EBF: Serving Our Fellow-Ukrainians, Even as We Flee…
Got questions about sponsoring or housing Ukrainian Refugees?
Sanctuary Foundation the national organisation headed up by Dr Krish Kandiah are hosting an online information session titled “How to welcome Ukrainian Refugees“ Wednesday 16 March 7.30pm-9pm for anyone who is interested.
God of all, With alarm and concern we bring before you the military intervention in Ukraine. In a world you made for peace and flourishing, we lament the use of armed force. We mourn every casualty of this conflict, every precious life extinguished by war. We pray comfort for those who grieve and those who are fearful. Hear our longing that leaders and nations will honour the worth of all people by having the courage to resolve conflict through dialogue. May all our human failings be transformed by your wonderful grace and goodness We ask this in the name of Christ, the author of peace and sustainer of Creation. Amen.
Giving
We have all seen and heard the distressing pictures and news from Ukraine. The local population is suffering from the Russian invasion in many different ways including the separation of families and the shelling of residential areas. Many people are fleeing abroad and there is a great need to provide food, water, medicines and shelter for these refugees.
The leadership team of Leigh Road Baptist Church has considered what our response should be as a church and has decided to send £5,000 to the European Baptist Federation (EBF). The EBF is working with partners in Ukraine, Poland and other surrounding nations who are best placed to know what practical help and assistance is needed by those most affected.
We are aware that many of you would like to help in some way and so we would invite the church family together to try and match the £5,000 that the church is already sending to the EBF to add to the overall donation. You can do this at the LRBC on-site gatherings by putting cash or a cheque in the green giving envelopes provided, marking them for Ukraine, which will be available over the next few weeks. Alternatively, you can transfer funds by bank transfer, please contact the church office for these details.
If you are a UK taxpayer then please provide the church treasurer with your name, address and the amount you’ve donated to finance@lrbc.org.uk so that we can recover the tax via Gift Aid which will increase the value of your donation.
Thank you!
Posted inFairtrade, News, Prayer|TaggedUkraine|Comments Off on Supporting Ukraine | Pray | Donate | Host
Life & Soul explores the kinds of questions we all ask at times, such as ‘What’s life all about?’ and ‘Is there anybody out there?’ and asks what the Christian faith has to say in response. Gatherings are fun and interactive, more recently online but sometimes in-person with talks, activities and discussion where all views are welcome. Whether you consider yourself an atheist, agnostic, spiritual but not religious, a Christian believer or not sure, you would be very welcome.
Maybe you have found yourself trying to make sense of life. Perhaps you’ve been wondering if there is a God and, if so, why God has been letting all this bad stuff in the world happen? Life & Soul has been developed to help people explore spiritual things, whether or not they see themselves as religious.
Sir David Amess MP speaking at the induction service of Rev Andrew Cowley to Leigh Road Baptist Church (April 2018). Photo credit: Steven Paul Collins Photography
Our hearts and prayers as Leigh Road Baptist Church go out to the family, friends and colleagues of Sir David Amess who sadly died following an attack at his constituency surgery on Friday 15 October 2021.
Rev Steve Tinning of Leigh Road Baptist Church said, “In my experience David was a warm, compassionate and dedicated servant to Southend. We met on regular occasions as he supported the church, local refugees and regularly entertained my political concerns. He was a man of deep faith and conviction. I will miss him very much”.
Both Rev Steve Tinning and Rev Andrew Cowley have offered their heartfelt condolences on behalf of LRBC and have spoken into the grief felt by the community of Southend-on-Sea. Steve has appeared on BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live, BBC Radio Essex and conducted various other interviews. Andrew Cowley spoke on Premier Radio paying tribute to Sir David and the man of faith he was.
Helping the community with their grief
Leigh Road Baptist Church’s Rev Steve Tinning and Rev Mark Umpleby of United Benefice of Batley have been talking to each other a week on from the death of Sir David on the Sonia Watson’s BBC Essex Radio Breakfast show on Friday 22 October.
The two clergy from Sir David Amess’ and Jo Cox’s constituencies shared their experiences of losing their MP’s in tragic circumstances and the impact on their local communities. Listen to the interview below.
On Thursday 21st October Rev Andrew Cowley gave the address at a Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of Sir David Amess with other church leaders from across Leigh-on-Sea.
Watch the service below.
President: Fr Clive Hillman, Priest in charge, St Clements Church, Leigh, Gospeler: Fr Jeff Woolnough, Parish Priest, St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, Eastwood Parish. Preacher: The Rev’d Andrew Cowley, Leigh Road Baptist Church, Intercessor: Gavin Dixon, King’s Church Southend and Churches Together in Leigh-on-Sea, with Major (Dr) Jacquie Hanover, C.O. Leigh-on-Sea Salvation Army, Church and Community Centre and music from the The Music Man Project Essex.
Leigh Road Baptist Church’s Minister Rev Steve Tinning and Father Jeffrey Woolnough, priest at Saint Peter’s Catholic Parish of Eastwood chatted with BBC Sunday Morning Live presenters Sean Fletcher and Sally Phillips about the untimely and cruel death of Sir David Amess MP and the impact his life had on so many in his constituency of Southend West and beyond on Sunday 17 October 2021. The interview is availabe to watch below.
On Friday 22 October a week on, a two-minute silence has been held by a community mourning the loss of their MP, Sir David Amess. Rev Steve Tinning attended to pay respects on behalf of the Leigh Road Baptist Church.
A two-minute silence has been held by a community mourning the loss of their MP, Sir David Amess, who was killed a week ago today.
Sir David, 69, was stabbed to death shortly after midday while carrying out duties in his Southend West constituency. pic.twitter.com/HACN0ZiyYU
Members of LRBC Green Group petition Sir David Amess on behalf of young familiesof the church and local community, to ask him to support Environmental legislation in September 2021
By Sarah Lennard-Brown
This is the second in a series of posts on What we can do as a Church to Stop Climate Change in the run up to COP26 1st – 12th November 2021. In the first post I talked about the importance of praying for COP26 and our political leaders. The second thing you can do to stop climate change is to talk to your local Member of Parliament and Town and County Councillors about the importance of tackling climate change.
First a confession. Standing up and bearing witness is something I was not, and am not, comfortable with. I am by nature a quiet, thoughtful person and would rather keep my head down, avoiding any confrontation or disagreement. Even writing this is an act of courage for me. There will be those among you who do not want to hear what I have to say. However, there is a time for everything in its season. There is ‘a time to be silent and a time to speak’, (Ecclesiastes 3 1-8) and now is the time, for all of us, not just to speak but to shout, so our voices can be heard.
The world is in peril, the plants and animals we know, and love, here in Essex and around the world are in danger from rising temperatures. Billions of people around the world are affected now by rising sea levels, unstable weather systems, flooding and fire due to our continued use of fossil fuels. The United Nations has issued a Code Red for Humanity. We must act now. This is important. From a Christian perspective it is about:
Being faithful stewards of Gods beautiful creation
Justice for the world’s most vulnerable communities
And it is about hope for the future, building stronger, fairer, and flourishing communities living within the Earth’s limits. (Why Faith Matters, Green Christian)
Public Witness is something that Christians are very familiar with. Christian Public Witness is rooted in a philosophy of non-violent love of enemy and involves:
Speaking truth to power
Seeking to transform the other person or organisation through loving yet prophetic engagement. (Christian Peacemaker Teams)
Carbon Dioxide atmospheric levels recorded at Mauna Loa Observatory in September 2019
I was brought up in a scientific household, my father was a Chemistry teacher, and since I was a young child, I have known that climate change was happening, and it was bad. But I had faith that the government and organisations would do the best thing for the climate and all of us. In autumn 2018 I had a sudden realisation that this wasn’t going to happen. I had been following the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii that monitors atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced when we burn fossil fuels, things like oil, petroleum, and gas. and in September 2018 it became apparent that carbon dioxide levels were 405 ppm and the world was doing nothing to stop it. The use of fossil fuels continued to grow. The last time atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide were this high was 2 – 3 million years ago in the Pliocene era. When sea levels were on average between 50 and 80 ft higher than now (15 – 24m) so most of the current land was underwater, average temperatures were 2-3 ˚C higher and Arctic temperatures were between 10-20 ˚C hotter (something we have seen happen over the last three summers with temperatures in the Arctic peaking at 32°C (90°F) on 20th June 2021 at Saskylah in Arctic Siberia.
Members of LRBC Green Group and Eco-Essex showing Sir David Amess around the 2019 Eco Fair
I felt a profound level of mental, physical and spiritual distress as this realisation hit me. It was overwhelming how bad things are and how much we need to do to put things right. I felt I had to do something. I had to speak and be heard, to take action to help save my children, my family and my community from the disaster that was coming like a huge truck down the road. In January 2019 I spoke to Andrew Cowley and he encouraged me to set up the LRBC Green Group. The LRBC Green Group are a fantastic team and have been involved in lots of activities, most of them relating to Christian Public Witness in one form or another including:
Taking part as The Time in Now lobby and Faith march, organised by The Climate Coalition, a group of organisations including the Women’s Institute, WWF, RSPB, Christian Aid, CAFOD and over 90 other organisations.
Inviting our MP Sir David Amess to open the LRBC/Eco-Southend Eco Fair and talk to the stall holders.
Inviting Southend Councillor Carole Mulroney to speak at the Eco Fair and talk to local people about Climate crisis.
Writing to our MP’s and Councillor’s about local and national climate issues. In September representatives of LRBC Green Group took a petition from the children of LRBC and other local families to Sir David Amess to ask him to undertake to support the Ecological and Environmental Emergency Act and the Climate Change Act.
LRBC Green Group met Sir David Amess on the train on the way to lobby him at the Time is Now mass lobby and March in 2019
Speaking to your MP is powerful act. The only way we can reduce our use of fossil fuels is if Members of Parliament make the necessary changes in law and policy. Politicians are worried that the steps they need to take to stop climate change are going to be unpopular. They depend on the support of the people in their constituencies for their jobs in parliament. One of the most important things you can do is write or speak to your MP and tell them you want them to support the changes and legislation needed to stop climate change. You need to empower them to have the courage to stand up for the planet in parliament.
When we met Sir David Amess on the train on our way to The Time is Now march and parliamentary lobby, he was very supportive. But he asked us to continue protesting and lobbying as people needed to hear our message. He said that no one comes to talk to him in his surgeries about climate change and that made him think there wasn’t broad local support for action to stop climate change. We need to change that.
So, I have a challenge for you. Today I would like you to contact your MP – find them here, and your local counsellor – find them here and write to them, or, even better, visit them in their surgeries. And let them know that you want them to take action to stop climate change.
The first Global Community Saturday takes place on October 9th 2021 at 191 Leigh Road, next door to the Phabulous Cafe.
Other things you can do to stand up for the planet, include supporting sustainable activities at church and in the local community including things like:
Global community Saturdays 9th October 2021 – 191 (Next to the Phabulous Café) 11-2pm
Eco Christmas fair 20th November 2021 LRBC
write letters,
sign an online petition,
go on a protest march
This week Mauna Loa reported that the CO2 in the atmosphere was 413.3 ppm. Carbon dioxide levels are continuing to rise as our use of fossil fuels increases relentlessly. We can do this. We need to stop using fossil fuels now and stand up for the planet.
Prayer
Loving God,
Creator of teeming oceans and resounding forests, Forgive the way we have exploited your creation for our own ends. Putting profit, greed and status before wellbeing and sustainability. Give us hope that you are restoring and redeeming amongst us. We pray that change will come quickly to preserve species. And we remember those at the forefront of climate change now. Give us reassurance that no act of ours is too small or insignificant. And will change hearts, even our own. Amen.
A rare event happened on September 8th this year that you may have missed. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Pope Francis, and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, released their first ever joint statement. The statement was about COP26. The Church leaders talked about a ‘critical moment’ for humanity. They urged people to ‘listen to the cry of the Earth and of people who are poor and they called on leaders from all over the world to embark on a transition to just and sustainable economies.
The three church leaders have never made a joint statement before. It must be something pretty big to make them cooperate in this way you may think, and it is – really, really big.
Pope Francis, Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
They continued: ‘We stand before a harsh justice: biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and climate change are the inevitable consequences of our actions, since we have greedily consumed more of the earth’s resources than the planet can endure. But we also face a profound injustice: the people bearing the most catastrophic consequences of these abuses are the poorest on the planet and have been the least responsible for causing them.’
Code red for the climate
Over the last year the impact of climate change has been impossible to ignore. In the summer the United Nations, World Meteorological Organization, World Health Organisation, The International Panel on Climate Change, and the Met Office issued a report that detailed the devastating changes to the climate in 2020. They issued a stark warning that we were close to our last chance to do anything about it. They said:
It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred.
The scale of recent changes across the climate system as a whole and the present state of many aspects of the climate system are unprecedented over many centuries to many thousands of years.
Human-induced climate change is already increasing the frequency and intensity of many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe.
COP26, November 2021
The COP26 meeting – the 26th Conference of the Parties takes place on the 1st -12 November 2021. COP26 is a chance for the world to come together to start actually reducing the use of fossil fuels. Leaders from over 190 countries are meeting in Glasgow to agree a way forward. In 2015, COP21 produced the Paris agreement where countries agreed to limit average global warming to 1.5 °C. Since 2021, fossil fuels have continued to be burnt in ever greater quantities. The current global temperature increase is an average of 1.2°C. The ambition of the Paris agreement was good, but the commitments were not enough to stop global warming. To have a 50% chance of keeping the global average temperature rise below 1.5°C the world has to achieve net zero production of carbon dioxide by 2050 and halve carbon dioxide production by 2030. COP26 has a huge task ahead of it.
Justin Welby, Pope Francis, and The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew have asked us to take action. They want us to pray for:
World leaders ahead of COP26
For individuals: To make meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the planet, working together and taking responsibility for how we use our resources
For those with far-reaching responsibilities: To choose people-centred profits and lead the transition to just and sustainable economies
Pray that the UK government will lead by example and show clearly how we will achieve our own targets for climate action and achieving net zero.
Pray for justice and fairness to be at the heart of the decisions that are made.
Pray that representatives from developing countries will not be limited from attending due to COVID19
Pray for Government ministers and others leading the conference.
Pray for the voices of young people to be heard in every aspect of the conference.
The role of the Christian community
Pray for the Holy Spirit to awaken the hearts of all Christians to our complicity in harming God’s creation and then to see ourselves as those who should lead by example.
Pray for our church communities to invest in green solutions within our buildings and land, and a willingness to share best practice.
Pray for Christian voices to speak up against the injustice of climate change as it effects the poorer nations disproportionately, and for richer nations to financially support green solutions across the world.
The UK is marking the anniversary of the first lockdown with a silence at noon to remember the victims of Covid, followed by bells tolling at 12:01pm. Prominent landmarks will be lit up across the country at 8:00pm.
Please take part in the silence in memory of those who have lost loved ones and feel free to use this prayer as a resource during the day:
Prayer – a year on since the beginning of Lockdown 1
Lord, we know you are the God of grace and peace,
Help us, we ask, as we acknowledge that a year has passed in this time of a global pandemic.
In this season of remembering, we acknowledge our frustration, our brokenness, our anger, our sadness. We reflect on the last twelve months with tears and heartache.
We have lost some of those who were close to us and some of us have lived through illness. Many of us have felt isolated and anxious. We have lost much of our normal sense of life. We do not want to look back and at the same time we are unsure of how to move into the future.
Help us to move forward. We can see the end of the tunnel, but it seems a way off and a bit out of reach. Fill us with courage, with hope and with peace. Guide us to begin again in the world that is emerging on the other side of the pandemic.
God of goodness and grace, be with us now and forever.
We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Posted inCorona Virus, Prayer|Comments Off on A Prayer | One year since Lockdown 1: Tuesday 23 March
Many of you will be aware from the strategic review consultation and communication that the majority of groups and individuals in the Leigh Road Baptist Church (LRBC) family want to see immediate and urgent action to bring greater focus and resource to bear in the areas of children, families & youth work. These were seen by many as the most important areas to address by some margin.
As a result, the strategic review identified the need to make a suitable appointment to the role of children, families & youth worker.
A job description will be created, publicity and adverts placed widely and interviews held to identify the right person for the role. To some extent, the skills and passions of the individual will influence the job description but we will not know in what way until we start to see applicants.
It is important to recognise that the appointment of an individual to this role will not bring about much change in and of itself unless there is a commitment from the LRBC church family to get involved – volunteering time, energy, prayer and support.
Finance
The cost of a full-time children, families & youth worker is likely to be in the region of £30,000 per annum. With the current financial position of the LRBC General Fund we feel it prudent to obtain promises of funding to cover the first years’ expenditure before we commence a search.
If you are willing and able to pledge additional funds over and above your current level of giving towards the cost of a children/families/youth worker then please complete the form below that will be returned to Julie Eady in the church office.
We would like to receive promises by December 2019 at the latest to allow a search to commence early in 2020. However, we will commence the search as soon as sufficient funds are pledged so the earlier we receive pledges the earlier we can start the search.
Although we are only asking for pledges for the initial year of any appointment at the moment, if you feel able to pledge funds over a longer period then do please indicate this on the form by filling in the number of years you are prepared to commit to.
As an indication, if 120 people (roughly the number of adults that attend on a Sunday morning) were able to pledge £5 a week the full cost of the initial year would be covered.
We’ve put together this little tool the help you see the difference your donation could make towards reaching the target. Punch in a weekly amount you could consider donating and hit the ‘See the difference you’ll make’ button, to see the size of your donation over 3 years.
What’s Your Pledge Amount?
I will give £0over 3 years!
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Your financial pledge
Please complete the pledge form below after prayerful consideration. No money is to be taken at this stage and your pledge will only be sent to Julie Eady the LRBC Financial Administrator in the church office, a copy will also be emailed to you for your own records. We will let you know when we need you to commence payments.
If you need further information about pledging or this fundrasier please contact Julie Eady in the church office on 01702 478698 or at finance@lrbc.org.uk
The South East Essex Church Learning Hub is a series of eight guided workshops from a partnership of three South East Essex churches (Leigh Road, Friars and West Leigh Baptist) and The London Insitute of Contemporary Christianity (LICC). They help Christians and entire churches explore how they can develop a lasting culture as whole-life disciplemaking communities.
The 3.5-hour workshops which start at 9:45 am and run until 1 pm are hosted currently on Zoom due to the pandemic by Leigh Road Baptist Church over the next 2 years; you are invited to attend all sessions or those relevant to you.
Developing Spiritual Formation in a Whole-Life Disciplemaking Church
Preaching with a Frontline Focus
Small Groups with a Frontline Focus
The Workplace as your Frontline
Sharing Faith on the Frontline
All are welcome from churches across South East Essex.
Church beyond the building
Jesus calls us to make disciples who live their whole lives for the glory of God.
The way we nurture people as their church leaders – whether through services, small groups, or personally deeply affects the kind of people they are out in the world. Christian community strengthens each believer with renewed boldness, joy, and insight to live for Jesus on their individual frontlines. This conviction has led LICC to listen to and work with hundreds of churches over 15 years as they equip their congregations for whole-life discipleship. They’ve led Learning Hubs everywhere from London to the Lake District, for everyone from Elim to Church of England and now we have aChurch Learning Hub for South East Essex.
Learn together, learn practically, learn locally
Equipping God’s people for whole-life discipleship is both exciting and essential. Learning Hubs give you the vision, motivation, and tools*:
A wealth of experience. hub facilitators are all experienced church leaders presenting ideas and methods developed through work with hundreds of churches.
Interactive, hands-on learning. There is plenty of time to try ideas with your congregation and reflect on their success (or failure!) in the next group session.
Practical actions to try right away. We share simple steps that can create a ripple effect, showing rather than telling, and helping develop lasting culture change.
Community support. By learning together with your team and other local churches, you can learn from and support each other during and long after the hub.
God at work. Discover new ways to see God’s work in and through your congregation every day, and have the joy of seeing God do more in more places.
Resources at your fingertips. LICC produces small group materials, preaching packs, service plans, and theological articles to help leaders apply hub learning.
Fun. Is it ok if it’s fun? We hope so. Past participants tell us it’s a memorable, community-building, and enjoyable learning experience.
*This and the above benefits are based on follow-up research with participants.
Come along to support the cause, watch a friendly football match (officiated by our guest referee!) and eat a few more mince pies. Get yourselves down to Blenheim Park for a 10 am KO on Boxing Day 26 December 2019 and we’ll be finished by midday so you can get home for some Bubble & Squeak.
If you’re interested in playing, just turn up with your boots and shin pads and kit and we will see what we can do.
A wonderful gathering of people from across our town and further afield for Carols by Candlight with Leigh Road Baptist Church. Didn’t you all raise the roof in celebration of the coming King! Joy to the World!
Lots more opportunities to sing carols, offer prayers and reflect on the wonders of that first Christmas for all ages. All welcome. Visit www.lrbc.org.uk/christmas for details, dates and time of gatherings.
