The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. In the same way, we can also recognise what we have in common and what connects us. Over the 117 years that Kempston East Methodist Church has existed, there have been many different members who have lived locally, moved from the far corners of the UK and many further than that. We all have different backgrounds, cultures and interests; but there are many things we have in common, with the main connection being our faith. Our church family has continued to evolve to what it is today, and it is something that we are proud of.
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You may be aware that the month of October is Black History Month, and ultimately, it was created as a festival of celebration. This service will be part of our way of marking this and celebrating our church family in its fullness. The Black Lives Matter protests around the world sparked a commitment among many individuals and organisations to educate themselves about Black history, heritage and culture – as part of understanding racism and standing in solidarity against it. Whilst the protests raised awareness of the issues and opened up progressive discourse on the matter, the main theme and focus of Black History Month is celebrating heritage and diversity. This year in particular, we collectively want to inspire and share the pride people have in their heritage and culture – in their own way and in their own words. This is similar to what we are hoping to share with you all this Sunday at Kempston East, with several church members talking about their heritage and background.

Another theme for our service is Christians around the world – highlighting that our faith is something that connects us to millions of people across the world, not just in Kempston. We are also hoping to show a short video from our friends in Uganda who are part of the organisation, GAAF. In 2018, our Church charity was GAAF (Gideon’s Anti Aid Foundation) who are based in the community of Bombo just north of the capital Kampala, Uganda. The charity supports children who live and are cared for at the site, and are taught in their school. The charity also supports the local community, with crops that they grow and animals they rear. We were pleased to have Fred (one of the first children who was supported by GAAF) and Victoria to stay with us in December 2017. They also came to Kempston East to speak to us about GAAF and the work they do in the community. From this, they are also indirectly part of our church and wider church family. We continue to stay in touch with them and hope that one day we can go to visit them in Uganda.

The themes of diversity and Christians around the world remind me of the song ‘We are the Church’:

I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus, all around the world! Yes, we're the church together!

It also says that the church is not a building, but a people. We have learnt this over the last couple of years, with the church coming to our living rooms via Zoom and through this newsletter. The work of Kempston East is not limited to the church building and is something that reaches many people, both near and far. We have all had our part to play in enabling this to happen and to continue the good work of this church. The book of Corinthians in Bible specifically highlights that we are collectively the body of Christ and individually make up the different parts.

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." - 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

It is important to remember this and that no matter who we are, we are all a part of this church. It is our differences and diversity that makes Kempston East unique and special. But ultimately, as we celebrate and learn more about church family and community this week, it is amazing to think that the main constant that connects us is God and his love for us.

We wanted to take the opportunity to officially welcome everyone back to the church as we start to get back to business. Ever since we opened up again in September and as restrictions were eased, it has been great to see everyone happy to be worshipping back in church and sharing in fellowship together. Not only that, it has been fantastic to welcome back the people and groups that use the halls and premises for their meetings and activities during the week.

​Almost all of the outside groups who use the church halls and who have not been meeting since the first lockdown have decided to start up again and begin to use our premises again. As well as outside groups starting up again, some of our own church groups will be re-starting and we hope and pray that this will be a resurgence and a return to the pre-pandemic normality of our church life.

The Kempston East Wesley Guild meets twice monthly on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday at 2.30pm between September and the end of May in the New School Hall at Kempston East (entrance in Foster Road).  
All are most welcome to join the group. The Wesley Guild was initially established by the Methodist Church over 100 years ago. Its membership has embraced a wide age group drawn from various denominations.
Learn more about the Guild and their programme here

On Fridays, the 1st Kempston Boys Brigade Company meets from 6pm in the New School Hall and Old School Halls for their weekly activities. The Boys Brigade is one of the biggest Christian Youth Organisations in the UK & Republic of Ireland. We are committed to seeing lives enriched by supporting children and young people to reach their full potential by providing opportunities to meet together and engage in a range of fun and developmental activities and experiences.
Learn more about the company and what they do here

Every Friday during term time, we have a parents and toddler group in the New School Hall from 9:30-11:30am. This is an ideal group to bring your child to let off a bit of steam and interact with other children in a safe and friendly environment.
Learn more about the group here

Not only that, but the Tibbs Dementia Group and Lunch Club are both hoping to meet again soon so there is a lot going on and we are pleased to welcome everyone back. 
There are now opportunities to be involved and volunteer with these groups so if you are interested, you can find our contact details here.