News

WBC Bank Buildings
 If you have reason to go into the premises (by whichever door you use) please can you sign in and out so that we have a record of who has been in the building for track and trace purposes.  There is a sign-in sheet on the table as you go into the side corridor from the side entrance door.

Church Reopening
See below under Notices

WBC News
As mentioned in last week’s WBC News, I shall be on holiday from Monday 21st September to Friday 2nd October.

 If you have any items for the WBC News for Friday 25th September or Friday 2nd October then please send these to Peter via email. Do remember that if you have any words of encouragement, answers to prayer, or other news, then ideally these should be received by Thursday lunchtime each week.

Be blessed, Sue.

A virtual walk around the church

If you are missing being in church, like I am, you might like this photographic stroll around the building.

These photos were taken back in February 2007, so a few things have changed, and some views may be new to you. The slide-show is a YouTube video. Ted Winter.

Church Reopening

You will recall that we announced the possibility of opening the church for Sunday Services in the future, also looking into 'live streaming' a Sunday Service from the church. There may also be opportunities for Life Groups to meet in the building for bible study. We will be strictly following the current government/Baptist Union guidelines and restrictions for all indoor meetings

Daily Bread

If you would like to receive a copy of the July/August/September edition of these daily bible devotions, then Rosemary Croft has 8 copies. Please note that these copies are in large print. To obtain a copy then please phone Rosemary.

Please pray for NEW Deacons

We particularly need a deacon to take on responsibility for the church fabric (you don’t have to be an expert – there is help from other church members) also for someone to pick up our Communications and IT area. Please speak to Peter if you know someone who may be right, or you feel the calling yourself. Many thanks and we keep trusting God for our future.

Update on The Nest
Some of you will have seen in last week’s ‘WBC News’ that The Nest is well on the way to opening a much needed social supermarket in Weymouth. Some of you will also remember that this vision was given by God almost 4 years ago and you may well have been wondering what has happened in the intervening years. Now is the time to tell.

 Acting on the vision in 2016/17 led to seeking premises none of which were suitable. The vision of supplying food to those in need, expanded to setting up a Christian Centre in the town to help people move from dependency to independency – “feed, foster, flourish and fly”. A company, The Nest CIC, was registered with Companies House in 2018 (due in no small part to the efforts of Mike Scully) but despite human efforts nothing was happening. Professional advice warned us that we were trying to do too much all at once and that we should focus on just one thing. That one thing was the original reason for the project, which was to reach more people who struggled to put food on the table. Also, people kept saying that we had to be patient and await God’s time - but that was difficult!

The pandemic changed all that. Attendance at a Weymouth Community ‘Zoom’ meeting in June was the catalyst for the Foodbank to change and The Nest to kick into action. This was God’s time. He was on the move. He brought together an amazing team to get things moving. Elaine Pullen joined Nigel Ovenden and myself on the board of directors. Fiona Johnson in her professional capacity in Public Health, with a responsibility for promoting nutritious food, and Fiona Daborn, with her fund raising skills, joined the working team and it was all systems go. God’s promises have been fulfilled and God’s premises have been provided. The back room at The Waverley Community

Hub in Abbotsbury Road has been leased for 9 months from 1st October. This is thanks to Kevin Hodder, the CEO of East Boro Housing, who has been a tremendous support and shares the vision of feeding the needy. So we needed a shop manager! God speaks – even on the golf course – and one name came to mind and wouldn’t go away, so, having finished the round, a phone call to Eli Holland put the idea in his head. As it was God’s idea it was not a surprise that after praying about it Eli accepted the challenge. He is now a paid employee of The Nest and is working hard.

Two successful grant applications have brought in £2,500 and a Crowd-funding page has been set up. All the local supermarkets have been visited to ask if they can help with usable food that is surplus to their requirements and we are trusting God to supply all our needs which, by the way, are considerable. We lack funds and retail experience but we have a target date of opening on 1st October. We also have a vision and a dream and a determination to make it a reality despite people saying we’re mad. We are – but God has shown us so many ‘Godincidences’ in the last few weeks that we know He will make it a success and people’s needs will be met.

To put the need in context – 10% of the UK population is classed as ‘Food Insecure’ which means that they cannot guarantee to put food on the table. Because Weymouth is classed as a deprived area, together with the fact that it is a coastal town suffering the effects of Covid-19, that percentage is likely to be higher than 10. A recent survey of Foodbanks nationally revealed that 2% of the population use Foodbanks so that leaves more than 8% of the local population who will need help to provide cheaper food. In Weymouth & Portland that represents around 2,500 households i.e. roughly 6,000 people. So this is God’s time to address the needs of many people and we have the privilege of being at the forefront of His work in this area.

Please pray for the whole venture, the team, the finances, the venue, the provision of food, the volunteers, equipment, the support which will be needed, the effect we will have on the community and the testimony of God’s goodness in bringing all this about.  Neil Hardisty

James 1v6. “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind”.

Online Sunday Services

For those who are unable to view the WBC online Services
We would like to be able to share a bigger part of the WBC Sunday online services to those folk who are unable to see or hear the services for themselves. If you would like to be linked with a Church Member who could relay the service over the telephone for you to hear, then please contact the Church Office. So, obviously we would be seeking members willing to offer this to those who have shown an interest. Likewise, please contact the Church Office.

Need help?

• Diary
• Contact Us
• Members
• Local News
• Foodbanks in Weymouth and Portland
• Christians Against Poverty (CAP)
• Photo Albums
• The Bible
• Links