Information eXchange 8
December 2011

Fuller information can be obtained by clicking on the relevant links.

All information herein is intended for use in churches in whatever form the user thinks fit. If printed, an acknowledgement of source should be included.

The Fruitful Field

The Fruitful Field is a project about learning, formation, training, theological education, scholarship, research and development. It’s about the future of the Methodist Church’s connexional learning resources. It’s about equipping the Church and its ministries, equipping the Methodist movement in all of its contexts and formational communities, and equipping God’s people for discipleship and mission.

The Ministries Committee has issued a consultation document about The Fruitful Field The Methodist people and all of the Church's partners, colleagues and friends are invited to read and reflect on the document.

Responses to the document should be received by 23 December 2011.

There is also a series of vodcasts with the Revd Dr Martyn Atkins about the consultation. They address some of the questions people are asking about the proposals outlined in the report. Click here to watch the first one.

From Alan Bolton

Through my membership of the Faith & Order Committee I will be involved with looking at the issue of cohabitation. I think we need to look seriously at whether we can maintain the traditional teaching about sex and marriage. Throughout my ministry I have scarcely ever conducted a wedding for a young couple not already living together. Flippantly, that makes the legal requirements easier. It's certainly a test of that awesome text about not being conformed to the world.

Methodist Church Response to a Government consultation on Civil Partnerships on religious premises. (Much reduced)

The Methodist Church provided a response to the Government consultation on “Civil Partnerships on religious premises”. This article outlines the situation.

Under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, Civil Partnerships may be formed or registered, but, as with civil marriages, they must be entirely secular in both where and how they are formed. Section 202 of the Equality Act 2010 provided fo r the removal of the legal barrier which prevents civil partnerships from being registered on religious premises. The main proposals are:-

A faith group must give its consent and each group will decide who gives that consent.

If a faith group decides not to give its consent, they will not be compelled to allow religious premises to be used for Civil Partnerships.

The Civil Partnership registration will remain a secular process. It must not contain “extracts from an authorised religious marriage service or readings from sacred religious texts, hymns or other religious chants, or involve any religious ritual or any form of worship”. A religious service, clearly distinct from the Civil Partnership registration, could take place as agreed between the registrar, the couple and the minister of the place of worship.

After consultation, the General Secretary of the Methodist Church agreed the response on behalf of the Church.

The main points of our response were:-

The full response to the consultation questionnaire can be found at here .

From The Buzz 100 November 2011

The Wesley Memorial Methodist Church in Epworth has held displays of nativity sets from around the world in order to tell the Christmas story. The displays have accompanied the life size nativity stable with real animals constructed in the church grounds for the three weeks leading up to Christmas. An open invitation is extended to anyone who wants to share in the display. For the past two years this nativity celebration has been extended to the local shops as the church is situated in the High Street.

The Revd David Leese said: “The butcher, the baker, the post office, photographer, the local newspaper office - all together 21 shops in the High Street display from one to three nativity sets in their window at Christmas. This generates interest and witness to the real meaning of Christmas in the community

Contact: The Revd David Leese: Rev David Leese

From MRDF News, September 2011

Power to women in India and Mali

We have two exciting new partners for the Partner a Project scheme.

Partner a Project gives churches, groups and individuals the chance to make a personal connection with local communities in India and Mali. In India our partner provides training and loans, which enable disadvantaged Dalit and tribal women to set up small cooperatives selling a range of products, such as seeds, organic vegetables and fish. Meanwhile, in Mali our partner is helping to improve maternal and child health, by providing a midwife to rural communities and infant health advice for mothers. Through a partnership you can hear about the direct difference your gifts make to a community overseas; we can provide you with regular updates and even come and speak to your church.

Find out more

Picture: Dousou Djakite prepares nutritional porridge for children in her community after attending workshops run by MRDF’s partner. (MRDF/Isabelle Carboni)

Ruth's Kenyan adventure.

Ruth Pickles visits SMART’s agricultural training projects in Northern Kenya.

In August the Vice President of the Methodist Church visited one of MRDF’s partners in Kenya. The Sustainable Mobilization of Agricultural Resource Technologies (SMART) are training farmers in the arid West Pokot region to diversify their crops, and to improve food storage and water systems, so that there is more food for local families. This includes re-introducing traditional crops such as sorghum and finger millet, which Ruth comments, ‘are also more nutritious’ than maize. Levels of child malnutrition in the region have decreased since SMART began working there. Ruth also shared a meal in a village and was struck by the ‘generous hospitality of people who were living near the margins.

Read more

From MRDF News, October 2011 Farmers of the future in Guatemala

Teaching farming skills at school.

Young people in Guatemala have few opportunities for paid employment, and trying to make a living from small scale farming is an uncertain occupation. Teaching new methods of sustainable agriculture gives young people the skills to make a better income from their land, offering them a brighter future.

Read more about MRDF’s work in Latin America

Picture: A young boy from Suchitoto with herbs grown at school. © MRDF/ Nick Burn

From Methodist E-News, Sept 2011

Fijian government cracks down on Methodist Church.

The Fijian government has banned all Methodist Church meetings except for Sunday worship in an unprecedented crackdown on religious freedom. This includes house groups, women’s prayer fellowships, choir practices, mid-week communion service s and youth fellowships, as well as the Church’s governance meetings.

Having withdrawn the permit for the Church’s annual Conference the evening before the event was due to start, the interim government has now notified the Church in a letter from the Fiji Military Council that all other meetings of the Methodist Church are forbidden. All Methodist ministers are also forbidden from leaving the country for any meeting. The Church is responding with prayer and fasting. A planned press conference had to be cancelled because of the fear of further arrests. The Methodist Church is the largest faith group in Fiji and the only group to receive this treatment by the government.

"We are gravely concerned about how this situation is developing," said Michael King, World Church Relationships team leader for the Methodist Church in Britain. "Our brothers and sisters in Fiji are asking us to keep them in our prayers and to tell the world their story. We are worried for Fiji. We are not only worried about religious freedom, but also about what the loss of other freedoms might mean for all Fijians in this traditionally democratic island nation."

The Methodist Church in Britain is calling for prayer, particularly for the leaders of the Fijian Methodist Church, the Revd Ame Tugaue (President), the Revd Tuillilakila Waqairatu (General Secretary) and the Revd Tevita Banivanua (Deputy General Secretary) as well as for the country’s interim prime minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama. You may also want to consider writing to your MP or MEP about the situation, as well as contacting the Fijian Government.

click here for more information.

E-News August 2011

The Methodists’ Handwritten Bible goes online

The Methodists’ Handwritten Bible, created by tens of thousands of people across Britain and Northern Ireland, is now online.

It contains 7,000 pages with verses written in English, Chinese, Welsh and Braille, plus accompanying illustrations. More than 30,000 volunteers joined in from every part of Britain and further afield - including prisons, schools, colleges, libraries, nursing homes, airports and shopping centres.

Dave Webster, internet communications coordinator who was responsible for uploading the Handwritten Bible online, said: "The Handwritten Bible has the human touch. The care and love that people put into it are expressed in the ever-changing handwriting and illustrations. This makes reading it a unique and moving experience."

The Methodists’ Handwritten Bible will be available for display at churches, Bible Fresh events, anniversaries and museums until the 2012 Methodist Conference. For more details contact Jenny Ellis.

From Methodist E-news October 2011.

The Red Book: a major report from Action for Children shows those most in need have increasing difficulties finding help.

This report shows that reductions in funding are being translated into reduction in the prospects of vulnerable children. It is the result of a year-long research project into effects of government spending decisions. The conclusions are simple and disturbing. The need for children’s services is rising, and the capacity of children’s services is falling.

The Red Book is an excellent resource for people wishing to inform themselves.

The Action for Children website has more information and opportunities for people to take practical actions.

D-Sign

D:Sign is a new three part resource aimed at stimulating conversations on what living life to the full might look like for people at any stage of their life and any stage of their faith journey (or none). D:Sign comprises:

Postcards: these combine the striking artwork of Ric Stott with various questions and invitations, all intended to provoke thinking and action. Available to buy from Methodist Publishing priced £1 for a complete set of 12 cards, or £8 for 10 sets of cards (plus postage and packing).

Podcasts: released once a month and downloadable from the D:Sign website. These offer windows into people’s experience of leading people to following Jesus.