Beckenham Baptist Church

Dear Friends,  Today is Bible Sunday and it is over 200 years since the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society which is now known simply today as the Bible Society. Three different individuals were instrumental in the founding of the society: firstly Mary Jones, a 15-year-old Welsh girl who was so determined to own her own Bible in her own language that she walked 26 long miles through the rugged terrain of north Wales to Bala to buy one having saved up for six long years. With the help of the local Methodist minister, Revd Thomas Charles, Mary Jones’ determination was rewarded, and she got her Bible in Welsh. Inspired by the story of Mary Jones, Revd Joseph Hughes, an English Baptist minister asked a daring question to other church leaders, ‘If for Wales, why not for the kingdom, and if for the kingdom, why not for the world?’ That question would echo around Wales and ultimately the world and in 1804 the Bible Society was formed. And it was William Wilberforce, the campai

Dear Friends, You’ve probably sung it numerous times. It is one of the nation’s favourite hymns and has been covered by singing stars such as Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley and Andrea Bocelli. In 1972 the version by The Pipes and The Drums and The Military Band of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards became a Number 1 hit in the music charts staying there for five weeks. What am I talking about, the hymn, Amazing Grace . Easily one of the most recognisable hymns in the English-speaking world, it is estimated that it is performed roughly 10 million times a year. Written by the English poet and Anglican clergyman John Newton in 1772, it was officially published in 1779 as a Christian hymn. But it is the story of Newton’s life before he wrote it that adds weight to the words like ‘I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see’, and ‘Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come; ‘tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead m

  Dear Friends,  16 th October is celebrated each year as World Food Day, and it commemorates the establishment in 1945 of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. The aim of the day is to raise awareness of the matters of poverty, hunger and food security, and to look at ways and solutions to address these issues. Organisations including the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation and the International Fund for Agricultural Development all organise activities concerned with the quality and quantity of food in the world. Each year World Food Day has a theme and this year it is ‘Leave NO ONE behind’. Millions of people all over the world are unable to afford a healthy diet and are thus at a higher risk of malnutrition. The charity Action against Hunger tells us that globally almost 1 in 10 people don’t have enough food to eat and that 43 million people in 38 countries around the world are at risk of falling into famine or a severe hunger crisis. Even when th

  Dear Friends,  October in the UK is Black History Month, observed annually as a recognition of the contribution and achievements of those with African and Caribbean heritage, it is also an opportunity to learn more about the lives of some of those forgotten names of history who contributed to society, like Allan Glaisyer Minns who was born in 1858 in the Bahamas and travelled to London to train as a doctor. He studied medicine at Guy’s Hospital and registered with the British Medical Association in 1884, moving to Thetford in Norfolk setting up his own medical practice in 1888. For more than 25 years, he had a career as a well-respected physician and community leader, and in the 1890s became the Medical Officer at Thetford Workhouse and an Honorary Medical Officer at the Thetford Cottage Hospital. As a health advocate, he promoted healthy living through environment changes such as improving sanitation and based on his environmental interests and research he published ‘Fresh Air &am

Dear Friends, We learned this week of the death at the age of 94 of Brother Andrew, the founder of the charity Open Doors , and whose real name was Anne van der Bijl. Famous for smuggling Bibles into Eastern European Communist countries behind the old Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War, Brother Andrew’s story is told in the book ‘ God’s Smuggler – one man’s mission to change the world’. Today Open Doors supports Christians around the world who suffer persecution and discrimination because of their commitment to, and their faith in, Jesus Christ. But the story starts with Brother Andrew’s passion to see that Christians behind the Iron Curtain didn’t feel alone. Beginning with just a few copies, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands of Bibles Brother Andrew smuggled them across dangerous borders and into needy hands. As a child he would play with his friends at being a spy and seeking to outwit imagined and friendly ‘enemies’ played by his mates. As a man God used him in a