Thanks again to everyone who made Sunday another good day at church.
Sunday morning: was well packed due to it being a special dedication service for baby Ely Mary Haddock. I spoke on Accepting God's Agenda #3. The main focus of the message was that a backslidden Israel in Hosea's day attributed where it was to some dumb idols, whereas modern humanity in the western world attributes where it is to its own abilities; to chance or nothingness.
The Bible says, "In the beginning God"
Modern man says, "In the beginning nothing"
The Bible says, "In the beginning God created"
Modern man says, "In the beginning nothing became gas"
The Bible says, "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth"
Modern man says, "In the beginning nothing became gas and exploded and the universe appeared"
However, God would provide a way back and would restore; he would turn the valley of achor (the valley of trouble) into a door of hope. He did so by taking our trouble upon himself; he entered the valley of trouble on our behalf. His heart was troubled (John 12:27); his spirit was troubled (John 13:21); and so he says to us "Let not your heart be troubled..." (John 14:1).
Towards the end of the service we had the Dedication of baby Ely Mary Haddock, daughter of Nicola who is the daughter of Billy Haddock.
Sunday night: Johnny Prentice is back from India until the end of October. I got him up to say hello and to share a few words with us. He will be speaking on Sunday morning 4 October. Heather will be with him then. I spoke on "What Marks You Out?". I made the point that everyone has distinguishing marks on their bodies including moles, scars, dimples etc and even tattoos. I got loads of people up on the platform who have tattoos and had a bit of fun at their expense! I got back to the message making the point that there are things that should mark us out as Christians.
Cross Vigil: I begin this this coming Wednesday at 12 noon to 3 pm and will repeat this each day except Sundays until Saturday 24 October.
The following events will occur towards the end of the 7 week Cross Vigil
Human Peace Wall
On Saturday 17 October I am planning to build a "Human Peace Wall" between the Shankill and Falls. This would consist of enough people to physically link the Shankill and Falls by standing and holding hands or linking arms for about 15 minutes in the centre of the road stretching from one end of Northumberland Street to the other.
This is not a protest and is not about promoting the removal of the walls, but an opportunity to show in a tangible way that people really do want to reach out. The 20 foot concrete wall is often referred to as the "Peace Wall" yet it speaks more of division than of peace. The only real "Peace Wall" is that which is built between people and by people. Several groups on both sides of the wall are being approached to invite them to participate.
This will start at 12 noon and end at 12.15 pm on Saturday 17 October. We will be building a symbolic bridge across the gates; will unfold a banner with a white dove; and release 400 ballons into the air. Afterwards we would hope to have a "Fun Day" in the grounds of the City LIFE Centre with activities for adults and children, plus food and drinks.
I have invited politicians to join us for this event. It remains to be seen if they will respond positively. I have also asked United Against Hatred to be part of this, and perhaps Peter Corry to sing.
PLANTING A PEACE POLE
In 1997, during a visit to Colorado, I was taken to see a "Peace Pole" in the centre of Fort Collins old town. It was placed there by a man who had been kidnapped in the Middle East. It was a simple pole surrounded with flowers and had the word "Peace" inscribed on it. I remember thinking it would be awesome to see a Peace Pole in Belfast. I had thought about speaking to local counsellors and suggesting that one be placed in the grounds of the City Hall, but no one was interested and it was put to the back burner.
While planning the 7 week Cross Vigil I had thought that this could be one of the activities during those weeks, to plant a Peace Pole between the gates. The Peace Pole would have 4 sides and would have the word "Peace" inscribed on one side in English; another side in Irish Gaelic; another Welsh Gaelic; another in Scots Irish. THINK OF THE SIGNIFICANCE AND THE IMPACT OF THIS.
However, I Googled "Peace Pole" to try to get a picture of the Fort Collins Peace Pole. I was amazed to see there are over 250,000 Peace Poles across the world!!! I had NO IDEA it was this big. I then wondered why we have never had one in Northern Ireland. I then got to thinking that my idea of a simple Peace Pole between the gates could be the start of something huge and that perhaps this could be the start of Peace Poles being planted across Northern Ireland.
For example, the ground between the gates was vested by BRO (only after I had made enquiries about it) and they have offered to sell it to us for an outside play area for Hobby Horse Children's Project. This piece of ground would be excellent to pave and to erect a Peace Pole as a "Celebration of Peace" within Northern Ireland. See http://www.calgarypeacepole.org/
The Lord Mayor and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People in Northern Ireland (NICCY) and other dignitaries have been invited. The Waterford Omagh Peace Choir will be present and will sing at the Peace Pole.
CROSS COMMUNITY CONCERT
This will take place in City LIFE Centre on Sat. 24 October at 7.30 pm. Special guests will be the Waterford Omagh Peace Choir. An opportunity to make a donation to cover expenses and to help with the refurbishment of City LIFE Centre will be given to those present on the night. This will be an amazing event.
Moving to City LIFE Centre
As announced on Sunday we will have our last Sunday services on Sunday 18 October in Top House with the first of our services in City LIFE Centre on Sunday 25 October. We have secured a loan from the bank to make this possible, but we will continue to need your ongoing financial support to make sure that we meet the monthly repayments, which will be quite considerable. Your ongoing support is critical.
Please continue to pray for all of the above and continue to support the work of New Life City Church by your presence and by your financial input.
Stay focused; stay strong; and keep being a God-influence.
Pastor Jack
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