PORCH

DANIEL was a visionary and a loyal follower of Christianity. His jealous enemies persuaded King Darius to put him in a pit of lions but because of his faith Daniel escaped unharmed and Darius, amazed at this, also became a follower.  Daniel Ch 6 V 16

CHILDREN'S CORNER BEHIND DOOR

THE SALVATION ARMY sends missionaries to many different parts of the world not only to teach but also to provide practical help.

WALL

ST. CHAD, born in Northumberland was made Bishop of Mercia and is regarded as the missionary who introduced Christianity to the East Saxons. He died in Lichfield in 672. His unusual symbol is as the shape on the wall, a cross in silver and red.  Sunday Link

OLD ORGAN

ALBERT SCHWEITZER held Doctorates in Philosophy, Theology, Medicine and Music. He devoted his life to Missionary work in Lambarene, Equatorial Africa. He was also an authority on Bach's music and a brilliant organist.

NEW ORGAN

MISSIONS TO THIS COUNTRY
Individuals and groups visit this country regularly to talk about their faith. More recently we have had missionaries at St. John's from Malaya and Germany.

WINDOW

JACOB saw in one of his visions a stairway reaching from earth to heaven with angels going up and coming down it, with the Lord promising him and his descendants protection because of Jacob's faith. Jacob immediately set up a stone as a memorial, poured oil on it to dedicate it to God and named the place 'Bethe' which means: 'House of God'.   Genesis Ch 28 V 12

WINDOW

JOHN WESLEY 1703-1791
Son of an Anglican vicar, his missionary work took him across the country as a revivalist reminding people of their traditional Christian beliefs. His energy and depth of purpose was inspiring. His followers were called Methodists and celebrate the 300th anniversary of his birth in 2003.

WINDOW

NATHANAEL Jesus recognised that Nathanael sitting under a fig tree (a symbol of peace, prosperity and plenty), was a believer. Nathanael acknowledged Jesus, calling him: the Son of God and the King of Israel. Nathanael became a follower and travelled to India as a missionary. Years later a Bible was found there, said to have been taken there by him.   John Ch1 V43

WINDOW

ST. DAVID, the son of a Welsh chieftain, became an abbot-bishop in the 6th century. He founded 12 monasteries and went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he was consecrated a bishop. Several Irish Saints are said to have been his pupils.   Dictionary of Saints

BEAM

GLADYS AYLWARD has one ambition, to be a missionary in China but her application was refused by the Missionary Society because she was unqualified. Undaunted Gladys resolved to pay for her own passage by working as a maid. Her rich employer was sympathetic and have her a letter of recommendation to a friend in China who ran a mission called 'the Inn of Sixth Happiness'. Gladys made many friends and adopted several Chinese orphans. When the Japanese invaded China and destroyed the mission Gladys escaped leading many young children over the mountains to safety into the care of the person who had said she was unqualified. he Inn of the Sixth Happiness' Alan Burgess

STANDING

THE DISCIPLES were called by Jesus to spread the good news throughout the world. They were endowed with the Holy Spirit and given the ability to understand and speak many languages.

STANDING

TREVOR HUDDLESTON 1913-1998 was a pacifist and Christian Socialist. In 1943 he was sent to South Africa to support a mission in Sophiatown, a squatter township outside Johannesburg where he saw at first hand the plight of Africans in a racist society. When apartheid became codified in the 1950's Huddleston was among the first to protest and later he organized the congress that drafted the Freedom Charter, the ANC's statement of principles. He helped to publicise internationally the injustice of apartheid through his books and campaigning. After working in the Stepney slums in London he was made Archbishop and lived to see the release of Nelson Mandela and the breakdown of the apartheid system.

LEFT OF ALTAR

ST. AUGUSTINE In 1956 Pope Gregory sent Augustine as a missionary with 40 monks to preach the gospel to the heathen English. He established his See at Canterbury and also founded a monastery called St. Augustine's after he had been consecrated archbishop of the English. Shortly before his death he founded two more Sees in London and Rochester.   Dictionary of Saints

RIGHT SIDE OF ALTAR

JOHN the BAPTIST's birth to Zachariah and Elizabeth was foretold by an angel. John was the forerunner of Jesus and heralded his mission by preaching and baptising the converted. John gained many followers, several becoming chosen apostles of Christ. Jesus himself was baptised by him. From that moment John described Jesus as, 'The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World'.

STANDING

DAVID LIVINGSTONE was an explorer and missionary who opened up Central Africa to Christianity and stirred the public conscience to the horrors of the Slave Trade.

STANDING

ST. COLUMBIA, born in Donegal, always wanted to be a 'Pilgrim for Christ' and studied under great teachers of the time. After founding monasteries at Derry and Durrow he left Ireland with twelve companions in 563 and settled on the island of Iona where he built a monastery to use as a base for evangelising and ministering to the people of Scotland and northern England.   Dictionary of Saints

WINDOW

WILLIAM BLAKE was a visionary, painter and poet whose writings and paintings reveal an intense spirituality. He was an independent and original thinker commemorated by his stirring poem 'Jerusalem' later set to music and sung as a hymn.

WINDOW

Heaven

ST. PATRICK was both a visionary and a missionary. When 16 he was kidnapped and taken into slavery in Ireland. After escaping he trained as a priest and was sent as a missionary bishop back to Ireland. Patrick soon converted the chieftains and clans, and in doing so used the shamrock to explain about the Trinity.   D'y of Saints

WINDOW

ST. PAUL was converted to Christianity when Jesus spoke to him in a vision and told him he was destined to take the Christian faith to the Gentiles. In his Epistles Paul emphasized the reconciliation between God and his people. He has had an enduring influence on the development of Christianity.

WINDOW

CAMERON TOWNSEND
In 1916 Cameron joined the American National Guard, but a missionary challenged his priorities by saying that he would do more good selling Bibles in Central America than shooting Germans in Europe. So began his life's work. He discovered that the Indian tribes were greatly disadvantaged because their own languages were underwritten so he founded an organisation not only devoted to translating the Bible into rare languages, but also helping minority language-speakers to greater dignity. The organisation was the 'Wycliffe Bible Translators'.   Sunday Link