Lewis Ecker
Church-based Missionary
-- London, England -- |
Ashley and Zoey had their faces painted on the Christian Aid Walk to fight poverty.
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Our youth club visited the Word-4-Weapons knife bin, the first in the country.
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T4T (Teens 4 Truth) enjoyed a visit from Lucas Beech and his amazing guitar skills. Lucas is from a Baptist church in Birmingham, AL. We also had a recent visit from a partnership mission team from a Baptist church in Huntsville, AL.
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 Zach waits his turn for a free hug at Speakers Corner in Hyde Park. The lady in the photo is Susan from Huntsville, AL. |
 I had the opportunity to meet the new Mayor of Islington at an outdoor tea party. Mouna Hamitouche is the first ever Algerian Labour Councillor and the
first Arab female mayor in the UK. |
 Angie poses near the cliff edge at Beachy Head, Eastbourne. Its height has made it one of the most notorious suicide spots in the world. |
 There many interesting things to see at the British Library, including the Gutenberg Bible, Magna Carta and original manuscripts by the Beatles, Lewis Carrol, and William Shakespeare. |
A Happy Father's Day = Chinese Buffet, thanks family!!
See PHOTOS in large format.
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Coast to CoastA few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend
the annual Baptist Assembly of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB), which includes churches in England and Wales, comprised
of about 140,000 members in 2,150 congregations. (Baptists in Scotland
and Ireland have separate denominational organizations.)
This year nearly 1500 Baptists gathered in Plymouth, Devon (on the Southwest coast of England and known for it's lighthouse [see photo at left]) around the theme One World, One Mission. Two highlights: there was a
vote to support the Nuclear Non-Proliferation talks, and to support the
'Thursdays in Black' campaign against violence, aggression and human
trafficking.
For our wedding anniversary this year (2nd June) we spent two nights in the Southeast coastal town of Eastbourne, known for it's cliffs, pier, and promenade. Eastbourne also holds the record for the highest recorded amount of sunshine
in a month, 383.9 hours in July 1911, and promotes itself as "The Sunshine Coast" of England. Of course it rained for 24 hours but we had a nice time anyway.
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Street
Pastors vs World Cup
Now that our numbers are up a bit we have managed to carry out two patrols each month. Our June patrols were scheduled to coincide with the England World Cup matches but with both matches ending in a draw the mood on the streets was rather subdued. In case you haven't heard: English football fans are notorious for their hooliganism.
If you would like to keep track of what Street Pastors are doing
in Islington you're invited to join our Facebook group. That way you can read reports and
pray for us when we're on the streets or any time you think of us in
your daily prayers or church prayer meetings.
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-- click on photo --  | It doesn't happen often but street pastors are happy to pray with people when requested.
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Prayer Requests and Updates
- Thank you for praying for the Ecker family. We are all doing quite well despite the occasional bout of hayfever. The temps have remained below average for the better part of the last two months, so it hasn't really felt like summer yet.
- Please
keep
praying for our work visas to be
renewed for another term. This has now become an urgent matter as our
visas are about to expire but we have not had response from the Home
Office. We've not been 'denied' and we don't anticipate having to leave
the UK but it will be a relief when it's all settled.
- Thanks for praying for Pastor
Brian. He was delayed for an extra ten days in
Bulgaria last month because of the volcanic ash, but he's home and doing fine.
- Please keep praying for the other Baptist pastors in our borough: Nigel, Andrew, Mark, and Rudy; and for the restructuring of the staff at the London Baptist Association.
- Please keep praying for our Monday
night youth club: Teens4Truth
(T4T); and our volunteers: Wes, Viviene, and Angie. In May we met a visiting youth pastor from Huntsville, AL. In June, we had a visit from a musician/youth worker from Birmingham, AL.
- Please pray for Southside Baptist Church, Huntsville, AL, as they consider future patrnership missions with the churches in our borough.
- Please keep praying for the work of our Monday
Drop In; the marginalised, unemployed, homeless, and hungry. We have around 80 'drop in' each week.
- Please keep praying for our Church Cafe ministry on Wednesdays and Thursdays and Angie's Ladies' Bible study on Wednesday afternoons.
- Please remember to pray for our Islington Street Pastors and 4 new trainees that began in March. We were happy to have the team from Huntsville go out with us in May and Lucas go out with us in June.
- You prayed several months ago for "Addie", a stalwart member of our church that passed away in the
hospital with an undiagnosed infection. Please keep praying for her family as the exact cause of her death has still not been determined according to the local newspaper. [read the article]
- Thank you for praying for Karim, a Christian Iranian refugee,
suffering from post-traumatic stress. He has been in the hospital for several weeks and still needs lots of prayer.
- Thanks
for praying for our eldest, AJ. He's job hunting again in Panama City, FL.
- Please keep praying for "Stephen" who may soon be reunited with a daughter given up for adoption 18 years ago.
- Please keep praying for "Alex" struggling with alcoholism and isolation. He continues to have ups and downs, a vicious cycle.
Angie, the kids, and I
want to thank you for
your ongoing support of our ministry in London. Any financial
support can be sent toFBC Clermont, 498 W. Montrose
St., Clermont, FL
34711.
The Ecker Family
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