Minister ends Lent experiment

Norwich Central Baptist Church pastor Mark Fairweather-Tall.

A Norwich minister today said he had got “better discipline in my life and in my commitment to God” after spending the Lent period living on Jobseekers' Allowance.

Norwich Central Baptist Church pastor Mark Fairweather-Tall decided to embark on the experiment as a way of reflecting on his use of money.

For the last six weeks he has been living on £59.15 per week and promised to donate the money saved from his salary between two good causes - a Bulgarian orphanage and a church trip to South Africa planned for later this year.

He said he found the effort to live on Jobseekers' Allowance “challenging” and has learnt practical ways to live more cheaply and efficiently, such as cycling and walking wherever possible and by preparing meals from scratch.

More unexpected for Mr Fairweather-Tall was the impact this experiment had on his friendships - as he could not afford the same social life he was used to or be as generous as he might like to be.

He said: “Every time I said 'no' to someone because I couldn't afford to join in and every time I went shopping and saw the things I couldn't buy, it reminded me about temptation. This experiment has brought greater discipline to my life and in my commitment to God.”

Mr Fairweather-Tall has donated £500 towards a Bulgarian orphanage and a church mission to South Africa .

*You can read about his Lent experience on his blog at www.norwichcentral.org.

Meanwhile, there was snow on the ground for the first time in many years at an Easter Sunday dawn service in Dereham.

About 50 Christians gathered on the town's Neatherd Moor at 6am and rather than seeing the sunrise as they worshipped they witnessed an unseasonal covering on the ground.

Dereham Baptist Church minister the Rev Chris Densham led the service.

Later in the morning, the Baptist church's English and Portuguese congregations gathered for a special joint Easter Sunday service.

Some songs were sung in both languages, and the English speakers learned a Portuguese worship song.

Each Saturday several dozen Portuguese speaking people meet at the Baptist church for a service.

By courtesy of the EDP24 website