Red Sky Project
The background and the grounds for hope.
By Rev David Thompson
You will be familiar with the saying, “red sky at night, shepherd’s delight”, which speaks of the promise of a brighter tomorrow.
Changing times in recent years have brought a gloomy background to our society, which has cast a menacing shadow over the future of the church and its work. A declining interest in spiritual things and a growing gap between church and society can make the future seem very dark indeed, but God would not have us lose hope. In the Old Testament God’s people faced similar bad days during the time of Jeremiah the prophet. Chapter 32 of the Book of Jeremiah tells of how God’s enemies the Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem on every side and God’s city was about to fall. The future seemed to offer nothing but destruction. It seemed to be a time to pack up belongings and flee. But at that very moment the Lord told Jeremiah to go and do the very opposite, by buying a field on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Jeremiah obeyed and his long term investment at the most unlikely of times became the visible sign that there would be a future for God’s people after all. God was giving grounds for hope and promising a brighter tomorrow to those who, like Jeremiah, would trust, obey and wait upon Him.
Just now in Strand we are emerging from our centenary celebrations into, what in so many ways are, challenging times for our church, but God would not have us lose hope. He specialises in bringing new light and hope out of the darkest and most gloomy situations. To do so is “our Shepherd’s delight”! Jesus’ resurrection from His death on the Cross for the salvation of His people is the clearest proof of all of God’s power to turn things around like that. We do live in changed days as a church, but God is calling us to invest in His future for us as a congregation in Sydenham. Our vision of a new building, through which we can better connect with the community around us, offers the possibility of a“red sky”, promising a brighter tomorrow for our life and witness as God’s People.
We have great grounds for hope and we urge you to show your faith by investing in God’s future for Strand through giving to the “Red Sky Project”. In Jeremiah chapter 32 and verse 41 God made this promise to His people,
“I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul”.
As we trust, obey and wait upon God, like Jeremiah did, we look to Him to do the same for us and our future witness in Sydenham.
Why a new building?
by Ian Long (Property Convenor)
On the 29th September 2004, a meeting of the congregation agreed to redevelop the site of our church and embark on a rebuilding project. This was a landmark decision in the life of our congregation which, at the end of our centenary year, was a bold step forward in to our next 100 years as a witness in Sydenham. The background to this decision lay in the poor condition of our existing buildings, most of which date back to the early part of the last century.
As a congregation, our vision is to reach out to the community around us, to make Strand a focal point in the district, and so reach people with the Gospel. In the light of this vision the difficulties apparent with the buildings became less of a problem and more of an opportunity. It was agreed that the best way forward for our congregation was to develop a new church building, rather than pour money in to the repair and maintenance of an old one.
It is intended that the new building will provide us with an opportunity for more community-based work. We want it to be more flexible and to be used every day, not just on Sundays and a few evenings. To achieve these aims it is planned that the new facilities will be multi-purpose and designed in such a way that they accommodate a wider range of activities than at present. Taking this approach will also reduce our on-going maintenance and repair costs because there will be less property to maintain and we will be making more efficient use of what we have.
This is our opportunity, as a congregation, to work together to further God’s kingdom here in Sydenham.
Red Sky Project September 2008 Update
Finance
The total raised so far amounts to £342,000. This consists of the direct givings, donations and fund raising events.
Building
We have been successful in our application for our building plans for both the church and the housing, which we intend to sell as part of our fund raising
BMI
The Board of Mission in Ireland has promised to donate £350,000 over a period of 7 years
To view Red Sky leaflet, which has detailed information on the project, and to find out how you can help rebuild a church for the community click on the Red Sky logo.
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