Kingston upon Thames

Kingston is a beautiful and historic town just seventeen miles from the center of London. For the past ten years Alan and Margaret Hilton have pastored the church which is part of the Kensington Temple network. Alan, who by profession was a structural engineer before taking early retirement, has worked tenaciously to create a viable witness in the area.

Letter to the Times

It is not unusual for Elim to lobby politicians and the media on issues that affect issues in the nation with regard to justice and biblical standards of morality. It is unusual to comment on debates in the General Synod of the Church of England. However, the debate on same-sex marriages is something that affects the wider Church. In consequence, seven Denominational leaders produced an open letter that was subsequently published as follows.

Letter in The Times February 23, 2007 from Denominational Leaders

Sir

On February 28th, the General Synod of the Church of England will be debating two Private Members Motions, one promoting tolerance of same sex partnerships within the Church, proposed by the Revd Mary Gilbert, the other promoting traditional marriage, proposed by the Revd Paul Perkins.

We call on all members of the General Synod to support the motion being put forward by the Revd Perkin, and to oppose that put forward by the Revd Gilbert.

Over recent months, a spotlight has being shone on the Church’s position in relation to homosexuality, with the public watching and waiting for the Church’s response to the ever-increasing parity with which homosexual relationships, and marriage, are being treated by politicians and the legal system. The question is whether the Church will shift its stance on homosexuality, swayed by the changes created by the Civil Partnerships Act and the forthcoming Sexual Orientation Regulations, or whether the Church will stand firmly in its reliance on the unchanging Word of God.

Recent discussions about the issues of gay adoption, faith schools, the rights of cohabitees and freedom of conscience and religion in 21st century Britain mean that there is an unprecedented platform for the Church to speak boldly about God’s creation plan for humanity and his desire to reconcile sinful man to Him through Jesus Christ.

There is a battle for truth taking place in this nation. The battle relates to the meaning of family, the meaning of marriage, the welfare of children, and what sort of family and upbringing is in their best interests.

Mr Perkin’s motion calls for clarity of the Church’s witness to the Bible’s teaching on sexual morality. In contrast, the Ms Gilbert’s motion would be unhelpful and could lead to further confusion and misunderstanding about the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality. In particular, the motion could give the impression that all forms of relationship are equally acceptable and that the Bible has nothing to say about the rights and wrongs of extra-marital relationships.

Marriage is the bedrock of society. The Church is called not to reflect society’s standards but rather to show society how God has taught us to live. We ignore God’s biblical model for society at our peril.

Yours faithfully

THE REV JOHN GLASS

General Superintendent Elim Pentecostal Churches

THE REV PAUL WEAVER

General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Churches

THE REV RICHARD UNDERWOOD

General Secretary, The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

WARREN JONES

The Apostolic Church UK

THE REV ALFRED WILLIAMS

Prophetic Voice Ministers Network

PASTOR ADE OMOOBA

Cohesive and Coherent Voice

JONATHAN STEPHEN

Director, Affininity

More than Gold

Attended the Westminster launch for Denominational leaders of "More than Gold" highlighting the role of the Church in the next Olympic Games to be held in the UK. Speakers included Joel Edwards, Rowan Williams and Cabinet minister Tessa Jowell. This is likely to be just one of several initiatives in which Christians can make an impact

Whitehaven

Whitehaven is situated in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK in the far west of the Lake District. I was there to speak at the 50th Anniversary of the church. It was founded by George Canty and a very young John Lancaster was the pianist for the Crusade. John and Pauline Campbell have been there for the past ten years and all of their three sons are involved in the church. Luke is currently serving on Elim's Gap Team in Kosova.

Chorley

It was good to be with Tony and Jennifer Lacey at Living Waters in Chorley - a church that bears witness to the benefits of long term pastoral ministry. Tony is the Regional coordinator for the area. The cafe area which is filled both before and after the service may be one of the contributing factors to the fact that this is such a warm and welcoming church. One of Tony and Jennifer's three sons, John, has recently joined the ministry team and also serves as the worship leader.

The Gathering

On Saturday I attended "The Gathering" organised by Seious4God Elim's youth department. The weather was horrendous with snow causing hours of delays. Neverltheess 1,700 young people gathered for one of their best events ever. Mark Pugh and his team once again did a tremendous job. Clicking on the following link will take you their Blog and you can see for yourself what people were saying about it. The Gathering Max at the NEC will attract around 5000 in October.

http://www.serious4god.co.uk/discussion_forums/view_postings.asp?topicid=TPC00076&forumID=CON00153&sort=desc

Missions Training Course

It was good to be able to spend time with those who are preparing to embark on Elim International Missions in various parts of the world - all were of excellent caliber. Most were young but a few , having taken early retirement, were now committing themselves to serve God abroad.

Irish Leaders Day

There are some things that I have to do as they are necessary to my role. There are others that I am enthusiastic about for their own sake. Spending time with our leaders definitely falls in the the latter category. There was tremendous support from those from Ulster with several making the long journey from the Republic to be there also. There is an incredible team of leaders in Ireland which have been led for many years by my good friend Eric McComb, the Irish Superintendent.