We had a great time at Minsteracres in October 2019. Richard Colbrook and Rick Thomas brought some challenging teaching and 25 children enjoyed plenty of action and activties. More information and some photos can be seen here.
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Karol and Joshua arrive in Birtley
Karol and Joshua have arrived form Stuttgart, Germany. They will be with us until August next year. They will help with the ministry of the church in the local community, particularly with children. They will help to lead the has worked with Ranger Outpost and will also work with the children in Messy Church and in Sunday School.
Karol has worked with Royal Rangers in South Africa for one year before returning to Germany and studying in Bible School for one year. She leads a group of older children in her outpost in Stuttgart. She is very active in football, and has played for local teams. She says: “I really enjoy working with Rangers and know that it changed my life, I can identify with children who are not growing up with Sunday school or Bible Stories. I think Rangers is a great way to get Jesus into children and through them into whole Families.”
Joshua has worked with Royal Rangers in Germany for 12 years and leads a team of boys aged 9 to 12. He has worked closely with his outpost to organise summer retreats and many Ranger events. He is a keen and gifted sportsman and has a keen interest in cooking! In describing why he chose to come to Birtley, he says “I want to give a sense to my free year by helping to develop an outpost and bring the good news of Jesus Christ to people. I think this is a good way to invest myself useful in Gods kingdom. It is also a good opportunity for me to learn English and get to know England.”
Congratulations to Joe and Sylvia who are celebrating 50 years of marriage.
From now on remember: if you are ever asked “What important event took place on 20th July 1969?”, the answer may not be “Man first walked on the moon!” It could well be “Joe and Sylvia got married!”.
Congratulations to Patrick and Denise who graduated from KST on 13th July 2019 after 3 hard years of work. Graduation was at 3pm in the King’s Centre, Oxford. The course included 21 modules that covered a range of topics including how to read and study the bible (exegesis and hermeneutics); different books of the bible (for example, there were specialist modules on Genesis, Isaiah, the Gospels, Acts, Revelation); topics in systematic theology (for example: ecclesiology, soteriology and quite a few other -ologies) and a range of topics addressing the mission of the Church in modern world.
Patrick says: “It was a great experience for both of us. We met a group of very talented teachers and some amazing fellow students, all of whom are serving God in different ways across the UK. Writing our first essays for 35 years was a bit tricky, and we are relived that the final one is completed at last, but we have gained in so many ways from the experience, and we hope that the church will profit from this too!”
Denise says: “I really enjoyed being part of this course. I think that I now have a much broader grasp of the Bible and am better equipped to serve in Church. In addition to all the things I studied learnt, it was an eye-opening experience meeting Christians from different backgrounds and churches.”
Michael Ivey preached at Birtley Community Church on 30th June. It was his last visit before he and Kate leave Hexham for Oxfordshire where he will begin his new post in Abingdon Community Church. He will of course be missed by many members of Birtley Community Church, after he worked part time for us at Birtley Community Church in 2017. There were plenty of laughs as Patrick Briddon presented him with a copy of Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem on behalf of the church.
Russell and Edith are back with us. After a month away during which they had a 3 hour bike ride and had an epic excursion by canoe (Edith in photo is up the creek but has held on to her paddle!), they will be back in church on Sunday 30 June. Just what we expect from octogenarians at BCC!
We enjoyed outdoors cooking at our Royal Rangers outpost meeting on Tuesday 18th June – hot dogs followed by toasted marshmallows. Also a chance to learn about creating a fire using tinder, kindling and fuel and using a flint and steel to create the initial spark. We had about 20 children plus leaders by the time the outpost meeting finished.
We had a great week with the Texan visiting team this week. They visited two schools this time, Barley Mow Primary School and Birtley East, doing an assembly and six lessons in each school. They also held a line dance and hog roast event at Birtley Community Church which more than 90 people attended. Finally they helped with a special messy church at the end of their visit, to which 40 children and 25 parents came, having met the Texans at the two schools. Well done to everyone who gave them accommodation and worked with them throughout the week.
Karol and Joshua arrive in Birtley
Karol and Joshua have arrived form Stuttgart, Germany. They will be with us until August next year. They will help with the ministry of the church in the local community, particularly with children. They will help to lead the has worked with Ranger Outpost and will also work with the children in Messy Church and in Sunday School.
Karol has worked with Royal Rangers in South Africa for one year before returning to Germany and studying in Bible School for one year. She leads a group of older children in her outpost in Stuttgart. She is very active in football, and has played for local teams. She says: “I really enjoy working with Rangers and know that it changed my life, I can identify with children who are not growing up with Sunday school or Bible Stories. I think Rangers is a great way to get Jesus into children and through them into whole Families.”
Joshua has worked with Royal Rangers in Germany for 12 years and leads a team of boys aged 9 to 12. He has worked closely with his outpost to organise summer retreats and many Ranger events. He is a keen and gifted sportsman and has a keen interest in cooking! In describing why he chose to come to Birtley, he says “I want to give a sense to my free year by helping to develop an outpost and bring the good news of Jesus Christ to people. I think this is a good way to invest myself useful in Gods kingdom. It is also a good opportunity for me to learn English and get to know England.”
Congratulations to Joe and Sylvia who are celebrating 50 years of marriage.
From now on remember: if you are ever asked “What important event took place on 20th July 1969?”, the answer may not be “Man first walked on the moon!” It could well be “Joe and Sylvia got married!”.
Congratulations to Patrick and Denise who graduated from KST on 13th July 2019 after 3 hard years of work. Graduation was at 3pm in the King’s Centre, Oxford. The course included 21 modules that covered a range of topics including how to read and study the bible (exegesis and hermeneutics); different books of the bible (for example, there were specialist modules on Genesis, Isaiah, the Gospels, Acts, Revelation); topics in systematic theology (for example: ecclesiology, soteriology and quite a few other -ologies) and a range of topics addressing the mission of the Church in modern world.
Patrick says: “It was a great experience for both of us. We met a group of very talented teachers and some amazing fellow students, all of whom are serving God in different ways across the UK. Writing our first essays for 35 years was a bit tricky, and we are relived that the final one is completed at last, but we have gained in so many ways from the experience, and we hope that the church will profit from this too!”
Denise says: “I really enjoyed being part of this course. I think that I now have a much broader grasp of the Bible and am better equipped to serve in Church. In addition to all the things I studied learnt, it was an eye-opening experience meeting Christians from different backgrounds and churches.”
Michael Ivey preached at Birtley Community Church on 30th June. It was his last visit before he and Kate leave Hexham for Oxfordshire where he will begin his new post in Abingdon Community Church. He will of course be missed by many members of Birtley Community Church, after he worked part time for us at Birtley Community Church in 2017. There were plenty of laughs as Patrick Briddon presented him with a copy of Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem on behalf of the church.
Russell and Edith are back with us. After a month away during which they had a 3 hour bike ride and had an epic excursion by canoe (Edith in photo is up the creek but has held on to her paddle!), they will be back in church on Sunday 30 June. Just what we expect from octogenarians at BCC!
We enjoyed outdoors cooking at our Royal Rangers outpost meeting on Tuesday 18th June – hot dogs followed by toasted marshmallows. Also a chance to learn about creating a fire using tinder, kindling and fuel and using a flint and steel to create the initial spark. We had about 20 children plus leaders by the time the outpost meeting finished.
We had a great week with the Texan visiting team this week. They visited two schools this time, Barley Mow Primary School and Birtley East, doing an assembly and six lessons in each school. They also held a line dance and hog roast event at Birtley Community Church which more than 90 people attended. Finally they helped with a special messy church at the end of their visit, to which 40 children and 25 parents came, having met the Texans at the two schools. Well done to everyone who gave them accommodation and worked with them throughout the week.