Join us as we take a LEAP OF FAITH...

Many of you will be familiar with the work of HARP (Homeless Action Resource Project) in Southend. For those of you who don’t, please check out http://www.harpsouthend.co.uk

HARP do great work locally in supporting and caring for the homeless in Southend. However, this work can only be carried out by way of Local Government funding and the generous donations made by HARP’s supporters. HARP is currently threatened by the imminent prospect of funding cut-backs, combined with a general fall in the amount being given by local residents who support the work of HARP by making donations.

Love Southend Youth are, therefore, taking a small step to raise finances and awareness amongst the public to aid HARP in whatever ways we can.

On 29^th February 2008, the eve of the Leap Year, a small group of Love Southend Youth supporters will be sleeping out rough in the car park of the Plaza Centre, Southchurch, to spend just one night the way that many across Southend are forced to spend days, weeks, months and even years.

We will be foregoing our evening meal on the Friday night, and congregating around a large open fire in an old oil drum to keep warm. We will spend the night worshipping the God of the broken, poor, and hopeless and praying for the homeless of Southend.

On the Saturday morning (1^st March) we are hoping to hold a fund-raising fry-up where all profits will be given to Harp.

I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT OUR FUND-RAISING EFFORTS IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

1-      Consider holding a similar event in your church/youth group.
2-      Come and join us for the night in the car-park.
3-      Make a donation to HARP, and encourage others to do the same.
4-      Sacrifice your evening meal on Friday 29^th Feb and donate the money you would have spent on food to HARP.
5-      Pray for HARP, that God would release finances and bless those who serve the homeless.
6-      Join us for the fund-raising fry-up (I will confirm this event nearer the time!)

Your support would be much appreciated.

God bless,

Steve Dalley,
Love Southend Youth,
Southend Christian Fellowship.

Love Southend Youth @ Transformations prayer...Friday 18th January

Please could you encourage your Christian teenagers to come along to “Transformations Prayer”, the monthly meeting where we seek God together as town-wide church to ask His blessing to transform our town with His glory.

I have cancelled our weekly youth small group which takes place on Friday nights so that we can be at Transformations this month. Would you be prepared to do the same?

This month, Transformations will be led by a group from the Southchurch end of “Love Southend Youth” and it would be great if we were to be joined from teenagers from youth groups and churches from Shoebury, Thorpe Bay, Central Southend, Chalkwell, Westcliff, and Leigh.

The meeting will be taking place from 19.30 to 21.30 @ Westcliff Baptist Church (560 London Road, Westcliff). Please come and join us.

For more information just e-mail me back.

God bless,

Steve
steve@scfplaza.f9.co.uk

New year prayer with Love Southend & Hope 08

We are delighted to invite you and your congregation to the Love Southend Hope 08 Prayer Week.

The Love Southend Hope 08 Prayer Week commences on the 12th January 2008 and finishes with a celebration on the 19th January 2008 at Southend Christian Fellowship, Plaza Centre, Southchurch Road, Southend. Love Southend is already committed to delivering the intentions and ambitions of the UK wide - Hope 08, across the borough of Southend-on-Sea. Through word and action we hope the Christians of our town will join with us in showing the love which God has for the people of our town. We urge all local churches to join us in beginning and rooting 2008 in prayer! The detailed schedule of the Love Southend Hope 08 Prayer Week is included on the posters and leaflets which were recently posted out to church contacts at all churches in Southend. You will also find details in the events section of this website. We would be most grateful if you would publicise this event in your church through your news sheets, announcements and by displaying the posters and handing out the leaflets. Please stand with us, and together we will pray for a great transformation in our town. Further information, posters, leaflets and OHP/data projector slides are available to download, please click on the links below: A4 Poster/OHP Slide/Flier(PDF 1.3MB) PowerPoint slide(.ppt 370kb) Letter from Chairman to church leaders(PDF 314kb) please do make use of these. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email kalbi.massey@lovesouthend.org or call 07990 581595. May we wish you and your church all God's blessings for Christmas and the New Year, and thank you in anticipation of your prayerful support. Revd Stuart Kimber & Kalbi Massey Chair Love Southend & Prayer Co-ordinator

SCF: Panto in a Day! Aladdin

Southend Christian Fellowship are to repeat 'massive success of last years Panto in a Day' with “Panto in a Day II”. It is taking place at the:

Plaza Centre
Southchurch Road
Saturday 29th December
7.30pm

This years panto is based around the story of Aladdin.

Entry is £3 and all profit goes to supporting the work of Love Southend Youth in the local community.

Steve Dalley of SCF commented:
"It’s gonna be immense, although I do admit to being slightly biased. Last year’s event was a massive success."

Can you help?
To make is a success they need donations of any Chinese-based - anything 'chinese' that you wouldn't mind loaning them for the day (not anyone's old takeaway though!!). Battery powered chinese lanterns, a mangle, large boxes, chinese clothes, an aladdin style lamp, policemen costumes, truncheons, whistles, and jewelled curtains or glass chains - the sort that catch and reflect light that people hang in windows.

So is you can help contact Steve Dalley on steve@scfplaza.f9.co.uk

Steet Symphony Essex - Date & Venue Announced

STREET SYMPHONY ESSEX 24 NOVEMBER 2007
The Plaza Centre
600 Southchurch Road
Southend-On-Sea

BE A PART OF HISTORY
STREETS IS WATCHING

More info posted as we have it.

Living in a slum - for a good cause

Tough test - Peter Tryon and Del Thomas want to empathise with the homeless

by Michelle Archard - www.echo-news.co.uk

CHURCH members will be slumming it in a makeshift shelter, with only rice and lentils to eat - all in the name of charity.

For two days and two nights, five members of Southend Christian Fellowship will only have sleeping bags and the clothes they turn up in for warmth.

They will also face a walk to get water and have to carry it back to their slum in buckets.

The only luxuries will be a working toilet and a gas stove to heat their rations - two small meals a day.

Organiser Del Thomas, 25, said the group's rough couple of days were to show what some people had to go through.

He said: "We are doing this to raise awareness of poverty and the conditions at least one billion people worldwide have to endure every day.

"We also want to raise money for them through Soul Action, a Christian charity working with local people in slums in India, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

"I went out to South Africa with the charity in the summer and saw the type of poverty people live in."

Del, a teacher at Temple Sutton Primary, will be joined by youth worker Steve Dalley, 26, teaching assistant Jackie Rossi, 50, Southend High for Girls teacher Peter Tryon, 24, and assistant shop manager Jenn Burry, 20.

The group will arrive at the car park of Izod and Burnips store, in Southchurch Road, Southend, at 4pm on Friday, October 26.

Their first job will be to build a shelter from plastic sheeting and cardboard.

They will stay there until 1pm on Sunday, October 28, when they will host a celebratory lunch for any supporters who turn up.

The team must complete a number of challenges to receive two meals of rice and dhal a day.

However, the rules state if anyone turns up at the slum, the group have to offer them a meal.

This means the food could run out quickly because it is open to the public. Del said: "It will be really tough. We could end up very hungry by Sunday. The kebab shop just a short distance away will prove quite temping, I'm sure. But to live as poor people do, we must resist."

The event is being supported by Love Southend and local churches.

People can donate money to the project by clicking the Just Giving link below.

http://www.justgiving.com/delthomas

Out of the Box this Sunday

Hi Guys,

Just a very quick e-mail to let you know that “Out of the Box”, Love Southend Youth’s monthly youth celebration is taking place this Sunday (16^th October) @ Christchurch, The Christ Church Centre 56 Colbert Avenue (at junction with Warwick Road) SS1 3BP 01702 588468.

It starts at 7.45pm and finishes for 9.15pm. The celebration will have a Christmas-y theme and will offer a chance to worship, pray and socialise together whilst enjoying the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, the greatest person in all of history!

It would be great to see your youth group and to have the chance to worship with them. Please come along and join us if you can so.

Many thanks and God bless,

Steve Dalley
Love Southend Youth