“For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.“
John 3 v 16 (NIV)
Think: Are there unexplainable things in your life right now? Who do you turn to when troubles come and you don’t know what to do? Choose to live in faith not fear. God loves you so much!
The verse of the week is inspired by the teaching the previous Sunday. You can listen to a recording by clicking on the link below:
15 members were present for a wonderful afternoon of music, worship and reflection led by our visitor today, Rosemary Kemp. It is always a joy to welcome Rosemary to our meeting and her thoughts were very much focused on ‘Music in worship’.
Sue kicked-off our time with some verses to set the tone – Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. 1 Chronicles 16 v 9 – so says King David.
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. Psalm 95 v 1-2.
Rosemary was exposed to music from a very early age and started learning the piano at the age of three. To Rosemary, music is a language; a gift from God, with a responsibility to share it with others and a way of worshipping.
Sometimes, words are not enough and music can give you a way of expressing your emotions and feelings.
Rosemary delighted us with some familiar tunes, tunes so powerful and majestic that they don’t need words for meaning as they carry so much emotion. Rosemary called them, standalone pieces, e.g.
Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia – perhaps better known as “We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender.” (I have to confess that I was very moved by this.) and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Music can be very enriching in a service of worship. We can come alive and/or it has the power to make one feel at home and part of what is happening even if someone is new to the environment. Some people express themselves in dance and flag waving and even playing instruments so that everyone is catered for and can feel part of our coming together to worship God and to bring Him honour, praise and glory.
We were able to join in with some beautiful worship songs as our response to what we had heard and enjoyed:
SOF 544 There is a Redeemer – Melody Green
SOF 912 Lord, You have my heart – Martin Smith
SOF 89 Faithful One – Brian Doerksen
SOF 1850 Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God – Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
SOF 203 I believe in Jesus – Marc Nelson
Rosemary also delighted us with some unfamiliar pieces –
Ludovico Einaudi’s Primavera which means spring was particularly lovely and very appropriate for this time of year. A Chopin waltz was a piece of music which sounded just like a conversation was taking place and the composer was asking us to “listen to me!” It had a language all of its own!
At the end, we had an opportunity to be still (which is of course our motto for the year), to rest in His presence, to meditate while Rosemary played Debussy’s Arabesque.
A very uplifting afternoon – thank you Rosemary for blessing us!
Further to our post on the 10th March, we have received an update from Paddy:
I attach a photo of the meeting last Friday (14th March) which was attended by over 600 pastors, including all major denominations. Also in attendance were 15 senior church leaders, e.g., an Anglican bishop, key leaders in Presbyterian, Methodist, URC, Evangelical churches etc. The theme of the meeting was from Psalm 11 v 3 (“if the foundations are destroyed what shall the righteous do”), the book of Joel 1 v 14 (“proclaim a solemn assembly”) and from the book of Esther where Mordecai declares 4 v 14 (“for if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, yet who knows if you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this”). The church and country of Kenya stand at similar cross-roads.
The gathering agreed that the church would not take any government money and would not allow the government the use of their pulpits for their messages.
The next step is the “Solemn Assembly”. This is to be a large (possibly 100,000 strong) meeting/rally of Christians to discuss what is happening in the country and with the church, AND to pray. They will organise this for the 27th April.
Daniel has asked that we pray for this assembly and for him personally – that he would have God’s favour at this time, (remember he has a role in organising and leading these meetings), and like Moses, for the Lord to “show him His glory”.
The following is the report from 10th March 2025 to give some context to the latest update:
We have been asked to pray for our friend Daniel Gitau and his fellow church leaders at this time. Paddy Taylor writes, “When Daniel returned to Kenya last summer, it was to see people on the streets protesting and general uproar in the country. There was a downward spiral of events, too long to detail here, and President Ruto, who was the candidate that Daniel and other senior church leaders had endorsed, turned out to now be making very bad decisions, including, allegedly bribing thugs to intimidate any opposition to his office. The church has had to distance themselves from him. However, Ruto has also allegedly bribed some church leaders to speak up for him and condone his actions leading to a quite confused state within the church. Daniel is really upset about how things have developed. He and the other leaders he knows well, including leaders of most of the major denominations, have decided they need to act to help change the bitter feelings in the country. They plan to meet with a large group of Pastors this Friday coming (14th March) and talk to them about what they see happening in the country and pray with them. Following that they shall organise a “Solemn Assembly” of Christians (they anticipate around 100 000 plus), to pray for the country and to seek God’s help in the current problems, specifically the difficulties being caused by President Ruto.”
Pray for wisdom and discernment for Daniel – on top of all the ministry issues, he has this kind of pressure to deal with! Pray for his fellow, non-corrupt church leaders, that they would be granted wisdom and would be of one heart and mind. Please pray for the Lord to intervene in the country as these believers seek Him and as they seek to speak truth into this situation. Pray too for protection for Daniel and his family.
Troubled by what is happening in the world? Not sure how to pray? Let’s do it together! Jane leads our online prayer opportunity for March. Click on the link below to access the video:
https://www.facebook.com/downsbaptistchurch/videos/973761664470030
Thursday Fellowship commenced its spring session on 6th March and our very own Sue Cunningham was our speaker. Sue focused on the verse “Be still and know that I am God” which is our new motto for the rest of the session.
Please do consider joining us at 2pm in the Parish Room of the Holy Cross Church unless stated – we can assure you of a warm welcome!
6th March – Sue Cunningham
13th March – Maeve Whitchurch
20th March – Our choices
27th March – Rosemary Kemp
3rd April – Lorna Sivyour
10th April – Dr Ruth Butlin (Leprosy Mission)
17th April – Maundy Thursday Communion
24th April – Connie Croly
1st May – Jane Leaver
8th May – Keith & Laurel Barnes
15th May – Phil Cook
22nd May – Sue Cunningham
29th May – TBA
5th June – TBA
12th June – TBA
19th June – TBA
26th June – Anniversary Tea
For further information head to the following link:- Thursday Fellowship
If anyone is interested in exploring the possibility of being baptised, either in the sea or alternatively in a local heated swimming pool/baptismal pool, please do speak to one of the Church leaders.
They would also like to hear from anyone who might be interested in participating in a Christianity
Explored course. Please be assured that there will not be any pressure or commitment made by making an enquiry.
You can also fill in our contact form by clicking on the link below should you wish to know more:
To know God and to make Him known
A WORSHIPPING CHURCH OF PEOPLE WHO PRAY AND FOLLOW THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE.
Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14 v 6
A WITNESSING CHURCH OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE OUR FAITH IN WORDS AND ACTIONS.
Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” Luke 10 v 27
17 members joined us for the first meeting of our spring and summer session on what was a beautiful, sunny and warm spring day. It was so good to be back all together and what a special meeting it was!
Sue led us beautifully and introduced our motto for the year – Psalm 46 v 10a – “Be still and know that I am God.”
We had the opportunity to be still for two minutes and to focus on God. Surprisingly to Sue, everyone found that quite easy to do and seemed not to be distracted by the sounds from outside or wandering thoughts!
We then thought about some of the things that can help us focus better, like listening to a favourite worship CD, looking at a picture (Sylvia brought in a small picture of Holman Hunt’s ‘Light of the world’), holding a small wooden cross (a few of our number use these), lighting a candle, being out in nature and enjoying God’s creation, sitting by the sea and gazing up at the stars. All of these can help us to be still and to not just know of God but to really KNOW Him in our hearts and in our lives!
Sue had chosen some beautiful songs and readings which helped all of us to reflect that God is indeed our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46 v 1), of which there is so much in this world.
We were all given a bookmark to take home and to keep close so that we can be reminded to take time to be still and know that He is God!
On a cold and murky February morning, Faith and John hosted a Thursday Fellowship coffee morning. I say coffee but tea was in abundance and so were the beautiful cakes that Faith had made to tempt us all. Who cannot resist cheese scones, ginger shortbread, lemon drizzle cake, chocolate cake and a superb Victoria sponge cake?
It was good to meet and share news – the winter seems so long and we were cheered by the thought that our devotional meetings will recommence at 2pm on Thursday 6th March in the Parish Room of the Holy Cross Church in Warren Road.
A highlight of our time together was the filming of a short WhatsApp Video, sending greetings and love to our dear friend Maria who is presently in hospital. We missed you Maria and are looking forward to having you back with us!
Jane leads our first Prayer Together opportunity for 2025 focusing on Colossians 3 v 1-17.
Gareth leads or online Prayer opportunity for December. Please click on the link below to take you to the video:
https://www.facebook.com/downsbaptistchurch/videos/1395457354758620
A small but hardy bunch of carollers joined together outside DBC Community Greengrocers on Saturday 14th December to spread some festive cheer to passers by.
Although we don’t do it to raise money for charity, many people were keen to give and £20 was received which will be donated to the Woodingdean Youth Centre who do a very important work with young people in our community. Thank you to all those who gave so generously.
A big thank you to Mark who arranged a super backing track and to Gareth who supplied us with tea and coffee.
The shop is open until noon on Christmas Eve so pop on down and see Sue and her helpers and stock up on some lovely gifts for Christmas as well as all of the usual goodies.
The team will be taking a break over the festive season and the shop will re-open at 9am on Monday, 6th January 2025.
Thank you all so much for your support over the past year. Merry Christmas one and all!