St Thomas Becontree Blog

Christmas Services

2010-12-01T06:23:00.001-08:00

International Evening

2010-12-01T06:06:00.001-08:00

We had a great international evening on 13th Nov 2010, attended by about 50 people. There were some good presentations including Ugandan singing and dances, standup poetry, origami, line dancing and east end songs. We had some lovely food and drink from all over the world and enjoyed some great laughs. Well done to everyone who contributed.

New Wine

2010-08-09T02:22:00.001-07:00

A few members of St Thomas joined a group from nearby St Chads to enjoy a week camping at New Wine in Shepton Mallet. For once the

weather was great, and we enjoyed some excellent worship,

teaching and time to relax. The children loved Groundbreakers as ever, especially the antics of Simon, Archie and Dr Zing.

Church on the Park

2010-08-09T02:13:00.000-07:00

We have joined up with St Mary's to do Church on the Park, every Sunday at 4pm in Valence park. We have music, action songs, rounders games, tug of war, free donuts and drinks, and lots of fun. So far about 40 people have turned up each week, with some from the park coming along to see what's going on and have a free biscuit. See you there for the last 2 weeks!

SOLID

2010-07-21T04:29:00.000-07:00

Five teenagers and three leader had a great day out at SOLID 2010, held in Stubbers outdoor centre in Upminster. There were a large choice of activities and the banana boat ride was extremely popular because of the scorching weather. Of course everyone ended up in the water! The young people also enjoyed the high ropes course, and the pampering tent. The day finished off with a Soul Survivor style celebration with Mark Ritchie as speaker, who was great. The tent was full to bursting with about 900 people, praising their hearts out, and being challenged by a powerful message from Mark.

Bradwell Pilgrimage

2010-07-21T04:19:00.000-07:00

Several members of St Thomas attended the 2010 Pilgrimage from the Bradwell church to the chapel of St Peter. We met for a service at 11am and walked with the 2000 other pilgrims the two miles to the tiny chapel, right on the sea. There we ate our lunch, enjoyed listening to John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, and sang some songs. The kids enjoyed the Othona Community where there were lots of activities including games, face painting and a big inflatable, all for free. We took a wander down to the beach and had a quick paddle in the water. We said hi to some other members of St Thomas (Barbara and co) who were running a stall in the main marquee and the kids did some excellent crafts, provided by the Salvation Army. Then it was time to trudge back the 2 miles to the car park and return home. A good day out.

New groups

2010-04-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Two new groups are starting this week. Firstly, a course on the fruits of the spirit on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm at the vicarage, starting on 21st April, and secondly a course based on the Nooma videos starting on Friday 23rd at 9.30am at 29 Warrington Rd.

Church AGM 18th April

2010-04-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

The church Annual General Meeting is to be held on 18th April after the church service. If you are on the electoral roll you are entitled to vote for PCC members, churchwardens, etc. If you have a report for your organisation, please give to Corina by the 11th April.

Field of Dreams takes shape

2010-04-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

We've been working hard on the "Field of Dreams" wildlife garden at St Thomas. Two more days work in March saw the signs and furniture installed, and another 3000 bulbs planted including winter aconites and snowdrops - ready for next winter. Once again a big thankyou to Gareth and the Barking and Dagenham Conservation Volunteers.

Holy Week and Easter

2010-04-03T08:37:00.001-07:00

Please join us for this special time of year

Weeding for Wildlife

2010-02-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

We had a beautiful day on Saturday 20th March, when the weather was cold but blue skies rather than snow, rain or sleet which we have had ever since Christmas. About 40 people turned up to help us remove the weeds which had grown up since the bulb planting in October, and make the site ready for sowing the wildflower seed. Everyone worked very hard and enjoyed a bacon or egg sandwich to keep us going. A big thank you to all those who attended, especially the 20 or so from the London Wildlife Trust, and to Gareth for his continual inspiration. It was another great example of people working together for the benefit of the community.

Events in February

2010-01-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas Extravaganza

2010-01-30T07:24:00.000-08:00

A great nativity production at Christmas with some wonderful singing from Jade and Tony, took place on Christmas Eve at 5pm. The actors looked wonderful and we had a last minute stand in as the angel with a cokney Nigerian voice over!

Carol Services

2009-12-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

There was a great buzz in the hall on Sunday 20th December as over eighty people turned up at Craft and Carols making a selection of 11 crafts, ranging from ice-cream cone angels to edible baby Jesus, donkey poo and wise men's hats. There was lots of mess and noise with glitter, icing and PVA glue being spread liberally on various crafty concoctions. We retreated into the church for a short service highlighting Jesus as the first and best Christmas present, followed by tea and biscuits and finishing off crafts afterwards. It was great to see a number of guests and families from the area, remembering the true meaning of Christmas.

The Carols by Candlelight was the "best atmosphere for many years" according to a congregation member, and the candle lit church did look beautiful. We applaud all those who braved the lethal icy conditions to sing and celebrate the Saviour's birth - and they received a warm welcome.

Valence School Carol Service

2009-12-11T03:16:00.000-08:00

We were very pleased to welcome 300 children from Valence school to a special carol service on Tuesday 8th December. The children did four readings from the Bible and sang some old and new carols, and they all behaved very well. We are pleased to have growing links with some of the local primary schools, even though they are not church schools.

Stop Climate Chaos

2009-12-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

A few people from St Thomas joined in the Wave protest in central London to demand climate justice, especially ahead of the Copenhagen summit next week. Apparently there were about 20,000 people there and a good presence from churchgoers. We couldn't even get in the pre-march service at Westminster Central Hall, but found ourselves at St Martin in the Fields instead, before heading for the march start at Grosvenor square, outside the American embassy.

Christmas Services

2009-12-02T06:33:00.001-08:00

Don't forget to come to our Christmas service. Some different ones this - Craft and Carols will be fun for all the family as will the Christmas Xtravaganza where Jade and Tony Roovers will be singing some contemporary songs to accompany the nativity story. And of course there is our special Carols by Candlelight with 500 candles

Life After Debt

2009-12-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

Our Life After Debt project has been taking clients for 3 weeks, and we have 11 people booked to see our centre manager, or have already seen her. It is an amazing response! There is obviously a huge need out there and if CAP can deliver then surely many people will be able to view their involvement with us as a positive step on the road to becoming debt free. It's so exciting to know that this project didn't exist a year ago and now it is giving significant practical help to so many people. Our original target was 12 clients in 6 months, so it looks like we are going to bust that easily. Praise God!

Daggers and Broads in Honduras

2009-11-18T00:18:00.000-08:00

Michelle, Kay and Dave (the "Daggers") joined Helen, Cynthia and Tim (the "Broads", from Oulton Broad, Lowestoft) on a life changing trip to Honduras. After nearly being cancelled due to political unrest in Honduras, God answered prayers and the party left Heathrow on Sunday 1st November. After a marathon 30 trip they arrived at Choluteca, welcomed by Ian and Julie Fawcett. They had an amazing time, seeing the work of the Gran Commission church at Limon and Casa Hogar Vida. They were able to help with preparing the newly built orphanages to receive kids, distributing food and visiting a very poor community near the Nicaraguan border. The prevalence of malnutrition, HIV and AIDS was staggering and they were able to visit the nutrition centre, tortilla factory and coffee making.

Tired and inspired, they returned to UK on 13th Nov, safe and sound

Amazing Bulb Planting

2009-10-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

A total of 36 people turned up and worked incredibly hard on Saturday 17th October, and planted 7000 bulbs! We welcomed people from diverse groups such as the London Wildlife Trust, St Thomas toddlers, cubs, local residents, Goodmayes Allotment Association, and of course overseeing it all was Gareth Winn from the LBBD. We enjoyed copious teas and bacon sandwiches thanks to Tina and Julie which kept us going throughout the morning, and finished after only two hours! The next stage is to sow the seed and winter bulbs in March 2010, followed by planting the fern garden in May 2010.

Contractors prepare WIldlife Garden

2009-10-16T03:41:00.000-07:00

The contractors have done an amazing job clearing the ground and planting bulbs. They worked very hard from Monday to Thursday. The only downer was that their concrete grinder got nicked from the churchyard in broad daylight. I can't believe it. Hope they don't lose out too much.

How do you plant 18,000 bulbs?

2009-09-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

Just ordered 18,000 bulbs for the "Field of Dreams" wildlife garden. They include daffodils, bluebells, crocuses, wood anenomes, snowdrops, winter aconite and wild garlic. If people did 100 bulbs each, then that would be 180 people required!! Where am I going to get them from, preferably before end of October.
Anyway it should look absolutely lovely in the spring!
The initial meeting of Friends group is on the 7th October.

Field of Dreams

2009-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

We have finally got permission for the Field of Dreams wildlife garden. Thanks to Jill Cole at the diocese for her help with the legal stuff. Contractors will be arriving soon, and then we will have a lovely garden of meadows, bulbs and flowers. Here's a picture of the design, and I can't wait to June next year when it will look its best.

St Thomas Becontree Blog

Christmas Services

International Evening

New Wine

Church on the Park

SOLID

Bradwell Pilgrimage

New groups

Church AGM 18th April

Field of Dreams takes shape

Holy Week and Easter

Weeding for Wildlife

Events in February

Christmas Extravaganza

Carol Services

Valence School Carol Service

Stop Climate Chaos

Christmas Services

Life After Debt

Daggers and Broads in Honduras

Amazing Bulb Planting

Contractors prepare WIldlife Garden

How do you plant 18,000 bulbs?

Field of Dreams

Sponsored Bike Ride