Hope

Most of us have soap
Most of us own a coat
But do we all have hope?

Some of us love to swing on ropes
Some of us love to smoke dope
But do we all have hope?

A few own a boat
Even fewer have a moat
But do we all have hope?

I hope I will get it
I hope it will be ok
Is this really hope?

Life at times can feel like a slippery slope
We all need to have hope 
Do you have hope?

A space for solitude in all

In every man lies a zone of solitude that no human intimacy can fill: and there God encounters us.

Brother Roger of Taize

A place where God encounters us, that is truly mind blowing

A New Start

Today was my first day of my new role as Volunteer Coordinator for Enfield for Oasis. I must admit that it was a strange feeling basically working 9-5 today with commuting etc. It was good to meet many people both at the academy where I will be based and also at Oasis HQ in waterloo. It feels like there’s lots to get my head around and many other people to meet and I guess this will be a frustrating time in many ways for me as I just want to get on but need to spend this time learning about the organisation. It is going to be challenging as well as I try to balance everything with my time at church. However I am looking forward to the challenge.

4 Years

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary

Facebook, MSN & Conflict Resolution

I was leading a session with a group a few weeks back which was called ‘The me of the internet.’ It stuck me some time ago that many people can use social networking etc in very unhealthy way. It was good to talk about

the shortening of the gap between stimulus and response on something like msn

the dangers of not seeing body language

not picking up sarcasm

the cowardice of slagging people off online

It was good to do some thinking with the group around conflict resolution using Matthew 18:15-17. I’ve never done much teaching around this or heard much. I think it was a really useful time and I see myself doing sessions like this more and more frequently and new media continues to invade our lives

True Family and Friendship

I am very privilaged to have worked with an amazing group of young people for the last 5 years and have had the pleasure of seeing new people join and this group grow and mature in everyway over this time. One outworking of the beauty of this family was the other day, many of the group are doing exams and one girl was exibiting her art work and amazing talent. a whole bunch of us turned up to look at it and to support her, no pressing from me they just did it and I tagged along. This type of friendship is special.

Here is a piece of the before mentioned young persons work that she did for our youth weekend away this year. It takes pride of place in our church building now and holds many special memories.

Ian Hislop – Interview

I watched an excellent interview with Ian Hislop a few weeks back. I’m a huge fan of his work and humour (Have I Got News For You is my favourite TV programme and I would love to go and watch it being filmed one day). This interview touched on many aspects of his life from his upbringing in various parts of the world, through being the editor of private eye to his Christian beliefs and struggles. He quoted someone as one point (if anyone knows who it was I would love to know) which I would imagine sums up many of my fellow wobbly kneed, thomas like Christians when he said

“I have never quite been able to make that jump from belief to unbelief”

movement

It’s been a while since I last had the desire the write anything on here apart from highlighting the good work of others. Well hopefully over the next few days a few things will appear.

It’s been a funny little while with my attention being pulled in many directions. My new role with Oasis starts on 1st June which means getting things as organised as possible here at church as there will be a bit of a gap before we hopefully apoint an associate youth worker. This whole process has also taken up time over the past month or so. With half term now upon us next week will be a bit of a varied week including a trip out with Jo to see Rob Brydon to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary

Job – Associate Youth Worker

We are advertising for an Associate Youth Worker to join our youth work team. The details are below and you can also download the advert and application form from our website download page here. It will also be appearing in the July Youthwork mag. Winchmore Hill Baptist Church

Youth Worker – Part Time (14 -18 hours per week)

We are a Church with a strong commitment to young people and we are seeking a part-time youth worker to work alongside our existing youth worker.  The main focus will be in developing our outreach to young people and to support and encourage young people in the Church.  The successful candidate will be expected to play a full part in running, developing and maintaining links with local schools, and building positive relationships within the Church.

Whilst the successful candidate would preferably be qualified, consideration will be given to someone with experience of youth work.  This is a one-year contract, with the possibility of extension.

Closing date for applications:    5 July 2009

Applications Form:  http://whbcyouthwork.wordpress.com/downloads/ or Lewis Pearson (020-8360-5664)

Interviews:    Week beginning 20 July 2009

Salary:    £ 18,000 to £ 21,000 (pro-rata full time annual equivalent)

5th Birthday

This blog is 5 years old today.