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birminghamcitymission.co.ukTelephone: 0121 766 6603 Email: office@birminghamcitymission.co.uk

Birmingham City MissionThe Clock Tower, 2 Langdon St, Birmingham B9 4BP

Wes Erpen, Chief Executive

Christ took hold of me

We have all been moved by the horrific scenes coming out of Sri Lanka as many Christians lost their lives on Easter Sunday. It was heart-

breaking to see people drunk-like with grief as they tried to come to terms with the unimaginable. There has been similar grief and outrage in Northern Ireland with the tragic death of Lyra McKee.

In recent weeks we have joined families and friends in saying goodbye to a number of faithful supporters (and in one case, an ex-staff member) who have been promoted to glory. At times like this our faith gives us strength, since our Bible reminds us that ‘We grieve, but not as those who are without hope.’ As Paul says, ‘For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain’, and ‘Absent from the body, present with the Lord.’

In some cases our friends had lived long lives. Over 90 years! Many of those years had been in the service of their Lord. As one sits in a Thanksgiving Service it is always challenging to hear what people have done with their ‘dash’. That space between their birth and their death. In the case of all the people that I mention above they had experienced a turning point in their lives. It was when they came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. From that point on their goal in life was primarily to please their Lord.

In Philippians chapter 3 Paul relates something of his own journey of faith. There was a time when his enthusiasm in opposing the church was unsurpassed and he took pride in his achievements. But since he became a Christian, he considered all that he had done in the past as nothing compared to knowing Christ. Like our friends above he too had a turning point in his life. When he became a follower of the Lord Jesus his focus and goal was to make the gospel known to as many people as possible.

There is a striking phrase in this passage which describes what happened to Paul. He says, ‘Christ Jesus took hold of me.’ His ‘Damascus Road’ experience was a turning point. Now that the Lord had ‘gripped’ him Paul could say, ‘Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ.’ Paul’s new relationship with God caused him to say that his ‘citizenship’ was in heaven.

As we minister in our great city we would ask you to pray that through our preaching of the gospel and the sharing of the love of God practically to the needy and the hurting, some may come to faith in Jesus. Pray they may have the wonderful experience of ‘Christ taking hold of them’ and may have new lives with fresh goals and God-pleasing aspirations.

BCM UPDATE

MAY 2019

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T H I S M O N T H’S P R AY E R F O C U S

Main picture: BCM Youth Team and partners delivered dozens of Easter assemblies in 16 Birmingham secondary schools on the theme of ‘Hope’. One teacher said: ‘It’s so valuable to have such high quality assemblies. Thank you for sharing the Christian message of Easter, something that can sometimes get missed, but also doing it so respectfully of all faiths means it is an inclusive assembly.’3,000 primary school children, their teachers and support workers enjoyed a multi-media presentation of the Easter story from the Children’s Team. It focused on the ‘identities’ attributed to Jesus: the long awaited Messiah? the King of the Jews? a trouble-maker? or – in the words of the Roman centurion: ‘Surely this man is the Son of God.’ One head teacher wrote: ‘Staff and children always look forward to BCM assemblies. This morning’s Easter assembly was great and the children learned a lot.’

BIBLE EXHIBITION

The Bible Exhibition continues to visit schools across Birmingham. One boy, who initially showed little interest, as the class was about to leave said he needed to know more about Christ’s forgiveness. Many children who have received gospels in previous years say they have read some if not all of it. Please pray as the exhibition team plans to visit more schools in June, that the children would learn more of ‘The Man who Changed the World’.

GSUS LIVE

Please pray for GSUS Live in secondary schools again in June. First, a training day on Friday 31st May at John Henry Newman Catholic College, then the trailer tours to 4 schools (5 days in each school). The first 3 schools have hosted GSUS Live before.3rd John Henry Newman Catholic College, Chelmsley Wood10th Broadway Academy, Perry Barr17th Bartley Green School, Adams Hill24th King Solomon International Business School, Aston (1st visit)

BCM SHOP

Pray for Mark Ellis, BCM’s new Shop Manager, that he would settle in well to his role and life in Birmingham, and that he would have many opportunities to share God’s love with those coming through the shop doors each day. Pray too for Helen Fisher, now working at the Resource Centre, for continued improvement in her health and that she will enjoy working with her husband!

ASSISTANT SHOP MANAGER VACANCYPART-TIME POSITION (2 DAYS/WEEK)

We are looking to recruit an Assistant Shop Manager to help run our Kingstanding charity shop.More info: call Derek on 0121 766 6603 (option 5) or

email derekduke@birminghamcitymission.co.ukClosing date: 31st May 2019

EASTER OUTREACH

BCM Missionaries, along with workers from Operation Mobilisation, were out in Kings Norton and Bearwood over Easter. Good conversations were had and some responded to invitations to come to church services, youth goups and an international food evening. One mother and child met on the street have attended everything since. Please pray for the people who stopped to chat, that they would come to trust the Lord.

VOLUNTEERS

Thank God for Jonathan and Desmond and all of BCM’s faithful volunteers whose service enables the Mission to continue to bring help to those in need in our city. Please pray for more volunteers, in particular:• to visit ElderLink clients in their homes and in hospital;• to help with ebay sales.

TEA PARTYSaturday 13th July

11am to 3pmat BCM’s Clock Tower

2 Langdon Street, B9 4BPLive music * Charity auction

explore the Mission

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We’re

opening our doors for a

0121 766 6603 • birminghamcitymission.co.uk

Desmond (below) also came from Montserrat 40 years later, due to the volcano eruption. A volunteer 3 days a week for 20 years, he works in the clothing department too. He has one son living here and 2 grandchildren. One granddaughter passed away last year. He attends St Francis Catholic Church in Handsworth.

‘I want to express my heart-felt gratitude to BCM for allowing me to become a volunteer. Once I was settled after I came to the UK, you gave me the chance to build an everlasting foundation and friendship with everyone at BCM, from management to workers and other volunteers, and not forgetting the less fortunate people coming into the Centre. I really appreciate everything you have done for me.’

Desmond Yearwood

‘I was in my teens when I came to England from Montserrat, a little island in the Caribbean, in 1958, shortly after the so-called ‘Windrush’. My dad and many others came to work and settle here. It was winter and I wanted to go back home. I worked with several companies until I was made redundant from Metro-Cammell. A friend of mine, Landa Meade, asked if I could come along and help in the clothing department at BCM. I’ve been here for the last seven years and have enjoyed it very much.’

Jonathan West

Jonathan (above) married in 1962 and has 4 children. He volunteers 3 days a week at the Resource Centre, sorting clothes and serving customers. He goes to church in Aston and sings in a gospel choir.

Thank God for our volunteers

Hold a cake sale & help our city’s most in needMore info & recipes • birminghamcitymission.co.uk0121 766 6603 • office@birminghamcitymission.co.uk

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PLANT & CAKE SALESaturday 1st June12 noon to 4pm

3 Huntsman CloseBilston WV14 8RU

(Home of Angela & Keith Webb)

Tea & coffee. All proceeds to BCM.

Peace of mindWe at Care Centre are keen to understand mental health better. The majority of our guests either have or have had mental health issues, and it’s frequently a significant factor in someone becoming homeless.

We invited Mind, a mental health charity, to host some training for staff and volunteers. We wanted to know how to help people with anxiety, depression, anger and stress. We see all these things on a typical evening. The fact is, we can’t solve anyone’s mental health issues in one evening, but we can show love, understanding and sympathy and it’s important for us to remember not to judge someone by their actions or behaviour - all things that the Bible teaches us.

The Mind trainer stated that Christianity and church attendance were recognised by mental health charities as helpful factors towards positive mental health, wellbeing and lower levels of depression. As someone who previously struggled with depression but is now a follower of Jesus, I can certainly vouch for that!

So that’s what we’ll continue to do. We’ll continue to serve meals,

give clothes and offer showers. We’ll continue to offer practical support with housing, benefits and appointments. Our wonderful nurses Wendy and Ellie will continue to wash feet. But, most importantly, we’ll continue to tell guests about the good news, the love of Jesus Christ. We’ll continue to pray with them.

We ask that you would pray for our Care Centre guests to have open minds and soft hearts as we continue this work.

Steve Bagnall

It’s OK not to be OKThe Care Centre is partnering with Renew Wellbeing, a charity which helps churches open spaces of welcome and inclusion to improve mental and emotional wellbeing.

The sense of God’s presence is palpable.In a simple café-style space hobbies and activities are shared. Each space has a quiet/prayer room. It works with mental health professionals to ensure good inclusive practices and create quiet, shared spaces where ‘it’s OK not to be OK’.

Renew Wellbeing offers inspiration, training and ongoing support and is making many small safe spaces available nationally. The BCM Care Centre is its first partnership with a homeless project.

Laura comments: ‘On Tuesdays at Care Centre since October we have coloured, painted, drawn, knitted, made papier-mâché baubles, decorated stones, started a jigsaw... Most recently, egg decorating and friendship bracelets. Calm, relaxing music sets the atmosphere. Prayer times are at the start, in the middle and at the end of each session. Many guests pray out loud. The sense of God’s presence is palpable! Guests also ask us to pray for their own situations. It’s a privilege to be part of all God is doing.’

The fact is, we can’t solve anyone’s mental health issues in one evening, but we can show love, understanding and sympathy.

Finance appealAs we enter another financial year we give thanks to God for his faithfulness over the last twelve months. Once again the Lord has provided in all kinds of ways and enabled us to continue to share the gospel in our city.

We are grateful to you who pray for us and in many cases support us financially. Thank you to all who give regularly and to those who have recently increased the amount they give. If anyone would like to do the same, you just need to ask your bank to amend the amount.

For those who receive this prayer letter and don’t give regularly to the Mission, may we ask you to consider doing so by setting up a standing order. It is an enormous help to us as we plan for the future to know that each month we will receive a definite amount.

Each year we are humbled by the legacies we receive. It is moving to think that people choose to bless our city through BCM by leaving us a gift. If you would like one of our legacy leaflets, please contact Pat Lambon in our office. If you would like to ask any questions about how to leave a legacy, please contact Rob Warner in Finance.

Thank you for your continued support.

FRIDAY 12 JULY 7.30 - 9.30pm

FOR 11-18s

birminghamcitymission.co.ukJohnP@birminghamcitymission.co.uk0121 766 6603 #fulfil

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