This page comes from the newsletter of Broadmead Baptist Church, known as The Record. The Record has been produced since 1934.
The Broadmead Cross
This cross, like all representations of the cross of Jesus Christ, symbolises his suffering and death for all humanity.
The arms reach outwards, like the arms of God, in love and forgiveness, gathering all suffering to himself
The space between the two upright members represents the fact that Christ is no longer dead. Beyond the cross there is the Resurrection.
The upright members point upwards to denote Christ's Ascension.
From The Record - Charity Project: Spurgeons
INVESTING IN CHILDREN
At the April Church Meeting it was agreed that Spurgeons, an organisation working with needy children and young people, should be Broadmead’s ‘home-based’ Charity Project for this year. The following extracts from an article by Tim Jeffery, Spurgeons’ Chief Executive, in the June-August 2010 issue of the organisation’s magazine Footprints are reproduced by kind permission.
For months those working with children and young people have been trying to understand the political parties’ policies towards children and young people. The nearer we got to the election the clearer some things became with issues affecting children remaining on the agenda, but hardly featuring in the big questions raised during the leadership debates.
One thing’s clear, however, we can’t afford to maintain the level of investment and expect more new money. There will have to be cuts in public spending and it’s inevitable children’s services will feel the impact. Spurgeons will undoubtedly see further significant change in the months and years ahead. There will be threats to what we currently do, as well as opportunities to do things differently and possibly even to grow further. We will need great wisdom to steer a course through the twists and turns ahead; please pray for us, especially for a sense of hope and creativity to respond in constructive ways.
My greatest fear, in a time of belt tightening, is that it will be the poorest, the marginalised and the most vulnerable children who end up paying the highest price. Vital preventative services that keep families together, children safe and which stop problems escalating can be easy targets because much of their impact’s hard to measure and only seen over the long term. Financial support, housing and healthcare are all significant issues for poor families, and there remain children in this country who will sleep tonight in a bin bag on the floor. Part of our focus, as people who care passionately about the well-being of children, has to be on speaking out for those whose voices aren’t heard.
As financial pressures cause rising family breakup, children up and down the country are paying another price as they carry new emotional baggage and struggle to cope with the increased hardship that often ensues. Despite existing for 143 years, it’s clear the need for organisations like ours, and committed people like you, doesn’t diminish. Let’s harden our resolve to keep speaking up for ‘the least, the last and the lost’ and doing all we can to bring new hope and a brighter hope to all children
Last updated: 28-06-10