A warm welcome to all today especially if you are a visitor. We trust you enjoy your stay in Brussels and worshipping with us today. Please join us after the morning service for coffee and drinks in the side aisle. You are most welcome to stay around and talk. If you are new please make yourself known especially to the clergy; we would be grateful if you would fill in a yellow card at the Welcome Table.

My very sincere thanks to the congregation for all your support and prayers during the past two months. I am most grateful. It is good to be back now though not, unfortunately, quite 100% yet. This is due to a slightly different surgical method which takes longer to heal but, I am assured, makes the new hip much safer particularly in the early days. I am still having to do some tough exercises to strengthen the muscles. Hopefully, by the end of February I should be back to full power. At present I am mainly working from home. You are welcome to call me there if I am not in the Church Office.

My special and sincere thanks to my colleagues, Peter, Isaac and Jean-Pierre as well as to the Wardens, Readers and Council who have all worked hard during my absence. I very much appreciate all they have done.

Like many of you I am thrilled with the new stained glass window and was so glad to be present for its dedication on 12 January. The presence both of Bishop Holland and Marilyn Sertin (ICS) made it very meaningful. Most of all I am thrilled about what it symbolises and the priority we have demonstrated of wanting to play our part in bringing Brussels to faith in Christ.

Tomorrow night is our EGM at 20.00. It is very important to be present if you possibly can be. If you are not able to be there we very much appreciate your giving your apologies. These meetings are central to our work of advancing the Gospel of Christ in Brussels. The structures that we adopt can facilitate or hinder our work so it is important that we both hear and understand what it is we are trying to do.

Peter & Janet Hindle. They say their final goodbyes today and move back to the UK this week. We wish them every blessing as they embark on their new venture.

Nigel Walker

TODAY

At 10.30 during Communion Nigel Walker, Chaplain, will speak on ‘Melchizedek’s blessing’.

At 14.00 during Communion Isaac Mensah, Assistant Chaplain, will speak on ‘A new wine’.

At 19.00 during Communion Peter Walley, Assistant Chaplain, will speak on ‘The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins – Jesus the Healer (Luke5.17 – 26)’.

EVENTS . . .

Alpha This 12 week course on the building blocks of Christianity continues on Thursday 30 January starting at 19.00 and finishing at 21.30. A hot meal will be served each week, followed by a short talk, questions and small group discussion. The venue is c/o Carolyn Walker Rue François Debelder 11, 1200 Woluwe St-Lambert, Brussels (very close to metro stop Tomberg). More information from Filip Ameloot at amelootfilip@hotmail.com, 02 644 05 00 (eve). The cost of the meal is €5, the Alpha manual is €2.50. Unemployed and students can come for free; please let one of the Chaplains know if you need a subsidy.

An Extraordinary General Meeting will be held in church, tomorrow, Monday 27 January at 20.00 (not 19.30). Today you will find a document at the back of the church about the proposed ASBL (Association Sans buts Lucratif) that Council will be proposing to the Extraordinary General Meeting. This document aims to give you some more information on the proposal and help you to think up questions for the EGM! If you would like more information prior to the EGM then please contact Heather Roy or Richard Langrish for more details. The church's Electoral Roll will also be re-opened. A copy of the 2002 list is posted at the back of the church. Could you please check if your name appears on the list, and if not, fill in the enrolment form available on the desk by the main church door. The form should be returned to Kathy Johnson’s pigeonhole or handed to a member of the clergy. Thank you.

A meeting with Soeur Marie Yeshua will be held at the Protestant Church, 5 rue du Champ-de-mars in 1050 Ixelles on Wednesday 29 January at 20.00. She will share her experience of living in Jerusalem and the meaning of current events in the Middle East for us Christians. The meeting will be in French.

Ladies Retreat 31 January – 1 February The retreat is now full. If you would like to join the waiting list as some places may come free nearer the date. Please contact Annick Yiend on 085 844482 in the evening or via e-mail paul.yiend@skynet.be

Prayer Ministry Training Day  Saturday 15 February We are having a training day for all those involved in prayer ministry, at all the services, together with any who were involved on the Acorn listening course last year.  We are asking those who pray regularly at the rail to make this a priority. Anyone else who is interested in coming will be very welcome.  It is so important that we meet regularly to learn together and to encourage one another.  The material we will be using comes from Acorn Christian Healing Trust and is called Growing a Healing Ministry.  Sally Steen and
Helen Walley will be leading the course.  It will be held at Church House,
starting 10.00 for coffee and 10.30 start and finishing 16.30.  Please bring your own lunch. We intend to have another Saturday in April or May to complete the course.  Please let Helen know if you would like to come
helen.walley@belgacom.net or 02/354 59 85. Flyers available at the back of church.

NW Europe Archdeaconry Retreats 2003 Two Lenten Retreats will be held in the Netherlands: 4-6 April: Conductor: Rt Rev Dr Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop of the Diocese in Europe. 11-13 April: Conductor: The Reverend Jonathan Goodall, Chaplain & Research Assistant to the Diocesan Bishop in Europe. More details at the back of church.

INFORMATION

Self-help workers needed. . . CRP Workers Needed Now Many thanks are owed to the faithful who have come out to help in the Hall. We have now finished stripping the ceiling lights and covering the floor. (The scaffolding has been removed.) Our current task is to remove the wood battens from the Hall walls. To brighten the room with the new lighting we must paint the strips white. The wood cannot be painted in place since it covers an acoustic mesh – to reduce the noise-level. The contractor, Compté, will replace the battens to cover the new, large, book-cupboards.

Your help is required as a painter, handyman, and carpenter; we also need cleaners and administrators. We will work Saturdays from 8.00 to 13.00 in the Hall. Please wear old, warm clothes. We must organise the battens for sanding, painting, drying, and then storage. We are also painting the bar storage area under the ramp to give us a secure storage area during the contract work. We are using a compressor and spray gun there.

Painting instruction We are most grateful for the help of Freddy Marcelle, a retired professional painter. We have begun to provide teaching in ‘How to Paint’. The curriculum includes ‘Wall preparation’ ‘How to not paint the floor’, ‘Painting a straight line’, ‘Clean up’, and by popular demand - ‘How not to paint the window shut’!

Future painting schedule We will be unable to complete most of the painting until late 2003, or even 2004. We will start with painting instruction, wall preparation and painting in a few smaller areas: the former telephone booth, the upper rear halls, the rear toilets, etc.

Tuesday morning Bible Study Just to let you know that the new Tuesday morning Bible study is underway and we will be looking at 'Women like us' - a study of women in the Bible. We meet at Ilka Tank's house, Chaussée de la Hulpe 439, 1170 Watermael Boitfort, each Tuesday morning from 9.30 - 11.00 and there is a crèche for those with small children.  All are welcome.  For more information
contact either Ilka Tank on 02/675 52 10 or Helen Walley 02/354 59 85 or
helen.walley@belgacom.net and we can send a programme for the term.

January Mission Focus is A Rocha. This is a Christian conservation organisation and is one of the missions supported by HTB. For more information check out the website: www.arocha.org

This afternoon there will be an A Rocha supporters get-together to meet, eat and enjoy a (bracing!) walk together - and there will be an opportunity to learn more about the 13 A Rocha projects around the world. For more information contact Annali:A.Bamber@arocha.org

Due to a shortage of volunteers, we can only offer a supervised crèche 3 Sundays a month. The room in Church House is of course still available but there will be no helpers there on 16 February and 16 March. More volunteers would be highly appreciated. Pease contact Gayl Russell on 02/649 11 30 or at gaylr@skynet.be.

Children's Wednesday Afternoon Group This group for children's singing/other activities with Biblical themes was started up experimentally in November (4 families so far). We are considering continuing fortnightly in Church House, using songs from a Christian musical. It is aimed at children of Primary School age and younger. If there is any further interest, please contact James Pitts on
02/453 95 63 (best 19.00 – 20.00).

A message from Sarah Pennington: Hello from Sarah at All Nations! I am settling in fine - thank you all so much for your support. Please, if you offered a service at the slave auction and you have not yet fulfilled that, ensure that your "master" has still got your contact details and check when they need your services. Several
"masters" told me they couldn't get hold of their "slave"! If you need my
college fees bank account number, please ask my mum:
catherine.roberts@skynet.be    Thanks again!

The Living Waters Singers from the 2pm congregation are putting on a contemporary Christian music celebration for Easter here in Holy Trinity. This will take place on the evening of Saturday 12 April, a week before Easter. If you would like to sing in the choir or help with the production of this event, please speak to David Mitchell 02/735 42 14, david.mitchell@mornstar.co.uk

Items for the Newsletter Please send these by 9.00 on Tuesdays by e-mail to David.Iliff@Pandora.be or to the Church Office.