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+ The Noise (19/03/2008 - 08:01:21)

The Noise

It's been quiet on the blogging front of late so I thought we'd make some Noise. As you can see from the front page we are planning a weekend of community action in Billeircay. The dates are May 2nd - 4th and we are really excited to be able to join with countless other churches all over the country as we make a Noise with our actions of love and service.

So will you join us? Maybe picking up rubbish or cleaning graffiti off walls isn't your idea of church, but it's always good to be challenged. We are commissioned to be a church of action and not just words, so wether it be at school, or at work or on the streets like we'll be doing it's often out actions that people hear the most.

HAPPY VALENTINES

Happy Valentines Day from the Gathering. We are the combined youth groups from across the churches in Billericay.

You might have come here because you were given a love heart or one of our fliers, whatever reason we want to pass on to you our love. We believe in a God who's love is sacrificial when Jesus died for us on the cross and who's Love is never ending.

You may have seen us on the street picking up rubbish or tidying things up and thats because we also believe that Love is a Verb, it's about action. We can say I Love You but so often it can just be empty words, so often it's our actions that speak more than words. Also if we don't have love then our actions can be empty, but we do this things out of love because it's the motivation for all that we do. You can read this in the bible (The Message Translation)

The Way of Love

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.

8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love."

Also you can check out this article on the real meaning of love on the secret message of valentines day. We hope that you have a great day whatever you might be doing and that you might come back here from time to time to check out what we are doing. Feel free to contact us from the contacts page.

With Love
The Gathering

COMING UP SOON...

Were pleased to announce a new worship date and some days of Hope for Billericay.

Last February half term we had a great week of social action reaching out in many ways to people up and down the hight street and this year we thought we would repeat some of that. This years first few days of part of HOPE starts on Thursday 14th February all day with the evening free to spend with your valentine and then again on the Friday 15th. Then we'll end the two days in worship at St Marys on the high street with the methodist band Testament leading the music.

You can download fliers for both events here (just right click on the pictures and save)

NEW YEAR, NEW HOPE!

Happy New Year!

I wonder what 2007 was like for you. There were probably some highs and lows. You might have had one or a few new years resolutions. Did you manage to keep them? Well last year is well and truly gone so how about this year, what are your hopes? Psalm 39:7 says this

'But now, Lord what do I look for? My hope is in you'

Our hope is the Lord, we can have confidence this year that whatever we are looking for, facing or struggling with, our hope is in the Lord.

This year The Gathering aims to bring Hope in many different ways. Some of this will be random acts of kindness others will be more planned. There will be worship events to encourage us and others on the way, but one thing is for sure that it will be in our actions that Hope will be seen, in what we say and do in our community, school and families. Where many are without Hope, where they have been given false Hope and where they put Hope in temporary things.

What difference can you make? Keep coming back to this site and check out our Hope page for latest news on what The Gathering is doing to bring Hope in 2008 and beyond.

Go in peace, go with Joy and be Hopeful for this New Year!

FUN NIGHT!

Tomorrow night we'll be on the high street next to St Mary's on the high street as part of Billericay's 'Family Fun Night' come and say hello and get a drink, chill out and have a chat!

FIRST POST

Well we've just finished the two weeks in the school and before that slum survivor. Coming up soon is the advent labyrinth at Christ Church on the 9th Dec.