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 - My God
What a subject? Where does one start?
From a very early age, God was part of my everyday life: Sunday School, Family Prayers. Junior Choir and much more. I loved every minute of it.
As I grew older, I was at church every day of the week: Youth Club, Band Practise (yes I played a cornet) and Bible Study. I even went ‘pub crawling’ Fridays and Saturdays, selling The War Cry and singing The Old Rugged Cross, which was often requested, and sending the collecting box around again!
My life was full, I knew about God, of course I did. We spoke of Him in our home; I sang about Him; I heard about Him all the time. I thought I loved Him.
It was when I was in my late teens, already a member of the church, that I came to the knowledge that my faith was head and not heart. Not quite the same, but similar to John Wesley’s experience at Aldergate in 1738. I experienced God’s love and forgiveness and claimed His salvation. Today, I thank Him for His daily saving grace.
Have I ever failed Him? Yes, I often feel that my witness for Him is insufficient: I have been critical, condemning and judgmental of others without looking at the ‘plank’ in my own eye. Daily I have asked God’s forgiveness for this; some improvement, but not enough. God’s love for me is healing, restoring, merciful and compassionate.
Doubts? Yes, I have had them, but a real crisis of faith was nine years ago, when we asked Salvation Army Headquarters to move us nearer to my parents, as my Dad had Alzheimer’s disease which was steadily getting worse. We were living in the Welsh Valleys and had a difficult appointment. So much happened at that time: a couple of trips to the hospital for myself, visiting my Dad every week and supporting Mum, and then following his death, coping with the funeral, which David conducted. It was a very traumatic time for all of us as a family. God felt very far away, but after a while He brought me back to Himself.
World events, daily news make for depressing reading and watching friends and family with illnesses that affect us all, but for me, with no question, no doubt, or uncertainty, ‘God is still on the throne and He will remember His own’. I hope to be one of them by the way in which I live my life: by my words, deeds and actions.
May I be true to my God.
by Wendy Wright
Last updated: 26-07-10