National roadshow 9-28 March 2009
The award-winning Saltmine Theatre Company will combine forces with Wycliffe to present an original roadshow based on the Bible in 15 venues across England, Scotland and N Ireland in March 2009.
The show with no end and no beginning
(all over in one hour)
Welcome to the story of everything - the Bible - in an hour - brought to life on stage by Saltmine Theatre Company. Journey with us through tragedy and tears, music and mirth, serpents and salvation!
"In all Saltmine produce they are professional, polished, thought-provoking and entertaining" Jeff Lucas – International Speaker and Author
In the second half of this unmissable evening Wycliffe Bible Translators will share an inspiring glimpse into how the Bible is being brought to life today in Nigeria.
MARCH 09 CITY VENUE
Mon 9th Westminster St James The Less
Tues 10th Tunbridge Wells Holy Trinity with Christ Church
Wed 11th Southampton Testwood Baptist Church
Thu 12th High Wycombe King's Church
Fri 13th Reading Woodley Baptist Church
Sat 14th Northwood Emmanuel Church
Mon 16th Halesowen Zion Christian Centre
Wed 18th Nottingham Trent Vineyard
Fri 20th Liverpool Kingsway Christian Fellowship
Sat 21st Glasgow Adelaide Place Baptist Church
Tues 24th Belfast Willowfield Parish Church
Wed 25th Bangor Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church
Thur 26th Broughshane Second Broughshane Presbyterian Church
Fri 27th Belfast Orangefield Presbyterian Church
Sat 28th Portstewart Portstewart Baptist Church
The event will start at 7.30pm and finish by 9.30pm
View an online video about the tour on http://www.wycliffe.org.uk
Box Office Hotline – 01384 454808 or online here
Tickets: £6
Concessions & groups over 10: £5*
Groups over 20 receive 5 free tickets**
*A £1.50 booking fee applies to all orders
**Except Westminster
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Two thirds of 18-24 year-olds want more hours in the day
Ever feel that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day? If you’re a member of the younger generation, chances are you’d like more time to squeeze in your to-do list.
In a YouGov survey commissioned by the British Methodist Church, participants were asked how much more time they would like in the day in order to get everything done and have a little extra time for themselves.
65% of 18 to 24 year-olds said they would like more time in the day, with 28% wishing for at least a 27-hour day. But the older generation (aged 55+) proved more relaxed, with 69% saying they were happy with the day as it stands.
But the Church is challenging people to spend a small amount of time making a big difference to the way they live their lives with its Still Time Lent campaign.
The campaign is supported by a website (www.methodist.org.uk/stilltime) where people can sign up to receive daily email reflections and challenges from five different contributors.
Contributor Revd Dr Mark Wakelin, said; “Some of us would love to have more hours in the day, but it’s amazing the difference that we can make in just five minutes. Still Time is about using our time wisely in order to enhance every area of life.”
Each day of the week will have a different focus, with ‘time for you’ on Mondays, followed by ‘time for others’, ‘time for God’, ‘time to share’ and finishing the week with ‘time to act’.
“Still Time is a challenge to all who have given up, feel rushed off their feet, or think it’s simply too late to do things differently,” continued Mark. “Still Time is about making time that gives us ‘eternity in our hearts’. There’s still time for others, for ourselves, for God – still time to make a difference in the world and begin to discover the people we were always meant to be.”
Source: Methodist News Service 19/02/2009
In a YouGov survey commissioned by the British Methodist Church, participants were asked how much more time they would like in the day in order to get everything done and have a little extra time for themselves.
65% of 18 to 24 year-olds said they would like more time in the day, with 28% wishing for at least a 27-hour day. But the older generation (aged 55+) proved more relaxed, with 69% saying they were happy with the day as it stands.
But the Church is challenging people to spend a small amount of time making a big difference to the way they live their lives with its Still Time Lent campaign.
The campaign is supported by a website (www.methodist.org.uk/stilltime) where people can sign up to receive daily email reflections and challenges from five different contributors.
Contributor Revd Dr Mark Wakelin, said; “Some of us would love to have more hours in the day, but it’s amazing the difference that we can make in just five minutes. Still Time is about using our time wisely in order to enhance every area of life.”
Each day of the week will have a different focus, with ‘time for you’ on Mondays, followed by ‘time for others’, ‘time for God’, ‘time to share’ and finishing the week with ‘time to act’.
“Still Time is a challenge to all who have given up, feel rushed off their feet, or think it’s simply too late to do things differently,” continued Mark. “Still Time is about making time that gives us ‘eternity in our hearts’. There’s still time for others, for ourselves, for God – still time to make a difference in the world and begin to discover the people we were always meant to be.”
Source: Methodist News Service 19/02/2009
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
February meeting of the Methodist Council
The Methodist Council met on 16-17 February at High Leigh Conference Centre in Hertfordshire. This is the second of three meetings planned for the current Church year.
In a ground-breaking new initiative, the Council approved the appointment of three Companions to work with particular international partner churches. The Companions are the first to be appointed in a pilot scheme that will seek to strengthen the Church in its relationships with partner churches around the world. Revd Jennifer Potter, Revd Ward Jones and Revd Conrad Hicks will specifically work with churches in Zimbabwe, Korea and Guatemala respectively.
The Revd Ken Howcroft, Secretary of the Methodist Council, said; “We are really pleased to have made these appointments and hope that this scheme will develop and strengthen the international work of the Church. The Companions will be able to offer a greater presence in specific areas than has previously been possible, offering the support of the British Methodist Church to our partner churches in some of the areas of greatest need.”
The Council also pledged support for the Stamp Out Poverty campaign. Stamp Out Poverty is a network of organisations including Christian Aid and Oxfam which campaigns for additional sources of finance to help bring the world’s poorest people out of poverty. It urges UK and international decision-makers to introduce a stamp duty on sterling currency transactions, setting aside proceeds for international development objectives.
Children’s charity Action for Children featured on the agenda, with Council members approving a strategy for closer working between Action for Children and the Methodist Church on international issues. The Church’s World Church Relationships team will seek to identify areas in which Action for Children might be able to offer specific expertise and support, and will seek to include them in relevant work with partner churches around the world.
Closer to home, Council members discussed the development of the Church’s ecumenical vision for working with other British denominations, including how local churches might be encouraged in such partnerships. As a practical expression of the Church’s commitment to ecumenical working, the Council also pledged to invite a representative from the United Reformed Church’s Mission Council to attend future meetings as a participative observer. A representative from the Methodist Council will also attend Mission Council meetings and the two bodies will explore the possibility of a joint meeting to be held in 2010.
Christine Elliott, Methodist Secretary for External Relationships, said; “This development in our relationship with the United Reformed Church enables us to be more intentional about finding new and practical ways of engaging in mission together.”
Other topics discussed at the Council included the Church’s engagement with the media, the need to support local churches in fostering discipleship and the Church’s pension schemes for ministers and lay employees.
Source: Methodist News Service 17/02/2009
In a ground-breaking new initiative, the Council approved the appointment of three Companions to work with particular international partner churches. The Companions are the first to be appointed in a pilot scheme that will seek to strengthen the Church in its relationships with partner churches around the world. Revd Jennifer Potter, Revd Ward Jones and Revd Conrad Hicks will specifically work with churches in Zimbabwe, Korea and Guatemala respectively.
The Revd Ken Howcroft, Secretary of the Methodist Council, said; “We are really pleased to have made these appointments and hope that this scheme will develop and strengthen the international work of the Church. The Companions will be able to offer a greater presence in specific areas than has previously been possible, offering the support of the British Methodist Church to our partner churches in some of the areas of greatest need.”
The Council also pledged support for the Stamp Out Poverty campaign. Stamp Out Poverty is a network of organisations including Christian Aid and Oxfam which campaigns for additional sources of finance to help bring the world’s poorest people out of poverty. It urges UK and international decision-makers to introduce a stamp duty on sterling currency transactions, setting aside proceeds for international development objectives.
Children’s charity Action for Children featured on the agenda, with Council members approving a strategy for closer working between Action for Children and the Methodist Church on international issues. The Church’s World Church Relationships team will seek to identify areas in which Action for Children might be able to offer specific expertise and support, and will seek to include them in relevant work with partner churches around the world.
Closer to home, Council members discussed the development of the Church’s ecumenical vision for working with other British denominations, including how local churches might be encouraged in such partnerships. As a practical expression of the Church’s commitment to ecumenical working, the Council also pledged to invite a representative from the United Reformed Church’s Mission Council to attend future meetings as a participative observer. A representative from the Methodist Council will also attend Mission Council meetings and the two bodies will explore the possibility of a joint meeting to be held in 2010.
Christine Elliott, Methodist Secretary for External Relationships, said; “This development in our relationship with the United Reformed Church enables us to be more intentional about finding new and practical ways of engaging in mission together.”
Other topics discussed at the Council included the Church’s engagement with the media, the need to support local churches in fostering discipleship and the Church’s pension schemes for ministers and lay employees.
Source: Methodist News Service 17/02/2009
Methodists in war-torn Sri Lanka appeal for help
The British Methodist Church urges people to pray for displaced Sri-Lankans on February 19.
As fighting in Sri Lanka reached a climax this month, the Methodist Church in Britain has urged people to pray for hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.
Reports from the President of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka have revealed the extent of the devastation. Rev Ebenezer Joseph said that 95 per cent of the seven congregations in the Wanni region had been trapped in an area now under control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
“The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka has received reports of civilian causalities in the Mullaitivu District, which seems to take place even in areas disclosed as ‘safety zones’,” said Rev Joseph.
“Therefore, we appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka to take all measures to prevent civilian causalities in the present military campaign. We appeal to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to allow free movement of civilians to safer areas without forcibly detaining them or using them as human shields. “We make this appeal to both warring parties purely on humanitarian grounds keeping the innocent civilians foremost in mind.”
All seven Methodist Churches in the region have been displaced, but relief work has continued. The Methodist Church in Britain called for people to use day 19 of the Methodist Prayer Handbook to pray for an end to people’s suffering in war-torn, northern Sri Lanka.
Rev Joseph said: “The conditions for the ordinary civilians are very, very difficult. We also extend relief to those families who have managed to come out of the Wanni and who are now in various camps in the Mannar and Vavuniya areas and the Jaffna Peninsula.
“We also need to be ready to reconstruct the Churches and help with settlement of the people once the people are allowed to return back to their dwellings in the cleaned areas.”
Further aid from the Fund For World Mission, which gave £20,000 in October, will be sent out to the Church to help people rebuild their homes and their lives.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Fund For World Mission’s aid relief to Sri Lanka can do so online at the World Church page www.methodist.org.uk http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentoworld.content&cmid=1492 or contact Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, at the Fund For World Mission on 020 7467 5161 or via email pearces@methodistchurch.org.uk
Source: Methodist News Service 17/02/2009
As fighting in Sri Lanka reached a climax this month, the Methodist Church in Britain has urged people to pray for hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.
Reports from the President of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka have revealed the extent of the devastation. Rev Ebenezer Joseph said that 95 per cent of the seven congregations in the Wanni region had been trapped in an area now under control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
“The Methodist Church of Sri Lanka has received reports of civilian causalities in the Mullaitivu District, which seems to take place even in areas disclosed as ‘safety zones’,” said Rev Joseph.
“Therefore, we appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka to take all measures to prevent civilian causalities in the present military campaign. We appeal to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to allow free movement of civilians to safer areas without forcibly detaining them or using them as human shields. “We make this appeal to both warring parties purely on humanitarian grounds keeping the innocent civilians foremost in mind.”
All seven Methodist Churches in the region have been displaced, but relief work has continued. The Methodist Church in Britain called for people to use day 19 of the Methodist Prayer Handbook to pray for an end to people’s suffering in war-torn, northern Sri Lanka.
Rev Joseph said: “The conditions for the ordinary civilians are very, very difficult. We also extend relief to those families who have managed to come out of the Wanni and who are now in various camps in the Mannar and Vavuniya areas and the Jaffna Peninsula.
“We also need to be ready to reconstruct the Churches and help with settlement of the people once the people are allowed to return back to their dwellings in the cleaned areas.”
Further aid from the Fund For World Mission, which gave £20,000 in October, will be sent out to the Church to help people rebuild their homes and their lives.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Fund For World Mission’s aid relief to Sri Lanka can do so online at the World Church page www.methodist.org.uk http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentoworld.content&cmid=1492 or contact Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, at the Fund For World Mission on 020 7467 5161 or via email pearces@methodistchurch.org.uk
Source: Methodist News Service 17/02/2009
Friday, 13 February 2009
A Varied Programme
For bloggers who are also musicians, I shall try to describe the very varied music played by the Nationl Methodist Youth Brass Band on Saturday 7th March at Caversham Heights Methodist Church, Reading.
"Deep Harmony” (The first piece ever played by the band.)
The quick march “Punchinello” by Rimmer with a solo by one of the band who is studying music at Salford university.
Peter Graham's New Zealand piece “Hine e Hine"
“Don't it make my brown eyes blue” by Brian Blessed with Heather, a cornet player for 13 years, 4 of them with this band, and playing for the last time with the NMYBB.
“Londonderry Air”
Then Oliver who has been with the NMYBB since 1995 and is a trumpeter and conductor took over the baton to conduct music from the film “Out of Africa”, with Matthew playing for the first time with the NMYBB playing the 1st baritone solo.
“Dee Zee” (which is Dutch for “The Sea”. First written for a football occasion, this piece contained several solos.
“The Bass in the Ballroom” provided a wonderful opportunity for Duncan to play the E Flat Major solo on his Bass Trombone.
“James’ Patrol” contained several well-known tunes like 'You for me’, ‘'My Highland Laddie'’ and 'Auld Lang Syne' and it ended as described in my precious post, much to everyone's amusement.
Interval
When we returned to our seats, the music of “Birdland" allowed the percussionists in particular to entertain us with their skills.
Next, three cornet players gave us an expert rendering of Leroy Anderson's “The Bugler's Holiday”
Rebecca from Barrow in Cumbria humorously introduced music from Andrew Lloyd Weber's “Cats”, inviting us to guess the cat - the tomcat, the ginger cat, the scaredy cat and the Persian cat.
Oliver played “Andante” by Roger Thorne and was followed by
“The Muppet Show” arranged by Philip Harper.
We then enjoyed a beautiful setting of “Amazing Grace”before the final item of
“The Pirates of Penzance” which brought the concert to a fitting climax.
In response to the loud applause and cries of “Encore”, the band treated us to a very special setting of “Crimond”.
It was a very professional and entertaining evening and we still had the morning service of worship with this very talented and dedicated Christian band.
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NATIONAL METHODIST YOUTH BRASS BAND
We continued our Centenary celebrations last weekend when the National Methodist Youth Brass Band under their principal conductor Jennifer Spencer gave the second concert in the series celebrating the 100th Anniversary year of Caversham Heights Methodist Church to a capacity audience at the church on Saturday 7th February 2009
The band was formed in 1987 and was honoured to have the founder, Norman Avery, in the audience. The band draws its membership from around the country and has a core membership of around 50, whose ages range from 14 upwards. The players come from far afield, (currently Aberdeen to Guernsey) and they give 5 concerts a year, leading the worship in the host church the following morning. They rehearse on the Friday evening and the Saturday morning, and have the Saturday afternoon free to enjoy themselves exploring the locality. Proceeds are donated to Methodist charities and this event raised over £600, which was donated to the Methodist Relief and Development Fund that supports the poorest of the poor in the world through long-term development aid.
Several members of the band provided short introductions to pieces, and to the soloists, and it was a novel twist for the band members to exit two by two at the end of the first half leaving a somewhat demented percussion player on his own, needing to be physically removed!
Their concerts usually start with "Deep Harmony" as this was the first piece performed by the band back in 1987 but their repertoire is wide ranging, taking in items including "Amazing Grace" and selections from "Cats” and “Out of Africa”, as well as solos featuring members of the band. One of the soloists was 14 year old Matthew, playing with the Band for the first time, who had travelled on his own by train for 6 and a half hours to reach us from Lincoln!
When we saw snow-covered Britain on the TV, we wondered if it would be possible for us to have the planned concert, so all the band members were to be congratulated on the way they got to Caversham Heights in spite of many difficulties.
Just before the last item, "Pirates of the Caribbean", a member of the band offered a short homily highlighting the Christian principles that guide the work of the band. He said, "The theme for our devotions this weekend is 'Thanksgiving'; the way we give thanks to God through our day to day lives and our music, and how we can give thanks to God in times of trouble. When we feel God is far away, God is faithful to us so that, taking His hand, He will guide us through." The band’s motto is Fun, Faith and Fellowship. Finally, the encore was "Crimond" (with modulations reminiscent of Elgar).
Any young Methodist interested in joining the band can download an application form from the band’s website www.nmybb.org.uk. He/she must be at least 14 years old, have achieved Grade V satandard on his/her instrument and must be playing regularly with a local brass band.
This was a very talented and professional performance much enjoyed by the appreciative audience - even though it was one of the coldest nights of the year.
Accommodation was provided in the church hall, with camp beds and blow-up matresses loaned by church members, and substantial and very satisfying meals were served to the band from Friday evening through to Sunday lunch by a large team from the church.
The Sunday morning service was greatly enriched by the way in which the Band led our morning worship, playing all the music, not just the hymns, and four members of the band reading the lessons. Our Minister preached the sermon and it was a very joyful and inspiring service. Thank you to everyone!
Thursday, 12 February 2009
God became one of us in Jesus
We have just begun to study of St. John's Gospel in our Disciple 4 group, and for our homework last week one of the questions we were asked was-
God came to us in Jesus. God became one of us in Jesus. Those words sound simple, but their meaning is not. How do you understand "the Word became flesh"?
When we shared our replies, my answer caused a very lively, almost heated, discussion. I had written, 'Jesus became human in every respect like us except without sin, yet He was still part of the Triune God, with God's foresight and insight.' My friends disagreed vigorously with the second half of my reply, saying that if what I had written was true then Jesus was not truly human. But I argued that if 'God took on human flesh' He would not relinquish his Divine qualities but could become fully human and be Divine at the same time. This led to remarks about that making Him into a superhuman, not a human exactly as we are - and they believed that Jesus was fully human, like us in every respect and no more than us.
The following questions seemed to me to agree with my statement because they referred to 'the divine-human Jesus'. The other questions were -
What about the divine-human Jesus draws you to Him?
What about the divine-human Jesus pushes you away?
What does allegiance to the divine-human Jesus require of you?
Simply to speak of the incarnate Jesus as completely human cannot be the same as to speak of the divine-human Jesus, surely?
God came to us in Jesus. God became one of us in Jesus. Those words sound simple, but their meaning is not. How do you understand "the Word became flesh"?
When we shared our replies, my answer caused a very lively, almost heated, discussion. I had written, 'Jesus became human in every respect like us except without sin, yet He was still part of the Triune God, with God's foresight and insight.' My friends disagreed vigorously with the second half of my reply, saying that if what I had written was true then Jesus was not truly human. But I argued that if 'God took on human flesh' He would not relinquish his Divine qualities but could become fully human and be Divine at the same time. This led to remarks about that making Him into a superhuman, not a human exactly as we are - and they believed that Jesus was fully human, like us in every respect and no more than us.
The following questions seemed to me to agree with my statement because they referred to 'the divine-human Jesus'. The other questions were -
What about the divine-human Jesus draws you to Him?
What about the divine-human Jesus pushes you away?
What does allegiance to the divine-human Jesus require of you?
Simply to speak of the incarnate Jesus as completely human cannot be the same as to speak of the divine-human Jesus, surely?
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