Editorial - pre Christmas edition 2008

For some weeks now, our pastor has been encouraging us to read our Bibles as “the diary of the confessing community”. The early Christian church, as described in Acts chapters 2 and 4, was not only a confessing community but a living community in all senses of that phrase. From chapter 2 we read that the Christians were all together (v. 44), had everything in common (v. 44), gave to anyone as they had need (v. 45), met together (v. 46), and ate together with sincere hearts (v. 46). The fruit of all this community style living was that everyone was filled with awe (v. 43a), many wonders and miraculous signs were done (v. 43b), they enjoyed the favour of all the people (that’s Christians and unbelievers alike!) and the LORD added to their number daily those who were being saved. Need I say more? Let’s start ‘living community’ and wait and see what God will do among us!

Robert Mill

FROM THE PASTOR

Dear Family in Christ,

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13.35).

Living Community is at the heart of church, for us. A huge challenge. Yet there’s something that changes us for the better, when we try and live as community. We were created by God as social creatures. We are meant to have others to relate to. It’s part of what makes us human.

And it was into community that Jesus called people. Not just to be individual followers. But to be people who are shaped and changed by contact and even conflict with those around us. Learning to forgive. To be reconciled. The deeper dimensions of love. Following Him into the community of people. And drawing others into the heart of a group where Jesus is the centre.

When we try and live community, in this way, not only are we challenged and changed as individuals, but we become part of something dynamic. We start to see that church is not simply an organisation, but a living organism. There is beauty to be seen and enjoyed when we work at it. A beauty that draws those seeking our Lord.

Keep at it.

Your brother in Christ,

Jim

LOM mission trip 2008

This year a team of 7 went to Lom - Jim, Jennifer, David Purves; Maureen Johnston, Jeanette Lumsden, Janis White and Curt Harrier.

BULGARIA MISSION TRIP (cont.)

On the Saturday the team visited the village church in Mominbrod, where Maureen and Jennifer shared, while on the Sunday Janis, Jeanette and Curt shared during the morning service, while Curt and David led a youth event in the afternoon. It is always a joy and privilege to go to the church in Lom — this is the sixth year of sending teams to Lom from Bristo.

BULGARIA MISSION TRIP (cont.)

One of the highlights of this year’s trip was on the Wednesday afternoon, 22nd October, when the small hall in Lom Baptist Church was temporarily turned into a beauty salon. About 30 ladies from the church squeezed into the hall to receive a little pampering from Janis, Jeanette, Jennifer and Maureen, who offered the opportunity for a haircut, foot or hand treatments or a chance to try flower arranging. After a cup of tea and some Scottish delicacies, the Lom ladies were given little cards with pictures & bible verses about beauty. After small group discussion they shared what they thought the implications were for their everyday lives. They focused on the need to develop inner beauty by walking closely with God and bringing beauty into the lives of others by caring for them in practical ways, putting the needs of others before our own and sharing the good news about the beautiful things Jesus has done for us in bringing us salvation. At the end of the meeting, the ladies were encouraged to take the flower arrangements they had made and other little presents to people who needed to know about the beauty of Jesus. One lady pointed out that they should not give them to friends as the Bible encourages us to love our “enemies” and several ladies described later how they had given the gifts to people they found it difficult to like or to sick people and had had opportunities to talk about God's love to these people.

BULGARIA MISSION cont.

Some prayer points emerging from the trip:

1. Pray that the church in Lom can have a greater missionary spirit as the members often feel that they are paralysed by their own worries about their families, the struggles of daily life & concerns about the future and this distracts them from praying for and witnessing to others.
2. Pray for the new home groups which have started recently and which are attended by a number of people who are not Christians but interested in finding out more. Pray too for George and Natalia who would like to start a home group and have several friends who want to come. So far it has been hard to find a good time to meet as George is the director of a school and often works until 2 or 3 a.m. doing administration for the school. They would also like to involve their children in the group.
3. Pray for Nikolai and Ani whose youngest granddaughter was born recently with spina bifida - the next few weeks are critical.
4. Pray for Violeta (a little blind girl) Nikolai ( a 10 year old boy, recently diagnosed with diabetes) , Pavel, Marieta, Jordan, Ani, Kamelia, Anka, Goritsa and her aunt, all of whom have health problems.
5. Pray for the people who use the soup kitchen which starts this month and for the ladies who work in it (Gina, Ivanka, Lydia and others)
6. Pray for the young people who attended the youth meetings while the Bristo team were in Lom - some for the first time and others who hadn't been for a long time. Pray for wisdom, strength, health and energy for Steffi, a young mother who leads the group and who is studying for a masters degree while teaching English and also caring for her little boy.
7. Pray for Mimi, who teaches Sunday school and is currently expecting her second child.
8. Pray for Elizabet, one of the deacons, whose husband died 3 weeks ago.
9. Give thanks for the recovery of Dr Fillipova from serious ill health and pray for continued strength and health for her as she serves many in the community.

Jennifer Purves, Janis White, Jeanette Lumsden, Robert Mill

BIRTH

Congratulations to Daniela Benjamin and Jason on the birth of their daughter Johanna on 15 October in Inverness, a brother for Lennox. Johanna was blessed at our morning service on Sunday 2nd November.

AMSTERDAM 400?

Are you interested in history? Do you celebrate birthdays? Or does a holiday in Amsterdam appeal? For any and all of these reasons you may wish to attend this event from 24-26 July 2009 as Baptists from Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia come together to celebrate 400 years of continuous witness. In 1609 a group of persecuted English believers fled to Amsterdam and formed themselves into the first Baptist Church. Now Baptists worldwide number 100 million.
Because of the size of the venue – the RAI, Amsterdam – total numbers attending are limited to around 1,700. So early booking is advised and participants must register. In issuing the invitation, Tony Peck, European Baptist Federation General Secretary, writes:
This is a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate God’s faithfulness to the Baptist movement over the past 400 years and to catch a vision for the call of Jesus Christ to be His witness in the region today.
I have one leaflet/registration form but these can be downloaded from the website www.amsterdam400.org . Flights are available from Scotland (including Edinburgh) to Schiphol Airport. If you decide to attend, please get in touch with Bill Slack at the Baptist Union of Scotland so that he can link you with others who may be going from Scotland.
Christine Lumsden

TREASURER’S REPORT

We’re now just over 6 months into the current financial year, and financially we continue to do well.

Our targets for the year were very challenging.



Church Offerings

50000
Tax Refund

7400
from Fair (in lieu of rent)

2400
from Fair (bills)

1200
use of Halls

10000
Total

71000









We knew at the start of the year that we were facing building repair and maintenance costs of thousands of pounds. Our fabric fund was used up last year and we hoped to be able to meet these extra costs from our weekly offerings, rather than having to dip into our reserves. The challenge facing was a weekly offering of £1000, significantly up from last year, and to date we’re averaging over £1150.

We still need to be careful. There are still five months of the year to go, and we’ll only really know if we’ve met our targets at the end of the year. The programme of building repair work has now mostly been completed, and though repairs to the manse cost a little more than expected as additional repairs needed to be done, we now know exactly how much the repairs cost and we can still meet them within our budget.

Our harvest thanksgiving appeal has been a tremendous success. We have so far been able to send £5000 to LOM both to support the soup kitchen and as a gift to accompany the team that recently visited Bulgaria. There is still more to be sent, at least £1000 from gift aid. Thank you again for your support for this most important piece of our church work.

Our next special collection will be the Christmas Tree envelope appeal to support the Bethany trust. Bethany is dear to many of us, and through the Care Shelter and the Care Van work we can clearly see the importance of the work carried out by Bethany. There will also be an opportunity to donate clothing such as hats and gloves.
Paul Watson

BMS CO-ORDINATOR

For some years Dr Gill Schärer has been our BMS co-ordinator responsible for keeping us informed of the work of BMS, particularly with regard to our link missionary. As Gill is no longer able to continue this task, we are seeking a successor. Is the Lord calling you to this task? Are you enthusiastic about BMS? Could you inform and encourage others in the fellowship? If this description fits you, please speak to me.
Christine Lumsden

VISIT TO PRAGUE

In the half term holiday we flew to Prague in October to visit Tima and Yulia at IBTS. Both are well and send their greetings to the church. They’d just returned from a whistle-stop tour of North Yorkshire. North Yorkshire is sponsoring Tima’s candidacy for the ministry, and Tima and Yulia had been invited to visit a number of churches in the area to see the types of church work that was being carried out.

IBTS itself is set in wooded hills about five miles to the northwest of Prague. In the autumn the IBTS campus is really beautiful with all the trees and the changing colours. The site is set in acres of forest and open land and is quiet and peaceful. We stayed in the Hotel Jeneralka, part of IBTS, in an apartment just two floors below Tima and Yulia. The accommodation was excellent, as were the huge breakfasts – enough to keep even two small boys happy! Each day there was a short morning devotion, and on Wednesday there was a communion service, and we were able to attend these. We also went to morning coffee where we were introduced to the staff and students, and we bring back greetings from these to Bristo. We met just about everybody at IBTS, even the four legged ones (the goats who are supposed to keep the grass short – but instead eat the trees!), and we had a tour of the EBF facilities on the site.

VISIT TO PRAGUE (cont.)

One interesting aspect of IBTS we learned from Tima. The Certificate of Applied Theology students (CAT) come from all over Europe, and come from all sorts of church backgrounds. People worship in different ways, wear different types of clothes, listen to very different types of music ... and when the group first meet there are tensions. The students all live together, and Tima says that one of the aims of the CAT course is to build a community of different types of Christians, with the aim at the end of the course that they become close friends and that they see that there are different ways to worship the same Lord.
Prague itself is incredibly beautiful. In the city centre itself, it seems there is nothing ordinary. All the buildings are incredibly ornate, many are painted or covered with sculptures. Buildings of different ages and styles are crowded together separated only by huge open oddly shaped squares and tight narrow winding roads. The city is very hilly and this helps to show off the city, as does the river and its many bridges. Transport is excellent, buses, trams, Metro ... everything runs to time and services are frequent. The trip from IBTS into the city centre takes only about 30 minutes.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at IBTS and Prague, seeing our friends and seeing a little of the city.
Paul, Linda, Michael and David Watson

THE LEPROSY MISSION

Do you think of leprosy as an ancient or even mediaeval disease? Sadly it is still prevalent in many parts of the world to devastating effect. We were approached by The Leprosy Mission Scotland and were asked to consider inviting a speaker from the Mission to promote its work and raise awareness of the difficulties experienced by those affected, often in the poorest countries of the world. At the deacons’ meeting last month we agreed that the most effective way to do this would be through cell groups. There are leaflets available by the notice board to give group leaders or members more information should you wish to invite a speaker. Further details are also available from the Mission’s website www.tlmscotland.org.uk
Christine Lumsden

CHRISTMAS SERVICES

We will be having the following services over the Christmas period:

Thursday 25 December 10.30 a.m. Christmas morning service
Sunday 28 December 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.
Wednesday 31 December 11.15 p.m. Watchnight Service
Sunday 4 January 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.

MORNING OF PRAYER

Join us on Saturday 10 January from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. for a morning of prayer at the start of the New Year. Soup and rolls will be served afterwards beginning at 1 p.m.

Meditation

A MEDITATION BY A CONTEMPORARY KAREN CHURCH LEADER

The Karen are a Burmese ethnic tribal group of 6 to 7 million people, 40% of whom are Christian. They have suffered continual harassment from the Burmese army for many years, and large numbers of them now live in large refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border. Many of the villages devastated by the recent hurricanes and subsequent flooding were Karen.


They call us a displaced people,
But praise God, we are not misplaced.
They say they see no hope for our future,
But praise God our future is as bright as the promises of God.
They say they see that the life of our people is a misery,
But praise God our life is a mystery.
For what they say is what they see,
And what they see is temporal.
But ours is the eternal.
All because we put ourselves
In the hands of the God we trust.

Gill Schärer

Editorial - September / October edition

In Hebrews 13: 20-21 the writer prayed that God might fully equip them for ‘everything good for doing his will’. The apostle Peter wrote (2 Peter 1: 3) that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness.
Some of the people I work with will be going away on expeditions to far-flung islands in the Pacific Ocean later this month. Months of planning and organisation have gone into these expeditions. Because the areas are so remote and because there are specific objectives and tasks, everyone must be fully equipped, ready for every eventuality.
How much more must we be fully equipped for every eventuality that God causes to come our way! We may not be travelling thousands of miles to some remote spot on the planet but whatever we do for God we can be sure that he has already equipped us with everything we need.
Robert Mill

FROM THE PASTOR

Dear Family in Christ,

Autumn has arrived! And all of us settle down to concentrate on the tasks in hand. For me, just back from two weeks tutoring in Prague, it is a real privilege and honour to share this challenge with you. Because, returning from a gathering of Christians from all over the world, I am acutely aware of what has been entrusted to us, as the Christian church. It is an awesome thing.

I believe that we, at Bristo, have been called to pioneer new ways of living out church as community. Not just a community that exists for itself. But a community seeking to work out how we can give expression to a life that prioritises care for the genuinely disadvantaged, promoting justice and mercy; and doing so where we can make it count the most.

What do I mean by that? Well, I mean that what matters most is the way we treat and deal with people who are around us each day. And also what we do with what has been entrusted to us. If nothing else, the present collapse of major financial institutions should make us wake up to the fact that there is no security in pursuing security in this world! We live in a culture where people have prized privacy and personal prosperity. And now we reap the fruit of it.

Following Jesus involves breaking out of the cocoon. It takes us outside the illusions of permanency and the fantasy of unchanging constants. Following Jesus means that we plunge into the depths of discipleship and commit to the risks of radical obedience.

I feel genuinely sorry for people who imagine there can be any permanency in this world, a world torn by sin and marred by madness. The message that we have to offer and share is that permanency now is an illusion. What matters, rather, is pouring the resource of our lives into the purposes of God and participation with Him in what He wants and what He is doing.

So let us enter this autumn alert and awake. Let us encourage each other to focus on being conduits of God’s love and mercy, filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit. Let us look to do the work of the Kingdom, rather than wring our hands over the collapse of follies. And rejoice that God has called us into a life that spans beyond the present into His future.

With love in Christ Jesus,
Jim

WEDDING

Matthew (Matt) Baines and Karolina Kurtyka were married in Bristo on Saturday 13 September by Rev. Jim Purves. Matt’s two best men were his brother, Luke, and Philip Norcross while Karolina’s bridesmaids were her sister Lucyna and her best friend Agnieszka Belz. The service was conducted in both English and Polish for the benefit of a sizeable contingent of Karolina’s relatives and friends and the actual marriage ceremony was preceded by a Polish hymn adapted from Song of Songs 8: 6-7a, sung by Andrea Mill and Sam Kawamura accompanied by the praise band. After the ceremony Matt’s father Geoffrey Baines gave the message. The reception was held in Leith Methodist Hall where those invited enjoyed good food and ceilidh dancing. We wish God’s blessings upon Matt and Karolina as they begin the journey of married life together.

NEW DAYTIME CELL GROUP

There is the possibility of starting a daytime cell group. This would most likely be on a Thursday morning. If anyone is interested in coming along to a cell group then, please get in touch with me so that we can get started as soon as possible.
Andrea Mill (07974 824236 or 476 3938 or
andrea.mill@blueyonder.co.uk)

TREASURER’S REPORT

First of all I’d again briefly like to summarise part of our budget for the coming year. It seems such a shame to talk about our Church in terms of financial targets, it make us seem like so much like a business ... but the truth is we need money to pay our running costs and other bills, and we need money to be able to support the causes we feel as a Church we need to support
We’re budgeting this year overall to spend around £78000. This includes our running costs of £56000, building repairs of £14000 and gifts to the causes we support of £7700.
To meet these costs without spending from our reserves we need the following income:


Church Offerings 50000
Tax Refund 7400
from Fair Trust (in lieu of rent) 2400
from Fair Trust (bills) 1200
Use of Halls 10000
Total 71000

Special Offerings income
LOM - winter kitchen 3500
BMS 500
Bethany 500
LOM - gift with mission trip 1500
Total 6000

So, 5 months into our financial year, how are we doing ...
Offering income is averaging just under £1000 a week which is exactly the target we need to achieve. Keeping the offering at this level will mean we reach our tax refund target. Hall rental is also on target ... so all in all we’re doing very well, and should meet our targets.
This month we intend to launch the first of our special appeals, to raise money to support the Lom winter soup kitchen, an activity we have joyfully supported for the last two years, and an activity which, from the feedback we have received, has blessed a large number of people in Lom.
Paul Watson

GENERAL DIRECTOR, EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE

As reported in the last issue, Rev. Joel Edwards has resigned as general director of the Evangelical Alliance to take up another post. The EA staff have asked that member churches join with them to pray for discernment as they seek God’s appointment for this strategic post in succession to Joel. The first day of each month has been specifically set aside to pray for this. The following are some of the points for prayer:

· For the Appointment Committee and Board that they may have a clear sense of God’s leading;

· For the Directors as they lead the Alliance in the interim period;

· For the whole staff team, including EA Scotland, that their trust may be in Christ as they seek His will.

Further information is available from the Alliance website http://www.eauk.org
Christine Lumsden

OBITUARY—ALAN ROSS

We were saddened to learn of the death of Alan Ross on 25 August, a few weeks before his 60th birthday. Alan had been brought up in Charlotte Chapel, growing in his Christian faith through Cubs and Scouts. He was baptised and received into membership of the Chapel at the age of 18. A serious motorbike accident cut short his studies at Heriot-Watt University and he trained as a draughtsman. His practical skills were put to good use when he was appointed caretaker of Charlotte Chapel, a position he held for 25 years. He also served Bristo in the same capacity from February 1994 until November 1996 during that period.

As we learned at the thanksgiving service on 1 September, Alan’s hallmark was a servant heart for the Master he loved. He never pushed himself forward but was content to work quietly behind the scenes. This theme of quiet trust in the Lord was evident in the service. Although mourning our loss, we rejoiced in the fact that Alan is now ‘with Christ which is better by far’ (Philippians 1:23 NIV).

Our prayers and sympathy are with his wife Catherine (Cath) and stepson, Norman Howden, former members of Bristo, and his parents, his sons Scott, Stuart and their families.
Christine Lumsden

‘THIS IS OUR TIME’ - CLAN GATHERING 2008

In July Andrea and I and the kids went to CLAN Gathering in St. Andrews. For anyone who does not know, CLAN (Christians Linked Across the Nations) is the Scottish version of the conferences that take place in England organised by New Wine. Their purpose is to equip Christians for living out their Christian lives and ‘doing church’. This was CLAN’S tenth year. As usual we had really lively worship and, as in previous years, we hope over the coming months to gradually introduce you to a few of the new songs we learned during the week.
This year’s conference theme was ‘Grace’. We had really great teaching from speakers that included Mike Breen, Mark Stibbe, Kevin Peat and Frog and Amy Orr-Ewing, as well as a surprise visit, straight from Lakeland in Florida, by Brent Borthwick. Brent gave a prophetic word that ‘This is our time’ for the Christians of Scotland to rise up and start telling people about Jesus in natural ways. Mark Stibbe also said that 2008 was the ‘Year of the Gate’, a narrow window of opportunity we had in Scotland to tell people about the Gospel, a window that was currently wide open but could close at any time.
This year Andrea and I were fortunate to be able to rent a flat in St. Andrews that was bigger than our own immediate needs. This meant that we could let others including David Purves and Richard Allison have a taste of CLAN for a night or two. We hope to do the same next year and would encourage you all to consider going to CLAN yourselves. It really is a great time of blessing, encouragement and teaching and we would love some of you to experience it next year!
Robert Mill

next Edition

Sunday 26 October
for publication on
Sunday 9 November

Theme:
‘Living Community’

www.bristobaptist.org

Editorial - July / August Edition

When unpacking some of my books recently I came across one called ‘The Grand Surprise’ by John Woolmer, a Christian pastor with a love of butterflies.He writes that Swallowtail butterflies undergo 7 stages in their life cycle once hatching from the egg. First they have five stages as a caterpillar, when they are only interested in self-preservation and food. At the end of the fifth stage they pupate. This can be likened to a state of ‘death’. But, in reality a wonderful transformation is going on inside the pupa. The caterpillar is undergoing metamorphosis — transformation, from caterpillar to butterfly.As Christians we are all on a journey of transformation, from our old caterpillar-like self to the new butterfly-like state of freedom in Christ. It will end with the final transformation in heaven. Meanwhile let God transform you here on earth.

Robert Mill

Death and Resurrection on the Transformational Journey

As a fellowship we rejoice in the baptism of Stuart Rendle on Sunday 6th July. It was a powerful occasion, especially since a visitor from Stornoway, Maggie, rededicated herself to the Lord and was then baptised. Please pray for Stuart as he continues on his own transformational journey.

WHEN SUFFERING COMES

When suffering comes
Grant me the grace, Lord
To accept it with the joy
That comes from recognising an opportunity to grow

To become closer to you
To become more like you
To be intimate with you

When suffering comes
Grant me the wisdom, Lord
To accept your teaching
And the opportunity to learn
To trust you even more to work out everything for the good

When suffering comes
Grant me the strength, Lord
To shine in the midst of darkness
To find peace in the midst of trouble
That others will wonder where my strength comes from

When suffering comes
Grant me the humility, Lord
To allow you to mould me
To achieve the full potential that you created me for

Made in your image
Refined by suffering
To show love and compassion
To those from whom my suffering comes

Andrea Mill

JOIN THE CONVERSATION—BE THE TRANSFORMATION

These are the headline words of the Evangelical Alliance’s Agenda for Change which Joel Edwards is encouraging in his farewell tour as Executive Director. The Edinburgh part of the tour was in Charlotte Chapel on Thursday 26 June. As I told Joel, I first heard him speak at the Alliance Assembly for Christian leaders in November 2001 in Cardiff. So it was appropriate that I was present as he gave his farewell message.

Joel’s address focused on the theme of our role as evangelicals in society. We are the “Good News Gang” whose task is to present Christ credibly to the post-Christian culture in which we live. Social action has always been a powerful, radical part of the evangelical legacy and is still relevant today. Jesus Christ is not just one of today’s competing deities which people can choose to acknowledge or ignore as they please. He is the unique Son of God whose Lordship is central and cannot be dumbed down. Christ must remain the cornerstone of our faith and witness. In this we need to hold on to the truth of Biblical teaching, which is about a Person rather than a proposition from the pulpit. Too often man tries to make God conform to his image of acceptable behaviour in today’s society. How do we witness to Christ? We can follow His example, reaching out to the poor and marginalised. Jesus was a conversationalist. He talked to people where they were, often asking searching questions. See, for example, John 4:1-30 or Mark 11:46-52.

The current issue of Idea magazine, available by the notice board, has an article about the tour Building a Cathedral (p. 4) and A conversation about true tolerance by Joel (p. 34). For more information on how you can become involved see the Alliance website at www.eauk.org/a4c.

Christine Lumsden

YOUNG PEOPLE’S WORK REPORT

It Club

“Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.”
1 Corinthians 12.

In August last year, as an expanded team of volunteers (coaches), we looked to also expand and deepen the ministry among the 11-16 year olds on a Friday night, following a vision of unity. This unity, was to be:

Expressed through Diversity (1 Cor . 12)

We recognised that as coaches we all brought different strengths and abilities to the group. To make the most of this, we acknowledged that we all had different parts to play in the running of It Club. Similarly, the young people had different strengths and interests of their own. To run an It Club that would be truly enjoyed and relevant to all, we would need to cater to these diversities while finding ways to bring the whole group together. As a result of these intentions, we have run a programme that has allowed young people to take part in different activities through the evening – sports, dancing, playing instruments together, baking, simply socialising – in the different areas of the church building available to us (lounge, upstairs hall, small hall, kitchen), before bringing everyone together for one large shared activity and a discussion, talk or sharing time, along biblical themes (more below). These ‘together times’ have been presented by different individuals, both adults and children and have varied greatly depending on the individual presenting them. Some of the most enjoyed times at It Club have been times when the young people themselves have dazzled us with their creativity. The idea of sharing our strengths seems to have caught on particularly with our dancing contingent who frequently offer to share a dance they’ve created. Of special note was our Burns night celebration – a real Ceilidh with a modern twist. Many members of the group came ready with a dance,
a poem (written by one of the group!) an instrumental piece and even videos they had made!
Brought about by God’s Transcendence (1 Cor. 12: 12-13)
We recognised that at the beginning of the year, this was a group of disparate age ranges and interests. The only way that this group would be truly be brought together was by God’s breaking through these barriers. In many ways we have seen God’s breaking through at work. The club is much more of a cohesive group than at the beginning of the year, though we recognise that there is still some way to go in breaking down barriers between different factions within the group.
Bound together in God’s love (John 17)
We have focused on developing positive relationship between ourselves as adults, before we even think to show God’s love to the young people. We have adopted the term coaches to describe our relationship with the young people, as ones who seek to come alongside, encourage, motivate and inspire them. It has been a pleasure to see relationships between both adults and young people develop and grow. It has also been a pleasure to welcome in new members who have come from the friendship groups of the S3 girls in particular and to see how they became involved right at the heart of the group.
We have had three major themes this year at It Club.
Join the Journey
In which we looked at the lives of the Jewish patriarchs and the Israelites in Egypt, and considering how we could follow their examples of faith.
Compassion for the Homeless
We explored the complex issues surrounding homelessness and how we could show God’s love to people in such situations. Practical outworkings of this have seen a small group of It Clubbers attend the annual Big Sleepout on the Royal Mile to raise money and awareness for Bethany Christian Trust and the beginnings of a video project aiming at raising awareness and challenging people’s attitudes towards the homeless.
The Revolutionary Kingdom
In which we viewed the Kingdom of God as being like a revolution that challenges the values and lifestyles of the world around us. This has led us into presenting the young people to use their creative skills to show us what the Kingdom would look like in our own lives.

Special events this year have included Ice-skating, a Japanese themed evening, bowling and movie nights. Our Coaches this year have been: Doreen Williamson, Pamela Graham, Sveta Barclay, Adam Connell, David Polland, James Trimble, Joshua Williamson, Matt Baines, Sam Kawamura and Yannick Onifade. Remarkable dedication has been shown by this group in aiding in the running of the It Club and developing of relationships with young people. Even though at times the amount of adults present at the club has been equal to (and on occasion greater than) the number of young people, this has by no means been a bad thing: It Club is more than a conventional youth club. It seems to work best as a group of young people from high school age to middle age, coming together to enjoy each other’s company and learn more about God.

We are sad to say goodbye to several coaches at the end of this term. Josh and Doreen have been the heart and soul of our team this year. Their characteristic combination of warmth and energy will be greatly missed when they return to the States. Yannick is leaving for Manchester University, where we wish him all the best and look forward to his visits home. As the coaches we would appreciate prayer and consideration as we look for God to add to our numbers and join our rota of coaches.


Encounter

Encounter, the youth group for 14 – 18 year olds that meets during Sunday evening services, has entered its second year of existence recently. At the beginning of this school year we were meeting weekly, but due to a greatly varying attendance, we decided by Christmas to revert to our previous fortnightly pattern. This was done in the hopes that although the meetings would be less frequent, we would see more of the group at the same time. I want to note that although this move has been met with mixed results – some weeks have seen a full turn-out, others have been very small – that these young people are on the whole coming to this group at a very busy and crucial time in their schooling. Overall, commitment to continued attendance has been very high. The group has grown over this year with younger teens joining the group. It is a very mixed group with young people from both within and out-with the church in attendance.

Much of the growth in relationships in the group has been due to time spent together outside the group, within It Club, over meals, lifts home and even in taking sandwiches to the homeless!

Many different topics have been covered in our studies together – the recurring theme being faith.

This group has a real need for adult support, with Josh and Doreen moving on again and Sally anticipating being heavily engaged in her studies this coming year. Please pray for the strengthening and growing of this group.

Matt Baines

Congratulations to Douglas Wilson who has completed the challenge of climbing all of Scotland’s Munros – mountains over 3000 ft. On 7th June he successfully climbed his 284th and last Munro – Mullach na Dheiragain (3222 ft.), which is no. 167 in the official list of Munros. Douglas first started ‘Munro-bagging’ in 1991 – his first one was Ben Vorlich. He is pictured at the summit of Mullach na Dheiragain holding his well earned trophy. WELL DONE!!

CARE SHELTER

Bristo is also involved in the Bethany Care Shelter over the winter months, which is also a ministry to the homeless. The Care Shelter offers the clients a bed for the night and a good dinner prepared by catering teams from the churches. Last year the halls at Bristo were used ten times by the Shelter, and Bristo catering teams provided the food for two of those evenings. The intention this year, 2008-2009, is to offer the same support again to Bethany for the Shelter.

It’s seldom the same church that provides both the catering and the venue, and like the Care van it’s a team effort with other churches in Edinburgh, centrally coordinated by Bethany Christian Trust.

It’s through this ministry that we can see first hand the trust that the clients have for the churches involved. On one occasion I was asked by one man I had never met to look after his mobile phone while he went to the toilet! Once again it’s a privilege to be part of this ministry, even in a small way, to meet with and minister to people that are on God’s heart.

Craig Smith

CARE VAN AND SHELTER

CARE VAN
Bristo has been involved in the Care Van since January 2003. For those who do not know, the van is owned and run jointly by the Edinburgh City Mission and Bethany Christian Trust. It operates on a strict route every night of the year serving soups, teas, coffees and buttered rolls to the homeless of the city. It is also an opportunity to give out donated clothing and blankets. Many churches are involved in operating it night after night and the team from Bristo has been given the responsibility of taking the van out every first Saturday of the month.
It’s a privilege to be part of this ministry, which is an excellent witness performed only by Christians, and every night. Some clients that come to the van do feel a genuine sense of appreciation for the time given up by the various churches. It is a part of the Edinburgh scene now, and many of the clients include in their plans for the night a visit to the van, or expect to be visited by the van at some point on its route.
Some clients are happy to talk and occasionally for someone new on the street we’re able to give them information about where to get help. Although overt evangelism is not encouraged, it is the faithfulness and consistency of the churches month by month and year by year, in showing care for the homeless through this ministry that speaks volumes for the Lord.
The team are grateful for the donations of clothing received so far. If you’d like to be involved in the Care van, or donate clothing, please speak to Craig or Alice Smith. It’s not onerous. On average team members man the van about once every two months.

Craig Smith

‘HOME FROM HOME’ REPORT

Looking at our contact list for Home from Home, I realised the other day that since we started a couple of years ago we have helped over 45 people from 15 different countries to feel welcome and a little more confident in speaking English. Some have been with us just a few weeks before finding a job or moving on, while others have continued to attend the group for months and even years in the case of one learner, who has persuaded her boss to arrange her shifts so she can have Tuesday afternoons off to come.
The clientele has changed recently from young mothers with pre-school children to young Europeans who have been sent to us by the Careers Office because they need to improve their English before getting a job. After a slow start to the year, we currently have eight learners. Everyone who spends time with the group expresses deep appreciation for the care shown to them. It seems to us that we do very little but to them it is often a lifeline at a time of stress and loneliness. Only the other week, two of our newest participants asked me why the church ran a group like this. I was able to share with them that the bible makes it clear that there is a special place in God’s heart for those who vulnerable and that includes people who are foreigners (Psalm 146) and as Christians we want to express God’s love in practical ways. It led on to an interesting discussion and opportunity to share a little more of the gospel and talk about church.
Many thanks to the volunteers over the last year - Maureen, Gill, Julia, Joshua, Doreen and Fiona. We will be needing new volunteers after the summer, when Josh & Doreen go home so if anyone is interested in helping, let us know. You don’t need any great expertise – just willingness to welcome and encourage people and to listen and talk a little – and you don't have to be able to come every week.

Jennifer Purves

BRISTO CHILDREN’S GROUPS ANNUAL REPORT

Crèche currently has 3 pre-schoolers attending and we have just recruited three extra volunteers for the rota (Luci, Pamela and Natalia), who have now completed child protection procedures, meaning that people will be on duty about once every 6 weeks. A volunteer to take over coordination of the crèche rota in the autumn is needed. Thanks to Terri, Jeanette and Ute, who are continuing on the rota and to Lorraine Milne, Lorraine Polland, Sally and Barbara who have helped out over the last year.

Doreen has been working with our two junior school aged children two weeks out of three, with Sveta teaching them on the third week of the cycle. A replacement for Doreen is needed in August so please pray about this and for wisdom in finding suitable materials, as the boys already have a strong biblical foundation and many Sunday school materials are for children with little or no Bible knowledge. It would be great too for the boys to have friends nearer their own age in church. The Bible class continues to use Scripture Union ‘Light’ material. Curt Harrier now leads the Bible class alternate weeks with Linda Watson. Between 2 and 6 youngsters meet each week, and enjoy a time of open prayer, study, discussion and fellowship. We are particularly pleased that the young people are prepared to share their prayer requests and pray for each other.

The church’s thanks are due to all these adults who faithfully work with our youngsters, and to Alice Smith who has negotiated a mountain of paperwork to ensure we comply with child protection law.

Finally, it is now two years since I agreed to ‘fill the gap’ until a replacement Children’s Work Coordinator could be found and I am not now able to give this enough attention due to other responsibilities, so from August I will no longer be doing this work. We praise God that in answer to our prayers Linda Watson will be taking over this role.
Our current church children’s policy states that
“………The Church recognises that:
· children and young people are part of the Body of Christ and are to play a full part in the life, fellowship and worship of the Church.
· discipleship and training is for the whole church and children will learn alongside adults.
· God’s commission and mission to ‘go into all the world and make disciples’ is for the whole church of whatever age.
· at times children and adults require teaching in separate age groups and this will be provided with equal consideration.
· children and young people are open to spiritual, moral, physical and emotional dangers - so they require special love, attention and nurturing in their formative or dependent years.
· The Deacons’ Meeting and members take seriously our responsibility to care for and protect the welfare of the children and young people entrusted to the church’s care and to keep them safe from harm while they are with staff and volunteers in the Church.
· As part of our mission and ministry, the Church is committed to encouraging and supporting parents/guardians; listening to, relating effectively to and valuing children and young people and ensuring that our children’s/youth workers are properly selected, supported and trained.”

These are the responsibilities not just of a few church leaders or of the volunteers working directly with the children week by week, but of the whole church. Each one of us, as a member of the family of God, needs to consider what part we can play individually in ensuring that we as a church live up to this policy, whether that be in prayer, working directly or indirectly with the youngsters or in just showing an interest and encouraging the young people and their leaders.

Jennifer Purves, Children’s Work Coordinator

NEW MEMBERS

We have welcomed the following folk into membership over the last few weeks:

Ryan and Natalia Gladwin
Luci Kurtyka
Stuart Rendle

We expect that further folk will be received into membership over the coming months.

TREASURER’S REPORT

First of all I’d like to thank the members of the church for approving the annual accounts, and the budget for next year which I presented at the AGM last month. For those who were not able to attend the AGM, I’d briefly like to summarise part of our budget for the coming year.

We’re budgeting this year overall to spend around £78,000. This includes our day to day running costs, heating, lighting, ministry stipend, sundries etc. To a total of £56,000, building repairs of £14,000 and gifts to the causes we support of £7,700.

To meet these costs without spending from our reserves we need the following income:

Church Offerings
50,000
Tax Refund
7,400
from Fair (in lieu of rent)
2,400
from Fair (bills)
1,200
use of Halls
10,000
Total
71,000
Special offerings

Income

LOM - winter kitchen
3,500
BMS
500
Bethany
500
LOM - gift with mission trip
1,500
Total
6,000

We intend to have four special envelope offerings through the year. One to provide a gift for Lom that the mission team will take with them. One to raise funds to support the Lom winter soup kitchen, an activity we have joyfully supported for the last two years. The other two to provide gifts for the BMS and for Bethany, both of which are organisations we are closely linked with.

To meet our budgeted expenditure, including the above four special appeals to which we are committed, we need to achieve an average weekly offering of £1502.

Last year our income totalled just under £62,000. The target this year is challenging, but I’m sure that it is achievable.

Paul Watson

ONE YEAR IN EDINBURGH

We can’t believe that it has already been a year. Time goes by so fast just when you don’t want it to. Doreen and I want you to know right from the start, that we love you; your community of believers here at Bristo is a part of our family now and forever and we are going to miss you a lot more than you know. Thank you for welcoming us into your family here and strengthening our faith with the way you choose to live your lives. We will always look back on Edinburgh and remember that God used people to sharpen our lives. God used His people to build up and encourage, and God used His people to express His great love for us. So we do thank you, and we will always hold you in our hearts with joy and thanksgiving.
As for Doreen and me, life is at an exciting time. We return to the States with more thirst and more hunger for ministry. I have one year left at Ozark Christian College, and will be exploring options during the school year. Doreen and I will spend a lot of time in prayer as we listen to the Father’s voice through His Spirit. Doreen will return to her university studies in the field of nursing. She has a little way to go, but I think she really enjoys it at a deep level, and this year has added to her excitement of studying.
And now I leave you with this, the transformational journey. When I was young I attended many different camps and work-outs for basketball. On more than one occasion I was given a trophy or plaque, honoring me for my ability to work as part of a team. I blend with people on the basketball court as well as the classroom. So upon coming here, I thought that the one area I wouldn’t need to be built up anymore would be this idea of working with people. Of course I would work with people but I knew everything about that. Amazing how God works just when you think He can’t. More than anything, it has been working with others, alongside other Christians that has shaped me most. And it begins at the church, working with Jim and Matt, with the youth coaches and students for It-Club and Encounter. I changed as I worked with Jennifer and her team on a Tuesday afternoon or when I worked with the different people at the Edinburgh City Mission. Whether it be care shelter, care van, church lunch, church holiday, or serving with some crazy missionary people in Turkey, God has refined me in the area of working with people. It wasn’t always easy. I didn’t always like it. Yet here I stand at the end of one path, looking back over the year realizing the one place I didn’t expect God to work, He worked and it was the right place. He knew where and how to work in me, even though it was the last place I would have prayed for God to work.
God knew that a church like Bristo, and a family of believers like this one would be a great tool to transform my life. I encourage you to continue depending on the Spirit, continue to love one another, and continue to allow God to stretch, deepen, and bless according to His unfailing love. We love you guys, and we look forward to the time when God brings our paths together again.
Holding you in our prayers and in our hearts,

Joshua and Doreen