Archive for November, 2007

LOGOS HOPE (OM)

by Colin Dexter

Just to let people know that OM’s (Operation Mobilisation) largest ship leaves Croatia to prepare for ministry.

I believe the ship will visit several ports in the UK in Autumn 2008.

There is a webcam on board apparently: www.omships.org / www.om.org

hello people!

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Hiya my lovelies.

How are we all? I wanted to ask you a favour that will cost you nothing and help a charity!

In February I’m going to Haiti for two weeks with the charity Haiti Hospital Appeal (see www.haitihospitalappeal.org) which is obviously well exciting and hopefully something you’ll hear more about before I go.

So, as Christmas is coming, and being the modern techies we all are many of us will no doubt be partaking in some shopping via the medium of the web.

If you are planning to buy any Christmas presents on-line this year, if you start from the www.buy.at/Haitihospitalappeal site, and link from there to your favourite sites (Amazon, Marks & Spencer, Play.com, HMV etc) and buy as you normally would. You get the same discounts and offers, but as you started from the Haiti web shop, the Haiti Hospital Appeal will receive a donation from the site you purchase from – for free!

Money for nothing – well just for starting from our little web shop site. Please give this a try!

And, just to clarify, it doesn’t just work on Christmas presents. So, if you’re not the present kind of person, just shop for yourself it will still work! Yay! It also works on presents for dogs, people who play golf and grandma’s!

As for me, I’m working nights to get money to go to Haiti (and maybe get a decent bathroom if I’m lucky!) So I’m kinda not doing much else!!! (Though I have had my hair cut.)
My friend and Vicar has moved away with his family to Hull so that’s a bit sad and will make church very different.

Today, the sun is out in Manchester. Isn’t that lovely!!! Shame I’ll probably be going back to bed before starting work at 11pm tonight. Word up Johnny P!

Love and hugs to all,

cej

A new blog.

by Colin Dexter

Hello there everyone. I am a little sad today, as no one responds to my blogs. I hope you are reading them!

If you would like to know anything about what I’m doing please comment – I love to know there is a purpose in writing them, that they are actually useful!

Anyway, I am currently in the throws of the end of term and lots of deadlines! I have calculated that I have 7000 words to write by Wednesday. Hmmm…. I need to get better at time management! I have done some of it now, today has been a good day, but still more to go!

If you have any comments about predestination or free will or even going as far as ‘once saved, always saved’ please comment. Your ideas will be most useful!
These past two weeks have been really good, mostly! The shoe boxes went really well – the young people enjoyed making the boxes up and we had a large turn out to wrap and pack the boxes up. See the Christmas boxes blog for more info.

Schools work has been going well. I successfully managed to get a student to return to classes – grr, for now!
The girls seem to be responsing to the sessions positively. The guys are still a mystery to me – how do you talk to a 15 year old boy who only knows how to grunt?!?! It’s not that their ignorant or annoyed at having to come to the sessions, I gave them the option to stop coming and they continue to turn up! I don’t know what to say to them – again, ideas would be well recieved!

I have become concious over the last week that I am spending over half my time doing work with other organisations, when I feel the majority of my time should be spent doing work with and through Agape. I know the schools work is valuable, but I have decided to stop the mentoring on a Friday morning, reducing my Friday am hours from 3 to 1, so I can commit time to planning an Easter event in line with Hope 08 using social action and ‘public’ worship to reach the residents of Ty-Sign. That is the barebones of the idea, more will follow.

I want to make sure that I’m doing what you, the church, expect from me, so here is my plea… if I am falling short of your expectations, or directing efforts in the wrong directions, or even missing something all together please comment. I am here to serve the church and the local community and without effective communication I don’t feel I can do either.

As an update on the detached work, Jon and I have decided to take hot chocolate out on a Friday night. This was well received by the 3 young people we met on Friday night, but there were only two of them!!! and it was cold! If you would like to be involved in the detached work we could always do with more volunteers. We meet at my house at 6.30-6.45 on a Friday evening, and spend just over an hour on average walking around, chatting to young people we bump into. If you would like to be involved it may mean that we could form two teams and cover a wider area, maybe incorporating some of Risca into the route. Please get in touch for more info!!

I think I have wittered on for long enough. Please let me know how you think it is all going – I appreciate comments! Good and bad! Just don’t make me cry too much!! lol.

Thanks! Bex.x

November! Yey!

by Colin Dexter

Greetings fellow bloggers! How are you this wonderful day?
I am aware that it has been a while since my last blog. I can only apologise!
I thought I would give you an insight to a few of the aspects of my week over
the past month.
I finally got into the school as a mentor, and my role has developed over the
last three weeks, so now instead of meeting with 10-15 high achieving year 11
students, I am meeting with them and am available to meet with anyone from year
11 on a Friday morning. I am also involved with the Princes Trust group in year 10,
raising money for the charity.

It has been a huge learning curve going into the school. The young people,
especially the girls, have been so honest with me. Don’t get me wrong, it
is great that they feel they can bring problems to me and trust me to help
them resolve them, but sometimes their degree of honestly stretches me beyond
what I know. As I said, it is a steep learning curve!

I have also become more involved in the after schools club at the TLC.
Although it can sometimes be frustrating it is a good group of young people
and they really enjoy coming along to the club.

The younger youth group (that still really needs a name!) has been going well.
We now have 12-14 girls on the register, and very helpfully they don’t all
turn up at once!! The group is developing as a girls group, and since we have
no male leader/volunteer it is probably for the best. We have been looking at
Jesus, who he was and is and his purpose in coming to earth, prayer, what it
is and how we can use our strengths and gifts to pray. We have also made cakes
and played lots of random games. As far as I know, all involved in the group
thoroughly enjoy it.

The older youth cell has also been going well. We had a session or two on
sharing our faith with our mates, where we split into two teams and made
bridges from spaghetti and jelly babies. Great fun!

The girls had huge points for effort although their points for actual bridge
building were low, because it didn’t turn out like a bridge!!

We spent an evening discussing tough questions, suffering to church and back
again! I think everyone learnt something that night. We also spent a night
considering the story of the man who scatters the seeds on the path/weeds/soil
and rocky ground. We considered how well the seed was growing in our life.
Because of full timetables and unexpected surprises we had half term off,
although I am planning a most exciting joint group with the younger girls
for two weeks time!

Prayer points.
Please pray for the young people I am mentoring in the school and also for
me in that role, that they can continue to be honest with me, and that I will
be able to help them at least to some degree.

Pray also that the girls return to the younger group full of excitement to learn
about God. We had an unexpected break over half term when no one turned up!

Please pray for the older group, thanking God that Keryn has brought her friend
along, and also for the continued growth of the group, both spiritually and numerically.

For those of you who don’t know, Joe and I got engaged on Tuesday of this week.
(That was the unexpected surprise I mentioned earlier!)Please pray that we keep
God at the centre of all we do.

Thank you for your continued support of me in this role, through prayer and
volunteering etc. I really, really, really appreciate it!

Please drop by 250 Elm Drive sometime for a cup of tea and a biscuit.
Visitors are always welcome, although I would appreciate a little bit of notice so
I can get some milk!!! Love Bex.x

Operation Christmas Child alternative

by Colin Dexter

Instead of using Operation Christmas child and Samaritans purse we are going to use an alternative to support a family I know who do something very similar. It is called Sweeps. The info is the same. Below are a list of gift ideas and gift no-no’s!

Gift Ideas for the sweeps shoe boxes. Please bring all you can on Sunday
or drop it round to my house!
These are just some ideas! Go mad!

TOYS
small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos,
jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise
(with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets,
writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS
toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER
Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts,
socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights
(with extra batteries)

A PERSONAL NOTE
In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of
yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child
may write back.)

Do Not Include:

Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military
figures; chocolate or food; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins;
breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol cans

Postmodernism

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At TLC Cell group this evening (Wednesday 07 November 2007) the issue of postmodernism in modern day Christianity reared its head. Does it have it’s place? Is it a cop out and too non-conformist?

TearFund gifts & crafts evening: Wed 14th Nov

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You are invited to a TearFund gifts & crafts evening.

Wednesday 14th November; 7.30pm

At 24 Brunel Avenue, Rogerstone, Newport (Home of the Thomas’)

This is a great opportunity to check out some non-boring Christmas presents. It will be a friendly occasion, so bring your friends (but tell them soon, as it’s only a week away). if you need ‘proper invites’, Anne has got some.

Ty-Sign Recycle

by Liz Owen

Welcome to Ty-Sign Recycle!

This blog category is open to anyone that would like to recycle an item rather than scrap it or throw it away. You can post items on here that you want to get rid of, or even items you want/need. Whatever you’ve got, whether it’s a table, sofa, rabbit hutch, TV, children’s clothes or toys, feel free to post it – you never know; your junk may be someone else’s prized possession!

The only rule is that everything posted must be FREE of charge.

To start posting items please read on for instructions or refer to the ‘Ty-Sign Recycle ‘Rules”:

  • If you wish to list an item for recycling please create a new blog post under the category of ‘Ty-Sign Recycle’ and complete the title as follows:

Offered: (item name, i.e.) Large TV

The description should then give all details possible, e.g. size, weight (if possible), age and current state. You should also include your e-mail address so that interested parties may contact you if they have questions or to arrange collection.

  • If you have collected an item as a courtesy to other users, so that other users do not bombard the offerer with requests, we ask that you create a ‘collected post’. It should follow the below example:

Collected: Large TV

  • Please ensure that you NEVER post your collection address on the blog as it will be withheld (all messages will be checked for compliance by the administrator before being posted live on the blog).

Thanks for being a member of the Ty-Sign recycle group, please contact us if you have any questions about any aspect of this blog. Happy recycling!

Disclaimer

Ty-Sign Recycle members USE THE LIST AT THEIR OWN RISK. Please take reasonable measures to protect your safety and privacy when posting to the list or participating in an exchange. By joining the list, you agree to hold neither the list owners, moderators nor anyone affiliated with Ty-Sign Recycle responsible or liable for any circumstance resulting from a Ty-Sign Recycle-related exchange or communication.

Today’s Challenge from the Sermon!

by Liz Owen

Greetings all!

From today’s sermon we thought it might be fun/interesting/theological (delete as appropriate) to have a ‘challenge from the sermon’ and this weeks challenge is….

  • Wind Turbines – does God care?

What do you think? Add your comment below and lets see where we end up!

Preaching Theme

by Colin Dexter

In Agape we are looking at some of the people who were touched by God in Acts. These people were just like you and me, in different walks of life & from different backgrounds. Each was challenged in some way by the message of Christ. How did they respond? How did their lives change?

These were the people around at the beginning & their stories are recorded for a purpose. We hope to learn from them as in a sense, we are all still part of the story of ACTS.