We are looking forward to worshiping in different languages at this International Christmas Concert on Saturday 17th December at 6pm at St Margaret’s Church, 1 Station Road, Edgware HA8 7JE.
We will be singing in English, Urdu and Twi (Ghanaian language) as we join our voices with the angels celebrating the birth of our saviour 2,000 years ago. Refreshments will be served at the end of the concert. Entry free of charge, with a retiring collection for St Margaret’s music fund.
Voice for Jesus are leading the band which includes friends drawn from Chesham, London and Edgware. We also welcome the worship team from Open Doors Ministry led by Pastor Isaac who meet at St Margaret’s on a Sunday afternoon. They will be singing familiar carols in English and Twi.
The Cross in centre of Shantinagar donated by Mr Pervaiz Henry a business man from the village, now settled in Karachi
Hammad is safely home from Pakistan, Praise God, having had a wonderful visit to Shantinagar for the 100 years celebrations.
Shantinagar is a rural village established by the Salvation Army 100 years ago, surrounded by fertile land irrigated by one of the many canals carrying water to agricultural land in the Punjab region.
Hammad spent the day times visiting friends and relatives in the village, drinking chai and lassi and eating the famous jalabi sweets.
Welcome in Shantinagar (from the left, Mr Ziaul, Hammad, Pastor Naeem and other guests)
The first evening ‘Arise Youth’ concert was attended by 6,000 young people who had come in buses from across the whole region. It was a hot evening, everyone on stage and in the audience were wearing white shirts fulfilling a prophecy that had been received from a local lady saying she had seen a large gathering with a man singing in a white shirt and fire coming out of his body and healing people.
There was a real sense of God’s presence and much spiritual healing taking place during the evening. Hammad opened the concert with Mera Roma Roma (The Holy Spirit is in me) and then he sang Tera nagar, mera nagar Shantinagar (your house, my house, is a peace house) a song written by Mr Ziaul Masih an apologist from Shantinagar, which Hammad composed for this event. Video footage was shot by Imran Immi during the concert and around the village for the video of this song which will be released by Christmas.
The second evening was attended by 10,000 people, and despite having a sore throat from so much dust the previous evening, Hammad sang again for an hour, with Lloyd providing backing vocals and bass guitar.
Lloyd Robinson on base guitar
The regular percussion team with Ashar on Tabla and Zeshan on Dholak were with Hammad for this tour, creating massive energy in the worship.
Hammad with Pastor Naeem
The two day events were organised by Pastor Naeem of Good Samaritan Ministries from Lahore.
We praise God for his organisation skills and his faithful preaching of the Word, distributing 2,000 bibles of spiritual food to the people and his generosity in paying the musicians.
Hammad is back in the UK for three weeks helping Sally with youth events at St Margaret’s church in Edgware during half term, starting a new music workshop with Living Way Ministries in Grahame Park near Edgware and preparing for Christmas concerts.
Thank you for your support and prayers during this time. Please continue to pray for Hammad’s mum as she battles daily with the pain of spreading cancer.
A big thank you to everyone who supported our Voice for Jesus concert at St Margaret’s Edgware on 1st October. We had a wonderful evening of worship and thanks to the generosity of supporters covered the cost of Hammad’s flight to attend the Centenary Celebrations in Shantingar this week.Here’s what one supporter said:
Hi Sally,
Last night was brilliant … thanks so much for letting us know it was on. It was fascinating to hear, in more detail, about all of yours and Hammad’s work in Pakistan. Apart from the wonderful message of faith and hope that you are spreading, you are also both exceptionally brave to stand up in an environment that can show such cruel hostility towards Christians. Amazing and humbling work. Looking at those pictures, Hammad seems like a cross between Billy Graham and Elvis Presley in Pakistan … he certainly is a magnet to the crowds…we will keep praying for him… Bless you Di
Please do pray for Hammad as he travels to Shantinagar – his ancestral village – and leads worship at the two day celebrations of 100 years since the village was established by the Salvation Army.
Please pray for safety for everyone attending these events and particularly for the speakers and worship leaders that God will speak through them to reach many people bringing the gospel alive.
We pray that the word of God will reach many in this rural area and lives will be transformed.
Voice for Jesus Concert at St Margaret’s,
1 Station Road, Edgware, HA8 7JE on Saturday 1st October 2016
Doors open 7.30pm for 8pm start. Refreshments provided, Entry Free, donations for our ministry in Pakistan very much appreciated.
Come and enjoy an evening of multicultural worship with singing in English, Urdu and Polish. We will be giving an update on the situation for Christians in Pakistan and Hammad’s ministry plans for this season.
Getting there:
St Margaret’s is 5 minutes from Edgware Underground Station at the end of the Northern Line. Canon Park underground (Jubilee line) is also fairly close just a short bus ride away. If you are driving Edgware is well served with trunk road and motorways from the north sitting between the A5 Watling Street and A41 Watford bypass, close to Jn 4 on M1. There is plenty of parking in the shoppers car park on Station Road just by Iceland & Sainsbury’s. The first 1.5 hours is free then very reasonable charges up to 4 hours.
Sally, Hammad, Lovisa and Sylvester from Chesham UK on mission in Sweden…
Performances at Free church in Vretstorp (ice cream Café) on Wednesday 3rd August – pictured above. Local residences including Swedish people, refugees from Syria and migrants from Afghanistan all enjoyed the music and sang along to Voice for Jesus songs.
Saturday 6th August playing at lakeside venue Talludden nr. Asbro. Worshiping in English, Swedish and Urdu, sharing stories of how Christian’s live in Pakistan and the Voice for Jesus ministry.
Sunday 7th August leading worship at Fylstakyrkan, Kulma morning service with Sally preaching and Lovisa translating into Swedish. In the evening performing at Ransbergs Kyrka near Tibro.
Please do pray for safety as we travel and for God to work in the hearts of all who attend these events that they will understand the gospel more and the challenges facing persecuted Christians in Pakistan.
You are warmly invited to Lowdnes Park in Chesham on Sunday 17th July from 2.30-4.30pm for Community Praise in the Park.
Hammad and Sally will be leading a band drawn from Churches across Chesham singing Christian and secular songs in English & Urdu. There will be a guest appearance from Lara Deen leading a Bollywood dance for everyone to join in. This is a Churches Together for Chesham sponsored event.
The Messy Church team will be putting on activities for children and the Elgiva Café will be serving refreshments. Please bring a chair or rug to sit on, invite your friends and come along to enjoy fun for all the family.
Lowndes Park is in the centre of Chesham a short walk from Chesham Underground Station and there is plenty of parking in the Town Centre shopping area.
On Saturday 25th June we organised a Ladies engaging creative evening with Sarah de Nordwall – stand-up poet and story telling. Sarah performed many of her amusing thought-provoking poems, including Lipstick is a spiritual experience, weaved together with funny stories and anecdotes. Hammad provided musical accompaniment and backing vocal for Rest in Me – Sarah’s original composition which she hopes to record in Hammad’s studio this week.
The participants, from St Mary’s Church, Chesham were then encouraged to write to one of Sarah’s poems in response. This creative writing exercise produced some unexpected results with some reluctant ladies discovering an unknown talent. This was one of the responses:
Mosaic of Life by Sally Baily– inspired by Kintsukuroi
It’s amazing Lord, how you take our broken pieces and mend them with your light.
All those things we think are mistakes that you weave into our story to make us stronger.
Broken hearts
Broken limbs
Broken reputations
Broken dreams
Exams failed
Goals missed
all these become beautiful pieces of the mosaic of my life –
not scars but patterns of life that make up the whole,
that shape my personality,
that give me stories to tell, that inspire others;
hurts that have healed
mistakes that have been redeemed,
new God-focussed goals to replace those self-focussed goals;
reputation, built not on my achievements, but on your grace and mercy;
new dreams, not limited by my capacity to achieve, but based on your limitless capacity for fun and adventure.
I probably couldn’t have got to this place in my life without those broken things that you have mended, without those trials to overcome with your help Lord – Thank you.
‘Dare to dream’ you said to me years ago and look where we are now!
Amazing!
Feedback from the evening was very positive with comments such as:
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed Saturday evening with Sarah – I came home feeling exhilarated!
Just a note to thank you and Hannah very much indeed for all the hard work you both put into making last night’s Ladies Event so successful and enjoyable. Special thanks to Hammad too for all he contributed and his sensitive accompaniment to Sarah’s song. Sarah’s positive approach and enthusiasm was contagious and on our table (the naughty one!) everyone really enjoyed the time, and surprised themselves with what they were able to create. Thanks too for the delicious desserts and drinks.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling on all English churches to set apart the week before Pentecost for prayer for our country and our witness in the community.
Our hope is for all Christians to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ, for all of us to have confidence to share the Gospel, and for all to respond to the call of Jesus Christ to follow him as disciples, to live out the Gospel and to seek God’s kingdom from day to day.
How is your church responding? Here in Chesham we are prayer walking around the district of St Mary’s during the week commencing 8th May. There are 10 different zones where prayer walks are being led throughout the week. I’m leading a prayer walk starting from 31 Chapmans Crescent, CHESHAM, on Saturday 14th May at 0930 hours for about 1.5 hours, walking the streets of my neighbour. You are welcome to join us walking and praying and listening to God, blessing our neighbours and seeking God’s will for this town.
What are you doing this Pentecost? Well in Chesham we have two options for engaging in Pentecost Praise. I’ve just booked my tickets for Friday 13th May Pentecost Praise at Restore Hope Latimer. An open air event on the Angel Field – doors open at 7pm. For more information and to book tickets for this fee event visit click here.
Then on Saturday 14th May at 6pm there is an All Saints Pentecost Praise event for Churches together in Chesham held in the Broadway Baptist Church, High Street, Chesham. This promises to be another great evening of Praise and Worship with a band led by Kings Church.
Sally will be playing with Liturgical Journey at a Prayer Concert at Christchurch, Waterside, Chesham on Saturday 16th April 2016. The afternoon starts at 1pm with a quiet reflective time until 3pm to explore God’s way of bringing peace to your life; embracing readings, creative prayer and personal quiet time.
After a refreshment break from 3- 3.30pm, the band will lead a prayer concert, suitable for the whole family, in both music, song and word. The event will finish at 5pm. Entry free of charge.
It was a hot evening, everyone on stage and in the audience were wearing white shirts fulfilling a prophecy that had been received from a local lady saying she had seen a large gathering with a man singing in a white shirt and fire coming out of his body and healing people.
ond evening was attended by 10,000 people, and despite having a sore throat from so much dust the previous evening, Hammad sang again for an hour, with Lloyd providing backing vocals and bass guitar.
