Party-ing in the Garden Once More...

Well, last week, we were out in the church garden once more, raising funds for KIDZ KLUB, our joint outreach to the children and families of Old Harlow, alongside Harlow Baptist Church and Freshwaters Christian Fellowship.

Over £1,700 was raised for KIDZ KLUB from a whole variety of activities, from bouncy castle to cake stall, and an Auction of Promises, and much more more besides.

We're passionate about children and young people, and we look forward to serving the young families of our community through KIDZ KLUB in August. Click here to find out more!

Easter Reflections

Tomorrow being Easter Day here in England, members of St Mary's Old Harlow will be gathering to celebrate what is for us the greatest miracle of all time: the resurrection of Jesus. As the Gospel records tell us, this happened in early morning, while it was still dark and the city was asleep. But the impact of the resurrection of Jesus was to felt, not only through the rest of that day, but through all history since.

Something happened in the darkness of that tomb in the wee hours of that first Easter morning whose significance is still being felt around the world today. Various attempts have been made to explain away Jesus' resurrection, but the event is not explained by the expectations of Jesus' followers, none of whom expected it to happen, and all of them amazed and overjoyed after the event.

Checking the evidence for this event is a painstaking process, not one we have time for here. Jesus' resurrection highlights the significance of his death just two days before: death by the most gruesome means known in that time and place; death in place of a murderer named Barabbas, whose fate would almost certainly have been the same had he not been released, thereby sealing Jesus' condemnation.

The Roman governor at the time, perhaps the most famous Roman governor of all time, Pontius Pilate offered the people a choice, in keeping with a custom of releasing a prisoner at the time of the Passover. The choice was between Barabbas and Jesus; Barabbas was chosen and set free; Jesus was sent to be crucified.

Barabbas stands for a humanity out of relationship with God, a condition with all kinds of distortions evident across the world today, through greed, wars, man-made disasters, preventable disease, murder, strife and so on. One man dies so that another man can be set free.

Followers of Jesus today see his story at work in their own lives. They see in Jesus someone who died on their behalf, with all of God's anger at human sinfulness directed at him at that moment, so that they can enjoy God's love now and for eternity. They see in Jesus someone whose resurrection from the dead guarantees God's good future for them - not because they are anything special in themselves, but because of God's extraordinary love.

Much space in the New Testament is given to reflection on the significance of Jesus' resurrection. Finding out what it might mean for ourselves could depend on seeing what it means in the lives of members of St Mary's Old Harlow, some of whom will be baptised, and some of whom will be reaffirming their baptismal vows with full immersion in water, enacting, as it were, dying to their old lives without God at the centre, and rising to new lives with Jesus. All will be celebrating an event that happened in a cold, dark tomb some 2000 years ago.

Why not check us out and see what this extraordinary event in history could come to mean for you? We're here every Sunday and at other times in the week. We look forward to seeing you.

Christmas Reflections

Thinking back over the past month and reflecting on the Christmas build up and celebrations before turning my attention to looking forward to Easter caused me to think of the importance of sharing the joy of God with us with as many people we can and Christmas certainly gives that opportunity.

We were invited along with our brothers and sisters from harlow Baptist Church to lead carol singing in two local pubs as well as in the High Street of the Old Town. We had Visits for Schools Christmas Services from Churchgate, St Nicholas, and Harlowbury Schools plus I had the opportunity of taking part in Fawbert & Barnard School service at Harlow Baptist Church.

Adding to that we had the Little Fishes Pre School and St Mary's Under Fives (SMUF) Mums and Tots Nativity Celebrations.

Our Snday School (Kingdom Kidz) led us in a Sunday celebration of Christmas with the help of Little Fishes.

There was the Coffee Shop Christmas Communion

Some members of our Midweek Groups went around the Old Town singing Carols.
All this before we get on to celebrate with our Candlelight Carol Service, Christingle Service Midnight Carols and Christmas Day Celebrations.

How many opportunities? How many lives touched with the Good News of God with Us?
How many of us enriched by sharing our faith?

We ahd 260 people attend the Christingle around 175 attend the carol service and 120 attend the Midnight service, many of whom do not come that often at present and if we add to that the number of parents, friends and other family members of school children and pre-school children along with the pub regulars and neighbours in the town we can see the opportunities are vast.

In some small measure it captures the Shepherds story in Luke 2 where they praised God and spread the word concerning what they had been told concerning Jesus.

The Church looked lovely thanks to the Flower and Banner Teams.
The Christmas tree in the picture was donated to st Mary's by John & Barbara Barnes and wonderfully decorated by Hayley Smith and Carly Woods.

My next Blog will be to look forward to the way ahead.

Out of Africa, my Rwandan visit

In November 2007 I visited Rwanda as part of a Church Mission Society Short Term Mission Team.



The visit was challenging, inspiring and heart-wrenching as I listened to stories from people with first hand experience of the war and genocide and also saw the tremendous work being carried out by Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

This was my second time in Rwanda and it was a privilege returning there again

Rwanda - The land of a thousand hills

It is a country of natural beauty and yet has seen so much pain and suffering in twentieth century culminating in war and genocide

The church at Ntamara where many were killed in the Genocide of 1994

Yet there is hope in the land as can be seen in the faces of the people we encountered

I will be giving a presentation of my visit to Rwanda after the services on Sunday 13th January 2008 'The heart of Rwanda and a heart for Rwanda'

out of Africa...

'Multi-coloured' described our day at St Mary's yesterday, as we dressed up for our 'out of Africa' Sunday. We are privileged to be involved with God's big story in Africa today, and yesterday was a feast of story, worship and African food and dress as we celebrated that partnership.

African dress was only part of the 'dress code' yesterday. Others were seen in Latin American, Indian and even cowboy costume. In fact Paul Williams (our Associate Minister) was even seen in his Mongol felt coat (all the way from the Gobi Desert). And others wore English! But the focus was on our involvement with God's story in Africa.

First up was Nik Wright, speaking about his involvement with the Fountain of Peace Children's Foundation, which is building a village in Uganda where children can grow up free from disease and war (and the fear of both), in partnership with local churches.

William and Sarah Babumba (long-standing members of St Mary's) spoke next. The Babumbas live in Nairobi, Kenya, where William heads up much of Christian Aid's work helping local churches to combat poverty and the spread of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

William Babumba (in white shirt) assisting with community self-help projects in Africa

Next up was Jane Holmes (another member of St Mary's), who is an advocate for Compassion, an organisation that works through local churches in the UK and the developing world to facilitate child sponsorships.

And last but not least was Diane Hatt, who was part of a team drawn from several Harlow churches, which visited a number churches and church-run community projects in Uganda in June this year.

Diane Hatt at a Ugandan church-run orphanage

a typical scene in rural Uganda

Through the day we were reminded that though Africa's problems seem huge, little by little, ordinary people and churches are making a difference, bringing hope and a future to many who had neither. And we were also reminded of the fantastic privilege of being partnered with people, who despite enormous hardship, bear testimony to the transforming, joy-giving life that is available in Jesus Christ to all, regardless of age, sex, status or cultural heritage.

We are passionate about our involvement with communities around the world, who in Jesus' name are bringing hope, joy, peace and a future to many in desperate need. This is not because we're anything special; we're just ordinary people who believe in a big God who cares about our world more deeply than anyone can imagine.

In a couple of weeks' time, in partnership with Harlow Baptist Church and Freshwaters Christian Fellowship, we will be expressing God's care in our local community through our Summer KIDZ KLUB at Fawbert and Barnard School, Old Harlow. To find out more about KIDZ KLUB, visit our website, or call our Parish Office on 01279 432135. Or to register your child(ren), click on the image below.

We look forward to seeing you!

Onwards and Upwards...

...well, northwards actually, for our Church Army Captain, Tim, his wife Sarah, and Alice and Ed Stanford, as they head to a new church in Liverpool.

Many of us, both in St Mary's and the wider community, have reason to be thankful for this family being with us over the last five years, whether it's been Tim's tireless work with the KIDZ KLUBS, Fitzwilliams Court, the school assemblies, and many other activities, Sarah's work with her home group and with the Michael Roberts Charitable Trust, and not forgetting of course Alice and Ed growing up and reaching out as young Christians.

They will leave a huge gap in our life at StM's. But they will also leave a huge legacy, as many people have found faith in Jesus, and new purpose for life. And many of the activities they have started, or were involved in starting, such as KIDZ KLUB, will continue with new people stepping up to carry these onwards and upwards.

So thanks Tim, Sarah, Alice and Ed, for all you've done, and for sharing your lives with us - and God bless you in your new venture in Liverpool.

Party-ing in the Garden

A great time was enjoyed by all ages at our Garden Party, with a great variety of activities and stalls. In fact there was everything from bouncy castle to Playstations, art and crafts, the St Mark's School Gospel Band, and other performers combining to make a hugely enjoyable afternoon.

Our photos tell their own story of an event in which members of St Mary's and the local community joined together for a truly great time.

(Even those of us with four legs were enjoying the fun!)

And while we were having fun together, we also managed to raise around £700 for KIDZ KLUB, our August holiday club for the children of Old Harlow. We run KIDZ KLUB jointly with Harlow Baptist and Freshwaters Churches. Watch out for more details of KIDZ KLUB coming soon...