James Wakefield is spending a year interning for our church. Here’s his latest intern update…
It's been a full two months since I last updated you all on how the internship has been going! I have been journeying with God through some amazing things at church in this past season.
One highlight from April would have to be volunteering at Make Lunch over the Easter Holidays. I'd never come across this initiative before, but I was so encouraged to see what work our volunteers are doing in the local community. It was particularly great seeing students who have only been living here a year or two engage with the project, keen to follow Jesus and serve those around them.
I also wrote my first theology essay on 'conquering' as a biblical storyline, focusing on how God sent a very unearthly king who conquered death in such incredible ways. I'm very grateful to Ashaleigh Higgins for guiding me through this process.
I had a brilliant time with Ashaleigh and Jonny in Swindon for the Regions Beyond Hub conference. It was so great to catch up with leaders from other churches in the country, and hear incredible stories of what God is doing in our family across the country and the world!
I'm so pleased I've got to be part of the move in to the new building the other week. When I first arrived in Durham in 2019, we were supposed to move into The Emmanuel Centre in my third term. God's taken us on quite the journey since then! I'm so grateful to have been part of the worship team, understanding the new technology, and I have been blown away by the number of hours the team have put into moving into this next stage in Emmanuel Church's ministry.
I can't wait to see what God will do with my last month in Durham, and onwards with the Bulgaria mission trip (and on that note thank you so much to everyone who attended my fundraised at the end of April)!