The official opening of Bridge 49 took place on 13th June 2015.
The Journey to Bridge 49…
Bridge 49 Official Opening Photo Gallery
A prayer of celebration and dedication for Bridge 49.
Loving God, we are full of thankfulness for the way you have guided and led us to this day. We started this project wondering how we could possibly fulfil the vision you had entrusted to us and we now know that you were with us every step of the way and we are full of wonder and awe.
Raising money is never easy but after we had our gift day raising over £17,000 from within the church we began to trust you more and changed our outlook from ‘How?’ to ‘When?’ Since then you have shown us how to raise even more and who to approach for grants. There have been times during the work when we have been holding our breath for more funding but it always came just when we needed it.
We praise you for all that is past
And trust you for all that’s to come.
Loving God, we are full of thankfulness for the way we have worked together in pooling our skills and sharing our expertise as we have transformed a house into a flat and a meeting place. We thank you for sending us the right people at the right time, either offering skills that we didn’t have or to become part of our happy band of volunteers. At times we have been beset with problems and setbacks but, working as a team, these have been overcome as you have shown us the way forward. We are especially thankful for the fun, friendship and opportunities to share our faith.
We praise you for all that is past
And trust you for all that’s to come.
Loving God, we are full of thankfulness that Bridge 49 will be comfortable and well equipped with facilities to share tea and coffee, meals and more with strangers who will become friends. Many people in our community live on their own and rarely share food with anyone, let alone their thoughts and feelings. There are so many activities and pastimes that can only be done with others, from conversation and discussion to playing card and board games. We thank you that we have this opportunity of providing a meeting place for the lonely – whatever their age.
We praise you for all that is past
And trust you for all that’s to come.
Loving God, we are full of thankfulness that we will now be able to offer our premises as a bridge into our community. There are so many needs that can’t be met in our fully booked church that we will now be able to offer. We, in the church, believe in the strength of living in community and know that there are people of all ages who would also benefit from becoming part of something bigger than themselves. We thank you that new groups will be formed and established ones will want to come and use our premises.
We praise you for all that is past
And trust you for all that’s to come.
Loving God, we are full of thankfulness that our bridge into the community will become a place where advice is given. That those with training and expertise in various fields will see that this is a convenient place to come to help people with their problems. We live in a complex, technology driven world where many feel left behind; it’s so easy to become confused, worried and even to get into trouble. We thank you that we now have the facilities that can be used by those in a position to help people see a way through their confusion, thus enabling them to reverse the direction of the downward spiral that has pulled them down.
We praise you for all that is past
And trust you for all that’s to come.
Loving God
We have built your house
Help us to make it a house where all are welcome and none are excluded
A house where all are listened to and none are ignored
A house where all are cared for and none are neglected
A house where all feel secure and none need feel frightened
But above all, may it be a house full of love
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us what love means
Amen
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