Story
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: 16pt;" lang="EN-GB">New (old) church in Hampshire village</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">‘Helping to bring the sacred back to the heart of our village’ is the aim of the International Presbyterian Church (IPC) congregation in </span><span lang="EN-GB">West Liss</span><span lang="EN-GB">, Hampshire.<span> </span>IPC<span> </span>was started by Francis Schaeffer in </span><span lang="EN-GB">Switzerland</span><span lang="EN-GB"> in 1954.<span> </span>Whilst separate from the work of the L’Abri Fellowship, also begun by Schaeffer, the church has some values in common with L’Abri, in particular an emphasis on apologetics to access the heart of the gospel.<span> </span>The IPC has congregations in Ealing, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Camden</span><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Southall</span><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Canada</span><span lang="EN-GB"> Waters, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Warrington</span><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><span lang="EN-GB">York</span><span lang="EN-GB"> and Liss in the </span><span lang="EN-GB">UK</span><span lang="EN-GB">, together with 8 </span><span lang="EN-GB">UK</span><span lang="EN-GB"> based Korean speaking congregations.<span> </span>European church plants have begun in </span><span lang="EN-GB">Belgium</span><span lang="EN-GB">, </span><span lang="EN-GB">Romania</span><span lang="EN-GB">, and </span><span lang="EN-GB">Italy</span><span lang="EN-GB">. The IPC church plant in </span><em><span style="font-style: normal;">Azerbaijan</span></em><span lang="EN-GB"> is the furthest afield. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">The church in Liss began in 1972, meeting in living rooms, village halls and school gyms before moving to its current home.<span> </span>The regular Sunday morning congregation numbers around 70.<span> </span>Three years ago the church bought the underused, predominantly 14<sup>th</sup> century, St Peter’s church from the Church of England.<span> </span>Psalm 84:10 is written above the doorway of the church, ‘For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.<span> </span>I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness’.<span> </span>The IPC are keen to be faithful doorkeepers, extending a welcome to the village and turning the building from a historic museum piece to a growing centre of hope and revival.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">IPC are pleased to report a church re-opening as a place of worship, rather than reading a report of another church being made redundant to be turned into an office or exclusive private house.<span> </span>They are keen to be part of a new generation of Christians communicating the good news of Jesus as Saviour to the residents of Liss.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">St Peter’s is an old building, parts of it dating back to Norman times, and a great deal of work is required to refurbish the building.<span> </span>The church has secured a matching grant from English Heritage but still needs to raise £100,000.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span lang="EN-GB">If you would like more information please contact Doug Curry (Pastor) on 01730 890401 or at dougc@ipc-liss.com or Lance Anelay (Trustee) on 07710 463715 or at <a href="mailto:lanceanelay@aol.com">lanceanelay@aol.com</a>.<span> </span>St Peter’s IPC Trust Corporation is a registered charity no 1134300</span></em></p>
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