March 2021 Update

WBC
Link: Paul Smith

News in brief:

All being well, we are hoping to be able to return to the church building on the 23^rd May.
However, there are lots of preparations to be done to ensure that we can all meet safely.

Prayer suggestions:

We give thanks to our Heavenly Father for His faithfulness over the last year and for our fellowship which has found strength and a new togetherness in His love.
For Paul as he leads us back into our building after such a long time.
For Doug who is working to ensure that our technology will allow everyone to be part of worship, whether in the building or at home.

We ask for God’s guidance and protection in all our planning.

Roots Community Café
Link: Emma Smith

News in brief:

The Roots team have had a short break from making lunchboxes as children have returned to school. However, they will be making these food boxes again during the Easter holiday.

Prayer suggestions:

We give thanks for the continued and dedicated work of the Roots team in making and delivering these food parcels and for the gifts of money received which have helped this outreach to continue.
We ask that the food and lunch boxes will be a real blessing for the families who receive them and that each family may get a glimpse of God’s love through them.
We also pray for Emma and the team as they begin preparations to reopen Roots in May.

Falconer Trust
Link: Neil Starling

News in brief:

Neil has prepared a 10 minute youtube video with updates from the home. In case you missed it before,
you can watch it by clicking on this link:

https://youtu.be/nqslFnUlwLA

Simon is recovering well from his spell in hospital and has resumed his duties.
The generator building is still being completed, and the generator can then be installed.
Neil is hoping to deliver a batch of parcels to Purfleet as soon as paperwork is cleared in Zambia, hopefully in the next week or so.

Prayer requests:

For the continued recovery for Simon
For protection from Covid 19
As Neil prayed last week, for fairer access and distribution of Covid vaccines across the world.

Tools with a Mission (TWAM)
Link: Christine Spencer

News in brief:

From the TWAM Easter update:

We can’t offer our friends in Africa the gift of a vaccine to help them beat the pandemic...
but together we can offer them the gift of tools to help them get through it.
We are getting busier with more volunteers and more tools. We are currently completing our next container to Zambia. With government travel restrictions set to ease on March 29th, we are hoping to see our volunteer collectors out and about again and a big increase in tools.
Overall, the future is looking very bright.’

All being well, we will be having a collection of tools at WBC in July so please keep any old gardening and carpentry tools/ sewing machines you have. More details will follow.

Windmill House
Link: Jan Hodges

News in brief:

As Jan mentioned a few months ago, it has been very difficult getting news from Windmill House since last March so we don’t have any recent updates. However, residents have been busy connecting with the community as the article below from March’s edition of the Wymondham Magazine shows:

‘Happy Valentines from Windmill House Windmill House care home recently held a Valentines community event which saw its residents make Valentines hearts during craft group. Along with chocolate hearts donated by Yum Yum’s traditional sweet shop, the hearts were left in prominent places at landmarks in Wymondham for lucky recipients to find, such as the kissing gates at Wymondham Abbey, Tolls Meadow, next to the Market Cross, on town benches, outside The Green Dragon and the town sign. They asked for the lucky recipients to send them photographs for residents to enjoy, as a way that residents could be included in the local community. Morrison’s also kindly donated Valentines cakes, chocolates and hampers which were handed to staff and resident couples.’

Prayer requests:

That all residents may feel the blessing and benefit of having visits from their loved ones again after such a long time of isolation. We pray for the physical and mental healing that these visits will bring.

Food Bank
Link: Jan Hodges

News in brief:

Hannah Worsley, the manager at the Norwich Foodbank has sent us the Spring Newsletter 2021 which is attached.
The Foodbank will be our focus for prayer in April

Prayer requests

Hannah has also sent us the most recent prayer letter with items for thanks and praise as well as areas of concern which is also attached.

Rachel Spencer

News in brief:

There have been several big items of news from Rachel over the last few months.

Rachel is enjoying her new flat and is at last able to invite people into her home for friendship and fellowship. From her February newsletter, she writes the following, with prayer requests in bold type:

‘Let me tell you about a couple of the people I've welcomed into my new home in the last few weeks (their names have been changed):
Irene and her two kids (ages 3 and 6) have come over twice now. They are from Kazakhstan but had to leave their home when Irene's husband got into difficulties involving the mafia. Irene has a master's degree in English and was the headteacher of a private school in Kazakhstan; they now live in two rooms in a hostel and are not yet allowed to work. The family have been granted asylum here in France and waiting for better accommodation and their work permits. Irene and her husband are muslims, but she is very interested in my Christian faith. Please pray with me for Irene and her family, for the provision of a house and jobs, and that they will come to know the truth of the gospel and the healing that Christ can bring.
Julie is a single mum from Nigeria, living in a hotel room with her two sons ( ages 4 and 6 months). She is a Christian, and when we met she asked me if I knew of any churches meeting in town. I invited her to come and join me and some of my teammates for a time of fellowship and prayer, and we have now met together several times. Julie told me that she was desperate for Christian fellowship and friendship but had almost given up finding it; in six months in France she hadn't met any local Christians. Please pray with me for Julie, who is also waiting for better accommodation and the right to work, that these things will be provided and that she will find a loving church family for herself and her boys.

Please pray also for Fatama (E.African), Lisa (Algerian), and Freda (Ethiopian), who I hope will accept an invitation to come to my flat in the next few weeks. Pray for each of them, that their practical needs will be met, and that God will work in their hearts in preparation for our time together.’

Then 2 weeks ago, Rachel has also sent this most recent update concerning a situation facing the French church. The new law will be voted on at the end of March and it remains to be seen if any of the proposed amendments will be adopted. In our prayers we ask our heavenly Father to guide the law makers to doing His will.

‘The situation is that there is a law currently being debated in the French parliament that would significantly increase restrictions on religious groups. The law has been proposed in response to Islamic separatism and radicalisation but would apply to Christian associations and churches as well. If the law goes through as it was proposed, it could mean that teaching and preaching is monitored, foreign missionaries are not allowed to work as pastors or church leaders, and there could be increased restrictions on finances. The National Council of Evangelicals (like the EA) is in discussion with the government to try and get some of the proposals amended. There is an article in Christianity Today - https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/february/france-terrorism-law-evangelical-churches-muslim-separatism.html that has a lot more information and gives a good perspective on the situation. ‘

Prayer suggestions:

We will hear more about the situation facing French churches in a few weeks, but until then, please ask God to be with the decision makers and with the church leaders.

Town Team
Links: Doug Hodges, Ramona Chenery, Tracy Westlake

News in brief:

Town team meetings have resumed but there is no news to give you at the present time.

Prayer suggestions:

For our town’s businesses, shops, restaurants and cafes over the next few months as lockdown restrictions ease.

Nicki Waterworth, 30/03/2021