Reading Boiler Room: News Archives

July 04, 2006

End of an era

The Reading Boiler Room is now closed. For a personal account of our last evening together in the building, click here.

Adios, and God Bless,

The Reading Boiler Room Team

Posted by curve at 11:11 PM

June 07, 2006

Saying Goodbyes

There is never an easy way to say goodbye ... whether it's to people or to things. And as our time at the Boiler Room in Gosbrook House draws to a close, there is nothing easy about letting go. However, as we see in the change of nature's seasons, most things need space to grow and breathe, and then there comes a time for them to go.

The closure of Reading Boiler Room is not a forsaking of values, nor is it a defeat. We have seen the life of the Boiler Room - as we have known it so far, at least - coming to a place where things need to be put down. And in laying down our expectations, we have felt the Spirit steering us towards a 'full stop'.

In all our communications regarding closure, we have repeatedly been reminded of the passage in John 12:

The truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted int he soil. Unless it dies it will be alone - a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives. (verse 24, NLT Version)

So, for all of you that are panicking that the closure of the Boiler Room will be the end of prayer in Reading, fear not!! Many visitors, pilgrims, and friends of RBR have felt that there is still more to come. In closing, we are not denying that God's heart still very much beats for the town of Reading. He loves it when His people humble themselves and seek Him - on behalf of the town and on behalf of those they know and love! We are just as excited to see what will transpire in the months after we close as we have been in finding God in humble little prayer rooms in a leaking building in Caversham!

So, join us on the journey of keeping our ears to the ground - holy ground shall we say! - as we watch and wait to see what exciting dreams our Father will grow in the lives of those who have been inspired by the prayers offered in rooms across this town.

Posted by lorraine at 02:39 PM

December 21, 2005

Christmas Opening Hours

Hi everyone,

Just to let you know that the Reading Boiler will be closed during the Christmas break. We will re-open on Monday 2nd January,

If you want to book use of the building during that time then you can, but you need to do in advance. Give me a call on 0783 459 3138 and I'll see what I can sort out.

Have a good Christmas

Andy

Posted by curve at 11:50 AM | Comments (1)

November 30, 2005

In the middle ...

In the middle of a new season, I've found that it's often easier to look on the 'new' with a sense of excited expectation, and then once we're living in the midst of it we forget to be thankful!
With the arrival of the new year-out course called 'TRANSIT' I have have tried to remember the blessing that this new lease of life has been. Thankfully, they're making it easy!

The Mezzanine Floor room has had a serious face-lift and has been used for the fortnightly training, prayer meetings and for a birthday party! The Art Studio is currently being used by our resident artist, and the front reception room is getting more and more use as an (often impromptu) drop in for local youth. The offices are a little bit warmer after the make-shift installation of a curtain between them and the kitchen/boiler room area!
However, we would still appreciate your prayers for the general upkeep of the building. In this weather we are very much feeling the COLD! Without central heating (yes, the boiler in the boiler room in the Boiler Room .. is broken, and has been since we moved in this Jan) it is hard to keep used rooms warm enough! Any spare heaters welcome ...

Posted by lorraine at 12:35 PM

November 09, 2005

Reading Boiler Room October Update

Four years ago, we launched in the Forbury Vaults pub, with a certain amount of fear and trepidation I will admit. Since then we’ve seen prayers answered, people coming to Christ, others motivated to mission or to work with the poor...

September 12, 2005

Love Justice

Love Justice:
Despite a few technical hitches Sunday night was a really fun time. The evening started with the St Laurences youth group performing a couple of raps which they had written, followed by Sounds of Salvation, a Ska band with crazy hairstyles! Those of us who didn't actually join in the 'skank' (is that the right word?) dancing found it amusing to watch others making fools of themselves! A couple of people gave talks about justice, fair trade and child soldiers. The woman doing the talk on child soldiers read out a couple of stories which I found quite moving and made me want to go out and do something about it and hopefully it had the same effect on other people there too. I can't remember the exact number but the government want a lot of letters from the public before they are willing to do anything to stop the use of child soldiers. During the interval there was a chance to buy fair trade products, wander round looking at the art work and learn more about the organisations who were involved in the event (Christian Concern for One World, Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Traidcraft etc)
My favourite part of the evening was after the interval when Ben Okafor came on. I think his songs got the message of justice across really well and people are likely to remember songs better than they might remember talks. I think the effort that went into organising and setting up the event was definately worth it!

Posted by at 01:10 PM

September 01, 2005

Reading Festival Prayer Room & Outreach

Well .. we had some fun! Putting the prayer room together was a good way of getting our creative juices going (sometimes a little too much, when Doug - a sombre, 45-year-old Californian pastor with a very long beard - danced around draped in some of the reems of material we'd borrowed!) Not many people came in to use the Prayer space. This could be sad, but it's probably good because it meant that the weather didn't warrant people 'needing to get out of it'! For which many of the happy campers were truly grateful.
The FAITH van gave out free cereal, tea & coffee, juice and crisps. That went down a TREAT! Well done them. Check this out for photos.
Read on for how you could get involved next year ...

Here's a video for you to get a feel of what was going on! (please ignore comments made by bearded people, and ESPECIALLY ignore people with Weetabix hats!)

If you would be interested in helping out with initiatives like this next year then get in touch with FAITH and Reading Boiler Room and we'll begin the process of making sure we can serve as best we can! We hope to have a team who would be able to run a cafe/chill-out/chat/prayer-space venue ON SITE. If this appeals to you then do contact the Reading Boiler Room offices.

Posted by lorraine at 03:13 PM

August 08, 2005

Venue Progress

Sweat, paint, tar, water, dust, moss, leaks, damp, frustration, satisfaction, exhaustion ... to name but a few of the things or feelings that the Reading Boiler Room Team have been facing.
We are currently tackling the Mezzanine Floor area (just above the Art Studio, running parallel to the main warehouse area) and it is proving to be a larger task than we had anticipated!!
Please pray for the following:
a solution to the leaking, rusting roof
good sealant paint for the damp wood
a strategy for the floor and how to support it sufficiently
money for the paint (there's a lot of wall space and the white is running out!)

Any expertise is welcome, after all we are aiming to make the building a usable space that serves the Church of Reading, enabling it to serve the town of Reading itself!! Do contac the office, or email us, if you know of anyone who has the 'know-how' when it comes to building, decorating, plumbing, engineering or electrics!

Posted by lorraine at 02:58 PM

July 07, 2005

London today

Today's incidents have left me reeling. I love London - it's most definitely my second-home heartwise.
But they have also given me an angry passion for justice, for mercy, for action, for comfort, for prayer ..

Please pray that where there has been fear, there is peace;
where there has been terror, there is calm;
where there has been confusion, there is clarity;
where there has been hatred, there is love;
where there has been pain, there is healing;
where there has been anger, there is forgiveness;
and where there has been loss, there is release.

Getting up this morning and turning on the television is something that I very rarely do. This morning, for some reason, I did.
Immediately my eyes were assualted by images of the train station I used to go to when I went to university in London (Aldgate) and the words 'LONDON BLASTS' emblazoned beneath it. BBC News 24, showing on BBC1, then began to recount the explosions of 3 buses and numerous tube stations, leading to complete shut-down for the tube service.

Sitting there with my hand over my mouth for almost 10 minutes, all I could do was stutter in tongues, unable to pray anything, overwhelmed by circumstance, helplessness and confusion. Then my brain kicked into action and I an down for my phone, scrolling through my phone book and realising that there were well over 20 people that I wanted to check on...

Today's incidents have left me reeling. I love London - it's most definitely my second-home heartwise.
But they have also given me an angry passion for justice, for mercy, for action, for comfort, for prayer ..

Posted by lorraine at 04:27 PM

July 03, 2005

Open times July - August

Due to a number of events we are unable to staff the Boiler Room fully during July. Please do still contact us by phone or email and we will endeavour to deal with your enquiry ASAP!

readingboilerroom@24-7prayer.com
0 (+44) 1189 461 245

July
Mon 4th - Thu 7th: OPEN 10am - 5pm
Fri 8th - Tue 12th: CLOSED (Transmission Camp in Harpenden)
Wed 13th - Fri 15th: OPEN 10am - 4pm
Mon 18th - Thu 20st: OPEN 10am - 4pm
Mon 25th - Thu 28th: OPEN 10am - 4pm

August
Open by appointment only

Posted by lorraine at 05:18 PM

June 17, 2005

24-7 Week news

We've been having another good 24-7 week, but we wanted to let you know a couple of bits of news about opening times...

Friday night... many people are going down to London for the launch of the City Boiler Room so we're going to close for a night and reopen 6am tomorrow. If you'd like to come along then check out www.cityoflondonboilerroom.com.

We will be ending the 24-7 on Saturday at 5pm. This is slightly different from advertised.

Watch this space for a full report in the next few days.

Posted by andy at 03:24 PM

June 12, 2005

Latest 24-7 week 12-19 June

Well I'm sitting in the prayer room, it's 10pm and we're into our first night of our next 24-7 prayer week at the Boiler Room.

Last month we had an emotional and powerful time as we prayed for Reading in the aftermath of the murder in Prospect Park and we prayed for the UK in the aftermath of the General Election.

This time we pray at a key time globally with G8 and EU summits approaching and in the aftermath of no votes in Europe.

Through all this we sense God is on the move

If you can join us to pray it would be wonderful..

We need people to come in and pray nearly all the days - there are lots of empty slots, too many for this page.

Please sign up by
# posting a comment to this page with a slot time
# email either andy.freeman@24-7prayer.com or lorraine.joslin@gmail.com
# or by popping in to see us. (although please dont come in the middle of the night unannounced as you wont get in !)
# or by phoning on 0118 946 1245

Looking forward to seeing you.

Posted by andy at 09:42 PM

May 03, 2005

Prayer week 8-15 May

Just wanted to write to remind you of the next 24-7 week at the Boiler Room, which begins at 8pm on Sunday 8th May and runs for a week. During this week a number of groups across the country will also be praying to coincide with Pentecost and of course, just after the election. Do join us if you can.

Encouraging slots are beginning to fill up, but as always, the more we can fill beforehand the easier it is to make a week happen.

If you're planning to come in or want to, could you reply to this email with details of when you want to pray so we can book you in.

Alternatively, you can come into the Boiler and sign up on the sheet. It's right infront of you as you come in the side door.

Or, you can check the website and reply there - we'll be listing empty slots from Tuesday onwards and during the whole prayer week.

Things are going well

Since our launch at the end of March, we've been really encouraged by how things are going. A more detailed report and newsletter is going to follow soon but here's the headlines...
We had a great first 24-7 week with some great answered prayers and encouragements We have seen the numbers of people using the building day by day increasing.

We have had a steady trickle of visitors from the local community and old contacts from our Forbury Vaults times.
We have built some great contacts with local churches.
We had been seeing a good number of visitors from outside Reading (Cirencester, Kent, London) and also visitors from other nations (Sweden, Germany, Canada, Portugal).
As I say, we'll give you more news later but be encouraged, we are.

Take care and see you during the 24-7 week

The Boiler Room team.

Posted by andy at 03:54 PM

April 03, 2005

Prayer week finishes

So our first 247 week in the new building is over and it's been great. To check out the photo's just click here

Our next 247 week is 8 - 15 May.

In the meantime, you can book times to come into pray or we'll have specific opening times, which we're going to arrange at our team meeting on Tuesday and then we'll let you know

Andy

Posted by andy at 08:45 PM | Comments (3)

April 01, 2005

Latest 24-7 Prayer Slots Update

If you'd like to spend some time in prayer during the last two days of our week of 24-7, here are the remaining slots as at 14:00 on Fri am:

FRIDAY
14:00-16:00
20:00-21:00
22:00-23:00

SATURDAY
02:00-21:00

Plenty of choice!

Until 21:00 Friday please contact peter.ward@24-7prayer.com, after that andy.freeman@24-7prayer.com.

Thanks!

Posted by curve at 10:35 AM

Lucy Burnell's Indian Travels

Hey everyone. You may know Lucy Burnell, one of Reading's finest, who is currently in Delhi, India working with a charity called Asha. Today I discovered her blog and thought you might be interested. Check out http://themindoflucy.blogspot.com.

Posted by andy at 09:20 AM

Reading Boiler off and running

Well after an immense amount of work (my team have been amazing) we opened Reading Boiler Room Mark 2 on Saturday night.

What can I tell you about the launch and the opening.....

# We opened with paint still wet on the walls but with the place looking amazing.
# Loads of people came to our launch event, we felt so supported, not the least by the 2000 pounds given to us. Pete and Danutia led the evening, Lorraine spoke amazingly, Sounds of Salvation led the worship - a ska band - so incredibly good. There was such a sense of God as we prayed.
# We had so many messages of support.
# We all got very tired
# The prayer rota filled up quite fast, and it felt so easy to pray there.

We're now into our first prayer week and it feels so good.

Posted by andy at 08:36 AM

March 27, 2005

New website up and running soon...

This is a preliminary website for the newly opened Reading Boiler Room. We'll be making changes and adding more information soon.

Blessings,

The Reading Boiler Room Team

Posted by curve at 04:06 PM | Comments (1)