麻豆社

Radio 4鈥檚 Sunday Worship

Church of God of Prophecy, Acocks Green with the AMC Gospel Choir

听

SHERMARA FLETCHER:

Welcome. It's a privilege to have you with us here at Acocks Green for this advent service, just one week before Christmas day. Continuing the theme of justice that has run throughout advent on Sunday Worship, this service will have a special focus on homelessness, and we will be hearing about the great work that communities in Birmingham are doing with this marginalised community. We also have the pleasure of having the AMC Gospel Choir with us led by Audrey Lawrence Mattis and we鈥檒l now join together to sing the much-loved carol, Joy to the World...

MUSIC 1 鈥� JOY TO THE WORLD

听

SHERMARA

Bishop Neville Fletcher, the Area Bishop and senior pastor of Acocks Green Church of God of Prophecy will lead us in prayer...

听

BISHOP NEVILLE 鈥� Opening prayer

Father, we thank you for the opportunity to gather to pray for this Christmas season. Amidst the celebrations and joyous occasion that Christmas brings to many individuals and families, let us also not forget that this season can be an unsettling time for many in the UK and the around the world. We especially remember those experiencing homelessness and vulnerable refugee and听 asylum-seeking communities. Allow your light and promise be an example and call to action for us this Christmas, as we seek to serve others. Amen.听

SHERMARA

Homelessness is a pressing national social issue 鈥� and many churches work closely with people experiencing homelessness in their areas 鈥� including here at Acocks Green.听听 Research from the charity Shelter found at least 271,000 people are recorded as homeless in England alone. While we might picture people sleeping rough, that includes 250,000 who are living in temporary accommodation 鈥� most of whom are families. Figures are increasing across the UK too with over 30,000 in Scotland and over 17,000 in Wales and over 8,000 households in Northern Ireland presenting as homeless.

The church鈥檚 involvement in working with those who find themselves homeless is of course not a new thing. Catherine and William Booth, the founders of the Salvation Army, are great examples of the church fighting for and caring about this cause. Their powerful legacy continues to this day with the Salvation Army providing a wide range of services which includes accommodating over 3000 different people every night who are experiencing homelessness.听

And Homelessness is a cause that I have a dedicated a lot of my life to helping to tackle since the age of 18. In fact, it was Sunday morning in this very church that I was deeply compelled to the reality that our generous God was calling me beyond the four walls of the church.听 The following couple of Sundays our local evangelist; Evangelist Hamilton came to speak about his homeless and prison ministry, and I instantly committed myself to help the cause at his food bank the next month.

As a younger Christian I was full of zeal and was ready to go out and bring Christ to the streets. However, on my first day at the food bank, I was quickly humbled as God was already there and it became clear that I was there to participate in gods mission and not to create it. The God of generosity became alive to me in the homeless community. I would see people who didn鈥檛 know where they would receive their next meal from happily halve their sandwich and give it to their homeless brother and sister.

This is particularly relevant as we enter this Christmas season because maybe you are being called to look beyond yourself and your nuclear family's needs and to seek the welfare of vulnerable. Let us also remember the reality that Jesus鈥檚 family experienced homelessness, and in modern times they would have been considered refugees at his birth.

SHERMARA

In a moment we will hear from Pastor Michael Bailey who is the leader of the Acocks Green Homeless project. Before that, the AMC Gospel Choir will sing Holy Holy for us....

听

MUSIC 3听 - HOLY HOLY 鈥� AMC GOSPEL CHOIR

Richard Smallwood Singers - Holy, Holy (1987)

PASTOR MICHAEL

Worth is the lamb of God 鈥� worthy of honour and power.

Jesus鈥� love and care for those in need.

The example Jesus left for us 鈥� linking to the passage from Matthew we just heard. his whole life was about caring for others 鈥� he cared for the poor and the downtrodden, demonstrated this with the good news message and salvation

I've been running the Acocks Green Homelessness project for the past seven years and we aim to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the homeless community in Birmingham. We took over from the great Evangelist Hamilton.

-Homeless Project operating the first Tuesday of each month where food, toiletries and clothes are prepared at the church then distributed in Birmingham City Centre to on average 150 individuals who are living in poverty, homeless or rough sleepers. We hand out clothes and toiletries 鈥� food, sleeping bags. Some people ask for prayer or counselling. Signpost accommodation /various hostels in city centre. A local company has donated pastries for the last 6 years.

We also run a run a golden ages project at the church, filled by older community members, they鈥檒l have exercise classes, cooking or to play dominoes. this reduces isolation and supports good health and mental wellbeing. We offer a 鈥榳arm welcome鈥� on a Tuesday anyone can come in, have conversation. Give out aids like walking aids etc. This is where we see those who might be in temporary accommodation or social housing or living in poverty. Last night we handed out pots of paint for people to redecorate, and just generally offer practical help.

We work closely with other churches in the area and we also work with the local mosques. Both Sparkhill and Sparkbrook mosques run a food bank on a monthly bases and they were developed in collaboration with the Acocks Green Homeless Project, and I directly supported them for four months.

How we should consider others during this season and throughout the year.

One experience we had during our work in the city was a young visitor to our food distribution table dressed in smart clothes with a tie and was given food, I鈥檓 not sure if sensed that he was getting surprising look or just wanted to clarify his attendance but he went on to say 鈥淚 have a job but once I鈥檓 paid I only have enough to cover my rent and fuel bills then I struggle to buy food鈥�. The winter can be a tough time for people and we don鈥檛 always know who might be in need from appearances.

God鈥檚 gift to us 鈥� Jesus coming into the world 鈥� the Christmas message 鈥� no room at the inn, the humble beginnings Jesus had 鈥� but the promise of peace..

For most people, having a place to live means security and peace, and to not know where you鈥檒l be lying your head at night, is of course very unsettling.

Introduce Silent Night

听

MUSIC 2 鈥� SILENT NIGHT

听

听

That infant so tender and mild, didn鈥檛 have the most serene and calm start, despite the words of that lovely carol. Mary and Joseph, didn鈥檛 know where they were going to lay their heads at night as they were travelling, and the famous 鈥榥o room at the inn鈥� phrase has become synonymous with nativity plays, with little children with tea towels on their heads being turned away by the inn keeper. But for all the cute imagery, they were real people, looking for somewhere safe for Mary give birth to Jesus. Luke 2 1 鈥� 14 will now be read for us by Natalie Bailey鈥�

听

听

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, 鈥楧o not be afraid; for see鈥擨 am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah,[a] the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.鈥� 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[b] praising God and saying,

14 鈥楪lory to God in the highest heaven,

听听听 and on earth peace among those whom he favours!鈥橻c]

SHERMARA

Jesus brought us a message of peace 鈥� and it鈥檚 humbling to remember the very humble started he had in life.

I've been greatly inspired by the work of my home church and have continued to work in the area of homelessness and social housing.听 When I was a student, I started a small student movement called Transform where we鈥檇 go on the streets on a fortnightly basis to give out food, pray with our homeless community and we made a code of practice to never give food that we as a team would not eat ourselves. After a couple of years of doing this, I said to my team at the time that this is great, but this is only a plaster to the wider issue. We need to go to parliament and speak to policy makers to help the national policy filter down to grassroot impact.

God heard that meeting and a year later I was on an internship programme in East London called the Buxton Leadership programme, working half the week on a Parliamentary programme and the other half of the week with the Church of England on establishing missional communities through an innovative chaplaincy.听 We saw 70% of students engage with a faith based activity, the school dedicated a whole space to the chaplaincy department and we received comments from the Department for education/Ofsted that the chaplaincy was in the top ranking scores of the school. God really showed up.

听We also led a homeless project called The Open Table in Shadwell which saw homeless people seated around the table with real mix of civic society, from millionaires, cleaners, bakers from canary wharf 鈥� all sharing the commonality of a meal.

God鈥檚 generosity shined as volunteers would generously give their time, his generosity shined through the leadership and priests at St George in the East Church who would give their resources to fund homeless outreach. Generosity shined through friendships and community that would blossom on cold nights.

We saw God鈥檚 generosity towards homeless people who can sometimes be ignored in society and how he can transform lives and bring people to faith. There are many reasons why people become homeless or end up in temporary housing, but in a time of scarcity, and limited resources let us never lose the spirt of generosity and be open to giving ourselves away. Let us never forget to be generous 鈥� and while the phrase 鈥榯he least of these鈥� may seem a bit insensitive 鈥� that message of helping others is the heart of the gospel鈥� and Jesus is definitely worthy of us worshipping and adoring him 鈥� as the AMC Gospel Choir will help us remember now with their beautiful rendition of Emmanuel鈥�

听

听

听

SHERMARA

Coming full circle back to Birmingham now, as Pastor Michael explained, we work closely with other churches in the area, and Ruthlyn is with us who runs homelessness and vulnerable housing outreach in Sheldon,听 Birmingham, after which she will lead us in prayer, along with other volunteers and leaders in the community... and Janet Leavermore

RUTHLYN

Hi, my name is Ruthlyn and I am the leader of Sheldon Foodbank.听 We have been serving the community of Sheldon by providing meals, non-perishable goods and most importantly a safe environment for people who are struggling to make ends meet.听 We have seen an increase in the use of our foodbank since the Cost-of-Living crisis. Whilst we diligently serve our community through the foodbank, we are praying that we ultimately get to the position that we will no longer need a foodbank as there is enough resources in our society for no adult or child to go hungry.

PRAYERS

Dear Lord, we pray for all those who are experiencing homelessness, rough sleeping and find themselves in vulnerable temporary housing. We pray that they will not be defined by their situation and that you will provide a way for them to enter security, peace and stability like you finally did at the time of your birth. In this Christmas season, we pray that all those in our wider society will see themselves as part of the solution and extend warmth and support to the homeless.

Dear Lord,

We pray for all those who are facing extreme uncertainty and obscurity due to conflict and war around the world. We pray that you will be a God of peace and bring your healing to the nations. May you encourage justice, peace and security for all, and may light of peace and reconciliation, overwhelm the darkness of destruction. Let us remember that Jesus Christ our lord would have been considered to be a refugee and that you understand the plight of those facing this current hardship. Be with them we pray. Amen

听

Janet Leavermore

Dear Lord, We pray for every single charity, church and network that are working with the homeless community. We pray for strength, fresh vision, resources and for volunteers with a heart for the homeless community and who can represent your love to those who can be considered as the least of these. We humbly pray that you strengthen Chairty leaders who face tough decisions in the Chairty sector and that you will give them wisdom as they carry out their various duties and responsibilities.听 Amen

听

We will now join together in the Lords prayer..

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.

听

MUSIC 5 -听 O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

听

听

Churches across the country will be preparing for the season of advent and delivering many festive activities, meals and gifts for those experiencing homelessness and unstable housing. We pray that Some closing words about the work the community will be doing over Christmas.
We wish you all a wonderful christmas.

听

BISHOP NEVILLE 鈥� blessing

听

MUSIC 6 鈥� JOYFUL JOYFUL - AMC Gospel Choir

听

听

听