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to people with life-disrupting problems |
Prayer Letter
September 2010
Praying for Crisis Centre Ministries,
its work, staff
and clients
in the context of Bristol's inner city areas.
Dear friends...
General
We would like to apologise for the delay in sending this prayer update. Please take time to read it all, and ask for God's guidance about which aspects He would like you to concentrate your prayers on. Thank you.
STOP PRESS: as we were about to send out this prayer update, we heard that the new building in Stapleton Road has been damaged: over the weekend, some lead was stolen from the roof, causing damage to part of the rendering which was recently applied. (We have been using a rubber based product instead of lead for all the new work, partly to avoid this problem in the future, but some of the old lead was still in place.) We don't know at present how much this will cost to fix, or how long a delay it will cause, but please pray that it will be sorted quickly, and pray for all those involved.
The BCAN Homeless Forum meets again this month: Thursday 9 September, from 7.30 to 9.30 pm at 12 City Road. If you are interested in finding out more about the wider work to help homeless people in the city, you are welcome to come along.
The August edition of StreetWise, our quarterly newsletter, is in the final stages of being put together. It should arrive on your doorstep in the next couple of weeks. This involves quite a lot of work, so please pray for us to get it done well.
Volunteer Evenings
These have been arranged to give volunteers an opportunity to meet together, hear and share news, and find out a bit more about the move to Easton. All volunteers have been invited but if your invite failed to materialise please come anyway.
The dates are: Tuesday 7 September, Wed 15 September and Thursday 23 September; all at 12 City Road, starting at 7.30 pm, aiming to finish by 9.00 pm. We plan to cover the same ground each evening, so you only need to attend one. Snacks will be provided so Steve Smith will be grateful if you could let him know if and when you are coming. Many thanks.
(Phone the office on 0117 942 3088 or email Steve)
Volunteer Training
The next 'Helping Vulnerable People' volunteer training program starts this month: Wednesday 8 September, 7.30 pm at City Road; and Saturday 11 September, 9.45 am at Trinity Tabernacle. The first session is particularly important, so if you volunteer with us and can make one of these sessions, please make it a priority.
New Building
The new target date for completing the work downstairs is the end of October, so we hope to start operating the Wild Goose from the new site at the start of November. We have a provisional date of Saturday 20 November, some time in the afternoon, for the official opening and celebration. Please pencil this date into your diary - we will confirm it as soon as possible, or change it if necessary.
The additional work on the building - primarily the walls and the roof - have inevitably increased the cost of the work. Our initial estimate was around £450,000 for the whole project, minus the value of donated goods and volunteer workers; our current estimate is around £450,000 plus donated goods and volunteer workers. Of this, we have already spent about £300,000; and we have another £50,000 in the bank (but £25,000 of this is a loan).
The work remaining for Phase 1, so we can move the Wild Goose, is about £100,000; and the additional work to complete Phase 2, so we can move into the office space upstairs, is a further £50,000. So we urgently need to raise another £100,000 in the next couple of months, either in gifts or loans. It might be possible to pause the work at the end of Phase 1, which would give us longer to find the final £50,000, but would cause serious difficulties to the staff.
Give thanks
- The additional work strengthening two walls is complete.
- The internal plastering and external rendering are both well under-way.
- Crash - a charity - have agreed to give us plasterboard and a boiler we would have needed to buy, and will also donate some solar panels to reduce our running costs.
- The amazing figure of £350,000 already raised for this project.
- The incredible contribution to the work being made by Malcolm (our Project Manager), Viv (our Architect) and so many of the contractors and suppliers.
Please pray
- The remaining work on one part of the roof.
- Our trustees, as they pray about whether we should go ahead with Phase 2 straight after Phase 1.
- The remaining £100,000 being found quickly.
- The damage done over the weekend to be fixed quickly, and for no further delays or problems to arise.
Charity Shop
As you know, 'Changing Lives', the charity shop we have opened in partnership with Alabaré, has now opened in Clevedon. It is doing very well. Please pray for more volunteers to come forward and for furniture and other items to continue to come in on a regular basis.
If you feel you have something you would like to donate, please ring the charity shop on 01275 877 745.
Give thanks
- Sales in the shop are going very well, and donations continue to come in - a testimony to the hard work of so many people.
- In particular, give thanks for Jackie, the shop manager, and the wonderful volunteers who work so hard to make it successful.
- Problems with getting the phone line installed and bank account set up have now been overcome.
Please pray
- More volunteers and continued donations.
- The practical side is going really well, but a lot of the background work in administration and paperwork has been much more difficult than expected, and continues to be an issue.
Finance and Publicity
Give thanks
- Jonathan starting as our new part-time fund-raiser.
- Help and offers of help in fund-raising from several other people.
- Filming an update to the 'Secret Millionaire' went well, and the return visit was a blessing to all those involved.
Please pray
- More funding - Graham submitted a large funding application very recently.
- The ongoing cost of running the charity to be met, as well as the additional building costs. The move to larger premises and two additional staff will mean our normal running costs will go up.
- The 'Secret Millionaire' update to make at least some mention of the fact that we are a Christian charity when it is broadcast (which will probably be before Christmas - we will let you know when we have a date).
- Jonathan would like to get together a team of fund-raising volunteers. Please contact the CCM office if you could offer to be a part of this - he will need a variety of people and skills. Thank you.
People
Alan has a minor operation on Tuesday 7 September, and is planning to be off for two weeks after this to recover. Please pray for Alan, that the operation goes well, and that he does rest sufficiently well afterwards. Also pray for Lisa and Chris, running the Coffee Shop in his absence.
Give thanks
- Lisa has returned to work after a lengthy absence.
- Graham, the chair of our trustees, is feeling a whole lot better after a recent operation, thanks be to God!
- For superb staff and loyal volunteers, especially over the Summer when fewer people were around to help.
- For very good job applicants for our recent appointments, and especially for the new staff coming on board: Chris Cherrill in the coffee shop, Jonathan Swithinbank in fundraising, and Stuart Leitch as Andy's successor on the LITE Course.
Please pray
- Siân is currently off sick, and has been for some time. Please pray for her, and for the rest of the staff trying to cover the additional work when we are already very busy.
- The new staff will fit in well and find their feet quickly.
- Graham doesn't get overconfident and try to do too much too quickly, or fail to carry through as needed with dieting and exercise!
- That all the people we could not appoint - many of whom were very good - will know God's peace and find His direction for their lives very quickly.
In addition...
You may remember from the last prayer update a 21 year old lady we called Sarah who was about to be evicted and we were arranging a community detox. Alan is glad to report that with your prayer and a lot of support for this lady she completed her detox and was not evicted. We continue to support her and we know this is going to be a very long-term arrangement. Please would you continue to pray for her.
The young man who was due to go to Team Challenge did eventually go but unfortunately only stayed there for a week. We put him on a temporary basis into a Christian B&B, and he seemed to fit in so well he was offered a job and accommodation! This is just the beginning of his journey, so please continue to pray.
Alan has been going into schools more often, talking about drugs and alcohol and what they can lead to. Quite recently, he spoke in St Mary Redcliffe school on six occasions, probably speaking to over 3,000 children and their teachers. Please pray his message went deep into their hearts. Education in the schools must play a significant part in preventing drug and alcohol problems in the future.
Praise God for a 23 year-old man who invited Jesus into his life recently. He did this very naturally without any prompting. He is now attending a local church and the people around him are seeing that he is a changed man in many ways .
By the time you have received this update, we will have been to the Crown Court supporting a young man who we are trying to get into a Christian community. He has two serious offences against him but we hope and pray for the jury to be lenient and give him another chance.
Andy Luxford asks us to pray for Beatrice. She completed the LITE course two and a half years ago, and made a commitment to follow Jesus sometime later during a 'Sorted' course we ran. Apart from some quite dramatic lapses into her old drunken lifestyle, she had been doing very well with lots of support from a variety of sources, Christian and secular. Beatrice joined Andy's church and they baptised her last November. Things were looking up, she had a nice flat, which a church work-party decorated throughout and was engaging with a number of positive activities in the week.
However, for some reason, she has recently relapsed badly. She missed a court appearance and is now on bail awaiting court at the beginning of September. She has gone to ground and we can't contact her. Please pray God will provoke her to get back in touch and draw her back to himself.
We are as a team supporting so many different people and are so grateful for the financial and prayer support you give us. We could mention dozens of people but we know every single one of them is in Gods hands.
Thank you for praying with and for us.
Every blessing,
Paul.
General Manager
Crisis Centre Ministries