PICT2236Today (Friday 12 August) members of the Rock Thurrock team were interviewed by BBC Radio Essex about the recent Community Action Projects (CAPs).

Sonia Watson from the radio station spoke with Lois Blakey (Thurrock Christian Fellowship) and Elle Rew (Chafford Hundred Community Church and Access) who have both been involved in the CAPs, which were undertaken during July in partnership with The Besom in Thurrock (see links below).

They emphasised that a number of young people took part in the projects, which included gardening, decorating and litter picking.

Sonia also interviewed Tim Harrold about the whole Rock Thurrock project, emphasising that the spiritual vacuum out of which the riots have arisen can be filled with the message of the gospel of PICT2234Jesus Christ, which brings hope, love and purpose. (Proverbs 29:18 – see below.)

She was especially interested in making the point that the CAPs represented the opposite spirit of last week’s riots in various parts of London and across the major cities of England.

The interviews took place under the war memorial in the grounds of St Stephen’s in Purfleet, chosen because it was from there that the litter pickers started out on their epic and thoroughly wet morning of clearing the stretch of London Road between the church and Purfleet station on 16 July. 20 or more bags of rubbish – cans, cigarette butts, bottles, plastic bags, cartons and paper – were collected.

PICT2235You can hear the piece on the Ian Wyatt Show at 6.40am tomorrow morning (Saturday 13 August), or and at 7.40am when the item is repeated. Of course, this depends on whether other news items demand more urgent attention. But let’s hope this good news speaks louder than any bad news.

If you can’t listen at either of these times, you can hear Sonia talking with Lois, Elle and Tim again on the podcast at bbc.co.uk/essex.

Proverbs 29:18

  • Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law. (NIV)
  • Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (KJV)
  • If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed. (TM)
  • Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. (ESV)
  • Without a Vision is a people made naked, And whoso is keeping the law, O his happiness! (Young’s Literal Translation)
  • When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful. (NLT)
  • Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled, but those who obey what they have been taught are happy. (NCV)
  • Without guidance from God law and order disappear, but God blesses everyone who obeys his Law. (CEV)
  • A nation without God’s guidance is a nation without order. Happy are those who keep God’s law! (GNB)
  • Without revelation people run wild, but one who keeps the law will be happy. (Holman CSV)
  • Where there is no Vision, the people run amok.
  • Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man] – blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he. (Amp.)
  • What kind of a monstrous thing have we got? When there is no vision of God, when there’s no vision of God’s law, when there’s no vision of right and wrong, when there’s no vision of ultimate reward and ultimate punishment, when there’s no vision of decency, when there’s no standard of values, society breaks apart and everybody does what he wants to do. Pat Robertson speaking in 1985 (http://www.patrobertson.com/Statesman/ConcernedCitizens.asp)
  • Without the liberty to make informed choices, people are groundless and society’s fabric becomes degraded, but happily secure are those who live in the redemption of possessing their own sound minds and being accountable for their own responsible actions. George Santos talking about Proverbs 29:18 in ‘Taking the Proverbial’.

Besom links

  • www.besom.com
  • http://www.besom.com/local-besoms/thurrock
  • http://www.thurrockcf.org.uk/church-life/besom/besom-news/

BBC essex radio JPEG