E-News February 2008

Free training course for volunteers looking after historic chapels

Faith in Maintenance Are you one of those unsung heroes who help care for our historic chapels and churches? Does dealing with damp, a leaky roof, blocked drains or broken gutters concern you? If so, then help is at hand.

The Methodist Property Office is supporting a scheme called Faith in Maintenance that offers courses and support to the thousands of volunteers who help care for historic buildings. Faith in Maintenance provides training in recognising potential problems, understanding the use of traditional materials and construction and tackling common maintenance problems.

The free courses offer a full day of training, including practical sessions and professional speakers and access to a dedicated follow-up telephone advice service. The Methodist Property Office will be in touch with district property secretaries to help coordinate and distribute information to interested people but you can find out more, including venues and dates at:

www.spabfim.org.uk
www.methodist.org.uk

Three encouraging news items from Methodist Council

Methodist Church logo 1. Training Networks and the Extending Discipleship and Exploring Vocation programme (EDVA)
At its recent meeting, the Council approved plans to use some money from a designated Training Assessment Fund. This Fund was originally raised by circuits and districts over a five year period to support ministerial training. The money will be used to support the development and implementation in the districts of the new programme called Extending Discipleship and Exploring Vocation (EDEV), which is intended to address the training and development needs of all Methodists, including lay staff and volunteers. The money will also be used to help with the transitional costs in setting up the new patterns of training institutions, training networks and Regional Training Forums agreed by the 2007 Conference.

2. Equalities and Diversity
Another major piece of work currently underway is looking at equalities and diversity in the Church, and a working group has been developing an Equal Opportunities Policy. A parallel paper looking at diversity and Methodist identity highlighted a wide variety of national and cultural backgrounds that are to be found in the Church today, from long-established Chinese Methodist congregations in Epsom, London and Birmingham to Urdu-, Punjabi- and Parsee-language Methodist groups elsewhere. The reports call for equality and diversity to be seen as essential aspects of Methodist identity, and not just the concern of special-interest groups.

3. A new phase for Fresh Expressions
The next phase of the Fresh Expressions joint initiative between the Church of England and the Methodist Church "will present great challenges but wonderful opportunities for sharing faith", said The Revd Ken Howcroft, Coordinating Secretary for Conference and Communication. The initial five-year period ends in 2009 and the Council heard that plans for the next phase include the aim of integrating Fresh Expressions into the ongoing life of the churches.

The Council will meet again in April, which will be its final meeting before the annual Methodist Conference meets in Scarborough from 5-10 July. You can read the Council papers at:

www.methodist.org.uk

'Breakout - beyond' 11-13 July 2008
The big event this year for young people and leaders

Breakout beyond Breakout takes place every two years and is rooted in the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs 'London Weekend' events but in recent years has taken place outside London. In 2008 'Breakout - beyond' will be held at Cliff College in the heart of Derbyshire.

Breakout offers a huge range of exciting sports, drama, dance, comedy and activities such as presenting your own radio show, together with workshops exploring faith. All this topped off with energetic, heart-thumping worship, the weekend promises to be a fantastic opportunity for young people and leaders to go 'beyond' with God - in faith.

For full information please visit the 'Breakout - beyond' website:

www.breakout2008.info/

BBC1's The Passion expected to make a huge national impact

The Passion series which tells the story of the last week of Jesus' life, his trial and crucifixion starts on Palm Sunday 16 March and will be scheduled in peak time on BBC1. It is likely to attract audiences in excess of 10 million. The last episode, to be broadcast on Easter Sunday 23 March, dramatises Jesus' post-resurrection appearances.

Andrew Graystone, Director of the Churches' Media Council, was profoundly moved by early versions of the series. "This is an extremely vivid piece of drama. You feel you are right there, in amongst the Passover crowds, alongside the disciples as Jesus comes out with these simple but earth-shattering messages. And then of course, he's taken away and makes the ultimate sacrifice, and like the disciples, you're left to decide what you are going to do about it."

A multi-denominational group convened by the Churches' Media Council launched a website to provide resources and information about the series. The group is encouraging the Christian community to seize this "golden opportunity to contribute to a contemporary public discussion about Jesus." Christian leaders have been invited to a preview screening of the series. Meanwhile, a panel of speakers has been formed to contribute to national press, radio and TV discussions.

The Passion website has ideas to help local churches prepare for the series and can be found at:

www.churchesmediacouncil.org.uk/passion

www.theinterface.org.uk: where Christianity meets Culture

Successful evangelists know what physical and psychological conditions produce most converts. Is it acceptable to employ "by whatever means necessary" to try to convert people to Christianity?

"Faith without works is dead but good works without faith are meaningless" - Discuss!

These are just two of the topics currently under debate on the interface website. The site was created with the aim of providing a friendly space for Methodists to discuss hot news topics and their implications for our faith.

www.theinterface.org.uk

If you have any suggestions for stories or comments about E-News please contact newseditor@methodistchurch.org.uk

E-news Editor, Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR