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WEEKLY DIARY

SUNDAY

Family Service and Sunday School . . 11am

Evening worship . . 6.30pm

Communion . . 1st Sunday evening, 3rd Sunday morning

WEEKDAYS

Prayer and Bible Study .. Wednesday, 8pm

Girls' Brigade .. Thursday, 6.3Opm

Boys' Brigade .. Friday, 6.3Opm

MINISTER

Rev M Patten
 
 

Dear Friends,

Ring out the old, ring in the new!

For the last issue of Focus I wrote from Yaounde in Cameroon. Alas I am writing this time from the cooler climes of Creighton Road! Yes - some days I do miss it! But l have included in this edition of Focus an article based on my journal. I hope you enjoy it.

Those of you who are regular Focus readers will notice some differences this month. This is because I am sorry to say that Miss Lena Starling, who has edited the magazine for many years, has finally had to hand over the reins due to ill-health. She has brought to the task her keen eye, her thoroughness in preparation, and sense of humour. Everyone has their favourite part of Focus (mine is the funny tit-bits) and under Lenaís editorship you could be sure there was something for everyone. Focus has been a useful update of information as well as providing articles of general interest. And so I pay tribute to her hard work and thank her for all that she has done.

What will happen to Focus now? We aim to keep it going as usual. However, there will inevitably be a period of transition. We will do all the typing and formatting on computer now so if you are writing an article and are able to email it then send it to: tottenhambaptistchurch@hotmail.com For those of you using more conventional methods there is now a box in the front lounge of the church. Contributions can be put in at any time. Maybe you have good news to share. Maybe you would like to write an article about a church event or some other Christian event that you have been involved in. The more you contribute the better!

Rosemarie Griffiths has kindly typed up and formatted this edition and so our sincere thanks to her. Although Focus will inevitably change we hope it won't lose its purpose and usefulness. This would be a good time for comments so if you have any please pass them on to me. Maybe we can widen the readership yet further and make it even more useful. But we can only do that if you tell us what you like and don't like. (Remember though, what you don't like, may be what someone else likes..!!!)

Also, for those of you who receive Focus by post, we won t forget you as we value your interest and prayers. When one of our friends who had moved to Jamaica visited us last year and knew everything that was going on in the church, I realised how valued this ministry of sending out the Focus far and wide is. At present we send out 50 copies to former friends and enemies.

The Bible is full of stories of transition periods. Moses handing over to Joshua; Elijah to Elisha; David to Solomon; Jesus to His Spirit-empowered disciples. Because God is faithful, they always turn out to be a blessing. Not because the old is bad and the new is good. But because God is faithful and the old is good and the new is good as well. And so, as we say a big thank you to all that Lena Starling has done for us in producing Focus, we trust God as we "re-focus"!

Sincerely yours,

Malcolm Patten.

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Louise Gunning passed away on 20th July after a time in hospital. On 30th July the church was full for a wonderful service of thanksgiving before her body was taken to Jamaica for burial. She was baptised only last year on Easter day. Having put it off for a long time, she was ready to put things right with God. She declared her faith in Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. So it is with the assurance of eternal life that we commit her into God's care and continue to pray God's peace and comfort for her daughter Yvonne, grandchildren Jon-Yves & Nazir, brother Bertram and the rest of her family and friends.

Pray for Andrew Kilby who is expecting to move out of London to a new residential care home soon. Although the move will be unsettling, we hope it will be better for him and a more settled placement for the future. We continue to pray for Hazel Whitehead as she cares for her mother and also for Lena Starling who is still getting around but with a lot more effort. May God be their strength when they feel weak.

Pray for our children and youth who are starting a new year and for some new schools. At the time of going to press we have not had results, but let us know and we will rejoice with you (or weep if necessary).

We rejoiced with Eula Brown on 5th August as her grandson Jordan was brought for blessing by his parents Donovan and Donna. It was great to see her family gathering in Church for this special occasion.

And last but not least, after announcing his engagement to Maria Binns on returning from sabbatical, Malcolm and Maria are to marry on 6th October at Woodberry Down Church (where Maria has been a member).

Our Harvest Services will be held as we have done now for many years on the last Sunday of September, which this year will be the 30th. Once again our gifts will be going to Mill Grove (formerly known as White's Children's Home) where we help to restock the larders.
For those who may be new to our fellowship, gifts of fruit and vegetables are very welcome, but soap powders and soap, toilet rolls, and cereals are also welcome, in fact anything that you would use in your own home. There will also be a retiring offering for those who prefer to give money and to help them buy clothes and books for school etc.

Mill Grove is truly run on faith and has done ever since it was first started over a hundred years ago. Mr Keith White, the grandson of the founder and now in charge, is to be our special preacher for our Church Anniversary on the 14th October.
 
 

In the season of  mists and mellow fruitfulness  no Harvest Festival worth its fruit and vegetables would be complete without the hymn,  Come ye thankful people come, raise the song of harvest-home.

What memories it conjures up. Mouth-watering grapes hanging from the pulpit, enormous marrows on the platform, children processing to the front with decorated boxes and baskets, and of course the plaited loaf in pride of place.

ëFirst the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear.í How many times have those words been sung during the Autumn months, yet it is only the first verse that takes the theme of harvest thanksgiving. The rest is a mini sermon in fact, which is not surprising as the hymn's author, Henry Alford, was an outstanding preacher. Imagine being born into a family where your father, grandfather, and so on, as far back as your great-great-great grandfather had all been clergymen. Don t you think you may have felt under obligation to take Holy Orders yourself?

Whether or not young Henry felt under any pressure, he did not disappoint his parents, becoming the vicar of a Leicestershire parish in 1835. It turned out to be extremely hard work as his church was in a state of disrepair both physically and spiritually, but he set about his uphill task with seemingly boundless energy. Henry Alford was a positive inspiration to his congregation, building up both the faith and the fabric of the Church. He was a fundraiser extraordinaire. £3,500 would be quite an achievement today, but to raise such a sum at the beginning of the nineteenth century was phenomenal. How he also managed to start a Greek New Testament and a History of the Jews, no one knew, but his obvious talent did not go unnoticed in high places, and it was Lord Palmerston who offered him the office of Dean of Canterbury.

Here he could work in peace, but he still liked to be involved in everything that was going on, and there's a lovely story linked with one of his other famous hymns,  Forward be our watchword.  He had written the tune as well, but had added only the bass line, and when he gave it to the precentor of the Cathedral he wrote, "I have put it into its hat and boots, you can add the coat and trousers!" So we must add a sense of humour to his long list of attributes.

ëCome ye thankful people comeí was written while he was in Leicestershire and was published in 1844. It was changed considerably when the editors of "Hymns Ancient and Modern" got hold of it, which made Henry Alford furious because it was already very popular as it was. People tend to stick to what they like, and so the version we sing today is very close to the original. Henry Alford was only 60 when he was finally "gathered in" but his hymns live on and bear witness to surely one of God's truly fruitful ears.

V Maddison
 
 
 
 

Help needed! If you read Haggai in your Bible you will see how angry God gets when we look after our own homes better than His Home! So we need extra help with two things to keep our church beautiful. One is with trimming the hedges and pruning the garden. These need doing on a regular basis and you need to know your weeds from your wallflowers. The other is with minor maintenance jobs around the church. By doing minor repairs and decoration ourselves we save a lot of money. Let the Minister know as soon as possible if you can help with either of these.

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GIRLS' BRIGADE NEWS

As we start our September sessions, we will be thinking about Mrs Joan Stokes, who is starting a company in Chelsea. She has been with us only a short while, taking the Explorers most recently. But we shall miss her on a Thursday night, and wish her good luck with her new company. (Her new company will also meet on a Thursday night)

Its been a strange summer with no camp, I could not help but think something was missing, but plans are underway for next year, and I hope to be booking a place soon. The Brigaders have had a chance to be out during the summer holiday, when they went orienteering at Waltham Abbey. We do hope to take the Juniors away for a weekend camp in October. We shall of course be out on Parade on the Harvest Sunday and Church Anniversary Sunday.

Please pray for us as we start our new session, and for Joan, as she starts her new Company.

Belinda Plunkett
Captain

BOYS' BRIGADE NEWS

We shall be re-starting our Autumn Session on September 14th at 6.30 p.m. This applies to all sections, i.e. Anchor Boys, Juniors, Company and Seniors.

OCTOBER 28TH 2001

This is a very special date for the London District of the Boys Brigade as we will be celebrating its Centenary at St Paul's Cathedral at 6.30 p.m. that evening.

Two officers and six boys from each Company have been invited to attend. It is expected that two London Bands will play outside and one inside for a short while before the Service. During the service the London Brass Band will play some of the hymns.

Mr P Shoard our Battalion Treasurer has arranged for a double-decker bus to take old boys etc. to attend, although these will be seated in a different section from the official representatives.

It is hoped that at the next Lord Mayor's Show the Boys Brigade can not only enter a band (with the GB) but show some of the many activities that it regularly carries out.

V Maddison, P Ambler, S Cooke, J Bambridge
 
 

To have your birthday included in the BMS birthday list write your name and birthday on a piece of paper in our Focus Articles Box in the Church lounge. You will receive a special BMS birthday card and an invitation to give a gift to BMS.

ROBBER'S LIFE TRANSFORMED

Lusaka, Zambia: Life has been difficult for 24 year old Tony Mutondo. Orphaned when he was 18 months old, Mr Mutondo spent his childhood being passed from relative to relative, never knowing the stability of a normal family life.

The situation became so bad that he ran away and lived on the streets.

Young and vulnerable, he was influenced by other boys and soon fell into a life of crime. Then, in 1996, he agreed to take part in an armed robbery.

Mr Mutondo and his friends targeted a shop belonging to a development organisation. Holding a gun on the shop manager, the robbers managed to walk out of the shop with the money and thought themselves safe. A few days later, however, the police arrested them, and Mr Mutondo was eventually tried and convicted for armed robbery.

It was during this difficult time that he began thinking about his life and taking an interest in spiritual matters. He found a copy of the Bible in the prison library, supplied through the Bible Society of Zambia's (BSZ) Bibles for Prisoners programme, and was affected by what he read. "Whilst in prison I came face to face with the Gospel," he wrote in a letter to the BSZ, who sent him a Bible.

He soon became a Christian, which helped him face the difficulties ahead. On the eve of his trial, Mr Mutondo joined other Christian prisoners in singing hymns and choruses of joy, asking God to forgive them. After hearing the story of the robbery, however, the judge sentenced Mr Mutondo and his friends to life imprisonment. With much prayer Mutondo appealed to the Supreme Court and his term was reduced to 18 years with hard labour.

While he finds this difficult to face, Mr Mutondo rejoices that he will be out of prison on day. In a letter to the BSZ he thanked them for their encouragement through the provision of Scriptures.

BMS World Mission

"In May Susan Caddy moved to Tirana, Albania, after completing a year of training at BMS  International Mission Centre (IMC) in Birmingham.

Previously Susan was a nurse at Nottingham City Hospital, and in 1999 she led a BMS Emergency Volunteer team to help care for refugees camped in Albania in the aftermath of the Balkans conflict.

After a strong calling to live into full-time mission work she has now begun language lessons whilst working two days per week in a clinic in Tirana.

Please pray for Susan, that she will settle into the challenging new life she has begun in Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, and where quality health care is desperately needed. Please continue to give prayerful support for BMS medical workers like Susan, who through their abilities, compassion and love for Jesus, help to bring a healthier life to people living in some of the toughest places in the world."

Wilsons to start in Tirana

Matt and Hannah Wilson, and their newborn baby Benjamin, fly out to Albania at the beginning of September where Matt will begin his church-planting mission work in Tirana. Matt is to pastor a church, which currently has 30 members, and will be involved in equipping and encouraging other local church leaders, many of whom are in their 20s and young in their faith. Matt and Hannah have been training at IMC since January, and Hannah gave birth to Benjamin in April. They are relishing this new challenge in their lives. Matt says, "We have great energy to work alongside Albanian Christians in alleviating suffering, improving the quality of life and seeing people transformed to know Christ. We are both looking forward with great hope to establishing ourselves in the Christian community in Albania."
 
 

Recent BMS Relief Fund Grants

South Central Asia

An additional Grant of £10,000 will go to assist the relief work in a drought, which the UN has called the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. Since May 2000, BMS has given Relief Grants totalling £37,000.
 

 The Democratic Rep. of Congo

A Relief Grant of £2,000 went to BMS partners, CBFC, to help with the aftermath of the serious floods in Kinshasa in May, which killed around 50 people and left many more homeless. The grant will meet some of the need for food, medicine and temporary accommodation.
 

Hungary

A Relief Grant of £10,000 has gone to help the work of Hungarian Baptist Aid (HBAid), which responds to crises in Eastern Europe.
 

 Orissa, India

A Grant of £10,000 will go to the Church of North India who are providing a relief operation following severe flooding in which 500,000 have been evacuated.
 

The Balkans

A further Relief Grant to (HBAid) of approximately £23,500 was given as a contribution towards their work in distributing food parcels to refugees, fleeing from recent hostilities between government forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas in Macedonia.
 
 

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You can contact the Minister at the church on 020 8808 3484 or at home on 020 8376 8590. If the need is urgent please use the home number, as you will get a quicker response. Alternatively, if you have access to email use revdmalcolm@blueyonder.co.uk This email address is different from that previously listed in Focus. Emailed items for the next edition of Focus should be sent to tottenhambaptistchurch@hotmail.com You can also read Focus online at:
www.freespace.virgin.net/jamesimac.mcglynn/tbc.htm
 
 

Items for the next edition of Focus (November/December) should be handed in or emailed by Sunday 14th October 2001.
 
 

An extract from Malcolm's journal from Cameroon.

The northern most part of Cameroon is called the 'Extreme' North. 'Extreme' is not an inappropriate adjective given 3 facts:

1. It is an extremely long way from Yaounde. From Maroua where I was based - you are only about 100miles from Lake Chad and from the main road you can virtually throw stones either side into Nigeria on the left and Chad on the right.

2. It is extremely hot. We were told by locals that we were fortunate it was only a cool 45 degrees. It often hits 50+ This is semi-desert region. In Maroua they have imported trees from India which bear leaf in the dry season to give some shelter for the people. This is a cruel harsh landscape.

3. Though you might stumble on a few mad dogs (and an occasional Englishman) in Yaounde, in the Extreme North you are talking elephants giraffes and lions. This place is extremely wild.

Our hosts in Maroua were Major Bawe and his wife Marie who hail from Tabenken, Confidence's village. Major Bawe is a medical doctor by trade and is commander of the Military hospital. He chauffered us around in his Mercedes Benz and offered us African hospitality fit for royalty.

Waza national park is the big tourist attraction of the Extreme North and so it was that with Tom (my neighbour), Augustine, Confidence and Afanyu, the five of us headed off to see if we could find that greatest beast of them all, the Lion king! Waza park is about the size of Cumbria and there are estimated to be about 65 lions in there. Because they spend most of their time hiding they are not easy to find. We went into the park with a hired 4wd twin-cab pick-up and driver, and a park guide. The way they look for lions is to drive around with the windows wide open and the guide standing on the back, and peer underneath bushes! Believe me, this is no joke.

It was on our second day in the park that the excitement mounted. We had been searching for a while when the guide suddenly tapped on the roof of the cab, and jumped off the back and ran over to an antelope which was lying dead. All the meat from its rear legs and rump had been eaten away. As Augustine followed, and then me with my camera, the driver muttered something in French. I really should try to improve my french as I later found out that he was telling us not to get out of the pick-up as it was extremely dangerous. As the guide stood over the antelope with its torn flesh still red and wet, it dawned on Augustine and I that we had disturbed the lion eating its dinner. The guide scanned the bushes around us and said, "The lion is here somewhere." Augustine asked, "Will he come back?" "Yes" said the guide, "He is watching us from somewhere and he will be back!" At this point I stopped taking photographs glanced back to see how far we were from the pick-up. Augustine and I both experienced that unique legs-like-jelly feeling one gets on these occasions and dived back into the cab.

Now the hunt began in earnest to find the lion. Looking under every bush in the surrounding area we gave it our best shot. Alas he was hiding too well and we had to give up. We were heading back to camp for lunch and had travelled for about half an hour when all of a sudden there was a tap on the top of the cab. We pulled up quickly and there under a bush no more than 12 feet away was a lion. A lioness to be precise. As the lion looked at Tom, and Tom looked through the open window at the lion, Tom didn't know whether to wind up his window first or grab his camera. Being the man he is he reached for his camera! The driver slowly backed away - wisely we thought, but in fact only wanted to drive in closer to the other side of the bush so we would get a better view. The driver turned off the engine. The windows were still open and it was all quiet. I have to tell you that it was a most precious moment to be so close to a lion in the wild. She was beautiful. At that moment, the 16 hour overnight train journey from Yaounde to Ngaoundere, the 8 hour minibus journey from Ngaoundere to Maroua, and the 2 hour journey from Maroua to Waza meant nothing to us. We had found what we were looking for and it was a moment of sheer delight. The lioness was content in the shade just to look at us, and we were content to admire her.

After a while the driver started the engine and we trundled gently away. As we left her in peace Augustine reflected on the fact that the great elephants we had seen had shuffled their young behind them as they 'smelt' us with their trunks; the giraffes had looked at us inquisitively yet nervously as they went on their way; and ostriches and antelopes had simply scarpered as soon as they saw us coming. But this, the most ferocious of all the beasts had allowed us to come closer that we had been able to come to any of the animals. For she had no fear. She was queen of her environment and she knew it.

The next day we were out at 5.30am to drive 20 miles along a bumpy track to a watering hole where the guide assured us there would be lots of animals. When we arrived we were confused and bemused to find only a donkey tied up eating hay. We looked at the guide for an explanation. "Poachers!" he said. It became evident that local villagers had lit fires and made noise to clear the animals and had been in the water fishing when we had disturbed them. They had left their fish, their tackle, even their clothes in their haste! (Poaching carries a prison sentence). The guide confiscated their equipment, their fish and even their clothes though left the donkey! As we headed back to camp the guide divided the fish between us (we cooked it in Maroua and ate it on the journey back to Yaounde! - the best 'poached' fish I have ever eaten....!) and entertained us with images of the poachers walking back into their village "...sans fish, sans clothes, sans tout!"
 
 

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars." Martin Luther

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