Bethany
Flower Festival September 2012
The Flower
Festival this year was entitled “Life Changing Encounters”. It featured the stories of Saul of Tarsus,
the woman at the well, the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the dying thief, the
paralytic lowered through a roof to Jesus, the healing of a leper and the woman
who touched the hem of Jesus garment in separate windows. On the church pillars were testimonies of
people who had met with Jesus in our generation. The porch featured displays of things we had
celebrated as a nation in the past year: the Grand Slam, the Olympics and the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This display
was completed with the best thing of all to celebrate as human beings – namely
reconciliation to God through Jesus’ death on the cross.
In the
Schoolroom there were Christmas decorations, crafts, preserves and homemade
cakes for sale. The cafe offered drinks,
soup, cakes and meals.
It was
truly a beautiful experience to come into the church. The burning bush display was very apt because
as you entered the door there was that amazing presence of God in the place.
Thank you
to all who came to support us and the Christian communities abroad who will be
helped by the money that was raised.
£1400 came from the Flower Festival in sales and donations. Other donations, including two of £500, one
of £1000, one of £400 and one of £1800, together with a donation from the
church brought our total to £6500. £1000
has gone to a school in Rwanda run by Rwanda Restored, £1000 will go to Health
Help International to run the monthly medical clinics for displaced Christians
in Orissa, India. £2000 will go to
orphans and school for the disabled in Zimbabwe and £2500 to an orphanage and
school in India run by Health Help International.
We thank
God for the blessings we enjoyed as a fellowship during the Flower
Festival. Many people had worked the
whole year to make crafts, others had saved to be able to give – it was all
work it. We laughed and worked together,
chatted to the faithful friends who so willingly supported us and experienced
so much joy in our faith.
One person said “The Flower Festival and harvest
– I don’t know how to express it. It was
fantastic, as if God was just in it, His will being done in this place. A beautiful experience”.
