Geoff Haskett writes:

After a ten year search, the café for the disenfranchised is moving into a pub! Located between three churches on Stapleton Road the existing Queen Vic pub looks a strategic choice for Crisis Centre Ministries and a radical move from its current location on City Road in St Pauls.

It's a flight of faith involving around £450,000, with refurbishment costing as much as the purchase. CCM has always relied on support from a large number of Bristol churches. For this project they will be asking more of us. As Paul Hazelden said at Monday night's AGM: ‘It's a statement to the city that we are united in this work with the homeless’.

Read more about the Wild Goose café here and here.

Sue Ramsay, Deputy Head, Hannah More School writes: 

Thank you to everyone who collected and brought in their Tesco vouchers this year. We collected a massive 7,981 vouchers! We have been saving up for a couple of years so we added these to the pot and had a total of almost 27,000 vouchers.

We have used the vouchers to order three data loggers - these are machines that let children measure sound, light or temperature and transfer the measurements to the computer. They are great educational tools. We also ordered two listening centres - CD players with sockets for six sets of headphones so groups of children can listen to stories together.

Many thanks again; your vouchers really make a difference to the children.

Find out more at the Hannah More School website.

Andy Macpherson writes:

Outreach is continuing on many fronts, and there are also many new initiatives that have either recently started or are in the planning stage.

These are the key points for prayer from our most recent Parish Focus Meeting:

• Healing On The Streets (encouraging first steps taken in this new ministry planned for the long-term)
• Gareth and Christine taking formal roles in running of the Dings Community Association.
• Potential use of Crown Financial Ministries Course in Pip n Jay to provide service to those with personal financial concerns.
• Jo Wright potentially running aerobics / body stretch classes from the church at lunchtimes during the week focused on local workers. Also, other initiatives to open church during the week (Johnny Owen & Bern Leckie currently meeting for prayer on the subject on Tuesday lunchtimes in church – please contact them if you want to join them).
• Geoff Haskett in his role as governor at Hannah More (local school); the school needs prayer support as it begins its growth programme with September intake.
• Pip n Jay potential outward-focused youth work opportunity / use of ‘Safe House’ next to the park.
• The Dings house groups (wisdom as they split and multiply; choice of the right leaders; wisdom in their approach to balancing time / commitments and development of friendships in the community; increased vision / heart for area; and encouraging more young adults to be actively involved in outreach activities e.g. Healing On The Streets)

Do pray for the above items as you feel led, or ask me for more info in areas of particular interest to you.

On 19 May, Pip n Jay people prayed for our neighbours in the parish while walking around the area. Geoff Haskett led the party and writes about what happened.

Greg Sharples writes:

Another deceptively cold day on the streets of the Dings. Joe Bean, my co - missionary was regretting the jumper and no jacket decision......will summer/spring ever arrive!
 
It was another fun time meeting a diverse group. It's remarkable how friendly people seem to be. There is a growing number of opportunities to serve the neighbourhood in a practical way. Lots of people wanting lawns mowed, fences put up and rubbish to be removed. So i'll be looking for some regular helpers....

Greg Sharples writes:

In a step of faith to bring in summer I slung on my flip flops ready to go door knocking. It looked bright enough but, man, April can be deceptive, temperature wise, and my toes soon felt a little chilly! There seemed to be a much higher percentage of absentees this week, but as it was the school holidays there was plenty of the youth around for a chin wag!

It feels a bit like I'm building a back catalogue of relationships that are being filed away with only a small likelihood of potential follow up. That said, I did have a good chat to a lad I'd met last week. I was explaining to him that Jesus came to give life to the full, he appeared dubious and, when I asked, he thought motorbikes and girls were a better bet! He's a great lad and I'm looking forward to getting to know him and some of his mates better. He's looking for a job and seemed interested when I offered my job searching abilities!