oxygennews

Responsibility

 

Genesis 1:27 & 28 So god created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them. God blessed them and told them, ‘Multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals.

 

Whose responsibility is it?

Yours

Mine

Or ours?

 

Don’t take responsibility

For what isn’t yours.

 

It is a giant responsibility

God did not give rights

He gave responsibility

To me

And to you

And to us.

 

Responsibility depends on relationship

Responsibility cannot be imposed

Then it becomes rights in law

And rights in law are inflexible

And nobody wins.

 

Responsibility

Means accepting consequences

Of knowing that everything that

I

You

We

Do or say

Has an out come

Good or

Bad

 

I

You

We

Have a responsibility to the world around us

To respect, love, care for

The world that god created

And gave us responsibility for

 

Responsibility

Comes out of

Respect

Trust

Love

Caring

 

Responsibility is a relationship

With the world around us

With the amazing diversity of creation

The sense of wonder

Of the craftsmanship

Displayed

Everywhere for us to see

The realisation of the fragility and vulnerability

Which laws will snap and destroy

But which

Responsibility - love, care, respect and trust

Will save.  

Chessington Urban NItes

Urban Nites Chessington

The Chessington Urban Nites is Oxygen’s newest and freshest street work project. As the first regular, consistent work in the area it is seeking not only to engage with the young people on the street but also to build a foundation for future Oxygen work in Chessington and Hook.

In the initial months Urban Nites Chessington went well, the team were meeting groups of young people, getting to know the area and giving out lots of cakes and drinks. Now several months in, the cold weather has set in and things are harder as the young people are out in smaller numbers and thus harder to find. Nevertheless the Oxygen team are going to persist with the project, bravely enduring freezing evenings and wet weather to get a feel for the area, could you pray for these guys,. pray for the breakthrough, for the connection into the area and into young people's lives and community

Urban Nites Kingston: Friday Nights

Urban Nites Kingston was launched in 2006 to reach out and engage with the young people who frequent Kingston Town centre during a Friday evening.

Initially started on the grass outside All Saints Church it has, following discussions with the police, Kingston Council’s KOAST (Kingston Outreach and Street Team) transposed itself from one church lawn to another, and now takes place outside the Oxygen centre at St Peters Church, Norbiton.

Here every Friday night between 20 and 60 young people congregate for up to 2 hours to simply hang out, chat to the Oxygen workers and ‘drink’ tea and coffee. The Oxygen workers involved during this time seek to involve the young people in topic discussion, pass on information on other clubs and activities as well as inviting them to take part in the prayer book.

Please pray for Urban Nites Kingston for as well as being one of the highest attended Oxygen project it is also one of the most challenging especially around the issue of alcohol. Friday nights is drinking night for most young people, something they do because they know of little other lifestyle choices.

Pray also for the opportunities and individuals to go further and deeper in this work. We feel it is important to pray and ask for several young people to come to the for who can be the ones around whom a going deeper project / evening can be established.

Community Living

There is a time coming when community will be the key

The only way to survive

When Acts living

Will be the only option

When we will have to live within our means

And share with each other.

No credit cards

When what is considered normal – cars, holidays

Will be

Luxury

 

We live in an unsustainable culture

At some point it will collapse

Fall apart

As we know it

It will be an economic disaster

When the system cannot take any more borrowing

When there is no more credit to be had

With it will go

Pride

Sense of identity

Trust

Belief in others

Both individually and nationally

 

Because the things seen as important

Will let us down

We will be left helpless

Because we don’t understand

Paralysed

In fear

Because we are left with nothing

Because that which makes us has been ignored

That which gives us security has been ignored

Money – Our God has gone

Relationship has gone

Responsibility has gone

 

Turn back to God

To the Lord our God

The creator  and maker

The life giver.

Servanthood

Embedded Video

Pray for Tolworth Girls School Project

the Tolworth Girls School Project has expanded during the last term, moving from two to three afternoons per week. it now provides support to vulnerable and at risk young people in years 7,8 and 9. Through this project they learn about self esteem, how to relate to each other as well as the fact that we believe in a God who holds their deepest needs and wishes tenderly.

Rachel, who heads up the project on Tuesday afternoons would like you to pray for the girls and workers at this time as things are proving "interesting". Pray for those this team of workers as they seek to help the young people referred to them by the school as in need of extra support. Should you want to be involved, or want to contact Rachel, then you can email her on rachel.pelham@oxygen-online.org

            See more photos in our Gallery

Voluntary Sector Briefings

the latest Voluntary Sector Newsletter is available to download. Sent out by RBK's Patricia Turner, it covers all range of matters relating to the voluntary sector. You can download it from  the link below

Download volsectorJanuary2008.doc (86.5K)

Inside out or outside in

Inside out or outside in, that was the question Oxygen faced over the recent weekend. For this was a weekend full of activities that took a range of different perspectives on giving young people the opportunity to discover and follow Jesus.

First up on Friday night was the calling, at which around 500 young people from the churches of the Borough came to the Oxygen centre for an interactive evening of worship, drama, videos, teaching and art all around the theme of servant hood and how we can be better servants to our friends and neighbours. As they explored these issues they did so surrounded by the Friday evening, Oxygen Urban Nites young people, who had taken their usual place in the garden outside the church with their beer cans and desire to socialise. You can see the photos from this evening on the Oxygen Galleries

Closely following thecalling, came thevent – a restoration of one of Oxygen’s best events. Thevent is a bands night for young people; at it young people bands come and play to the peers, bringing their friends and family along to hear them. During thevent the Oxygen volunteer team operate a prayer tent and questionnaires seeing how they, who are on the outside of this group, can enter in. (photos here).

At the end of a busy weekend when we were both on the outside reaching in, or on the inside reaching out, our conclusion is that maybe both are needed