Month: February 2022

Supporting Ukraine

Posted on by Laura Thomas

Information on the Bristol response to Ukrainian Refugees – click here

Information on volunteering with Love Bristol helping refugees with the visa process – click here

We are currently in discussions with Bristol City Council and South Glos Council about becoming a Welcome Hub for providing support and space for Ukrainians to access. One of the requirements of a Welcome Hub is that they have a Welcome Hub Leader – if you feel that this is an area of Ministry that you would like to be involved in please get in touch.

If you are interested in hosting a refugee please go to the Gov website to register your interest.

 

Donate items via Barnabus Fund Food Gives Appeal

Thank you to all those who have bought items in and those who have taken them to the Swindon collection point for the Ukraine Barnabus Fund appeal. We have taken lots of full car loads of essential items so far which is fantastic! 

The current need is for the following:

Food  tinned food with pull lids, energy bars and food you can eat on the run.

 

Donate Financially

Donating financially is one of the quickest ways to practically help. Below are four different ways.

Donate to the UK Disaster Emergency Committee Fund Click here

DEC charities are in Ukraine and neighbouring countries meeting the needs of all refugees and displaced people: By donating to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, you’ll help DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.

  • £30 could provide essential hygiene supplies for three people for one month
  • £50 could provide blankets for four families
  • £100 could provide emergency food for two families for one month

Donate to Moldovan Mission

Moldovan Mission’s CEO, Mark McCormick, is the founder and former leader of Gotesti Baptist Church. He works closely with St Michael’s Mission Partner Ruslan Telpiz and other Pastors throughout Moldova.  Click here

Message from Mark: “We are at this moment supporting our Pastor Partners, as they help those who are fleeing the Ukraine. They are meeting the refugees on the border and giving food and accommodation. If they wish to go to Romania then they are transporting them. All this they are doing at their own expense. So we are trying to raise funds for them. If you would like to help please use our donations page and mark your donation Refugees. Thank you“.

Donate to Epaphras Trust

Epaphras Trust works in four countries: Kenya, India, Nepal and Ukraine and is a Mission Partner of St Michael’s Church. Trustee and church member Ken Hart has been to Ukraine around 20 times in the last 18 years. More info and details on how to give: Click here

Donate to the #HelpUkraine Emergency Appeal. Click here

This campaign is being organised by a community partnership of Ukrainian churches and organisations in Great Britain,  and the funds raised will provide accredited and registered Ukrainian charities with medicine, food and vital services. Donations can also pay for blankets, hygiene packs and trauma counselling.
  • The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London
  • Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Great Britain
  • Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB)
  • Association of Ukrainian Women (AUW)
  • Ukrainian Youth Association (CYM)
  • Plast Ukrainian Scouts in Great Britain
  • Association of Ukrainian Teachers (AUT)
 

Prayer

  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.
  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.
  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.
  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.
  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.
  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.
  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.
  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.
  • At Kidz Club, the children wrote some prayers for Ukraine. They are simple and heartfelt. Let’s join in praying them together.

Lent Letter from Julie Hobbs

Posted on by Laura Thomas

This year seems to be flying by – already we are seeing the first shoots of Spring and, in the shops, batter mixes and lemons prominently displayed to herald the coming of pancake day (Shrove Tuesday) on 1 March. The following day, Ash Wednesday, marks the start of Lent, a period of six weeks leading up to Easter.

In Lent, we focus on Jesus going into the desert to fast and pray before beginning his work for God. Jesus went through a desert experience and it’s something we are all familiar with in one way or another isn’t it? The physical desert is a barren, oppressive place, but the spiritual/emotional desert is pretty difficult to cope with too. The landscape of our interiors can have no flowing water, no colour, no fragrance, no softness or beauty, just barrenness and silence.

It’s easy to be disturbed by this. Who finds it easy to come faithfully to sit with emptiness and offer praise to God in this situation? It’s tempting to be scared and self-pitying, turning inward to lick our wounds. But there is hope, great hope. Jesus has been to the desert. He encountered temptations of evil, yet evil was unmasked and defeated by the absolute sovereignty of God. In all our own desert struggles, the desert can be the place of encounter, as it was for Jesus; to learn not only the deceptions of evil, but to experience the presence of God. Far from being a place of barrenness, the desert is discovered as the place of renewal and strength; the place where we can begin again. As we lean into and accept the stillness, then we are able to hear God’s gentle voice calling us to trust in His goodness.

My prayer for us all is that, when we find ourselves in the desert, we will be able to faithfully follow Jesus through it and, out of our experience, to bear great fruit. I am mindful of the words of Isaiah that bring me comfort and hope:             

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland”, Isaiah 43:19.

May God bless you and keep you in His love and care during the Holy season of Lent

Children’s Ministry Update

Posted on by Laura Thomas

Children & Families Minister Emma Stafford will be stepping back from her role, as she moves to a new job in a Primary School, working with children with special educational needs. 

A huge thank you to Emma for all she has done in the past few years, we’re praying for Emma and for all the family. Emma’s last day in post is Sunday 20 February.

We will be recruiting for a new Children and Families’ Minister in due course – with more details on that coming soon.

Emma Stafford