'Just Passing By'

A typical journey in west London -- our Underground system, and into Knightsbridge where Harrods is located. Opposite Harrods, we find a rough-sleeper, complete with cardboard 'blankets'.

But the rest of us just pass on by, not caring or maybe not knowing how to respond. A society of contrasts. Our local church is one of about a dozen churches of different denominations that are part of a night shelter project during the winter months. At least 35 men and women get a warm meal and friendship 7 days a week during these months. At our 'Riverside' centre, we welcome our guests with more than just the basics - we have table clothes, candles, flowers and live music. I was privileged to work on the project last winter - I learned so much from these precious brothers and sisters of mine, often leaving the shelter with tears in my eyes. Thanks to the fabulous cooks, and the dedicated volunteer staff, we have without question the best meal in London - at any price. These guys have so much to offer us all, yet they are out on the margins for all sorts of reasons. And I do so little for them. Let's encourage each other to remember the poor - and they are right here on our doorstep!









London streets: A new meaning to the term, "Just passing by" (left)

Back from Break

Yep, it's back to lecturing work and currently, I am just now finishing the first full week of enrollment of new students. I also volunteer my time working with our student Christian Union - so just as a little reminder to remember us in prayer, here's a picture or two of last year's service held at St. Mary's West Kensington.

Please pray for our Christian Union student leaders especially, some of whom are under great pressure at home. Also, that we can beat the timetabling problems of previous years, in order to get as many together at one time as possible. We would like to reach out creatively and sensitively to the student population and see the Christians grow in discipleship. One idea is to invite an Orthodox priest to address the CU, as we have a growing number of Orthodox students from Eastern Europe. Altogether, we have over 120 nationalities in a college of around 20,000 students. Quite a big parish! Although there pictures are old, I was back at St. Mary's Church last Sunday night, as guest preacher. I consider it a sacred privilege to bring God's Word to his precious people here.

Locked out of my blog!

Four months and no posting - the reason being mainly because I locked myself out of the blog! I will try to keep this a little more up to date; so much is happening, but I am trying to keep family central to what I do. I've cut back on loads of "extra" things that take my time, including the Internet based prayer group that I've hosted since 1995 or 1996. Most recently, our hosting company pulled out of supporting on-line groups, and resulted in our loosing all our archives from 2001 onwards. I do however, have the original documentation for the agape.com group I hosted from the early days of the Internet. Frankly, teaching in a college full time, completing my masters in pastoral theology, running a film club at our local church and being the dad, husband and family pastor my wife deserves keeps me occupied around 18 hours a day, but I'm not complaining. Life is full, and wonderful - but it is all down to Jesus' sustaining grace and power. Wonderful! - Oh and the awful picture of me ion a suit is off the blog but is this one really any better?