Welcome to Herefordshire Event

Sunday 6th June 2010 saw much activity in Hereford High Town as the third annual “Welcome to Herefordshire” event took place. This event is a West Mercia Police initiative organised by Maxine Thompson in her role as Project Coordinator for the Mission to Migrant and Seasonal Workers in Herefordshire.

Rev. Antony Wareham, Senior Minister of Hereford Baptist Church, welcomed the Mayor of Hereford, Councillor Anna Toon to the event, who took the opportunity to enjoy entertainment organised by Gemma Sue Spurgeon on behalf of Hereford Baptist Church.

Local authorities such as West Mercia Police, Herefordshire Council, Primary Healthcare Trust, British Red Cross, Herefordshire Housing Association, Citizen’s Advice Bureau, Hereford & Worcester Fire & Rescue, Gang Master’s Licensing Authority and Hereford Voluntary Youth Council - all joined this event to promote a public information day for all communities and to offer an opportunity for our local community to learn about, and integrate with some of the many Migrant and Seasonal Workers in Herefordshire.

Project Worker, Ania Talalaj, organised an information stand to present many aspects of the Mission to Migrant & Seasonal Workers which is shared between Hereford, Ross-on-Wye and Gorsley Baptist churches. Ania also supported a group of young Polish children to learn and perform at the event along with local College students and dance companies Featbeat and Dolloway Dancers who all gave up their holiday to engage with the migrant community.

Rachel Sayer and Cath Kerry served a multitude of delicious cakes baked by members from the churches, and Jennifer Shoesmith and Pauline Carr prepared an abundance of strawberries which were kindly donated by S&A Produce Limited in Marden.

A special thanks to Neil Menzies and Brian Carr who set up and dismantled most of the stands at the event.

Looking back on the day, Maxine expressed her thanks to all who had helped to make the day such a success. “It’s been a wonderful day that will have done much to strengthen the bonds between the various groups.”

CVM go Karting

Saturday 22nd May 2010 saw over 20 men from HBC and other churches engage in some ‘friendly’ wheel to wheel combat at the Herefordshire Raceway Karting Circuit near Weobley. A range of abilities and previous experience ensured a series of action-packed and incident-loaded heats, where drivers accrued ranking points depending on where they finished. This led to 3 finals, where on a gloriously sunny afternoon, Peter Blair showed his mettle by not only claiming 1st place overall, but also the fastest lap for the day.

The ‘A’ class final results were:

From there it was onto the home of Chris Saunders, where Ed Price brought his own unique style of barbequeing to the fore. An enjoyable evening of food, fun and fellowship was had by all and it looks like this will be another annual event to be added to the HBC CVM calendar.

(Photos and text kindly supplied by Kevin Price)

The Mayor’s Visit to the Breakfast Club

During her last full week in office, the Mayor of Hereford Cllr Sylvia Daniels and her husband Geoff got their morning-off to a fine start on Tuesday 11th May when they visited Hereford Baptist Church’s “Breakfast Club”. They were welcomed to the church by Associate Minister Rev. Niels Waugh and church member Steve Kerry. The Breakfast Club has been running for over two years and provides a free hot full breakfast for people who sleep rough, other homeless people and those on very low income. As member of C.H.A.T.” (Churches of Hereford Action Team) the Baptist Church works together with other local churches in an effort to provide at least one hot meal a day for those who need it.

The Mayor met club members and the volunteers who cook and serve the breakfast before taking her turn in the kitchen. The Mayor said that she was very grateful to the church for inviting her and for the work that the volunteers do in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in the city.

After breakfast the Mayor also visited the church’s “Coffee Stop” in the Foyer where passers-by are invited to call in for a cup of coffee or tea and some cake, to meet with friends or just to have a quiet moment on their way into or out of town. During her stay there, the Mayor also met church members who work with migrant and seasonal workers and chatted with volunteers and customers.

Slum Survivors

Young people slum it to raise awareness

The car park of Hereford Baptist Church was turned into a Slum Dwelling recently when a group of young people spent a weekend away from the comforts of home and all its mod coms as part of Slum Survivor. This national initiative from charity Soul Action is a simulation experience designed to raise awareness of poverty and to raise money for Soul Action partner projects, which work in poor communities in South Africa, Zimbabwe and throughout the world. Participants were sponsored to take part in a variety of challenges.

The first of these challenges was to build individual shelters from cardboard, scrap timber, plastic sheeting, anything useful in keeping the cold and wet out and the warmth in. The basic food for the weekend consisted of lentils with rice and water. Another challenge was to fetch buckets of water from the River Wye and carry them back to the ‘slum’. The group chose the long route back to church via Broad Street and High Town. A number of stops on the way gave ample opportunity to distribute leaflets explaining the plight of real slum dwellers and to engage in conversations with passers-by about conditions that around 1 billion people in the world live with every day.

During the weekend special visitors to the dwelling gave talks and led discussions on homelessness and helped in creating craft items for sale made from old CD discs and scrap material. Bible study sessions, general discussions and fun times filled the rest of the time.

The group’s reaction to the weekend is best summed up in the words of Ben Menzies (age 14): “The experience really got me thinking about just how hard it must be for people that actually do live in the slums, and that they do it all day everyday with no comfort of going home after a couple of nights.”

The weekend was organised and led by Rev. Jason Borlase, Youth Minister at Hereford Baptist Church, who feels that “in undertaking such a challenge, raising money and awareness, we live out the call of Jesus to take care of those who are the poorest, most downtrodden and in need, and those classed as the least in our world.”

CVM Snooker Night

The “Christian Vision for Men” group of the church held its triennial

S N O O K E R Night

on Wednesday, 17th March 2010, at the Potting Shed, Rylands Street, Hereford.

Well over 30 church members and their invited guests attended the evening to enjoy a series of friendly - yet also highly competitive! - competitions. Although Snooker rules were strictly adhered to, there were a number of minor infringements, such as touching a ball and not always potting the colours in their right order. The final scores clearly showed who had previous experience.

All looks so easy when one watches Snooker Championships on TV. The reality, however, is quite different. After having carefully lined up a shot, the cue ball seems to take on a nature of itself and, as if out of spite, misses every other ball on the table only to land in the top corner pocket itself!

But it was all great FUN and great FELLOWSHIP. Sincere thanks were extended to those who had organised the evening. According to schedule the next Snooker Night should take place some time in March 2014.

Snow Church

Like everybody else, Hereford Baptist Church did not escape the rigours of the recent wintry weather conditions.

Snow and ice kept most of the church family from getting out and about safely, so that all regular weekly activities had to be cancelled.

Thankfully, the efforts of some members and friends ensured that access to the church was re-established for the Sunday morning Baptismal Service, when three people witnessed to the fact that they had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.

Much to the annoyance of at least one pigeon, there wasn’t even a single chip in sight on the church forecourt!

Christmas for All Ages

As in every previous year, Christmas was again a very busy time at Hereford Baptist Church. Yet, despite all the many activities, which embraced every age group, the true meaning of the Season, the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, was always at the centre of every event.

The weeks leading up to Christmas where filled with special parties for Elders & Deacons; Senior Adults, featuring a workshop on making Christmas baubles; a dinner outing of the Silver Diners to the Hop Pocket, giving a chance for some last-minute Christmas shopping; Tot Stop with a specially setup bouncy castle; and the Wednesday Club, with a lesson on ‘txt’ing - we will soon find out how many members were actually able to impress their grandchildren with their new-found skills!

Fun and laughter everywhere, and sincere thanks were expressed to all who had made these parties such wonderful occasions, thanks especially to Senior Minister, Rev. Antony Wareham, and his family.

Carol and Family services brought the Christmas story in many different forms to large congregations of members and friends of the church. The youngest children presented the Christmas story with drama and songs. There was the inn - “The King’s Head” - where there was obviously no room and where the innkeeper could not understand what all the fuss was about! A ‘TV’ sketch showed the ideal preparations for a Super Christmas Cocktail, and the local Police Force had to deal with reports of speeding camels and caravans that blocked the roads in and around Bethlehem.

A Day of Music

On Wednesday, 9th December, Hereford Baptist Church resounded with music on two occasions.
The Wednesday Club was entertained to a programme of light classical piano music and popular songs under the title of “Joan & Friends”. Joan, the Club’s ‘Resident Musician’ once again found much talent to draw from amongst the members and a friend, who all delighted us with vocal solos and duets as well as a variety of piano pieces. As a real treat, Joan had composed a special piano trio for the occasion, when she had “great difficulty in finding enough space on the keyboard for three pairs of hands - none interfering with another”. The hour-long concert came to a rousing finale when everybody joined in Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance”.

The Main church was filled in the evening for a charity concert on behalf of Hope Now.
“Close to the Heart” is a group of ordinary young people from Ukraine who have a desire to sing together, introduce the work of Hope Now, and share their culture and faith during a month-long tournee in England. Each member of the group has overcome a variety of difficult home backgrounds with the help of Hope Now and want to give something back to British donors and prayer partners through their music and personal testimonies.

CVM Bowling Night

Late in November CVM for Men @ Hereford Baptist Church (Christian Vision for Men) spent an enjoyable evening at the “TGS Bowling Centre”, Hereford. One of the aims of ‘CVM’ is for members to invite friends from outside the church to share in an informal event of Christian Fellowship and Friendship.

All levels of expertise were represented, ranging from Beginners through Intermediate to Advanced. However, the evening was one of fun and any competitive spirit was wholly private. Both misses and strikes were acknowledged with equal applause and laughter.

Future events planned for early next year include a Dinner Outing and a Snooker Night.

Puppet Show Sunday

On the morning of Sunday, 15th November, the front of Hereford Baptist Church was set up as a Puppet Theatre when the Puppet Group from Ross on Wye Baptist Church was invited to lead a Family Puppet Service. Under the leadership of Fiona the group presented a variety of sketches and mimed songs that demonstrated just how wonderful and how marvellous our Lord is looking after each one of us all the time. “The Lion’s Den” and “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man”attracted special appreciation from both the young and the more mature in the large congregation.

Fiona herself linked the items with introductory comments and also relayed happenings in her life, when she clearly felt that the Lord was looking after her in times of trouble in a very special way. Being marooned in a motorway lay-by at night after her car broke down until help via the AA arrived made one or the other listener recall similar situations in their own life.

It was very apparent that the service was very well received and much appreciated by all. Perhaps, they may come back to us at some other time.

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