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Issue 21: Springfield 20th Anniversary Special Edition March 2012

Belonging and inspiring


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WELCOME to the Springfield 20th Anniversary Issue of SALT

Look! Theres a team of people who make SALT happen.

Regular Contributors:Becca Watkins (Youth pages)

Sue Bosley (Springfield@Roundshaw)Sandy Elderkin (Quiz and puzzle-meister)

Angie Cookson (Spotlight on a Cell)

On hold for this editionPaul Barnard (Earth Matters)

Mary Bowen (Grapevine)Peter Smedley (Its All Geek To Me)Harvey Edser (Muzo Zone, reviews)

Carolyn Churchyard (Carolyns Cook-In)

Editorial & production team:Rosie and Harvey Edser, Nigel Elderkin

Roving Reporter: - Alison Cooper

Picture CreditsAll the photos with a white background - John Nicholls

(except the very old-looking sepia ones from Springfields Prospect Magazine 19 years ago)

AUDIO VERSION: We have readers lined up but are still looking for someone with the technologyto record SALT onto a CD for the partially sighted members of Springfield Could you do this?

Will Writes p1The Birth of Springfield p3

Greetings from former Springfielders p5Stepping up to the Mic p7

Baptisms on the Beach and in the Jordan p8-9Two Decades Ago p10

Quiz p11Where are they now? p12

History of Holiday Clubs p14Timelinewho joined when and why p16

Nigel and Sandy p19Lees Testimony p20

Peters Story p21Called to the Ministry p22-23

Kenyalatest RUSH visit p24Springfield @ Roundshaw p26

Cells p28Youthgrowing up in Springfield p30

Facts & figures p32

This monththe first part of SALT is looking back at Springfields origins and earlydays, the second part is focusing on the present and future.

Check out


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He who began a good work in you will carry it on

to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Phil 1:6

It is a great privilege to be writing this introduction andletter to you for this special 20th anniversary edition of

the SALT magazine. I joined Springfield on its 10th

anniversary and therefore I joined the Springfield story

part of the way through. Thats the case for all of us for

even if we have been there since the beginning, we only

experience part of the overall story of the church

because the church is made up of people and we can

never fully know each others stories.

So, its a joy that this 20th anniversary edition is packedfull of stories and experiences of people at Springfield

over the past twenty years. Each of us will have stories

and experiences of how Springfield has impacted us and

those that we know and in sharing them we encourage

and build one another up.

Of course, the thing about an anniversary is that it is

easy to just dwell on what has been. Its when we all too

easily get the golden age of history syndromethe if

only it was as it used to be. The past is important, ithas helped to shape the church that we are. But we also

need to remember that the God who called us isnt

finished with us yet. I love the sentence from Pauls

letter to the Philippians quoted above. God began a

good work in us. Its not that the work has been done

and completed but rather there is a real sense that we

are unfinished and that the best is yet to come. I believe

that even as there is so much good to celebrate in the

last twenty years at Springfieldthere is yet so much

more to come.

As Springfield has grown and developed we have

continued to discover more of what God has in mind

for us. We have seen the importance that worship has

played; we have seen the need for outward-looking

small groups; we have realised the central need to

develop our life of prayer; we have discovered how

important community is; we have known how blessed it

is to give and support others (like RUSH and the cell

charities we support); we have joyfully seen the diversity

of our church develop; we have discovered the gifts that

God wishes to bless us with being used to build up the

body of Christ. All this and

much more we have

discovered together as a

church. But we havent

reached the fullness ofChrist. There is still so much

more to discover and do and

grow together.

Sometimes it can feel like we

are treading water, other times

it can feel like everything is changing all at once. But

both are phases in which we are called to seek God and

all that He still has in mind for us. Whether we are

going through a time of pruning or a time of bearingfruiteach has its place to grow and develop Gods

church.

We can see this when we look back. The society that we

live in now has changed from that of twenty years ago.

We have discovered, sometimes painfully, that what

once worked may need to change, that what was a

Fresh Expression of church twenty years ago (though

the phrase hadnt been invented then!) can, if not

modified, become dull and dated, or frankly

embarrassing. It is the recent discovery by the Church

of England of this that is so refreshing. Where once

Springfield was an oddity now all around the country

we are seeing new forms of church being tried out andtested; some no-doubt will not get far; others will be for

a time and a season; but others will grow and flourish

and become familiar in different parts of the country.

This diversity of different churches both new and

traditional is the best hope of the church continuing to

be a strong, faithful witness to the good news of Jesus

Christ in this country.

I cant wait to see what God has in store for Springfield

and all whom we serve over the next twenty years!

Will Cookson

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Each of us will have stories and in

sharing them we encourage one

another

Will Writes


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Reflections on Springfield20 years on

The Birth of Springfield Church...

Tim Humphrey was the first minister ofSpringfield. SALT tracked him down to Kensingtonand asked him to cast his mind back.....

Planting Springfield Church probably was (and still is)the most exciting thing I have ever done. It was aprivilege to be asked and a young curates dream to takea team and establish a new church with a mission toreach a new generation struggling with more traditionalforms of church.

We thought of loads of possible namesa favourite fora long time was The Lighthouse. But in the end weopted to name it after the street we were meeting in tohelp identify where we were. Three things I rememberthinking that first Sunday on Mothers Day 1992: Firstthis is amazing, its actually happening! Second, will itlast more than a year? And third, why is it so cold? (wehad prepared meticulously for everything, exceptchecking out the state of the heaters in the gym!)

It was an amazing team effort and a lot of people gaveextraordinary amounts of time to making it happen andlaying down some of the foundations that enabled it tosurvive and flourish.

We ran the first Alpha course in 1994 where I metGeorge Dow who said I dont think youll ever make

me a Christian! (Do you remember that, George?!)

As the church grew we developed more childrens andyouth ministry and then moved to the High School inearly 96 as we were too full at Springfield Road.

For ten years now, we have been at St Barnabas inKensington (itself a church-plant from Holy Trinity,Brompton) but those first 5 years at Springfield helpedme discover what is still my lifes passion; to restore thepublic image of a decaying, irrelevant church to one that

views church as exciting, life-transforming and having acentral role in the community.

Tim Humphrey February 2012

David Lewis was the Vicar ofHoly Trinity Wallington whichplanted Springfield. He writes...Springfield Church is a symbol to meof God bringing amazing good out

of a very difficult situation. In 1990Holy Trinity and its daughter StPatricks were the two quite large andlively Anglican churches in

Wallington. St Patricks was seriouslydividing over the style of its minister,Michael. Bishop Wilfred of Croydon

was perplexed. He called in aconsultant who listened carefully toall of us who were involved. As aresult the Bishop asked Michael to

stand down from St Pats, then forus at Holy Trinity to release our

associate minister Brian to lead St Pats into recovery,and for Holy Trinity to plant a new church in the parishled by our curate, Tim Humphrey.

About a year before a John Wimber team had come toWallington and given us leaders prophecies about aspiritual lightning strike coming that would affect all

Wallington. We were to be ready for this. We discernedit had come in the Bishops requests, and so did as he

had asked. Tim outlined the vision of the new church:to bea) a worshipping church.b) a place of fellowship, promoting unity and maturity.c) committed to outreach to those who did not yetknow Jesus.d) committed to renewal within the whole church,sharing resources to enable this. Putting it incommercial terms: with more check-outs we couldenable more people to come to know Jesus as theirLord and Saviour and to grow as his disciples.

The next six months were exciting and scary. HolyTrinity bulged at the seams as people joined inanticipation of the new venture. Tim began to build acore team committed to the vision; we allowedmembers a free choice to join. Virtually all our youth


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John Elgie writes..WhenI was asked to think aboutpenning a few words aboutthe beginning ofSpringfield Church, insteadof thinking about the earlydays or even the birthday, my thoughts went

instead to the period thatled to the launching of Springfield. The gestation period.

Holy Trinity Wallington, which several generations agohad given life to St Patricks, had felt for many years thatthe Holy Spirit was stirring up a longing for anotherchurch plant. At that time the incumbent was NormanIssberner, Jenni Botfields Dad. Enter Dad number 1. Iowe a great deal to Norman who was realencouragement to me along my journey of faith, and heis also a very wise man. Norman knew that the Holy

Spirit was moving at Holy Trinity in ways that wereoutside of his gifting so he faced a big decision. To hiseternal credit he decided that it was time to step aside sothat God could send somebody equipped to overseeGods plans and vision. It takes a big man to stand aside

in order to free the way for anotherwho Norman knew would have adifferent vision built on differentgiftings. But in my humble opinionfrom the moment that Normanmade that decision the ultimate

birth of Springfield was inevitable.The way had been cleared for Godto work.

The search for a successor was tedious, tortuous andlong. Interview after interview came and went and theselection team could discern nothing of God. Ultimately

the Bishop in Croydon (Wilfred)became very impatient with

what he saw as our indecisionand he said that he wouldpersonally send somebody our

way. I can recall being part of aregular mens prayer team and

we worried and prayed at length

about the corner we felt we werein. We had prayerfully andcarefully sought God for our new

vicar and we felt a little affronted that the Bishopthought he could do in one attempt what we and othershad struggled so unsuccessfully with. We weredetermined that whoever was sent would not be right.He sent David Lewis, Rosie Edsers Dad and Dadnumber 2 enters this tale. I wasnt part of the selectionteam but they said that the moment David walkedthrough the door they knew he had come from God.

The rest, as they say, is history and Holy Trinity waspregnant with expectation.

Within a very short space of time Holy Trinity, throughDavid, appointed a new Curate, Tim Humphrey and thefounding Minister for Springfield was in place. Whatfollowed was a period of intense and very specificallyfocused prayer, along with a mountain of sacrificialgiving of both time and money. The pregnancy wasnt

without its problems, like finding a house and funding it,and convincing the Diocese at Southwark that the sale of

a redundant verger house could be used in support thisventure. But God was on the move and nothing that wassaid or done in Southwark was going to stop that. WhatNorman and David had conceived (without at the timeeven meeting each other) ran its course and a vibrantnew Church sprang into life. Praise God. John Elgie.

A Tale of Two Dads

Rev David Lewis

group and the music/worship group did, as did many ofour younger, committed and well resourced adults.At times I feared that so much of the life of Holy Trin-ity would flow into the new church that we would beleft as a husk of traditionalism, but God had given us

prophecies that He was in thisand our focus was tobe on His kingdom and the whole of Wallington. Wesold our vergers house to help pay for a suitable housefor the Humphreys. Tim settled on Collingwood Schoolin Springfield Road as the new churchs basehence itsnameand the birth date, Mothering Sunday 1992, ap-proached rapidly.

We encouraged all those remaining at Holy Trinity notjust to release their friends and relatives but to send

them with our blessing. On March 18th we called themto the front. I recall there were 72, roughly half ex-Patsand half from Holy Trinity. We prayed and prophesiedand sent them out.

All three churches flourished. Within two years we atHoly Trinity had made up the numbers we had sent out,and continued to grow, mainly through Alpha courses,though it was hard work with the youth and youngadults. Andhere is Springfield, twenty years on, thriv-ing and sending out its own new congregation.

I praise the Lord for the privilege of being part of theprocess by which He has been working towards thecoming of His kingdom in Wallington.

David Lewis Feb 2012

...The Birth of Springfield Church

Rev Norman Issberner


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Sue Noble recalls the first serviceI remember approaching the school entrance withexcitement and some trepidation. Would I find my wayto the rest of the congregation or would they be hiddenaway somewhere? I neednt have worried. Someone hadpinned up arrows to show the way.

The congregation gelled fairly well together. Most of ushad met before in groups. I remember Tim saying hehadnt realised when setting the date for Springfield tostart that it was the day the clocks went forward.Despite the early start, the worship was great. Assomeone said during coffee time later, It was more likea party than a Church Service.

Alan and Cathy BrearleyFor 20 years Springfield has been an essential partof our lives.

20 years ago we were part of the young families groupand in those very first weeks of the Church were leavingour youngest toddler in the cupboard at the back of theCollingwood Gym that served as a crche for about 10under threes! One of the Churchs very earliest searchesfor more space was the move of the crche to the hut atCollingwood and the Childrens work to the mainschool.

From the very beginning Springfield has grownthefirst weeks we met together people were joining usfrom everywhere and our numbers doubled and more

very rapidly. For us that growth meant that we werecatapulted into roles that wed never thought we maytake onfrom giving Alpha talks to leading servicesand preaching, setting up Springers (Edstill goingstrong as Tiptoes) and giving talks at all age services.Shortly before Springfield started we had just stoppedrunning a young adults group and we thought we weresafely too old for any type of youth work. We neverdreamt Alan would become the oldest youth worker inthe Church! Being part of Springfield has been anexciting journey which has shaped us and changed us.

We certainly have had the chance to serve and to growin the gifts God has given us.

a place where we have been able tonurture our relationship with God

What we do however is not what really matters. IfSpringfield were just about the tasks then it wouldnt

have had the same impact on our lives. Springfield hasbeen first and foremost a place where we have beenable to nurture our relationship with God. Each of ourthree vicars have had slightly different values for ourChurch but they have all revolved around worship,

mission andcommunity and theimportance of smallgroups as places forgrowing in faith. Thestarting point for thisis honestyso wedont need to pretendthat we have all theanswers or that weredoing everythingright. This is the place

where we have been able to meet with God.

Along the way weve benefited from the gifts ofothersparticularly our worship team in this unmusicalhousehold, shared joys and sorrows, appreciated the

laughter and the support at difficult times. Weve hadthe chance to get to know many people and form deepfriendships.

Our lives would have been so much poorer withoutSpringfield Church so it is great to celebrate our 20thbirthday and to look forward to the next stage in ourhistory.

Harvey EdserI came to the first ever Springfield service out of loyalty

to friends. I then went off to University and went offthe rails fairly comprehensively. When I next came toSpringfield nearly two years later, it was as a newlyconverted Christian rather desperately in need of bothhuman and divine support. I found both at Springfield,and Ive remained there for the past 18 yearsnearlyhalf my life.

Highlights over the years have included the team trip toRUSH in Kenya, the dedications of both our kids,baptisms on the beach, New Wine trips but thememory that will stay with me forever is of onenormally-serious churchwarden dressed in drag for asketch at Springfields Decade Do. :-)

Things have changed a bit in 18 yearsthe coffeesimproved for one thing. But its still a community Imglad to belong to and where at best there can begenuineencounters

with realpeople and areal God.

Since the Early Days

Cathy from 19 years agos Spring-field magazine

Alex, Colin andHarvey a verylong time ago


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Greetings from former Springfielders

Russell and MoragWe came to Springfield after a very difficult time in ourprevious church. For us Springfield did what it does best,ministered to us, restored our faith in church leadership(thanks Tim H), renewed our vision, gave usopportunities to develop our gifts and sent us out on thenext part of our adventure of living for God. We hopethat this anniversary will be as much fun as we rememberthe 10th to be; Russell dressing up in a long blond wigand dress, in dialogue with Gilly Hull and Harveyperforming his superbly written review song. Warmgreetings and wishing you Gods continued blessingtoday and beyond.... Russell and Morag Kingsbury

John and Grace MandersonJohn and I moved to Wallington in 1991 and were

looking for a local church. Someone mentioned a new

Anglican church plant (Springfield) and we visited one

Sunday morning. We loved the worship and the sense of

something new and exciting taking place. Springfield

became our church for the next 10/11 years. We were

encouraged to participate in the life of the church and

tried things we had never tried before, like helping for ashort time with the young people. This gave us the excuse

to attend Soul Survivor a couple of times...which we

loved! John helped with the PA, cooked for an Alpha

Course and preached a few sermons! I was involved with

the Worship group. We have very fond memories of the

homegroups we were part of and, for a time, co-led. We

appreciated the friendships we made , some of which still

continue and the wise advise of church members more

advanced in

their Christian

lives than we

were. Thank you

Springfield

members for allyou have

contributed to

our lives."

Julian and Andrea StaniforthWe were part of the originalcore group with two of ourboys David and Samuel (Paulcame along later) and became

very involved in many differentaspects of the church's life,especially leading worship. Wehave many fond memories ofthose early, exciting times inbeing part of something new,that grew out of a particular

pastoral situation in theparish yet also had anoutward mission focus. Julianfelt a call to ministry during

this time and trained for theministry over three yearswhilst still at Springfield. Wemoved to Kent, where Julianis currently in the secondyear of his curacy in the verydifferent setting of Herne

Parish. We keep links withWallington through friends andfamily; Andrea also still does somepiano teaching as part of weekly

visits to her parents. Our eldest

son David is also still a member ofSpringfield now. We are not ableto be there for the celebration daybut wish Springfield every blessingin the next stages of its journey.

Julians ordination... One of three Springfielders whove left usto train to become Vicarsfor the others see Anne Brodieand Sue Cookes stories on p 2223


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Gilly and Graham HullHello from far away Plymouth, its Gilly Hull here. Backin 2000 I was the full-time youth worker for SpringfieldChurch; this was when the likes of Clare Bennett, DavidStaniforth and Gavin Samuel were about 11. I wasemployed for three years then Graham and I continuedbeing part of Springfield as we loved the church foranother two years while we had our first child Jessica andmoved to Plymouth in 2006.

Since then weve popped out Georgia in 2007 and Billyour surprise bundle of testosterone joy in 2009. We havethree most delicious, beautiful children ever! We lovePlymouth we are very involved with our churchPlymouth Vineyard. (Check out our website.) Having not

worked for over 7 years Istarted one day a week for

our church in Januaryheading up youth,internships, 20s and 30s andcommunication bladi bla bla.

We are 10 mins from citycentre, 15mins fromDartmoor and 20mins fromthe beach. Graham has taken

up river swimming andsurfing and I am makingunchurched friends withthe hope that we will seeunchurched human beingsblown away by the love ofGod.

I have such wonderfuland fond memories ofSpringfield I regularlyremember all the young people they will always have aspecial place in my heart. Cant believe how old they allare now, Sarah Nichols you can not be 18!!

Lets never forget God says He will do immeasurablymore than we can imagine, so keep imagining.

Oodles of LoveGilly

Greetings from more lovely ex-Springfielders

Tristan Hope writes about how he came to faith atSpringfield and where he is now...

There I was, mid twenties, good job, career mappedout (ish) and a wild desire to enjoy as many of thebenefits as I could afford....

Then bang! A strange set of events over a few pivotalmonths combined with alcohol and a trip to Francesaw me ending up in a secured mental ward in Sutton

Hospital.

What had gone wrong? How did I get here? Why wasthe man over there screaming for a representative ofthe General Medical Council?

It took a few weeks, but after that experience I endedup as a guest a Ben Cole's house on a Thursday night."Don't worry mate," said my friend Richard "It's gotnothing to do with religion or anything"how wronghe was...

So, many chats with Ben and Katie Cole later, and astrange foray into this strange book called the Bible(Proverbs, interesting study material, or God's way ofdelivering stand up comedy?) saw me stumble into

Wallington Girls School Hall (somewhere I hadn't been

since the 3rd yearWilson's-Wally GirlsJoint disco) and sawme take the firststeps to new life. MrCole, Mrs Cole andMr Eldridge hadrolled back the stoneand I emerged as

Lazarus must'vedone, thinking"What are all thesepeople doing here?".

I took lots of steps to becoming a Christian. Stepswhich would lead to falling over (many times, usuallysober), being picked up (thanks Sue Cooke and BenQP), being dusted down (thanks again Sue) and beingled on (thanks to... most of the congregation ofSpringfield who know me).

There was much to learn, thankfully God created WillCookson, Alpha and New Wine. There was eventemporary exposure to youth leadership (under thehigh standards of Raj Sond and the forgiving natures ofseveral teenage lads). All of this journey was supported

The Voice of Hope...


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Then there was Katie Charlesworth (because Katie Colethreatened she would pray for a wife for me) who agreedto marry me despite trying to ditch me on several occa-sions and who led me to Buckinghamshire, away from myspiritual birthplace...

So what now? 6 years of marriage, 2 beautiful girls (theymust take after their grandmothers), a house, a cat and I'mnearly a qualified accountant. All these things must be bythe grace of God because 10 years ago I wouldn't have

envisaged them for myself.Now what is next? Small for-ays into leadership at my cur-rent church have gone well somaybe more of that but essen-tially, once my exams are done,

my prayer will be "Dear Lordplease let me serve You. Showme where, when, how, whobut the why is up to You".

...The Voice of Hope

Stepping up to the Mic

You may have noticed Jenni Botfield in the band.Sitting in the congregation you dont necessarilyrealise how different being one of the singers is frombeing the worship leader (or lead worshipper)responsible for choosing the songs, rehearsing theband and doing all you can to lead the congregationinto Gods presence. 20 years ago she was shy of her

voice being heard...

Newly graduated and married I was asked to join worshipgroup (the band) at Holy Trinity when we were allowed aslot of a couple of songs during the service but had to workalongside the organist, choir and those who really didntlike this new, loud music. While I was a student I hadexperienced a more charismatic style of worship and

longed for more of the same, so when plans for a churchplant were announced, it seemed obvious that we would go.

That first Sunday of Springfield was truly amazing and thememory has stayed with me these 20yrs. Id never reallybeen in a context like it where everyone wanted to worshipGod with one voice, one heart, full of expectation at whatGod was going to do.

The commitment to the band was quite heavy, withpractises every Thursday, every Sunday morning and everySunday evening too. Rosie and I shared a microphone and

we were constantly told to stand closer! As the band grewwe went into teams and then progressed to...... theinevitable rota!

I think the worship has changed quite a lot over 20 years.Tim Humphrey (Springfields first minister) was a giftedworship leader and musician. Music was of great

importance because of the effect it has on us all. It canbring us together, touch our heart and soul, evokememories and cause division but most of all it seems toopen us up to God. We had times, particularly in theevening service where, after a long time of singing, we just

waited on the Lord, waited for his Spirit to fall. And Healways came, bringing words of knowledge or prophecy,spiritual songs, pictures and so on.

So how did someone who wouldnt stand near the miccome to be leading worship regularly? Well its certainly notsomething I ever thought I would do, but basically one ofthe worship leaders had to step back suddenly so I wasasked to help out and I agreed! Heart was definitely not intune with head!! But God, as always, knew better. He

obviously felt I'd served a long enough apprenticeship andit was time to learn some new skills of leading worship -not to mention leading a band.

passionate about seeing peopleworship Him freely in spirit and truth

Although Im not the most gifted singer and I dont play aninstrument, I am passionate about seeing people come intoGods presence and worship Him freely in spirit and truthas Ive seen God use music to do. Yes, there will always bemusical differences, but ask God to reveal Himself to you

in the song. When we seek God, He meets with us.Sometimes its our hearts and attitudes which need tochange, not the song! As Colossians 3 v16 says, Let the

word of God dwell in you richly as you...sing psalms,hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts toGod.


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After almost 20 years as members of St Patricks Churchin Wallington, Diane and I were privileged to joinSpringfield Church at its inception in 1992. Then as nowit was exciting times, with new challenges for us all.

I recall writing an article back in 1992 for the then StPatricks magazine about changing and change, for all ofus change has a different perspective, some need tomove house frequently others are quite happy movingthe furniture around occasionally.

In 1992 for us spiritually, although not necessarily naturalchangers, we were excited about the Springfield projectand felt maybe it was time to move on, had we becometoo spiritually comfortable? The opportunity was therefor a new challenge with God, to meet new friends

without moving house! whilst still retaining all our pastfriendships and links.

20 years on and thechallenges and changeskeep coming and it is stillexciting. As SpringfieldChurchwarden for the

past 5 years it has been aprivilege for me to havean overview and to seeGod at work in so many

ways in every area of hisChurch at Springfield. AsI write this I am awarethat nothing will bestanding still at Springfield over the foreseeable future,there is still so much more we can all share in together as

we continue to discern and live out Gods plan for his

Church at Springfield.

Bill Garry

Why Springfield?Bill Garry

Baptisms on the Beach...

Seven and eight-ish years ago we allwent by coach down to Littlehamptonfor the day where we had a happySunday of baptisms in the sea and

relaxing together on the beach.


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There have been many house-parties, New Wine /Soul Survivor excursions, holidays and Springfield

visits abroad. I asked Maggie Barnard to sharememories of her trip.

October 2009 was the first Springfield trip to The HolyLand. There were twenty six of us, including invited guestsof all denominations and none, plus two complete strangers

whom we met for the first time at the airport.

Looking back, what struck me most were the extraordinarycontrasts in every aspect of life there.

The frenetic activity in the old city of Jerusalem and thecalm by the Sea of Galilee, the lush green landscape, shotthrough with bougainvillea in all its glorious diversity ofcolour, and the arid dryness of the Judean desert at the

Dead Sea.The assault on all the senses provided by the exuberantsplendour of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and thepeaceful simplicity of the Church of the Primacy of St.Peter , with its beautiful Chagall windows, on the sea shore.

The gold, brown and yellow of the desert in blazingsunlight, stretching as far as the eye could see and the dark,menacing claustrophobia of the dungeon in Caiaphashouse, where Jesus was imprisoned on the night before theCrucifixion.

The pre-dawn chill on the beach and the (for me) intenseheat of Masada.

The riot of colour, sound and smell in the old city ofJerusalem and the simple calm and quiet on the boat tripacross the Sea of Galilee.

The captivating beauty of the stained glass in the Church ofAll Nations at Gethsemane and the baroque-like intensityof the decorations, sculpture and mosaics in the Church ofthe Nativity in Bethlehem.

The peace of the Garden Tomb where we shared the breadand wine and the jostling queues waiting to enter the(probably more authentic) site of the Tomb in the Churchof the Holy Sepulchre.

The raucous noise of the old city with the ever-presentsound of the muezzins calls to prayer and the wonderfulacoustics in the church near the pool of Bethsaida.

The heavily armed police everywhere, the wall separating

Bethlehem from Jerusalem, the strict warnings not to takeBibles on to Temple Mount, the segregation of men andwomen at the Western Wall, even as they celebrated a BarMitzvah and the sense of community which increased eachday among our little gathering.

Our after dinner laughter and enjoyment and the sadstillness at the Garden Tomb where we joined in prayer forRosanna, as her condition worsened.

The feeling of wonder as we looked out on a landscapewhich was essentially the same as Jesus himself would have

seen and the feeling of awe as we walked where He did.The very special time as some of us renewed our baptismalvows and Chris White was baptised in the River Jordan.

And much more.

The best time for me was watching the sun rise over theSea of Galilee from our little beach, the expectant stillnessas we waited for the rising sun to cut a path across the

waves like a searchlight towards us, catching sparrows in itsbeams.

The deepening offriendships whichaccompanies sharedexperiences and theemotional and spiritualrapport which remains,for me and for others, tothis day.

Maggie Barnard

...and in the Jordan


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Two Decades AgoMaggie and Caryls homegroup (Cells were justabout to be introduced) wrote this for the Springfielddecade birthday in 2002. It gives a flavour of what

was going on in the news 20 years ago.

Good evening, here is the 10 oclock news for today,Sunday 29 March 1992.

John Major celebrated his 49 th birthday today at Central

office. The Conservatives are planning a back to basicscampaign for the last 10 days before the election in anattempt to win over the record 11 million voters whohave not yet decided which party to support. MrKinnock appeared to have made a slip when he said onLondon Weekend Television that pay rises for publicservants would keep pace with the private sector underLabour. John Smith, the Shadow Chancellor, insisted thatit would only be done if it could be afforded.

Earl Spencer, the father of the Princess of Wales, has

died today after suffering a heart attack. The news put anend to a holiday which had seen the princess and herfamily in high spirits as she, her husband and her 2 sonsskied together for the first time. The princess is expectedto fly home tomorrow. Viscount Charles Althorp,

dubbed Champagne Charlie by the tabloids, will inherit50 million.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Cary urgedpoliticians to be less acquisitive and more compassionatetowards less fortunate countries.

The UN Security Council votes tomorrow to impose anarms embargo on Libya if it fails to turn over the two

suspects in the Lockerbie bombing by April 15.

In business, the pound closed on Friday just under $1.74,the FTSE 100 was at 2447.9, and the Dow Jones closedat 3231.

In yesterdays football, Teddy Sheringhams NottinghamForest beat Alan Shearers Southampton 3-2 in theZenith Data Systems Cup won last year by Crystal Palace.Leeds and Man Utd stay first and second in the BarclaysFirst Division despite both only drawing 0-0. Crystal

Palace are now 7th after winning 3-2 at Notts County.

And finally, the Rev Tim Humphrey was installed today

as Minister in charge of a new church called Springfield,

which held its first service of worship in Wallington.

Early Photos

Is Roger juggling or responding toa comment about his hair?

Clare and Rays engagement picture inthe 19 years ago Prospect magazine


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Quiz20 Years Ago

11

Answers inside back cover

Do you know about the early days of Springfield Church?Can you remember 1992? Try the Quiz below.

Springfield

1. What were the names of the first two ministers?2. Who were the first church wardens?3. Who was the first Springfield baby?4. On the 22nd August 1992 the first couple from Springfield

were married. Who are they?5. What was the name of the drama production held at Walling-

ton Public Hall?6. What was the original name of the Parent & Toddler group?

7. Can you name the 5 main venues used by Springfield churchfor normal Sunday services?8. What year did we gain EPP (become a Parish church)?

a. What does EPP stand for?9. Who was the first church Administrator?10. The original congregation consisted mainly of people from which two churches in Wallington?

That was the year that was1992

1. What was the number one chart single on 29th March 1992?

2. What animated film, starring the voice talent of Robin Williams, was the highest grossing of1992?

3. Who was the newly elected Britishprime minister?

4. The European Union was formedby the signing of which treaty?

5. Which Royal Castle caught fire?6. Eurovision was held in Sweden:

which country won?

7. In December there was a royalwedding. Whose?8. First Woman speaker to the House

of Commons was elected. Who?9. The US space shuttle made its maiden voyage. What was its name?10. A long running police drama set in Yorkshire debuted on TV. What is it called?11. Which iconic German-American film star from the silent and talkie film eras died in May?12. Two British comedians died this year. One associated with Pompeii; the other with a long

running comedy show and also played the Toymaker in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.13. The Winter Olympics were held in which country?14. Where were the Summer Olympics held?15. GB won 5 gold medals. In which sports?

a. Only for eggheads: name the medallists.


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12

Heather CusdenHeather (now Lovell) has beenmarried to Steve for 13 years, and iskept busy as mum to Beth (aged 6).

We live in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.After leaving Wallington and training

at Sheffield University, I worked as aSpeech Therapist for 5 years beforeBeth was born. I might return to thisone day, but am for now enjoyingbeing mum, and I also work in a localcafe during school hours once a week.Steve is part of the IT team at University Campus Suffolk.

We attend a local church, and Im involved in a homegroup,childrens work, and also regularly lead worship(keyboardand even brave enough to sing now too!). I

have so many happy memories of times and friendships atSpringfield Church. It is definitely the place where I wasfirst given the encouragement and confidence to beinvolved in leading worship, and Im really grateful for that.

With love and best wishes to anyone who remembers me :-)xx

Chris Birch EvansIn 1997 I joined Crusaders as an

Area Development Worker,working in schools in St. Albans andHarpenden. Several years later I hadrecruited several volunteers to sharetheir faith in secondary schools.

This growing team needed slightlydifferent training and support toCrusaders youth workers, and so wedecided to start our own charitycalled Step; St. Albans andHarpenden Christian EducationProject. We learnt to run lessons, activities cafes, missions

weeks, art and activity installations, competitions, courses

and mentoring. Its now 15 years since I got involved insharing Christianity in schools and I now have a large teamof volunteers and we do over 700 activities a year in school,including over 300 lessons.Recently I set up a prayer room in school and added aprayer station called 'pop and pray' using bubble wrap andsome ideas that I learnt from youth group in Springfield. Itsamazing how some of the simplest things just stick andshape your life.

I go to a Vineyard Church and involved in running thetraining evenings. I did consider getting involved in the PA,but all those early starts to set up the hall at Springfield musthave put me off.

Thank you Springfield for investing in me all those yearsago.

Martin QuestedSince leaving Springfield to go and studyComputer Science with German in 1996,I've lived in Germany three times, andManchester four: Moss Side is where I'veput down roots now, and I'm part of a

network of small church plants that makeSpringfield, even in its very early days,look massive. Definitely older, possibly

wiser, my jokes haven't improved, norhas my punctuality.

Michael and Diana MastersIt is now almost 10 years since wemoved to the beautiful county ofRutland. We continue to revel in theglorious countryside and take delight

in the changing seasons, somehowaccentuated more definitively with thefarming yearspring lambs, emergingcrops, ripening wheat and so on. Wetake great delight in the abundance ofbirds in our garden and at Rutland

Water just a mile from our home.What a joy it is to live here!

As the Anglican Church here was verytraditional and had Sung Eucharist asits main Sunday morning service, wechose to go to the Baptist Church

where we felt at home straight awayand very soon made some lovelyfriends.

We are both very involved in churchlifeat the moment Michael is the Church Secretary andDiana is on the Leadership Team, as well as helping in anumber of other ministries.

We have many happy memories of our years at Springfield,

especially the excitement of being part of the core of 60from St Pats and Holy Trinity and finding it had grown to120 on the very first Sunday we met together as a church,filling the Collingwood School gym to capacity. They wereheady days!

We will never forget the wonderful freedom that we weregiven as a church and the opportunity that gave us to growas Christians and develop our spiritual gifts. It was a veryspecial time and we feel so blessed to have been part of it.

We are still in touch with many of you, so we hear quite abit about how you are all doing. We are really lookingforward to being with you for the special 20th AnniversaryCelebration on 18thMarch and wish Gods continuedblessing on you all at Springfield as you embark on yourthird decade.

Where Are They Now?


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13

Greg and JulieDo you remember this? 3 October1998, the day I married Greg, a daymade possible by the love, supportand prayers of the SpringfieldChurch family. I joined Springfieldjust as it prepared to celebrate itsfirst year and at the end of 1994 tookon the new role of ChurchAdministrator. During Springfields first interregnum Ibecame passionate about Parcels of Love and got thewhole church collecting items for boxes to be distributedto refugees in the former Yugoslavia. It wasnt longbefore the lounge, of the then empty vicarage, was piledhigh with donations. Before I left to help distributeparcels Lorna Whalley prayed with me. I feel God issaying this trip will be life changing for youshecertainly heard clearly that day! Whilst on the trip inOctober 1997 I met Greg, to this day he still says hefound me in a refugee camp! We married a year later, just4 weeks before my 38th birthday. It truly was aSpringfield celebration since so many had prayed andsupported me through times when my hopes of a longedfor family began to fade. Our first anniversary wasshared with Springfield as we celebrated the Dedicationof our son Matthew and then in August 2000 we wereblessed with our daughter Esther.

Today we all live close to Gregs home town,Christchurch, New Zealand and attend our local churchin West Melton, 25 km from the now broken city centre.During the recent earthquakes I have often beenreminded of a song we sang at Springfield, You are therock on which I stand, a firm foundation, not shiftingsand. We are forever grateful to Springfield Church whohelped us to place our marriage and family firmly onThe Rock and trust we can serve our community inthese difficult times, helping them to put their hope inJesus too.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all as youcelebrate Springfields 20th Birthday.

Julie, Greg, Matthew and Esther Blain

Chris Marshall nowlives in the USA, ismarried to Kristyn andthey have 2 daughters,Cecilia (6) and Lillian(5). He is a Computer

Teacher at a ChristianAcademy inMassachusetts.

It is hard to believe that is has been twenty years sinceSpringfield started. I have fond memories of Springfieldfrom the time I joined. I remember the Alpha course atthe Mundens house and the prayer meeting where Ilearned that they had been praying for helpers for youthgroup. It wasnt long after that that I found my initialcalling at Springfield. From that time I was heavilyinvolved with the youth work at Springfield includingSCY and Sunday School and cherish the time I hadteaching and learning from the young people.

One of the most important aspects of my time atSpringfield is the friendships that I still have with manypeople despite having lived in the US for over ten years.I feel so welcome there every time I visit and in contact

with many others who are no longer there. I think themost amazing thing is the number of people who nowserving the Lord full time since leaving Springfield, threeof whom became some of my closest friends Chris Birch-Evans, Paul Bulgin and James BarnardOne of the things that I have noticed since moving tothe US is the differences in how churches operate. Iserved on the Springfield church council for a while andremember the challenges we faced and how we were ableto deal with those even when it meant meeting at fourdifferent buildings during the week. There are manychurches here in the US who have their own buildingsyet only use them maybe once a week.

My prayer for Springfield is that it continues to serve theLord and grow into the church that God wants it to be. I

will always remember my time at Springfield and hope tobe able to visit regularly in the future. God Bless, Chris

Mike and Penn Campbell areliving in the Cotswolds. Michael isleading worship and services andpreaching at Milton Baptist churchand Penny is at St Marys the Virgin

where she sings and is very involved.They have 2 grandchildren. Mike isworking full time and Penn isstarting up a Bed and breakfastbusiness: www.langlandbandb.co.uk

Where Are They Now?


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14

These events have become an immensely popular fixturein the church calendar and have attracted increasingnumbers of children and helpers. As we celebrate thisanniversary, it is fascinating to review how HolidayClubs have played a key role in the life of the church and

brought many new families to Springfield.

There have been 12 Holiday Clubs in all, catering mainlyfor 5-11 year olds. From small beginnings way back in1995, with LIGHT FACTORY, which was held atCollingwood School for around 100 children, the clubshave moved venues several times and grown. The mostrecent, MISSION RESCUE, was held at High ViewSchool in 2011 with 275 children enrolled, and 120adults and youth involved in running the club.

The second Holiday Club in 1996 was SHIPSHAPES, afar more ambitious all-day project, at WallingtonMethodist Hall and Youth Centre. This welcomed 210children.

Jo Plummer writes, I have reallyfond memories of this first holidayclub. My son (now 24) was invitedby Joel Smedley. From these smallbeginnings I discovered afantastically friendly and welcoming

set of people in a place where myson had lots of fun. In the Sundayservice I had my first encounter

with the Holy Spirit and I havenever looked back. Springfield hasbeen my spiritual home eversince.

Just over 100 children attendedeach of the next three clubs, which

were also held in the Methodist Church Hall over 4

afternoons. Team spirit and identity were reinforcedwith baseball caps or T-shirts.

GOING BANANAS inEaster 2000 featuredSpringfield Airlines, pilotedby Tim Samuel, who flewthe children to Banana Island,

where they were greeted byRipe and Rotten, played by JoPlummer and Nigel Elderkin.

Various characters, who hadgone bananas for God,came via a time shed andshared their stories. JamesElderkin invited his friendCharlie Burton to the clubthat year. Parents were invitedfor hot-cross buns and coffee on Good Friday, as well as

to the Easter Sunday service.

MEGAQUEST in Easter 2001 was based on a 5-levelcomputer game, andconcluded later in the year

with a Heaven Party as analternative to Halloween. Thisclub was memorable forchildrens bar-codedcomputerised entry badges,set up by Chris Marshall.

The invite to hot cross bunsand coffee and the Easterservices was repeated.

In Summer 2002, as Will appeared on the scene,DESERT DETECTIVES explored the Bible lookingfor the mighty God Sword (Gods Word!). Youth

Worker Gilly Hull played the villain for the second timeand families were invited to a Christmas Panto calledJos Journey, written by Gilly, which was presentedjust before Christmas.

Springfields Holiday Clubs


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The next club in 2004 saw a sea change withSEASIDE ROCK, which was run as part of theoutreach for the Soul in the City campaign thatsummer. For the first time, the team included severalhelpers from other local churches and, as part of this

ecumenical project, extra youth who were visitingLondon for the event. Timings were crucial as the youthhelpers attended the Soul in the City convention held inthe mornings in Sutton and further events in theevenings in local parks, and needed feeding andtransporting throughout the day. The Holiday Club

venue was St Elpheges Primary School and almost 200children attended. This followed the life of Peter, playedby Ollie Elgie, and used all the schools facilitiesincluding holding a family barbecue on the playing fieldson the final Friday afternoon. The Bain family had their

first taste of Springfield that year.

Two years later, in 2006, the club moved to Bandon HillPrimary School for PYRAMID ROCK, the first of 5annual Holiday Clubs held there. Excerpts of Joseph,King of Dreams were shown as the children saw howGods plan worked out. The Devitt, Green and Nichollsfamilies came for the first time to this club. There wassome excellent follow-up material for this club, calledRocky Road (looking at the life of Moses) which hadbeen written by Rosey, the Sutton Schools Primary

Worker. This led to restructuring Sunday mornings togive more of a feel of Holiday Clubs, with the 5-11smeeting together for the whole morning in the Canteen,and then splitting into year groups. This quickly becameknown as Roadrunners, and has continued to provideeasy access to Springfields Sunday activities.

Holiday Club had a pirate theme in 2007 withLANDLUBBERS, which looked at the message fromPhilippians. 2008 used an Olympic themed club entitledCHAMPIONS CHALLENGE, encouraging children

to join Gods team. Other families have madeconnections via the weekly Bible Club (now calledExplore) and the monthly Footsteps (messy churchoutreach run by Sue Bosley at High View School. SarahDownham said My daughters wanted to attend theSpringfield Holiday club in August 09 but I work fulltime and had not allocated any time off. Sue came to myrescue and helped me out by ferrying my girls back totheir school holiday club each afternoon. Each morning

when I dropped themoff to Sue, the

atmosphere wasincredible! Everyone wasbuzzing and mydaughters came homeeach day excited about

what they had done

and learnt. They had the addictive bug toogreat, theyloved it , I loved it!! They were becoming wise to Godand the message of Jesus and that was helping in myjourney too. [Also see Sarah Downhams bit on p20]

2009 saw a return for DESERT DETECTIVES, and tocope with expanding numbers, a separate group forYear 6 was introduced, led by Carolyn Churchyard. Thisbecame such a success that 34 came in 2011. ROCKYSPLAICE in 2010, had a fish and chip based themefollowing Peter in the early church, and numbersreached maximum capacity, with the need to introduce

waiting lists. The most recent Holiday Club, MISSIONRESCUE, in 2011, used another new venue, HighviewSchool, and had a spy theme as the Moses MissionRescue Papers (the first books of the Bible) were

recovered by a team of agents.

One of the especially exciting aspects of Holiday Clubhas been seeing many parents of attendees joining theteam, and many children continuing their attendance asyouth helpers. The Bains [see Lees story on p 20..], theBurtons, the Devitts [See Peters story on p21]. SarahDownham, Nikki Green, Julia Nicholls and others areall firmly established on the team, and CharlottePlummer (Jos daughter) isjoining the team this year.

Members of Youth havealso played a major rolethroughout the last fifteenyears, in the drama andmusic of Holiday Clubs

with many talentedyoungsters on the team excelling themselves playinginstruments, leading the singing and throwingthemselves into some hilarious slapstick and escapades

while presenting a powerful message, and helping with

props and PA.This years Holiday Club, ON YOUR MARKS, ishappening from July 30 to August 3. More teammembers would be really welcome to help on siteduring the week, or in the preparations, including givingprayer support. Ifyou would like tohelp, please speakto Chris White,CarolynChurchyard or

WendyLittlemore.

Chris White

Springfields Holiday Clubs

15Doug as a mini Banana and as a Team Member


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16

Timeline

Margaret Boardman I came to Springfield church from St Pats via Holy Trinity whendiscussions of a new church were being made. It all sounded very exciting. Over theyears20 nowit has been wonderful to see Springfield grow. The Holy Spirit hasbeen seen in peoples lives in the caring attitude and love shown by Springfieldsmembers and is appreciated and welcomed by all those receiving it both in the churchand into the community. The services and in service are where I encounter God.

1992

1995

1998

2000

Sandy ElderkinJanuary 1995 was when I joined Springfield church. I was onmaternity leave from my post as a Sister at St.Georges Hospital, and therefore able tocommit to coming every week for a while.

Why did I choose Springfield? And why suddenly come to church after nearly 20 yearsabsence?

The reasons are multiple, but the main one is due to one person: Jane Elgie. [continuedp19]

Nigel ElderkinWell of course I went along to James baptism- I always do what Sandytells me to and I too could sit there in a service and let it all drift past. I did like theidea of an Alpha course, though, food every week and a bit of chat would be ok, so Isigned up for the next one.

The Alpha course was promptly cancelled.Instead of 12 meals and a day away, I ended up with one evening chatting to the vicarin his front room. [continued p19]

Angela Baker I heard about Springfield from some members helping with theecumenical youth club Rock Solid. I came along in the evenings and was very taken

with the worship (band-orientated rather than organ and choir), and with the lovelywelcome I received as a visitor. I was intrigued by some folks having manifestationsof spiritual gifts like the gift of tongues, (very new to me at the time). I foundSpringfield members were very helpful when I asked questions about thesehappenings, and I recall one lady patiently talking me through the passage in Acts

where the Spirit falls on the disciples as tongues of fire. 28 Feb 1999 we borrowedBeeches Baptist Church and I was baptised by full immersion. Harvey was leadingthe worship, and Rosie was doing OHP! (Remember the days of acetates?) I've beenpart of the Worship Group since that Autumn, which has also been a huge boost to

my faith, as well as providing lots of challenges which have helped me to grow.

Julie and Mike Cushion I first started to come along to Springfield in September 2000.I was living in Bristol at the time and had been going through a very difficult time in my

life. My sister Sue suggested I come along to Springfield, I knew that Sue andanother Christian friend, Marilyn, were praying for me, so I decided to go along acouple of times. I enjoyed it and felt very welcome. One Sunday, there was preacherfrom Canada called Garth who summed it up very succinctly for me, he said thattraditionally it was thought that you had to believe before you could belong to achurch. However at Springfield, I felt that I belonged before I truly consideredmyself a Christian. Then in May 2001 I was baptised by Tim Sumpter and that wasa major turning point in my Christian life. I joined a lovely home group and have

never looked back.

Around Christmas 2002, Mike started to come along to church with me. He was veryopen to my faith as his brother in law was a priest. Subsequently he joined the band

where he continues to play the guitar and Will married us in December 2003.

We asked a selection of Springfield folk when and why they started coming to our church.


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17

Timeline

2004

2005

2007John Burton Nearly 5 years ago I was invited to a couple of social events held by theSpringfield Men's cell, Wimbledon Dogs and Virtual Golf were fantastic events andenabled me to get to know such a great bunch of guys.

My first experience of Springfield church was again introduced by Chris from the Men'scell and to say I was apprehensive was an understatement, having only gone to churchfor weddings and funerals I didn't know what to expect. I couldn't believe it when Willpreached his sermon as it seemed it was written for me and Louise word for word! God

was definitely at work in my life.

2 years later I was dressed up in a camel suit for Desert Detectives holiday club and reallystarted to connect with the children as they seemed to be on the same spiritual level, thenext thing I knew I was offering my services to be a leader in Road runners and I havenever looked back.

Suvd BayaraaWe are a long way from home (which is Mongolia) and Springfield is likeour family.

Its a big step coming to Christianity from a different background.

Its about 7 years since I first came to the church. I felt moved during the worshipIdidnt know at the time but obviously God was touching me and speaking to me.

People were welcoming and friendly. They werent pretending, they genuinely cared forone another. There are days when we dont get to church but its always in my heart. Weare so grateful to meet all these wonderful people and be part of this unit.

Peter DevittThe first I knew of Springfield Church was when my wife Anna enrolledmy eldest Lewis into his first Holiday Club over five years ago.

Lewis seemed to like it so Anna then enrolled him at Roadrunners. I started taking him,but once I had signed him in, I would make a quick dash to the car with Lewis sisterErin and then go round to the local garden centre for coffee and cake...[continued on p21 ]

Tristan HopeThere I was, mid twenties, good job, career mapped out (ish) and awild desire to enjoy as many of the benefits as I could afford....

Then bang! A strange set of events over a few pivotal months combined with alcoholand a trip to France saw me ending up in a secured mental ward in Sutton Hospital.

What had gone wrong? How did I get here? Why was the man over there screamingfor a representative of the General Medical Council?

It took a few weeks, but after that experience I ended up as a guest a Ben Cole's houseon a Thursday night. [Continued p6]


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18

Timeline

Karen Patching I met Sandy at swimmingJessica and Mary were in the same class.We were chatting and we got on. Jessica got ill when she was about 5; ulcerative colitis,and Sandy was easy to talk to through that.

I remember one particular time we were having a lot of problems with Bens schooland she said Ill pray for you. Then my friend who is a solicitor rang me and she hasa friend with a son with autism and she passed me on to this friend who really helpedme out.

Jessica had started to go to church with Mary and Will said why not bring Ben along? Idid and people were really accepting of him and it just feels so right to be here.

2009

2010

2011

Rebecca Bennett I started coming to Springfield after speaking to Jenni Botfield andhearing of all the positive things that Springfield does as a church.

We had visited a couple of other churches but had never felt like we were in the rightplace. From the moment we walked into Springfield we were made to feel welcome.

We have been at Springfield now for two years in April and we have met someamazing people that I am proud to say are very good friends.

Timmy and Bukky Ajayi.We googled something like churches near and entered

our post code. Springfield was the top search result and thats why we came along!Timmy liked it, he got the brochure and Mary explained everything. The next weekwhen I went along with him a couple of people remembered Timmys name and Inoticed and appreciated that.

Sarah Downham Sue Bosley was my daughters Reception teacher and Vicky Ramjiawanwas her T.A. Sue and Vicky began a Christian club and Samantha loved it.

Lee Bain [see p 20] became our child minder when Sharna our youngest was in nurseryand she invited us to the Springfield cinema viewing of The Lion, The Witch and TheWardrobe.

Sue then invited us to the first Footsteps on a Saturday afternoon. We loved it. I became aregular attendee and when Sue asked me to help out with craft etc I promptly agreed.

Sue invited me to a ladies disco in March 09. It was a brilliant night, I took a couple offriends and Sue introduced me to some of the ladies from churchwhat a great bunch!!Sue spoke to me about the next days Mothering Sunday service at church and I had thisover-whelming urge to be there. The first thing that struck me was that I could not believethe amount of teenagers in church, I had never seen so manyever! The second thing

was Will. No dog collar, no formal robes. The friendliness and ease of the service mademe feel warm, it had an almost homely feel and the worship songs were greatthey had aband not a choirwow how cool! The service ended and numerous people introduced

themselves to me. What a great bunch of people, not formal, not heavy and notjudgemental. When I got home I found myself thinking I cant wait till next Sunday.


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19

17 years agoSandy

January 1995 was whenI joined Springfield

church. I was onmaternity leave frommy post as a Sister atSt.Georges Hospital,and therefore able tocommit to comingevery week for a while.

Why did I choose Springfield? And why suddenly cometo church after nearly 20 years absence?

The reasons are multiple, but the main one is due to oneperson: Jane Elgie.

I first met Jane at the Bluebird parent & toddler group atHoly Trinity church. We had moved to Wallington in1992 (auspicious year!) and with a 15 month old baby(Ruth) I was desperate to get to know people.Unfortunately my experiences of the toddler group werenot favourable: suffice to say the only people to engageme in conversation were Jane & and a lady called SueMurray. I liked Jane and discovered she appeared to havemyriad children: transpired she was a childminder.

Background: Nigel and I both worked shifts (fire-fighter & a nurse) and I was studying for a degree, whichmeant attending col lege every Monday; therefore weneeded a childminder for Mondays. The first childminderI contacted off the council list was Jane Elgie. She had aspace on Mondays and she lived round the corner: to ourdelight we discovered we had already met!

So it was Jane who told me about Springfield church; itwas Jane (& John) who invited us to a family service and

food at their house afterwards; it was Jane I talked toabout my previous Christian experiences; it was Janewho inspired me to start attending Springfield in order tomeet other people, and give my daughter the opportunityto attend Sunday School (Light Factory).

Springfield was friendly, low key, unthreatening & fun.There was the odd preachy bit in the middle andsometimes the worship was a bit spiritual with lots ofhand waving. Well that was ok: that was when I did myshopping list. I was fulfilling my aim of getting to knowpeople.

James was born and appeared in the crche (at 4 weeks!);it was a joy to get to know other mothers with smallbabies too (Jenni, Gill, Maddie, Andrea). Maddie invitedme to their toddler group at Crusader Hall.

Nigel and I wanted to get James baptised (Ruth had beenbaptised) so a pastoral visit from Rev. Tim Humphreyensued. I had read through all Ruths baptismal stuff soas I would know the right things to say, and Tim agreedto Baptise James in August.

I was still doing my shopping list during the sermons!But hey it was great to be part of something, I couldtolerate the God stuff, I didnt have to partake.

However God had different ideas. One service in July wesung a song:

Father God I wonder how I managed to existWithout the knowledge of your parenthood and your loving careBut now I am your son I am adopted in your family

And I can never be alone

And the words really struck a chord within me. Tearsrolled down my face as I realized that this was what I hadbeen searching for, that God wanted ME, that he haddied for ME, and I was HIS child. That week I bought anew bible and started to read it, I also had theopportunity to tell Jane what had happened and sheprayed with me and suggested I do the Alpha courselater that year. Years later I discovered John & Jane hadprayed for us every week.

The first service Nigel attended at Springfield, was James

Baptism: and oh what a joy that day was, knowing I wasGods child along with James. Hallelujah!

Nigel

Well of course I went along to James baptismI alwaysdo what Sandy tells me to and I too could sit there in aservice and let it all drift past. I did like the idea of an

Alpha course, though, food every week and a bit of chatwould be ok, so I signed up for the next one.

The Alpha course was promptly cancelled.

Instead of 12 meals and a day away, I ended up withone evening chatting to the vicar in his front room. Italked and talked until I talked myself out of reasons tosay no then stopped to listen instead and finally heardGod saying What kept you? Welcome back. I floatedhome with a spring in my stepand a sure knowledge that God

was the answer for me.

Since then, I have actually doneAlpha twice: once when helpingto lead a youth alpha, and lastyear I was on the team for one

with proper food at last!

Nigel and SandyWhy Springfield?


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SALT talked to Lee Bain about how Springfieldhelped her to make the change from an atheistto a Christian.

How did it all start?

Towards the end of the summer term of 2004, I had twochildren over five who were at school and two under fiveat home and I was looking for something inexpensive forthem to do in the long six-week school holiday. I found aleaflet in one of my eldest two childrens book bagsabout Springfields holiday club at St Elpheges school. Itsat on the side for agesI thought its not my thing as Ihad never done anything churchy. But it was cheap andonly two and a half hours long, so I asked around outsidethe school gate and found one other mother who wasgoing to send her children to it. I decided to send my twoeldest children, Ellis and Marnie, and thought if theydidnt like it Id pull the plug.

At the end of the first session, Ellis and Marnie came outall buzzed uptheyd loved it and couldnt wait to goback. Every day they took pictures and jokes to put into abox (Lyns Bin). As the week went on, my secondyoungest, Tierney, seeing all the fun they were having,got more and more upset that she was too young to gotoo (she was four) and so she drew a picture to put intothe box.

Are you coming on Sunday? heasked me. I thought, Oh no, I will

have to go

When we arrived for the next session, I asked a man atthe door if Tierney could put her picture into the box.He said yes and took it off her, but by the time we wereleaving Tierney was sobbing. A man in an orange t-shirton the gate stopped us and asked why Tierney wascrying. He promised that if Tierneys name was on herpicture and he could find it, he would hold it up atchurch on Sunday. Are you coming on Sunday? heasked me. I thought, Oh no, I will have to go. True tohis word, the man, who turned out to be Will Cookson,called Tierney out during the service and she stood at thefront holding up her picture.

Why did you go back?

I was nagged by my children. One time in the car, Ellisturned to me and said, Some children get to do that

every Sunday. I decided it was no different to takingthem to a playgroup and so we started going along toSpringfield. I remember asking Will if it would be okayfor me to be there and making it clear that I was not aChristian and had no intention of becoming a Christian

I was just using thechildrens work. I sat insilence during theservices. I just did notthink God was real. I

thought talking aboutGod was like two adultsdiscussing a cartooncharacterHe wascompletely imaginary,like Mickey Mouse.

I thought talkingabout God waslike two adults discussing a cartoon

characterI expected someone to tap me on the shoulder and say,You should not be hereyou are in the wrong place.It never happened. But there were things about going tochurch that I found very difficult and alien. For example,I was outraged when people offered to take my childrento the toilet or out to the childrens work. I thought you

wouldnt do that in Tescos with strangers children.

What happened to make you change your mindabout God?

I was at a Springfield service in September, a year or twoafter Id started taking the children. Jackie Mole waspraying in tongues behind me and then Sue Vernon gavea prophecy at the front. Suddenly the light went on and Irealised God was there. The experience frightened theliving daylights out of me and for around six weeks I ranaway from God. I knew if I became a Christian my life

would change totally. Finally, I remember standing in thegarden making the decision to do so. I phoned Sue Cookand told her that I wanted to be a Christian. She wrote

out a card for me with the words of a prayer and cameround and prayed with me. That was just the start of myadventure with God.

Lees Testimony

20

Its for families, its fun, its messy church!

21 April, 19 May, 16 June, 14 JulyFrom 4-6pmHigh View Primary School, The Chase, SM6 8JT

Contact [email protected]


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[Continued from the Timeline p17]

We did go to some Springfield events, like Feast in theField but really that was it, I was brought up a Catholicbut drifted away in my late teens. To be honest thethoughts of going to Church again did not appeal tome but I certainly was not opposed to Lewis going toRoadrunners. Sometimes we would get our Sundaysmixed up and I remember having to make a quick Uturn when I got to Church and Roadrunners wasclosedit was an All Age Service!

Now this went on for a couple of years until Erin wasable to go to Holiday Club and then Roadrunners. Butthe thoughts of leaving my little girl and thendisappearing with my youngest to the garden centre

was not so appealing nowso we decided to give the

Sunday Service a try. Well I found it amazing; I listenedto the sermon and the worship songs and found it sodifferent to what I had experienced before. Not onlythat but everyone was so friendly and yet they did notknow us!

So we went again, and then on the third or fourthSunday that I went, it hit me, during the sermon I feltan intense feeling of peace, as if the sermon wasdirected solely at me. And then came the worshipsongs and I remember calling out to God, in my head

of course, that I hear him and that I want to do whathe wants me to do. It was such an emotionalexperience, I could not hold back my tears and formany weeks after that I would just start welling up if Ijust thought, let alone talked, about that Sunday.

But it did not stopat Sunday Services, I

was introduced tothe Mens Cell andstarted attending

every Wednesdaynight, I could not getenough of talkingabout God and our

walks (strolls orruns!) with Christ. Idid an Alpha Courserun by Springfield which explored many of my hangups about Christianity that I had developed as a youth.I had been set free from my secular mindset to loveGod, to have a Personal Relationship with God. And

all this because God had placed it on the hearts of thecongregation of Springfield Church to welcome mychild into Holiday Club and Roadrunners without anyconditions on us attending Church. This alwaysreminds me that we must let God decide when thetime is right; it is in Gods time and not ours.

Strange how things seem to go round in circles, Ivesince been on the team for a couple of Holiday Clubsand have been a Roadrunner Leader for the lasteighteen months. My life has changed forever, I thankGod for that and I also thank the people of SpringfieldChurch, in particular my Cell (past and present), theRoadrunner Team and of course my group, Year 5.

Peter Devitt

Peters Story

Old Youthy Photos

Clockwise from top:First ever Soul Survivor;New Wine 2007Alfies

birthday; Becky Reid atthe Noise 2003;Rob Samuel with Sally atthe Noise; Westwatchweekend away, late 90s.


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Called to the Ministry

Springfield has sent out 3 people to be vicars. Annewas the first and is now established at St MargaretsPutney. She writes...I have little doubt in my mind that, ifSpringfield had not been planted, I would still be teachingmaths during the week and sitting in a pew at Holy Trinityon Sundays. Being part of the new venture, one to which

everyone was expected to make an active contribution,certainly grew my faith and I dont think anyone whoexperienced the times of worship in those early days canfail to have been changed.

For me, there were certain similarities between my call toordained ministry and the one to become part of the (thenunnamed) church plant. Indeed, remembering how thelatter turned out helped me greatly during my deliberationson vocation. Just as I had no intention, back in 1991, ofjoining the forthcoming church plant, I certainly had no

intention of being ordained. But God had other ideas.....In matters of faith, I have often found myself doing thingsthat I would neither, at the time, have chosen nor of whichId have thought myself capable. Out of my comfort zonedoes not begin to describe it! It started with taking the riskof leaving my friends and the familiar surroundings of HTand joining Springfield. Before long, I was helping on thefirst Alpha Course and, after that, leading the home group

which emerged from it. (Even now, I have friends whotake great delight in reminding me that, at the time, Iannounced that I couldnt possibly do either!)

The call to full-time ministry came gradually, over severalyears, and I did my best to ignore it. It was during a talk atNew Wine in 1997 that I definitely recognised that God

was asking me to be a teacher and pastor in his church(see Ephesians 4:11-13). On this occasion, the person

sitting next to me heard him tooso there was no gettingaway from it. Even then, it took me another 3 years beforeI went to speak with Tim Sumpter and I have to confessthat I didnt wholeheartedly accept what God was callingme to until just before I went to my selection conference.

I had good support during the selection process, both fromTim and from David Lewis at HT; I was accepted fortraining in 2002 and started my course at St Johns College,Nottingham the following Autumn.

Having dragged my heels about getting there, I found Ireally enjoyed my two years at St Johns. It was hard work(especially the essays!) and I felt constantly challenged butmy horizons were broadened considerably, both by thecourse itself and the day-to-day living within thecommunity. I made life-long friends and its very exciting

to think of so many talentedand inspiring men and

women now working asvicars around the country.

In June 2005, many of my

Springfield friends came tosupport me as I wasordained at SouthwarkCathedral. I became curateat St Margarets Church inPutney, where I was readily

welcomed by thecongregation. It wasnt longbefore I discovered that,despite all my misgivings,this was the perfect job for

meI was truly a square-shaped peg in a square-shaped hole. Parish ministry,despite all its difficulties, was exactly what I wanted to do. I

wonder why I hadnt done it sooner?!!

3 years later, my vicar moved away and I was left to guidethe church through 10 months of interregnum. It was anuncertain period since my time as curate was coming to anend and I was looking for a job. In the Church of E, it isnot usual for a curate to be appointed vicar in the samechurch and I had not intended to apply but had a last-minute sense that I should. I was appointed to the post and

licensed nearly three years ago.

St Margarets is more typically Anglican than Springfield(but then I guess most churches are!). We have pews,robes, an organ and a choir. We also have a churchbuilding with two halls attached, great for organising eventsbut with the disadvantage of needing regular time andmoney spent on their upkeep. There are frequentopportunities to engage with the people of the parishthrough baptisms, weddings and funerals and it is a realprivilege to be able to minister in Gods name at such

significant times in peoples lives.

Despite the workload and the ongoing pressures on mytime, I love my job and have no regrets about the path Ihave chosen. I shall always be thankful, both for those whohad the vision for planting a church and for all thosefriends at Springfield, both past and present, who helpedguide me down the beginning of that path.

Ann Brodie

If Springfield had not been planted, Iwould still be teaching maths duringthe week and sitting in a pew at HolyTrinity on Sundays

I discovered that, despite all mymisgivings, this was the perfect

job for me


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Lily of the valley,Bright and morning starFairest of ten thousand, you areHow can I perceive Your beauty,I long to see your face Jesus, Jesus

More of you and less of me....Jesus

The lyrics above are from asong that has been sosignificant to me over the past

few years. What I have learnt (and am continuing tolearn) is that the closer we get to Jesus, the more intimateour relationship, the more we can be transformed byHim. My iPod is often just on random and this song hasthe knack of coming on whenever I need remindingwho should be central to my life!

I know that my journey into true and deep relationshipwith Jesus as my saviour would never have begun if Godhad not spoken directly to me in 2003 and told me tojoin Springfield. At that point in my life I was so angrywith God. In fact I was raging with a God I professednot to believe in. Various experiences in my life hadmade me determined never, ever to go to a church again.God was a malevolent being (if he existed at all) and allvicars, priests, elders, ministers etc were just the worstpeople in the world and to be avoided at all costs. I was a

pretty difficult person, full of anger, sadness andconfusion.

I found a church where I could be real,open and obnoxious and still be loved

But something made me respond to Gods promptingand turn up at Springfield. There I found a church whereI could be real, open and obnoxious and still be loved!God gave me so many people who walked with me,prayed with me and for me and people who just loved

me. I know that Will and Angie were the ones who sawme at my worst and Will in particular often became thefocus of my anger. It was easier to rant at him than atGod, he was after all the one in the dog collarsurely itwas his job to take it??

I know now that God sent me to Springfield so I couldbe restored and healed. So that I could be transformedand set free from all my hurts and anger. I am so gratefulthat God sent me to a church where people did not wantto give up on me and did not want to manipulate me into

being anything or anyone. People simply loved me intothe space where I had the freedom and confidence to bemyselfhealed, restored and forgiven.

Now?? Well, in 2010 I left a job I loved and I amcurrently at Ridley Hall Cambridge, training to be apriestone of those people who should be avoided at allcosts! This summer I will be ordained and begin a curacyin the Diocese of Oxford at Holy Trinity Sunningdale.

I would never have believed the call or responded to thecall if there had not been fabulous people at Springfield

who encouraged, challenged and inspired me. God sentme to a church where being real matters more than beingperfect. A church where people were gracious enough tosee beyond my faults and facade and see my God-givengifts and potential. I thank Will for taking me seriously

when I told him in 2005 what I thought God was callingme to. Will walked with me through the process. I amimmensely grateful for his wisdom in doing it slowly, not

letting me rush ahead, for sensing what areas of my lifeneeded to be dealt with first.

God is awesome, giving me what I need, leading me,guiding me and loving me. I will always remember thefirst picture I was ever given. Angie told me she had seena lighthouse with all the dustcovers coming off. That wasNovember 2003 and I had no idea what it meant and wasstill pretty dubious about such things, but I wrote itdown and always remembered it. Then in 2010, when we

were praying together just before I went on my final

selection interview Angie again had a picture of alighthouse. This time it was shining brightly. Angie hadnot remembered the first picture, but I had. God speaksto us in amazing ways.

Springfield is anamazing church andthere is so much that I

will take from it into myfuture ministry and it

will always hold a dear

place in my heart. It isthe church where I wasnot afraid to have themess stripped away andthe real me uncovered. Iam definitely notlooking forward to myfinal service there in acouple of months. Godcalled me to Springfieldand for that I will

always give thanks.

Sue Cooke

More of Him and Less of Me


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KenyaRUSH visit

In February, sevenSpringfielders went with

Joan to visit the charitywe are involved with inKakamega, Kenya.RUSH stands forReaching theUnreached through SelfHelp and is run by Andrew and Lucy Amukowa.

On the plane back to the UK the team all wrote a shortreflection on their time working with RUSH. It was anoverwhelming experience and difficult to put into afew words.

Cecile

Im on my flightback home butalready thinkingabout the possibilityof a future visit toKenya. My trip withRUSH has given meaccess to the heartof Kenyas peopleand the opportunity to live and work alongside theincredible people that make RUSH tick.

The faith, compassion and welcome of the people weencountered was immense. There was a tremendoussense of family and it was clear that Lucy and Andrewhave opened their arms up to so many they are knownas mama and papa totomama and papa of all. Theirgenerosity of heart, home and time is limitless. Ivelearnt about the true meaning of a heart ofcompassion, ultimate faith in God and have a newunderstanding of family.

I hope to be able to continue to have a part to playwith RUSH. Without a doubt, I will be giving up manya prayer to the superb people involved.

BeckyGoing to RUSH was thebest thing Ive everdone. It was hard toexperience the amountof poverty however theamount of strength outthere is overwhelming.

People are so strong andtrue to God. It makesyou really think about your life and how you takethings for granted and how you push God aside when

you feel angry; but that is what is so overwhelming outin Kenya. People have lost all their loved ones or aredying but they are thanking the Lord for another day.It makes you really put your life in perspective.

The great thing about coming was seeing the children.It was definitely a picture! Everything there humblesyou and you can think about your life and how you canchange to serve God better.

IanThinking back onthe last 10 days,currently at analtitude of 34,000feet. What a lot we

have done, seen andwitnessed. I cannotbegin to explainabout the povertythat exists across the whole of Kenya. Driving fromNairobi to Kakamega via Nakuro, we witnessed lack ofhousing, lack of fresh water supplies, lack of sanitation,communities living in dirt and dust and hungrychildren just yards from the airport gates. The povertythen continued throughout our time in Kenya.

One of my highlights was a visit to Josephine onTuesday to discuss having a new house built and paidfor by RUSH. On Saturday, we returned to assist withthe house building. The uprights and roof had beencompleted on Friday. The horizontal timbers and mud

were the tasks for today. I started by joining the fundi(paid workers) with nailing the horizontal timbers(branches). While this was being done the women(RUSH and local) had been collecting water from a notso local pond. The mud made by trampling with barefeet. We then joined in with the mud walls, mud passed

along a line of workers and placed between the timbersto create the walls.

Josephine has 2 severely disabled daughters and5grandchildren (we think), most of whom will be livingin her new mud hut that has been built for her.

Josephine was most grateful for our help and supportand thanked us by cooking one of her chickens forlunch.

So much has happened during the last 10 days, it hasbeen an emotional roller-coaster, very difficult to put

into words. I have many memories of Kenya andRUSH and already looking forward to visiting again.


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KenyaRUSH visit

Rose2850 miles to destination:distance from departure1413 milesthat is what

the in-flight sky map istelling me as we leavebehind us a week in

Western Kenya filledwith laughter andsometimes tears, joy, sombre talk and reflection, withour brothers and sisters in and around Kakamega. It isa dusty and dirty place peopled by graceful, proud,courteous and generous population. Everyone,EVERYONE there is in need. Only the very few arerich and privilegedand they are very rich! RUSH is

doing vital work. I was especially pleased with the workfor the widowsthis visit for a recently widowed ladywho, by tradition, has to leave her husbands home andit will then be demolished and the roof claimed by thesonshe would be homeless. But not this widowRUSH has built her a new and better home, right nextto the marriage home and no-one can take it from herand the children will she still cares for! RUSH lives outthe Biblelooking after the widows and theorphansand much more! RUSH is growing inKenyathanks be to God!

GabiThis trip to Kenya withRUSH has taught methat even when youhave no money to yourname as long as youhave your loved onesaround you thats allyou really need. Ilistened to Lucy tell herstory about not reallyhaving a family whenshe was young and because of that she now cares forall the children that she can. It was so lovely to hear allthe members of her household refer to her as mama.

The highlight for me was working at th

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