www.nextwaveonline.com
News
Event Celebrates London Heroes
20 November 2006
An inner London church recently marked a new era in community relations by celebrating the unsung heroes of its region.
Beckenham’s Night of Honour, sponsored by CityGate Church in Bromley, London, brought together prominent members of the local community to honour individuals and groups who are making a difference to peoples’ lives.
People in the community voted for individuals to receive awards in several categories, including ‘Best Investor in Children’, ‘Best Community Organisation’, ‘Best Carer’, ‘Best Sports Star’ and ‘Child of the Year’.
Julian Melfi, senior pastor of the church and co-host for the evening explained: ‘We wanted to reward people in our community who have deliberately gone out of their way to make a difference to other people’s lives.’
‘We wanted to show these individuals that people notice their work and appreciate them and to demonstrate the positives that are happening in our part of London.’
Mal Fletcher was guest speaker in an evening that featured dance acts, a live band and special prize draws. He spoke eloquently about the need to shape cities of honour by investing in the generation who will carry the future on their shoulders.
‘Despite the often negative messages about youth culture in the media,’ he said, ‘the mainstream of British Millennial young people, the silent majority, are positive about the future and looking forward to big challenges.’
‘My own research and experience suggests that as Millennials emerge into social influence over the next decade or so, we can expect to see several very positive changes in community life.’
Rather than being downcast about the problems of youth culture, he added, community groups should concentrate on preparing young adults for leadership in the community. This begins with fostering an atmosphere around young people where success and excellence are normal.
The CityGate church was started just a few years ago by Pastor Melfi and his wife Sharon, yet it already has several hundred people and is known for its creative presentations and strong community links.
Pastor Melfi has big plans for the development of major community service facilities in this area of London.
For more on CityGate church, visit www.citygatechurch.co.uk.
www.nextwaveonline.com