As Christians, it is a blessing to have confidence in God’s word which brings us comfort and healing in our time of crisis. Indeed, I believe we can anticipate God revealing His will and power throughout this pandemic.
Just a few short weeks ago, I was attending meetings under the auspice of the East Belfast Community Development Agency to look at how churches within East Belfast could co-ordinate a response and present a united witness to those living with food and fuel poverty. Today, our local churches, BPC included, are participants in a united Crisis Response Team working in conjunction with community and voluntary organisations to respond to the urgent needs of our community. To date, this central approach is working well and all calls have been answered, recorded and requests dealt with. The central contact numbers are displayed below. If you would like to volunteer in this capacity, please let me know. You will be contacted to confirm some details before your name is added to the Crisis Response Team.
It is encouraging to witness common grace (Titus 2 v 11) at work in our community. Christians and non-Christians within our fractured and broken community have united in a common purpose to help its residents through this crisis. Some, who have little, have willingly shared what they do have. Others are looking after neighbours and those who are self-isolating. It is encouraging that people call the helplines sometimes, not to ask for help, but just to say thank you for being there. Until now, it would have been a fair comment to say that a sense of community was almost extinct as people were increasingly becoming more insular. However, the evidence to date suggests Covid 19 has been a catalyst to unite people to defeat a common threat.
“Everything works to the good for those who love the Lord”. Hallelujah! Our Kidzone children responded for a request to send messages of support to the Arches care home. A charge nurse called to say how moved they were by the pictures, poems and verses drawn by our children. There is a picture of these on the BPC website. The children are now drawing messages to go into food parcels that will be delivered to those in need throughout our community. I could never have thought of or imagined this opportunity to share God’s love a month ago. But God did.
I hope this gives you a sense of how God is working His will for His people through His people. I firmly believe, when we ask for miracles, God might ask us to be the people or the person to make that miracle happen. So far, BPC and our greater East Belfast community have not been found wanting.
Psalm 27:13 “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”.
Take heart in all this that God is sovereign and in control. His will be done. Amen
Please remember the Community Action Team and Walkway in your prayers.
Stephen