Silent Auction works wonders!

The Silent Auction held at Caversham heights Methodist Church for the relief of the people of Haiti raised £1,500 and the church is grateful to all those who donated items for auction and to all who helped to make it such a success.

This brings the final total raised in aid of Haiti at this church to £3,400, which includes Gift Aid, the 5 Shelterboxes (at a cost of £500 apiece) that were sent as quickly as possible, and the remainder which will be channelled through the Methodist Relief and Development Fund that has been at work in Haiti for many years.

For those who didn't see my earlier blog, each Shelterbox includes everything needed to help a family or group of ten people to survive a disaster. The following is lifted from their website and reduced to be more suitable for short items of news.

At the heart of every ShelterBox is a ten-person tent. Every box contains a children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons and pens. In addition to the tent, the boxes contain a range of other survival equipment including thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, essential in areas where temperatures plummet at nightfall. Where malaria is prevalent mosquito nets are supplied, as well a life saving means of water purification. A basic tool kit containing a hammer, axe, saw, trenching shovel, hoe head, pliers and wire cutters can be found in every box. The box itself is lightweight and waterproof and has been used for a variety of purposes in the past - from water and food storage containers to a cot for a newly born baby.
A key piece in every box is either a wood burning or multi-fuel stove - that can burn anything from diesel to old paint. This provides the heart of the new home where water is boiled, food is cooked and families congregate. In addition, there are pans, utensils, bowls, mugs and water storage containers.

Methodist Haiti appeal passes £80,000 mark

A joint appeal launched by the Methodist Church and MRDF for Haiti has smashed the £80,000 barrier, which means that more than £100,000 will be donated to Haiti.

Donations to the Church’s World Mission Fund have reached more than £37,000 by this morning. The Fund gave an immediate grant of £20,000 on 13 January, and the money raised through this appeal will allow for continued support. So far, donations to MRDF have reached £46,000. Donations have come from the Methodist Church in Ireland and people all over Great Britain and will go directly to the Church in Haiti, which is distributing aid to those most in need.

Expressing his gratitude for the initial grant, Revd Gesner Paul District President of the Methodist Church in Haiti, said; “We thank you for standing near us at this time of severe difficulty and continue to count on your support by any means as we try to recover from this very traumatic disaster.”

Revd Tom Quenet, Methodist Partnership Coordinator for the Americas and the Caribbean said; “We continue to be amazed by people’s generosity. While Haiti will remain in the news for a little while, we are in it for the long haul. We will continue to work with the Methodist Church in Haiti, helping them to rebuild their lives and communities long after the news crews have gone.”

In February, Tom hopes to lead a visit by a group of British Methodist representatives to the country. This will also include Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, who was ordained in Haiti, and Haitian minister Revd Marcus Torchon, whose family have been affected by the disaster.

Donations to MRDF will also support the work being carried out by the Methodist Church in Haiti, as well as the relief efforts of the charity’s emergency partner, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International. ACT is providing counselling services and water and sanitation engineers, who will construct water purification systems and latrines that will help in the fight against cholera and other water-based diseases. Donations through both ACT and the World Mission Fund will provide food, water, blankets and tents to thousands of people, as well as other essential support to those affected by the disaster.

Kirsty Smith, MRDF Director, said; “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported our appeal. These gifts will help to reinforce the relief efforts on the ground. The earthquake has caused major devastation to a country that was already battling extreme poverty. Key services and institutions have been totally destroyed. We will continue to do all that we can to make a difference.”

People can donate via the Methodist Church by visiting www.justgiving.com/Methodist-Church-Haiti-Appeal, or sending a cheque payable to the World Mission Fund to Dave Bennett, Fundraising Coordinator, at Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JR. Postal donations should be labelled ‘Haiti Appeal’. For further information visit www.methodist.org.uk or contact Revd Tom Quenet on 020 7467 5160.

To donate via MRDF, visit www.mrdf.org.uk or call 020 7224 4814 to give by debit or credit card, or send a cheque made payable 'MRDF (Haiti emergency)' and to MRDF, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR.

Source: Methodist news Service 25/01/2010

What the 'noughties' HAVE done for God!

Were any of you listening to/watching last night's TV programme 'What have the 'noughties' done for God?'? I had not noticed it in the evening's programme and I was sight-checking part of John's Gospel in the Huastec language for Wycliffe Associates (UK) when the TV programme in the background changed. So I stopped checking when I could (at the end of a page), to listen. Actually, I discovered that I was listening to Newsnight (as I usually do) and, with the end of the first decade of the 21st Century in sight, the BBC had begun a series on the changes brought about during this decade - the 'noughties'.

I found it a most depressing account of the decade, since it dwelt on the arguments and divisions that have been prominent in the media and the often highlighted decline in churchgoing. It was said that the habitual church-going world had vanished very quickly, and marriage and the sanctity of human life have been downgraded; that freedom of speech now comes above religious belief, which is now less influential, with no monopoly on the moral highground. It went on to say that today there is a fuzzy faith, so that the church now meets the people half-way, bringing the secular world into the church with cafes, and that many Christians question the rules (on homosexuality, for instance) - in turn, causing schism and a two-tier Church of England.

The programme included the change that radical Muslims had brought about by the bombing of New York and London, and also the new prominence of atheism, with an atheist exhibition in Cambridge and posters denying the existence of God on London's buses. Showing a ruined church, it stated that people want a religious home but not a prison, and it concluded that 'this is an age of doubt which offers great opportunities but threatens it with ruin'. Most depressing! But is it right?

How do you view the last decade, the 'noughties'? This programme emphasised all the negative aspects of life in the last ten years, but what about the positive side? I would like you to listen to last night's Newsnight on BB2 iPlayer and join me in listing what we HAVE actually done for God in the 'noughties', please.

In many churches, fresh ways of worshipping and 'Back to Church Sundays' have brought many people back to church in this decade. Countering that sense of being imprisoned in the four walls of the church, its people are now taking the Gospel out on to the streets much more than in previous decades, using all kinds of new expressions of church, like cafe churches and the surfers' church in Devon! The
most notable of all is Share Jesus international 'Pentecost Festival 2008 and 2009' which flooded the streets of London with all kinds of events to bring the living Jesus to the people of London. Again, outside the churches, events like , Easter People and , , and , to name but a few, keep gathering together many hundreds of Christians (young and old) to worship and learn with great enthusiasm. There is no decline there! The emphasis today is that the church is not the building but the people who worship there. There are churches who are selling their church buildings in favour of worshipping in the school or community centre.

In Reading, an ecumenical charity called has grown in the 'noughties' from one small shop and advice centre to five shops in all, covering the outskirts of the town - and plans are in hand to open a sixth in another area. CCA demonstrates God's love by meeting people's practical needs and restoring self-worth to immigrants and those who are rehabilitating after treatment for drug or alcohol addiction or a spell in prison. The shops sell donated goods ,and donated furniture furnishes the flats of those starting a home.

Then there is the remarkable success of Wycliffe Bible Translators in the provision of the Scriptures in the heart languages of so many peoples throughout the world - a work which gathered pace tremendously during the 'noughties' and set a target of Vision 2025. Alongside this, Wycliffe Associates (UK) have produced EasyEnglish translations, with limited vocabulary at three levels, for people whose second language is English and for the Deaf. This work has been so successful that it created a demand for similar work in other languages and now teams of people across the world are working to produce easyBibles in their own heart languages. Forgetting everything else, all this translation work alone has done mighty things for God in the 'noughties'. I am glad and proud to have lived to see this transformation, making it possible for all kinds of disadvantaged people to be able to read and hear the Word of God in their own language.

I must mention the work made possible through the which has made small miracles possible around the world - training and assisting small farmers to grow more efficiently and providing clean water in poor countries. The 'noughties' have done so much for God through the giving to MRDF!

Finally, not least are the countless churches here that are twinned, as my church is, with work in other parts of the world, building churches, paying teachers' salaries and providing equipment. This work goes on quietly, regularly, and added up tells a story of powerful work for God in the 'noughties'.

I could go on, and I'm sure you could all add to what I have written. Why don't we let the outside world know what IS being done for God? Isn't it time that the Media ran some Good News stories instead of concentrating on the arguments and negative aspects of church life? It would make much better reading than the depressing news we keep hearing every day, and please, please, PLEASE can't someone produce a really good film for TV Newsnight showing the positive side of our work for God?

MRDF appeals for support for crisis-hit countries

This Christmas, the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) is calling on people to remember those affected by humanitarian crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe. MRDF is supporting appeals through ACT (Action by Churches Together) International that will provide emergency supplies to some of the thousands of people who have been affected.

In the DRC, an estimated 250,000 people fled their homes when fighting broke out between Government forces and rebel fighters in October. At the time, reports from the country included stories of killing, rape, looting and children being forced to fight – UNICEF calls eastern Congo ‘the worst place in the world to be a child’.

ACT staff were able to deliver some initial assistance to crisis-hit areas. They are now assessing the current needs and are planning to provide food to severely malnourished children, safe water and psycho-social support to people affected by the conflict. Many families had to leave their land before their crops were harvested. Under these proposals, displaced families would also be given tools and seeds to ensure that there is food in their communities next year.

In Zimbabwe, a cholera epidemic has worsened the crisis in a country already suffering from desperate food shortages, a growing HIV/AIDS problem and economic instability. MRDF would like to thank everyone who has donated so far to the appeal launched in April. Over £30,000 has been raised and has been used to provide food supplies, supplementary vitamins for those living with HIV/AIDS, counselling for AIDS orphans and small livestock for food and breeding. However, the needs are huge, and growing. Further donations to this appeal will continue to provide this vital support to some of Zimbabwe’s most vulnerable households.

MRDF Director Kirsty Smith said: ‘For most of us in the UK, Christmas will be a time of sharing with friends and family. But many people living in Zimbabwe and the DRC face an uncertain future of insecurity, chronic hunger and sickness. These appeals give us the opportunity to assist thousands of people living in desperate and unstable situations.’

Donations for Zimbabwe and the DRC can be made by debit or credit card on 020 7224 4814, or by cheque, payable to “MRDF (Zimbabwe emergency)” or “MRDF (DRC emergency)”, posted to MRDF, Methodist Church House,
25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR.

Taxpayers are encouraged to gift-aid their donations where possible, adding a value of 28p to every pound they give, at no extra personal cost.


Source: Methodist News Service 19 February 2008

Warning of Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Zimbabwe

The Methodist Church in Britain is warning that the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe is likely to worsen over the coming months.

Reports from Zimbabwe indicate that famine is set to grip the African country that has been ravaged by six poor harvests and economic collapse. The combination of the worst drought for a decade and bad government policies, along with lack of seeds and fertiliser, are proving disastrous.

The World Food Programme has estimated that 28 per cent of children under five are malnourished and vulnerable to disease. Many rural families only get one meal a day, but food aid stocks are running out. The number of people requiring food aid is expected to rise to around five million, or 45 per cent of the population, by January 2009.

Roy Crowder, Partnership Coordinator for World Church Relationships with special responsibility for Africa, said: ‘The stalemate in negotiations between MDC and Zanu-PF is making the situation even worse. This is a time when people should be planting for the following year, but the economy is devastated and seeds and fertiliser are in short supply. The delay in achieving a viable political agreement threatens to prolong the economic and humanitarian crisis.’

When the ban on aid agencies operating in Zimbabwe was lifted last month, the Methodist Relief and Development Fund launched an appeal to deliver food and agricultural support to vulnerable people in partnership with ACT International.

Roy said: ‘We urge people to support the Methodist Relief and Development Fund appeal because the current crisis is expected to result in catastrophe in the next few months.’

Donations to MRDF’s appeal for Zimbabwe can be made by debit or credit card on 020 7224 4814, or by cheque, payable to “MRDF (Zimbabwe emergency)”, posted to MRDF, Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JR.

Taxpayers are encouraged to gift aid their donations where possible, adding a value of 28p to every pound they give, at no extra personal cost."


Source: Methodist News Service 30/10/08

Burma Crisis Appeal

As the death toll from the Burma cyclone continues to rise, the Methodist Church and the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) have launched an emergency appeal for funds.

Michael King, World Church Team Leader, says; ‘The cyclone has created a humanitarian emergency that is unprecedented in Burma’s history. Hundreds of thousands of people are cut off from clean water and shelter, and prices for basic foodstuffs are escalating. We are asking people to offer whatever support they can, both financially and through their prayers’.

The Church sent an immediate solidarity grant of £10,000 to the Methodist Church in Myanmar and has launched a joint appeal with MRDF. To donate via the World Church Office please visit www.justgiving.com/methodistburmacyclone or send a cheque, made payable to the Methodist Church Fund for World Mission, to:


Burma Appeal
Fund for World Mission
Methodist Church House
25 Marylebone Rd
London NW1 5JR

To donate via MRDF, call the MRDF hotline on 020 7224 4814.

Funds received will be channelled through Church World Service, which is working in the most affected areas.

The Christian Conference of Asia has appealed ‘to member churches and councils, ecumenical partners and friends to remember those affected people in your daily prayers, and extend assistance to help the people affected by this natural calamity.’ The Revd Mar Gay Gyi, the General Secretary for Myanmar Council of Churches will be meeting with the staff in-charge of the Emergency Relief Unit and sharing updated information with the churches.

People are also urged to keep those affected in their prayers. A special prayer has been written for the crisis and can be found online at http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.content&cmid=2130.

Appeal for funds for Kenya crisis

The Methodist Church and Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) have confirmed the initial amounts of financial aid they are sending to Kenya to support those suffering as a result of the ongoing conflict.

MRDF is sending £6,300 directly to local partner RCDG, based in Nairobi’s Kibera slum district, one of the areas worst affected by the post-election violence.

Samantha Tuck, East Africa Programme Officer at MRDF, explains “A major concern is that those on anti-retroviral treatment for HIV can’t get to clinics for drugs. They have to take those drugs with food, but cannot get that either. RCDG is ideally placed to deliver direct assistance to some of the most vulnerable and seriously affected people. With an MRDF humanitarian grant they will get medical care, food and bedding to 200 members of the community. We are pleased to have their help in channelling funds straight to where they are most needed.”

Further MRDF response will be made through ACT International, which is providing survival essentials for displaced people living in camps.

The Methodist Church in Kenya has called for £25,000 to help them support those suffering because of the widespread violence. The Methodist Church in Britain is sending £10,000 straight away, but is appealing for donations to cover the remaining need.

Kevin Fray, World Church Africa Secretary, says; “The situation in Kenya is very hard to comprehend, but what we do know is that people are in desperate need of shelter and aid. At the moment, the best support we in Britain can offer is through our prayers and donations.”

Donations to MRDF’s appeal for RCDG and ACT International can be made by credit card on 020 7224 4814, or by cheque, payable to “MRDF (Kenya emergency)”, posted to MRDF, Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 6JR.

Donations to the Methodist Church’s appeal for the Methodist Church in Kenya can be made at http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentoworld.content&cmid=1493.

Taxpayers are encouraged to Gift Aid their donations where possible, adding a value of 28p on to every pound they give, at no extra personal cost.

Methodist Church launches Mexico flood appeal

The Methodist Church has launched an emergency appeal for funds following the devastating floods that have swept through South Mexico in the wake of the heaviest rains to hit the country for 40 years.

The Church’s Fund for World Mission has already pledged a solidarity grant of £7,500 towards the appeal and charity Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) has offered £5,000 to assist relief work.

The extent of the flooding is massive with the states of Tabasco and Veracruz particularly affected. At least 500,000 people have been made homeless and are facing the destruction of their crops and outbreaks of disease.

Revd Thomas Quenet, World Church Officer for Americas and the Caribbean, says; ‘The full extent of this tragedy is yet to be seen, but we do know that thousands of people will be faced with rebuilding their lives from scratch. We are encouraging people to offer whatever support they can, not only with their pockets, but also with their prayers.’

Those wishing to support the appeal can send cheques, made payable to The Methodist Church Fund to World Mission, to Mexico Flood Appeal, World Church Relationships Office, Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR.

People can also give securely online at www.justgiving.com/mexicoflood. This is part of the Church’s new easy-to-use online giving facility through www.justgiving.com. UK tax payers can even GiftAid their donations, offering the appeal an extra 28% of their donation at no extra cost to them.

Source: http://methodist.org.uk/news 9/11/07