Bringing God's grace and healing love to people with life-disrupting problems

Prayer Letter
September 2008

Dear friends

Ode to Autumn

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
 
John Keats

Ah, the scent and beauty of Autumn depicted by Keats as it was before global warming. To be quite honest, my garden resembles more of a Welsh bog in mid-February; there'll no venturing out side without my trusty wellies at the moment. However, I hope the Summer hasn't dampened your interest in the day to day activities and prayer needs of the Crisis Centre.

It has been a busy, yet productive summer. To end it with a flourish, last week Alan and Paul spent time speaking to reporters from the Bristol Evening Post and then staff and volunteers alike were photographed and interviewed. This resulted in a fantastic pictorial and editorial piece in the Post yesterday which clearly brought over all that Crisis Centre stands for, both spiritually and physically. If you haven't seen a copy, click on the link at the end of this prayer letter to have a look yourselves!

Thank you for continuing to pray for us. Could we ask you to pray about the following:

• New Premises. It's so hard trying to serve between 100-150 in a coffee shop that realistically can seat about 12. Lack of space results in tension and an inability to be able to sit and chat to people, plus if people take food outside it generally means we loose the crockery and cutlery too. Please pray for a new, roomy space, in a location that will be good both for our clients and also any local residents.
• Planning Permission. We mentioned this last time and this is still ongoing with nothing as yet resolved. We have been given conflicting advice and need wisdom on how to proceed.
• Bristol Christian Action Network (BCAN) training. This important and very relevant volunteer training course started on Wednesday with the introduction session repeated this coming Saturday at Trinity Tabernacle. Starts at 9:45 am and finishes at 1 pm. FFI telephone 0117 942 3088 and speak to Paul Hazelden.
• Annual Celebration and General Meeting - Monday 13 October 2008, 7.30pm. If you support Crisis Centre by prayer, volunteering or giving then this is for you! We aim to make it uplifting, informative and truly inspirational. Come along to Trinity Tabernacle - meet staff and volunteers; be involved in our future, celebrate with us the past year's achievements. The meeting will be followed by a light buffet. Trinity will also be open in the afternoon for anyone who would like to pop in, meet some of us and chat in a more relaxed and informal way.

Following up some of last months prayer requests -

• The young man who is a qualified chef was offered the job! He is also regularly attending a local church and has made a Christian commitment. He is living with some people from the church.
• The young woman with addiction and whose mum has cancer needs long term support and rehab. Her mum has had an operation for cancer. Please pray for them both.

THANKS!

Thank you for the many offers of harvest donations. If you wanted to collect food for the Wild Goose then we would be delighted to take it. Anything with a long shelf life would be appreciated but for more details please ring the office or email for a list. We are also creating a list of 'wanted' items for Christmas too. If you can get involved this way then, again, get in touch.

Thank you for your prayers. See you at the AGM!

With every good wish, God bless you

Claire Collins
Office Manager
Crisis Centre Ministries

LINKS

Here are some links to the Evening Post articles and a short video feature. Some reporters from the Bristol Evening Post came round to visit us the previous Thursday, and the resulting story was published in the Bristol Evening Post this Thursday. The lead story on pages 1 and 2, as we described it to them, is all about the lack of provision of treatment for alcoholics, and the long term consequences of this.

You can read the lead article at: Alcohol timebomb.

They also did a two-page spread about the Wild Goose, with pictures and an editorial on the subject. The piece about us can be found at: A haven from the hell of addiction.

There is also a 60-second video: The alcohol time bomb.

These articles have generated some good publicity for us, but the aim was to raise public awareness so we can get better provision of treatment for alcoholics in Bristol - which is unlikely to happen overnight.