Full-time community elder, at Pevensey Baptist Church, Rev Edwin Peña, originally from Colombia, is to join Pevensey Bay: the Journal in the July issue of the newspaper with his new column, ‘a message to the community’. He will be joining 18 local writers, including MP Huw Merriman, in the independent ‘hyper-local newspaper’ venture that has caught the local imagination.—Bay Life, 28 June 2016
Edwin is a lawyer who has combined legal work and church ministry. He knows the south coast very well, having been in Britain for ten years with his family.
At the time of his appointment to Pevensey Bay Baptist Church, Heart of Sussex, a Christian newspaper, delivered to hundreds of local churches reported that, “Mr Peña (pronounced ‘pen-ya’) grew up in a Christian family and first trained for the ministry 25 years ago in Colombia at the Christian Alliance Church, then trained as a lawyer and combined the roles of lawyer and pastor.
“Ten years ago he and his wife Astrid, a teacher, felt that they were meant to come to the UK when an opportunity arose to study English here. He quickly linked up with local Baptist churches and gained British legal experience by working with Hastings Magistrates’ Courts Witness Services and also got involved with Citizens’ Advice Bureaux in Hastings and Eastbourne.
At the time of his appointment three years ago, Heart of Sussex said, “Soon after Mr Peña completed a further two-year course through Spurgeon’s College, he was introduced to Pevensey Bay Baptist Church through the South East Baptist Association. The church elders, John Berry, a retired Baptist minister, Betty Cranston a retired Teacher and Bryan Bladon, a retired Nurse Tutor who specialises in mental health issues, have been holding the fort for 18 months and are delighted to appoint Mr Peña as their Community Elder.”
Since his appointment, the local Baptist Church has been galvanised with activity that has drawn praise from across the community.
As well as playing host to key new community organisations such as the creative writing group, Inkspot, the church has also established a vibrant “Movies in the Bay strand” that sees blockbuster screen events in the afternoons and evenings once a month. “Movies in the Bay” has created a real buzz about the church.
Talking about his new column today (28 June) to be published in Bay Life: The Journal he told Bay life, “this will be interesting”.
Read the first ‘message to the community’ from full-time community elder, at Pevensey Baptist Church, Rev Edwin Peña in the next issue of the Bay Life: The Journal, published on July 22.
IMAGE CREDIT: Heart of Sussex: Rev Edwin Peña and his wife Astrid with their sons Sebastian, left, and Matthew who are at UK universities.
