Simon Allaby’s book Greater Love is now available to order.

It has been created as a book for Remembrance Sunday and contains twelve short stories that reflect on conflict, sacrifice and where we can find true peace in God. Each story is accompanied by a simple illustration, a Bible verse and questions for reflection.

In his foreword, former Royal Marines Commando, Rev Tim Saiet, writes: ‘At last an accessible book which includes faith and stories of sacrifice – a brilliant book that I will pass on to my friends’.

Ideal for both Christians and not-yet-Christians, Greater Love is an excellent resource for Remembrance Sunday Services, and also as a giveaway for churches and individuals to share with friends, family members and enquirers.

To Order

The book is priced at £1 per copy. For more information and to order visit Simon's Turn the Page Online Shop

Ebley Chapel will be celebrating their 225th year in October.

The anniversary will be marked by a weekend of events on 7 and 8 October, under the theme of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

Saturday 7 October will feature historic displays relating to The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion and Ebley. In addition there will be a bookstall, children's activities, invited speakers, music and refreshments. All taking place between 10.30am and 2.30pm in the chapel and grounds.

On Sunday 8 October, Ebley will run a series of Harvest Services from 10.30am to 6pm., with collections for the Sierra Leone Mission (SLM).

Please come and join in. Everyone is welcome!

 

For more details contact Terry Gillard on 07975 704886.

Ebley Chapel, Chapel Lane, Ebley, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 4TD

 

You don’t get to heaven by being good! - by Dave Sweetman.

Does my title shock you?

People will often say you get to heaven by being good. Or, they may say I’m going to heaven because: 

• I’m basically a good person even if I’ve made the odd mistake 
• I’ve always tried to treat others the way I would like to be treated 
• I’ve not done the really bad things like murder or rape or breaking into a home to steal 
• I’ve been fairly honest with my business expenses and the taxman
• On balance I’ve done more good things than bad
• I’ve lived a lot better life than some other people I can think of
• I go to church regularly, been confirmed or baptised
• I live in a Christian Country

 

If you think any of the above are good reasons for going to heaven, beware!

Would you like to read the story Jesus told about the Pharisee and the Taxman in Luke 18:9-14?

Did you notice who Jesus told the story to?

Yes, people who were confident they were good enough for heaven and looked down on everyone else. The story that Jesus told is about two men who went to church to pray. It’s called a parable, a story about ordinary people or ordinary things which has a spiritual message.

Did you notice how different these two men were from each other?

The crowd who were listening to Jesus would have thought the Pharisee was the hero and the Taxman the baddie.

The Pharisee was a religious leader who was honoured by society. He lived his life trying to do everything by the book, everything that was set out in the Bible. Society treated him with great respect. He would fast twice a week and give a tenth of all his income to the church. He even tithed his mint and dill and cumin that grew in his garden. He made sure people saw him in prayer, he stood on the street corners and uttered his prayers out loud so everyone could see how pious he was. He considered himself to be a cut above the rest. He felt he was a certainty for a ticket to heaven.

The tax collectors were hated by everyone because they collected taxes for the Romans, the enemy. They were also hated because they charged more than they should to put in their own pockets. They were called sinners. No-one thought they should go to heaven. No-one who wanted to go to heaven would have anything to do with sinners like him. Both of these men went to the temple to pray. Jesus tells us what he thought of their prayers.

Who does he say the Pharisee prayed about in verse 11? Do you think people like him got up Jesus’ nose? He certainly gets up mine!

What is the Taxman’s attitude to God?

How different was the tax collector? He stood at a distance. He didn’t think he was worthy to be in God’s house and he certainly didn’t dare to look up to heaven. He beat his breast, a sign of mourning, and simply said “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. He knew he had done things wrong, and he was honest about it. He also knew that there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t reverse the past and turn all those bad things into good things. He was guilty as charged. The only thing he could do was throw himself on God’s mercy.

What is Jesus’ conclusion in verse 14?

The Tax Collector, the person everyone looked down on as a sinner went home justified before God. The Pharisee wasn’t. The sinner found forgiveness. The Pharisee didn’t.

Who are you most like in the story? What does this story teach us about how you and I should approach God? How can it be that Jesus declares the Taxman finds forgiveness?

The Bible teaches us that no-one deserves or can earn a place in heaven. We can’t, indeed we mustn’t take heaven for granted. The Bible tells us we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God, who fail to live up to what God created us to be. We fail to live up to our own standards, let alone God’s standard of perfection. We are all like this tax collector. Before the judge of all men, before the King of Kings we stand condemned. Guilty. All we can do is throw ourselves at God’s mercy.

So what’s the good news?

The wonderful news is that the Tax Collector went home forgiven. He found mercy. In his mercy, God has created an escape from his judgement. We read in John’s gospel (John 3:16) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him need not perish but have eternal life.” 

God loves you, and in his great mercy Jesus, the Son of God, took the punishment for your sins in your place. God judged them on the cross and, since they have been judged once, they can’t be judged again.

Don’t let us be like the Pharisee and act as if we are OK without needing God’s mercy. If God has done so much for us in giving up his own son to an awful death on a cross, so that we can be forgiven, how dare we say, “Oh, I’m alright without the gospel, I don’t need God’s mercy, he’ll accept me as I am.” _The only way to heaven is through Jesus’ _goodness, not ours. We must put our trust entirely in him and what he did for us at the first Easter. The Bible calls this God’s grace, God’s unmerited favour.

While you have your Bible open, look up Ephesians 2 v 8 and 9. It expresses God’s grace like this. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast.” _So, you don’t get to heaven by good works.

Does this mean that it is not important to go about doing good? Can we just live a selfish life, because God has saved us anyway?

Let’s read the next verse in Ephesians chapter 2 i.e. verse 10, which says; “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We don’t get to heaven by doing good, but when we come into God’s kingdom, we have the enormous privilege of doing good works for the King. This is our chance to respond to God’s love and grace.

God declares we are his workmanship. The result of the work of Jesus on the cross. And God doesn’t make junk! We have been created to do good works.

Who does Ephesians 4: 24 say we have been created to be like?

What a turn round comes about when we find God’s mercy.

The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 describes what God the Father does for those who ask him for mercy. The Father welcomes the returning son and gives him the best robe, a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet and organises a feast for him. That’s the way you are treated if you put your faith in God’s mercy.

Good works are things the King of Glory gives us to do when we become a Christian. But before we can do them, we must humble ourselves and admit that we are sinners in need of mercy.

Thank you to Dave Sweetman for this thought provoking Bible Study.

For more words of inspiration, click on Short Thought to hear Simon Allaby's weekly recordings. The link is at the top of each web page. 

The Chapel at Mortimer West End are delighted to share the news that William McCann will be joining the eldership team with John Moate and Tony Derrett.

William has already taken up residence in The Chapel’s manse, with his wife Clare and their four children, and will officially begin his post as residential elder on 14 August.

William’s recruitment is the latest part of The Chapel’s development plan for the church leadership team, which currently includes five members. In addition, the church has an inspirational preaching team, supported by three worship teams and a number of regular guest speakers.

The Chapel’s culture is firmly embedded in the Word and the Holy Spirit. Everything the church does is centred on relationships with Jesus and each other. As John Moate says, 'We don’t do religion, we do relationships!'

William, who is originally from up-state New York, has been in the UK for three years working with Bromley Town Church, in London with his English wife Clare and their four young girls. He is currently visiting his family in the US, before taking up the new ministry role.

In response to much prayer, The Chapel has received clear guidance from God over recent years about the direction they should take. Following the Holy Spirit's leading has at times been a roller coaster ride, but over the past 12 months, the church has been carried along on a wave that has left little time for formality!

The eldership team liken the experience to Nicodemus’ words: ‘The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’ In addition to God's blessing and guidance, their progress pays dividends to the team effort involved: faithfulness, generosity, kindness and devotion to the Lord, together with plain hard work from a congregation who have played an integral role in taking them to where they now are.

Alleluia to that!

To find out more about The Chapel visit their website.

Image shows John Moate with Tony Derrett, Elders at The Chapel

It is with some sadness that The Connexion say farewell to Karl Relton and his wife Karen from The Countess Free Church in Ely, but give thanks for the vision God is leading them to. We wish them every success for their new venture in Leicestershire and ask God to continue to bless them.

Read below Karl's account of how he deliberated the 'What Next' question.

The Covid pandemic lockdown experience affected different people in diverse ways. For some it was brutally hard, with effects we are still seeing play out today. For us, however, the actual lockdown period was a spiritually releasing and fertile time. We found that we could 'do what we do' – pointing people to Jesus in various one to one encounters - with a fresh freedom & boldness. Despite the loss of physical Sunday gatherings we actually found ourselves spiritually richer, with new spiritual disciplines of a short home-time evening prayer together (which we still practice to this day), and using the Sunday morning space to pray earnestly for brothers & sisters in Christ (which we lost when physical gatherings became possible again).

During that period many church leaders entertained radical 'what if?' discussions, but we could see that 'the busyness of church' could easily dilute away the fresh thinking. We already had clues from our own ministry in Ely – running small informal groups for those new to or exploring faith (we went on to call these 'Lifeboats'), and encouraging believers to take initiative with their friends & neighbours (we coined the term 'micro-initiatives' for these). These hints led us to realise that stripping away the complexity (as Covid had temporarily forced on us) and following a simpler 'bare faith' strategy was possible – and for us desirable!

A question a leader must periodically rehearse is: “Dear God, What next?”, without assuming the answer will look the same as it had done before! We realised the answer for us was to go further and model this simplicity for others. We concluded that we needed a new context for that, and so started a search – especially considering new housing estates where community is being formed from scratch. God's leading and guiding led us to a conversation with a baptist pioneer in New Lubbesthorpe in Leicestershire, working on what will be a significant new housing estates where excellent 'Kingdom Seeds' were already being planted. The existing community development work was going well, and there was scope for help to come and join!

But more important - we think - is the mindset that we are going with. Simplicity is key:

• We want to demonstrate the Kingdom of God
• We want to lead people to Jesus
• We want to disciple people in following Jesus such that they too demonstrate the Kingdom, lead to Jesus and disciple others …

We can do the above from a modest rented house on the estate ('incarnational mission'). We can do that without a stipend! God has blessed us over and over financially, giving us the confidence to go forward living by faith. There is no official 'role' or money to support a role in this case, but that didn't seem to deter Jesus and the first disciples!

The Countess of Huntingdon was keen that the gospel was rightly preached. In her time-frame a valid approach was to build preaching stations (the chapels we now have) and supply eager preachers. Our post-millennial context is quite different – and yet still there is the need for the gospel to be rightly shared. On a new housing estate near Leicester that is what we are going to do, even if it proves to be one nearby household at a time.

Karl

Joint leaders Dave Sweetman and Martin Brown are developing a clear vision for Hailsham Gospel Mission (HGM) in an exciting stage of transition. 

HGM has a reputation for making visitors feel at home, welcoming all ages (and a few dogs!) to come together for informal Sunday services, prayer meetings and community activities. Under the shared leadership of Dave and Martin, they seek to be to be Attractive, Accessible and Active as a community of worship, a house of prayer and a people of hope and compassion.  

Dave Sweetman

Dave joined the Connexion church at Turners Hill in 1981, serving as a leader both there and at other Connexion churches.  He came to HGM from 2019, at a time when the fellowship was looking for help. A key part of Dave's training was attending the Cornhill Course, overseen by The Proclamation Trust.

Dave's wife, Phyl Sweetman, is HGM’s Treasurer.

Martin Brown

Martin came to HGM with his wife, Gudrun, in 2021 after completing a degree at All Nations in Ware. Martin has gained experience as a missionary in Uganda and held a medical role attached to the British Army in Germany. Currently he splits his time 50/50 between devoting time to the church and working for the NHS as a Health Visitor.

Martin's wife, Gudrun, works for a charity in Eastbourne.

HGM's Five Pillars

In the role of Outreach and Development Worker, Martin has established HGM's Five Pillars to help to navigate the necessary changes and processes involved that will lead the church to grow and respond to God's calling. 

1. Encounter God and to know Jesus

We want to know and love Jesus more and more. To Grow in and through our times of worship, teaching, prayer, fellowship and discipleship.

2. Engage with the community and to witness for Jesus

For more people in Hailsham to come to know Jesus. For HGM to be mission minded and welcoming to others.

3. Get organised and be 'Fit 4 Purpose'

HGM to be well organised and structured, in ways that build up and strengthen the fellowship.

4. Be a community and family

We get to know each other better, to grow, to mature and are equipped as Christians.

5. Provide pastoral care and prayer ministry

We develop effective ways to provide pastoral care, practical help and prayer.

Spiritual development at HGM is also accompanied by planned structural improvements, with some key renovations to both the church building and its infrastructures.The plan is to take a non-rushed approach with small projects that may build up over time. Remembering they are embarking on a period of  'Evolution, not a Revolution' will help the church move forward together to support God's work and His Kingdom.  

If you'd like to find out more about Hailsham Gospel Mission, visit their brand new website - or maybe drop in! Sunday services start at 11am, with a prayer meeting before from 10am.

Simon Allaby's new book Under the Bonnet is a great manual for helping us to find answers to life's malfunctions!

The book includes 14 stories exploring what makes us tick and where to turn when things go wrong. Priced at just £1 Under the Bonnet could be the perfect giveaway for Father's Day - with the added bonus that it can be used all year round, and it's not restricted to blokes!

Simon's introduction to the book

We all remember our first car. Mine was a Datsun Sunny 120Y. The only problem was I had no idea what was going on under the bonnet or what to do when something went wrong. Fortunately, I discovered the Haynes Manual which told me all I would ever need to know.

Life is rather similar. We take it for granted when all is going well, but where to we turn when something breaks down? There is no Haynes Manual for life then. Or is there?

Many years ago, I discovered that the Bible has something to say about every aspect of what's going on under the bonnet of my life. I hope this book may help you to discover the same.

To order copies of Under the Bonnet at £1 each, contact Simon Allaby by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Olivia is a member of Bolney Village Chapel where she serves as the leader of our Mini Connect Group (a Friday afternoon club for 5-6 year olds) and our Kids Club, which takes place on Sunday mornings. This is her testimony of coming to faith.

One detail that Olivia doesn’t mention, is that the original plan for the first church visit with her sister was to head to one of the bigger churches in Haywards Heath or Burgess Hill. But when they set out, the car wouldn’t start, so they had to walk instead. Bolney Village Chapel was the first church they found!

When did Jesus come into my life?

It was not till I was in my mid-forties that I came to acknowledge Jesus as my Saviour.

How did it all happen?

There were days when it was a struggle waking up and having to put on a false 'I am good!' face in front of others, but my sister had great faith and trust in Jesus, which eventually brought me to the Lord. Even though at times, she felt discouraged in sharing Jesus with me, due to my repeated dismissal of Him, the Lord never let her give up.

In her obedience, during the year when I received Jesus as my Saviour, my sister felt a prompting from the Lord, to visit us in the UK (at my most needed time). With courage, she asked the Lord if He really wanted her to come and HIS reply came with a special promotion on flight tickets the very next day! This enabled her to make the journey and, after many years of trying to share Jesus with me, my heart finally opened to Him! The experience felt like a huge weight had been lifted from me. I could breathe again!

Following that day, I found the strength and courage to visit a local church with my sister. I still attend that church, Bolney Village Chapel, and my faith and trust in Jesus has continued to grow each day. After nearly 10 years of receiving Him in my life, I do at times feel the fiery arrows coming towards me, but my faith in the one who created and loved me from the very beginning, gives me the strength I need to face them. My days now begin and end with Jesus, who never gave up on me!

 

Following his retirement from Sheppey Evangelical Church, Joe Gregory was delighted and honoured to be appointed as The Connexion’s President. Below is an opportunity to read about his fascinating account of his journey from boyhood to Pastor.

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Firstly, I’d like to say that no one was more surprised than I at being asked to serve as President for the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion, especially at the 200th Annual Conference! Now working in this prestigious new role, I thought that it would be good to provide some autobiographical detail with my first ever article.

Early years

Growing up I was raised as a Catholic by my Irish parents in Harlow in Essex. It’s changed a lot now, but believe it or not Harlow was a good place to grow up in the 1960s. There were lots of green spaces and cycle paths linking different parts of the town. I remember growing up spending hours running around with my friends, and later spending the summer holidays playing football all day at the field which was only five minutes walk away.

Even as a youngster I always believed that there was a Creator God, that everyone is here for a purpose. I also believed that we had a soul which would continue after we died, I could not accept that everything about me would die along with my earthly body.

My best friend and I learned to read very quickly at Primary School and we found ourselves volunteering (or was that being conscripted!) to read the Scriptures at Mass each Sunday. It was quite a large church, a couple of hundred people or so, and Gerard and I would get dressed up in our cassock and surplice feeling special, having the best seat in the house, serving as altar boys each week.

Terrible Teens

I didn’t realise it at the time, but my father had a problem with alcohol, which was why my mum had to do several cleaning jobs to help put food on the table. My dad’s abuse of my mum got worse and I retreated into the world of rock music. I became introverted and in the early to mid-seventies lived for the next Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd or Bob Dylan album to come out. Needless to say, I stopped going to Mass each Sunday at that time. 

Unsurprisingly, I also struggled with Secondary School. At Primary School I was one of the top pupils, then at the Catholic Comprehensive I attended I found that there were loads of people with more ability than me. In addition to this I couldn’t concentrate on doing this newly introduced thing called homework. I considered it an affront and a waste of time, when I could be listening to Stairway to Heaven on the headphones. This would also help me to block out the noise of my father shouting at my mother downstairs.

Eventually my father left home, and I remember my mum and I celebrating with a bottle of sherry that night! I think we were most of the way through the bottle, when I persuaded her to pay for us to go to the Black Sabbath concert taking place at Hammersmith Odeon the next evening. It was great, and she loved it too!

Teacher Training College

Despite my failure at A-levels I was able to enrol at a Teacher Training College, just down the road from High Leigh Conference Centre, at Balls Park College in Hertford. Feeling euphoric from seeing two incredible Led Zeppelin concerts at Earl’s Court and then Pink Floyd at Knebworth, I was ready for a fresh start in my life. I was lucky, 1975 was the final year in which one could enrol at Teacher Training College without A-levels. Of course, I can see now that luck had nothing to do with it. Now I look back and see that Jesus was coming for me!

A New Beginning

I arrived at Balls Park Teacher Training College in September 1975 ready for a fresh start. It was a small college, with almost a family feel to the place, where everybody knew everybody else.

I remember being interviewed by the Principal, Paul Sangster, son of the great 20th Century Methodist, Dr W E Sangster, for a place at the college. I didn't know who he was at the time, but he immediately put me at ease, and although he was searching in his questioning, there was something Godly about him.

The social life at Balls Park was good, I grew in confidence and had a great circle of friends.

Salvation

My Irish-Catholic upbringing had left me with a sense of God as a being who was distant. He had created an amazing world and universe but was generally aloof from everything that went on.

In late October 1976 the Christian Union organised a visit from Youth With A Mission, YWAM. There was a promise of fireworks and hot drinks, so I went along. The fireworks were brilliant, but the words of the speaker lit a fire in my heart as well. She told us about Jesus, how He came to live on earth to provide us an example of how to live with compassion and justice. She told us how Jesus died in order to reconnect us with our Father in Heaven. Shockingly, God wasn't this distant figure who created the Universe, He was a good Father who wanted to be involved in a personal way in our daily lives. After Jesus conquered death on the Cross, He sent His Holy Spirit to be with all those who believed.

I remember crying in response to all this and I then prayed with someone, and my life was forever changed. I had a Father in Heaven who loved me with all my fears and imperfections.

A Second Chance and Renewal

I moved to the Isle of Sheppey in 1979 to take up a teaching post in a middle school and started attending a local Baptist church. There would be many challenges in the coming years. My first marriage came to an end and that was a particularly difficult time. I remember lonely hours spent in a cold damp bedsit in Sheerness questioning God's plan. 

Then He sent a student to Danley Middle School. Elizabeth Russell wanted to help out on an Activity Week. I was organising a week in France, and I duly snapped her up as an extra member of staff. We had an instant connection.

I remember Elizabeth's parents agreeing to let me tag along with them (and Elizabeth!) for the first ever New Wine week down in Somerset. It was an amazing time of worship and teaching and an opportunity to listen to God in a spirit-filled environment, it was as if He was saying, "See, trust in my plan. I am the God of the second chance".   

We were married a year later in July 1990, and I feel truly blessed having had her in my life for the last 34 years.

Elizabeth and I started attending Sheppey Evangelical Church in September 1990, and we have been there ever since.

Forgiveness

The Salvation Army got in touch with me asking if I knew a Thomas Gregory. Apparently he was my father and living on the Isle of Man. I really struggled about how to respond because of the way he had treated my mother while I was growing up. Whenever I thought about him, I would be filled with anger and bitterness.

However, Jesus taught us to forgive. If I was to be serious about my revived faith as a disciple of Jesus I should agree to be contacted by my father and see what happened.

I then discovered that he was being treated for liver cancer in Liverpool hospital. I went to visit in the school summer holiday and Elizabeth came with me to offer support.

A short while later my father was taken into a hospice on the Isle of Man. I travelled across the Irish Sea to visit him in the October half-term. I took along New Wine worship tapes, and I was able to pray with him. He came to accept that Jesus loved him and enjoyed the worship songs which gave him comfort at night in the weeks ahead. He died on Christmas Eve.

I truly believe that if I hadn't been able to forgive him, I would have been left bitter and resentful. Forgiveness is good for the mind and the soul. Jesus knew what he was talking about!

God's Plan

I spent nearly thirty years as a primary school teacher and then fifteen years in ministry at Sheppey Evangelical Church. I retired last September and as I reflect, I can see that God is sovereign and has a plan for our lives and a plan for His church.

In September 1979 in my very first teaching class, was an 11-year-old boy called Trevor Jones. Over the years we became good friends. He got to know Jesus in a powerful way as a teenager, and in the time since we have supported one another and prayed with one another. 

It's awesome that he has now taken on the role of Pastor at Sheppey. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Invitation

Retirement has been very busy so far. Elizabeth and I are looking forward to visiting churches around the Connexion during the next couple of years. My diary is filling up, so Church Secretaries or Ministers, please get in touch if you would like me to come and preach. You can email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

God bless!

Joe

 

The Countess Free Church in Ely is running a series of Dads n Kidz mornings throughout the year.

Dads have a chance to relax and spend time other dads, whilst the children are happily playing together - at the same time giving mums a well-earned break!

Dads n Kidz takes place from 9 to11am on Saturdays, approximately six times a year. 

It's a fun and friendly occasion for both the children and grown-ups. There are toys and games laid out for the children to play with, a selection of newspapers for the dads, and delicious bacon rolls served throughout the morning.

Last weekend dads and children enjoyed spending time together on Saturday 4 March.

 

 

Dads n Kidz - upcoming dates for 2023

Saturday 20 May: 9-11am

Saturday 22 July: 9-11am

Saturday 16 September: 9-11am

Saturday 18 November: 9-11am

The morning is free of charge to attend and everyone is welcome!

To find out more about what goes on at the Countess Free Church, visit their website https://www.countessely.co.uk/