From Bracknell News

Published: Friday, 25th September, 2009 4:00pm

http://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2009/09/25/41752-travelling-bible-follows-route-through-to-binfield/

Travelling bible follows route through to Binfield

by Jonathan Kelly

Well travelled: Kirsten Oster Lundqvist, associate pastor at Newbold Church in Binfield is joined by Follow the Bible co-ordinators and Sam Davis (holding the bible) - President of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Southern England.

THE most travelled Bible in history took a break from its around the world trip to stop in Binfield.

The Travelling Bible has visited 92 countries, been read and photographed by more than three million people and appeared on TV during its journey which began in October 2008 before it arrived at Newbold Church.

It is also unique because each of the 66 books is written in a different language

Kirsten Oster Lundqvist, assiociate pastor, said: "Crowds packed the church and queued to have an opportunity to see the Bible and look through the different languages. Pigeon English quickly became a favourite with many."

The day included the Bible being used in church services with children reading from it in their own languages, as well as an entertaining children's story where a church member dressed up as a Storytelling bible called Sascha.

The Bible arrived from Poland having spent the last month in Europe. After leaving Binfield it headed to London and then Dublin to arrive by next Saturday in Israel and will complete its world-wide journey in 2010.

Newbold College library added to the day by sharing a display of historic Bibles including the 1560 Geneva Bible, so called because it had to be printed in Switzerland to escape persecution. At the other end of the spectrum they demonstrated modern Bible study methods using the internet and specialist databases.

The 'Follow the Bible' programme is a world-wide initiative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church aimed at getting people reconnected with the Bible.

For more on follow the Bible visit http://newboldchurch.org or at www.adventistinfo.org.uk/followthebible.

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EXCITEMENT FOR CHURCH FAMILY BIBLE


Newbold church families are excited about the Bible. A special 'Family Bible' has been doing the rounds of church families since the beginning of the year.
Alastair Agbaje, a theology student and one of the church elders states, "we have seen an excellent response from families and individuals who have participated in the project." The brilliance of the project to him is that "it's a very simple idea, which has brought the church members a lot closer to each other, by sharing and expressing words of inspiration and encouragement from the Bible."
Alastair and Dr Roland Karlman are overseeing the project and families are queuing up to have the Bible in their own home. During that time they underline and comment on their favourite Bible verses and children illustrate their favourite Bible stories.
Senior pastor, Patrick Johnson has thrown his weight behind the project. "I think what is brilliant about this project is how it combines our individual relationship with God with the whole church family. My children found it quite exciting to be making a personal comment in a Bible that others can be encouraged by." Associate pastor, Kirsten Oster-Lundqvist says that the church family worship committee was inspired by the idea of the GC travelling Bible and so decided to have their own Newbold family Bible "travel the world in Newbold church during 2009". She said, "It's a way of binding the church together and encouraging families to read the Bible."
The aim is to pass the Bible to as many families and individuals as possible throughout the year. There will then be a special presentation towards the end of the year. Alastair adds, "I have particularly enjoyed the creative input of the children from our church, some as young as four years old have contributed by sharing their favourite Bible stories in picture, I am impressed with their knowledge of the Bible."
The Newbold Bible Project is just one of the initiatives being taken to help members "Follow the Bible" in 2009. During the month of February the church is running a special programme in all three of its Sabbath morning worship services. Entitled 'The Words and the Word' the series looks at the origins of the Bible, the theories of inspiration, and the practical impact of the Bible on individual lives. These are available on the Newbold church website: <http://newboldchurch.org>. For more on 'Follow the Bible' and a free reading guide for adults or children church visit <www.followthebiblesda.com>.
(BUC News)

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CSI at Newbold Church.

Saturday 28th March saw the first in the four - week series of talks regarding the Easter story. These will be presented by Pastors Patrick Johnson and Kirsten Oster-Lundqvist, who have come up with the theme of viewing the death of Christ as a possible crime , and approaching the analysis of the evidence in the same way a modern day murder would be investigated! In this week’s “episode” of CSI (Christ Scene Investigated) Patrick did the family service, while preaching together with Kirsten in the contemporary service was Pastor Victor Hulbert, BUC Communication Director.

Viewers of murder/crime shows such as the popular “CSI“ will know that all investigations follow a set pattern, and as Pastor Patrick Johnson pointed out, the main focus is always on the QUESTIONS asked. Therefore each of the parts of this series also concentrates on examining different aspects of the Easter story in an equally detailed manner.

Week One was entitled “ Questioning Jesus “ , and referred heavily to John 10: 1-21 for it’s evidence. This story of Jesus as the Good Shepherd takes place at a time when the Jews were of a divided opinion about Jesus, not convinced of his authenticity. In the present time , many people are also unsure of whether to “believe” or not . However John 10 shows us that Jesus, and Him alone , is indeed our salvation …”I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved “.  …But of course there is always hope for those prepared to turn towards God …”I have other sheep who are not of this sheep pen ,  I must bring them also“

The main emphasis of this week’s talk was about the conclusions we can reach about His death. These were summed up in three points:
1) It was Voluntary -   and may even have been deliberate, in order to illustrate His sacrifice for us.
2) It was Vicarious - on behalf of the sheep/us.  “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - and I lay down my life for the sheep”
3) It was Victorious - Christ was triumphantly resurrected to Eternal life!  “ I lay down my life - only to take it up again.  No-one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”
After such a good start, I’m sure we all look forward to the remaining “episodes “, which are as follows:

4th April  “QUESTIONING THE TRIAL”  Early and Family Service - Kirsten, Contemporary Service - Patrick
11th April  “QUESTIONING THE CRUCIFIXION”  Early and Contemporary Service - Patrick,
Family Service - Kirsten/Robyn Anthony
18th April  “QUESTIONING THE RESURRECTION”  Early and Family Service - Patrick,
Contemporary Service - Kirsten.                                       (Lesley Dennison)

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Newbold Choir’s ‘Tour de France’

The Newbold College choir recently took their annual tour on 6 March, this time to France & Switzerland.  Although it was only four days, there was much to be done and lots of neat places to see.  The choir of 25 members, led by Sandra Rigby-Barrett, made their way around the beautiful countries, singing in several welcoming Adventist churches in the area.  At each concert, we presented a wide repertoire of various types of music – Classical, gospel, worship, and even some instrumental, among many others – and it seemed to touch several hearts along the way.  God definitely travelled along with us and revealed His glory and love in many ways.  Not only did church members ‘confess’ of leaving the concerts with a blessing, but we were equally uplifted.

We boarded each night in one of the dormitories of Collonges-sous-Saleve in France and were met with good friends and much hospitality.  The first full concert was given in the Collonges SDA church there on campus on the very evening of our arrival.

We then took the same concert repertoire (with a few variations here and there) to several surrounding churches in the area, including one in Central Geneva (where we also sang a smaller selection for the communion service), a little church in Annemasse and finally one in Krattigen near Interlaken in the mountains of the German part of Switzerland, each time being met with such warm reception, hospitality and appreciation, complete with potlucks, souvenirs and refreshments.  Each concert was a fresh opportunity to share God’s love and to make new acquaintances.  We met so many wonderful people and some even found old friends and were able to reminisce and catch up on life.  And one evening, amidst the hustle and bustle of the tour, we were generously provided with a wonderful meal by Roland Meyer and had an opportunity to relax and fellowship together, reviewing all that we had experienced thus far.

However short it was, it was a trip to remember and we were richly blessed in so many ways.  Not only did we bond with each other, we made new friends in Jesus along the way.  I can only say that I feel very privileged to be a small part of this ministry.  We only hope that we were used by God for His glory and to be a blessing to those around us.  What a wonderful God we serve! (Taylor Bajic)

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Pride and Prejudice in Newbold Church 

Rather ordinary Sabbath, 28 February 2009. Preaching in the Early and later on in the Contemporary Service Pastor Patrick Johnson brought up an interesting topic which was all but light, movie entertainment.  To find out more about his very important message and how relevant it is for us you can listen to the podcast of the sermon.

Meenwhile, the church's Worship Comity (including Pat Eastwood, Tabitha Cedenio, Alistair Agbaje and Samson Kasumba) presented the sermon in the Family Service.

As always, an exciting children's story, presented by Children’s Ministry leader Shaleen Barendse. (NBCh News)

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Words and The Word Series

Newbold lecturers in Literature and Theology together with Newbold pastor, Patrick Johnson contributed to ‘The Words and The Word’ - a four-week series
at Newbold Church finishing on 14 February. The series focused on the Bible, the manuscripts, the nature of inspiration and, appropriately for a series that finished on Valentine’s Day, how to read it and relate to the God found in the Bible. In the final week, two sermons and a discussion focused on the ‘how to’ of Bible reading.

In the Contemporary Service, Manuela Casti, Lecturer in Pastoral Studies chose as her title: ‘Eat the Book’. She focused on the warning to the apostle John in the Book of Revelation that eating the book would be sour to his stomach but be sweet as honey in his mouth. ‘We don’t read the Bible, it reads us,’ she said.  She warned her listeners that, Bible reading ‘challenges, stimulates and questions your fantasies about yourself.’
In the Family Service, Jean Claude Verrecchia, Principal Lecturer in New Testament, assisted by Dr Sandra Rigby-Barrett on the piano, drew out the comparisons to be made between reading the Bible and reading music – understanding pace and context, relating to the author and the people for whom the music text was written.
In the afternoon about 80 church members and visitors including teenagers and pensioners from a variety of different nationalities returned for a question and answer session on the four-week theme. Participants were interested in the reliability of manuscripts, the value of different translations and books to read to help with the study of the Bible. Theology lecturers Daniel Duda and Jean-Claude Verrecchia, who dealt with the questions, both testified about the power of Bible reading at different times in their own lives.

The series concluded with an appeal by Jan Barna, Assistant Lecturer in Systematic Theology and Leader of the Sabbath School team at Newbold Church to participate – and encourage friends to participate – in the weekly Bible study groups – that Seventh-day Adventists call Sabbath School.

Click to see list of books to help non-specialist Bible students.
For those who want to be specialist Bible students and to learn how to teach others how to study the Bible Newbold offers a range of degrees and professional development opportunities for both pastors and lay people. For more information about how to study the Bible at Newbold go to www.newbold.ac.uk. (Helen Pearson)

To discuss your options for studying the Bible at Newbold,
Contact Dr Steve Currow, Course Director
T: 01344-407487
E: scurrow@newbold.ac.uk
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Dec 13th - A Service of Lessons and Carols

Adventus Domini Choir and the Newbold Primary School Choir made a special Sabbath service in remembrance of Christ’s birth and life.

Wonderfully performed carols, and Bible texts read by kids drove all participants’ imagination closer to the very meaning of Christmas. The children story specially carried out for this occasion captured attention of both kids and grown-ups talking about Christmas happenings.
About the charity concert by Adventus Domini and Newbold Primary School Choir, performed earlier the same week, you can read in one of the news below. (NBCh News)

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Alive Puppets on Messy Christmas

On Saturday 13th December 2008 the ‘Alive’ puppet group from Newbold went to Essex to do a performance for children on ‘Messy Christmas’ event. It was a whole day of church designed just for kids, held in a social hall ‘Macaroni club’. The happening was organized so children could understand the real meaning of Christmas and why it is so special for Christians.

“A lot of children in today’s world don’t understand what Christmas is about; some of them don’t even know that Jesus was born. I want them to know that it’s a time of giving and sharing with others and that is why I decided to organize this ‘Messy Christmas’ day.” – says Jackie Stone, the person who organized the day. It started at 10am and the program included a Veggie Tale film, puppet performance, arts and crafts, singing, lunch and snacks, games, stories and prayers.

The day was organized for ‘Area 8’ children which covers 12 Churches of Essex and beyond. It was mainly for the children age 12 and under, but many ‘Alive’ members, obviously older, found themselves joining in with some crafts.

‘Alive’ performance was all about the meaning of Christmas and why we should look forward to it. The leader of the group Geoff Muckle, wrote the script with the help of everyone else in the group. The main character was Pete the Clown, played by Peter Liebhardt. Pete the Clown has a rare disease called ‘Christmasitis’; every time he hears the word Christmas, his knees go all wobbly and he falls over. This is because he doesn’t like giving things away. But with the help of ‘Grandma’ and his puppet friends, he learns that Christmas is indeed about giving and that is what Jesus taught us.
“I think the kids loved it, they were so into the storyline, and when the puppets ‘sang’ a song they stood up and danced. It was definitely an amazing experience for everyone in ‘Alive’.” – Says Geoff.

‘Alive’ is a part of Newbold church outreach which helps to spread the gospel. If you would like ‘Alive’ to perform at one of your events, contact Geoff Muckle: geoffmuckle@hotmail.com - Mobile (+44) 7825 680862.
(Lara Zestic)

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Concert in St Mark's by Russian Congregation and their Guests
On December 13th a Christmas music concert carried out by the Adventist Russian Congregation and their guests took place in St Mark’s Church, just across the Newbold Church.

Variety of music items including western style carols, classical, as well as Russian style instrumentals were performed by kids and adults. The church hall was crowded with people of different origins since everyone was invited and welcome. Socializing continued long after in the church lobby to add on to a cosy Christmas atmosphere. 
Adventist Church Service in Russian language takes place regularly on Saturdays at 10am in St Mark’s Church. On special occasions it could be moved to Newbold Primary School hall. (NBCh News)

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Newbold Primary School Nativity Play

On Wednesday 11th December 2008, Newbold Primary School pupils held a Christmas play in the Newbold church centre. The play performed twice, the first performance at 10am, the second at 7pm.

“The play itself was very good, but I think everyone wanted it to last longer,” said Slavica Horvat, one of the parents. People of all ages watched the performance, everyone had a good time and stayed for the refreshments afterwards. A big thank you should be added to all the teachers, especially to Mrs Eastwood and Mrs Hudson, who spent many hours planning what should be done. Our costume designer, Mrs Godwin, stayed up late on some days until midnight making costumes.

The actors enjoyed their parts, and all had a good time. "I enjoyed acting in the play because it was a new experience for me and quite a challenge, and we all enjoyed our parts,” said Michael Hanna, who participated in the play.
We all hope the audience enjoyed themselves and appreciated the children’s effort. (Luka Zestic, 11 years old)



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Charity Concert in St George’s with Princess Alexandra

On the 9th of December 2008, the Newbold Primary School Choir travelled to London with the Adventus Domini Choir to sing for the New Bridge Charity. The concert was held in St. George's Church in Regent Street, and Princess Alexandra was there throughout the whole programme, supporting the charity.

“We all had a lot of fun: it was very exciting but yet nerve-racking at the same time because none of us had sung in front of a Princess before. But we all enjoyed it in the end,” said Hannah Boakye, a singer from the Newbold Primary School Choir. When the children had finished singing their song, they were rewarded by a huge round of applause. At the end of the concert everyone was commenting on how good the children were. The Princess congratulated every child, and spoke to them.

The children’s performance was part of the Adventus Domini Choir concert. The Choir performed Christmas carols under the direction of Sandra Rigby-Barrett. 
We all had a wonderful day in London, and we are very grateful towards Mrs. Eastwood who made this possible to happen. It has been a very good experience for the children.
A lot of people came to the concert to support the charity for prisoners, and stayed for the drinks afterwards. (Silvia Markek, 10 years old)

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Season of Baptism at Newbold Church

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