NEWSHEET 2020

Saturday 13th June

KIND KING’S MEADOW NEIGHBOURS ANDREW, DAMIAN, ANDRESH AND CALVIN HAVE BUILT
THE WILLOW ARCH, AND HAVE BEEN HELPING WITH THE WEEDING. THANKS BOYS!

SUNDAY SERVICE

SUNDAY 14 JUNE
THE EMERGENCE OF STEPHEN

Our study of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles

continues this week. Ian will be preaching to us from
chapter 6 where Stephen the first Christian martyr,
comes to the fore. As usual you can join this service
– and all other church events - on zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7881518854

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The Week Ahead
14-20 JUNE

SUNDAY
11.00 worship

MONDAY
12.00 prayer & meditation

TUESDAY
12.00 prayer & meditation
8.00 bible study

WEDNESDAY
12.00 prayer & meditation
3.00 tea @ 3

THURSDAY
12.00 prayer & meditation

FRIDAY 3
12.00 prayer & meditation

SATURDAY
9.00 prayer meeting

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CORONAVIRUS

Lockdown Update
DIACONATE

It is anticipated that in the course of the coming

week the Government will announce the
implementation of phase 2 of the arrangements
for coming-out-of lockdown.
Phase 2 will have limited implications for us and,
so far as church life is concerned, things will likely continue very much as at
present.
Phase 3 is unlikely to be implemented before the middle of July, at the
earliest, and this week the Baptist Union of Scotland has issued guidance on
what we can then expect. While it will be possible for churches to consider
the possibility of once again meeting for services, the range of restrictions
that will remain in place are such that we will have to carefully consider if
it will be prudent for us, in our situation, to do so. We will keep this matter
constantly under review in the course of our fortnightly Diaconate lockdown
catch-ups, and will keep everyone informed of developments in our thinking
as they occur.
As indicated last week, we will not for the time being attempt to convene
the AGM or the process for elections. But again we will keep this decision
under review.

THE KING’S BARN

Latest News
BUILDING GROUP UPDATE
Following another meeting of the Building Group this
week it has been decided to confirm that a Members’
Meeting will take place via zoom on Wednesday 1 st
July at 7.30pm to consider the transfer of all and to
consider an offer of loan from the Baptist Union of
Scotland. Formal notification will be sent to members in the course of the
next few days. We ask everyone connected with this meeting to pray for
this meeting and the decisions that will be made.
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Margaret Blyth, known to many in PBC (where her parents were much-loved
members for many years), has sent the following:
"Rashi Jain is newly arrived with her family in Galashiels, where she's doing
a PhD in sustainable fashion at Heriot Watt. She has asked the local
churches if they would be interested in buying face masks made by friends
back in India, whose usual income from sewing clothes has collapsed due to
the pandemic. So every purchase helps to support the family. They produce
400 per day, have already sourced outlets in Canada, England, and are now
looking in Scotland. They are produced at £1.30 each for re-useable ones,
and £2 for 10 disposable ones. Suggested price for buying is upwards of
£1.50. Rashi is happy to have her contact details passed on, so we can
make individual enquiries. Payment by bank transfer/cash. Orders can be
picked up at the family's Gala home (near Tesco) or can be posted out (with,
of course, postage charge added). Please tell others. And please contact
Rashi yourself. Of course the usual safety precautions are necessary before
and while using the masks.”
Rashi Jain: 16rashijain@gmail.com 07380-650633

In normal times the church would have arranged a 2020 Thank Offering in
recognition of God’s faithfulness and to
offer a financial contribution to a
Christian mission or project close to our
hearts. The Pastor and Deacons are
keen to gather suggestions about how we
should go about arranging this offering in
the context of this year’s strange
circumstances, and which causes people feel led to support. Please get in
touch to let them have your ideas.

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The Baptist Missionary Society
IAIN GIBSON

We pray regularly for BMS missionaries, but what do we know about the
background to their work across the world? Being new to the “Baptist
world”, I was interested in learning more and thought others might also be
interested. Certainly, it shows how God can and does bless the work of His
people who are serving Him, often in difficult and sacrificial circumstances.
This past week, Mary asked in her prayer app that we pray for Oni, a BMS
worker who has already trained 500 church planters in India. (Isn’t that
fantastic! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see that number of church planters
at work in our country?). So I thought I’d look into the work of BMS in India
and Bangladesh. Here’s a little history taken from their website – which also
gives some insight into their church planting approach. There are great
lessons to be learned here – the importance of being steadfast and patient,
the importance of prayer and the importance of fitting the approach taken
to the circumstances in which we find ourselves, to name but three.

“The early years of mission in India (early 19th century) were difficult and it
was only after several years that the first convert under Baptist mission
work – Krishna Pal – came to faith. However, the work was characterised by
pioneering methods of evangelism and the driving urge to spread the
gospel. In the course of the nineteenth century, BMS work in India, and
what is now known as Bangladesh, spread far and wide; at the zenith of
BMS’ mission in India, in around 1920,
there were almost 250 European
missionaries and up to 1,000 Indian
workers.

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T H E E X A MP L E O F M IZ O R A M

Headhunter tribes, dense forest and evil spirits were the welcome awaiting
missionaries to the Lushai Hills of India (now known as Mizoram). Inter-
tribal fighting was commonplace and just as the people of the plains feared
the Lushai headhunters, the Lushai feared raids from the Pawi tribes living
in the mountains to the east. In terms of religion, all hill people lived in
fear of the evil spirits that were believed to inhabit the mountains, valleys,
forests and streams. Misfortune, sickness and death were all attributed to
these spirits and innumerable sacrifices of domestic animals and poultry
were made to appease them. This was the situation awaiting two
missionaries, J H Lorrain and F W Savidge, who entered the region in 1894
with the backing of the ‘Arthington Aborigines Mission’. The strategy of the
Arthington mission was to send out missionaries two-by-two to
unevangelised tribes. Within four years, Lorrain and Savidge learnt the
Lushai language, translated Luke, John and Acts and published a Lushai
grammar and dictionary. In 1897, the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists
extended their work to Lushai, so Arthington withdrew his workers to avoid
the duplication of missionary resources. However, Lorrain and Savidge
desired to stay in the area and so formed their own mission, the ‘Assam
Frontier Province Mission’, staying in the northeastern state of Arunachal
Pradesh. In 1901, the Welsh mission agreed to cede the work in the south
Lushai Hills to BMS.

The BMS India Secretary wrote to Lorrain and Savidge suggesting that they
return to Lushai under the auspices of BMS, and they arrived at Lunglei in
March 1903. News of the revival that had swept through Wales (1904 –
1905) spread to the Welsh mission field to the north of the Lushai Hills and
encouraged prayers for a similar revival in Mizoram. The pace of
conversions quickened noticeably, with chiefs professing Christianity and
whole villages turning to Christ.
Until 1913 there was no organised church life because believers were
scattered in over 80 different villages. Lorrain’s approach was to appoint
the most mature Christian in each village as a ‘Sunday school
superintendent’, charged with teaching all the other believers basic

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doctrine, hymns and reading skills. Thus the Sunday school became a key
agent of both education and evangelism. This church-planting strategy
adopted in Mizoram attracted the admiration of the rest of the BMS India
mission; it was imaginative and had transcended denominational
boundaries. In the years following World War One, Mizoram was
experiencing the most spectacular example of church growth in any BMS
field in the 20th century. Between 1919 and 1924, the total Baptist
community grew from 3,670 to 8,770, and church membership from 1,017
to 3,198. The Baptist churches continued to grow during the 1930s and 40s.
By 1949, the Christian community was over 31,079 strong and church
membership stood at 12,133. In 2008, the Baptist Church in Mizoram
reports a membership of 120,589 in 410 local churches.”

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Contact Points During Lockdown

• pastoral matters should be referred to the pastor, Ian Gray

o 01721 729101/07881 518854
o pastor@baptistchurch.org
o 97Whitehaugh Park, Peebles, EH45 9DB
• we can post news updates on our facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/PeeblesBaptistChurch/
• we can continue to use our two PBC what’s app groups: PBC Prayer
Group and What’s On in PBC.

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RECIPE OF THE WEEK: H

Haloumi and Cashew Nut Curry with Broccoli

DR SONDHEIM TURIN, C.M.
Retired physician and old drover, Dr Sondheim Turin (Curry Master) is
of course renowned throughout Tweeddale for her cordon bleu
mastery of the dishes of the east (Simprim and beyond). She is nuts
about this opportunity to share with us her Haloumi curry recipe,
which traces its culinary roots back to an original inspiration of
England’s young prince Haloumi, a formula later updated for the
modern palate by Haloumi Stewart of Greenock (famed for his early
forays into the Scandinavian market). “Decide to spice up your
lockdown lives with this delightful Asian-Greek-fusion,” she instructs,
“and even carnivores will be satisfied.”
Ingredients (serves 4):
2tbsp butter (I substitute rapeseed oil for this!) 250g halloumi,
cubed
400g tin coconut milk 115g cashew nuts
500g passata 60g Greek yoghurt
1 onion, diced 3 cloves garlic,
crushed
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated 2tbsp curry
powder*
2tbsp garam masala* 2tsp curry paste*
½tsp turmeric 1tsp cayenne
pepper
1 head broccoli, cut into florets & cooked
Bunch coriander, chopped, and extra cashews and rice to serve.
(*I vary the spice blend, don't think it's necessary to use curry powder
and paste, so would increase one or the other depending on what's to
hand.)
Fry halloumi in half the butter or oil, in batches till brown on all sides.
Set aside to drain on paper towel. Blend cashew nuts with coconut

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milk in food processor till smooth. Add passata and yoghurt and blend
again, adding a little water if needed to loosen mixture. Heat
remaining butter/oil in a big pot and soften onion, garlic and ginger
(recipe says about 5 minutes - I always give the onion a bit longer, and
put the garlic in towards the end, as it's horrible if it catches!) Add all
the spices and cook until fragrant, a minute or so. Pour in cashew nut
mixture and bring to the boil. Add halloumi and broccoli to the sauce,
and serve with rice, garnished with coriander and a few more cashew
nuts.

________________________________________________________

MARY PACKER PLANTING COURGETTES AT KING’S MEADOW COMMUNITY GARDEN WITH

GRANDCHILDREN ISAAC AND GRACE

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BAPTIST UNION OF SCOTLAND
Livestream
Baptist Union of Scotland continues its Prayer
Livestream at 7.00pm on Sunday. General Director,
Martin Hodson, writes: “As churches we remain
appalled and horrified by the way George Floyd lost
his life in Minnesota, and deeply distressed by
systems and histories around the world which have
created structural racism, unequal opportunities and
institutionalised injustice. Throughout our churches
we are deeply and prayerfully concerned about the
injustice and pain experienced by our sisters and
brothers who are black or from other ethnic
minorities. Listening and praying are a vital part of a
Christ-like response to this. So our National Prayer
Livestream this Sunday evening at 7.00pm will be
devoted to listening to some black and minority
ethnic voices from within our churches and being led
in prayer by them. I believe this is a vitally important
things for us to do together as a network of churches
at this time.” The link to access the event is as usual
https://www.facebook.com/scottishbaptist/live/

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 PREACHING
CALENDAR

• 14 June Ian Gray

Acts chapter 6
• 21 June Victor and
Caroline BMS
• 28 June Ian Gray
Acts 7:1 – 8:3
• 05 June Ian Gray
Acts 8:4-40

HOW CAN I CONTINUE MY GIVING TO PBC?

Please remember you can continue your giving via Standing Order, Offering
Envelopes or Telephone Banking [sort code: 80-22-60 account number: 19028065.]
Or if you prefer you can send a cheque to PBC [at c/o 17 Crossburn Farm Road,
Peebles, EH45 8EG - Lyn’s house]. The now imminent transfer of all church matter
to the SCIO (please see news from the Building Group on page 3) means that some
of our existing bank accounts will be closing. Lyn will be in touch with those who
exercise their giving through these accounts to advise on the changes that will need
to be made.

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“Laugh Out Loud with Lord Aberdeen” as told to Jimmy Ferguson -
@JimmyFer1077650; and Iain Gibson

My 4-year old nephew has been learning Spanish all year. Still can't say
'please' though. Which is poor for four.
Just ordered a new book. Ventriloquism for dummies.
I always thought orthopedic shoes were overrated. I stand corrected.
There was a young boy called Sam who, from a very early age, was obsessed with tractors. His
bedroom walls had pictures of tractors everywhere and all he ever wanted for his birthday and
Christmas were more model tractors, tractor T shirts and anything else to do with tractors.
Tractors were his life and, although his parents tried to interest him in other things, they
eventually realised it was a lost cause. As he grew up he never lost his love of them and when he
came back from a city university on holiday, there was nothing he liked to do more than go for a
long walk in the country and watch the tractors ploughing the fields. Some of the farmers got to
recognise him and one day, to his utter amazement, one of them stopped and asked if he’d like
to have a shot of driving the tractor. Sam couldn’t believe it and climbed up into the cab. The
farmer showed him how to operate it, got out and told Sam to drive it up and down the field. Sam
started off slowly and was having the time of his life. It was fantastic. It was his dream come
true. But as he got used to it he kept trying to go faster and was so happy he never saw the
farmer waving at him wildly to slow down. Disaster struck. He took a corner too fast and the
tractor toppled over. Sam was rushed to hospital with multiple broken bones and and it was two
months before he was out and home. The first thing that he did when he got home was rip down
all his tractor posters and destroy everything else he had that was tractor related. He never
wanted to have anything to do with them again. To help his recovery he was encouraged to take
walks, but he stuck to towns so as to avoid seeing tractors. On a walk one hot day he grew very
thirsty and, coming to a pub, decided to go in for a drink. When he got inside, it was absolutely
full of smoke; everyone seemed to be smoking. He found a seat next to a lady whose eyes were
streaming with the smoke and was coughing badly but when Sam asked the landlady if there
wasn’t something she could do about it she just said no. So Sam told her that if she wouldn’t do
something then he would. He turned around to face all the smokers and, to the landlady's
amazement, in one deep breath, he sucked in all their smoke, walked calmly over to a window,
opened it and blew it all out. The room was clear.
“That’s better”, he said.
The pub fell silent and then the landlady said - “I’ve never seen anything like that. How did you
do it?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” Said Sam: “I’m an ex-tractor fan”.

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George Floyd Left A Gospel Legacy in Houston
KATE SHELLNUTT
28 MAY 2020, “CHRISTIANITY TODAY”

The rest of the country knows George Floyd from several minutes of cell
phone footage captured during his final hours. But in Houston’s Third
Ward, they know Floyd for how he lived for decades—a mentor to a
generation of young men and a “person of peace” ushering ministries into
the area.
Before moving to Minneapolis for a job opportunity through a Christian
work program, the 46-year-old spent almost his entire life in the
historically black Third Ward, where he was called “Big Floyd” and
regarded as an “OG,” a de-facto community leader and elder statesmen,
his ministry partners say. Floyd spoke of breaking the cycle of violence he
saw among young people and used his influence to bring outside ministries
to the area to do discipleship and outreach, particularly in the Cuney
Homes housing project, locally known as “the Bricks.”
“George Floyd was a person of peace sent from the Lord that helped the
gospel go forward in a place that I never lived in,” said Patrick PT Ngwolo,
pastor of Resurrection Houston, which held services at Cuney. “The
platform for us to reach that neighborhood and the hundreds of people we
reached through that time and up to now was built on the backs of people
like Floyd,” he told Christianity Today.
Ngwolo and fellow leaders met Floyd in 2010. He was a towering 6-foot-6
guest who showed up at a benefit concert they put on for the Third Ward.
From the start, Big Floyd made his priorities clear.
“He said, ‘I love what you’re doing. The neighborhood need it, the
community need it, and if y’all about God’s business, then that’s my
business,’” said Corey Paul Davis, a Christian hip-hop artist who attended
Resurrection Houston. “He said, ‘Whatever y’all need, wherever y’all need
to go, tell ’em Floyd said y’all good. I got y’all.’”

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The church expanded its involvement in the area, holding Bible studies
and helping out with groceries and rides to doctor’s appointments. Floyd
didn’t just provide access and protection; he lent a helping hand as the
church put on services, three-on-three basketball tournaments,
barbecues, and community baptisms.
“He helped push the baptism tub over, understanding that people were
going to make a decision of faith and get baptized right there in the
middle of the projects. He thought that was amazing,” said Ronnie Lillard,
who performs under the name Reconcile. “The things that he would say to
young men always referenced that God trumps street culture. I think he
wanted to see young men put guns down and have Jesus instead of the
streets.”
More than 50 people have been killed over the past several years in what
authorities describe as a gang war spreading from the Third Ward and
southeast Houston.
It can be hard for outsiders to gain trust, or even ensure safety, coming in
on their own. The “stamp of approval” granted from a figure like Floyd is
crucial for urban discipleship, which requires access, direction, and
context to be effective.
“His faith was a heart for the Third Ward that was radically changed by
the gospel, and his mission was empowering other believers to be able to
come in and push that gospel forth,” said Nijalon Dunn, who was baptized
at Cuney. “There are things that Floyd did for us that we’ll never know
until the other side of eternity. There were times where we’d have Church
at the Bricks until 3 p.m., and by 4:30, they’re firing shots right at the
basketball courts.”
Dunn shared pictures of Floyd at his baptism and basketball games. Floyd’s
handle included the name “BigFloyd4God.”
Tributes and prayers of lament from fellow Christians rolled in over social
media as the news of Floyd’s death spread this week. On Twitter, Davis
described Floyd as “the definition of ‘Be the change you want to see’” and
shared a video tribute that has been viewed 1.1 million times. Popular
Christian hip-hop artist Propaganda reposted the reflections from fellow
artists who knew Floyd saying, “He was a friend of my friends.”

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Floyd moved to Minnesota around 2018, his family told the Houston
Chronicle. He was there for a discipleship program including a job
placement, according to pastor Ngwolo.
“A ‘Bricks boy’ doesn’t just leave the Third Ward and go to Minnesota!” he
said. Floyd told Dunn he had plans to return this summer.
Though he never made it home, he’ll be “immortalized in the Third Ward
community forever,” Lillard said. “His mural will be on the walls. Every
youth and young man growing up will know George Floyd. The people who
knew him personally will remember him as a positive light. Guys from the
streets look to him like, ‘Man, if he can change his life, I can change
mine.’”
Ministry leaders have heard from community members in the Third Ward
who called Floyd their brother, uncle, or even their dad because they
lacked older male figures to serve as a positive influence.
Mourners gathered Tuesday night for a prayer vigil in Emancipation Park, a
historic Third Ward site that was once the only park open to African
Americans in Houston during Jim Crow segregation. Ngwolo is meeting this
week with area pastors to lament together.
The viral video of Floyd pinned to the pavement by a Minnesota police
officer joins a devastating canon of cell phone footage depicting police
using force against black men. His friends in ministry said that when it
turned up on the news they weren’t ready to watch another clip so soon
after the recording of Ahmaud Arbery being shot while jogging in Georgia
and the video of a woman calling 911 on a black man watching birds in
New York’s Central Park. But then Lillard texted: It was Big Floyd.
There’s only so much disbelief they can muster from this kind of killing.
They’re black men too. Despite their innocence, their faith, their good
deeds, they have their own stories of being suspected, humiliated, and
threatened by authorities, Lillard told CT.
And now they’re put in the position of rightly remembering a man they
knew as a gentle giant, an inspiration to his neighborhood, and a positive
force for change. But they also say that shouldn’t matter. He was a fellow
image-bearer, and that should have been enough to keep him from the
aggressive treatment they saw in the viral clip. Floyd’s family and
supporters say the officers involved—who were fired from the
department—should face murder charges.

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Pastor Ngwolo is still trying to process the news, but one theme he keeps
coming back to is the shedding of innocent blood. After Cain’s superiority
and animosity drove him to kill Abel, Scripture tells us, “The Lord said,
‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from
the ground’” (Gen. 4:10).
“If you fast-forward 2,000 years, there’s another innocent sufferer whose
blood spoke of better things than Abel’s. … Jesus’ blood says he can
redeem us through these dark and perilous times,” Ngwolo said. “I have
hope because just like Abel is a Christ figure, I see my brother [Floyd] as a
Christ figure as well, pointing us to a greater reality. God does hear us. He
hears his cry even from the ground now. Vengeance will either happen on
the cross or will happen on Judgment Day.”

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