The Opening Of Another Chapter – Bilston SDA Church Opening and Dedication
The weekend of February 14th marked a high tide in the history of the small close knit family of Bilston Seventh-day Adventist Church. The years of waiting for a home of their own came to an end in June 13th 2014 when the First Elder Ron Scarlett and Pastor Samuel Appiah received the keys for the former Bilston Pentecostal Church building which had been unoccupied for some years.
Unowned and looking dilapidated on the outside, the building showed great potential on the inside and members where just overjoyed that finally the promise of a home was realised. With great industry and out pouring of time and donations, the little Church got together with friends and members of the other Wolverhampton Churches to make it home.
And they made it! Which was actually the title of the first sermon preached by none other than one of the most famous of Pastors of the North Eastern Conference (NEC) of Seventh-day Adventist; Pastor Richard Jackson (there are a few that like to call him the Church Builder, he has a way negotiations!) The first day was a tremendous success and had the Church full to the rafters! Well not actually, we do take health and safety seriously, there wasn’t an seat empty to be found. (See the first day report on our website at http://bilston.adventistchurch.org.uk/first-day).
With home now settled, work continued to get the Church ready for its first baptism in December. It seems Bilston Church may have the deepest pool in the West Midlands! It was an outstanding success, with people coming from as far as London to be part of the event.
The next hurdle quickly came, as work continued at a hectic pace to meet the deadline of February 14th – the official opening and dedication of the Church. Many where the hours and labour poured into the Church to get all the installations, fixings, painting and other little tasks completed for that milestone event of the little Church’s history. And as is the usual with the Bilston Church family – everyone, along with friends and other Churches pulled together and the impossible became just another job completed – well done too!
The Sabbath service of February 14th was one of the most beautiful days of the Church history. With over a hundred and fifty people seated, the new Church was already feeling small! The day’s programme was filled with song and praise – rejoicing for what the Lord had made possible with so little!
The events of the day even included the ordination of a new elder. The speaker of the day was once more a favourite of Bilston Church, Pastor Richard Jackson who was there along with his family for this momentous day.
The emotions of the members was high and went even higher along with a few tears of joy when the original twenty-one trailblazers; who were the nucleus of the Bilston Church family today, where honoured by Pastors Jackson and Appiah for their vision and faith. Noted where the four who were passed away, along with those who had moved membership to other churches. Leaving eleven members still attending Church today. They were presented with a medallion from Pastor Jackson. (See Church History at http://bilston.adventistchurch.org.uk/church-history).
Pastor Jackson titled his sermon “Hoping For An Answer.” His scripture was based on the “The Lepers” Luke Chapter 17. The main thought was on the gratitude of the one leper that thanked Christ for his miraculous healing and the other nine their ingratitude.
After the service, Bilston Church did what it does best, serving the multitude in the time honoured tradition of Christ. Pastor Appiah noted, the women of the Church worked hard from their new office – their posh new kitchen. What little was there, was served and all where fed, which proved that with prayer a multitude can be fed! This was the first lunch of the Church in its new location and once again it was an amazing success in co-operation, hard work and logistics of the members, which has now become a hall mark of Bilston Church.
Dedication
With a full Church, singing mightily to the heavens (just over a hundred seated), the dedication of the new Church began on Sunday the 15th of February 2015. The main events began with the arrival of the Right Worshipful The Mayor and Mayoress of Wolverhampton, Councillor Michael Heap and his wife Frances Heap.
With their arrival, the ceremony of the ribbon cutting was done, along with the Church dignitaries of the NEC; President Richard Jackson, Executive Secretary Pastor John Ferguson, Executive Treasury Elder Rejoice Kampengele. Other members of the presentation were Pastor Nicholson, Pastor Richard Jackson, Pastor Samuel Appiah, Pastor Derek Simon and Elder Ronald Scarlett.
The Mayor was delighted with the warm welcome he received and was overwhelmed with the rich singing he heard as he entered into the Church with his wife.
A review of the Church history was given by Elder Scarlett after the welcome and introduction of Pastor Appiah. Then the Church Choir performed a rousing hymn of praise and thanksgiving that was well accepted by all there. It almost seemed that the Choir was made up of all the members of the Church! Nonetheless they expressed their joy in the anthem of praise with an expertise that none could denied they hadn’t all been prepared for the occasion. The expert handling of the piano by Clarence Crosdale kept the soldiers of Christ in harmony as they fearlessly trumped their praise.
Pastor Johnson was the main speaker of the day. He observed that the presence of the Mayor acknowledges the acceptance of Bilston Church in the community. He spoke about the gratitude of the Church. He noted that God has blessed the Church with its new home and in response our gratitude to God should be expressed in a manner in keeping with the aim and Will of God. He said that such gratitude should be expressed in meeting the needs of the community, serving even as Christ lived his life serving others. A task that many think Bilston Church is well suited for!
Mayor of Wolverhampton
The Mayor said that his welcome to the Church exceeded all expectation and congratulated the Church on acquiring the funds necessary for a new home. He spoke of his interest in three charities; MenCap (https://www.mencap.org.uk/), the Breast Cancer Care Unit at New Cross Hospital (http://www.cancercarewolverhampton.nhs.uk/types_of_cancer/breast_cancer.html) and Inter Faith Wolverhampton (http://www.ifwton.org.uk/).
He spoke of the early days of the seventies that got people together to seek equality and transformation in the Wolverhampton. Now forty later, that hard work has seen a better Wolverhampton city, a place worth living and to be proud of.
He said he was delighted where the city now is, but we can’t expect it to be the same always, we have to work even harder to make it more successful in the future, and the same goes for Bilston Church. He noted that he loved the time spent at Bilston Church and was happy to represent Wolverhampton City.
And so ended the grandest day to date for the community of Bilston Seventh-day Church. Not the last high day by any means. Yet a day that was long in coming, but thank God it came. So, now the attention will focus on the new community of Bilston Church and the future under God’s grace looks very bright indeed! A new dawn has come, not twenty-one but forty-four members this time!
To see more sermons go to to the Elder's Corner or browse through the sermon links here.
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