Sunday 28 February
Last Sunday I was preaching at Newbury Baptist Church. What a great place and a great bunch of people! Jon Stannard was away so I was invited to preach at both the 9.30 and 11am services. Very different services but both fit the aim of enabling people to encounter God in a style that is helpful for them. Rashelle Beya, their minister-in-training held the fort and impressed me hugely. It was a delight working with you Rashelle – the church is fortunate to have you!
Monday 1 March
Rejoicing in the valleys no doubt on St David’s Day but this was also our annual day of prayer. This year, in conjunction with the call to prayer issued by the BUGB President Kingsley Appiagyei, we encouraged people to find time to pray some time over the previous weekend and/or on this day. Under the banner of ‘a wave of prayer’ we had people praying right around the world and across the UK. A new development this year was the wave of prayer blogsite which was well used by people around the UK and much wider afield telling us they were joining us in prayer.
Tuesday 2 March
What an enjoyable day – back to my alma mater Spurgeons College both to preach in the crowded weekly chapel service and then an hour with all the ministerial students unpacking our new Vision Document called simply "For God..." I have now had 3-4 opportunities with different groups to explain the thinking behind the Vision document and I am very excited about its potential. Have a look at it above if you’ve not seen it, and download the auto-powerpoint with music by a group we have a link with called aradhna. And thank you for the invitation Nigel - that meant a lot.
Wednesday 3 March
The main event of my day was to chair a meeting of those who had handled our response to the tragic death of our colleague Fay in Afghanistan in January. We had agreed that in early March we would go over how the news broke, what our responses had been, what worked well, and what we might do differently if there was a similar crisis. I am just full of praise for my colleagues Peter, Gordon and Ruth, and others, for the way they coped with a very complex situation. It is to their credit that they submit their ‘work’ to the scrutiny of someone outside of the crisis management group so we could learn together for the future.
8pm England 3-1 Egypt. Oh could this be the year!
Thursday 4 March
Away from the office again today, at our International Mission Centre in Birmingham. The day started really early so I was almost in Birmingham by the time ‘Thought for the Day’ came on the radio. It was given by Rev Canon Dr Giles Fraser from St Paul’s Cathedral. This was one of the best TFTDs I can remember and if you want an insight into my theological leanings you’ll find it here:
Thought for the day 4 March
Four hours teaching that morning, on the subject “Understanding Catholicism” – a module I have taught for about 8 years now. From my own Catholic background I try to help people understand the Catholicism they may know from the UK (or not) and how it will differ from that which they may encounter in different parts of the world. I love teaching this module and am constantly reinvigorated by some excellent interaction with our mission trainees. This year I added a new element to the morning on 400 years of Baptist missions. I love animated maps and for me, history comes alive with maps. Is there a word for people who love maps? I must check some time.
Friday 5 March
Phew – loads of stuff. The day began at 3am for three of us who spoke together on hearing bad news from Nepal via our emergency line. One of our mission workers, Tlana Hnamler from Mizoram in NE India, and part of our Nepal team for the last 12 years, has had a serious stroke. Lots of contact with the family and the wider team during the day and this evening we continue to pray for him in hospital in Kathmandu.
Another significant meeting today was what we dare to hope will be the last meeting to sign off for release a new DVD filmed in Thailand a few months ago. It features the work of Emily Chalke, one of our Thailand team who works as part of Nightlight Ministries amongst sex workers in Bangkok. It’s a harrowing subject and we have had countless meetings trying to get the DVD right. Our dilemma was this: how do you tell the story of trafficked and abused women without feeling we are being voyeuristic as we film these women and their environment? We think we’ve got it nearly right. Its been tested this week by two outside groups of people (mixed ages, gender etc) and we will give the green light next week. It’ll be released soon under the title “This Dark World” so keep an eye out for that on the BMS website and in future publicity.
Next week? Who knows – but our prayers are for our brother Tlana this weekend, his wife Madini and their children Emmanuel, Joshua and Ruth.
David Kerrigan
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