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We as a church have a lot to be thankful for this month! Included in this newsletter are encouraging reports from our Holiday Club and the Durham Night Shelter that we hosted in the Youth Centre. There's also a reflection of our growing Student Ministry from Lindsey Goodhew, and a look into Maeve Sherlock's day job in the House of Lords. Grab a cuppa and enjoy this edition of our monthly newsletter!
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Ministry Update: Students
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It’s now over 10 years since Steve Bellamy (former vicar) asked if I’d take on the role of Student Worker. In response I said I’d be happy to give it a go for a year. The rest as they say is history. I very quickly discovered a growing sense of call and passion for student ministry. My own undergrad years had been life shaping as I explored more deeply life’s most important question ‘Who is Jesus?’ and as I grew into the  role of Student Worker at Nics I became more and more convinced of the vital importance of intentional church based student ministry.
The how has changed much - we’ve had suppers, lunches, pudding nights, pizza socials (the current favourite) - adopt a student, student link up, beach trips, BBQs, picnics - early morning prayer meetings, all night prayer meetings, cafe quizzes, pub quizzes - exploring preaching  courses, ceilidhs, Go Ape! (does anyone remember Go Ape??) - there have been baptisms, confirmations, weddings.......we’ve organised invitational services, hosted countless DICCU, Fusion and Just Love events and our now well established weekend away at Wooler YHA is just week’s away.
I’ve lost count of the 100's of cups of coffee I’ve drunk in the many wonderful cafes of Durham talking about anything and everything to do with faith and life BUT I do know there has only ever been one visit to Klute!
And the fruit of all this? Hearing news from students who have graduated serving God in their careers, churches and further studies - being salt and light in communities throughout the UK and beyond. Kingdom builders - loving, serving and blessing others. Secure in knowing the answer to life’s most important question
‘Who is Jesus?’
Student Ministry at Nics is in good heart. We are connected with around 70-80 students at present. We have four flourishing undergrad and post-grad small groups. Students serve across church life - in the music groups,
with our youth and children’s teams, prayer ministry, hospitality, AV/Tech - and a number in recent years have had the opportunity to explore preaching and worship leading gifts. In addition we are  developing a new initiative through the appointment of Assistant Student Workers. Currently we have four post-grads -Ben, Sarah, Seth and Vicky - committed to offering around 6-10 hours a week voluntarily to invest in student ministry at Nics.
Intentional student work is so important. Through it we have the opportunity to love, serve and bless a generation for the Kingdom. More than that, without them, our shared life at St Nics would be immeasurably poorer.
- Lindsey Goodhew, Student Worker
Please pray for the Student Weekend Away coming up at the end of March.
Pray for Lindsey as she transitions out of her role as Student Worker on 17th March,and starts preparing for her new post as Associate Minister at St Barnabas Church in Linthorpe.
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I have been the Curate at St Nics since I was ordained on 1 July last year, and I am loving it. Everyone has been so welcoming, and I already feel as though I’ve been here for years. (Except I don’t have a favourite seat yet: if I’m not on duty up front, I tend to sit somewhere different each week, and it’s amazing how different the view is….) Although my home is in Durham, you tend to  see me only at weekends because for most of the year I am in London Monday-Thursday at my day job in the House of Lords. I have been a member since 2010 when the Prime Minister Gordon Brown made me a life peer. (It’s not hereditary; I’m not that posh.) I am often asked what I do down there, so I thought I’d take this chance to explain.
At the moment, parliamentary time is mostly taken up with Brexit, but I won’t linger on that… During normal times my focus is on social security because I am the Shadow Minister for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). That means that I am the person who leads for the Opposition Labour Party on any legislation or debates on DWP business in the Lords. All legislation has to pass both the House of Commons and the House of Lords before it can become law, so my job is to scrutinise and sometimes try to amend legislation proposed by the government in my field. At the moment I am preparing to debate the new rates of benefits; working through a batch of detailed changes in case we have a No-Deal Brexit; and looking at government plans for the roll-out Universal Credit. I am also a member of the team of Opposition Whips in the Lords. (For those of you have watched House of Cards: it’s nothing like that! Rather less plotting, rather more time making sure everyone understands what’s on, when and how we are voting, and ensuring the business of the day runs smoothly).
In my spare time in the Lords, I am involved with Christians in Parliament, a cross-party group of Christian MPs and peers which hosts a number of events in parliament. Each term I host an event for Christian MPs and peers to meet and talk over a cup of tea and the best scones in the  South. Next month I will chair an event called Facing Death, Finding Peace at which a guest speaker will talk about living and dying with faith. This summer I will chair the 2019 National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast , at which people from churches across the UK gather to pray for politics and government and to build relationships with MPs. I also have the occasional privilege of ministering in and around parliament, of which the recent highlight was baptising gorgeous twin baby girls in the chapel in parliament. Now you know what I get up to when I’m not in church. If you want to know more, come and chat one Sunday!
Please join us in praying for Maeve and her involvement in Parliament--for wisdom in decision making and open doors to share Christ's love.
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Give Thanks: Night Shelter
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We are happy to say the Night Shelter was a great success. Over the five weeks, we hosted 33 guests and opened 23 times (when overnight temperatures dropped to below one degree Celsius).
We had fantastic local support. Within our 75+ active volunteers, there were fourteen churches represented. We had 36 students volunteering from us, most of these were provided by Just Love Durham. Durham City Council provided great financial and professional support. A number of our guests found permanent accommodation through the partnership we built with council housing services and local housing charities. Local businesses such as Nandos and the Gilesgate Old Laundrette offered their services to us for free. Most importantly, St Nics Church, Elvet Methodist Church, North Road Methodist Church and the Salvation Army at Sanctuary 21 opened their doors to our guests this winter. We could not have opened without this outstanding local support.
Nics youth centre was a guest favourite--we had many good conversations around the sofas while tucking into some chicken. We saw prayers answered, people growing in faith, and God speaking to and through the life and work surrounding the shelter. We had a number of great volunteers from Nics who really made an impact building God’s kingdom in Durham this winter.
There’s been a few sleepless nights and tired mornings, but I can speak for everyone when I say it’s been worth it. We’ve come out with a greater appreciation of how easy it can be to end up rough sleeping and with a number of new friends--both with other volunteers and some of our great guests.
We received positive coverage in the local media including BBC Look North, BBC Radio Newcastle, the Northern Echo and Durham Palatinate.
Part of this trial was to test whether our policies and procedures produced a safe and welcoming environment for our guests. Whilst this was the case, we have learnt from this trial and plan to create an upgraded model for next year. Our thoughts have already turned to the next few years and potential areas of growth.
Part of this growth will be to increase the time we can be open for and possibly increase the amount of people we can welcome. Most importantly, we will be registering as a charity and looking to employ a staff worker to increase our leadership capacity.
As a team, we thank God for what happened this year and we wait with expectation to see what is coming next. We pray that we can continue to bless rough sleepers in Durham and hope that this is the start of a very exciting story.
If you missed out on being a part of this, then come grab me some time. I'm happy to chat about the future plans of the Night Shelter or other ways we can help bring the justice found in the Good News of Jesus to the streets of Durham.
- Joe Cottrell, St Nics Ministry Assistant and part of the Night Shelter leadership team
Thank God for all He has done through the Night Shelter and its volunteers. Give Him thanks for the opportunities of growth and positive feedback/support from our local community. Pray with expectation of what's to come for the Durham Night Shelter.
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Space Academy: Holiday Club 2019
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We had a fantastic week at the Space Academy Holiday Club (18th-22nd Feb). Here are some of the highlights:
- 37 children (astronauts) joined us during the week. Many of these came for the whole week or decided to come back for extra days!
- All enjoyed learning about Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were blown away by how powerful God is and the realisation that this same God loves and cares for each one of us.
- Just over a third of the children are not regular St Nics attenders.
- 31 leaders helped throughout the week. Including some of our young people and students!
- Each day began with a leaders Bible study led by the wonderful Jeff Hattan and Lindsey Goodhew.
- We were able to provide a creche everyday for the leaders children - Praise the Lord!
- The church was completely transformed into a space centre with its very own zip wire!
- Many games were played, crafts were made, rockets built, challenges completed, stars in the jars won and many, many hours of fun, joy and laughter!
A massive thank you to the children for making the week so much fun, for all who helped during the week in various ways, those who helped set-up and take-down, and those who donated items. Thank you all for your prayers and support. If you would like to know more about the holiday club or how to get involved in the future, please see Captain Buzz (aka Kate Swann) or any of the Space Lieutenants. Space Mission complete!
- Kate Swann, Children and Families Worker
Praise God for a wonderful week of sharing His love with His children!
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This coming Monday is our first quarterly Church Forum and Prayer night. Please come along to hear about Resource Church and what's to come for St Nics. We will also be spending time in prayer for these things as a church family. You won't want to miss it! Come and be encouraged---Monday, 4th March 7-9pm.
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Ash Wednesday is 6th March. Come along to St Nics for our Ashing Service at 7:30pm. There will be Holy Communion and ashing as we enter the season of Lent.
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