for this year’s motto text. But first, a confession, I have really struggled to choose this year’s motto text – in fact I had a shortlist of at least four different verses from different passages all of which captured something of what I wanted to share, but none of which did the job completely. What this means is that it is going to take me more than one sermon to unpack what’s on my heart and during the next few weeks we’ll be exploring some of these other passages. But the main text that I have chosen is from verse 40:

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (40)

As usual we’ve produced a card showing the motto text and the card includes an image of a glass of water being poured – it’s symbolic of all the acts of service that Jesus specifically mentions in this passage – feeding the hungry, giving a drink to the thirsty, showing hospitality to the stranger, clothing the naked and looking after the sick.

To give someone a cup of water … It’s such a simple thing, an ordinary, everyday act of caring. We often imagine discipleship as requiring huge sacrifice or entailing great feats and sometimes that is exactly what discipleship comes to. But here Jesus’ summarises it in terms of giving a cup of cold water to one in need … or offering a hug to someone who is grieving … or a listening ear to someone in need of a friend … or going to visit a housebound neighbour … or offering a lift to someone without a car … or donating to our local foodbank.

As Christians we are not called to save the world (Jesus has promised to do that), instead the life of faith is composed of a thousand small, seemingly insignificant acts of service and compassion. I say ‘seemingly insignificant’ because in reality these things are not insignificant because every act of compassion done in faith and love is not only done for Jesus but also in some mysterious way is caught up with and used in God’s on-going care and re-creation of the world. As Desmond Tuto put it: Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put all together that overwhelm the world.

This is all very practical stuff. Too often as Christians we put mission in a box – mission is something that the minister does, or that we call missionaries to do, or it is something that happens through special events – but mission is all about the way in which we serve Jesus Christ 24 hours a day, seven days. It is about the way we live at home, at work, at school, down the pub, and so on. It takes place amongst ordinary people in ordinary places.

The primary place where we practice and live out of faith is not in church, but in the world. We live out our faith as we are present to people, being with them, sharing their lives, their joys and their sorrows. We live out our faith by investing in relationships with those whom God has brought into our lives. We live out our faith by asking God to bless our relationships, to give us compassion for those who brings into our lives, to show us when to give a glass of water, to help us to look up from our needs and our agendas to see others.

I guess that many of us, me included, have inherited a model of mission that involves people coming to us, we hold activities, special events and we invite people to attend. But I find myself increasingly convinced that what Jesus wants of us is first and foremost to simply a ministry of presence and involvement in the lives of our neighbours - at work, at home, down the pub or the gym or the school gate or the coffee shop, whoever they might be. It’s not so much about getting people into church, but going out into the world to be with them and to recognise that God wants to bless them, and that we, we who have been blessed so richly, might be the means by which God does that.

And so may our acts of service, of kindness and of compassion echo across the ages, and may God use them in the coming of his eternal Kingdom. Thanks be to God.

In January we recorded Christmas greetings from many friends and former ministers and their wives with news of their families. This month we also include further greetings sent with Christmas cards from Edna Nathan, the Rowe family and the Tucker family. Edna continues to be happy in her home in Dereham in Norfolk and is glad to be taken to church and also to be involved in a couple of Bible study groups. She will be 90 in June. We wish her well.

Wendy Rowe says we are often in their thoughts and they are glad to hear our news over the year. Jo has settled into secondary school well and he enjoys practical subjects such as design and technology and hockey. Natty enjoys school especially when he can play football. Steve continues to be busy with RBS. He now has a prayer time with two other men once a week. Wendy is at home (not at coffee shops) as Steve likes to think! They are settled at Corsham Baptist Church. Due to the church growth they are in the process of starting a church plant nearby in a village where there is little church activity. This is a very exciting project; however the Rowes will remain in the main church where the boys are happily settled. We pray God will bless them and the church outreach.

The Tucker family will be celebrating two special birthdays in February - Rhys will be 21 on the 8th and Bethan will 18 on the 14th. Rhys is in his third year at University and Bethan takes her A levels this year. We send congratulations and wish them well in their exams. Helen celebrated her 50th last year and is still enjoying teaching whilst Stephen continues to enjoy his training for the Ministry and the increasing number of opportunities to preach. We pray God’s blessing on the whole family.

Other special birthdays in February include Audrey Norman who will be 85 on the 19th and Margaret Whitfield who will be 90 on the 27th. May they know God’s special blessings as they celebrate these milestone birthdays.

Veronica Henly celebrated her 60th birthday last month and many joined in her special tea party. She recently had an MRI scan and has received the results. The consultant has referred her to her GP for further tests. We pray for her at this time of uncertainty.

John Melbourne has also had another MRI scan and nerve and blood tests. All results are encouraging for which we praise and thank God and continue to pray for John and the whole family.

The Potter family has had several visits to the hospital for tests especially with Esther and we pray for a solution for the pain and extreme tiredness she has suffered recently. We are glad to see Hannah looking so much better; she is enjoying working part time at a local charity shop during her gap year. Nathanael continues his studies at college and Noah is making progress at school. We pray for Andy and Sarah and all their responsibilities.

Announcements and News of the familyWritten by Jenny Lane

Keith Richardson has been unwell recently and we continue to uphold Keith and Barb in our prayers.

Hazel is still happy in her bungalow and has found a church where she feels at home. She is taken there by the assistant pastor and his wife and is really happy with the worship and the teaching and the way the Lord has led and guided her to this church, which is in fact quite nearby.

Other folk in need of prayer include Joy and Arthur Shriever, Dorothy Wisdom who has had a bad bout of bronchitis, Winnifred Hines, Maureen Owers, and Nesta Gibbs. We are glad to see that Cliff Burridge is back at church after his chest infection. Jean Blaxland’s daughter-in-law, Sue, has made considerable progress and is now in a rehabilitation centre for physiotherapy. Her son Stuart is grateful for all the prayers.

May God bless all at WHBC and all who share with us in 2015.

Greetings From AckecsDear Andy I arrived London on 19th December and days have passed so quickly. I hope everyone is doing well at Winchmore Hill and looking forward to celebrate Christmas.

It been very busy for me as the job involves a lot of travelling. Since starting in April, I have been to Sudan, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Turkey, Germany, and Israel. Some of visits are very educative at personal level. As you know, I paid a visit to Berlin end of September 2014 and stopped or 5 days in London between 3 Oct to 8 October proceeding travelling to Frankfurt and stopping 2 days and then proceeded back to Juba. Apart from official engagements we visited German Parliament and areas around former Berlin Wall.

Recently, I visited Israel between 6th and 14 December. I was part of invited African university presidents and vice chancellors by Israel Foreign Ministries and we visited many leading Israeli Universities that included Hebrew University, Ben-Gurion, Tel Aviv,

New NeighboursA card has been drawn up and printed so that it can be handed out to people who have recently moved to the locality. If anyone would care to have a few copies, please contact Andrew Forster who has kindly arranged for them to be printed. Thank you. Jean Daniels

Technion Israel’s Institute of Technology, and Bhr-Illan, among others. It was a mixed of official and visit to historical places. We had a meal with Druce family on Mount Carmel; walked around Old Jerusalem and visited Wailing Wall. We viewed from a high place Mount of Olive and Garden of Bethany. We also visited Jafa. The official visit ended on 12 December but I had an extended visit to South of Israel, especially the Arava Valley where I visited a couple of Kibbutzim and Mocha-vim farms (Israel’s agro-communties) and spent 2 nights in a farming community in Nahal Oz. I have 5 South Sudanese agriculture graduates receiving practical agriculture training at Arava International Centre for Agriculture Training and it was good to be there and see how they were fairing.

Overall, it been extremely intense since I started the new job in April and I am glad to have this Christmas with Aguok and the boys. Hence last few days been busy helping Aguok with necessary Christmas shopping and resting over sofa or taking afternoon nap when I can. Both Majak and Athian are enjoying their school. Athian was given an opportunity to attend Youth Parliament at the House of Parliament on 20th November. It was good Wol was here to accompany him in that evening and he turned out to be the youngest amongst his peers who attended. He participated, made some and brought home a number of cards from some influential business and political individuals that included Sophie Chandauka, Head of Asset Financing at Virgin Money who promised to regularly visit Athian’s school every year and to meet Athian if possible each time she visits. He is also nominated to receive Jack Patchy Award in Camden given to those who attended a public school and have positive influence in the community. The the time is sometimes next year to be specified.

Akec is doing fine. He is no longer getting the chemo for the last thee months. His MRI scan has so far appear ‘stable’ according to his doctor at Great Ordmond Street. He is planned to join special need school next September . He understands a lot and very emotionally intelligent but still can balance himself sitting and not talking nor swallowing.

Jur and Wol are doing fine. Jur decided to go back to Ahfad after I advised her to move. She is repeating third year medicine and promised to give it her best shot. Wol is graduating in March 2015. He has a part-time job developing software within an Indian-owned small firm. mainly banking an human resource management software. He is not sure as yet what to do next year after graduation.

We are planning to visit West Kilburn Baptist Church which is not far from here for our Christmas day and find if it will suit us when we can to attend in the future. It was in 2004 when we attended. From the website the same pastor Peter Law is still there. We all look forward to that.

Now I have to rush out to have my hair cut (if the barber on out street has not closed).

We wish you and all the friends at Winchmore Hill Baptist Church a blessed Christmas.

Love from,

John, Aguok, Majak, Athian, and Akec

Gems from my DadAs many of you are aware, my dad was a preacher. He began his preaching training as a young man under the leadership of Pastor Claude Trigger at New Park Hall, Barking. He then went on to lead the Youth Work at Hampshire Avenue Gospel Hall until he was appointed as the Pastor at Syon Mission Church, Brentford. In his later years he led the Preaching Team at Maswell Park Evangelical Church, Houn-slow. Over the years Dad built up a vast card index system of sermon illustrations, some serious, some funny, and all listed by topic or bible reference. Rather than just throw all these away, I thought it might be nice to re-print some of these in Spotlight over the next few months.

This one is entitled ‘Christian Blessings’

A tax inspector came to assess a Baptist pastor to determine the amount of tax he needed to pay.’ What property do you possess?’ asked the inspector. ‘I am a very wealthy man’, replied the pastor. ‘List your possessions please’, the inspector instructed.

First, I have everlasting life, John 3:16 Second, I have a mansion in heaven, John 14:2 Third, I have peace that passes all understanding, Philippians 4:7 Fourth, I have joy unspeakable, 1 Peter 1:8 Fifth, I have love which never fails, 1 Cor 13:8 Sixth, I have a faithful and loving wife, Psalms 31:10-31 Seventh, I have children who honour their parents, Exodus 20:12 Eighth, I have true and loyal friends, Proverbs 18:24 Ninth, I have songs in the night, Psalms 42:8 Tenth, I have a crown of life, James 1:12 The tax inspector closed his book and said, ‘Truly you are a very rich man, but your property is not subject to taxation.’

PoemCarolyn Greenaway

Church services

Regular activities

Brigade Activities

Diary - February 2015

1st 10.30 Morning Worship led by Andy8th 10.30 Morning Worship led by Andy, with sermon by Edward

Woods from Tearfund15th 10.30 Communion Service led by Andy22nd 10.30 Morning Worship led by Andy

Wednesday 4th 10.30am Fellowship GroupWednesday 4th 8pm Midweek@WHBC - Bible StudySaturday 7th 9am Prayer BreakfastSaturday 7th All Day Work DayWednesday 11th 10.30am Prayer MeetingWednesday 11th 8.15pm Deacons' Meeting

Wednesday 18th 10.30am Fellowship GroupWednesday 18th 8pm Midweek@WHBC - SocialWednesday 25th 10.30am Prayer MeetingThursday 26th 2.30pm Thursday Afternoon Club Thursday 26th 8pm Church Meeting

Mondays 7pm Boys' Brigade (Company and Seniors)Tuesdays 6pm Girls' Brigade (all sections)Thursdays 6pm Boys' Brigade (Anchor and Juniors)

February 1st Binnie and Doug WestonFebruary 8th FreeFebruary 15th FreeFebruary 22nd Free If any folk would like to fill some of the remaining dates in February and also March, this would be much appreciated, as the early months of the year tend to be more sparsely sponsored. With many thanks for all the lovely flowers you have provided in 2014

If you would like to feedback your thoughts on Spotlight or to contribute any stories or announcements, please email spotlight.wbc@gmail.com Digital PDF versions of spotlight can be sent on request, please email us if you would like one.

Copies by Post: Mrs Binnie Weston, 28 Seaforth Gardens, N21 3BSPhone: 020 8886 3239. Email: danebweston@talktalk.net

Winchmore Hill Baptist Church extends a warm welcome to all with an invitation to services, meetings and activities.The Minister is available for spiritual counsel and for discussion about baptism and church membership.

www.winchmorehillbaptistchurch.org.uk

Minister: Revd Andy Potter MSc, MTh 020 8882 2807andywithsarah@outlook.comDay off: Saturday

Secretary: Mr Andrew Forster020 8351 1744mail@andrewforster.co.uk33 Winchester Close EN1 2ES

Treasurer: Ian Blunn020 8807 9445ian@blunns.freeserve.co.uk41 Ulster Gardens, N13 5DP

Flower Rota (February 2015)

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40)