Methodist Church welcomes celebration of Darwin Day

· Methodists pay tribute to Darwin’s ground-breaking theory of evolution

The Methodist Church has welcomed a day of celebration dedicated to the achievements of scientist Charles Darwin during the year marking his 200th birthday and 150-year-old theory of evolution.

Methodists praised Darwin’s ground-breaking work on the theory of evolution, On the Origin of Species, which sparked a scientific research programme that has continued to this day.

The Revd Dr Philip Luscombe is Principal of Wesley House, Cambridge, and President of the Cambridge Theological Federation where he teaches Systematic Theology, Preaching and Religion and Science.

He said: “Christians believe that God created the world. Charles Darwin gave the first successful scientific account of one important part of God’s creation: how life developed from the simplest of forms into the extraordinary variety that we see around us. In doing so, Darwin ruled out some of the ways in which many had assumed that God worked. But as he himself was clear, nothing that he wrote affected the majesty of God in creation.

“An early Christian commentator on Darwin’s work wrote that, ‘Darwinism appeared, and, under the guise of a foe, did the work of a friend.’ Darwin cleared away many misconceptions and helped us towards a better understanding of the truth.”

Philip, whose major research interest is the relationship between science and theology, said that Darwin’s thesis demonstrated the power of the theory of evolution through natural selection.

“The human genome project is only the latest example of research which is ultimately inspired by Darwin,” he added. “All modern biological science relies on the foundation Darwin provided.”

“We join in celebrating the life and work of Darwin because he helped us all to see better the intricacy of God’s creation, and forced us to wrestle once more with the eternal problems of good and evil.”

The Revd Jenny Ellis, Spirituality and Discipleship Officer, said: “Darwin’s scientific theory of the mechanics of creation frees us to appreciate the ‘faith’ truth of the Biblical stories and the precious value and giftedness of God-inspired creation. The stories convey the sense of the wonder and goodness of creation; of the creative, divine Spirit who brings it into being and sustains it; of creation’s deep inter-connectedness, its rhythm and balance.”

Source: Methodist News Service 12/02/09

Concern expressed over BBC changes

In a letter to the BBC’s Director General, the Methodist Church has expressed ‘deep concern’ over the announcement of immediate structural changes to the BBC’s Religion and Ethics department.

The Manchester-based Religion and Ethics team will be combined with the BBC’s Factual department and the newly formed Factual and Religion department will be managed from Birmingham.

The full text of the letter follows:

Dear Mr Thompson,

We write to you to express our deep concern over the recent news of structural changes to the BBC’s Religion and Ethics department.

The Methodist Church would like to express our gratitude for the outstanding work of the BBC in the field of Religion and Ethics, on television, on radio and online. The BBC’s creativity and authority in their engagement with a vast range of ethical issues, faith groups and life stories not only reaches individuals to whom these matters are important, but also resources public awareness and debate, enriching the life of the nations.

We are seeking your reassurance that under the newly formed Factual and Religion department this work will not only continue to the high standards already set by your dedicated team, but will be given the space and resources to creatively develop.

We would like to express our pastoral concern and offer our prayerful support to all staff directly affected by these changes as they make this transition.

Yours sincerely,

Revd Dr Martyn Atkins
General Secretary of the British Methodist Church

Revd Stephen Poxon
President of the British Methodist Conference

Mr David Walton
Vice-President of the British Methodist Conference


Source: Methodist News Service 07/02/09

Our Psalmody

Since my friend's Psalm of Snow that I posted on Wednesday delighted readers, I thought you might like to share a couple of the Psalms of Praise that were written by members of our Disciple 4 Group as homework for our last session on the psalms. We were told to use Psalm 103 as a model to tell of God's blessings and victories in our lives. Normally, we would share these at our next meeting but, it was cancelled because of the snow and these psalms were emailed to all our members.

PSALM OF PRAISE

Praise God!
Praise you O Lord my God for calling me to belong to your family.
Thank you for enabling me to fulfil the work you have given me to do.

Not a Service goes by without You giving me Your words to say.
You supply my thoughts and words so that I can Praise You,
and lead Your people in Worship.

I can trust you Father God, to help me when I call, and to quieten my fears.
You still the fear within me.
You stop my stomach churning and my mind doubting.
You bring to my mind your words of encouragement and Praise.

I love Your word!
May I always depend on it and on Your Holy Spirit's power.
Praise the Lord!

(Inspired by a service I led yesterday)

This gave us a taste of what it must be like to study in the new Disciple Online communities.

MY PSALM OF PRAISE

Praise the Lord, O my soul, for He has done marvellous things. I will praise the Lord as long as I live for the way He has loved me, guided me, chided me, picked me up when I was down, set me on my feet again and strengthened me over and over again.

He forgives my faults and my backslidings; he heals me over and over again in body, mind and spirit; he rescues me from those who would do me harm and surrounds me with His love and the love of so many friends;

He fills my life with an abundance of good things; and assures me that He will take care of me for the rest of my life. He never leaves me, not even when I sometimes forget to come to Him in prayer and praise.

I will praise the Lord for His wonderful creation, giving us fruit and food in all seasons and animals to care for and cherish. The beauty of His creation is beyond our words of praise as we are inspired and enheartened by the splendours of the flowers and trees, the clouds and the seas – too many to enumerate. Praise the Lord for all the marvels of His creation.

Praise the Lord for His endless, limitless love. He cares for each one of us like a father, with great tenderness and sympathy, and he even goes before us to prepare the way for us and ease out the difficulties. His watchful eye and loving arms are there to protect us when we fall, and in great gentleness He remakes us so that we have the power and strength to carry on; he suffers when we suffer; he weeps when we weep, and he laughs when we laugh. Praise the Lord for his wonderful love and care.

Come praise the Lord with me, all of you who rely on His loving care and bounteous provision!

Put A Little Grace and Hope In Your Pocket

With economic recession looming large and severe weather conditions causing chaos, some may feel that 2009 has got off to a rather gloomy start. But the Methodist Church is offering a little bit of hope and grace with their hugely popular ‘In Your Pocket’ booklet series.

Grace In Your Pocket and Hope In Your Pocket are just the latest editions to hit the press following the success of earlier publications on the themes of peace, prayer and joy. Since the series began in 2006, more than 150,000 booklets have been distributed.

Series Editor, Joy Fisher, said: “In a world facing financial meltdown, grace and hope may seem to be in short supply, but the booklets remind us that these values can transform our everyday lives.

“Prayer In Your Pocket and Joy In Your Pocket were hugely popular and we’ve found that churches are frequently using them for visiting neighbours and friends and for prayer groups. It goes to show that people really do want this kind of resource.”

Grace In Your Pocket was inspired by a sermon given by the President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Stephen Poxon at the 2008 Methodist Conference. He described grace as being, “loved completely...and there are no conditions... only this overwhelming sense of being loved."

The booklets are ideal for mission-related activities and public events. Some of the contributions have been specially written, while others have been drawn from well-known authors such as Martin Luther King, Jane Austen and Superman star Christopher Reeve.

Eighty thousand Grace and Hope booklets have been produced and a copy of each will be sent out to Methodist Ministers.

“Hope is like the wing of an angel, soaring up to the heaven, and bearing our prayers to the throne of God,” 17th century clergyman, Jeremy Taylor, is quoted as saying in Hope in Your Pocket; designed to offer hope in the midst of a busy life.

ENDS

Notes
Grace in your Pocket and Hope in your Pocket are available from Methodist Publishing House (MPH) in packs of 50 at £5.00 per pack incl. p&p. The booklets are available in PDF or PowerPoint form on the Methodist website.
NOTE: Link from MPH to: https://secure2.cyberware.co.uk/%7Ecb537/acatalog/index.html

Link from Methodist website to: www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=churchlife.content&cmid=5

Source: Methodist News Service 06/02/09

A Psalm of Snow

"Blizzard conditions on the M4. Reading buses suspended. Bristol buses suspended. An overnight snowfall of 10cm (4 inches)in Reading and 20cm (8 inches)on higher ground and in Gloucestershire. More than a hundred schools closed. Seondary schools Kendrick and Reading, Prospect and Hugh Faringdon are closed. Right across the country local authorities are rapidly running out of salt and grit after 4 days of snow, so much so that further supplies will need to be dug out of the ground! The Highways Agency has enough to keep the main roads open but it's a different story for the local authorities. There is a warning of more heavy snow to come today."

This is what greeted me when I switched on to BBC Radio Berkshure early this morning
and I looked outside to a beautiful white winterscape. Among the list of schools closed was Caversham Park Primary School, but I see that Caversham Primary School across the road from me is open, as it was yesterday. It closed on Monday when the first heavy snowfall struck, and I had the joy of seeing and hearing lots of children sledging in the public Balmore Walk that runs across the top of our back gardens. At other times of the year, I enjoy watching children flying their kites up there.

Now, a few hours later, there is a light drizzle of rain and the thaw is beginning, making the pavements very slippery and dangerous. The mothers bringing their children to school were having difficulty if they had younger children in prams. I've just seen the first bus go past my house, but the bus ccompany say that they are running on modified routes to avoid the steep hills that are still very icy. I've been staying indoors to avoid falling but yesterday I had an appointment at a GP clinic and I had to get a taxi because the pavements were like skating rinks.

As I posted earlier, we are expecting to host the National Methodist Youth Brass Band tomorrow for the weekend and, as we listen to the snow bulletins from all over the country, we are wondering what sort of journeys these young musicians are going to have to reach us from their homes all over the country! We are doing all we can to keep them warm and well fed while they are with us, but we hadn't reckoned on such severe weather for their travel. The Traffic Control have just broadcast a warning of some treacherous roads because of black ice, and callers are reporting cars spinning sideways and one said 'I've just seen four people fall down near Sainsbury's'. Yesterday, a meterologist told us that he didn't see an end to this wintry weather until at least St. Valentine's Day - so be prepared!

On Monday,Our Disciple 4 Group meeting was cancelled because some people couldn't get there on ubtreated roads, so one of our members emailed us all this poem that he had written _

A winter psalm


1 Every scintillating snowflake, praises God,
Crystal clear icicles are the work of his hands:
Diamond clad boughs, twinkling in the starlight,
praise the Lord as they dance to the wind’s gentle melody.

2 Snow bedecked roofs and sparkling ice drops,
declare that I am is I am the Lord of all creation.
Crunchy white lawns and frost covered rocks,
Cry out ‘He creates, He reigns, Halleluiah!

3 Every snowflake the work of his hands,
every glacier, ice shelf and crevasse,
created by Him for his delight
says He is Lord of all.

4 Robins and chaffinches squabbling in the snow,
All fed by your hand chirp praise to your Name.
Squirrels and sleepy dormice snuggled down,
are kept warm by the Lord of all Creation,

5 For every atom of your creation;
planed for all eternity.
The vapour of our breath, given to us by the Eternal God,

6 Children built snowmen and the errant snow ball,
created from heaven sent snow flakes, tell out the story of a creating God
Frozen ponds and twirling skaters, toboggans racing down with tumbles and tears
Tell the story of a Creator God who cares.

7 Ice bergs and polar bears penguins and seals
Edelweiss and snowdrops peaking from the snow,
Reflect the glory of the Creator,
the God of all.

8 With every beat of my heart,
All the praise that I can give ,
Will be yours alone,
For as long as I live


Dave Tottingham

Churches’ Media Conference 2009

My friend Tony Miles is inviting faith leaders tothe Churches' Media Conference and, because i feel that it is important for the leaders of our churches to meet the media people and discuss ways in which they can help each other, I have reproduced below his invitation posted on his blog. I hope it will inspire many to book for this conference. It is an opportunity not to be missed.


"IMPACT! Media shaping culture shaping faith

What impact does the media have on society? What impact can people of faith have on the media?

The Churches’ Media Conference 2009 will ask what story the media is telling about our society and its values. We will invite the production community to look at itself in the mirror and ask what values are shaping it. And we’ll ask whether churches and other faith communities can discover new and constructive ways to exercise influence in the new media environment.

I’m writing to let you know that bookings are now open. The conference will take place from Monday 8th - Wednesday 10th June 2009 at the Hayes Conference Centre, Derbyshire. To book your place just go to http://www.tonymiles.co.uk/blog/

If you don’t have a password you can register on the site.

The Churches’ Media Conference provides a unique opportunity for media professionals and faith leaders to engage in a lively debate about the impact of the media on society. Once again we’re grateful to our friends at Bible Society for joining us as principle sponsors of the conference. And once again we’ll have a bursary fund to support those who would otherwise not be able to attend.

Please would you help us get the word out by forwarding this information to anyone you know who may be interested in joining us."


Don't miss this opportunity to have your say.

Venturing on new ground – Church reaches out to young adults

The Revd Ian Bell has been appointed Pioneering Ministries Coordinator, overseeing a major new initiative designed to reach out to young adults who have no contact with the Church.

The church is investing £7 million over ten years in the scheme, entitled venture fx, which will seek to recruit 20 lay and ordained people who demonstrate vision, motivation and the ability to inspire others. Over the next five years these people will be appointed to pioneer new Christian communities among the 20s to 30s age range in 20 different locations. They will be offered support and training and will be able to build new, viable independent Christian congregations rooted in the Methodist tradition.

“Increasing numbers of people have little or no understanding of the Christian story and might find the idea of going to church strange or irrelevant,” said Ian, “This is the challenge that the church is facing and we have to develop new models of church that speak to people about where they are in life and the issues that matter to them. venture fx is about tackling this challenge head on, meeting people where they are and challenging perceptions of what ‘church’ should look like.”

Ian is currently Superintendent Minister of the South West Tyneside Methodist Circuit, where he is developing an emerging church venture at Starbucks in the Metro Centre, Gateshead. In the past he has helped to establish several new expressions of church in the Sheffield and Doncaster areas, including a youth congregation and a cafe-based church.

As Coordinator for the scheme, Ian will be working part time until the end of August 2009, becoming full time from 1 September. You can hear Ian talking about the scheme in the latest Fresh Expressions podcast, available online here: http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/section.asp?id=4138. More information about venture fx with a list of FAQs can be found on the Methodist website here: http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentoworld.content&cmid=2539

Source: Methodist news Service 02/03/09