LIVE FOR OTHERS
Bless' adventures in Europe
LIVE FOR OTHERS
Bless friend, songwriter and worship leader MARK TEDDER has just released ATMOSPHERE, a 4 track EP. This worship project focuses on the presence of God. It is a fresh offering of songs for the church, co-written by Tedder and Jordan RIley.
Download the free DIGITAL BOOKLET HERE, and purchase the EP ‘ATMOSPHERE’ HERE. Artwork by LUKE FLOWERS.
Abby’s booked her flights to Holland and is getting excited for #stroopwaffles and #g2b
Be a part of the GO2BLESS ROTTERDAM team this summer! It’s going to be GREAT.
Email LOU@BLESSNET.EU for more details.
![MADRID, ES.
Find out how you can join the GO2BLESS mission team THIS SUMMER in MADRID by visiting our WEBSITE.
[CITY PRINTS MAP ART by Tony and Katie Rodono, inspired by a belief in ‘the importance of place’. In an age of atopia*, these mapmakers talk of the relationship between stories and streets. They think Bless is a great cause, and we think they’re great too. Do check THEM out.]
*Greek: ‘placelessness’](http://25.media.tumblr.com/dc962421e3da85c484f6085d5513a808/tumblr_mo6obiLjgn1qzxypno1_500.jpg)
MADRID, ES.
Find out how you can join the GO2BLESS mission team THIS SUMMER in MADRID by visiting our WEBSITE.
[CITY PRINTS MAP ART by Tony and Katie Rodono, inspired by a belief in ‘the importance of place’. In an age of atopia*, these mapmakers talk of the relationship between stories and streets. They think Bless is a great cause, and we think they’re great too. Do check THEM out.]
*Greek: ‘placelessness’
Bless: Introduce yourself
Imo: HEY! I’m Imo, i’m 22 and i currently live in Swindon. I love doodling, cooking, volunteering, singing out of tune, films that are so bad that they are so good, warm weather and red wine.
Bless: What are you up to at the moment?
Imo: I am currently studying Youth and Community Work with Practical Theology with Bristol CYM at the university of Gloucestershire (just a bit of a mouthful). I’m in my second year and my placement is working for 5 churches in the west Swindon area. It’s hard work, but it’s bringing great opportunities for the future. I’ve met some great people through the course, and when it finishes i hope to open a community cafe with a friend in a place just outside of Swindon. Ideas are brewing and doors are opening daily, we haven’t hit a brick wall yet which is amazing. In my spare time i enjoy cooking way too much, sleeping, great conversations, little mystery trips and over planning my free time.
Bless: Describe Bless in 3 words?
Imo: Community Cohesion (i’m having that as one word!), Persevering Prayer and Marvellous Meals.
Bless: What is your experience of being a part of the Bless Family?
Imo: I was originally introduced to Bless when i was 17, and decided to do a gap year in Slavonski Brod, Croatia when i finished my A levels. I was there for a year, building relationships, drinking a lot of coffee in cafes, praying for the area, helping the church in any way possible, running youth groups and exploring the wider area. I believe that doing the gap year with Bless has led me onto what i’m doing now. It exposed my passion for building relationships and showing God’s love to the young people I will come in contact with, from Croatia and to this current day. I remember people praying for specific things for me, and God has blessed those prayers and they have revealed themselves in me which is flipping mental. I also went back the year after for summer missions, and continued to raise some ££ for Bless when i couldn’t go. Bless have not only challenged me, but they have supported me, prayed for me and fed me amazing food when needed.
Bless are a lovely bunch of people who don’t give up on God’s mission for them. It shines through with the connections that they make with the people that they meet on a daily basis. I would encourage anyone to invest some time, money and prayers in Bless because the amount that they have to give is minuscule to what we can see at the moment.
Bless: What are your dreams for the next 12 months (or so)?
Imo: To finish my degree without having to re-do any essays, and to find relevant books for my dissertation question (How ipads have influenced blind young people in their lives, both physically and mentally.. something along those lines, but will probably change at some point!) To get the building for our cafe that we want and we get the funding for that. To continue to use my creative stuff positively and to continue to inspire and encourage the people i meet through it. I dream to keep my room tidy, sounds lame, but i can’t find the majority of my books or paper work as it’s all hiding on my shelves. To make new recipes and to have some free time!
Bless: How can we pray for you?
Imo: For my final year at uni, that i won’t stress out, that my deadlines are completed swiftly and with confidence, and i continue to find and get the support i need for it.
To be healthy, it seems the past 2 years i’m doing fine and then i crash and burn, so i really pray that won’t happen for the next year.
For the cafe! (We have a brief name which is ‘Enaid’) Flippin, i can’t even write down how excited i am for the opportunity that is so prominent and so God given, the timing is just… amazing and right. Once it’s up and running, you will all be getting an invite!
Also pray for the young people i work with (a lot of them are struggling with family issues, education..), and the ‘famous’ culture which is totally whack at the mo thats having a heavy influence on them.
Bless: Introduce yourself
HVS: RIGHT. My name is Hanna Victoria Snailham. And I am 23 years old. I will be 24 in 7 sleeps. I would like an Atypical Skateboard for my birthday. I am currently residing in Suffolk where I was born and have been raised. I left for 4 years and lived the dream in Cornwall while studying for a degree in Fashion Design. But then I ran out of money and had to come back to Suffolk. I like cycling. Wearing my cap backwards. Knitting. Skating. Made In Chelsea. All farm animals (especially sheep). And Jesus.
Bless: What are you up to at the moment?
HVS: Since moving back to Suffolk I have done a few things but most recently I got a job as a Cafe Manager at a great little artisan bakery in Southwold, Suffolk called The Two Magpies Bakery. We make well good bread, super tasty cakes, world famous (in Southwold) sausage rolls & the best coffee you have probably ever tasted. Literally. But I suck at latte art.
Bless: Describe Bless in 3 words?
HVS: 1.BLESS 2.IS 3.GREAT.
Bless: What is your experience of being a part of the Bless Family?
HVS: Whenever I am involved with the bless team may it be on mission, helping move chairs at Bless Talks, or scoring some screaming goals on BENDIT - I feel happy. Liberated. Inspired. And content….. And I have lots of fun.
Bless: What are your dreams for the next 12 months (or so)?
HVS: I don’t massively know. But first of all I would like to pay off my overdraft. Stash some cash. Cycle to Bethanie. Learn to speak Spanish. Maybe go on holiday somewhere. Buy a motorbike. Buy an iMac.
Bless: How can we pray for you?
HVS: Next week I am moving out of my parents place and into a 300 year old cottage a stone’s throw away from where I work in Southwold. Please pray for a smooth move. That I would not be freaked out by the massive wardrobe in the attic, the buildings age, or the fact that it’s near a graveyard. That I will have enough money to pay rent & eat. That I will get involved and have a positive impact on the local community. I hope to start a knitting club at the bakery cafe so pray for logistical things for that and pray for fresh & fun ideas for how I can spread the joy of knowing Jesus in Southwold. Also pray that God will continue to shape my organisational skills until I am a cafe managing genius – I’m finding this quite tough at the moment. Thanks. Love ya loadz.
Join the Bless Family HERE.
It’s Prayerday Friday at Bethanie. Here are some of the things we are praying for…
- Preparations for GO2BLESS Short Term Summer Mission Programmes
- BETA CHURCH, Caen-LIvarot
- Current TIME2BLESS students placed in Europe
- Funding for BETHANIE, our missional training HQ situated in Basse-Normandie
- Our Bless FAMILY in the Netherlands as they gather this weekend to think, pray and plan big things.
‘The day dawns in hopeful faith, proclaiming all that God will do.
May it end in faithful hope, thankful for all he has done.’ @Twitturgies
YESTERDAY
We took care of the land, and made things by hand.
We also prayed, worked, poached eggs for lunch, and washed our socks. #béthanie
Three months ago we moved back to the UK having spent 6 months living in community in Basse Normandie, France. England is great but theres a ton of things we miss:
community, family
slow food, slow evenings
light, sunsets, blinds open
digging, growing, chopping, doing
praying, talking, dreaming BIG
We’re trying to be intentional in bringing some of these things into our life in the UK.
Food has been a great place to start so we’ve been foraging, cooking, preserving and eating with family. Our favourites have been wild garlic pesto foraged from the local park, chilli jam made and given to friends and chorizo and fennel spaghetti with pangritata for an evening with the parents. All recipes are from Bex in The Bless Kitchen.
It’s fun and we recommend it. Get involved.
SCRATCH LITURGY around the fire at Beta Church on Sunday:
When I’m too busy, He disrupts me
When I walk away, He walks with me
When I say ‘what if’, He says ‘I am there’
When I feel under pressure, He lifts the lid
When I have questions. He answers with His beautful creation
We break bread & share the cup in remembrance of what God has done and is doing for us
When I say ‘I can’t’, He says ‘you can!’
When I forget, He remembers
When I look down, He helps me look up
When I can’t, He can
When I’m selfish, He makes me aware of others
We break bread & share the cup in remembrance of what God has done and is doing for us
Amen
Bless: Introduce yourselves
D&A: We’re Dave and Abby, we’re both 27 and have just come over to spend a few months at Bethanie after being in Brighton (UK), where we moved four years ago to be part of a small church that was seeking to be involved in the local community.
I (Dave) have spent the last few years running a community youthwork project with One Church Brighton and am passionate about simplicity and making faith work in real life. I am also passionate about fantasy football.
I (Abby) have spent the last few years working in supported accommodation for people that were previously homeless. I like people, art, being in the countryside and drinking chai latte.
Bless: What are you up to at the moment?
D&A: We came to Bethanie in April and are here for a few months to get involved with the work that Bless is up to, have a bit of space to reflect and work some things through, as well as to think and pray about what the future might hold for us.
Day to day we’re doing all sorts- enjoying the rhythm of prayer and community meals, generally helping Bethanie life to happen (veg patching, chickens, maintenance etc), helping out with French summer mission prep and anything as it comes up! Abby is having the space to do lots more art (abbyperrins.tumblr.com)
Bless: Describe Bless in 3 words?
Dave: Prayer, Friendship, Peace
Abby: Prayer, Community, Creativity
Bless: What is your experience of being a part of the Bless Family?
D&A: We love it. Bless was really helpful for us when we were in Brighton, coming over to Bethanie at different points gave us a really good chance to slow down, spend time with God and re-centre, which really helped us in our different roles at work/in life in general.
We really enjoy being part of Bless and have made some great friends through it - it really does feel like a family and being gradually more involved over the last few years has been really good for us.
Bless: What are your dreams for the next 12 months (or so)?
Dave: Wow, big question. I really want to go deeper in my faith and really grapple with some of the stuff I struggle with and that is difficult, and to grow holistically as a person. It’d also be great to get a clearer picture of what the future holds.
Abby: I really want to slow down to focus on love (of God and others) as the only thing that matters in life. I am also having some space to process some things and hope that my faith will grow deeper and wider through this. I also hope to grow in my creativity.
D&A: We’re hoping to travel a bit; to see some good places and meet some interesting people. We want to explore and see some of the things we are interested in on our travels, like church communities with rhythms of prayer and shared living, simple self-sustainable communities, becoming more connected with some of the products we use from across the globe.
Our hope is that the next 12 months would be a growing time and a fun time, as well as preparing us for whatever the next years hold for us.
Bless: How can we pray for you?
D&A: Just praying for the above really, that we would grow as people and as a couple- that we would grow in God’s ways of love.
Join the Bless Family HERE.
