What a week,

Sorry it's been a while since our last post!! baby and all that!

Yesterday we went as a family to Burton boy and top ship girls wedding (Mike and CLare Allen) It was a lovely day they looked amazing and the snow made to whole day look fantastic.

Thanks you for all cards of baby and christmas,

We continue to explore Harold Hill, and we continue to find an estate with a close community feel.

As a team we are enjoying getting to know each other, it is amazing spending time with people who just get it and are as passionate about community based mission as we are.

There are of course challenges, as we give out hampers we want to more of a help rather that looking like we think we've saved people christmas'. ( and who did we say they are from as the church doesn't exist!!)

As we work with one part of the community we are aware that this could be excluding us from working in another part of the community. As , like all communities, not all the community would work together.

There are so many good ideas and not all are linked to our vision, those who received our team newsletter will know we planned to give out donuts to shop keeps, however our conclusion and calling is to serve those on the edge of HH and on refection we realise this didn't do that. so we've come up with a different plan

As a team this is a very important and interesting week.

Steve and Lauren complete on their house in HH ( Hurray)

Rich and Steve are doing the funeral for a 21 week old baby on monday.

The Team are leading the carol service in the local pub on tuesday night

The team are giving out hampers to 5 families/ people ( thanks to contacts and friendships from local sure start centres and the family support teams)

The team are giving donuts and cakes to the staff of the local sure start centres who serve local families so well) ( sSSHHH don't tell them)

The team are going to have a relaxing evening together on christmas eve before seeing our families and friends.

PLease pray for all the above.

Happy christmas and New year, if you didn't get a copy of team news please email me,

Love and Prayers

rich

The Tea,

Here we are, the team, Steve and Lauren, Caleb, Jess and Anya Alison and I

Please pray for us and give thanks for for all that is coming in the next couple of months.

Love and Prayers

R

What a week

Last week i was going on about waiting, but this week God has Just given us some many opportunities and has been a real humbling week.

Firstly because last night Anya Grace Shorter was born, amazing, mid wife only just got there. Mum did brill, dad is doing house work and Jess and Caleb are loving their new sister ( Jess offered to and tried to cut her hair this morning!!)

Things on Harold Hill have been great to, youth work has started and i think i going to the opportunity to really get to know the community, I've been give some amazing opportunities to lead some parenting courses. A local pub has asked me to lead their carol service and so it's all go!!

The week however started really sadly with the news that a child in Caleb's year group died of meningitis, and a child Caleb's age was shot with a flare gun on the estate over the weekend, both reminding us of the preciousness of life and of the need for people to find the life going hope that Jesus offers. See a child being born only screams this wonderful and beuitful truth of the hope that Christ brings.

R

Still no Baby!

People keep asking what we’re up too, well we see this year as a year of listening, listening to God about the shape and structure of the church, listening to Harold Hill and Listening to each other. Having a team is brilliant!, and Lauren an Steve have already brought so much to the group.

If you’re looking for a biblical justification for what we are doing there are two main bits. Firstly in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah (in chapter 2) spend time assessing the situation, he was only looking at the walls, we’re looking at a community of 30000 people and so we don’t want to rush.

Secondly is the fact that Jesus spent about 30 years just being in a community, so if he spent time fitting in, so can we! In an age were everyone one wants every now people have forgotten that sometimes in the bible God did things straight away and other times thing took years. So were happy to be spending this time listening to him.

Please pray for me I start to Youth Work Jobs next week (if there is not baby) which I’m really looking forward to.

Please pray for steve and Lauren

Please pray the baby comes and all is well!!

R.

waiting!!

I'm not that keen on this whole waiting game thing! Waiting for shorter child number three and waiting for the right opporunties on HH is not easy.

Keen this first year clear to be spending the time waiting on God and getting to know the local community is not going to be easy, there is so much pressure internally to get going and yet this waiting game is all part of that.

Steve and Lauren our new tema members start this week which is really exciting and we're going to be psending loads of time just gettin to know each other and be praying for our new community.

Please pray for them as they settle into HH and for us as we wait.

Please be praying as we are having serveral ooportunities to help support other agencies such as the local youth service and the local sure start centre. Pray for balance of time!!

See you next week, maybe with some baby photos!!

Rich

The first half term

I can hardly believe the first half term is over, it’s gone fast. Caleb and Jess are happy and settled in school and pre-school, thank you God! Rich and I have been busy trying to get started and begin to work out the first steps forward. Last week we had Danny and Vera from Novi Sad come to visit, it was great to spend some time with them and be inspired by their story. We were able to invite some of the local pastors we have met along to join with us and hear them speak and it was good to be able to share their experience. As we set out it is daunting at times not knowing quite where we are going but God has already given us opportunities to begin to build relationships. I pray that as these relationships develop we will know God in them and we will meet those God wants us to befriend.
A

Money!

To be honest Alison and I aren't keen on talking about money publicly!! ( our British reserve and that fact that money is one of things people think the church only talks about!!)

However we must just fill you in on our finances. As you will know we came to Harold Hill with only a house. When we accepted the post there is no funding as this is how Urban expression work and we fully understood that and are supportive of the logic behind it.

Since June God has done something amazing, we now have three streams of income, people who are personally supporting us, I've got twelve hours a week youth work and we have a money support group to whom some churches have made gifts and last week we hard that the Baptist Union is going to support with a half stipend grant. All this means when added up that we are going to be getting around the normal baptist ministers income, which is amazing and we are thankful to those who have supported and prayed for us. A God for being so so faithful.

Please continue to pray for the teams money and for us the house is wonderful, but the bills aren't small!

Do you have decaf'?

On reflection a rather stupid question, as i could see that there was just coffee and tea. Working in Harold Hill is going to mean asking what is important for us to keep being and what is important for us to change. I've started drinking on the local pub and once a week having breakfast in the cafe where i asked the above question. Our time and priority is to understand what living on Harold hill means, including no Decaf when out and about. Now this might be a small thing but it made me stand out like a sore thumb and we not here to stand up because of the coffee we drink! In the last week we have continued to fit in and are commitmented to spending the time to observing and understanding what people and life is like on the Hill, so we can ensure what ever shape the church is it fits those God has called us too.

"To the Jews i became a Jew and to those who don't drink decaf, well i stopping asking for it!" St Paul ( well mostly).

Please pray for us, and that we start to build up friendship which are firstly good friendships and secondly friendship which Jesus teaches about mission on Harold Hill.

R

changing the way you work!

It's one thing to have big ideas about church planting and meeting people when you're in a busy church and attending loads of meetings, it's another to put it into place when you start!!
the last couple of weeks has been about teaching me to have a different routine.

We trying to spend time reading the bible and praying together and Just asking God, where can we met people and learn about Harold hill, this week it's been say hi to some neighbours, people at the school gate and local church leaders.

pray for us, because we need grace to change the working habits of the last nine years, even if the desire is there to change, what is that proverb about a dog and new tricks!! ( not that I'm old!)

I guess this is what picking up your cross and carring it feels like when trying to get to know a new community and seeking that will of Jesus.

R.

we've started

We’ve started!!

Which after all the anticipation is a strange feeling.

Our first task is listening, we been reading our bible together lots and praying. It’s been a real challenge to praying you will be done, without then making human plans on how God’s will should be done. We’ve been trying to get to know the area, the usual things, visiting shops, library, leisure centre , other local churches and pubs, ( yes having a pint is mission, having 6 is err not!)

It’s also been ‘everything has broken two weeks! It amazing how much you take for granted how much you need things and then you find out you can get by without a car for month!! Anyway not having a car has meant we’ve been walking at getting to know area more.

Getting Jessica a place at a preschool has not been easy. There were only places off Harold Hill, but as we very much believe we’re called to live and work in this community, it just didn’t feel right to leave the hill for her preschool. Now we had been told it would be a years wait until a place would be available, however on Friday we got a call that our most local one has a place and she starts Monday.

Love and Prayer

R.

New home!

Hi all, move went really well, very tiring, but was smooth. Romford Baptist did a great job on getting the house ready.

We're using Aug as a time of rest and family time and settling into the new area.

May prayer needs at mo are:

Caleb's school place

Team members ( we having people who are interested, but it's a case interviews and working out what God's plans are)

Family rest and time together

In Sept we'll start to use this more and write some longer reflections on our journey.

Ordination and leaving do!

We couldn't have asked for a better day, the service was great and the evening party was really good day. We were so Humbled by the love support and generosity of people. I'm sure that in the years to come yesterday will be one of those days which God uses to remind me of His love and the love of others!!

Still it does feel a little strange this morning to not be heading down for an early morning prayer meeting, so i think i'll go for a bike ride and then have a big fry up!

R.

Nine years over

After Nine full and enriching years our time at shoebury comes to an end, we're sad, but very excited about what is to come.
Please pray for a good rest over Aug.

R.

Present Prayer Needs

• A great last five weeks at Shoebury
• Move to go well
• School place for Caleb
• People to join the team 

5 weeks to go!

With five weeks to go  we're still keen to finish strong at Shoebury. We are excited about what is to come, but also looking forward to a break and then the start of our adventure.

Check out the Urban expression web site to see the values which we will aim to be living out at Harold Hill. 

http://www.urbanexpression.org.uk/

R.