Share Your Faith

Let’s be an encouragement to one another!

Have you ever felt God's love come through for you in some of your deepest, darkest moments?

Were there prayers only He could answer and made the impossible possible?

In the words of Queen Elizabeth II ‘‘Good memories are our second chance at happiness.’’

This time tomorrow

- by Robin H. 22/10.23

For those who don’t know me I am married to Hannah, father of Rebecca, Dan and Josh – all current students, although Rebecca is waiting for the result of her masters degree. I was a research scientist in Genetics then Secondary teacher and have been working for Essex County Council in a number of roles. I am currently a Strategy development lead in the Education directorate developing a Lifelong Learning and Belonging Strategy – mainly Careers and skills as part of an aim to support an all-age Careers service in Essex.

Every day is different, and my own family don’t try and understand what I do – when I last tried to explain it to my mother -in- law, she asked if I found it boring and ‘don’t you miss teaching and the impact it can have on children?’ It is easy to describe this time tomorrow as I have the day off and we are taking a sofa up to Daniel in Norwich as he burst the inflatable sofa they have been using so far this term in their flat.

However, on Tuesday I will be working with colleagues in Basildon District Council planning their first creative technology festival for February where I am currently trying to persuade Microsoft and Meta to get involved in supporting the events and sharing some of their resource.

I will then be working with colleagues in Harlow planning the evaluation of some levelling up projects we have introduced to support early intervention for mental health in schools and supporting reading, language and communication in Pre- schools, Primary and secondary schools. In the afternoon I will be meeting with a national data provider to explore Sixth form results across Essex to analyse where things are going well and what (and who) might need some support. Finally, I will be meeting with the Essex School Governance Association and then hopefully going to Badminton at the Church.

Thankfully these meetings will be online via my shed/office in the garden. I have a Bible in the background that has generated some conversations and was pleased when a Deputy Head had ‘googled’ me before our first meeting and saw my involvement with the church which started a good conversation.

My faith is important, and I am privileged to be in a position where my faith can influence the vision and culture of the council and schools. When developing solutions, I like to start from a position of developing shared values.

Equity and ambition are common aims, and we look for solutions that should benefit everyone but will have the biggest impact on those most in need for example children with special educational needs and those who are disadvantaged due to the socioeconomic situations of their families and children in care.

We think no child should be left behind and that connection, belonging and hope are more important than just achieving academic thresholds and qualifications. Great schools foster the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of children and young people. Staff who work there know they can make a difference and I am trying to influence the systems that support schools to be great.

My goal is therefore to influence many more than just the children I was able to teach directly when

I was a teacher. One of my favourite quotes is from Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most

powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Although as we all know it, is behind the

Bible and gospel message.

I particularly like our text for the year “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” In a fractured society I am aiming to support children and staff to have more hope and resilience and we (my family, myself, teachers and children) all need your prayers in these challenging times.

Tony shares his journey of faith!

When and why did you become a Christian?

Four months before my 40th birthday, there was a crisis in the family.  I was a Computer Engineer at the time, Essex University being one of my regular calls, and my contact there was a Christian Lecturer (as was his friend Barry Lowden).  He told me the Christian message, said his wife would pray for my daughter, as we had become close friends over the years and used to regularly play squash on a Thursday evening. A couple of weeks later, he told me that his wife was in a Prayer Chain that went to Coleraine in N.I.  The rest is history - so “thank you” Prof. Mark Clark, Stanford University.

What is the scariest/bravest thing you've ever done?

Even though I was a Radio Relay Technician Class 1 in the Royal Signals. I went to N.I as an Infantry Soldier. I was in a troop of 16, 1 sergeant, 1 corporal 2 lance corporals and 12 Men.  I was the Sergeant.  So, I was learning infantry things in the Morning, (from a real soldier) then instructing my Troop in the afternoon.  We went to N.I. and all came back in one piece.

What is the furthest place you've ever travelled to/ hardest language you’ve ever learned? 

My favourite subject is foreign places, peoples and customs (you might as well get used to it there are going to be a lot in Heaven).  I often ask people “what is your country of Origin”? I have been fortunate enough to travel a bit with the Army.  First posting after my apprenticeship (3 Years at the collage in Harrogate) was Bahrain for a year and I can still count to 10 in Arabic. Then off to Germany for the first time, eventually got married to a cracking Irish girl from Cork, where our daughter Paulette was born. Then a two and a half year posting to H.K. where another daughter was born, Trudi. I have also been to Malaya, Singapore and Hawaii a couple of times, the closest I have got to the Southern Hemisphere.

My favourite Bible verse is from Job 1:6 (Good News Version.)
6 When the day came for the heavenly beings[b] to appear before the Lord, Satan[c] was there among them. 7 The Lord asked him, “What have you been doing?”   (Just to remind him).
The Created beings summoned by “the Creator”.  

The best thing about being a Christian is the assurances it gives me.

Why should people come to CBC? It is simply the “Best Church in Colchester”, I have been to many churches in Colchester, pre-mission work or during mission.  My conclusion is because the Bible is faithfully taught and it is a Church that serves. Serving is a big priority in my Christian life.

In His Name,
Tony Horne.

Hilary shares her testimony -

My Testimony - God's Version (Revelation 3:19-20)

"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am!

I stand at the door and knock. lf anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

I have been rebuked and disciplined and I have repented. I have opened the door to let Jesus back in. It was a bit of a struggle due to all those weeds and thorns and general detritus on both sides of the door. Jesus hasn't just come in to eat with me; he's knocking walls down and building furniture and generally making the place habitable for his Father. It's both a challenging process and fascinating to watch - a master craftsman at work!

Eight months ago, I was desperately praying that I wouldn't run out of oil in my lamp and that I would have enough Holy Spirit in me for Jesus to recognise me. It's now a blazing fire that's hot enough for others to see and recognise and it's kept well stoked. I'm a cracked pot! It's true! I have a weird sense of humour and I like whimsy and smurfs and miniatures, as in dolls houses. l'm also a cracked pot, with scars and breaks and ugly bits, really only fit for the bin. But God saw something in me that was beautiful, and he's filled this broken pot with his love. He hasn't healed or mended the scars and cracks as such, because they tell my story, but he's softened them, and his light shines through and makes them beautiful.

Those who have read my blog know that I have suffered from anxiety and depression and that anxiety, especially social anxiety, remains. I have written about how difficult I find it to be in a crowd and how exhausting it is. So how am I coping with church now that l've been attending for a few weeks? Philippians 4:13 says, "l can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", I find this to be very true. When l'm truly in the Spirit, I can cope. In fact, I can more than cope - I can relax and enjoy it and give back. God makes that difference. He's given me a thirst for his Word and for fellowship and I just want to talk about him. I desperately want a ministry of some sort and God is teaching me patience. I am learning to walk at his pace, because his pace is set perfectly for me. I am holding his hand so I don't run ahead and I am learning to listen. None of this comes naturally! In the meantime the Ministry of Hugs and Smiles is open for business. No appointment necessary!

Chris shares what music means to him -

Hi, I’m Chris the bass player in the music group and I was asked to share with you what music means to me.

I was taught at school that classical music was the only proper sort of music, so as a teenager I rebelled and started teaching myself how to play rock ‘n roll. Now that I’m older I have come to appreciate most kinds of music, including my old enemy “classical music”. There is now a lot of music in my life, including playing bass ukulele as part of two ukulele clubs.

Although I really enjoy playing the wide range of music that is used by the ukulele clubs, there is absolutely nothing to compare with the songs of the Kingdom.

Songs that exalt Jesus are far more precious than any other sort of music. I don’t care about their genre, if the songs exalt the Lord, then it is such a blessing to play them. Thank you Jesus for the songs of the Kingdom!

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