Put a little Christmas in your pocket

The Methodist Church is hoping to spread a little festive cheer with the latest edition to their hugely popular In Your Pocket booklet series.

Christmas in Your Pocket offers readers an inspiring collection of images, Bible verses, prayers and reflections on the Christmas season. It draws together contributions from authors as diverse as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Benjamin Franklin and Bob Hope.

Joy Fisher, Series Editor, said; “This is a pocket-sized reminder that Christmas starts with Christ and finds its home in us. Christmas is for everyone - it’s a time of miracles, hope, expectation, excitement and the most precious gift that anyone can receive.”

Christmas in Your Pocket is ideal for personal or group reflection, but churches are also encouraged to share the Christmas spirit with their communities by giving the booklets away.

The whole range of In Your Pocket booklets (also including Prayer in Your Pocket and Hope in Your Pocket), are available from Methodist Publishing at £5 for 50 copies. They can be purchased online here: http://tinyurl.com/yen2zce/.


Source: Methodist News Service 06/11/2009

Date and venue announced for Methodist Conference 2011

In 2011, the Methodist Conference will be heading northwest to Southport, from 30 June to 7 July.

The Methodist Conference is the governing body of the Methodist Church and meets annually in June or July. Next year’s Conference will be held in Portsmouth, from 24 June to 1 July, at the Portsmouth Guildhall.

Six months of searching for a suitable venue to bring the event back to the north of England for 2011 have concluded with the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre.

“This is a newly refurbished venue, well suited to the needs of today’s Methodist Conference,” said Ben Bradley, Connexional Events Coordinator. “I’m excited by what Southport has to offer. Not only does it boast all the best features of a Victorian resort town, but it has all the amenities the modern conference goer would expect.”

The opening ceremony of the Conference and Conference worship are due to be held in the Southport Theatre Auditorium with a capacity for seating over 1,600 people. Conference business sessions will take place in the Art Deco Floral Hall in the adjoining convention centre.

Source; Methodist News Service 05/11/2009

New Youth Assembly comes to Durham

More young people’s voices will be heard in oversubscribed event.

This year more young Methodists than ever will be making their voices heard through an interactive-styled assembly that replaces Youth Conference.

The new process has been designed to maximise the impact of young people’s influence on the Methodist Church in Britain and enable a greater number of 11 to 23-year-olds to have their say. For the first time in 14 years, the event is oversubscribed with around 200 young people set to take part.

The Youth Assembly will also elect its Youth President; a full t ime, salaried role open to 18 to 23-year-olds.

Youth Conference was modelled on the style of the annual Methodist Conference, but the new Youth Assembly will involve sessions facilitated by young Methodists who have been trained with the skills to help groups run their own debates. Youth violence, vocation, climate change and self-esteem are among the issues expected to be discussed during the weekend conference from November 13 to 15 at Ushaw College Conference Centre in Durham. Conversations will be streamed via webcams around the venue and outcomes from the debates will be displayed on plasma screens and graffiti boards as they happen.

Fiona Holmes, 20, from Newcastle, has been part of the planning team right from the start. “The Youth Assembly is ground-breaking, something totally new to the Church, something that will let young people feel they are a part of the Church,” said Fiona, a British Gas engineer. “This will show the Church who young people are and what we can do. We are not the Church of the future; we are the Church of today.”

There will be a “drop-in zone” on Saturday 14 November where a team of consultants from the Connexion will be on hand to help answer any questions which come out of the young people’s discussions. Consultants in areas of work from Faith and Order through to Equalities and Diversity will be asked to share their knowledge in the style of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’s Phone-A-Friend. Revd David Gamble, President of Methodist Conference, and Vice-President Dr Richard Vautrey will be among the team members who have all been given guidelines by the young people about how to carry out their consultative roles on the day.

Jude Levermore, Participation Development Officer, said: “I am really excited at the way young people have been involved in the planning of this event, so that the format has completely changed. I am confident it will have more of an impact on the wider Church because of their input. I am very proud of every thing that the planning group has achieved.

“The Youth Assembly will enable young people from all different backgrounds and abilities to engage – not just those who are articulate and confident about speaking to a roomful of people.”

Newcastle Upon Tyne District is hosting the event and not-for-profit organisation - Dynamix - has helped enable the young people’s democratic vision to come to life.


Source: Methodist News Service 05/11/2009

Christmas is coming!

There are 52 days to Christmas - with all that that means for us as Christians as well as all the preparations for a big family get-together.

Ecumenically, we usually use one of the shop windows in the shopping precinct for a large Nativity scene. This year there seem to be a number of difficulties in the way. The window in question has been papered over with brown paper, which will need to be removed (and replaced after Christmas)- involving quite a lot of work! It so happens that the hard-working secretary will be away for several weeks at a crucial time and another stalwart is recovering from an operation, though he himself is making light of whether he will be fit to work on the project. It will be a great shame if we have to break with tradition are unable to mount the usual Nativity scene, so your prayers will be appreciated.

Now for the family get-together! I wonder if you have a similar situation in your family? Ours was a big family to start with, but it keeps on growing and growing!
Not only are all my grandchildren finding soulmates (? future spouses) who want to be included, but more great-grandchildren are being born. Well, at my age, in this recession, I am just about making ends meet each week, so what can I possibly do about buying presnts for each and every one of them?

My daughter-in-law, when I made a quick trip up to Derbyshire this week to meet my new-born great-grandson, came up with a suggestion that I think is worth sharing in case it will help your family too. The idea is that all the names are put into a hat and each member of the family draws one out and buys a present for the person whose name (s)he has drawn. Thus buying only one present - but the children are excepted. Before making the draw, a reasonable price is agreed that each present should cost.

This way, every adult receives a good present and no-one knows who has bought which present for whom - and, best of all, no-one has run themselves into debt by trying to buy more presents than they can afford! That has taken a great weight off my mind and it leaves me to enjoy Christmas as it should be enjoyed, with everybody happy and blessed.

But my immediate task is to send out advertisements of all our Christmas services and other events to the three local newspapers and local radio.


Update: Alas! A message has now been received from the owners of the premises in the shopping precinct that are normally used for the Nativity scene to explain that a change of use behind the window covered in brown paper makes it quite impossible for this window to be used by the churches this year.

Getting the best for Local Preachers

First phase of major consultation begins

The Methodist Church is carrying out a major review of training and support for local preachers throughout Great Britain.

This week, questionnaires and discussion documents have been sent to all circuit local preachers’ secretaries and circuit superintendents inviting them to facilitate a review of continuing development programmes for Britain’s 10,000 local preachers.

Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church, said; “Local preachers are essential to the life and ministry of the Church. As a team, we are committed to listening to local preachers about their needs and concerns so that we can offer them better support and training, helping them to live out their calling to the full.”

The first phase of the consultation will ask local preachers about what kind of continuing development programmes they would find most helpful. Each local preachers’ meeting has been asked to encourage all local preachers present to complete a questionnaire about existing and future continuing development provision. Each meeting is also being asked to discuss what the major challenges are for local preachers today and how they can best be supported in their ministry. Documentation to support the consultation is available online at www.methodist.org.uk/lpconsultation.

Speaking of the Church’s duty to nurture and uphold the ministry of local preachers, Revd Dr Mark Wakelin, Secretary for Internal Relationships, said; “Sitting in a pew I want the person leading to know that they are not simply there to fill a plan appointment, but because God has called them, that the Church recognises this and had tried to equip and support that call. I have been most helped when a preacher exudes a sense of their worth and value as God’s messenger.”

A second consultation phase in spring 2010 will specifically consider Faith and Worship, the local preachers’ training course.


Source: Methodist News Service 30/10/2009

Second Synchronised Blogging Day

As far as I can tell, not too many bloggers took part in the first synchronised blogging day, so perhaps this email might tempt a few more to have a go this second time round.

Hi Bloggers,

Following on from my previous email about DigiMission (http://www.eauk.org/slipstream/events/digimission.cfm) I’d like to let you know that we’re organising another synchronised blogging day, and this time there’s a prize involved!

All we’re asking is that you come up with a creative idea of how Christians can use the digital space to impact mission, and then to blog about it! The date is Thursday 12 November so put it in your diaries, or write something now and schedule it for publication on that day. The top three entries/ideas will each win the full set of Test of Faith materials (www.testoffaith.com). And we have a few extra books and DVDs for honourable mentions. J

Then if you could link back to Slipstream and/or the DigiMission event we’d really appreciate it.

All the details are here, and closer to the date we’ll have a list of all the blogs participating:

http://www.eauk.org/slipstream/events/digimission-synchro-blog.cfm

Tell your blogging friends all about it.

Best regards
Anna Moyle
Slipstream Administrator
www.eauk.org/slipstream

Pakistan Church calls for an end to religious violence

Call for prayer this Sunday


The leader of the Methodist Church in Britain has welcomed moves by Church leaders in Pakistan which call on the Pakistani government to end religious violence in the country.

This year, violent attacks against Christians have left many dead and made hundreds of families homeless, as many more fear for their safety. Church leaders in Pakistan have formed a Christian Action Forum to address the problem and are lobbying their Government to act to end the violence.

The Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church in Britain, said, “I welcome this announcement and want to add my voice to theirs in calling for serious and credible efforts from the Government to stem the violence against religious minorities. I also want to extend my sympathy to the families of those who have lost loved ones in the recent violent attacks.”

Martyn affirmed the right of all people to live in safety and worship freely, encouraging Christians to pray for the Church and people of Pakistan, especially on Sunday which is the 39th anniversary of the founding of the United Church of Pakistan.

Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia, is currently in Pakistan and yesterday attended a press conference given by the Moderator of the Church of Pakistan, Bishop Samuel Azariah, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Lahore, His Grace Lawrence John Saldanha. At the conference, Church leaders called for the repeal of laws which encourage crime and discrimination, especially the controversial blasphemy laws, which have been used to justify violence against Christians.

Steve said, “There is considerable tension in the country following indiscriminate suicide bombings and the assassination of a provincial government minister. All schools must now have armed guards, establishments where girls are educated are particularly worried and many church meetings are being cancelled. It is late in the evening now, and I can hear gunfire in nearby streets.”

Speaking after the press conference, Bishop Azariah commented, “The most important thing about the new Forum is that Christian leaders are now struggling together for the establishment of democratic values in Pakistan and fighting against the discriminatory laws being used against the religious minorities.”

Martyn also invited Methodists in Britain to lobby their representatives at the national and European parliaments to question the Pakistan government about the protection of the rights of minorities in the country. He welcomed the contribution of Pakistani Christians to the life of the Methodist Church in Britain and encouraged local congregations across Britain to offer pastoral support to them during this difficult time.


Source: Methodist News service 27/10/2009