Westbury-on-Trym Baptist Church

Prayer Diary for 20 May 2012

David — Sun, 20 May 2012 09:30:32 +0000

As we look forward to the induction of our new minister, pray for the church and for Ben as we move together into this new phase of our mission to our local community.
We pray for the Olympic Torch Relay as it passes through Bristol this week, that it may bring communities together.
We pray for the students at Baptist Colleges who are looking to settle in their first pastorate, that they may know God’s peace at this exciting but daunting time in their journey.
We pray for the BMS missionaries in Chad. They only started there in 2010 and are mainly focused on medical work in Guinebor II Hospital near the capital N’Djamena. Pray for Mark and Andrea Hotchkin, both surgeons, and their family as they live and work in this demanding environment.

Noise Review 2012

David — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:49:21 +0000

The Noise has now been going for 11 years, and each year volunteers have been driven by the same desire to simply ‘Show God’s Love in Practical Ways’.

The Noise 2012 was not like any other year though! While continuing to work in the communities of Horfield, Lawrence Weston, Little Stoke, Lockleaze, Manor Farm, Sea Mills, Southmead and Upper Horfield in North Bristol, this year The Noise also grew to work in Barton Hill in East Bristol. It has been really encouraging to build relationships with people working and living in Barton Hill, and to work together to put on a Family Fun Afternoon, and complete a number of local practical projects over the weekend itself. The feedback from everyone so far has been really positive and we look forward to building on this in the future, and continuing to support the work being done in this community.

The Noise 2012 also saw the first ever ‘100 Days of Prayer’ taking place in the lead up to the weekend. It was great to have so many people praying together for The Noise and the detail of the weekend, but also for the people living in our local communities, the real needs, and for the projects and work that are ongoing throughout the year. Please remember to keep on praying, these people and needs do not go away once The Noise weekend is over – for ways to get involved practically, have a look at the ‘What’s Next?’ information attached.

The Noise 2012 was quite literally the biggest Noise weekend ever, in every way!

870 people volunteered over the three days (with nearly 600 on Saturday alone), giving 7840 hours of time.
These volunteers came from 50 different churches or groups.
249 were under 18.
3 were over 80!

This year, Noise volunteers worked hard on 91 Community Transformation Projects, including building a shelter in a community allotment in Barton Hill, rubbish and bramble clearance at Lawrence Weston Community Farm, work in the grounds of local schools in Horfield and Lockleaze, and many different individual garden projects in Southmead, and across all other communities.

One local resident said “I am so grateful for the gardening work which was done last Saturday. What a transformation from a ‘jungle’ to a garden again! The friendly people worked so hard, and it was a pleasure to hear their happy laughter and chatter as they worked. Thank you so much.”

While some of you were working on the practical projects, others were setting up and hosting the 8 Family Fun Afternoons and 3 Community BBQ’s that took place over the 3 days. Hundreds of people came out to enjoy all the free activities on offer, from the face painting to the football coaching, the climbing wall to the café area – and even in the rain on Monday!

On the Sunday, The Noise also hosted 3 different events for Senior Citizens, a three course dinner in Horfield and Southmead, and a cream tea in Sea Mills. Each event had a great atmosphere as everyone enjoyed meeting new people, eating good food, and being entertained.

4 Football Coaching and Tournament sessions were organised over the weekend by teams of volunteers and led by World Sports Ministries. Rachael commented “My highlight of the day was hearing a group of boys playing football sing along to music from the fun day while one team where making their move to set up for a goal. Another great moment included the rain finishing within minutes of 2:30pm for us to start the football. (we had 24 boys raring to get going). Brilliant!”

And… a lot of cars were washed for free all over the community!

It has been really encouraging to hear some of your stories and feedback from the weekend. But we would love to hear more!! We would also love to hear any feedback that you have from your experience of The Noise 2012, if there are things that you think worked particularly well, practical suggestions for how we might make things work better, or ideas for next year – please send us an email.

To see photos and video clips from The Noise 2012, then please visit www.thenoise.org.uk, or have a look at www.facebook.com/bristolnoise, or follow us on www.twitter.com/bristolnoise

The Noise Organisers would like to say a massive THANK YOU to all of you who were involved over the weekend. We really appreciate the time you gave up and all the hard work you did to serve and bless our communities and this City.

And don’t forget: the need to show God’s love in practical ways is an all year round thing! Keep going! “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9)

And… The Noise 2013: Saturday 4th – Monday 6th May!

Induction of Ben Lucas as our new Minister

David — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:57:15 +0000

We are very excited to be welcoming a new Minister
and we warmly invite you to …

The Induction of our new Minister, Revd Ben Lucas

5pm, Sunday 27th May 2012

Followed by refreshments

Directions to find us

Prayer Diary for 13 May 2012

Laura — Sun, 13 May 2012 09:32:46 +0000

We pray for Ben and Ez and family as they move into the Manse this week, for all the practical arrangements to go smoothly and for them to feel welcome in their new home.
We pray for Gorse Hill Baptist Church in Swindon, especially for their plans to redevelop their premises and facilities to better serve the local community.
We pray for the EBF Indigenous Missionaries Project, supported by BMS, and for all of the missionaries involved all over the world.
We pray for families of young children in Niger, where one third of children are malnourished and one in seven dies before the age of five. We pray for the work that the UN Aid agency is doing to try to address the developing food crisis in the Sahel region of the country, as it enters its ‘lean season’.

Prayer Diary for 6 May 2012

Laura — Sun, 06 May 2012 09:35:44 +0000

We pray for the Baptist Church in Melksham, where there is currently a pastoral vacancy. We especially pray for the children’s and youth activities, and for the leaders and helpers that run them.

Prayer Diary for 29 April 2012

Laura — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:30:14 +0000

We pray for The Noise, taking place next weekend (5th – 7th May), for the communities that will be served, and for all of the volunteers, especially those in Bristol.
We pray for the Baptist Assembly, taking place in London next weekend (4th – 6th May), for the practical arrangements involved, and for all those attending, especially Duncan, Harvey and Phil from our church, that they may feel a real sense of God’s presence among them.
We pray for all volunteers on Tearfund’s Transform trips, that they may know God’s presence in the midst of the poverty they see around them.
We pray for the international judges giving a verdict in the war crimes trial of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor, for his involvement in the civil war in Sierra Leone of 1991-2002. We pray that the court may give a just verdict.

Prayer Diary for 22 April 2012

Laura — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 09:33:08 +0000

We pray for Burnham-on-Sea Baptist Church, for the work they are doing with children and young people, and pray that they may have wisdom in reaching out to the ‘missing generations’ aged between 16 and 60.
We pray for the work of Tearfund amongst the women of Cambodia, to promote women’s rights and to restore relationships within families. Praise God that this is having beneficial results.
We pray for Baptists in Serbia, for their ministers and pastors as they seek to bring their congregations closer to God.
We pray for the political relationship between Sudan and South Sudan, where there is once more the threat of war. We pray that a peaceful means may be found to air the views of both sides.

Prayer Diary for 15 April 2012

Laura — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:13:16 +0000

We pray for the three Foodbanks in Bristol, for their relationships with local agencies, and for the volunteers and those who receive the food.
We pray for the work of the WEBA Pastoral Care team, who provide support for ministers and their families.
We pray for the Baptist church in Sweden, that they may grow, train and develop their community as much as they hope to by 2020.
We pray for all affected by last week’s earthquake in Aceh, Indonesia, especially all those who have been evacuated or lost their homes.

Prayer Diary for 8 April 2012

Laura — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:30:26 +0000

Today is the day when we remember that everything has changed. In the face of the single greatest act of compassion ever witnessed on earth, our words seem small. So, for today, pray and reflect on the resurrection of Jesus and all that it means for you.
We pray for the BMS trainee missionaries who are preparing to begin service in June.
We pray for Baptists in Jordan and Syria, for the church planting they hope to do in both countries, and that more church leaders may come forward in both places.
We pray for the ceasefire due to start in Syria on 10 April, that in the days leading up to it, the violence may not increase. We continue to pray for the diplomacy taking place to try to address the concerns of the Syrian people.

Tall Ships Brig Voyage

David — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:30:05 +0000

The Baptist Times have put together a Tall Ships Voyage for 40 young people with a connection to a Baptist Church. I have joined up as one of the 8 strong team of Voyage Chaplains. There are also two young men from Lawrence Weston Baptist Church enrolled too and a couple of other people I know joining as chaplains. We’re sailing from Southampton on 10th April ending up in Cardiff on 15th April probably via Southern Ireland.

We are sailing on the Stavros S Niarchos, a 60 metre square rigger owened and operated by the Tall Ships Youth Trust. They have more information about the Stavros S Niarchos and a Fleet Tracker, which will show you where the boat is right now.

If you’re the praying kind – It would be lovely if you could pray:

That young people grow in confidence, self esteem and an expansion of their life vision!
That the awe of the ocean translates in to awe of its creator
That in the openness to new experiences will come an opening to newness in relationship to God
That I will be able to support the young people aboard and learn from them and the experience

I’m hoping to video log the voyage. I don’t know how much time I’ll have and I’ve no idea how interesting the videos will be – you’ll find out if you watch them! Here’s the latest entry in to my Ship’s vLog:

If you want to see previous videos that have been recorded – head on over to qik.com