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Haitian Church leaders visit Britain

The president and the secretary of the Methodist Church in Haiti are set to visit Britain and Ireland following the earthquake that devastated their country last year.

President the Revd Gesner Paul and Secretary Marco Depestre will update partners on the progress of the relief effort in Haiti. They will arrive on 24 February and leave on 8 March. During this time they will squeeze in visits to the Wirral, Leeds, the Oxford and the Stamford and Rutland Circuits as well as meeting with NGOs and members of Parliament. They will also be conducting media interviews during their time in the country.

The earthquake killed 230,000 people and left one million people homeless. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the Methodist Church in Britain and the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) launched appeals which have raised more than £918,000 to date. So far, £393,000 of this sum has been spent on Methodist Church in Haiti projects with further funds channelled through MRDF's emergency partner in the country.

The Revd Tom Quenet, partnership coordinator for the Americas and the Caribbean, said: "We’re very much looking forward to Gesner Paul and Marco Depestre's visit. They will be able to meet with Methodist Church leadership and other supporters in Britain who have been active in the relief effort." 

In Brief

Poverty of ambition?

The Joint Public Issues Conference, Poverty of Ambition?, took place in January. 170 people with a passion for politics and social justice gathered to share their experiences, ideas and dreams for how the Church might better engage in public issues work.

Keynote speeches were given by Will Hutton, Andrew Stunell and Kirsty Thorpe. If you were unlucky enough to miss them, you can listen online here .

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MWM photo story competition winners

Methodists for World Mission have awarded grants totalling £1250 to churches and projects featured in the winning entries to their 2010 photo story competition. This contest invited British churches with links with an overseas project or church to share their story through photographs.

To see the winning entries click here.

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January Meeting of the Methodist Council

The Methodist Council met at Methodist Church House in London on 24-25 January. 

Click here for details of their discussions.

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Engage with "Belonging Together"

In January the Methodist Council engaged with the 12 aims of Belonging Together, the Church's vision to affirm, bring together and celebrate the whole people of God.

Challenged by the dream of Martin Luther King Jr, they explored issues like diversity and dialogue, ministry and training. The result wasn't a plan or a policy, but a 'circle of belonging'.

Katei Kirby and Lia Shimada, who led the session, are looking for events and opportunities to hear your stories of unity in diversity and to share learning, both within the partnership districts - Birmingham, London and West Yorkshire - and the wider Connexion, Invitations welcome.

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What in the world is happening?

Click here to

discover how the Matthew Rusike Children's Home in Zimbabwe is growing its own food

rejoice at restored life in Bangladesh

read about the Methodist Church's response to flooding in Sri Lanka and Brazil.

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Epworth Press Promotion

The Epworth Press has been helping generations of Methodists to become more discerning and confident disciples. It publishes a broad range of theological, historical and biblical titles that are both authoritative and accessible.

Until 31 May, the Epworth Press is offering a 20% discount on a range of its titles which exemplify the distinctive and diverse nature of the Press – from John Wesley's Forty-Four Sermons and Martyn Atkins' Resourcing Renewal, to Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christian History.

For more information on the titles in this promotion, click here.

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Bringing the Bible alive today

The CODEC Research Initiative is based at St John’s College, Durham, where its director of research is the Methodist minister, the Revd Dr Peter Phillips.

CODEC is working on a number of projects which could impact the life of your church:

• Bex Lewis is working on a series of housegroups for this Lent (based on Tom Wright’s book Matthew for Lent) called BigRead2011 and a linked website to share and disperse good news stories about Bible engagement called BigBible. Bex is actively looking for short contributions to the blog on BigBible. One of the key aims is to tell good stories about the Bible online and to populate the web with good examples of the Bible being used in positive, life-affirming ways. Can you help? Do you need Lent resources downloadable for free for your housegroups?
  
  
• David Wood (St John’s visiting fellow in biblical literacy) is working with a number of churches in the Yorkshire Dales (especially Swaledale) exploring their understanding and knowledge of the Bible and how this might be enhanced. We are looking to expand this project to other places across the Connexion. If you are interested contact, Pete Phillips. 

Volunteers needed to support equality and diversity in the Methodist Church  

• Do you want to make a positive difference to the life of the Methodist Church?
• Have you lived experience of injustice?
• Are you a professional expert in this area of work and knowledgeable about equality and diversity?

If you answer "yes" to all or even some of these questions then it is likely you are just the sort of person the new equality work structure needs!

In 2010 the Methodist Conference agreed a structure that enables all aspects of equality and diversity to be recognised within the Church and that the district chairs would be instrumental in facilitating the recruitment process.

For an application pack for the Age, and Wealth and Access Stakeholder Forums click here or phone the Methodist Church helpdesk on 020 7486 5502. Closing date: 25 March 2011.

For more details contact Margaret Sawyer (tel: 0207 467 5120).

CT Connect: CTBI's new social network

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) has launched a new social networking site called CT Connect. It is a free website for local Churches Together groups with direct links to CTBI’s online resources.

CTBI General Secretary the Revd Bob Fyffe said “This is about resourcing and developing a new space to work on our agenda for unity. It’s about building an on-line community. Significantly, it will allow Christians at a local level to engage directly with each other and with the many organisations in the ecumenical family. It will also be an interactive space that will resource and strengthen the work of local Churches Together groups."

For more details click here.

Urban Bulletin

The Christian Coalition for Urban Mission was established as one of the outcomes of the UK Urban Mission Development Project jointly funded by the Methodist Church and ECUM (the Evangelical Coalition for Urban Mission). It incorporates the membership and many functions of ECUM.

The new coalition will take over the publishing of Urban Bulletin, which will continue to receive connexional funding. Urban Bulletin will be re-instated it as a bi-annual publication and distributed free to ministers serving urban churches (council estate, inner city and city centres). Other individuals/organisations can subscribe by sending an email subject title Urban Bulletin to erica.ccum@urbanmission.org.uk

For more information on CCUM and sample editions of Urban Bulletin visit www.urbanmission.org.uk.

Inderjit Bhogal - the new leader for the Corrymeela Community

Former president of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal will become the new leader of the internationally renowned Corrymeela Community in April.

With an international reputation for peace and reconciliation the Community has 150 members and over 5,000 friends and supporters throughout the world.

Inderjit said, "I am delighted to accept this role. Together, the members of Corrymeela have much to do and tough challenges to engage with such as economical, ecumenical and ecological issues, and also political and religious extremism, sectarianism and racism. We will work with each other and with our partners to play our part to end hatred and hostility and to build harmonious and hospitable communities that celebrate diversity and in which all are welcome, belong equally, have sanctuary and are safe." 

One Church - 100 uses

Jointly sponsored by the Methodist and United Reformed Churches, this day conference examines how buildings can be used to their greatest effect.

Held at Gorton Monastery in Manchester, speakers include Baroness Andrews, chair of English Heritage, Hazel Blears, MP for Salford, and Peter Wanless, chief executive of the Big Lottery Fund.

For more details, including a booking form, click here.

Riding Lights Passion Play Tour

The national tour of The Narrow Road by Paul Birch of the award-winning Riding Lights Theatre Company begins on 17 March 2011.

Amid the heat and beauty of ancient Palestine, a man stands on a dusty road. An extraordinary journey will take place; one which will re-trace the footsteps of Jesus into a world of miracles and madness, violence and liberation. As The Narrow Road is walked, this turbulent world is turned upside down; its inhabitants confronted by an unexpected and surprising vision.

At intervals, the performance creates space for other expressions of worship, music and reflection arising directly out of the drama. The whole presentation becomes a powerful act of remembrance which is both participatory and reflective.

For more details click here.  

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