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The background and the grounds for hope.
By Rev David Thompson
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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.
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Why a new building?
by Ian Long (Property Convenor)
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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.
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Red Sky Project October 2007 Update
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Finance
The total direct givings to the project, for 2005 & 2006, amounted to £94,339.30. This is above our planned target of £42,000 per year. This is a tremendous achievement from all of the congregation. We are currently on target to achieve our target for 2007 .
We can take great encouragement from the progress made so far. We also received Gift Aid of £10,312.16. Many Thanks to all who signed up to reclaim their tax.
Building
We have submitted the plans to the Council for approval. We have received some queries and are currently addressing them. Hopefully we will get a positive response to our additional information
Fund-raising
Our fund-raising committee are continuing to plan a series of events in 2007. Please have a look at the Future Events Page for details. Over the past 2 years, the events run and other activities organised by members of the congregation have raised a total of £13,113.44.
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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 logo below.
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