A Time to Reflect

There is light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel, praise God! As the Elders and Leaders consider carefully and prayerfully the timing around our re-opening in-person services, I want to ask two things of you lovely church people!
 
Firstly, please pray about this. God hears our prayers and He wants to hear them! So let’s not be shy! To borrow a phrase from a friend, let’s “storm the gates of heaven” in prayer together. For wisdom, protection, healing and help. And don’t forget the prayer model we’ve been using:
 
P-R-A-Y…
 
P is for pause. Take a few moments to pause, quiet yourself and centre on God. Turn your thoughts over to Him.
 
R is for rejoice. Start your prayers by praising God and thanking Him. Rejoice with Him for all the things and the people that bless your soul. This may take some time!
 
A is for ask. As you bring your requests to God, do so with humility but also with confidence. Bring all your worries and concerns to Him and do so with confidence. The apostle Paul wrote: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6, NRSV)
 
Y is for yield. We must always remember that God is Sovereign and in our prayers, as in the whole of our lives, our attitude should be one of “not my will, but your will be done”. God knows best – and we shouldn’t expect that He will grant all of our requests, or answer all our prayers in the way we might want Him to. The key is to trust God. That way, it’s so much easier to say “thy will be done” – and really mean it.
 

Secondly, take some time to reflect. Let’s not miss or diminish or ignore the fact that we have had a really difficult 12 months. If you think about it, it’s obvious that it will have left some marks on us. Maybe some raw wounds, maybe some that have healed but left scars. Be kind to yourself and take some time to process what has been going on for you this past year. Take some time for your soul to be soothed and, eventually, healed.
 
I encourage you to write down your thoughts. Take some time. It doesn’t have to be all in one go. But find a quiet space and whether you use pen and paper or a computer, put your thoughts down in writing. Work through them with God. Ask questions. Seek answers. Pray. Laugh. Cry. Beg God for what you need. But do yourself a favour and take some action – don’t suppose you can just emerge from this extraordinarily difficult period and just pick up and carry on as if nothing has happened to you. It has. And each of us will need to take the time to deal with that, process it, unpack it with God. If we choose not to… well, don’t say nobody told you it was necessary – this is me telling you!
 
As for me, I’m definitely doing that. It’s a busy old time but “it is well”. I’m nearly at the end of another online term at college, and turning my thoughts to our Easter services. I just had a birthday and am reminded again how very blessed I am to have the friends, family and church that I have, who so energise and sustain me.
 
May God bless you and keep you.
 
Simon
 
Simon Lace, 04/03/2021
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Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
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Planning your Visit

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I am New 

Welcome from all of us at Easthampstead Baptist Church!

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about us. As you explore our website, we hope that you catch a broader glimpse of what EBC is all about. It's about people - people just like you - who want to embark on a journey to discover more of God and his will for our lives.
 

What should I expect on a Sunday Morning?

Sometimes going to a church for the first time can be a little daunting. I promise we won't bite! To help ease any uncertainties below are the answers to some common questions people have before attending a Sunday morning.
 
What do I have to wear?
We are a 'come as you are' sort of people and have no formal dress-code for our Sunday services.
We can assure you that we don't have bouncers on the door vetting your attire!
If you are still not sure, feel free to check out our services on YouTube to have an idea.
 
What time do I need to be there?
At the moment we have one Sunday morning service which starts at 10.00am.
 
On the 4th Sunday of the month we run our All-sorts service which starts at 10:00am.

Check out our other services below!
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We would recommend you turn up 10 minutes before the service starts so you have a chance to say hi!
If you have children that need signing in to the children and youth work, they need to be signed in from 9:50am.
 
Parking
There is plenty of parking both out the front and at the back of the building. Just follow the signs!
 
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How safe is my child in your care?
We run separate children and youth work during our 10:00am service, which is run by a group of volunteers who have all been DBS checked.

Children ages 11 and under must be signed in and out by their parent/carer. The youth can sign themselves in and out.
 

For information about our safeguarding policy click here