churches together in northampton€¦ · this is a first attempt at compiling a directory of...
TRANSCRIPT
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN NORTHAMPTON
PART OF
CHURCHES TOGETHER IN ENGLAND
INFORMATION ABOUT
CTN
and Directory of
Organisations in Northampton
of interest to Churches and Charities
May 2014
CHURCHES TOGETHER NORTHAMPTON
LOGOS SUPPLEMENTARY DIRECTORY
This is a first attempt at compiling a directory of organisations in Northampton which will be of interest to Churches in the town. ~ They include those run by Northampton churches whether they involve work here or overseas. ~ There are those which have a national organisation but with a local branch in Northampton. ~ Others are not directly linked to particular churches but involve members from a variety of churches. ~ Others may not be linked to churches, and the people involved may not classify themselves as Christians, but their work is parallel to or has relevance to the churches. The list is not exhaustive. Omissions may be for no other reason than we ran out of time or were unable to make contact with a group. We would like to put this right and if you feel that your organisation should be included, contact us. If your entry is not to your liking, we will be happy to change it. We are just compiling some guidelines for preparing material for inclusion in this and in the regular monthly Logos and this will be available shortly. Entries for not for profit organisations is free, though we would encourage be-coming members of Churches Together Northampton for which there is an an-nual fee (see page 5). Membership encourages and enables mutual support of God’s work in the town. Businesses may be included for a small charge. Most of the organisations in this directory have websites and it may be queried therefore why it is actually needed when people can simply look up any particu-lar group. There are several reasons: ~ It will enable any newcomer to the town to discover what is around and happening on the Christian scene. ~ It may stimulate those involved in a particular field to discover and link up with others who are doing similar work. ~ It will enable those who have capacity to offer help and to volunteer, to see what is around that they can contribute to. ~ It will be an information base for those wanting to pray and give. ~ As funding becomes more difficult, it may form the basis of an information pool to enable groups to put in joint bids and to make cases for recognition of the contribution of the churches.
For more information about inclusion or comments, please contact the Logos editor Joe Story email: [email protected]
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ABOUT CHURCHES TOGETHER IN NORTHAMPTON
(CTN)
An organisation is only worth joining if it knows why it exists, what its
aims are, and what it does to achieve its objectives.
WHY DOES CTN EXIST?
CTN is a very important way in which member churches can show their
obedience to the commandment of Jesus that all his followers should
love one another and share the same unity of Spirit as Jesus shared with
his heavenly Father. (See John’s Gospel Chapter 17)
CTN has always tried to ensure that all Christian groups in Northampton
have opportunities to meet each other, to be informed about, and to pray
for one other. Sometimes this has been by supporting other Christian
organisations, but often CTN was needed to pave the way or to keep
lines of communication open.
CTN and its predecessors Northampton Council of Churches and the
Northampton and District Free Church Council have worked to bring
Christians together for almost 80 years – and the work needs to continue.
WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF CTN?
a) to enable the churches of the town, as pilgrims together, to develop
closer relationships, to seek a common mind, and to make decisions
together
b) to encourage churches to worship, pray and reflect together on the
nature and purpose of the church in the light of God’s mission -
each church sharing with others the treasures of its tradition
c) to enable the churches to respond to the needs of society and to wit-
ness to the Gospel together
d) to enable the churches to live and share the Gospel, to evangelise
together and to take further steps towards fuller unity.
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WHAT DOES CTN DO?
Many people know about CTN because of two things:
1. CTN has a website which carries a list of almost all the churches in
Northampton. This list is widely used. http://www.churches-together-northampton.org.uk/
2. Ten times a year the CTN newsletter, LOGOS, is distributed
mainly by email to hundreds of churches and individuals. This en-
ables churches and other Christian organisations to share with one
another what they are doing.
Less well known, but worth looking at is the CTN Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CTN-Churches-Together-in-
Northampton
CTN is recognised for speaking in a respectful and prayerful manner
on behalf of "The Churches" in Northampton to politicians, planners
and other “authorities”, as well as people of other faiths and cultures
which are part of Northampton life.
CTN, through Churches Together organisations at County, National
and international level, draws inspiration from relationships which
give it a wide perspective on God’s people at work in the world. For
example, in recent years CTN took an active part in the "Set All Free"
abolition of Slavery campaign initiated by Churches Together in Eng-
land.
CTN has a long tradition of encouraging inclusive acts of Christian
worship – especially during the national week of Prayer for Christian
Unity, or at times of national sadness or celebration. Pentecost in the
Park for the Millennium and Services for Peace are other examples.
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MEMBERSHIP
CTN is unmistakably Christian and Trinitarian. CTN has a constitution
which enshrines this. Acceptance of the Constitution is necessary for
membership.
CTN is an organisation to which churches and other Christian Organi-
sations belong. It has a wide spread of church traditions represented in
its membership.
Member churches and groups are expected to send representatives to
the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: but the AGM is open to all who
wish to attend.
The day-to-day business of CTN is overseen by an ENABLING
GROUP. It is hoped that all member churches and groups will look out
for people who are willing and able to serve on the Enabling Group
which meets about six times per year. Nominations may be made to
the secretary at any time, with appointments confirmed at the next
AGM.
The OFFICERS of CTN are drawn from the membership. They are
Moderator, Secretary, and Treasurer. CTN is also served by a Logos
Editor, Web Manager and Facebook manager. Offers to serve in these
capacities or to help are very welcome.
There is an annual fee for membership (in 2014 the fee is £25).
IS YOUR CHURCH OR ORGANISATION A MEMBER OF CTN?
If you are not sure, the treasurer will be able to tell you.
If you are not, please contact the secretary Ted Hale email:
[email protected] for information on how to become
a member.
Details of all the officers are on the CTN website, and in Logos.
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Churches Together Northampton AGM . Moderator’s Report Jan 2014 Over recent years members of the Enabling Group have met with local politi-cians to discuss our shared care for the common good of the town and some of the serious challenges we face together. I wish to acknowledge the com-mitment of those engaged in these discussions in making time for meeting with us. Our discussions are frank and wide-ranging, where we have deeply held views, often differing amongst ourselves, as well as with those we have come to meet. It is an opportunity for us to learn about some of the initiatives that our politicians are involved in and to share with them some of the con-cerns that Churches face in their ministry, especially in the community. In 2014 there are a number of very significant commemorations and landmark events. These include the centenary of the beginning of the First World War and the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Christians have had long-standing differences over the issue of war and the outbreak of World War One was no different. How these events are marked in our town and our country will be of importance because, as Churches Together in England has noted, this will raise questions about faith, conflict, suffering, and loss, as well as peace, reconciliation, hope and mutual respect. Resources for Christians to respond to these questions are being developed ecumenically and my hope is that we will use the opportunities with sensitivity and courage and as an impe-tus to pray and work for peace in our own time. Three Northampton anniversaries are being observed this year; the Battle of Northampton, the granting of the Town Charter by Richard 1 and the trial of Archbishop Thomas a Becket. Although each of these will have relevance to the witness of churches in the life of the town, it is the trial the Archbishop that has wider significance. From the very beginning and following the way of Christ, Christians have found themselves in conflict with authorities, including religious authority. Thomas Becket’s conflict with the King was complex and our own engagement with civic authorities is no less so. Our aim in this task is to witness to the love of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit at work in all creation. Our prayer is that God’s kingdom come on earth as in heaven. As Churches Together in Northampton we can witness to this hope most strongly through the widest possible participation of Christians in our organisation. We seek the common good through the widest participation of those who share the vision of justice, peace, righteousness and wholeness for all. So with us pray for those who work and direct our civic authorities and alongside us pray that we may challenge them and ourselves to act with jus-tice and mercy. My thanks again to Ted Hale for his faithful commitment to the churches of the town in his work as Secretary to CTN and to Lesley Goulbourne as Treasurer along with all the members of the Enabling Group. Also special thanks to Joe Story for all the hard work he puts into the production of Logos. In Christ David Wiseman Moderator CTN
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Nene Valley
Christian Family
Refuge
The Nene Valley Christian Family Refuge was founded in Northampton
in the early eighties with its first refuge opening in 1984. Since those
early days, the organisation has grown considerably and now offers
safe refuge for up to 18 families/single women in well maintained acco-
modation.
Women and their children fleeing an abusive partner or family member
are able to come to a place where they are safe and can receive support
from a dedicated support worker who will help them on their path to a
new life free from abuse.
Following on from refuge, we are able to offer a comprehensive after-
care and support service for women leaving refuge and beginning a new
independent life. A group work programme is always available as well as
informal drop in sessions held twice-weekly and children’s ser-
vices delivered by our experienced Children's Services Team.
Our team is available 24/7 for emergency referrals and admittance
to refuge.
Self-referral is welcome, as well as calls from agencies.
If you would like to learn more about our work or to contact us visit
http://www.nvcfr.org.uk/contact-us/4544451493
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The Northamptonshire Breakthrough Project (NBP) is made up of C2C Charitable Trust (C2C) and Nene Valley Christian Family Refuge (NVCFR) working in partnership to deliver Women’s Activity Requirements
(WAR’s) on behalf of Northamptonshire Probation Trust.
A WAR is a community sentence designed to address issues faced by women to reduce reoffending rates within Northamptonshire. This community order is used as an alternative to a custodial sentence, giving the woman a chance to address real life issues with intensive support from NBP, usually in the form of 10 x 1-1
sessions with a trained key worker.
This project offers a flexible and creative holistic approach giving each woman the best possible chance of engaging and sustaining positive change by looking at the following key areas of need: accommodation, education, employment and training, health (physical and mental), drugs and alcohol, finance, debt and
benefits, children and families, attitudes, thinking and behaviour, domestic abuse and sex working, as well as increasing self esteem and resilience.
With C2C’s experience in the criminal justice system and NVCFR’s expertise in working with vulnerable women and being able to offer women-only premises,
we provide an excellent facility for delivery of WAR orders.
This project is based in a secure women (and children) only centre within North-ampton Town Centre. It has comfortable interview rooms, group work / meeting rooms and an equipped nursery. Appointments can also be delivered in the com-
munity countywide to suit the needs of the individual.
There is a crèche facility for children, whilst mum is attending her key worker appointment and whilst accessing The Freedom Programme. Women will also be able to access onsite debt advice, as well as domestic abuse specialist support.
NBP will be linking women in with other locally based services that will benefit them on an ongoing basis, including long term mentoring and domestic abuse
support.
The Corston Report 2007 promoted the need for a woman-centred approach, providing services which are tailor-made to address individual needs. Collabora-tively we offer this women only service, giving women the opportunity to move away from crime into a more positive future, which not only impacts themselves
and their local community, but the lives of their children too.
The Northamptonshire Breakthrough Project liaise with Northamptonshire Proba-tion Trust continuously to track progress made by women as well as manage
risks posed to themselves and the wider community.
07707 270 889 / 07783 470 221 [email protected]
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C2C is a Christian Charity which provides practical and
pastoral support to offenders, helping them turn away from
crime. It provides this service to people regardless of faith,
or none, and regardless of their crimes, age, ethnic or cul-
tural background, gender, sexuality or disability.
Our services are based in Northamptonshire and are acces-
sible to young people, men and women at any stage in the
criminal justice system. We have a number of projects providing specific services,
with staff and volunteers working together in all projects:
PAMPER SESSIONS We also provide regular pamper sessions at “Streetchurch”, a joint-churches project for the home-less and other socially excluded people in Northamp-ton. Our pamper sessions are for men and women, offering free haircuts, manicures, foot massages, braiding, shaving etc.
This is regularly attended by many drug-users, dependent drinkers and sex workers; it is great way to engage with them and boost their self esteem. We feel have a particular call to help vulnerable women and girls, and those involved in or at risk of involvement in prostitution, we use the pamper ses-sions as a form of out reach for these vulnerable ladies.
COACH AND FAMILY INTERVENTION We offer a mentoring & befriending service to help ex-offenders in the community. We are able to work with both the individual &
their family, we find this works very well in addressing the real issues to-gether. Our aim is to empower & enable people in a positive, goal fo-cused approach. We use the COACH community mentoring model, a proven way of helping at-risk youths & other vulnerable people. We work in partnership with other organisations making referrals, as well as supporting our clients to engage positively with these agencies. We receive referrals from the police, probation and prisons, as well as several local agencies. We also accept self referrals from individuals.
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CUT IT OUT We work in local schools and youth groups tackling youth crime, we aim to educate teenagers about the dangers of entering into gang related crime & the consequences of violence.
We speak to young people as part of large school assemblies right down to small groups of just a few people, as well as offering our COACH mentoring program to at-risk youths & their families. All talks are delivered by ex-offenders and ex-gang members so have a huge impact on the young people with whom we engage with.
CUSTODY CARERS This team see people in Police Custody, and act as an “Appropriate Adult” for youths and vulnerable adults, as a guardian, a legally required role for the Police investigation. They will see anyone and help link them into services to help them stop committing crime. They provide a listening ear, and can help
there and then with advice and signposting to services and will also offer on-going support and advice from our other teams. This is a unique service, and has already befitted many people, helping in the short-term by making the process quicker for the Police and young person, and helping in the long-term by addressing the causes of crime.
THE ROCK PROJECT We have a team of prison visitors, regularly work-ing in HMP Peterborough, which is a prison for both men and women. Since January 2010, we have regularly visited women there, offering sup-port, as well as providing a link to our COACH community mentoring & befriending team on re-lease. We work in HMP Peterborough, HMP Woodhill,
HMP Onley, HMP Rye Hill, HMP Lowdham Grange, HMP Stocken, YOI Glen Parva & Rainsbrooke but take referrals from other prisons too. For more information email: [email protected] or visit: www.c2ccharitabletrust.com
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DACT- Daventry Area Community Transport
We exist to provide the community with a variety of transport and mobility
solutions. To service the needs we have set up the following services:-
Car Scheme
Minibus Scheme (Group Hire)
Dial a Ride
DACT Days Out Excusions
Shopmobility
DACT Pitstop (Repairs & Maintenance)
MiDAS Driver Training
We are a charitable organisation wholly supported by grants, donations and
the dedication of our volunteer drivers. Consequently, we are able to provide
our transport services at costs substantially less than most alternative forms of
fare paying transport.
Community transport schemes vary across the country but the basic philosophy
is the same – to provide transport services to those individuals or groups in the
community that need support. Community transport can help people in terms
of alleviating the financial cost of travel but equally important is the personal
care and support that the volunteer drivers willingly provide to all their passen-
gers. This is core to the ethos of DACT.
Since being set up in 1993 under the management of Rob Kinning, with only a
handful of car drivers and no minibuses, the growth and success of DACT has
been remarkable. Today it is an organisation with over 175 volunteer drivers
and a fleet of 8 minibuses. It is now considered by some as a flagship model of
what a community transport scheme should be. This level of respect is a great
testament to the commitment of everyone involved in DACT, past and present.
Some Current Statistics (2012/13)
174 Volunteers - 53,516 volunteer hours worked · 273,619 miles travelled – 11 times around the world! 33,050 Minibus passenger trips 18,258 car passenger trips to medical appointments 6,037 scooter/wheelchair passengers on Shopmobility equipment
For more information visit http://dact.btck.co.uk/ or
email [email protected]
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Northampton is the third biggest town in the UK, with a population of over 212,000 people. According to the NHS Department of Health, Northampton's deprivation is higher than the average in England and about 9,200 children live in poverty. Spencer Contact seeks
to relieve poverty and hardship in and around Northampton by supplying free second-hand furniture. Regardless of the cause of their hardship, and without discrimination, families and individuals are helped by the provision of basic necessi-ties, which brings a degree of comfort to their homes. The charity has been running since 1999 and is organised and run by local Christians who desire to express God's love to all people by meeting needs and enhancing their lives. If you are in need of help or if you think you may be able to help us in our work, please get in touch with us. We only deal with appointments over the telephone as demand for our service is high. Putting People First
We have been helping people in need since January 1999.
Over 12,296 people have been helped, of which over 5,273
are children under 18 years of age.
30% of our clients are single parents.
41% are single adults.
78% are taking up a new occupancy in
their accommodation.
1,432 tonnes of furniture have been re-issued and saved
from landfill.
For more information visit www.spencercontact.com or email [email protected]
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God at work on the roof of the world Since her retirement as Diocesan Adult Education and Lay Training Officer in 2000, Sheila Addison has
been involved with others in supporting the fast grow-ing Emmanuel Church in Nepal. Here she explains
more.
I met Gopal Regmi in 1990 when I was in Kathmandu
doing an inspection of what was then the British School. Pastor Gopal had returned from India in 1987
where he had been for three years, studying at Poona for a degree in theology. He and his wife, Meera, with two friends spent much time in prayer to discern
what God was calling them to do next.
They began to invite neighbours to their home and to share with them the Good
News of Jesus. It soon became necessary for them to rent a larger room as more and more people wanted to know what message Gopal and his friends
had for them. Three years later, there were around 150 members of the Em-manuel Church that had grown from those beginnings.
Gopal took me on a number of pastoral visits at the weekends. I resolved to pray for the Emmanuel Church but thought it unlikely that I would ever be in
Nepal again. How-ever the Governors of the school invited me to carry out as-sessments and provide in-service training for the teachers in 1992, 1994, 1996
and in 1998. Over this time I was becoming increasingly involved with the fast
growing Emmanuel Church.
In 1998 God spoke to me very clearly as I was reading Isaiah 58: 9-14. I under-stood that God had specific work for me to do with him alongside Pastor Gopal
and the team. For the past fifteen years many generous people have joined me in supporting this Church that has grown from those four people meeting for
prayer in 1987 to a membership of around 9000 believers today.
The Emmanuel 2000 Project is currently able to send around £3500 a month to
support 80 orphaned children, 10 destitute elderly widows, a school of 50 chil-dren (above), several vulnerable families and specific projects such as wells for
rural communities, goats for families, motor bikes for pastors, skills training for
young people.
We do not ask for funds. My role is to tell the story of God’s work on the Roof of the World and he does the asking. If any group or Church would like me to visit
to tell this story more fully I can be contacted on 01933 224081 or at [email protected]
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We were formed in October 2008 and come under the umbrella of The
Ascension Trust which has over 11,500 Street and Prayer Pastors impact-
ing over 250 local town and cities nationally. Here we consist of 34 vol-
unteers who are drawn from 18 Christian churches of different denomina-
tions in Northampton.
We serve in the “night-time economy” in Northampton on some Friday
nights and every Saturday night. The aim for us is to provide a listening
ear and practical help to the socially marginalised, the needy and often
those who have drunk too much! We are non-judgmental and will give
time and help to anyone in need.
Our work is built on prayer and we would love to hear from anyone who
would like to find out more about praying for us. We would love people
to join us as Prayer Pastors who pray at our base whilst the Street Pastors
are serving in the town centre. For more information please email us on
[email protected] or call 01604 633751.
We had an Open Evening in March and the next training for new Street
Pastors follows soon after. If you would like to find out more and obtain
an application form to be considered for the training programme please
contact Roger Hampson on
or call 01604 633751.
We are now on social media… like us or follow us
@NorthamptonSP
www.facebook.com/northamptonstreetpastors
Northampton
Street Pastors
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Seeing Clearly?
Northampton
TORCH FELLOWSHIP GROUP a local group in
partnership with Torch Trust. For individuals with
sight loss and sighted friends
Where?
The Chapel,
Bethany
Homestead
Kingsley Road
When?
The 2nd Saturday of each month at 3.00 pm
Opportunities to explore Christian Faith, develop
friendships and have fun!
For further information contact Antony Attwood on
07811739148. or Reg Thomas on 01604 505836
Email [email protected]
Torch Trust Website: www.torchtrust.org
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Manna House Bookshop,
St Giles Street, Northampton, NN1 1JW
Opening hours: 9.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Saturday
Tel: 01604 622666. Email: [email protected]
Manna House Counselling Service,
73 St Giles Street, Northampton, NN1 1JF
Tel: 01604 633304 Email: [email protected]
The mission statement of the Manna House Counselling Service is :
1. To provide a well respected Counselling Service easily available to all
communities in Northampton and throughout the County of North-
amptonshire.
2. To provide counsellor training courses to potential counsellors on a
local, national and international basis.
3. To help and advise, well appropriate, other groups around the country
to establish counselling centres.
Since the service opened on 1st June 1985 these have clearly been the goals
and thankfully, to some measure, the goals have been achieved. Starting in the
basement of the Bookshop with a desk, a telephone, an answering machine, two
counselling rooms and one volunteer working one hour a day the service has
grown considerably.
Now there is the equivalent of eight part-time paid staff, forty trained volunteer
counsellors, a Training Co-ordinator and six trainers, four counselling rooms, a
training room, two offices and an annual budget of £150,000 with up to 200
people being seen each month.
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NVC Northants is the Countywide Support & Development Organisation (CSDO) for Northamptonshire. The aims and objectives of NVC Northants are to provide support to Local Infrastructure Organisations/LIOs and voluntary and commu-nity sector representatives. This includes promoting the work of the sector countywide and nationally. Providing this sup-port will include supplying training, relevant resources and information to the sector, which will include keeping the sec-tor informed of new legislation and changes that may affect organisations. NVC Northants will manage the Countywide Forum. Commu-nications will be a focus in partnership with the Local Support and Development Organisations and VCS as a whole. NVC Northants will also aim to recognise and promote the work of the VCS in Northamptonshire Northampton Volunteering Centre
15 St Giles Street,
NORTHAMPTON,
NN1 1JA
Telephone: 01604 637522
Facsimile: 01604 601221
Email: [email protected]
Email the Car Scheme: [email protected]
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Northampton Jesus Centre –
Abington Square Northampton
Opening hours Mon– Fri 9.45am– 4pm Wed & Fri eve 7-9.30pm.
Most Sat mornings 10-1pm (Step up & Info Desk only)
Jesus Centres are places where the love of Jesus is expressed daily in wor-
ship, care and friendship for every type of person.
We are known for our work amongst the homeless and marginalised with
our Step up scheme still making up half of our weekly visitors.
However, we also have :
A range of Skills groups—helping people learn English, Basic Cooking,
Basic IT, English
conversation classes
Social groups -like the Art group, Scrabble, Knit & Knatter, Scrap & Yap.
Support groups– Little Ark, Stay Dry be free, Money Worries
Spiritual groups where people can find out more about the Christian faith or
receive prayer for physical or emotional healing.
A community café open to anyone to use with free WiFi.
In 2012 we began to look at our succession strategy; for a new generation of
staff to take the Centre forward. Since then we’ve recruited a new Deputy
Centre manager, Step up supervisor, Skills co-ordinator and administrator
and created a groups & services post and facilities post. A marketing post,
we hope, will complete the team in 2014.
In 2013 We had 9 baptisms from visitors first met through the Jesus Centre.
We became a Food Bank Referral & Distribution point– this has been our
most rapidly expanding service in 2013.
If you’d like to join our Agency Network for quarterly get togethers &
updates on what’s going on:
Contact: Jayne Elliott– Volunteers, groups & services Co-ordinator
01604 621199
twitter: NhtonJesusCentre
FB: Northampton Jesus Centre
FB: Northampton Agency Network
Blog: [email protected]
Web: jesuscentre.org.uk/northampton-jesus-centre
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Unlock Hope
Unlock Change
Do you have a heart for prison ministry? Would your church like to know more about local
prison ministry and how your church can get involved? Help us
impact and change the lives of those which have so easily been forgotten in our local
community?
Prison Fellowship’s mission is to show Christ’s love to prisoners by coming along-
side them, praying and supporting them to change. We do this through our net-
work of volunteer members, and currently have over 1,900 members across Eng-
land and Wales. As a volunteer-driven organisation we seek through prayer and
practical care to help, support and develop a Christian ministry to prisoners and
their families.
“I was in prison and in a mess. Then I met Sam and started going to church and started a
course called Sycamore Tree. At Chaplain’s Hour on a Wednesday evening a man called
Steve came in to speak and he told us what his life had been like and how he’d let the
Lord into it. One of the church volunteers prayed for me and it was like the best high I’d
ever had. I asked Jesus into my life and my life turned round for the better.”
We need churches and their members to stand with us in:
Prayer is extremely important to the ministry of Prison Fellowship; everything we
do is rooted in prayer. Prayer changes lives!
Volunteer and support prisoners in your local prison through Prison Fellowship’s
programmes
Sowing financially into the work so we can support more prisoners; transform their
lives and those affected by crime.
If you have a passion for reaching out to those in prison there are many ways you
or your church can get involved. To find out more, please visit our website
www.prisonfellowship.org.uk
To book a Prison Fellowship speaker for your church contact
Justin Bloomfield:
[email protected] or 07989 477 887
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This takes place on the first Monday of the month at a variety
of church venues and is attended by Christians from many
different denominations. Each evening begins at 7.00pm with
refreshments and around 7.30pm moves on to a time of
praise and worship led by a small group of musicians from
different churches. Prayer times may reflect the work and
ministry of the church that is hosting the meeting, or some-
times they follow talks by visiting speakers and it is always
inspiring to hear first hand from Christians working together
in the community. For more information contact Teresa Brown (Co-ordinator of Prayer and
Praise for Northampton) 01604 400329
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Northampton Christian Network for Justice and Peace
We have met six times during 2013. On two occasions we have had inspira-
tional speakers and a fairly good number attending although both meetings
deserved a wider audience. One speaker was Anne Street , Senior Humani-
tarian Policy Advisor at CAFOD, opening our eyes to the changing nature
of the response of development agencies to disasters and humanitarian aid.
The second speaker was our member, Antony Denman who with his wife
Janet had been in Malawi hosting a marriage course with ‘Equipes Notre-
Dame International’, and had also visited World Vision projects in the area.
In October we held a silent prayer vigil in Abington Street for peace in
Syria.
On other occasions we have met more informally to share Justice
and Peace issues of concern; to consider what actions we could
take and to review what had been achieved. Although small in
number, we represent denominational diversity and different indi-
vidual commitments. This means we are able to support and affirm
one another while learning from each other’s particular areas of
expertise. As an email network we are a considerably larger group,
mainly concerned with disseminating information. We continue to
support Northampton Al-Bireh Friendship Association and have
been glad to have been involved in three visits of Palestinians to
Northampton. We would like to see more Christians involved (and
more practising Jews). Surely the only real hope for Palestine/Israel
lies not just with politicians, but with the three Abrahamic faiths
who share belief in a God of mercy, justice and peace!
We would really welcome new members. We usually meet on a Monday
but would be happy to consider a different evening. And if you would like
to join the email network, please let me know.
Margaret Williams
Convenor: Aideen Fogarty, T. 630546; E. [email protected]
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F.I.S.H. Northampton started in 2005 and last
year became a charitable association. It
brings together Christian people from many
churches in the town to offer friendship to in-
ternational students at The University of
Northampton and help them enjoy a positive
experience of life in England.
Contact was made with over 200 students last year who enjoyed learning more about English culture and language at our Globe Cafe, and on our programme of summer trips – all these were again over-subscribed and very popular! Many also had a taste of Christian faith through visiting churches and attending Exploring Christianity groups: last term eight new students completed an introductory course and some have moved on to the cell group run by a couple from Abington Christian Centre - we pray that seeds sown will bear much fruit Last term many new students participated in our social programme including cookery sessions, an Activities evening, and Advent ser-vices Newcomers to our cafe include 15+ Iraqi students and scholars all keen to learn about English culture – great opportunities for sharing faith stories! As friendships deepen we pray that many will be touched by the love of God and want to explore the message of the gospel themselves.
New phase – new worker
We have welcomed Andrea Madden as our student support worker this year, and as the ministry grows with the increasing number of internationals stu-dents living in our town, so does the task of coordinating activities and com-municating with supporters. We are asking Christians to consider giving to this key project to employ
our current student worker for additional hours to relieve the adminis-trative burden on volunteers. The total cost of this is £6K p.a: partnership by local churches in this way would enable the work to thrive and increase its impact – this is highly cost-effective mission work (some students come from countries we cannot enter as missionaries!) As an example, if 30 churches or individuals gave £200 p.a. this would cover our current needs – as we touch about 200 students on a personal basis each year (about one quarter of the annual cohort) this is the equivalent of just £1 for each stu-dent we meet to experience the love of God and the chance of hear-
ing the good news of Jesus! Could your church enable us to do
this?
For more information on individuals or churches being involved email: [email protected]
27
28
Northampton General Hospital Chaplaincy
Department
Report for 2013
These are challenging days for the NHS throughout the UK and Northampton General
Hospital is no exception. Our target is to provide “best possible care” (our current
strap line) within an ever decreasing budget, ever increasing numbers, and ever rising
expectations.
As a Chaplaincy Dept we aim to deliver highest quality religious, spiritual and pas-
toral care to all those within the hospital, be they patients, their family and friends, or
staff; of whatever faith or none.
Rev David Betts came to the Dept on January 6th and bought valuable experience both
in Chaplaincy and Church ministry. He joined the Senior Chaplain Revd George Sar-
mezey.
We provide two Holy Communion services a week throughout the year (Thursday
12:30pm and Sunday 10:30am) as well as providing bedside sacraments on a regular
basis, and as requested.
We also have 2 teams of volunteers who visit wards weekly on a Tuesday evening
and a Thursday afternoon. We currently are looking to expand these teams and would
very much appreciate your support in this.
The Chaplaincy is a Multi-faith provision and when required are able to link patients
with their own faith communities.
We also provide 24/7 on call cover and want to record our thanks to those Locum
Chaplains who have helped cover our holiday times.
One of the major areas of our work is with the Hospital Maternity Bereavement Team
and “Sands” to provide a bi-monthly Miscarriage and Burial Service. This has been
used by over 40 parents in the last year. Linked to this is the Annual Child loss ser-
vice in June and the Christmas Tree service in December. These services attract over
350 people at each event.
Finally we thank you for your interest and support and remind you of our willingness
to come and speak about our work at your Church.
For further details contact
29
Annual Report from Palliative Care Chaplaincy.
Let me begin by thanking you for all the prayers and good intentions communicated
during this last year of service to some of those near to death in our County. I would
like to thank each one of you who invested the time to join us for a service in the
Chapel, or to conduct a regular service there for our patients. On behalf of those who
have received your care in their most vulnerable hour, I thank each one of you who
has responded to a request to come in and minister to a member of your Church
Community. "In as much as you did it to one of these, you did it to me".
This has been a fruitful year in our Hospices.
We have lived the mystery of unity through love and service on our Chaplaincy
Teams for Cynthia Spencer Hospice and Cransley Hospice. Our Teams have grown
and matured and are an accurate representation of the Churches present in our
County. It gives me great joy that our local Ministers and Church Communities are
active in ministering to our very special patients. This year we have had over 5,000
significant Chaplaincy interventions to those who are dying and towards their suffer-
ing loved ones. Our Chapel Services represent a living witness to the faith streams of
our County and we are all deeply grateful for your continued prayers and for the sup-
port of the Priests, Ministers, Elders, and lay Christians who compose our Team.
Because of your fidelity and goodness our witness to Unity Mercy and Compassion is
authentic and credible. Thank you.
In this season of reorganisation and of decreasing budgets our role as maintainers of
the holistic and spiritual values of hospice care has increased, and with this has not
simply come more service duties, but also a greater responsibility to evidence and
demonstrate the truth that palliative care involves support to the spiritual, psychologi-
cal, and emotional journey of the individual and their family as well as symptom sup-
port and end of life medical care. We continue to serve our Patients, their families,
and the specialised Staff of our Hospices. Although the Hospice no longer offers a
clinical bereavement service, we, as a Chaplaincy Team, continue to offer support and
consolation to the families who have experienced bereavement. Where requested, we
continue to offer specialized support in the Community to the dying after discharge
from the Hospice for as long as they find it helpful and supportive. We have seen
many many lives changed through the transformative experience of unconditional
grace, friendship, and compassion. It is a beautiful and sacred experience to witness a
wholesome and a peaceful death. A human being coming home to their own heart and
the heart of the Divine. These are the quiet miracles of transformation that happen
weekly in our Hospices. Your prayers and presence permit this to occur. Thank you.
We ask for your continued prayer support that as the request for our services
increases, we may have the wisdom and strength to meet the challenge.
Gerard O'Flaherty
Chaplaincy Coordinator for Palliative Care Services.
30
Introducing… 'Dirty Hands' A website supporting Christian social action in Northamptonshire
www.dirty-hands.co.uk
This website has been developed as a follow-up to the ‘Big Society’
meetings held in Kettering in 2011, 2012 and 2013: papers and slides from these events are available on the site
Including frequently-updated information on…
Case studies of projects in the county:
Community clean-ups; Food banks... Many more are due to be added
Forthcoming events and courses Local and national funding opportunities Links to useful local and national websites Organisations to work with in partnership Useful research snippets Getting useful statistics Reports and slides from meetings
We’re happy to publicise your event, project or organisation
Why not … - Upload your own photos?
- Use the ‘Contact us’ option to ask for our regular updates? - ‘Like’ us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter?
More details are available from Andrew Presland on 01933 316927 and at
31
StreetChurch report 2013 Update
We continue to be grateful for the partnership of so many churches in North-
ampton. More have joined the catering rota, which brings the number to 20.
This means that each church is on between 1 and 3 Sundays a year but the
amount of food needed has grown. Without the food, StreetChurch would not
happen as this is the centre point of the hospitality. The number of guests
seems to rise, especially in the winter months. We have more who come for
emergency aid and more whose first language isn’t English. We have a regu-
lar group of volunteers who come most Sundays to talk with the guests, share
testimony and refer them to relevant agencies. There is a broad spectrum of
vulnerability. Some come for emergency aid, being newly homeless for vari-
ous reasons that include being out of care, loss of job, break up of relation-
ship, ex-services, out of prison. Some have lost hope and StreetChurch is a
safe place to just ‘be’; we have seen many of these folk die from addiction-
related illnesses and overdoses and can only offer respect and comfort through
our memorial services and attending funerals. Some want to move on in their
lives and just need a little more help than they are getting through the agen-
cies. We have seen some of these get jobs, become volunteers, attend
churches regularly, and more. One big development this year is the chaplaincy
services of two ministers who provide spiritual input, offer communion and
support individuals on Sundays; additionally, they run a midweek meeting
and oversee hospital visits.
Needs
Although we have a good team of volunteers, there is always some coming
and going, so we welcome anyone interested to come along for a few weeks
to see how they get on. There is a steering group who oversee the work and
we would welcome some more members – people with a bit of time to de-
velop the networking side, moving to charity status, helping with the appoint-
ment of volunteers, fundraising or to take on a project to get some move-on
housing. We have a programme of spiritual activity and welcome offers of
music/worship, testimony or links to suitable individuals or organisations. If
anyone would like to be involved with hospital visiting, that would be helpful.
More information can be found on the website:
http://www.streetchurch.org.uk/index.html
Dr Jane Dowson
Streetchurch co-ordinator
32
University of Northampton Multi-Faith Chaplaincy: Report for CTN AGM 2013/14
After the changes and developments of the year 2012/13, the current year is dominated
by the theme of continuation.
Our primary work continues to be that of supporting students and staff, both through the
visible offering of hospitality (including provision of prayer space) and the less-visible
support of providing a listening ear, practical assistance and occasional gentle direction.
Our free hot lunches at Park Campus (every Monday in term time) feed anything up to
60 individuals, often cooked by international students, and provide an invaluable contri-
bution to promoting inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue. The free hot drinks, twice
weekly at Avenue Campus, reach c 160 people each week, and are similarly good for the
building of relationships, more often in this case between individuals and specific chap-
lains. We liaise closely with FISH over their work with international students (and are
grateful for the assistance of their intern), provide support to students exploring voca-
tion, those wishing to deepen their faith and seek to assist in other pastoral and welfare
issues, including students suffering financial hardship.
One development, in keeping with our mission, but looking outwards, has been co-
ordinating donations to both Northampton Foodbank and our own hospitality resources
from student food that would otherwise have been wasted at the end of the academic
year, and also in running a highly successful collection for the “Christmas in a Box”
project, (once again in association with the Foodbank).
Although we are explicitly a Multi-faith organisation we clearly recognise that the roots
of Chaplaincy ministry and the shape it takes derive from the Christian faith, and more
hours are given by Christians than those of any other one faith, and possibly than those
of all the other faiths combined.
The current team has Christian representatives drawn from the Baptist Church (Chinese),
the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic Church, in addi-
tion to a Quaker, a Buddhist, a Baha’is and our Muslim Chaplain, an Imam in the town.
We are highly grateful for the practical assistance we receive, primarily in the form of
home-made cakes provided by ladies of the Methodist Circuit(!), and in recognition of
the opportunities and needs that fall beyond our minimal (university-provided) budget,
have completed the creation of The University of Northampton Multi-Faith Chaplaincy
Trust to allow us to continue to move towards charitable status.
We welcome visitors to learn more of our work, and would be delighted to answer any
questions (or to receive any contributions towards our ministry).
Rev Dr Stuart Mousir-Harrison (University Chaplain)
stuart.mouTeam Details, Student Services
Telephone: 01604 892488 Email: [email protected] [email protected]
33
East Park Trust
The East Park Trust continues to be responsible for the maintenance 4 North-
ampton houses, 3 of which provide short term housing to people who are with-
out permanent homes. These houses were formerly move–on accommodation
from The East Park Hostel for the Homeless which was founded by the North-
ampton Council of Churches in the 1970's and closed in the late 1990's.
CAN (Council of Addiction in Northampton) uses the houses for their clients,
and looks after their day to day needs, and helps with rehousing amongst other
things. The Trust gives an annual amount towards funding a CAN care worker
and charges a low rental to CAN for their clients. The CAN Resettlement Offi-
cer attends the Trustees meeting and keeps us up to date with progress of the
residents and requirements in way of keeping the houses in good repair, and in
accordance with all the necessary regulations. The funding of staff and benefit
entitlement is in a state of flux at the moment, so we try to offer encouragement
as well as financial support.
Trust Officers: Chair – Simon Villette, Treasurer – Stephen Billings, Secretary –
Gill Banks. Tel. 401881.
The Carey Experience
Visit places in the Northamptonshire
area connected with the life and work
of William Carey
Be challenged by the relevance of his
story to today.
Moulton, Paulerspury, Hackleton,
Olney, Kettering.
Visits by appointment only with Visits
Co-ordinator Margaret Williams
www.thecareyexperience.co.uk
34
KINGDOM LIFE
CHURCH MINISTRY {We are a Mission Branch of Kingdom Life Church}
{Northampton whose Charity Number is 1092247}
A work started in 1999 by Janet Robinson in
Uganda with Education of Street Children. Janet since 2004
now works in the village of Kasambira with a team of Ugandans. Projects in Ka-
sambira include Education, Vocational Training, a General Care and Food Pro-
gramme, and Christian Outreach.
The Grace Centre houses the Church and the Nursery School and the Primary
School, which is now complete, is built close by.
Christopher is the Pastor of the Church. The Church is growing especially with the
15 to 25 year olds, both male and female.
The Nursery School was started to teach the children English, because much of
the education and examinations in Uganda is in English.
Hosea (the Headmaster) and his teachers do a great job in the School which now
has over 400 children and in 2014 will begin Primary 6. Because of popular de-
mand from the parents, children in Primary 5 and 6 will board this year to allow
them time to do the extra work required.
Jack heads up the Vocational Training in the Hope Centre and oversees the Gen-
eral Care and Food Programme (more people need to be added to this as their
poor health prevents them from growing their own food). The Vocational Training
Courses include Tailoring and Computing at present. More Courses are planned
when funds allow.
These projects only take place because of donations from individuals and
groups who support this work.
For more details or if you wish to sponsor the work please contact Peter &
Joan Smith on [email protected].
35
Concerning Captives
Contact; Ann Stevens at [email protected]
As the time gets closer to my annual trip to the USA this Spring I am very busy planning! This is the twelfth year of visiting both death row and mostly high security prisons in Louisiana and Texas.
As a visitor from a long distance I am allowed special visits in Texas and this entails two x four hour visits on two consecutive days. All visits are conducted via telephone as the death row prisoners are always held in solitary confinement. When I first started visiting and I only had one pris-oner to visit this worked well, but with so many to visit now, I have de-cided to only have regular 2 hour visits this trip. Having a total of 8 eight hours visiting with someone who has become quite mentally unbalanced after several years on death row, is very emotionally draining. To have special visits with some of my friends and not others can lead to people feeling rejected and that is the last thing I want to do. As I am visiting for 4 weeks this year I will be able to visit most people for 2 hours a week. I am hoping this new plan works well!
The visits to the General Population (non death row) units, are very dif-ferent. Death row visits are Monday to Friday and GP units are at the weekends. As non family I am generally not allowed contact visits but the visits rooms are loud and there can be quite a bit of tension around too! Sadly for some of my friends who can have anything up to 99 year sen-tences, I am their only visitor all year but as I am not family............
Despite the sad circumstances, especially on death row, I aim to bring a smile to my friends faces. My dear friend Robert has been on death since he was 18 years old and he now has an execution date less than four weeks after I see him. If the execution goes ahead he will be 42 years old by then. Robert has never been particularly open to hearing the gospel but his latest card gives me great hope. I am hoping for 4 visits with him. We have become very close friends after 10 years of writing and visiting. I also hope to visit a friend in Maryland when I leave Texas, and also in Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) during my time in the USA. As a non driver I depend so much on the goodwill of others, as I do for the financing of my trips etc.
I believe that God had blessed me with a difficult but fulfilling ministry and until He tells me differently I will continue. I write so many letters throughout the year but each one is unique, written to a unique individ-ual. That is how the Lord sees them. My aim is to help my friends to see that and to rise above their guilt and very low self esteem to enable them to grab hold of everything He has for them. I value your prayers Blessings, Ann Stevens.
36
Credit Union in Northamptonshire – How might you
become involved?
Credit Unions are savings and loans co-operatives. They are run and owned by their mem-
bers following co-operative business principles. The Credit Union(s) is treated under the
same regulatory framework as any banking type institution, and is responsible to the FCA &
PCA through quarterly and annual reports.
Members are encouraged to save, and on the basis of their savings can take a loan. When a
member takes a loan, their savings remain in their account, and as they repay their loan they
must also continue to save. Interest is charged on loans (standard at 1% per month) and
these monies are used to cover the running costs of the Credit Union. Any net profit is re-
turned to the members by way of a Dividend. We offer an immediate loan (emergency) ser-
vice at a higher interest rate (2% per month). Over the last year, Northampton Credit Union
was approached by 5 Wells Credit Union (Wellingborough) and Golden Sheaf Credit Union
(Kettering) to join together, and with their merger Northamptonshire Credit Union was pub-
licly launched. Membership is in excess of 2,100. The business is now a £1million operation
and more than £2m has been lent to members. Members must save a minimum of £1 per
week. We are active in Northampton, Kettering, Daventry, Wellingborough and Rushden.
There is currently development occurring in South Northamptonshire and Corby. Other
Credit Union operation in Northamptonshire includes Weston Favell & District Credit Union
(Northampton) and national credit union associations for Police, Bakers and Communica-
tions Workers.
Following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s comments about pay day loan companies, there
has been heightened interest in how Churches might engage with and support Credit Un-
ions. We welcome this interest and would be pleased to open a dialogue to progress! In
brief, there are different levels of engagement!
� Firstly, we would encourage Ministers to lead by example! Join your local Credit Union!
� Raise awareness amongst congregations about the Credit Union
� Consider hosting a local Satellite/Collection Point
� Encourage volunteering for your Credit Union!
� Volunteering opportunities include:
� Staffing local satellite/collection points
� Becoming a Director of the Credit Union
� Being a Credit Union Champion!
Contacts: Sean Silver: President NCU [email protected] Mob: 07912 480537
Mike Greenway: Manager NCU [email protected] Office: 01604 250016
Main Office: Floor 4, (Above CAB) Mercers Row, Northampton
37
Reach Out Ecumenical Outreach Team
ReachOut is the ecumenical outreach team that goes out onto the streets of Northampton to serve the homeless and vulnerable people that make up our “street community”. 4 people com-
menced the work some 2 years ago, but since then, God has blessed us abundantly and now we have 30+ volunteers. We take it in turns to go out in teams of 4 on Friday nights (working in partnership with other churches who operate on other nights), to find and befriend the ‘street community’ and try to meet their immediate needs by providing hot drinks, food, clothing, bed-ding and whenever possible shelter. More than 12 churches support either our work financially, in prayer cover or with volunteers, as well as local agencies, with whom we work closely and often signpost our service users to-wards. Some of these churches go out on separate nights during the week to give a more comprehensive cover. We are looking at extending our service and coverage in the near future and this will require more people and churches to come on board. If you have a heart for the lost, want to do something practical to assist them, are relatively fit, got a good sense of humour and don’t mind unsocial hours, wet and cold weather, then we would love to hear from you. We are unashamedly a Christian group who take every oppor-tunity to witness our faith to the people we come into contact with through conversation, prayer and actions. For this reason anyone wishing to be involved will need to be able to identify and work under the Christian principles we work under and ob-tain the blessing of their pastor. If you would like more information or for a team to visit your group/church, please contact Keith Dragon on 07905 608484 or email [email protected]
38
Find a youth group near you. Many parents and young people are stumped when it comes to finding
youth groups or youth activities in the County. How do you find out
what groups are based near you, when and where they meet?
Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs is following up the
launch of its new logo earlier this year with a brand new website
which aims to address this problem.
The new site at www.nayc.org contains a search facility which enables
members of the public to find youth activities in their area. By enter-
ing your postcode into the search facility you will be given a map
showing all the groups within a 2 mile radius with opening times and
contact details.
The new website also has information on child protection for con-
cerned parents, photo and video galleries and up to date news stories
from the groups themselves.
Adam Pope who edits the website says “We are delighted to offer a
dynamic and interactive youth work website that will benefit youth
leaders, parents and young people alike. We have a Twitter feed, cal-
endar of events and downloadable magazines all available for free. “Having listened to our youth forums and volunteers we believe that the new
website will be a great benefit to anyone involved in serving young people.”
You can Like Nayc.charity on Facebook or follow NAYCYD on Twitter.
Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs
39
UK Church Administrators Network (UCAN)
Northampton Group
Being a Church Administrator can be a demanding, and sometimes isolated
position to hold. The Northampton Group has been meeting every few months
since 2011 to share the ups and downs of church life, ideas, discuss best prac-
tise, pray for each other etc. We are a friendly bunch and would welcome any
other administrators who would like to join us, with their sandwiches, to meet
and chat.
For more information please contact
Ann Atkin, [email protected] or
Karen Coleman, [email protected]
Do look on the UCAN website for a vast amount of information which you may
find useful http://www.john-truscott.co.uk/
NEW 2 YOU
CHARITY SHOP
2, Park Square, Kings Heath New 2 You is a charity shop managed by a team of volunteers mostly from
Church on the Heath.
Money raised by the shop is invested back into community activities,
especially for young people.
So if you want to pick up a bargain and support the community at the same time
- why not pop in and have a browse or say hello.
We are also very appreciative of good quality donations which can be
brought to the shop during opening hours.
Open every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings between
10:30am and 1:30pm.
For more information or to donate contact
40
Tools for Self Reliance (Northampton) pro-
vides volunteering opportunities for those
who are unable to work due to a variety of
disabilities, health issues or other disad-
vantages. At our workshops in Northamp-
ton and Towcester we refurbish old tools.
Kits of tools are then donated to other
charities for on-going projects in Africa,
or here in Northamptonshire.
Tel: 01604 604954
Email: [email protected]
DON’T
THROW
AWAY,
THROW
OUR WAY:
GARDENING
TOOLS
LAWNMOWERS
SEWING
MACHINES
BICYCLES
PRINTER
CARTRIDGES
CUPS &
SAUCERS
SCRAP METAL
Jesus said, ’I have come to bring
Good News to the Poor.’ Is your church Good News to the poor?
Traidcraft and becoming a Fairtrade church could help you
be that good news too.
Traidcraft is a Christian response to poverty, helping farmers
and suppliers in some of the poorest countries in the world
to work their way out of poverty through trade, and their
communities to flourish.
www.traidcraft.co.uk
Local key contact Margaret Williams:
41
For further information on KYB Bible study material, please contact Margaret Kearly, Administrator, Know Your Bible UK Telephone as above or email [email protected]
Garden of Delights CIC
Christian greeting cards and gifts.......with a heart African/Caribbean greeting cards and gifts.......with soul
07593 407030 [email protected]
www.delightcardsandgifts.co.uk
facebook.com/GardenofDelights
twitter.com/Gifts_of_GoD
etsy.com/shop/DelightCardsandGifts
42
Christian Aid is a Christian
organisation that insists
the world can and must be
swiftly changed to one
where everyone can live a
full life, free from poverty.
We work globally for profound change that eradi-
cates the causes of poverty, striving to achieve
equality, dignity and freedom for all, regardless of
faith or nationality.
We have a vision - an end to poverty - and we be-
lieve that vision can become a reality.
We are available to give talks or workshops in
churches, youth groups and schools about justice
and poverty issues and how together we can
make a differ-
ence.
If you want to
find out more or
get involved
then contact Chris Wild (Regional Coordinator for Northamptonshire)
via email [email protected]
or phone 01733 345755.
43
The Sure Foundation – Utange: charity no. 1061603
A small Christian charity serving in the village of Utange, Kenya.
Spreading the love and knowledge of Jesus through their projects,
please visit: www.thesurefoundation.org.uk
Over 500 children have lost one or both parents to AIDS in this de-
prived area of Africa. In 2010 the Charity completed the building of
Casuarina House Children’s Home giving the 24 AIDS orphans that
live there the security they deserve by providing love, shelter, food,
clothes and an education.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-wp9V_MIDQ
The Charity also run a feeding programme for 500 other orphans in
the village to offer some nurture. The children are cared for by
guardians who can only afford to feed them every few days as they
live in poverty themselves.
http://youtu.be/WWiTovFVOWA
Mission/Church Groups, Youth Clubs and Students have the oppor-
tunity to stay in the heart of Utange at an Action Centre run by the
Charity and reach out to help make a real difference to the lives of
the children there. Teaching at the local school, running a holiday
club, repair and decoration of the orphanage and farming the land
as well as evangelising are just some of the ways people have
served in the past.
Each trip is individually tailored to a group’s requirements and per-
sonal gifting. If interested in visiting with a group short term or as
an individual longer term please email:
44
School Pastors
Northamptonshire Community Safety Partnership together
with C2C, The Emmanuel Group of Churches and Street
Pastors are excited to launch a ‘School Pastors’ project at
The Northampton Academy. This project will initially run
on Thursday afternoons from 15:00 to 18:00.
The Schools Pastors Project will be very similar to Street
Pastors but will be supporting young people after school –
School Pastors will have a visible presence on routes to and
from school, on bus routes, around the local community and
shopping centre. A ‘School Pastor’ cares for and supports
the 'school community'. The project aims to promote safety
and reduce anti-social behaviour. School Pastors are there
to listen, care and help young people to become good
citizens.
We will be working closely with the local police, PCSO’s,
the school’s governors and staff, parents and carers. All
School Pastors will be volunteers from the local commu-
nity. If you are interested in becoming a School Pastor, or
supporting the project in prayer
contact
School Pastors will be operating in
and around Northampton Academy
on a Thursday afternoon from
September 2014.
Find out more about School Pastors
here -
http://www.schoolpastors.org.uk/
45
Daily Bread is a Wholefood Co-operative
We sell a large range of Products from Dried Apricots to Olives and more!
We aim to provide healthy food and related products in our shop. We also can deliver locally within Northampton and also via post or carrier to the rest of the UK.
We are an Independent Workers Co-operative with 30 plus years of selling wholefood.
We have strong Social Objectives which define how we run our busi-ness from our suppliers and customers to our staff members.
The business is owned and controlled by the people working in it, with no outside shareholders etc.
Located in Northampton we are open - Monday - Friday 8.30am - 5.30pm Saturday 8.30am - 5.00pm
46
Notivate provides educational and therapeutic music
programmes for young people. This is why we are here:
To Motivate Children Through Music Every child that participates in a Notivate project will: • Gain new experiences and the freedom to express themselves. • Build respectful and trusting relationships with colleagues and leaders. • Learn new skills and explore their own abilities through creative activities. • Acknowledge, celebrate and defend their own and their colleagues’ excellence. • Feel nervous, excited, confident, proud, satisfied and safe. Our four main programmes are: The Notivate Singer/Songwriter Programme
Notivate AV
Waves and Raves Jazz Improvisation
We also offer: . Music Tuition Sound Recording
For details of charitable activities run by The Notivate Trust, visit www.notivate.org
47
In 2005 some people
began to realise that Northampton was increasingly populated by
people of faiths other than its traditional majority religion of Christi-
anity. The Bishop of Brixworth, Frank Wright, called together repre-
sentatives of different faith traditions to explore how all faiths might
live constructively and collaboratively in this developing situation.
By 2006 a steering group had been established to look at a format for regular meetings
between the representatives. This led to the birth of Northampton Interfaith Forum in
2008 – often known as NIFF.
It was agreed that there were seven faiths with sufficient numbers in Northampton to
merit representation on the forum, but that members of any faith, or of none, would be
welcome to receive all information about NIFF activities and to take part in them pro-
vided their purpose was not in contravention of NIFF’s “guidelines for good practice”.
At first each faith was asked to provide two representatives. Subsequently this was
changed to four. The way in which representation is achieved is left to the particular faith
to determine.
Over its brief history NIFF has been well served by enthusiastic members and officers, as
well as development workers. We think it is fair to say that our role in the life of North-
ampton is increasingly recognised as central to continuing and improving good relation-
ships between the many communities who share the life of the town – and through the
maintenance of our County Directory of faith contacts we offer a service to the whole of
Northamptonshire.
“We” are members and representatives of the seven main faith traditions in North-
ampton committed to the words in our Logo which encapsulate our aim: Respect,
Understanding, Friendship.
For further details visit: www.niff.org.uk
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