Saturday 26 May 2012

Praise and Prayer at Pentecost

Dear friends,

The week began with taking a service in prison on Sunday morning.  Normally this is fairly routine but the chaplain team member (and key holder) due to go in with me rang at 7.30am to tell me he was ill.  Then 'plan B' failed and when we (myself and two helpers) finally got access with the help of a Muslim chaplain we found a crowd of prisoners waiting to access the chaplaincy centre.  We started 15 minutes late and had to finish on time.  However, it turned out to be a good meeting with positive feedback afterwards.

From there I rushed to pick up Doreen and head off to Yelvertoft where, to my joy, I found sitting in the congregation the wife of the man whose funeral service I had conducted last week.  It was a precious time.  Various people rose to the occasion and had undertaken all the tasks that needed to be done and more.  They're a great bunch.

On Monday we held our Sunrise Ministries trustees meeting in London and welcomed three prospective trustees.  It proved a helpful and supportive meeting and we ask your prayers as the three prospective trustees reach a decision over the coming days.

On Tuesday morning I took a school assembly at Yelvertoft.  The children (and staff) respond well!  During the coffee break that followed there was some positive comments in the staff room about that recent funeral service.  This was followed by meeting with the first builder as we seek estimates for essential alterations to the chapel at Yelvertoft.  We don't really have the resources to carry out this important work so we are proceeding in faith.  In the afternoon we had a good choir practice in the prison (more encouraging comments about Sunday morning).

On Wednesday I had two meetings at the Arthur Rank Centre in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.  The first of these was a meeting of the Editorial Team for Country Way.  The current issue is now available and is a super edition.  We are moving towards making this available on-line but I think a year's subscription for £9 makes this a super Christmas present for any Christian living or worshipping in the countryside.  You can see a back copy at http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1vaee/CountryWayIssue59/resources/index.htm in which you will find an article that I wrote about Youth Alpha in the countryside.

You can sign up to receive copies for yourself or as a gift for someone else through the Arthur Rank Centre website, but if you do intend to do so please let me know as well.  I am always happy to arrange your subscription for you.

The second meeting was of the Churches Rural Group.  This is a body of people from national Churches and some rural mission networks, basically concerned for the way in which churches interact with the issues affecting the wider rural community.  I am the current chair person of this group.  Our guest on this occasion came to talk about the work of ACRE (Action with Rural Communities in England) which is an umbrella group for the regional rural community councils.  It was a helpful time.  Our next gathering will review rural poverty and food banks.  But this is not just a talking shop; it is a springboard for actions in all the bodies represented.

The latter part of the week revolved around a three-yearly hospital check up that involves a colonoscopy.  This follows the removal of a small growth four years ago.  It's not as unpleasant as might sound but it takes out a couple of days.  The result of the examination is that all is clear.  While slightly incapacitated I made some adjustment to our websites which has interrupted emails.  Getting them working normally has been a challenge but finally we are back at barry@ruralmissions.org.uk

The week ahead includes the Sunday meeting at Yelvertoft and convening a Church and Countryside conference for Chichester Diocese at Steyning.  The main speaker is Bishop Mark Rylands who kindly told me that much of what he knows about rural evangelism was learned from me!  I think he is being over generous as he served as a diocesan evangelism adviser for many years through which he would have developed a wealth of knowledge.  However, it is good to know that our ministry is fruitful.

The hope at the moment is to spend a few days in Sussex, either on my own or with Doreen.  I am also seeking to organise a regular 24 hour break at least once a fortnight to enable me to catch up with the essential reading element of the research degree.  In order to do that I will book accommodation at one of two possible colleges where I would have access to their library.  I value your prayers as I seek which is the best route and try to organise funding.

Finally, I have today written two Pentecost related items on the Reflections Blog (barryosborne.blogspot.com).  We desperately need revival in these days.  I encourage you this Pentecost not to allow yourself to be drawn away by a focus on the church (It's not our birthday) but rather to pray that you and your church will experience a fresh outpouring of God's Spirit that brings honour to his name and others to faith in Jesus.

Barry



Saturday 19 May 2012

Ministry evokes positive responses

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your continued interest and prayers.

The past week
When the week began I was in the midst of an itinerary.  I flew from Edinburgh to Heathrow to teach at a Safe & Sound session for the Salvation Army at their conference centre in Sunbury on Thames.  Usually I have a whole morning and afternoon but on this occasion because of my commitment in Dunfermline on Saturday it had to be compressed into just a morning session after an opening devotional which I also led.  Once again the input was very well received and I hope that it not only makes the SA a safer place but also a supportive place for those who in the past have been sexually abused.

Incidentally, the Congregational Federation Assembly was full of blessing.  It was a great joy to be there and I was sorry that the two commitments clashed, and grateful to the SA for changing the agenda around me.

On Sunday afternoon I made my way back into London and from Waterloo down to Winchester for a study day and a special session on the Monday evening.  To make life a little more comfortable I had arranged to stay over at the university until Tuesday morning.  I then caught the train back to London and on to Market Harborough in time to go to the prison for my weekly time with the choir.  It was a good practice and good time of discussion afterwards.  Thank you for your prayers for prisoners C & M who had caused problems the week before.  M was absent and C was helpful.  Please keep praying for them.

On Thursday I met with my local management group who keep an eye on my ministry activities, finance and general well being.  This is the team to which I am accountable for activities other than related to the church at Yelvertoft and denominational elements.  It was an encouraging and supportive time.  Some helpful decisions made but more about that another time.

Thursday also included a pastoral visit prior to the funeral on Friday.  Village funerals are significant social events affecting just about the whole community.  The chapel was packed on Friday for what was quite an amazing time.  Afterwards there were many nice comments both from the family concerned and others in the village.  One man said that this was the second time he had attended something at our church and each time it had the 'wow factor'.  If only people who see a glimpse of life with Jesus would take that one more step that could so bring blessing into their lives!

Saturday has been spent on admin (as was Wednesday) and preparation for tomorrow.  I also met with a couple getting married at Hothorpe Hall (nearby) and who want a service of blessing afterwards.  As I have mentioned before this provides a gospel opportunity.

The coming week
This Sunday I have two meetings in the morning.  I am taking a service at the prison at 9.00 and then at Yelvertoft (17 miles away) at 10.45.  Please pray that I do not get held up at the prison.  I have felt led to focus on the life of Esther and there are several issues that will relate to life in prison so I hope it will be very helpful.  At present I am not entirely sure what we will be looking at in Yelvertoft but it is possible this will be from 1Peter chapter 2, which has kept coming up.

On Monday we have a Sunrise Ministries trustees meeting in London.  Here three prospective trustees will be meeting with the existing trustees.  Please pray not just for the meeting to be useful but for wisdom and guidance as we seek to strengthen the trustee board.

On Tuesday I will be taking a school assembly at Yelvertoft and hope to meet with a builder afterwards.  The church has planning permission to provide access for wheelchairs and internal alterations.  It has been 12 months coming and coincides with our 350th anniversary.  raising funds will be a challenge but the work has to be done.  Then in the afternoon I will be in prison again.

On Wednesday there are two meetings, both at the Arthur Rank Centre in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.  The first meeting is a Country Way Editorial meeting and this is followed by a meeting of the Churches Rural Group, which I now chair.  This is a coordinating group of Churches Together in England but also draws from Scotland and we hope soon from Wales.  The Group is concerned for all matters of rural life and the presence and work of the churches in rural areas.

On Friday I have my regular three-yearly colonoscopy.  The last one was clear and all well, but the one before led to the removal of a polyp.  A colonoscopy is not as uncomfortable as a gastroscopy (I have one of those every two years) but the preparation day is unpleasant so there will be two days out of this week.

If I am up to it there is the Assembly of the Leicester Diocese on Saturday that I should attend and ministry again on Sunday.

Please give thanks for
  • The local management team and the trustees that stand behind our ministry
  • The excellent time at Gartree Prison last Tuesday
  • An exciting Congregational Assembly in Scotland last weekend
  • Travelling mercies in a busy schedule
  • The Lord's provision through the week
  • The responses to the teaching at the SA event in Sunbury and following the service of thanksgiving (funeral) on Friday.
Please pray for
  • Ministry this Sunday at prison and at Yelvertoft - may God be heard to speak and hearts be open
  • School assembly Tuesday morning
  • Choir practice in prison on Tuesday (especially for M&C)
  • Wednesday's meetings in Stoneleigh
  • Hospital visit with endoscopy on Friday
My heart is overflowing with praise and thanks to God for all the blessings that are totally undeserved but flow from his generosity.  I hope that you are also conscious of the Lord's presence and blessing.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Barry







Sunday 13 May 2012

Almost too tired to blog

Dear friends,

It is almost midnight on Saturday as I sit to write this.  Frankly I am very tired so I do not intend to write much.

I am at Sunbury Court, a Salvation Army Conference Centre and location of the SA International High Council Chamber.  Tomorrow I will lead worship and then be teaching about sexual abuse within a Christian context and appropriate support for victims of sexual abuse wherever and however that took place.  The in the evening I will travel on to Winchester for a study day at the university and for a session on research skills in the evening.

For most of today I had the immense privilege of being at the Congregational Federation's Annual Assembly in Dunfermline.  It is 40 years since the URC and the Cong Fed were established out of the old Congregational Union.  Increasingly the Cong Fed has become a very happy home for me, though that enjoyment began around 2001 about a year or so after I had answered a call to serve the Congregational church in Herstmonceux, East Sussex.  What have I enjoyed about today?  The enthusiastic but sincere worship of God in song and hymn; the passion and godliness of speakers; the affirmed value of the presence and role of young people; the lack of pretentiousness;  the centrality of Christ and the lack of denominationalistic spirit; the underlying values of congregational Christianity; the sense of God in the midst; the unity in Christ; just to mention a few things.

Ministers in this tradition do not have to act with some humility; their authority is derived from God but mediated through the members of the local church/congregation seeking to be led by scripture and the Spirit of God.  There is no hierarchy or greasy pole to climb.  So there is no room for personal ego trips or assumed humility.  We  are one with the newest and apparently least significant person in the church.  We are nothing; we just need to accept it by faith!

On Friday morning I met with some of the members of the Theological Commission of the International Congregational Fellowship whom I have been seeking to help establish a constitution.  They are good friends and beloved fellow pilgrims from around the world.  In the afternoon I attended a meeting where Congregational ministers in Scotland and some ministers from the URC in Scotland reflected on their 200 year old shared history and the journey ahead.  It was interesting but the fellowship together was the real blessing.  In the evening we heard three excellent presentations on contemporary challenge.

Last Tuesday the choir practise at Gartree was a little frustrated by the behaviour of two of the prisoners who lacked some seriousness about the work and played around.  I cannot mention names but I am sure that God would understand if you prayed for C and R.

Most of the remainder of the past week was spent preparing for the events this weekend.  As to other matters for prayer this week...

1.  For Sunday's service for God with the SA at Sunbury on Thames.

2.  For my study day and generally for the work connected with the research degree programme.  I am struggling to find time and to concentrate on some essential readying required by the programme.  Nothing I have to read seems new but I have to be able to cite chapter and verse.  Painstakingly going over old ground when I would rather be getting on with the actual research does not come easily.

3.  Choir practice and Christian witness through this within the prison.

4.  A meeting with my local management committee for Sunrise Ministries towards the end of the week.

5.  A funeral service on Friday for a much loved man in the village who had no profession of faith.

6.  Sunday 20th:  Prison service followed by our regular Sunday morning meeting in Yelvertoft.

7.  Monday 21st  Trustees meeting in London when I hope we shall welcome in three new trustees for Sunrise Ministries.

8.  I will have a lot of preparation work to do for all of these events.

So now, tired and ready fore bed with the clock now at 12.05am I hope you will forgive a less thought-through report, and absence of biblical reference, and will nevertheless journey through the coming days in prayer.  I need it.

All my love in Christ.  I view you as a treasured gift from God.

Barry

Saturday 5 May 2012

On the move for God

The voice on the other end of the phone asked me if I had realised there was a rail strike affecting trains running to the airport.  I hadn't been aware but a visit to the station enlightened me that if I was to make my flight on Tuesday I would have to catch a train 45 minutes earlier than expected.  The phone call had come from the taxi firm that connects the rail station to the airport.  So began this past weeks journeyings that took me to Glasgow and the Senior Representatives Forum of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.


Right now I feel I could write a book about the 24 hour event based in the Gorbals in Glasgow.  This is an area of deprivation and was originally a leper colony separate from Glasgow.  We met in the Parish Church (Church of Scotland, of course) and heard wonderful accounts of how the church was involved in helping to build healthy communities.  A poverty survey brought the poor and deprived into contact with movers and shakers in the wider society, giving the poor a voice and an audience to hear them.  This had resulted in  some radical action.  There was an ongoing programme of bridge-building tackling various divisions in society, that had also led to good work with asylum seekers.  Then there was Givin' it Laldie - a music based cross-generational programme running several choirs and using music for community building, creating a sense of well being.  Alongside these local stories we also heard how churches in other areas were also active in being good news locally.


While my own great passion is to share the story of Jesus with people, I recognise that alongside the story telling we need to see the gospel in action.  What I saw and heard in the Gorbals was certainly that.  James, the brother of Jesus, would certainly have applauded what is happening there (See James 2: 14-18).  One of the great hindrances to evangelism is the poor image most people have of Christians and the churches.  I found myself wondering what it would be like to see other local churches selflessly addressing the needs of those around them in similar ways to what I encountered this week.


My flight home arrived just in time for me to catch the last train home (schedule affected by the industrial action).  I note also that my journey back to Scotland this Thursday will also be affected!


Last Sunday I had an exciting time in prison as I took the service.  The coordinating chaplain had pointed me towards John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.".  The first Bible talk I ever gave was at the age of 16 and was on Psalm 23 and referred to Isaiah 53:6 and John 10:11, so in the first part of the service on Sunday I shared my testimony.  Later we reflected on the lost and found parables, and finally we looked at the psalmist's confidence in God as his shepherd.  The choir had been practising harmonies using We are marching in the light of God and had asked to sing it in the service, so it fitted well with part three - the experience of those who know God as their shepherd.  Several testified afterwards to the impact of the service on their lives.


For praise and prayer
Give thanks for safety in travel including the timeliness of that phone call.
Give thanks for the ministry at HMP Gartree - both the Sunday service and Tuesdays with the choir.
Give thanks for the extraordinary work being done by the Parish church in the Gorbals, Glasgow.
Please pray for this Sunday's ministry at Yelvertoft, Northants.
Please pray for the busy schedule from Thursday to the following Tuesday:
Thursday - fly to Edinburgh and onward to Stirling
Friday - meet with members of the International Congregational Fellowship from around the world, helping them with some constitutional matters.
Friday and Saturday - Congregational Federation Assembly meetings
Saturday - fly to Heathrow and meet with Dean Juster of the Salvation Army
Sunday 13th - Worship and Teaching on the Salvation Army's Safe and Sound Programme, Sunbury on Thames
Sunday evening - travel by train to Winchester
Monday - day studying at Winchester University, with an evening session on research skills.
Tuesday - travel home in time to go to prison for the choir.
Please also pray for Doreen while I am away from home that she will be kept safe.
Finally, give thanks with me for the wonderful experience of being brought into a vibrant relationship with a holy, loving, generous God.  What a salvation!


If you use Twitter see #barryswalk to keep up to date on my journeys at this time.


Barry