Thank you to Simon Allaby for sending a Short Thought message to start off 2026!

This week's recording gives his account of preparing to move to his new position of House Team Leader at Lee Abbey on 2 January, and the process of downsizing.

After 15 years as the Pastor of Bolney Village Chapel (BVC), the decision to move to a new position - and very different life - was made with mixed emotions. In Simon's words: 'As I prepare to lay down many of the plates I have been spinning for a number of years and especially as I say goodbye to my dear friends at BVC. It has been a great joy to be part of the Connexion family since 2010, and I will be sad to step away as I take up my new post. But as I often remind myself and others, we are all just passing through. I hope I have served the Lord faithfully and obediently while I’ve been with you and I look forward to seeing the baton being taken up by whoever will take my place'.

Simon began entertaining us with weekly 60-second Short Thought messages, when we first launched The Connexion's website, back in 2018, and he plans to continue inspiring us with his recordings from his new place in the West Country.

To listen to the recordings each week, just click on the SHORT THOUGHT button, which appears at the top of every website page.

And a link to this week's account of his New Year moving preparations is also available below.

SHORT THOUGHT:  Downsizing

Simon Allaby’s last service at Bolney Village Chapel (BVC) took place on Sunday.

The church were extremely happy to see so many people come and celebrate together.

The service was split into two sections.

Alan led the first part, where Simon was invited to share some thoughts on the highs and lows of his 15 years at BVC. After that, some lovely memories were shared about Simon, including a short video from New Zealand by Jo and Rob.

Simon then spoke about his new role at Lee Abbey and some gifts were presented to celebrate his new role including a plunger, feather duster, rubber gloves, bucket and apron!

The second part of the service was led by Christie. She reminded Simon of some memories by giving him boxes to open, with the last one being ‘God’s presence’. She briefly spoke from various Bible passages about ‘beginnings and endings’, dividing the prayer time into two sections. People were invited to pray first for the chapel as it moves forward into the New Year. People were encouraged to come forward and pray for Simon and his future.

Christie then presented Simon with leaving gifts of a wooden chalice made of Sussex oak, a card and a monetary gift kindly donated by you all.

After the final hymn, Simon was invited to close in prayer.

Simon will be greatly missed by the entire Connexion community, and we wish him every blessing for his new venture at Lee Abbey.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas from The Connexion.

 

'Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.' (Isaiah 7:14)

Amen!

 

(Image by Walter Chavez, Unsplash Photos)

Simon Allaby shares with us 140 years at Bolney Village Chapel (BVC).

On Sunday 30 November the present congregation at Bolney Village Chapel were joined by friends from the past to celebrate our 140th anniversary. (Actually we were a day early as the Mission Room was opened on 1 December 1885!)

Not originally a chapel belonging to the Connexion (we joined in 1975) the chapel’s roots lay with a group of Christians meeting during the summer of 1885 to study the Bible and begin an evangelical witness to the village.

From that Bible study the Mission Room emerged in the converted hayloft of Mr James Haslett, a local florist and nurseryman. When the meeting quickly outgrew his hayloft the first Chapel was built on a neighbouring piece of land, and then in 2004 the modern building which stands today.

Our guest speaker was Ian Denyer who lived in Bolney for 44 years - living in the White House that had previously been owned by James Haslett - and a faithful and long-serving Elder. He spoke about the origins of the Chapel but then led us to 1 Kings 8 and the dedication of the Temple in the time of King Solomon. He reminded us that the Temple was built to point people not to itself but to the indwelling presence of a holy and mighty God.

We gave thanks to God for his presence at BVC for these past 140 years and were encouraged to look forward to many more such years to come.

A beautiful cake had been made for the day (even if the figurine of the pastor had rather too much grey hair!) and the service was followed by a splendid lunch and opportunity to catch up with old friends.

Huge thanks to everyone for such a wonderful occasion!

Simon

The Cheshunt Foundation is a trust formed from the funds from the Countess of Huntingdon's Bible College along with other sources. Each year this goes towards supporting theological training in both The Connexion and the URC.

From our grant we have continued to use fifty percent of it to support theological training in Sierra Leone, including a range of activities from ministerial training at TECT (The Evangelical College of Theology) to training Sunday School teachers and supporting the ministers' wives gatherings.

In the UK these funds are used to support the Conference, our ministers' & trustees' gatherings, and theological/chaplaincy training of ministers and lay members of the Connexion, with the expectation that those receiving it use it to support the mission and ministry of the Connexion in various ways. This last year the funds have been used to support amongst other things:

• Emma Houghton (Hailsham Gospel Mission) - BA (Hons) course in Kingdom Theology, Westminster Theological Centre
• Martin Brown (Hailsham Gospel Mission) - Sussex Ministry Training Course, Sussex Gospel Partnership
• Trevor Jones (Sheppey Evangelical Church) - Spurgeon's Ministry Course
• Mark Obray (Sheppey Evangelical Church) - Spurgeon's Ministry Course
• Simon Allaby (Bolney Village Chapel) - Support for sabbatical at Lee Abbey
• Esther Burrage (Rosedale Community Church) - Kyria Collab programme for young female leaders 

This year Graham Squibbs has taken over from Bethany Green alongside Ben Quant as our representatives on the board of the Cheshunt Foundation.

Any interest in applying for or discussing the possibility of a Cheshunt grant should be directed to Ben Quant. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Image of the Cheshunt Foundation is from Art UK, which connects people with the UK's art collections. For more information visit their website: https://artuk.org/visit/venues/cheshunt-foundation-westminster-college-cambridge-7296

David Vaughan, a member of Hailsham Gospel Mission, has recently written an article, which has been published in the Hailsham News.

A shoe-bag full of joy for Christmas
by David Vaughan

A team of Hailsham ladies has been busy since early this year with a project to provide some Christmas cheer for hundreds of children in Sierra Leone. In this country even children who are officially on the poverty scale can expect to receive at least the basics for everyday living but, sadly, in many parts of the world such things as toothpaste, colouring pencils and simple toys are in short supply or even non-existent for many children. The Hailsham Gospel Mission in Station Road is part of a group of churches that, for many years now, have been helping such children to have a Happy Christmas and enjoy receiving some of the things that most children take for granted.

Every Thursday morning in the newly decorated church hall you will find Tina Whickman, Maureen Wilson, Eileen Down, Viv Horne, Jane Williams and their friends busy packing shoe-bags (remember the ones you used to take your gym shoes to school in?) with stationary items, such as pencils, exercise books, pens and rubbers, and everyday necessities like toothpaste and flannels, T-shirts, underwear and cuddly toys. Every bag contains a children’s book and a Christmas card as well.  Recently the team have added essential sanitary wear for girls in the upper age group. The contents of the bags is divided into items suitable for boys and girls and age groups ranging from four to twelve years.

As someone who, in the past, has been involved with children in Africa in similar circumstances I can tell you just how much these gifts are treasured by the recipients. Children who, for perhaps the first time in their lives, will have been given some things they can call their own as, all to often, having to share or go without is the only option open to them.

Tina and Viv told me that, when they started helping out they were tasked with making and packing items for 100 shoe-bags but last year they reached a target of 200, and this year have achieved the magnificent total of 300 filled bags! Although some items, such as toothpaste, have been bought from local shops and donated by church members, much of the contents consists of things lovingly made locally by hand. Over a period of several months items are brought in for sorting and, when I spoke to the team in late August, they were busy packing the filled shoe bags into old banana boxes obtained from local supermarkets. All this activity is akin to a military logistical exercise!

Last year a local firm, Medi-Tech Trust who supply medical equipment, also made a substantial contribution of items for the church's Health Centre They have also negotiated a competitive rate for the transport of the goods in a 40 foot container, which is loaded in early October and then sent, via a shipping company, to Sierra Leone where, after a fairly long journey by road, it arrives at at the Bethesda Orphanage where eager hands unload it to give to the children for whom this is one of the most exciting days of their year.

Hailsham Gospel Mission is part of a Christian organisation set up by the Countess of Huntingdon in the 1800’s whose mission was to help freed slaves in Freetown Sierra Leone. They carry out work with children of all ages, as well as supporting schools, churches and locally based health care units.  The Hailsham church, as well as being a place for prayer and worship, provides as part of its vision for the local community a place where people can meet and enjoy company with a regular Thursday morning gathering for tea, coffee and a light snack and a ‘Time together’ spot on some Thursday afternoons where visitors can enjoy board games, art work and friendly conversation. It also provides a meeting place for various local groups and is shortly to start a regular mother and toddler group. You can find out about the church’s activities and the work of the Sierra Leone mission on on the Hailsham Gospel Mission website.

David Vaughan

(The photograph shows Marion, Viv and Tina sorting through donations for the children's shoebags)

Simon Allaby from Bolney Village Chapel made an unexpected decision whilst on sabbatical at Lee Abbey this summer. Read on to learn more!

Moving on from BVC by Simon Allaby

After 15 years as the pastor of Bolney Village Chapel, I will be leaving after Christmas to take up a new post as the House Team Leader at Lee Abbey in Devon. This was not the expected outcome of my three-month sabbatical this summer, but God had other ideas!

For those unfamiliar with Lee Abbey (neither a convent or monastery and never has been!) it is a Christian holiday and conference centre on the north Devon coast near Lynton. It was founded in 1946 by a group of men who were passionate to see the Church in England renewed and revived after the Second World War. It is run by a community of Christians from around the world who live and work on site. I first went there in 1982 on a summer youth camp not long after I had made an adult Christian commitment, and I’ve been involved in different ways over the years ever since.

For decades I’ve held a conviction that at some point in my life I would return to 'living in community' at Lee Abbey. That conviction, together with two prophetic words in recent years about mentoring and discipling younger people and then being deeply impacted by a book I read on retreat a year ago – Practising the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence – meant that when during my stay at Lee Abbey in July I was asked if I would apply for the role of House Team Leader, I suspected God might be in it. I was interviewed at the end of August and offered the post at the beginning of September. I asked for one day a week to continue my ministry with Turn the Page and wonderfully Lee Abbey agreed to make this part of my contract.

As you can imagine I am full of mixed emotions as I prepare to lay down many of the plates I have been spinning for a number of years and especially as I say goodbye to my dear friends at BVC. It has been a great joy to be part of the Connexion family since 2010, and I will be sad to step away as I take up my new post.

But as I often remind myself and others, we are all just passing through. I hope I have served the Lord faithfully and obediently while I’ve been with you and I look forward to seeing the baton being taken up by whoever will take my place.

Thank you so much for everything. Perhaps I can look forward to welcoming you to Lee Abbey one day!

God Bless

Simon

To find out more about Lee Abbey, click on their website link: Lee Abbey

(Simon is pictured at the beach by Lee Abbey with members of the 'Tea Cottage' team. Tami, from Hungary, Jo from Brazil and Maria from Germany.)

This Saturday, 13 September, Wormley Free Church will be once again be supporting the annual Bike n Hike. Organised by the Beds & Herts Historic Churches Trust (BHHCT). This is a sponsored ride or walk around local historic churches, the proceeds of which are divided between the home church of the participant and the BHHCT, who do great work in supporting historic churches by giving grants for church conservation, restoration and development, and offer tours, talks and events.

Wormley is always one of those churches visited during the day, and it is fascinating to check the list of cyclists and walkers at the end of the day to see who came our way and where they have come from.

Last year Peter, who joined the Bike ‘n’ Hike in Wormley's name, raised a magnificent £500. Thank you Peter! This year Peter is riding again, along with Minister, Ben Quant.

If you would like to sponsor the event, please contact us at Wormley for details of how to.

Thank you!

Esther Burrage says a huge thank you to The Connexion and the Cheshunt Foundation for the money she received to enable her to take part in the Kyria Collab course: 

This time last year, my mother told me about an old friend of hers who is the CEO of a ministry called the Kyria Network. Aimed at supporting and teaching women in Christian leadership roles, the network spans across the UK, from Glasgow to Holy Island, from Northern Ireland to Devon, and aims to CHAMPION, EMPOWER and RELEASE women leaders into spheres of leadership. I said, “That’s nice, Mum,” and walked quickly away before she could sign me up for something else.

But then I went away on a week of volunteering as a leader at a holiday camp in Gloucester, run by CPAS (Christian Pastoral Aid Society). There, I supported the young people, aged 11-14, through the week to help give them a great holiday, and I also supported Pastor Steve with the thirty-minute bible focus that he gave at the end of each long day.

That week was easily one of the most stressful and exhausting weeks of my life, not helped by the bout of food-poisoning I got at the end of it. But through my recovery, I realised how much I had actually enjoyed – and been good at – being a leader. Some of the young people were genuinely curious to know more about what Pastor Steve was talking about, and I had been able to give them answers and lead them to a better understanding about God’s love. I realised that I wanted to learn more about being that sort of leader, one who doesn’t push or preach, but who is there with the skills and knowledge to guide the young people in their new journey for insight.

This time, when my mother reminded me about the Kyria Network, she told me about an annual, online course that they run called Collab, where about fifteen young, female leaders are supported in their journey to learn more and create connections with other like-minded women. I decided that I would apply and see what I could learn, and the Cheshunt Foundation helped cover the cost so that when I was accepted, I could say yes!

Each month, we met up on zoom: fifteen women leaders in Christian ministry of some sort, with our two amazing organisers, Amy and Odele, and a different key-note speaker for every session. We covered topics such as being prepared with what to share at the front of a room, navigating the obstacles for women in church leadership, what Jesus said about women leading in the Bible, and how we could enable other leaders to reach their full potential, and we sought after ours. The sessions held a ton of discussions in the dreaded zoom break-out rooms, testimonies and giving each other advice, and general teaching, learning and friendship.

The year culminated with a face-to-face meeting in London at King’s Cross Baptist Church on the 30th of August. We arrived slowly, some coming from the airport the night before or off 6am train journeys. But when we were all together in the hall, it was like we all already knew each other and were fast friends! It was the most wonderful atmosphere of friendship, encouragement and celebration. We had a session of worship, each stood up to talk about our leadership journeys through the year, Amy and Odele commissioned us to go out into the world with our new support network and knowledge, and we all came away with a slice of cake leftover from lunch.

When I stood up and shared my leadership journey, I spoke about that holiday camp I did last year and how it made me realise that I was interested in being a leader. I was then able to share about my experience doing it again this past summer, this time in charge of leading those Bible sessions at the end of each exhausting day. The response from the young people had been amazing, with our question box overflowing and the engagement levels through the roof! The overall leaders of the camp asked if I would consider attending their annual conference to become an overall leader myself after only two years of taking part, and I said yes!

I am so thankful for the Cheshunt Foundation for enabling me to be a part of the Kyria Collab this past year, and for setting me up with this new network of fellow women leaders. And if you know any young women who you think should be involved, send them over to the website to find out more about the next Collab: https://kyrianetwork.com/.

Esther Burrage

Ken Stone gave The Connexion a lifetime of service, both in the UK and Sierra Leone. He attended a number of our churches, including Westcott, Basingstoke and, for many years, Hailsham. In this time he also guided us as the Chair of the Trustees and Sierra Leone Mission (SLM). His first wife, Prudence, was the daughter of Quinton De’Ath, a Trustee and Connexion Pastor, and in more recent years he worshipped and led the work at Hailsham with Christine Stone. Ken sadly passed away on 5 June 2023, and has since been missed by many for his selfless caring and contribution.

Recently, Christine has unearthed and kindly passed on past articles written by Ken. He wrote the following article, Introducing Sierra Leone in 2010, which can still be appreciated today. 

Introducing Sierra Leone

For some 60 years I have collected books on Sierra Leone and I would like to share with you parts of a book entitled simply, “Sierra Leone”, hardback with 350 pages, published in 1924. The author, T.N. Goddard, sought to write a handbook for civil servants who then administered the country and for trading companies, historians, and people like ourselves who have a special interest . He intended to have printed regular updates, but I have not found record of any.

There are statistics in plenty, linked with summaries and even forecasts, and looking back 86 years later we find misjudgments and errors. One such is the mere 11 lines given to GEOLOGY.

“The Colony and Protectorate were subjected to a thorough survey in the years 1919-1921, but no minerals of workable value and quantity were discovered.” We know how, in recent times, massive deposits of diamonds have been discovered, and have been the cause of exploitation and the rebel wars, as well, it is said, of corruption today. Workable quantities of gold are still mined and large deposits of coal and iron ore are available as well as rutile.

CLIMATE and RAINFALL are given space, of course, and we learn from the figures that “Climate Change” is nothing new! Most readers will know that the climate is tropical with high humidity during the greater part of the year. The rainy season is May to October, and rainfall is highest on the coast and decreases gradually inland.

Careful records have been kept since 1882, and interestingly 1883 had very heavy rainfall of 204 inches. The book gives averages for 10 yearly periods, from which we see a marked decrease from 166 inches in 1882-1891 to 123 inches in 1912-1921. Apparently this decrease was common to the whole of West Africa. The current average is 175 inches annually, so higher than in the 19th century. Temperatures vary in a narrow range, from 86F (August) to 95F (March) maximum.

I have quoted these statistics because climate and rainfall have important effects on most activity in Sierra Leone, especially agriculture and transport. Areas of particular interest to us, such as church services and education are also influenced by the weather.

NATIVE ARTS AND CRAFTS. These have not changed much since 1924 in rural areas, so are of interest.

They comprise weaving, pottery, the manufacture of fibre nets and baskets, various kinds of furniture from the palm tree, iron and brass work, the forging of agricultural and sporting implements, leatherwork and ornaments.

The book says, “The woven products of the people, principally “country cloths” of great beauty of design and workmanship may be seen in every part of the country.

“ The whole process is one of hand manufacture: the women clean, spin and dye the cotton: the men weave and make up the cloth.

“As regards pottery, pots of all shapes and sizes are made without a potter’s wheel. The shaping of the vessels is done entirely by hand, the clay being rolled on a wet board or stone until it is ready for baking.

“Fishing lines and nets are manufactured by both men and women from various fibres, barks and leaves; they are of all shapes and sizes, and are coloured by the use of local vegetable dyes.“

Census Returns

A census was take in the Peninsular Area, including Freetown, in 1911, and again in 1921, and they show the memberships of the principal religions and denominations.

Church of England, 18,865 {1911) and 20,173 (1921)

Wesleyan Methodist,11,826 and 11,898

United Methodist, 3,689 and 3,243

Roman Catholic, 1,472 and 1,980

Lady Huntingdon’s Connexion, 1,805 and 1,179

United Brethren in Christ, 790 and 800

African Methodist, 480 and 541

Muslim, 11,451 and 16,611

Pagan, 24, 472 and 27, 800

The book comments on the decreasing numbers in the Connexion, and records its existence as a religious force in the Colony since its foundation in the 18th century. The Connexion performed better than some others, because between 1911 and 1921 ten churches disappeared: Congregationalists, Unitarians, Moravians, Salvation Army, Lutherans, United Free Church of Scotland, Greek Orthodox, Pentecostal, Esoteric Christians and Decker Church.

Kenneth B. Stone