Homecoming Weekend - Loyalty Matters

Over 500 people responded to the announcement that Holloway SDA Church would be hosting a Home Coming Weekend from the 14-16th May 2010. By 10.00am the atmosphere in the Sanctuary was thick with nostalgia, warmth and welcome as were the many faces from the past and present who made their way through its infamous blue seats. But what was it that brought so many families and friends together to worship at Holloway that day? For many who had been born and raised in the Church and were now returning with children of their own, while others made new friends and formed new connections.

 

For some it was as simple and profound as just being invited. It was someone noticing that your presence and contribution had been missing for a week, month or year and acknowledging and informing you that yes, you matter to us.

 

Others were taken a back by the theme for the weekend: Loyalty Matters: Are you In Or Out? Just as the Prophet Ellijah challenged the children of Israel to ‘choose you this day whom you will serve’, so were Holloway’s waiting congregation. This was not about loyalty to Holloway or anyone associated with it; it was rooted to your personal relationship with God- how will you respond to a Love that was determined to see you saved for enternity?

 

But for many, particularly those raised in Holloway Church during the 1980’s it was the opportunity to be reunited with one of Holloway’s Ministering Couples: Pastor Louis and Dr Janice Preston.  Pastor Preston a second generation Preacher’s son born in New York City had learned to have love and compassion for all people from a young age.  This was his first reunion with Holloway for over twenty years since serving as Holloway’s Minister from 1979 for seven years before moving to Nottingham and then spending four years in Africa melding cultures and encouraging unity. In his early thirties as the Minister of Holloway Church, he had instituted a number of improvements to Holloway’s Communion Service and Church Building to name a few. He had also baptized and mentored so many of Holloway’s youth who credit the loyalty of the Preston family to their Church as influencing their commitment to serving the Lord to this very day.

 

On Friday Night Annell Smith opened the evening with Praise and Worship, welcoming the Sabbath and reflecting on the sentiments on what it means to reverence the Sabbath day. Dr Janice Preston opened the weekend with an inspiring presentation on the history and development SDA Hospitals in Florida where she serves as the Chair of the Department of Nursing and Dr Preston as the Diversity Officer for all eight of its campuses.

 

But God was not overshadowed throughout the celebrations- like the Father who ran to meet his Prodigal Son who had returned Home; The Holy Spirit was moving through the aisles reminding each one in person that yes ‘I am a living testimony that God Restores’ and how poignant it was that this was also the meditational song of the Holloway Mass Choir that morning. “God Redeems, Recycles and Restores” exclaimed Pastor Louis Preston to a waiting congregation. Using both drama, preaching and teaching in his sermon, he demonstrated that God loves the transgressor, iniquitor and sinner and pointed to what Jesus is doing right now as our High Priest to ensure we are saved.

 

The weekend ended with a nostalgic walk through Holloway’s Hallway of music and talent from the early 1980’s to the present day featuring the likes of ‘Love Divine’, Holloway Gospel Choir, Jane Liburd, through to Praise Choir, Leon Barclay and The Philip’s stringed ensemble. It was a time of reflection, but not without a sure reminder from Dr Janice Preston that while the days we reminisce are now long gone, Jesus’ Second Coming is drawing nearer: we must be both loyal and ready.

 

By Ranette Prime

WE HAVE NOT FOGOTTEN!

Remembrance Day Parades have become a traditional fixture in the British calendar. With the Holloway Pathfinder Club being invited participants for the second year it is fast becoming a fixture on our calendar of activities. So on the rather chilly morning of Sunday, 8th November 2009, we congregated at Holloway SDA Church in our distinctive dress uniform of beige and brown, green sashes, black berets for the general Pathfinders and red for the Holloway Drum Corps. The Adventurers were in their blue and white and well shined black shoes for all. Befitting the occasion there was one notable addition, the green, black and red of the poppy pin that adorned the chest of all our uniforms.

We then set off for the main meeting point at Highbury Corner where those in the Islington Remembrance Day Parade were to assemble. Being quite early we were the second group to arrive. Then the wait began. With the sun competing for pre-eminence over the clouds it seemed little heat was reaching us. Our uniform and the layers that we were well advised to wear underneath were our only protection against the elements. But as we stood and saw the representatives of the different groups that would form the parade arrive the sense of occasion began sinking in. There were the Metropolitan Police department- from that contingent some would be our escorts, some would be part of the parade and two mounted officers would guide our route. Present were also The Riffles, The Royal Fusiliers, the Engineers, the Royal Signals, the RAF, the Special Forces, the TA, the Royal Marines, The Parachute Regiment, the HAC, the Guards, the RAMC, the Emergency Services and the Cadets.

The Drum Corps, who were officially invited to lead the parade took their positions at the top of the column, the Pathfinder Club next and the various other groups would fall in behind us.

With all brought to attention by their individual squad leaders the Drum Corps was signalled to begin. The drum beat of the Quick March sounded clear and strong and the column, each unit arrayed in their respective uniforms marched. The streets were lined with passer-bys who stopped to gaze, supporters who came to cheer us on and the shop owners and workers who paused from their work to see the parade that would pass by them.

We marched to the Holloway Square where we and approximately 900 men, women and children gathered at 10.40 am for an Interfaith Service. There we were reminded of the number of wars that have been fought in the last century and indeed the main two that raged even while we stood and remember the past and present conflicts. But it is not the wars that year after year we gather to remember but the cost in human lives.

We remember those who answered the call to arms, who will never return home again but laid buried in some foreign land. We remembered those who would return home, but in flag draped caskets and the wounded that would forever bear the scares of war in life. We also remembered the numbered six million Jews who were killed in the Second World War and the innumerable millions who have died in past conflicts.

As we stood in that square we sang, some quietly, some with strong voices 'The Lord is My Shepherd'. At 11.00 am the crowd fell silent. Around the country many other gatherings hushed as the two minutes of silence began. After the two minutes there were various prayers, the placing of wreaths and the singing of 'O God Our Helper'.

As we stood there I remembered that there will very soon also be another gathering. This one will begin with a 'shout' and the 'trump of God'. 1 Thes 4:16 We do not know whether it will be morning, noon, or night but we know that the return of our Saviour in His glory, that will mark the end of the greatest conflict ever fought, will be brighter than any light the sun could radiate. We also know that when His trump sounds the dead in Christ shall rise first. What a spectacle that will be! No earthly pageant could compete with such magnificence. But is not the display that should enthral us but as with the Remembrance Day Parade it is the reason behind the gathering. There is coming a day that God has promised, and so will be, when He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, there will be no more death, or sadness, or crying, or pain. Rev 21:4 What a day that will be. Until that day, but with it ever in mind, if God spares our lives, we will gather again same time same place next year to remember the lives lost and the lives saved because of those sacrifices. We will remember them, UNTIL that day when we will remember such things no more. By Keriann Greene

Ladies Games Night

It was Ladies’ Night and the mood was certainly right on Saturday 4th October 2009.  The Women’s Ministries Department organised the first evening of its kind at Holloway SDA Church and it was well attended by the various age categories among the over 16s age bracket.

Women’s Leader Sis Toyin Aworinde skilfully engaged the women’s interest through her promotion of the event and the night delivered above expectations with a delightful spread of finger foods and an array of games to suit every disposition.

Contented senior women laughed at the irony of board game ‘Mid life crisis’, whilst ambitious, driven types steered clear of it, for fear this might become their reality. They opted instead for the competitive thrill of UNO or the high octane pursuits afforded by the Nintendo Wii Games menu.  Sporty types had a great time with Jacks and those of tropical origins, reengaged their dormant throwing skills; formerly used to dislodge juicy mangoes from trees.  The intellectual activists were drawn to a ‘jumbo connect 4’ whilst the most superior brains, soon discovered errors in the questions of ‘Who Wants to Be A Millionaire’ and may yet seek legal advice, in order to sue the game board company under the sale of goods Act!

With the exception of a handful of children, some determined teens and a few stray men, the women’s department largely succeeded in retaining the ‘over 16, women only’ profile of the event.  It was amusing to see the lengths that the men went to in order to gatecrash this exclusive event.  Some pretended to offer audio visual services, while others entered under the pretext of seeking family members.  Nevertheless they were promptly ousted by shouts of ‘Intruder’ by self appointed defenders of the night, amidst peels of laughter.  It was nonetheless a pleasant and subtle reminder that men certainly appreciate the women in their lives.

Despite fun and sisterly bonding being the main objective of the evening, as women of God, the opportunity to solicit the throne of grace on behalf of an ailing sister was given priority as the evening approached its end.  The evening was a great success and as we thanked the Lord for His goodness and each other, we were unanimous in our resolve, that the event should be repeated.

Written by Annell Smith

You Raised Me Up

Utter dependence and total surrender to Jesus quite simply summarised the entire campaign of Holloway Church from 5-19th September 2009.

The speaker for the ‘He Raised Me Up’ Campaign was the UK’s own Anthony Fuller, recent graduate of Theology at Oakwood College and remembered by others as the former President of the London Youth Federation.

His objective was clear and spirit led: to carefully unpack the familiar principles of the Christian faith which we may not admit to ourselves, often felt unachievable to experience personally. Principles such as ‘abiding in Christ’ ‘righteousness by faith’ ‘dying to self’ ‘fruits of the spirit’ and the ‘armour of God’ were explored in detail and self- conviction to a full congregation with many others also watching live online from all over the world.

The congregation which composed of a significant number from the local community, admired his ability to break down these principles into simple practical steps without losing the profound importance of who it all pointed to: Jesus. “The only deliberate effort of the Christian is to seek fellowship with Jesus; not trying to be right but knowing the righteous one!” He said under the sermon title “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” Here we were also reminded that these principles were meaningless unless our primary goal was to get to know Jesus.

Like any other teacher who anticipates the questions of his students, Bro Fuller drew upon his own personal experiences of where his faith was tested to demonstrate how remaining in Jesus was a daily struggle “conversion was only meant to last a day, we must die daily to self if we are to remain in Him”, he reminded us, going further to explain what this actually entailed.

While the first week explored the principles of our faith, the second week focused on its application with the emphasis on ‘remaining’ in Jesus. Referring to the anagram of G.R.O.W.T.H (go to God in Prayer, Ready God’s Word, Obey God moment by moment, Witness, Trust God and Holy Spirit), we soon realised that our image of God misrepresented who He really was, often the fault of our own unstable relationships with others or sheer lack of studying the Word of God for ourselves. But from scripture he pointed out that despite our conduct in the relationship, His love was constant, not fickle and it was this, which motivates us to remain in Him- “How can you reject a love like that?” Bro Fuller confessed to the congregation.

The final Sabbath saw six candidates make a public declaration of their commitment to Jesus through baptism, and still several more have requested Bible studies as a direct result of the campaign. Many of the visitors were drawn by the health check sessions, which were held nightly before the campaign as well in response to posters in The London Paper and handbills distributed through the borough. Surely the campaign was evidence that Jesus was true to His Word when He declared “when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself”. John 12:32

Written by Ranette Prime

Holloway Reaches Out

June the 7th 2009, marked the date when Holloway’s Personal Ministry department committed to a ‘Field day’ outreach initiative that would be comprise of 4 mission days.

The aim was to carry out the somewhat daunting task of knocking doors within the surrounding community, in order to make personal connections with the residents, share literature and raise the profile of the church.

The PM team is diverse in age and professional interests, but united in their passion to share the relief that Christianity can bring in such uncertain times.

Theirs was no adhoc effort, but rather a systematic approach which divided the team into groups, who were given an assignment of literature and allocated to specific streets on which to discharge their mission.

The launch of the programme was marked mainly by visits to homes, were doors were knocked and bells were rung in a bid to converse with willing residents.  In addition shops were visited and pedestrians were approached.  Members of the public who engaged with the PM team were presented with a variety of literary options including titles such as He is Coming, Resolve your Stress and Focus magazines.  Interestingly the Happiness booklet proved to be a firm favourite and seemed to indicate a genuine need for joy in the community.  The 2nd mission day was limited in productivity due to adverse weather conditions, but was followed by an eventful 3rd mission day on 26th June.

Erica Rajaonarivelo newly baptised member and enthusiastic member of the PM team, originally hailing from Madagascar shared her experience of the 3rd mission day. She explained that her most interesting observation was the fact that people were far more willing to except literature on Happiness & Resolving Stress, than those such as ‘He is Coming’, that made direct references to Jesus.  She noted that local homes seemed to be mainly inhabited by single professionals and found that females aged 50 and over were the least willing to engage in conversation.

Erica’s own testimony is one of enduring numerous struggles before embarking on a relationship with God; in contrast to later experiencing relief and reassurance from a saviour, that she previously wasn’t sure existed.

She reported that the outreach day was a positive use of her time and citied an angry man with 2 scary dogs as her most anxiety provoking encounter.  Conversely she confirmed that meeting an open-minded lady with 2 children, who gladly received some literature and agreed to enquire further about the Discovery bible course on the website, was her most fulfilling experience.

The grand climax to the PM Outreach emphasis for the summer came in the form of a Health Expo on 26th July 2009.

An invitation was extended to members of the public to take their health in hand, by receiving complimentary blood pressure, and cholesterol checks, while also having the opportunity to have a basic screening for diabetes.  Several members of the public, simply attended in direct response to an invitation and the there was a significant non-Adventist presence.

Benefits included a talk on food labelling and nutrition and massages as well as opportunities to present questions to health practitioners.  The PM team demonstrated their ability to work in partnership with other service providers by allowing an independent agent selling a range of Aloe Vera based health products; to set up a stand on the premises.

Evangelism remained a core theme, resulting in one person confirming a desire to attend church the following Sabbath and a couple expressing interest in enrolling their children into the pathfinder club.

The PM leader Bro Donath Davis was extremely pleased with the outcome.  He stated that despite initial reservations about the likelihood of public support, these concerns were quickly dismissed by the reality of good attendance.

Written by Annell Smith

Holloway’s Young Men: Reach Out

It is a well known fact that people of African Caribbean descent are more likely to develop high blood pressure and diabetes, more likely to have a stroke and more likely to be affected by both these conditions at a younger age, compared with other populations within the UK.  So where better for a Healthy Lifestyle outreach, than at an Afro Hair and Beauty Show?  

The 27th anniversary of the Afro Hair and Beauty Show was held at Alexandra Palace in North London on the 24-25th May 2009. Since 2006, Holloway Church’s Healthy Lifestyle Outreach team have been invited to take part in what is regarded as one of the biggest annual events of North London. Amidst stands and exhibitions displaying products and makeovers catering for external beauty, the healthy lifestyle stand had its own unique attractions. Firstly its holistic approach to catering for the body, mind and spirit through the offer of the Focus Magazine, back massages by Sis Serita Tapper and the offer of Pastoral Prayer by Pastor Richard Holder and Pastor Nerine Barrett. But more striking this year was the teams choice of ‘health assistants’ to administer the blood pressure checks of the visitors.

“We wanted to use the young men of Holloway Church because we believe the best evangelism tool we have to reach young people, are young people themselves”, stated Joyce Riley a Nursing Practitioner and joint co-ordinator with Sis Ishie of the outreach program. Other members of the team included Sis D Ryan and Sis B Davidson who provided the equipment and vision for the outreach program.

The nine young men who volunteered to take part are regular members of Holloway church and ranged in age from 16-21. Prior to the event the young men were provided with an induction course on how to operate the blood pressure equipment and practice customer service skills supervised by qualified Nurses.

And the training definitely paid off. From 9am- 7pm the young men arrived promptly, sometimes waiting in the rain, to help set up the stands and the equipment for the visitors. Over 400 people visited the stand for health checks and advice over the two days from 16- 80 years old. Selected clients were offered as a token gift a CD entitled “understanding and managing diabetes” and a diabetes self-check machine, which they really appreciated.

The young men showed great initiative and enthusiasm by interacting with the many visitors around the exhibition hall which held over 2000 people a day, handing out over 250 Focus magazines. Incorporated in the magazine was an article by Elsie Staple, the SEC health director on the laws of health.  Many visitors from various ethnic backgrounds were recruited this way. “It was an amazing experience, I like helping and talking to people and felt really supported”, said one of the young men. The younger client’s were also fascinated and encouraged to see young black men in particular involved in this form of community outreach.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, one filled with hard work, success and more importantly left an impact of the young men of how practical and fulfilling their faith can be.

Written by Ranette Prime

Holloway Youth Revival Ushers in 15 Baptisms

Sabbath 25th April 2009 was metaphorically etched into the history books and hearts of Holloway Church members as bearing host to possibly one of the most impressive baptismal services of the last 40-years.

It was impressive for many reasons; each of the 15 baptismal candidates had journeyed far and wide to publicly declare Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, four of them quite literally: Sonto Mashele of South Africa, Gillian Tembo-Oke of Nigeria, Musa Maphosa of Zimbabwe, and Vivien Goddard-Quildon of Trinidad. Joining the women, were two men who had found Christ through their service to the Church and the regular small groups which met for Bible Study during the week: Bro Jeremiah Bonner and  Bro Leo Carter.

The ceremony was enhanced all the more as 8 of the baptismal candidates were young people aged from 9 to 18 years. As Sis B Rutherford Holloway's Bible Worker, aptly declared: "devil, you've lost once again" before brother's Clarence and Kareem Riley-Guishard entered the baptismal pool. There was a pensive moment, as Pastor Holder reminded the congregation of how much hope these young men had brought to a community where knife and gun crime was still prevalent; God had spared their lives to save their lives.

Joining the two young men was Stevie Tutaloamo, 15 whose eagerness and enthusiasm was echoed by the youthful congregation that filled the majority of the 400 seats. As one senior member later commented: "I have never seen so great amount of support and dedication from young people at a baptism in all the 40 years I have attended this Church".

And so it seemed. Each candidate was honoured with songs and scripture readings rendered by their friends and family. The Father of Trevina and Trevona Jennings filled the air with a personal rendition of the hymn “Amazing Grace”. Nola Hopkins 15, was dedicated with a song and poem personally written by her friends and sister. And the sound of Aca-pella accompanied Georgina Anderson and Vanessa James both aged 15, two of the first teenagers to enter the pool. The youngest yet determined member to enter the pool was 9 year old Alyaj-Jada Chunda, who had grown up in the church under the guidance of her Grandmother- Sis Spence.

The surge of young candidates was the result of years of attending Bible study small groups, Pathfinders and the witness of the youth to their friends. This was confirmed during Holloway's recent Youth Revival the same weekend: a response to the positive feedback from the Youth Week Of Prayer held at the beginning of March.  The two preachers responsible for the meetings were students of Newbold Micah Campbell and Andrew Davis, the latter on placement at Holloway.

In his final sermon that Sabbath morning entitled: "Are we there yet?", Andrew Davis closed in on the young men who he amicably labelled "Holloway's man dem", making a reference to King David's Soldiers in 1 Samuel 30. He reminded us that: “A Christian never does right in order to be a Christian, rather a Christian does right because he is a Christian”. Their ministry to the church and the young people of Holloway had clearly left a great impression on the youth, and Holloway extends its prayers and blessings to their ministry as they continue to win souls for Christ's Kingdom. This will be remembered by the members of Holloway Church, as being the most outstanding baptismal service of the last 40 years.

By Ranette Prime

A Closer Walk with the Lord

When the 8th of March 2009 finally came upon us, the youth of Holloway anticipated something good, but not as overwhelming an experience as it turned out to be.

The 8th-14th March marked Holloway’s Youth Week of Prayer entitled: A Closer Walk with the Lord. Taking inspiration from the Church of Laodecia in Revelations 4:15-17, it aptly described the current experience of our young people who are at a pivotal stage in their lives following football careers, relationships or other aspirations with the potential to displace God as their first priority nonetheless confident they could ‘step back in line’ as and when they felt like it.

With this profile, the spirit led us to two young men: Andrew Davis and Micah Campbell. As we soon discovered during the course of the week, the two are long time school friends from Stanbourugh Park school. Fast forward 10 years they now shared desks as Theology students at Newbold College moments away from entering Pastoral Ministry. Their lives proved to be an open book from night to night, sharing their own personal struggles to submit to God completely. Their ministry did not begin and end on the pulpit, but clearly was with each of the teens who requested further prayer and bible-study following the nightly programs.

In his first sermon “Not now Lord, Come back Tomorrow” Micah Campbell shared his personal fears and initial reluctance to submit to God’s call to Ministry. Although he had began preaching as young as 14 years of age, he admitted he was simply captivated by the pleasures of the world. It was only following a long restless night with the Lord that he finally submitted to His call he has never looked back and has found the peace and fulfilment he was searching for.

Andrew Davis went straight to the core of our relationship with Jesus and our ‘affair’ with the devil and revealed the spiritual warfare over our minds. He used creative illustrations in his sermon entitled “Joshua, Jackie and Jerome” and was given poetic license in “I don’t see nothing wrong” to expose how the devil tricks us into hanging on to our particular sins. He went on to break down the definition and objective of the entertainment industry to dull our senses to hearing and responding to the will of God. Andrew reminded us that spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and challenged the youth to ask God to reveal to them the weak areas of their lives and submit it to Him completely.

The youth of Holloway proved to most effective resource we had to sharing the youth week of prayer. As night to night they responded to the altar call and the mid-week anointing service, it was clear that many who attended were not regular members. Their active participation was evident from the active filming and set up of the live-streaming of the programs from the Holloway Website to the nightly drama illustrations by Holloway’s 15 strong drama team lead by teen Angeline Barclay displaying the very real experiences of young people as they faced challenges to their relationships with family, friends and ultimately with God.


The culmination came on the final Sabbath, with our Youth Day which included unusually an ordination service of two young men- with Duane Davison and Leon Barclay ordained as Deacons. Both young men have served the church for most of their youth Duane as Audio Visual and Communications chair and Leon as Church Musician who has served the church and its Choirs and with professionalism. Rather than acknowledging the start of their ministry it marked its continuation and was an opportunity to thank God for blessing them and their positive influence on others both young and old. Special thanks is also extended to the AYS team led by Keshinda Johnson Lewis as they embark on future YWOP programs throughout the year.