A Look Back: September, October, and November

Welcome

Wow,

It's hard to believe that it is already December. My first three full months here in the United Kingdom has been full of friends and fellowship as we entered went through the fall academic term

With the commencement of the fall academic term brings the beginning of all the clubs and activities that the church and community coordinate which means I have been staying busy.

September is the month we celebrate harvest here in the United Kingdom we gave special thanks for all the gifts of the harvest. In October we continue to give thanks as there are national celebrations commemorating events in the United Kingdom. Finally in November we gave thanks at a special Thanksgiving Charity Dinner put on at the church.

I am forever grateful for your continued love, prayer, and support of my journey through this year and I hope you enjoy this newsletter.

Your Brother In Christ,

Ryan A. Lawrence

Photo Left: Courtesy of the ELCA

Who is Time for God?

Did you know that there is no "official" Lutheran Church in the United Kingdom?

Since there is not a lutheran denomination in the United Kingdom, the ELCA has a partnership with Charity and Religious Organization, Time for God (TFG). TFG manages a large amount of religious volunteers throughout the country and helps support us while we are in our year of service.

Learn More

Donate

The total cost for one young adult in the program is $15,000. Each young adult is tasked with raising a minimum of $5,000 to help support their year of service, however I am aiming to raise $8,000. The ELCA commits to raising the additional $10,000 per volunteer through generous congregations and donors. If more than $5,000 in gifts is received, the additional funds will be help to support other young adult volunteers and ensure that there is a sustainable source of revenue for future the Young Adults in Global Mission program. If you wish to make a donation, click the donate button

Amount raised as of November 23, 2019 $5,625

Blog Update

As part of my journey I will be blogging multiple times a week. To view all blog posts visit; ryanandrewlawrence.com or check out the link below for the most recent blog post

September Blog Archives

October Blog Archives

November Blog Archives

Photo Gallery

Photo above is the clock tower at St Andrew's church. Photo provided by Ryan

Introducing Beverley Gilbert

Beverley is one of my immediate supervisors and the children, youth, and family worker at the church. We work closely on activities such as Eco Club, Kid Fit, Youth Club, etc. Beverley has worked extensively in the service industry before starting a career in children and youth work and has helped grow St. Andrews youth programming into the robust program it is today.

Introducing Ann Jones

Ann Jones is my current host that I am living with and it has been a blast so far. Ann is a retired pharmacist that now is pursuing a private career in couples counseling, while also working at St. Andrews part time as the office administrator. She has been critical to my transition into the country allowing me to bounce ideas off her and have in depth discussion about the cultural differences between the United Kingdom and America because believe it or not just because we share a language does not mean that we fully understand the culture of each country. She also gives motherly advice and has helped me navigate some conflicts that have come up during my time at St. Andrews. I do not know what I would do without her counsel and support.

Introducing Tim

Tim is the current pastor at St. Andrews and has been there for about two years. Tim graduated university with an arts degree and worked in graphic design before being called to the ministry of being a pastor in the United Reform Church. Tim and his family are some of the kindest people I know, always lending a supportive ear when needed and they are quite fun to hang out with

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Sermon Responses/ Ministries

Preachers Corner

September Sermon

October Sermon

November Sermon

Day in the Life

I spent the day traveling with the URC Synod, we traveled out to Whitby to join the Synod in their activities. We spent the morning out surfing in the North Sea, check out my blog post about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. After a nice lunch at the conference center, we went down to the town of Whitby and explored, walking all over the city and viewing the ruined Abbey. Finally we traveled down to Scarborough for a nice dinner on the oceanfront.

September Archive

October Archive

November Archive

Learn more about the ELCA

Lean more about Time for God