Information eXchange
March 2010

Book recommended by John Gosling.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven. Heinemann, 1967 138 pages. A novel.

Margaret Craven was an anthropologist who studied native Canadian tribes living on the coast north of Vancouver. The setting of the novel is a real place. A young vicar is diagnosed with untreatable cancer. The Bishop sends him to the place where he would have wanted to go – the most difficult. He arrives in a village to find the vicarage falling down, roof leaking and the people suspicious of an outsider. The story is a marvellous example of how to become a pastor in a strange society – and by implication, what not to do. I have read this 5 times now, and will hope to read it some more.

Available from Amazon for less than £4 as at 11/03/10

General Information

1.
In mid February, the President and Vice President of the Methodist Conference were invited to address General Synod of the Church of England. This caused quite a stir in the media who picked on the sentence “We are prepared to go out of existence not because we are declining or failing in mission, but for the sake of mission.” Whilst this statement on its own is acceptable, in the context of the C of E General Synod it looked as if Mr Gamble was willing to be subsumed within that Church.

John Gosling’s view on news item 15/02/10. For the Press Release go to

http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.newsDetail&newsid=418

News releases generally can be seen at www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.stories

2.
The latest edition of Momentum is now available online. There’s a focus on Lent resources and stories in this edition, with editor Laurence Waring asking ‘Why give up on Lent?’.

There is a Methodist Church’s weekly Prayer Text service. Please spread the word – it’s totally free and will hopefully help us to build up a community of prayer across the Connexion.

The Joint Public Issues Team have been working with an alliance of other UK Churches in putting together a campaign for nuclear disarmament – we’re hoping to be able to launch soon.

On this topic, From ‘The Week Ahead; 6th March 2010

‘Now is the Time’ - an ecumenical campaign to end the proliferation of nuclear weapons. You can find out more by checking out the press release and we’re encouraging people to sign a petition, so please spread the word.

3. From Methodist E-news February 2010.

The Methodist Church is establishing an independent education commission responsible for reviewing Methodism's approach to education in Britain. It will report to the Methodist Conference in 2012.

The commission will be responsible for identifying a set of principles and a theological rationale, which underpins Methodism's engagement with education. It will cover all forms of formal education, including the Church's responsibility for 64 state-maintained Methodist day schools and 14 independent schools across England and Wales, as well as its involvement in further education and higher education. It will also consider the Methodist approach to, and involvement with, informal education, including links to the Church's work with children and youth, and all forms of chaplaincy in education.

The chair of the commission, the Revd Dr John Barrett, would be pleased to hear from anyone who would like to be considered for membership of the commission or who feels they have a contribution to make to its work. You can to register your interest by sending an email to projects@methodistchurch.org.uk.

GENERAL ELECTION RESOURCES NOW AVAILABLE

Key political issues are uncovered and explained in a handy guide produced by the Methodist Church and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. Faith in Politics ? Preparing Churches for the General Election 2010 has been prepared by leading Christian experts and campaigners involved in political affairs. It is downloadable from http://www.ctbi.org.uk/pdf_view.php?id=423.

The election materials do not support a particular Church view or political party line, but help people engage with a range of important issues facing the country, however they may decide to vote.

In addition, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has produced guidance for local churches about holding hustings meetings with parliamentary candidates.

Both of these publications, and more resources, are available from http://www.churcheselection.org.uk/.

BIBLE FRESH

Bible Fresh is a partnership of over 50 agencies, festivals and denominations (including the Methodist Church) who are joining forces to encourage and inspire churches and individuals to make the most of the Bible in 2011.

2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James version of the Bible.

Bible Fresh offers a host of ideas and resources to inspire and equip individuals, churches and community to read, meditate, listen, learn and live the Bible.

To find out more go to their website http://www.biblefresh.com.

4.
From The Buzz 79; 1st February 2010. You can subscribe to this to receive it regularly.

The BUZZ needs 'good news' stories from you. Contact newlandl@methodistchurch.org.uk if you have a story for The BUZZ

Sign on for your e-mail copy of The BUZZ at http://www.methodist.org.uk where you can also delete or change your details.

LEARNING AND CARING - Homelessness @ Cafe Sundae
From Timperley Methodist Church, Altrincham Circuit

A noticeable increase in street homelessness in the Altrincham area resulted in a special café-style service in which almost 100 young people explored homelessness in a teenage-friendly way.

Half of the service was spent on a 'simulation' whereby everyone was made homeless and had 20 minutes to get a roof over their heads. The nightmarish reality of negotiating town halls, job centres, housing units and post offices, just to obtain the right documentation to get into housing, helped make the gospel message come alive in a whole new way.

We were also pleased to welcome David Batchelor - a family mediator from Depaul UK - who told us about the even bigger problem of 'hidden homelessness' and steps we could take to look out for our friends at school.

As our response, we all made cardboard signs, writing what we would want people to know about homelessness.

Timperley Methodist Church's teenage-friendly worship material, called Café Sundae, is all freely shared. Visit the Café Sundae website for packs of material on many issues, including homelessness, and at myspace for more information.

E-mail contact: Will Sudworth Will@CafeSundae.co.uk
Phone contact: 07771 766848
Cafe Sundae Websites: http://stores.lulu.com/cafesundae and
http://www.myspace.com/cafesundae
Timperley Church Website: http://www.timperleymethodist.org.uk

5.
From The Buzz 80; 1st March 2010

LEARNING AND CARING - Church prays for 22nd century citizens
From Mossley Methodist Church, Ashton-under-Lyne Circuit

The congregation of Mossley Methodist Church are prayerfully supporting their newest member, Jacob Hepworth, who is part of a diverse group of young people from all over Oldham brought together to take part in the 22nd Century Citizens Project. It is a collaborative multimedia project run by the young people to explore the violation of human rights with specific reference to the labour camps of WW2 and the treatment of refugees in Europe in the last 60 years.

The first phase was a research and understanding visit to Poland last month, to explore the Holocaust and to learn about this dark period in history, visiting both Auschwitz and Birkenau. The group met an Auschwitz survivor and also heard from someone who hid Jews in their house. They recorded their journey with photography and kept diaries and they also explored the issues of the trip with drama, poetry and music.

Now that they have returned to the UK it is hoped that the group will have an exhibition in Gallery Oldham and create a piece of drama to take to other young people in youth groups and schools. Many of the Mossley congregation followed the itinerary of the visit to Poland and prayed for Jacob and the project each step of the way.

E-mail contact: Revd Helen Bell mossleymethodist@hotmail.co.uk