The Methodist Church in Britain has urged for Gaza border crossings to be kept open so that emergency food aid can reach people in need. The current crisis developed after Israeli troops entered Gaza to destroy a tunnel, killing a Hamas gunman. Since then, five more Palestinians have been killed by an Israeli airstrike and Palestinian militia have fired rockets into Israel.
Steve Hucklesby, Methodist Church Policy Adviser, said: “In recent years Gaza’s isolation has devastated the economy. The lifeline of food and fuel has become crucial and half of the population of Gaza currently depends on UN food supplies.
“Palestinians have a right under international law to receive essential humanitarian aid. We appeal to the UK and EU to exert pressure on Israel to ensure that the border crossings are kept open. We must hope for progress on dialogue in the coming months. The additional tension created by military incursions into Gaza makes this more difficult.”
This year Methodist Conference adopted a motion calling on Methodists to write to their MPs and MEPs to demand urgent action to alleviate the humanitarian crisis facing the people of Gaza and to pray for peace and justice for all God’s people in the Holy Land.
Source: Methodist News Service 15/11/2008
Friday, 14 November 2008
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Boys face longer wait for adoption’
I am very glad to give prominence to this article in last nnight's edition of my local newspaper, the Reading Evening Post, which seeks to explode the myth that boys are harder to bring up and therefore to adopt. One of my sisters adopted one and fostered a surprising number of others during her lifetime.
Laura Herbert writes:-
"Boys could wait longer to be adopted as they are perceived as being more trouble and harder to parent, according to a new study.
The research commissioned by the British Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF) is part of its National Adoption Week, which started on Monday. Results in the South East show one in five people think boys are tougher to parent than girls, while 45 per cent of people thought there was a nationwide perception of boys being more trouble. Just over half of those asked felt the media played a big part in the perception of boys and believed it portrayed them in an overly negative way.
However, Reading-based adoption and fostering agency Parents and Children Together (PACT) disagreed with the results. Sarah Pepys, director of adoption at PACT, said: “When someone is approved to adopt, they receive several family-finding magazines in which they see the picture and summarised lives of just a handful of the children in local authority care every month needing new ‘forever families’.
“A glance at the pages of any one of these does indeed show there are more boys than girls seeking adoption but they would also see a disproportionate number of children who are special for a different reason; maybe they belong to a sibling group, or they are older or have special needs.”
Ms Pepys added: “We at PACT work hard with our prospective parents to identify what aspects of a child’s personality or background they could most comfortably deal with.
“We have found that many families seek to have girls placed and are therefore keen to recruit families for those little boys for whom placements have not yet been found. “We are very keen for families interested in adopting boys to contact us to find placements for those waiting.”
Since its launch in 1997, National Adoption Week aims to encourage more families to come forward to adopt children who wait the longest. A majority of them are older children, children with disabilities, brothers and sisters, and children from some black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
For more information about adoption and fostering visit www.baaf.org.uk or contact PACT on 0800 731 1845 or visit www.pactcharity.org.
Source: Reading Evening Post - Laura Herbert - 12/11/2008
Laura Herbert writes:-
"Boys could wait longer to be adopted as they are perceived as being more trouble and harder to parent, according to a new study.
The research commissioned by the British Association for Adoption & Fostering (BAAF) is part of its National Adoption Week, which started on Monday. Results in the South East show one in five people think boys are tougher to parent than girls, while 45 per cent of people thought there was a nationwide perception of boys being more trouble. Just over half of those asked felt the media played a big part in the perception of boys and believed it portrayed them in an overly negative way.
However, Reading-based adoption and fostering agency Parents and Children Together (PACT) disagreed with the results. Sarah Pepys, director of adoption at PACT, said: “When someone is approved to adopt, they receive several family-finding magazines in which they see the picture and summarised lives of just a handful of the children in local authority care every month needing new ‘forever families’.
“A glance at the pages of any one of these does indeed show there are more boys than girls seeking adoption but they would also see a disproportionate number of children who are special for a different reason; maybe they belong to a sibling group, or they are older or have special needs.”
Ms Pepys added: “We at PACT work hard with our prospective parents to identify what aspects of a child’s personality or background they could most comfortably deal with.
“We have found that many families seek to have girls placed and are therefore keen to recruit families for those little boys for whom placements have not yet been found. “We are very keen for families interested in adopting boys to contact us to find placements for those waiting.”
Since its launch in 1997, National Adoption Week aims to encourage more families to come forward to adopt children who wait the longest. A majority of them are older children, children with disabilities, brothers and sisters, and children from some black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
For more information about adoption and fostering visit www.baaf.org.uk or contact PACT on 0800 731 1845 or visit www.pactcharity.org.
Source: Reading Evening Post - Laura Herbert - 12/11/2008
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Bad hair day!
A number of ladies at our church are quite upset at the news that our faithful hairdressing establishment closed down on 3rd November 'due to circumstances beyond our control'. There is, of course, speculation as to the unforeseen circumstances that have led to this, but we know that the owner hairdresser has not been well lately and we see other small businesses closing down because of the credit crunch.
It is nevertheless a great shock for people like me who have been reliant on that hairdressing establishment for a long time - in my case 60 years! Of course, it has changed ownership in those years and the staff has changed from time to time but to have a good hairdresser just down the road has been so very convenient.
So now the search goes on for a suitable, reliable and local hairdresser. It makes quite a difference which one we choose because your hairdresser can change your whole appearance. I had my last appointment during the last few days of their days in business and I remember thinking that it was odd that there were only two 'girls' in the salon and no customers, but I put it down to it being lunchtime.
I do hope that, when I next need the services of a hairdresser, I don't find that they have too many bookings because of taking on the large clientele of the oldest established salon in Caversham! I notice that several small businesses of various kinds are now closed in Reading, so perhaps we shall have to get used to more closures as the recession takes its toll on local businesses.
It is nevertheless a great shock for people like me who have been reliant on that hairdressing establishment for a long time - in my case 60 years! Of course, it has changed ownership in those years and the staff has changed from time to time but to have a good hairdresser just down the road has been so very convenient.
So now the search goes on for a suitable, reliable and local hairdresser. It makes quite a difference which one we choose because your hairdresser can change your whole appearance. I had my last appointment during the last few days of their days in business and I remember thinking that it was odd that there were only two 'girls' in the salon and no customers, but I put it down to it being lunchtime.
I do hope that, when I next need the services of a hairdresser, I don't find that they have too many bookings because of taking on the large clientele of the oldest established salon in Caversham! I notice that several small businesses of various kinds are now closed in Reading, so perhaps we shall have to get used to more closures as the recession takes its toll on local businesses.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Methodist Church welcomes push for the responsible pricing of alcohol
The British Methodist Church has welcomed calls from MPs to set minimum prices on alcoholic drinks.
Today’s report from the Home Affairs Select Committee ‘Policing in the 21st Century’ highlights the serious problems of alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour. It calls for an end to ‘happy hours’, supermarket loss-leading promotions, and the introduction of minimum sale prices for alcohol.
David Bradwell, Public Issues Policy Adviser, said: ‘Alcohol misuse is a growing problem. This is partly due to the easy availability of cheap booze – alcohol was 69% more affordable last year compared to 1980. This is why we support the recommendations of the Select Committee.’
The Methodist Church has a long tradition of promoting abstinence and moderate drinking as a way of tackling the problems alcohol causes.
David continued; ‘John Wesley railed against cheap gin in the 18th century because of its devastating impact on the lives of the most vulnerable people. The Methodist Church today urges the Government to move towards imposing minimum prices for alcohol and ending irresponsible promotions by retailers.
Source: Methodist News Service 10/11/2008
Increasing the price is only a partial solution but it should help quite a lot. A year or two ago I had to go in search of a young man whose family (and church) had lost touch with him and there was considerable worry concerning him. So I braved going into a 'club' that I had once overheard him mention. I was so shocked to find him in that scruffy place - the darkest, dirtiest, most uninviting and smallest social space I had ever seen or could imagine. It was straight out of a Dickens TV film! It was even more of a shock for me to discover that this dreadful place was also being frequented by young men from a neighbouring Methodist church, all from good families, and the ONLY reason they all gave for going there was that it was the only place where they could get cheap beer.
Today’s report from the Home Affairs Select Committee ‘Policing in the 21st Century’ highlights the serious problems of alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour. It calls for an end to ‘happy hours’, supermarket loss-leading promotions, and the introduction of minimum sale prices for alcohol.
David Bradwell, Public Issues Policy Adviser, said: ‘Alcohol misuse is a growing problem. This is partly due to the easy availability of cheap booze – alcohol was 69% more affordable last year compared to 1980. This is why we support the recommendations of the Select Committee.’
The Methodist Church has a long tradition of promoting abstinence and moderate drinking as a way of tackling the problems alcohol causes.
David continued; ‘John Wesley railed against cheap gin in the 18th century because of its devastating impact on the lives of the most vulnerable people. The Methodist Church today urges the Government to move towards imposing minimum prices for alcohol and ending irresponsible promotions by retailers.
Source: Methodist News Service 10/11/2008
Increasing the price is only a partial solution but it should help quite a lot. A year or two ago I had to go in search of a young man whose family (and church) had lost touch with him and there was considerable worry concerning him. So I braved going into a 'club' that I had once overheard him mention. I was so shocked to find him in that scruffy place - the darkest, dirtiest, most uninviting and smallest social space I had ever seen or could imagine. It was straight out of a Dickens TV film! It was even more of a shock for me to discover that this dreadful place was also being frequented by young men from a neighbouring Methodist church, all from good families, and the ONLY reason they all gave for going there was that it was the only place where they could get cheap beer.
Breaking new ground for youth in the Methodist Church
Young people are on the verge of becoming empowered by ground-breaking changes that will be the talk of this year’s Methodist Youth Conference.
Around 150 16 to 23-year-olds will celebrate the launch of the £4 million Youth Participation Strategy (YPS) at Kings Park Conference Centre in Northampton from November 21 to 23. YPS was conceived by Youth Conference and will enable young people to become involved in making decisions about the direction of the church on a level never seen before.
The strategy will see 32 young people employed in new, part-time salaried posts as District Youth Enablers across the Methodist Church in Britain and one young person employed in a full-time salaried post as Youth President. This is the first time salaried positions have been specifically targeted at the 16 to 23-year-olds in order that young people help guide the direction of the church.
The Youth Conference, which came into being in 1995, will elect the Youth President who will be tasked with being a representative and spokesperson for young people in the church. Chair of the Youth Conference, Sarah Malik, 20, said: “This is the first stepping stone of the YPS with young people actually participating in the Methodist Church. With the new system, there will be lots of support in place to help young people who want to make a difference.”
President Brian Caveney, 23, said: “Within this next year there will be changes to the whole Connexion as to how young people can get involved on every level. That is all down to YPS and it is exciting. I think when it gets going fully in September 2009 it will be very empowering for young people.”
Youth violence will also be a returning item on the Youth Conference’s agenda. At The Methodist Church Conference in Scarborough in July 2008, members accepted the Youth Conference Resolution to investigate how local churches could address the issues that lead to violence among young people, including knife crime.
In response to this, members from the existing Youth Executive, the Association of Black Methodist Youth and three young people elected by Youth Conference will form part of a group who will take this resolution forward.
There are still a few places left for young people wanting to attend Methodist Youth Conference. To book, check out www.youthconference.co.uk
Source: Methodist News service 10/11/2008
This is wonderful news and is long overdue. I have been longing to see an injection of the drive and enthusiasm of youth into the decision-making and direction of our Methodist Church and this new initiative will have all the backing that I am able to give it. As I have recently written on this blog, I firmly believe that the best way forward for a healthy, vibrant church is for all age groups to be working together and encouraging each other. May God bless both the Youth Conference and the Youth Participation Strategy.
Around 150 16 to 23-year-olds will celebrate the launch of the £4 million Youth Participation Strategy (YPS) at Kings Park Conference Centre in Northampton from November 21 to 23. YPS was conceived by Youth Conference and will enable young people to become involved in making decisions about the direction of the church on a level never seen before.
The strategy will see 32 young people employed in new, part-time salaried posts as District Youth Enablers across the Methodist Church in Britain and one young person employed in a full-time salaried post as Youth President. This is the first time salaried positions have been specifically targeted at the 16 to 23-year-olds in order that young people help guide the direction of the church.
The Youth Conference, which came into being in 1995, will elect the Youth President who will be tasked with being a representative and spokesperson for young people in the church. Chair of the Youth Conference, Sarah Malik, 20, said: “This is the first stepping stone of the YPS with young people actually participating in the Methodist Church. With the new system, there will be lots of support in place to help young people who want to make a difference.”
President Brian Caveney, 23, said: “Within this next year there will be changes to the whole Connexion as to how young people can get involved on every level. That is all down to YPS and it is exciting. I think when it gets going fully in September 2009 it will be very empowering for young people.”
Youth violence will also be a returning item on the Youth Conference’s agenda. At The Methodist Church Conference in Scarborough in July 2008, members accepted the Youth Conference Resolution to investigate how local churches could address the issues that lead to violence among young people, including knife crime.
In response to this, members from the existing Youth Executive, the Association of Black Methodist Youth and three young people elected by Youth Conference will form part of a group who will take this resolution forward.
There are still a few places left for young people wanting to attend Methodist Youth Conference. To book, check out www.youthconference.co.uk
Source: Methodist News service 10/11/2008
This is wonderful news and is long overdue. I have been longing to see an injection of the drive and enthusiasm of youth into the decision-making and direction of our Methodist Church and this new initiative will have all the backing that I am able to give it. As I have recently written on this blog, I firmly believe that the best way forward for a healthy, vibrant church is for all age groups to be working together and encouraging each other. May God bless both the Youth Conference and the Youth Participation Strategy.
BIRTHDAY BOOM FOR BILLY GRAHAM
It has been ‘a large response’ of a different kind for Billy Graham. People whose lives had been impacted by his ministry were invited to send personal stories and birthday greetings – for the man who helped them find God has turned 90. Now their many testimonies are being compiled into books, to be presented to the famous preacher at a tribute dinner later this month. ‘Nothing could uplift him more on this special day,’ said his son Franklin. His father has been preaching for more than 60 years, addressing an estimated 215 million people. Dr Graham has had Parkinson’s disease for the past 15 years and is very frail. But his mind is still alert, according to longtime British colleague Maurice Rowlandson.
Source: Church Times (7/11).
Source: Church Times (7/11).
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Reading Single Homeless Project
i have just returned from our annual Autumn Fair, which this year was in aid of the Reading Single Homeless Project. We don't know the full amount raised yet because there are sums to be added yet, like donations and the money raised from the 'Host a meal' events held in the run-up to the Fair, but today we have taken just over £1,100, which should help the cause considerably.
Amongst other things, I bought a centenary mug, a special assignment being sold in advance of our Centenary next year (and all next year, of course), and also a beautiful doll for my litle great-granddaughter, Loiusa, for her Christmas present. Then I had a satisfying lunch to the accompaniment of interesting conversation before returning home.
Reading Single Homeless Project (RSHP) is dedicated to ending social exclusion caused by homelessness. RSHP is determined to provide the standard of housing and support needed to enable its clients to achieve their full potential in life. RSHP houses people who live alone, and who are in need of housing because:
• they can't live in their current accommodation anymore
• they need supported accomodation
• they have nowhere to live.
In alternate years, we choose overseas or home projects, so that next year we shall be on the lookout for a suitable overseas project to support. We are in the fortunate position that we do not need to organise fund-raising events for our own church here.
Amongst other things, I bought a centenary mug, a special assignment being sold in advance of our Centenary next year (and all next year, of course), and also a beautiful doll for my litle great-granddaughter, Loiusa, for her Christmas present. Then I had a satisfying lunch to the accompaniment of interesting conversation before returning home.
Reading Single Homeless Project (RSHP) is dedicated to ending social exclusion caused by homelessness. RSHP is determined to provide the standard of housing and support needed to enable its clients to achieve their full potential in life. RSHP houses people who live alone, and who are in need of housing because:
• they can't live in their current accommodation anymore
• they need supported accomodation
• they have nowhere to live.
In alternate years, we choose overseas or home projects, so that next year we shall be on the lookout for a suitable overseas project to support. We are in the fortunate position that we do not need to organise fund-raising events for our own church here.
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