Tilehouse Street Baptist Church,
Hitchin Tilehouse Street Baptist Church,
Hitchin
OUTLOOK
We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
Dear Friends
We held our second Looking Ahead church-wide prayer meeting on Saturday 18th July, focusing on Ephesians 4:1–7, 11–16:
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace… But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…"
During our pastoral vacancy, I’m particularly struck by the call to be "humble and gentle; be patient and bear with one another in love". Covering for our Church Secretary, Sheila Hallas, has certainly been a challenge for the deacons — we hardly realised quite how much she did until she stopped! As many of you know, Sheila has now stepped down as deacon to focus on her recovery. I’m deeply grateful for her years of leadership, and we continue to pray for her health.
We’re also continuing to benefit from visiting preachers across different Christian denominations. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see how our brothers and sisters worship in different ways, while serving the same loving God.
At our recent church meeting, Rev. Graham Clarke was appointed as our Moderator — effectively a spiritual, and practical, guide support us through this vacancy and help us discern the Holy Spirit's direction for THS's next minister.
Lord, thank you for continuing to guide us through this journey. We thank you that Graham is willingto lead us as our Moderator. We pray that our church profile speaks to the right minister, and that the Holy Spirit leads us forward together, in Your timing.
We also give thanks that Anne Moody was elected as a deacon at the same meeting.
I’m no theologian, but during this season, the phrase "the priesthood of all believers" keeps coming to mind. To me, it means we’re all responsible for growing in faith and sharing God’s love with our community. When a minister is in place, much of that naturally falls on their shoulders, but right now, it belongs to all of us.
A great example of this is Joyce Bleasby, who brought September’s Global Week of Prayer to my attention. Run by the 24-7 Prayer movement, this initiative unites thousands of believers worldwide to pray for their communities. We'll be setting up daily devotionals to tie in with it.
Our next quarterly Looking Ahead prayer meeting is on Saturday 3rd October.
10:15 am: Cuppa and catch-up
10:30 am: Prayer begins
Turnout and feedback have been fantastic so far. Even if prayer meetings aren't usually your thing, coming together is especially vital during a vacancy. (And don't worry — you don't have to pray out loud!)
Lord, thank You for holding Tilehouse Street Baptist Church in Your hands. Grant us wisdom as we wait, unity as we serve, and hope as we look ahead together. Amen.
Every blessing,
John Maguire (Deacon)
As part of the Global Week of 24-7 Prayer, Joyce and I will be hosting a 15-minute virtual prayer meeting from Monday 7th to Friday 11th September from 18.30. We will be using the content from Lectio 365. Even if you don't usually join please give it a go!
We will be using the Wednesday Zoom link - please email me if you need the link.
God bless, John Maguire
