Vocation Outreach House
In 2005 John Sainsbury, a Baptist Minister in south Yorkshire, together with his wife, his mother, (for whom they acted as carers) and a fellow adventurer Maria, upped-sticks and moved to the Cumbrian village of Witherslack.
They did so believing themselves called by God to live a life of greater dependence on God, to adopt a semi- monastic lifestyle, to seek to share their Christian beliefs and to be a blessing to the village in which they settled.
They acquired a converted barn and adapted it to provide living
accommodation and ‘church’ space for themselves and those they hoped would potentially join them. So began the work of Outreach House where they believed their priority was to live out the gospel following a discipline they call the ‘rhythm of life’. This focused on studying the entire Bible over a seven year period working through a chapter each weekday morning. After a shared lunch afternoons are spent serving God within the community, or in whatever ways they are gifted, to provide some income and a means of being fully integrated in the local community. Saturdays are kept free and Sundays designated Church Family Day, with a meeting followed by a meal and recreation. The rhythm is followed 40 weeks each year.
Since the vision was to be ‘in the community and for the community’ they became involved with as many activities in the village as possible, such as the village table tennis club, WI, rag rug group, and helping with the village youth group. This enabled them to get to know people and show that what mattered to the village community mattered to the Community at Outreach House.
This took on new shape when the village shop and Post Office closed its doors. The village rallied together, advice was sought, funds were raised and new
premises were rented. In August 2009 the new shop opened with three part- time paid managers and a team of volunteers including some from Outreach House.
The next phase of mission was a response to needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. What was now a small but growing Christian Community had a vision for sending a team from their village to help the work of a Congolese charity, Heal Africa. Church and village communities worked together producing a team of seven skilled volunteers and over £25,000 to send them and the equipment needed for the work amongst some of the world’s most destitute and forgotten people. At Easter 2010 the trip was made and proved to be a life-changing experience especially for one of the team
who has subsequently become a Christian and joined the church family.
Living out the gospel in this way has inspired others and the community has grown over the few years of its existence, as has the Sunday congregation. The first of the new believers was baptised in the icy waters of Lake Windermere at Easter in 2007. As the first seven year cycle moves towards conclusion the community is considering where the next Outreach House might be, with the hope of leaving a small community to continue the work in Witherslack.
For more information about Outreach house see
www.outreach-house.org or write to Outreach House, The Barn, Witherslack, Cumbria, LA11 6SA.
www. countryway. org. uk 21
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