CHAPLAIN'S NOTES

Pledge Sunday Today is the Sunday when we make our pledges for 2004. This does not mean that the pledge must be placed today. You are free to place them during the coming weeks though the sooner it is done the easier it is for the Treasurer and Pledge Recorder to make plans. We do thank you for your gifts to Holy Trinity.

Christian Impact Mission Details of the Mission are on the back of the Newsletter. It is a great privilege for us to have some key speakers from Africa join us for our Mission (please see leaflet at back of church for details). It was back in 1999 that I originally suggested that we should bring Michael Cassidy to Brussels as I believed that he, as much as anyone, could help us here in this city to rediscover our Christian roots. That mission took place in November 2000. As a result Lynn Badcock was brought full time into Africa Enterprise, the organization that Michael Cassidy founded in 1962 to serve the cities of Africa. Since that time evangelists have been recruited in a number of countries in Africa who now play key roles in their own countries in bringing God's good news to their different cities. Many of them have valuable opportunities with government leaders in their own countries and Antoine Rutayisire (Rwanda) is Vice Chair of the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation in Rwanda.

We warmly encourage you to take careful note of events on the back of this letter and to think of people you may wish to invite to listen to Michael or one of the other evangelists. Please note, by agreement with the Church Council, Sunday 16 November will be a Guest Service at 10.30. Holy Communion will only be at 09.00 that day.

Petronella Collon The Memorial Service for Petronella will take place on Saturday, 29 November. Time to be announced later.

Bible Reading Notes Please ensure you collect your Bible reading notes today.

Nigel Walker

 

 

OPPORTUNITIES

The MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meet for the second time on Tuesday 21 October at the International Baptist Church of Brussels. The guest speaker will share her perspective on recreation and why mums need to have fun too. For more information, please see the notice board or pick up a flyer from the back of church.

Christmas presents Why not buy a lovely silver or golden cross for Christmas? They make perfect gifts for wives, daughters, nieces, granddaughters and friends. The profits from the sale of the crosses go to the renovation project. There are still 50 available at the old price: silver €50; gold (takes 6-8 weeks) €175. After Christmas prices go up. . . Sundays in church 10.30 : Pam Mackenzie or Paulina van Rijn e-mail pamela.mackenzie@mail.dss.mil or paulina@village.uunet.be

Pray in the church! 3 of us have been meeting in the church building about once a month over the past year to pray for anything connected with HTB (clergy, congregation, meetings etc) and for ourselves. Would you like to join us or be part of a similar group?  You can pray in song, dance, words, silence; you can take a particular topic (worship, Mission Hope, Borzée, a mission group, the next Sunday's worship) or be open from one meeting to the next.  Our concern is to see the church building being used more during the week (mornings and lunchtimes).  Of course you can pray anywhere, any time, but if the idea of using this building in this way interests you, please contact me, Ann Milton, tel 02/772 47 04

The Friday home-group, meeting 12.30 - 14.30, will be following a special course for Advent, using a book by Joyce Huggett.  It's called 'Waiting and Watching', and costs £5.99. If you would like to join us, contact Catherine Pennington on 02/731 27 37 or catherine.roberts@skynet.be

Ecumenism and Peace (Oecuménisme et Paix) celebrates its 10^th anniversary with an Ecumenical Service in the Eglise Royale Ste-Marie, Place de la Reine, Schaerbeek at 16.00 on Sunday 26 October. The service will be in French, English and Dutch. The bishops or chairmen of the Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches in Brussels are invited to be present or represented. For access by public transport, the nearest are trams 92, 93 and 94. There is a notice in the porch.

Holy Trinity's communications committee is looking for a volunteer, of any age, who is interested in journalism or public relations to help two upcoming projects. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about journalism and global communication, and only requires a few hours of time for one week in October and November. The volunteer will work under the guidance of a senior journalist, researching media outlets, contacting journalists, and sending out press releases. Knowledge of computers and Internet searches a plus. Contact noelle_knox@yahoo.com.

Contagious Christian Course Overcoming our fears of sharing our faith with friends by being ourselves and discovering and developing our own natural, authentic style of witnessing. Thursdays 20.00-22.00 until 30 October, at Jocelyn Cleak's, Ave Milcamps 58, 1030 Brussels Contact josscleak@hotmail.com or 02/734 08 45.

INFORMATION

Stewardship 2004 If you have not already done so, at the end of the service please pick up from the back of the church an envelope addressed to you.  This contains important information on our stewardship campaign for 2004. 

Christian Impact Mission 8-16 November Prayer meetings have been arranged for 30 September at St Paul's Church Centre in Tervuren and at Holy Trinity (Church House conference room) on 14 October. Both commence at 19.45 and finish at 22.00. All are welcome.

Room/Flat needed Christian Solidarity Worldwide is sending me a new colleague who will need somewhere to live starting from the beginning of November. She is a Christian young woman, fluent in English, Finnish and Polish and would prefer to share something reasonably priced with other young people – ideally near Schuman, the European Institutions or public transport! If you know of any available rooms please contact me at annalee.stangl@tiscali.be or csw-eu@village.uunet.be

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