August 1906 and August 2017

This was Holy Trinity on 6th August 1906!  Or, rather, The Henry Brass Memorial Church as it was known at the time. The view is of the North Side, and the photograph is taken from the ground on which the Church Hall would be built 14 years later. 

The land had been gifted by Lord Monson. What early photos of this building project reveal is that the site was a sloping, undeveloped piece of land - unrecognisable from the busy and developed London Road that we know today. 

111 years later we are involved in another building project! Our vision is for a Connected Church and Centre, linked via two doors that will be made through this North wall and come out onto a concourse within the new centre. A Connected building that will facilitate mission and ministry on this (now) strategic site for generations to come.

This week I have written a letter to all members of HT, with encouraging news about pledges made so far to the project. You can read the letter below.

If you would like to know more about the project - by viewing the video or the online brochure - you can find it on the Connected page of our church website, here.

If you have any questions about the project you can email us at connected@htredhill.com.

CONNECTED BUILDING PROJECT

Update: August 2017

Dear Friends,

In our Connected brochure we promised to keep you up to date with news and information on our progress with the Building Project.

We are in the period of praying and pledging as we approach our Pledge Day on 17^th September, and I know a number of you will be prayerfully considering and discussing your contribution over the summer holidays. Below you will find encouraging news on pledges made so far, some information on a new ‘Connected Prayer Space’ in church and a new page on the HT website. Read on…

Update on Pledges

I am delighted to be able to share that we have so far received 19 pledges totalling £502,000 (inclusive of Gift Aid). Together with the £330,000 already in the bank that amounts to a total of £832,000. Thank you to those who have already made your decisions and encouraged the rest of us by your generosity.  We trust the running total will increase further as our Pledge Day gets nearer. Thanks be to God!

If you have questions or would like to talk further with one of the Connected Team before our Pledge Day, please email connected@htredhill.com or contact the church office.

Connected Prayer Space

To recognise the vital need for regular prayer as we approach this project under God, we are creating a special area in church for this purpose. The new Connected Prayer Space will be located where one of the two new connections will be made, at the front of the north aisle by the vestry door. With permission from the Archdeacon of Reigate, we are temporarily removing one pew and its bookrest to create a space suitable for use by individuals or a small group, with information and reminders on how we can be praying for the project. Please join others in the space if it would be helpful to you, either before or after a service, or when the church is open at other times.

Connected Prayer

During August we shall be meeting in the prayer space on a Sunday from 9.45am to 10.00am for 15 minutes of prayer before the Summer Services. Do join members of the staff team and prayer team as we pray together.

The church is also open between 2.00pm and 5.00pm on a Monday for silent prayer, and I encourage you to make use of the church to pray if you are free at that time. You won’t be alone! (‘Thank You’ to those who are staffing this slot to enable the church to be open). We are producing a prayer sheet for each of these Mondays.

Connected Prayer cards are available in the church foyer to pray for HT over the summer.

Questions and Answers

After the presentation in June we invited questions about the Building Project. Members of the Steering Group have been responding to these questions via the rolling notices shown on screen in church on a Sunday. A slideshow with all the answers provided so far now appears on the Connected page of the website, and this will be added to as the questions are addressed.

Connected page on the website

Have you watched the video recently to inspire your praying for the project? The video, plus an online copy of the brochure is available here: www.htredhill.com/connected

As I watched the video again today, I was struck afresh by the following:

·         The opportunities that the new facilities will give us to be more active and welcoming in our engagement with the community. The possibility of outreach through use of the kitchen facilities, and the improved spaces for creative youth and children’s ministry excite me. The impact of a welcoming concourse area and a friendly face on the reception desk are hard to put into words, but are all-important in terms of first impressions.

·         The increased visibility of Holy Trinity from the London Road. The glazed frontage and new access from this busy road will present Holy Trinity as a welcoming and thriving Christian community.

·         The importance of accessibility and level flooring has been brought home to me in recent days. The fact this new building is fully accessible will be a huge benefit for those who push a buggy, use a wheelchair, or have mobility issues.

A Lesson from History

As we looked at Nehemiah together recently we saw how a vision given to one person became a vision owned by a whole community. Everyone from the perfumers and priests to those more used to taking up a trowel were engaged in addressing a part of the wall, as the Lord used his people to rebuild the city’s defences. But a rebuilt wall was nothing without a rebuilt people, and the book tells of how the people gathered around as Ezra read aloud the book of the Law ‘and all of the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law…then they bowed down and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.’ Neh. 8: 3b, 6b

We’re reminded that this is a spiritual project. We’re called to read our Bibles to seek God’s wisdom and guidance. We’re called to pray for God’s provision and prompting. We’re called to respond in worship and sacrificial giving by offering ourselves to him in response to the ultimate sacrifice he made for us.

In Romans 12 Paul speaks about our ‘true and proper worship’. We’re to ‘offer (our) bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God’. He goes on to flesh that out in surprisingly practical and personal terms: ‘We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us…if your gift is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously…’ Paul lists the ability to give generously as a spiritual gift that has been given to some. Generosity is an attitude of the heart rather than a number, and a generous gift will have a different figure against it for each one of us, depending on our circumstances. If you have not yet considered your pledge, then please do so and - as Paul urged the Corinthians - do so cheerfully!

Your friend and Vicar,       

                            

8^th August 2017