God is at Work!
This week in our summer series of guest blogs, Hilary Dalziel, Assistant Site Leader on the Catford site, tells us about some highlights from last year, and looks ahead at what's coming up in September.
It seems to me that since the Undivided series last autumn, when we looked again at the painful but important topic of racism, followed by the Christmas Carol Services and packed Watchnight Service, the Catford site has been full of life, attracting new people every week. In fact, since September 2022 we have had 238 new people give us their details! How amazing is that! Of course not all stay – some are just visiting, others are just finding out more about the spiritual journey, but we believe God is at work in all. How wonderful to play our part in that process at the Catford site.
The highpoint for me at Catford recently was the Sunday we had 9 baptisms. What a joy to see friends and families gathered to support those declaring publicly they have put their faith in Jesus and are determined to follow him. The mix of people getting baptized was so inspiring, from a youngster aged 12 to a mature gentleman who had experienced many hardships in life who came to King’s via the Jericho Road Project. There was a whole row of youngsters supporting the teenagers getting baptized, a young woman testified to rediscovering the truth of the gospel after being in a cult-like church for 10 years, another spoke of finding peace in Jesus despite mental health issues and another found freedom in Christ following a time in prison. God is graciously at work among us - sometimes in surprising ways and through surprising people.
Over the summer we are looking forward to a variety of preachers taking us through some of the parables in Mark’s gospel. Our groups are taking a well-earned break but will be ready for new sign ups in September. Many groups will be following our preaching series on the Holy Spirit which will start the first week of October.
The Feast and the Thursday morning Drop In are also taking a break for August, having served our local community so well through the cost of living crisis over the last year.
We are looking forward to running Alpha in-person on the Catford site on Wednesdays in October. It’s been a while since we’ve done this and I’m really excited to see who will come along and what God will do. If you would like to be part of God’s transforming work and serve on Alpha, either leading a discussion group or helping with set up, food preparation or clearing away, please contact tex.chettiar@kingschurchlondon.org – Who will you invite?!
I think this verse from Peter sums up what happens in church life – despite being an ordinary, diverse group of people we are chosen, we are loved. God is calling people out of darkness – what a joy to be part of that process.
Let’s continue to declare His praises and share His mercy!
