Brighton Road Baptist Church

08/06/2026

BRBC Lunch Club

The next Church Lunch Club is on Thursday 11th June. The 2 course lunch will be served at 12.45. We ask for a small contribution of £5. All are welcome.

If you wish to attend, put your name on the list at Reception or ring the Church office on 01403 211150 to book your place. Please let us know if you have any dietary or allergy requirements. Any requiring lifts to or from the church should contact the office.

08/06/2026

BRBC Art Group Meetings

The next BRBC Art Group will be meeting on Thursday 18th June 2026 in the Main Hall from 10-12am. Refreshments will be available and all are welcome.

08/06/2026

New Outreach Initiative: Faith, Hope & Love @ Lunch at BRBC

This will take place on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of the month at 12:30pm in the Main Hall. i.e. Tuesdays 16th June, 7th July and 21st July.

We warmly invite you to share in an enjoyable and tasty fellowship lunch. Feel free to invite others along. Please sign up on the sheet at reception or via the website. This is a free lunch but donations are welcome.

This outreach initiative is being led by Waseem and Rubina Haq, church members. Waseem writes: ''I foresee that this initiative of BRBC outreach through Faith, Hope and Love @ Lunch can give opportunity for all those who lead the church programs like the Alpha course, Informal worship, Prayer groups and International ministry etc to attend and to take forward any conversation that happens with people who will come and to invite them to the appropriate program, giving people the opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is good and they can find refuge in Him.''

Click on the link to find out more and book:

A warm, welcoming space where anyone — church members, visitors, non-church community members, believers, and non-believers — can share a simple, freshly cooked Pakistani or Indian meal together, build relationships, and experience Christian hospitality. 

08/06/2026

Expecting a Call?

Most of us know the feeling of waiting for an important call. We keep checking the phone, peering at the screen, listening out for the ringtone. We’ve had a health check-up or a job interview - will it be good news or bad news? Or awaiting news of a new-born in the family – will it be a boy or a girl? Some calls change the course of our lives.

Simon was usually busy by the Sea of Galilee with his tangled nets with their tricky knots, and the flapping fish with the familiar smell of hard work and haddock! However, this morning, no doubt frustrated and fed-up after a long night catching absolutely nothing, the course of Simon’s life was about to change. Jesus steps into Simon’s boat, steps into his business, and steps into his life. And on those shores came the unexpected call: “Come, Follow me.”

What is remarkable is not so much that Peter followed, but that Jesus called him at all. After all, what could Jesus want with this failed fisherman? To be honest, what could Jesus want with any of us? Surely, he could do everything he does without us. He could preach without preachers, heal without helpers, and feed the hungry without fumbling fishermen and bumbling believers. Yet again and again, God chooses partnership over perfection and calls ordinary messy people into His extraordinary divine purposes.

But why? Because God is not merely interested in getting a job done. He is interested in growing His children in relationship with Him and with one another. The call is not only about usefulness, but about transformation. Fishermen become fishers of men, doubters develop as disciples, blunderers and bruisers (such as Simon) become builders in God’s Kingdom.

Simon’s story reminds us that God often calls us in the commonplace: at work, at home, amid washing or casting of nets. Sometimes His call comes on the heels of failure. The miraculous catch happened only after Peter admitted emptiness. Pride must be put in its place so that the nets can be cast and filled. And as Simon saw the sinking boats, burdened by the weight of the catch, he sank to his knees, burdened by his own sinfulness before Jesus. (See Matthew 4:18-20 & Luke 5:1-11)

Maybe, the question is not, “Am I expecting a call?” but, “Am I listening for His voice?” For the same Saviour still calls ordinary sinful people today, delighting to work through them.

Revd Michael Hogg

01/06/2026

Bless the Lord oh my soul (Psalm 103:1 KJV)

During my childhood I had measles and doctors think that this was the cause of my hearing loss. I have worn hearing aids since I was eighteen and I am so thankful for the NHS and the audiology team for all their support over these many years. The aids have made such a huge difference, as they have prevented me from living in a totally silent world.

Now technology and I don’t go together! But a few years ago my aids were upgraded and they now have ‘Bluetooth’. Wow! what a blessing. I am now able to listen to instrumental music or favourite hymns and songs directly into the aids and this gives me immense joy. I am thankful to God for this technology! As I listen, especially when I walk my dog, I feel drawn into God’s presence as the Holy Spirit touches my spirit and my soul is lifted.

The hymn and song writers take scripture verses and biblical themes, enabling us to express our love, praise and worship to God in ways we might not be able to do ourselves. The words enable us to proclaim the unchanging character of God: His Holiness, His greatness, His goodness and faithfulness. They help strengthen our faith by reminding us of His promises towards us and his countless blessings in our lives. They shift our focus from our circumstances to God, changing our perspective and enabling us to praise and worship Him in the midst of difficulties and struggles. They bring us closer to God and help create sacred moments in His presence, wherever we might be.

Hymns and songs like Great is thy faithfulness, The Lord’s my Shepherd, How can it be, When I survey the wondrous cross, Be still and know, 10,000 reasons: so many inspiring lyrics and tunes that touch our hearts in different ways. Let us have thankful hearts for all the talented writers, who inspire us to lift our praises to our God.

Each of us will have our favourites, so whatever your circumstances, however you are feeling today, listen or sing your favourite hymn or song and join with the Psalmist : “Bless the Lord, oh my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy name”. (Ps 103:1) Allow the Holy Spirit to touch your heart and draw you into God’s presence and encounter afresh His love, joy and peace. As we give Him the glory that is due to Him, we join the angels in heaven: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honour and power and strength be to our to God for ever and ever Amen!” (Rev 7:12)

Hilary Smith

22/05/2026

Wellington Cathedral

It’s the holiday season and people travel far and wide. I have travelled to many countries over the years on mission and on holiday but I think my favourite has to be New Zealand. My friend and I hired a car to travel all the way around the South Island. Beautiful scenery, glaciers, mountains, lakes - absolutely stunning. Then we got a ferry across to the capital, Wellington on the North Island.

It was Wellington that left the greatest impression on me. It wasn’t the beautiful scenery but it was here that I unexpectedly felt challenged by God. We went to the cathedral of St Paul on the Sunday for a service. It just happened to be the yearly commissioning service for an organisation called Urban Vision. These are people who feel called by God to intentionally move to local residential poor communities in order to serve those at the margins of their neighbourhood.

The Bishop of Wellington was there at the service- Justin Duckworth. I was so impressed by him - he was certainly not your usual bishop with his dreadlocks and bare feet! I read his book ‘Against the tide, Towards the Kingdom’. Justin is a Senior Bishop, an Archbishop of the Anglican church in New Zealand and Polynesia and the cofounder of this Urban Vision. What challenged me so much was that the people being commissioned or recommissioned included families with their children who had intentionally sold their homes and moved into poor estates in order to live and serve with the poorest of people, drug addicts or prostitutes to show the love of Jesus to them. The bishop was one of those who did that too.

It was a great trip in so many ways but alongside the absolute beauty of NZ was the memory of those people in Wellington Cathedral, who out of love for their city and its people were sacrificing comfort and security to live alongside needy people. Paul encourages us to be imitators of Jesus.

‘Your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus…who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:5-7

I may not be called to be as radical in that way as those people and the bishop, but I am called to be more like Jesus. We all are. Am I too comfortable I wonder?

Julie Shimizu

20/05/2026

Baptist Union - linking into our national prayer initiatives

The Baptist Assembly was held in Harrogate last weekend. Pray that those who attended were encouraged by meeting together; for those Fully Accredited Ministers presented at the Assembly; for rest for those who worked in organising the event.

Walking Worthy – new President Alex Afriyie’s address

At the Baptist Assembly, the new BUGB President Alex Afriyie outlined a three-fold vision for his 2026-27 presidency, calling on Baptists to embrace a life ‘worthy of God’s calling’ through a focus on Christ-centredness, community diversity, and missional courage. The theme is rooted in Ephesians 4:1 Click here for details:
https://www.baptist.org.uk/Articles/739716/Walking_Worthy_new.aspx

Click here for the BUGB Prayer Diary. https://www.baptist.org.uk/Groups/297254/Prayer_Diary.aspx

New President Alex Afriyie outlined a three-fold vision for his 2026-27 presidency, calling on Baptists to embrace a life ‘worthy of God’s calling’ through a focus on Christ-centredness, community diversity, and missional courage

20/05/2026

The Joint Public Issues Team

This week the British Red Cross has published new analysis showing that up to 1,360 children could remain separated from their families every month that the UK's suspension of refugee family reunion continues. The Red Cross says, "Family reunion is one of the only safe ways for many children to be reunited with their parents, without having to take dangerous journeys."

The Home Office says, "family reunion will no longer be automatic" - a statement that reveals just how far we have moved from a system rooted in protection.

For more information on Refugee Family Reunion, click here. https://jpit.uk/refugee-reunion

Click here for more information on JPIT. https://www.facebook.com/jointpublicissues

The refugee family reunion scheme used to allow people granted refugee status in the UK to apply for their immediate family members to join them, including their children, recognising that family unity is integral to protection, stability and integration. The government abruptly suspended this schem...

18/05/2026

🚨Please, if you can spare it, we really need your help 🚨

We are urgently appealing for donations of long life milk. Stocks have very low and there are people in our community who need it. No amount is too small... even one carton makes a difference! 🙏

If you're able to help, please drop donations off at 1 Redkiln Close.

We are also running low on the following, if you can help:
- Tinned fruit 🍑
- Custard
- Coffee ☕️
- Hot Chocolate ☕️
- Tinned Vegetarian meals 🥫

Please share this post! The more people who see it, the more we can help those who are struggling. Thank you so much 💜💙💚

18/05/2026

With Care for the Family – we just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉