Braemar Ave Baps

Braemar Avenue Baptist Church at Wood Green in the London borough of Harringay is a rather striking building. Its construction of 1907 almost elicited some excitement in the dry paragraphs of his official, historic listing, which describes it as

Rough white flint rabble with proud black pointing; and dressing of intensely red brick and terracotta

More curious is the noticeboard which describes the church as ‘an oasis of divine intervention’. An oasis seem to be a fitting picture of churches in the parched, desert-like nation of Great Britain. Godlessness, false religion, materialism and sheer indifference characterise much of national life. A place, no matter how intense-looking, which teaches God’s word is a lush garden amidst the wilderness. Then again, Braemar Avenue Baptist Church describes itself as an oasis of ‘divine intervention’. It is not clear what the intended meaning is meant to be, but I would propose that God is intervening in our nation more often than we expect, even if it is to humble the proud and bring many to judgement. Each death and demise is a divine intervention; each profession of faith in Jesus Christ is an even better one.