102.4 Shine FM

Heart For Haiti Concert Promo Video

Heart For Haiti

To raise money for Compassion projects that have been destroyed in Haiti due to the disaster NXT Ministries in conjunction with a number of other groups is organising a special charity music event.

The event will take place at The Victoria Hall, Stoke on Trent on Friday 12th Feb. We are delighted to welcome Yfriday, Abundant Life worship band, Blush (The Message Trust) and Kev Whitmore (ECG Conference) all of whom are giving their time and effort freely.

This will be a wonderful evening of music and worship but with the purpose of raising money for Compassion projects in Haiti.

Tickets are available from Swanbank Centre, Swan Square, Burslem, ST6 2AA or call 01782 575129. There is a suggested minimum donation for tickets of �10 & �5 (Concessions).

It would be great to pack out the Victoria Hall for this worthy cause.

All donations can be Gift Aided for UK taxpayers - Please ask for Gift Aid form when booking tickets.

Click to download the flyer as PDF

LIVE BROADCAST

This concert is being broadcast live across 10 Christian Radio stations on Friday 12th February 2010 at 7:30pm until 10:30pm. So make sure you tune in!

Listen to the interview with Ashley Cooper about the event (Time 2:32)

Cross Rhythms Plymouth 96.3FM;
Cross Rhythms Teesside 107.1FM;
Cross Rhythms City Radio 101.8FM in Stoke-on-Trent;

Alive Radio 107.3FM in Dumfries;
Revival 100.8FM in Cumbernauld;
Branch 101.8FM in Dewsbury;
Hope 90.1FM in Bournemouth.

AND OF COURSE OUR OWN STATION
102.4 Shine FM in Banbridge, Northern Ireland

In addition national Christian Broadcasters UCB which is available via DAB and BSkyB

You can also listen online via www.crossrhythms.co.uk/radio/

PLEASE TUNE IN AND SUPPORT THIS WORTHWHILE EVENT

Atlantic Crossing - Brian Houston Writes

Hi Friends

Tour News

We wanted to let you know that the forth coming gigs will be the last we play in the UK and Ireland for a while. We are moving to Chicago Illinois in January 2010. The plan is to stay there for at least 12 months just being there and soaking up the city its music and its culture and seeking out the road ahead.

The good news is we are busy filling up lots of dates for late November and December, however the Belfast Empire show will be the last Belfast show for the foreseeable future.

Brian�s friend Steve Pilgrim will be the opening act debuting songs from his new album. Steve is a great solo artist and is getting great reviews for his recordings and also happens to play drums for Mr Paul Weller.

We hope you�ll all come out to the shows and say hello. See some tour dates here http://www.brianhouston.com/site/tour_dates/index.htm

Radio News

For those of you who didn�t catch it you can listen to Brian�s interview with Aled Jones on BBC Radio two last Sunday. This link times out on Sunday so there�s a limited time to hear it. Brian�s interview and live song start about 35 mins into the programme go to this link and click the LISTEN NOW button http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wqvh

Thank you all for your support and love

Pauline

Time to kick-start renewable energy in N.I.

The Government�s new energy plan must prepare Northern Ireland for a renewable energy revolution � that is the view of the RSPB as it responds to the Strategic Energy Framework published by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI).

The environmental organisation has offered strong support for the development of renewable energy in the Government�s proposed strategy, recognising the devastating impact climate change will have on Northern Ireland�s wildlife and the need for �rapid and deep cuts� in greenhouse gas emissions.

They agree with the Minister for Energy, Arlene Foster, that renewable energy is also necessary to improve the security and reduce the future costs of our energy supply, especially given predicted increases in the cost of the fossil fuels, oil, gas and coal.

The RSPB is backing the drive to generate 40 per cent of the country�s electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Plans to increase energy efficiency, reducing energy costs for homeowners and business, are also supported. They also welcome proposals for a more strategic approach to the location of renewable energy installations on land and at sea, ensuring wildlife and habitats are not damaged.

Dr. James Robinson, Director RSPB Northern Ireland, said, �A renewable energy revolution in the Northern Ireland is long overdue. We look forward to working with DETI to ensure energy plans aim to meet climate change targets happens in harmony with the natural environment, and harness the support, skills and enthusiasm of local people and communities. Not taking action now will cost taxpayers a fortune in the future and we could miss some fantastic opportunities to create local jobs in new renewables industries.�

He added, �We must capture our abundant renewable energy sources to avoid the dangerous climate change that threatens our wildlife. At the same time, we must protect the environment from the blight of bad developments. It is a difficult balance and the only way to succeed is through a properly planned approach with a strong lead from DETI and the rest of the Executive.�

The RSPB looks forward to seeing a strong Strategic Energy Framework developed following the consultation, due to end on 30 September, and is urging people across Northern Ireland to add their support to calls for investment for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

NORTHERN IRISH FARMER WINS PRESTIGIOUS UK FARMING AWARD

A �real boost� for farming in balance with the environment for Northern Ireland

Michael Calvert of Barnwell Farms in Greyabbey, Co Down, is the UK winner for the Nature of Farming Award. The prize, sponsored by the RSPB, Butterfly Conservation, Plantlife and the BBC�s Countryfile magazine, is the most prestigious award for farming in harmony with the environment.

�I was really surprised and very pleased to win,� said Michael, who has been part of the Countryside Management Scheme now since 2002. �I would really like to thank everyone who voted for me � all 1,700 of them! It is quite amazing.�

Dr James Robinson, Director RSPB NI, said, �This is a wonderful result for farmers and the environment in Northern Ireland � it shows that the public who voted for Michael to win are entirely behind the win-win result that agri-environment schemes provide.�

Environment Minister Edwin Poots MLA congratulated Michael on his success and added: �Michael�s farm is a fantastic example of the role farmers play in managing our countryside and its wildlife. The 80-hectare farm is home to a vibrant range of birds, insects, mammals and plants including barn owls, bullfinches, smooth newts, Irish stoats and orchids. His farming methods provide a wonderful illustration of how to combine good farming practice and practical conservation.�

Agriculture Minister, Michelle Gildernew MP MLA also passed on her congratulations to Michael.

�I was delighted to hear about Michael�s success. He is a worthy winner of the Nature of Farming Award. On a recent visit to Michael�s farm, I was impressed by the work that he has carried out and could see how it could benefit wildlife for many years to come.

�I am especially pleased at his achievement, because he is such an enthusiastic participant in DARD�s Countryside Management Scheme, and truly deserves this recognition for his efforts.�

Michael beat three other farmers across the UK to win by over 400 votes.

When asked what the keys to his success were, Michael said, �There are three things which have been crucial in this. Firstly, the keen interest which I � like many farmers � have for the land and working with the natural habitat on the farm. Secondly, the Countryside Management Scheme offered a structured approach to farming in an environmentally sensitive way. The advice and help from DARD was appreciated and useful when making decisions relating to certain environmental considerations on the farm. Thirdly, the expertise and enthusiasm of the RSPB team when I joined the Yellowhammer Project was infectious! It was a real pleasure working with everyone who has made this possible.�

The Yellowhammer Project scheme is being run by the RSPB, and funded by DARD, over four years. It is used to determine if farming schemes that are wildlife friendly work.

�It is very important for us to know if the work that farmers like Michael do is effective in combating the declines of wildlife in the countryside,� said Dr Robinson. �Wildlife is an important indicator of a balanced environment which is beneficial to everyone.�

This is greatly appreciated by the guests who stay in Barnwell Farm�s self-catering cottages. �Visitors here always remark on the beauty of the place � the fact that we are wildlife-friendly is definitely a big plus to them,� said Michael.

To celebrate the award, Michael is offering a special promotion at Barnwell Farm Cottages that runs through to spring 2010.

�For me this is the essence of farming in the 21st century,� said Michael. �The winning of the award which was by popular vote is an affirmation of this approach.�

For more information about the farm, go to www.barnwellfarmcottages.co.uk. The competition opens again on 14th September 2009 for next year.

Download "How Marvelous" For Free

Caleb Rowden is a husband, worship pastor, and musician. He has travelled the United States over the past 10 years sharing his testimony with people and how an amazing personal encounter with a loving God and Saviour changed his life forever. He admits he still messes up and makes big mistakes, but God�s grace and love are bigger than any of his faults and he wants you know the same is also true for you.

�Until Everyone is Free� will be released on July 28th, 2009 through blue i recordings in partnership with Executive Music Group/Universal/EMI CMG. The record will be available in stores as well as for download at all major digital outlets. "How Marvellous" is the biggest added track to many US stations this month.

Fill in you name and e-mail and enjoy these two free downloads.

Al

Shine Back on the Air

Thanks you all for your patience, while our engineers worked on the transmission problem.

102.4 Shine FM is now back on air and once again broadcasting to the Banbridge District. The fault was caused by an equipment malfunction.

Once again, sorry for any inconvenience suffered by our listeners.

The Shine FM Team

Shine Goes Off The Air

The loss of transmittion is due to technical fault, which or engineers are working on at present and hope to have the station back on air shortly.

We apologies for any inconvenience caused to our listeners.

GARDENS ARE A SUMMER HAVEN FOR WILDLIFE

RSPB�s first ever summer time survey highlights garden�s importance for biodiversity

It�s official - gardens across Northern Ireland are filled with all sorts of creepy-crawly, wiggly-wormy, sniffly-snuffly things. We can all do more to help wildlife thrive, even in small urban gardens.

Back in June the RSPB sent out the call �If it hops, flies, perches, crawls or flutters in your garden, we want to know!� and launched the first ever Make Your Nature Count survey, the summer follow-up to their highly successful Big Garden Birdwatch.

The survey widened the remit, inviting the public to record all the wildlife seen there. Not just birds, but frogs, hedgehogs, squirrels, badgers and foxes too.

The results are in, providing a vivid snapshot of how the animals in our gardens have been faring this summer. �Northern Ireland always does something different,� said Stephanie Sim, RSPB. �For instance, there are no toads here � and their absence in the survey bore this out. We have a slightly higher number of red squirrels, but a significantly lower number of grays. Foxes are fewer as well than the UK average, which may be because they fare better in urban settings. We didn�t get as many frogs either, which is interesting.�

Bird wise, the blackbird topped the list, with the house sparrow, robin, blue tit and magpie occupying the top five. Swifts and house martins just managed to make it into the top 20, reflecting the time of year.

�It was also interesting that there wasn�t too much of a difference in garden birds breeding here and the UK average,� said Stephanie. �We had slightly more robin babies and slightly fewer song thrush and blackbird chicks, but it was negligible.�

The RSPB says that the diversity of wildlife found in gardens underpins the importance of gardens as vital oases for wildlife.

�Urban garden are ecosystems in their own right,� Stephanie explained. �As our countryside changes our gardens provide a place for wildlife to thrive. This is why it is so important to be able to cater to wildlife in them � feeding your birds, creating log piles or little ponds really do make a difference.�

Over 62,000 people took part in the survey across the UK. Due to the popular response, the RSPB will be holding it again next year. �People have a sense of ownership when the wildlife is on their doorstep - we�re looking forward to next year�s survey already!� Stephanie said.

For more information on the results go to www.rspb.org.uk/naturecount. To learn more about wildlife-friendly gardening log onto www.rspb.org.uk/hfw.

Free Track From X Factor Finalist Beverley Trotman

Thousands of laboratory rabbits spared infamous Draize eye test

Thousands of rabbits in laboratories will be spared distressing and painful procedures where chemical substances, including for household products and cosmetics, are applied to their eyes to test for severe eye irritancy. This is because international acceptance of non-animal alternative test methods has at last been achieved after more than thirty years.

The Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, the UK�s leading charity that funds the development of techniques to replace animal experiments, has welcomed the news. The charity funded key research work in the 1980s that has now resulted in one of the replacement methods approved.

Developed in 1944, the Draize rabbit eye irritation test has been the standard method for evaluating the ocular irritation/corrosion potential of a substance for regulatory purposes. However its use has long been controversial. It has been scientifically criticised for many decades for its poor reproducibility and lack of relevance due to species differences between rabbits and humans. The animal suffering it can cause has also been highlighted for years. Some 4,500 rabbits are used in the European Union each year in eye irritancy tests during which they can experience swollen, sore and weeping eyes. Global use is likely to be considerably higher.

Acceptance by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) means that guidance is finally in place on how to conduct the tests for severe eye irritancy without using live rabbits. Two test-tube methods for assessing eye irritation have been accepted by the OECD, the BCOP (Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability) test and the Isolated Chicken Eye (ICE) test, both for identifying ocular corrosives and severe irritants. The Draize test will continue to be conducted for substances that are not severe eye-irritants.

It has taken at least thirty years for alternative tests to be approved, with research starting in the 1980s, scientific approval by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) coming in 2007 and now OECD acceptance in 2009 meaning that the test can be used globally.

�The Draize eye test has been scientifically and ethically discredited for many years,� says the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research�s Science Director Dr Sebastien Farnaud, �so to replace it with test-tube methods that produce reliable results and don�t cause animal suffering, is very welcome. The Dr Hadwen Trust is proud that its research has been a part of the history of efforts to replace the Draize test, but we sincerely hope that the final chapter in its total replacement will be a far swifter process.�

The Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research can share in the success so far as the charity was one of the first-ever funders to support research to replace the Draize test. In the 1980s DHT-funded innovative research at Leicester Polytechnic that resulted in the very first eye irritation test and forerunner of the BCOP test that has now achieved OECD approval. The Dr Hadwen Trust no longer funds research using animal tissues or cells, but our project represented a turning point in international efforts to replace the Draize test.

It is highly regrettable that it has taken some thirty years to achieve international acceptance of these replacement solutions. Whilst funding, industry support for alternatives and consequently the speed of method development has significantly improved in recent years, unnecessary delays in the validation process remain a problem. A particular issue is that animal test data are still treated as the �gold standard� against which alternative tests are compared in order to achieve scientific validation. However when animal data are of such poor and variable quality such as the rabbit eye test, the process of replacing scientifically weak animal methods can be delayed by years.

LOOK AFTER THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS

The RSPB tells government to put people and the environment at the heart of Planning Reform consultation

Take care of the goose that lays the golden eggs: that is the RSPB message to the government as it submits its response to the Planning Reform consultation.

�Northern Ireland is full of wonderful and unique wildlife sites, as well as a culture and society that are part and parcel of that environment,� said Claire Ferry, the RSPB�s Conservation Officer. �We need to start valuing our natural heritage and recognising the role it plays in maintaining our economic, environmental, health, social and cultural well-being before it is too late,� she added.

�For instance, our wetlands are important in mitigating increased flood risk while being incredibly beautiful places to visit. Places like Fermanagh, Rathlin Island and Strangford Lough rely on their pristine nature to attract tourism and the leisure industry. Planning and development need to support and enhance what is there � not destroy it.�

Claire also said it was no secret that the planning system needed to the changed.

�It is slow and cumbersome, and has left wildlife and heritage sites at risk from poorly controlled development. As a result, society and the economy fare no better, with unsustainable and short-term building solutions failing to meet people's needs,� she said.

In their response, the RSPB is asking the government to remedy the situation by putting sustainable development at the heart of a plan-led system, where development takes place within agreed plans and policies and meets community aspirations.

The RSPB believes that, despite the laudable efforts to encourage developers to communicate with consultees early on, community involvement will not be ensured until there is a third party right of appeal. Public confidence in the system will also be increased by maintaining an independent appeal system, not one where examiners are appointed by the planning authorities.

�Government now must take this opportunity to ensure best practice in the built development,� continued Claire. �Sound environmental assessment will make sure that our best wildlife sites are protected and developers start contributing to our �green� infrastructure. We are looking to the government to do nothing less than look after the interests of our children and children�s children � it was what they were elected to do.�

To see the RSPB�s response go to www.rspb.org.uk/northernireland or call us on 02890491547. Public can also contribute by going to www.planningni.gov.uk. The consultation closes on 2 October 2009.

The Truth Documentary Video With Colin Urquhart

Have a closer look at "The Truth" - Click Here

RUSH DEMANDS ATTENTION

At the start of September, a highly successful rush control demonstration was hosted by Quad X, with representatives from RSPB and DARD�s Countryside Management Unit, at Dickson Graham�s farm on the Whappstown Road outside Ballymena. Ground conditions were very wet for the 100 farmers attending but luckily there was no rain on the day!

RSPB�s Lapwing Project Officer, Lorna Whiteside, briefed the farmers on the reasons for controlling rush, and how it could be managed. Farmers were also introduced to revolutionary machinery invented by Ahoghill based company Quad X. This machinery was researched, designed, tested and manufactured by the County Antrim company to control rush on wet ground conditions.

Rush benefits wildlife, providing nest sites for breeding waders such as curlew and snipe, and cover for Irish hare. However, too much rush can prevent waders and their chicks getting access to insects in the soil and reduces the grazing value of the field. As a rule of thumb, once the rush cover in an area is over a third then it should be controlled.

Rush can be controlled through cutting or weed-wiping. For those farmers in agri-environment schemes, the advice is to cut or weed-wipe rush between 15 July and 15 March.

If cutting, graze the field and then cut the rush as low as possible to weaken it. The cut rush should be lifted, where this is possible, or after-grazed, to break up the mat of cut rush. A second cut, made several weeks later, will help to reduce the rush cover further.

Where rush cutting is not having an impact on rush cover, or ground is stony, weed-wiping can be used as an alternative. Graze the field down so there is a big difference in height between the grass height and the rush, then weed-wipe using a product with glyphosate as the active ingredient. Farmers in agri-environment schemes should contact their local Countryside Management staff if they want to weed-wipe, as prior, written permission is required on many habitats.

Rush control, especially cutting, can be carried out using machinery already on the farm, in the form of mowers, toppers and flails. However, with the current trend in wetter winters, farmers may find it helpful to invest in more specialised machinery, for use in wetter conditions.

At the demonstration day, Sean Blaney from Quad-X used quad-trailed machinery to demonstrate rush control on wet ground. His team cut heavy, rank rush with a purpose-built power shredder while lighter swards were topped with a unique rotary topper. Also featured was a dual counter rotation weed-wiper that wipes in both directions at once and uses less chemical than conventional weed wipers.

For more information about weed wipers, flails or mowers contact Quad-X on 02825872800 or go to www.quad-x.com/ email info@quad-x.com.

TESCO PURCHASES NEWCASTLE STORE AND SECURES 160 JOBS

Staff and customers have had a huge weight lifted off their shoulders as Tesco confirmed the purchase of their Newcastle store on the Castlewellan Road, their home for the last ten years.

The purchase follows lengthy negotiations with landlord, Lidl which had previously resulted in failed attempts to extend the lease or acquire the site, putting the livelihoods of 160 Tesco employees on the line. Up until now the team in the Newcastle store were living with the knowledge that their store may be forced to close if an agreement could not be reached or an alternative site for a Tesco store could not been found.

Gary Mills, director of Tesco Northern Ireland, said: �I am delighted that an agreement has been reached with Lidl to acquire the site therefore securing the jobs of our Tesco employees and our trading future in the town. Our team has been through an extremely unsettling, uncertain and difficult period and they must be applauded for their dedication and patience over the past number of months.�

Mr Mills continued: �I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our team and their Union, USDAW, for their continued support, as well as our customers, for their ongoing loyalty during our ten years in Newcastle. I would also like to express my gratitude to Down District Council and the local elected representatives who provided assistance to all those involved in the negotiation process.�

Mr Mills finished: �We always were, and still are, fully committed to Newcastle and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our staff, customers and elected representatives in the area, providing flexible job opportunities and competitively-priced, high-quality locally sourced products to the local community.�

CUBAN PASTOR TO BE EVICTED

CUBAN PASTOR TO BE EVICTED AS NEW REPORT REVEALS SHARP RISE IN RELIGIOUS LIBERTY VIOLATIONS

Pressure on religious leaders in Cuba has increased significantly over the past year according to a new report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Comprehensive evidence within the document details a sharp rise in religious liberty violations there. Independent church leaders from the fast growing Apostolic Movement have been particularly targeted for harassment, detentions and court summons by the Government.

Last week Pastor Mario Alvarez, the Havana based leader of a church affiliated with Apostolic Movement, was informed by government officials that he is to be evicted from his home. Two other leaders from the Apostolic Movement are currently in prison. Alexi Perez, a leader in Pastor Alvarez�s church, has now been in prison for almost two months, while Pastor Omar Gude Perez was sentenced to six years in prison in July. This follows the detention of at least sixty pastors and leaders linked to the Apostolic Movement in May and June alone.

CSW�s Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert said: �It is clear that the eviction of Pastor Alvarez is the latest in a long line of repressive actions taken by the Cuban Government against Christian leaders associated with the Apostolic Movement. We strongly encourage the international community, in particular the European Union, to push the Cuban government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which it signed in 2008 and to make it clear to Cuban officials that religious freedom must be protected for Cubans of all faiths�.

TAKE A TITANIC LEAP

Saturday 31st October
Titanic�s Dock & Pump - House

Habitat for Humanity and Meningitis Research have joined forces to recruit 300 daredevils to take part in the first ever �Take a Titanic Leap� in NI. Both charities want YOU to don your harness, enter a specially built Pod and get hoisted 100 feet into the air! You�ll then one by one jump feet first out of the Pod hurtling towards the ground, stopping just a few feet from the ground after the most amazing adrenaline rush of your life!

For more details or to register contact
Danielle Smyth at Habitat for Humanity on 90243686 ex 228 or visit the Habitat website in www.habitatni.co.uk
Or
Emma Collins at Meningitis Research on 028 9032 1283 or visit the Meningitis website on www.merningitis.org

Changed by the presence of God

Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship
By Tim Pettingale

By now the story is well documented, how in 1994 a little known church near the end of a runway at Pearson International Airport, Toronto, came to the world�s attention as a place where God was meeting powerfully with His people. As a result of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the members and staff of the then Toronto Airport Vineyard were thrust into a ministry that would spread around the globe and bring more than 3 million visitors through the doors of their modestly-sized church building to see what was going on.

Many who have visited Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship in the years between then and now have done so out of a desperation to see and experience a greater depth of God�s presence than they have previously known. Others have done so out of a desire simply to bask in God�s presence and have been surprised by the degree to which He has been able to minister to them when they stopped trying and just rested in His presence.

But others have visited Toronto because they were sceptical and had suspicions that this �move of God� might be counterfeit. They were concerned by issues such as unusual manifestations, unconventional methods of ministry, and whether all that they saw and heard could be grounded in Scripture. In short, they wanted evidence.

Senior leaders of TACF, John and Carol Arnott have spent the last fifteen years patiently and graciously teaching and explaining the biblical grounds for what has happened throughout the revival � as much as anyone can who finds themselves in the midst of an unprecedented move of God. But the evidence people wanted has emerged in another way as well � through the fruit of countless changed lives.

To begin with, thousands of people have to come to Christ. The church recorded 9,000 first time commitments to Christ in the first 20 months of the outpouring alone. They have long since lost count. But besides that, numerous full time church leaders have testified to the fact that their lives have �never been the same� since encountering God in a new way. One leader, Peter, recalls,

�Up until 1994 I thought I was a pretty spiritual guy. I was the pastor of a fast-growing �cutting edge� church. I found myself asking the Lord, along with many others, �Why are you doing this? What sense does it make?� This was the first hurdle I had to get over: God does not need to explain Himself and His ways are not our ways!

In the early days someone gave a prophecy that answered my question. It went something like this: �God is taking the �elder brother� out of the church, so that when the �lost sons� return home, they will meet the Father, not the elder brother.� I liked the sound of this, until the Holy Spirit whispered into my spirit, �That elder brother is in you too!� I gasped, �Who, me?� Then I realised, I had fallen into the trap of trying to �do� in order to �be�. It was the first time that I saw in the story of the prodigal son that the elder brother was just as lost as the younger one � he was lost in religious striving. I wasn�t lost in lawlessness, but I was lost in legalism.� Later I received a revelation of the Father�s unconditional love and it gave me faith to believe that the Father really loved me as I am, not as I should be. This has been the greatest change He brought about in my life, from a shame-based life to a grace-based life.�

The key of presence

One couple, Cindy and Bob, describe their first visit to a TACF conference and what they experienced:

�Our lives were totally and radically changed forever. We were in a hopeless situation in our life and family and desperately needed God to intervene on our behalf. We were encouraged just to wait on the Lord and not be in a hurry to get up off the floor, and that the Holy Spirit would cause us to rest in Him. As we began to totally surrender to the Holy Spirit we would just lie on the floor and soak in His presence, allowing God to do all He needed to do in us.
As we continued to do this, we began to experience Him in ways we had never known before. What we began to see immediately was how God was softening our hearts, healing our hurts, allowing His healing balm to just totally cover us and saturate us.�

Cindy and her husband were so impacted by God that they decided to start a Monday evening �soaking� meeting in their home in Fort Worth, Texas. They began hosting the meetings in the very early days of the outpouring and have continued them ever since � every Monday night for 14 years!

�People would laugh at us,� Cindy recalls. �Pastors would tell us that it was time to get up off the floor and do something. Others wanted to know, �What good can possibly come out of lying on the floor?� What we have learned is that waiting on the presence of God is the MOST important thing in life that we can do. Spending time in God�s presence recharges us, fills us and energises us. It equips us to do what each one of us has been called to do. Every person needs to learn how to flow in the unique gifts God has given them and to operate in the fullness of what they have been called to do. Resting in God�s presence teaches people how to hear God�s voice and to obey Him when He speaks; it teaches them to wait on God and receive from Him. We cannot give away anything that we do not have!�

Many high profile ministries have also been impacted by their connection to TACF, among them people like R T Kendall, Bill Johnson and Heidi Baker. Some of these tell their stories on a new DVD called Fruits of Revival. For those who are interested in hosting �soaking� or �presence� meetings in their home or church, TACF have recently released a new, updated edition of their �Soaking Kit� containing a wealth of practical teaching and guidance.

"One Special Night of Smooth Blues"

Pontiax Blues Band Concert

Date: 03 October 2009
Starts at 19:30 sharp

Venue: Cregagh Methodist Church

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&am ... G29875b2G7

COLOMBIAN PASTOR ASSASSINATED BY PRESUMED PARAMILITARIES

A Colombian Pastor was assassinated in his home last Sunday by three masked gunmen. Forty-one year old Rafael Velasquez, pastor of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Mara�onal, died instantly.

The attack took place on the evening of September 6, after a church service in a Montelibano hamlet. The armed and masked men broke into Pastor Velasquez�s home and shot him dead in front of his wife and six young members of his church.

Paramilitary groups vying for power in the region are thought to be responsible for the pastor�s murder. At least fifteen pastors in C�rdoba have come under threat over the last six months. A number have been forcibly displaced as a result of the threats against them and their families.

The situation in C�rdobais part of a larger pattern of severe violations of religious liberty in Colombia. A new CSW report details systematic religious persecution in areas under the control of armed groups. Over 200 churches have been forcibly closed and more than 35 pastors have been assassinated in different parts of the country during the last three years.

CSW�s National Director, Rev. Stuart Windsor said: �CSW wholeheartedly stands in solidarity with the family of Pastor Velasquez at this terrible time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as we call on the UK Parliament and the European Union to urge the Colombian government to properly investigate this murder as well as the other threats against church leaders. We urgently ask the Colombian government to bring those involved in the resurgence of paramilitary activity in C�rdoba to justice�.

CSW is a human rights organisation which specialises in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.