LAY - EVANGELIST'S NEWSLETTER, SPRING 2007

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

The ALPHA Course

Our third Alpha course finished in mid January, and Mark and I are now on ‘ALPHA 4’ – The Late Late Breakfast Alpha. This is held on Monday mornings at 9.30 at Mark’s house, and promises to be a very good way to start the week. We have held two sessions so far, with eight more to go; plus our ‘Away Day’ or ‘Brunch at the Barn’ as Mark prefers to call it, which will be held at Peter’s Barn, Barnston, courtesy of Erica and Richard Nunn, on Saturday, March 17th. We have five ‘guests’, two toddlers, and one baby (and a crèche); and enjoy a breakfast that includes fruit juice, croissants, petits pains au chocolat (very sticky and a great hit with the children), and plenty of tea and coffee. Everyone is enjoying the course and finding it a refreshing way to approach Christianity. One interesting note – the father of one of the participants is Peter, who renovated Peter’s Barn!

Mark and I would once again like to thank Jay and Henry for the superb food on the last course; and also Patrick Whittick who stood in for Jay on two occasions, made the tea, and also cleared up – not the most glamorous of jobs; and Jo Parker who provided fabulous hot food (two courses, no less) on our ‘Away Day’ free of charge. Patrick and Jo also ate with us, which was very important as it enabled those on the course to meet others from our church.

Future ALPHA courses

For the past two years Mark and I have held two Alpha courses a year; and we have now begun to plan for 2007/2008. This will give us the advantage of being able to set dates and book venues earlier; and more time to promote the course and involve more helpers. We have yet to decide whether we will run two or three courses; but the Autumn Alpha course will be starting on or near to September 20th. I am going to an Alpha Strategy day at HTB on March 1st. We would also like to encourage participants from past courses to be involved as helpers in the future, where possible.

ALPHA Follow-up

We try very hard to keep in touch with all the Alpha ‘graduates’; and our follow-up home group continues, with possibly two from the third Alpha course joining it. We are currently planning our annual Summer get-together, which will be held at my house (and garden) on Parsonage Downs on July 13th. This is a really good opportunity for the various Alpha groups, and those who have been associated with the course over the past two years to meet together.

Pram service

I still go along to the pram service. One of the mums came to our first Alpha course, and is tempted to follow it up further; one is on our current Breakfast Alpha; and one or two have expressed an interest in the course. A few continue to come along to our All-Age services; and almost everyone came to the Crib and Christingle Service; most of them brought all the family and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Evangelistic Prayer Group

This prayer group continues to meet weekly at Jo Parker’s house. It is a wonderful opportunity to pray about all aspects of evangelism and outreach: for example, the children’s church; the youth groups; Alpha; Walk Roding follow-up. We have seen some definite answers to prayer, and have become more aware of the importance of working together as a church where outreach and mission is involved.

Women’s Ministry

On the Sunday before Advent, on the Feast of Christ the King I went to a service at Coggeshall church to celebrate the end of Bishop Christopher’s year of Discipleship Challenge. The theme was ‘Snapshots of Mission’ and 50 examples of outreach from the region were listed. Two of these were highlighted and the people involved interviewed by Annie Coley, Area Parish Development Adviser. I’m pleased to say that our ladies’ evening: ‘Thorntons, Johnny Depp and Jesus’ was one of them, and it received a very warm reception. Our Arch-deacon, Annette Cooper asked me if she could come to one of our future events. It can be arranged.

Jo Parker, Jo Hargrave and I meet regularly and have started planning a programme of events for 2007 with women in mind. These include an evening meeting for the Women’s World Day of Prayer; a Lent course based on the film ‘Chocolat’, a Summer event; and social get-togethers.

Feedback on Past Events

Jesus Centred Ministry – On November 28th. I attended a conference at the Salvation Army offices in Oxford Street organised by Premier Christian Radio, that focused on the people Jesus came into contact with. Matthew 25:34-39 says it all. The speakers were inspirational, and gave us plenty to reflect on. I also found it very interesting to hear how the Salvation Army approached evangelising their local area - London’s West End.

Future Events / Training

I am currently in the middle of a follow-up computer training course entitled ‘moving on’; and look forward to completing a power-point presentation course in the Spring.

In May I begin ‘Mission- Shaped Ministry’ – an outreach course based on ‘The Mission-Shaped Church’ report, and covering amongst other things, fresh expressions of church, and reaching out to the un-churched. The course is spread over twelve months.

And on a personal note, in April I am off to ‘Spring Harvest’!

Thank you once more for your continuing support. It is much appreciated.

Sue Goodman, Lay-Evangelist. February 2007