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Welcome to Open Heaven
a church committed to making disciples of Jesus Christ in 21st century culture
- Meetings this Sunday (5th July)
Joint Gathering - OH1 & OH2
10:30 - Mountfields School
Open Heaven is part of the 
network.
Registered Charity No. 1072832
02 Jul
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- Paul
Paul Heads out to Cambodia
“Cambodians believe that if you take a photo with 3 people in it, the middle person will die”…just one quote from my orientation guide there!
The bus jolted along the road past lush green paddy fields, from Poipet on the border, to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. Leaving the HIV/AIDS rehab home and pushing a moto-taxi through mud and monsoon rain, I now had the 8 hour journey to dry off and think. Fellow passengers included a man with an IV drip fixed to the luggage rack, a family with a chicken on a leash and a girl lying in agony with her leg bandaged...
14 May
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- Bex
BACA Update
BACA was set up by a group of volunteers from Open Heaven in November 2007 to work with newly arrived Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children between the ages of 16-18. Our vision was to invest hope into these young people and shape their futures for the better, teaching them good independent living skills and helping making good choices for their lives.
BACA now operates as a faith-based (but non-proselytising) charity with over fifteen staff, four independent living houses accommodating twelve young lads from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea and more recently Vietnam. BACA also runs a successful schools education project called ‘Passage’ linking learning about asylum with the National Curriculum in day-long experiential workshops. And BACA is on the move again!
06 May
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- Jez
Stories from Encounter
The Encounter Weekend continues to be one of my highlights in the year. Over the bank holiday weekend a group of 50 of us went away to encounter God. It was an amazing weekend where we experienced the reality and presence of a God who loves us and longs to be with us. A God whose heart burns to see us free from the wounds and hurts the world can bring.
It was a beautiful picture of the church, being honest with our brokenness, sharing our lives together, letting God draw near to heal and free us and finding fresh purpose and passion to follow Jesus courageously.
01 May
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- Ness
Imagine a church that...
The unusual thing about the theme for this term is that I knew a couple of years ago (April '07) that we should do this theme in about two years time – which is now! I don’t think that process has ever happened before in the choosing of a term’s theme.
So, what happened in April '07? It was then that, after fourteen years of everyone meeting together for one Sunday gathering, we went into two expressions of Open Heaven.
29 Apr
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- Chloe
Well Done You’ve Made It!
You’ve made it to the end of lent and gone without whatever it was you chose to give up. Thank you for making the sacrifice. It will make a difference to someone you’ve never even met.
The money we raise will go to the Kick for Life Orphans and Vulnerable Children scholarship scheme. The aim of the charity is to educate youth around how to avoid HIV infection and to diminish the stigma and discrimination around HIV/AIDS.
10 Apr
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- Stu
Song based on the Lord's Prayer
I wrote a song based on the Lord's Prayer, and Claire sang it. Here it is, cleverly recorded by Tom Mapes, hope you like it. Happy Easter, and thanks to all the people who bought me a new guitar after I smashed my old one.
You can also download it.
03 Apr
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- Caroline
Study War No More
The global arms trade is wreaking havoc around the world. In its current form it is not primarily focused on helping create or keep peace, but on making profit. This means selling as many arms as possible regardless of whether or not they are needed. It is ordinary people who pay the price:
23 Mar
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- Louise
Chad Chat from Louise
Well it is time to give you all a wee bit of an update on how things are going here in Chad. It's one month in and I am feeling a bit more settled. It has been a tough time with the new job in a very new environment and in a different language and I have missed you all very much but I do feel that I am starting to find my feet.
Home
I have just had my first full week at my main base. I am living in a town called Am-Layouna which is 15 minute drive from the Gaga refugee camp. I live on the CORD compound in a small toukoul (pictured above) on the ‘expat’ section of the base and the rest of the staff are in a separate section. I have my own kitchen, toilet and ‘bathroom’ and a lovely lady who comes and does my cooking! This is always fun as she mainly speaks Arabic with a bit of French and so our communications have led to some very interesting meals!!
18 Mar
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- Jez
The Encounter Weekend
1st -3rd May 09
The Encounter Weekend is about encountering God and experiencing his power in our lives. We’ve spent some time reworking Encounter this year so it will be quite different to previous years.
Encounter is a journey back to the foundational truths of our faith, the cross and the power of God to bring forgiveness and freedom to us.