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Photographers
invited: God’s World - Our District Home
At Synod on September 18th we’ll welcome Phoebe Parkin to reflect
on her year as Methodist Youth President. Phoebe’s theme
was “God’s World, Our Home”. In the District we’d like to
make a short video for use at Synod which can then be used in
Harvest Festivals or for churches having a “Climate Sunday”.
We’re looking for photographs that celebrate God’s amazing
creativity in your home location, covering both urban and rural
locations. Please send any photos to the Chair at chair@wsmethodist.org.uk by
11th September with a note of your name and where the photo is
taken. Thank you.
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3Generate
News
Dear
Colleagues,
We hope you are making the most of a slower pace of life over the
summer. We thought it would be helpful to keep you updated
with plans for 3Generate so that you can continue sharing
information about the event and encouraging groups to join us in
October.
We were very sad to not be able to meet at 3Generate last year,
having to cancel the event was a deep loss. During that time we
introduced 365, had some gatherings of young people virtually and
explored together what it meant to Tune In to God. We were still
able to elect our Youth President online and the good news is
that this year we can meet! And we’re over the moon that we can
do this!
3Gen 2021 is a great chance to deepen relationships and build on
the reconnections with children and young people. It’s the
perfect opportunity to meet so let’s not wait! We believe
groups will be really excited to meet face to face again and we
all know the power of residentials, as a great way of having fun
with, and growing relationships with, our children and young
people. Experience tells us that residential events can have huge
and lasting impact on a child or young person’s faith development
too.
This year’s theme is ‘In Tune’ - with each other and with God.
This includes an exploration of the story of Peter and how he was
In Tune with what God was doing at some points in his life—and
not in other parts of his life. There are some brilliant
venues in the 3Gen town such as the Theatre Royale, Arts Centre,
Town Hall, Health and Wellbeing Centre, The Great Outdoors,
marketplace, chapel and arena. Young people can also explore
what faith looks like in our Wilderness space and find out more
about experiences of those who find themselves on the margins.
For the first time we are welcoming 4 to 7 year olds in their own
designated space on Saturday 30 October, from 10am to 3pm, where
they can join in a dynamic and immersive programme of activities
designed to aid them in reflecting on faith, life and meeting
with God in their own dedicated space, separate to the main
3Generate event.
Through three different ‘zones’ they can choose to explore
‘home’, ‘the outdoors’ and ‘school/nursery’, where there will be
plenty of different ways to wonder and ask questions. The
programme is flexible and designed so that younger children can
make their own choices, exploring the space as they feel led. It’s
3Generate but on a smaller scale!
Each child will need an adult with them for the whole day. They
can be accompanied by up to two significant adults, who may be
parents, carers, grandparents or others they know well from
church. These adults can encourage and support children as they
explore all that’s on offer during the day. The venue and
programme is intended to be an intergenerational space.
There will also be some great chances to celebrate together. From
the big light switch on, Friday evening, through the Festival on
Saturday night with an international flavour and street
entertainment, to the energetic mass worship with Urban Praise
Party and up and coming band Echo. 3Generate 2021 promises
to be a huge party—celebrating the joy of being together after so
long apart. We don’t think anyone would want to miss it!
As we
look forward to 3Generate 2021, what is there to support leaders?
As term starts in September, there is still plenty of time
for groups to arrange to attend 3Generate—and we, the CYF team,
will be there, every step of the way, supporting leaders to bring
children and young people to 3Generate. Some of the ways we
are doing this:
· District or regional drop-in and find out sessions hosted by
District Ambassadors (DA). If there are limited or no DAs
in your region we are keen to arrange a similar event with you.
· Regularly updated website with vital information including
FAQs: 3Generate
2021 FAQs (methodist.org.uk)
· 3Generate help desk: 3Generate@methodistchurch.org.uk
· Later booking and the payment deadline extended to 23rd
October
· Ability to return up to three tickets by the end of
September
· Equipping session for leaders who are bringing groups to
3Generate nearer the time
We will offer support and help leaders work out everything they
need to bring children and young people to the event, including
helping them to identify and mitigate risks. Would you join
us and spread the word about 3Generate in all the regional places
and meetings you find yourself in? There is a flyer
attached that we’d ask you to forward to and share as far and
wide as possible. Do make the most of any opportunities
available to you at Synod to promote 3Generate, building
confidence amongst those who may still be unsure.
For the wider church we’d urge them to volunteer and join the
team making the event happen. There are a whole range of
roles for different abilities, ages and skills. People can
volunteer for a day or the whole weekend, there’s plenty of
flexibility. More information can be found here: Volunteering
(methodist.org.uk)
In this joint endeavour do have conversations with those in your
regions working alongside children and young people about coming
along to 3Generate this year. It’s going to be an
incredible weekend to remember. Join us as we continue to
pray that God will be at work in mighty and extraordinary ways in
the lives of all our children and young people.
With every blessing
The Children, Youth & Family Team
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Action
for Children News
News
for your District from Action for Children
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News from Action for
Children
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Thank you for
boycotting your bed
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We'd
like to say a massive thank you to
everyone who took part in Boycott your
Bed on 9 July.
You've helped us raise over £180,000. You
are amazing!
We'd also like to thank the churches
that have held an Action for Children
Sunday service or are planning to hold
one. We appreciate your thoughtful
prayers and donations.
God bless you!
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Watch
our thank you video
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Craftivism to urge
MPs to make children a priority
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Are
you passionate about social justice and
would like to do something to ensure
children can fulfil their potential?
Can you make a craft to make a point?
If so, we'd love to get you involved in our September
craftivism campaign.
You would be helping us to urge your MPs to commit to making
children a personal priority by sending
them a handcrafted star.
We believe there’s a star in
every child.
When a child has the safe and happy childhood they deserve,
their star shines brightly. But too
many children in the UK right now don’t
have the chance to shine.
Their childhoods are overshadowed by
poverty, abuse, neglect and poor mental
health. And the pandemic has only made
things worse..
Our elected politicians can change
this.
Sign up and we'll send you information
on how you can make a difference.
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Tell us what you
think about Action for Children
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Each
year Action for Children sends out a
survey to understand how we can
improve.
It doesn't matter how you've supported us, we
would still love to hear from you.
The survey should only take between 10 and 15
minutes.
Once you’ve completed the survey, you can
enter the prize draw to win one of
three £50 One4all gift cards.
Thank you for your time.
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May mercy, peace, and love
be multiplied to you
Jude 1:2
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Hope
in Israel Palestine
Revd.
John Howard will be visiting the District on Tuesday 12th
October to share his experiences of his time working in
Jerusalem. He has written a book which will be available on
the evening and says, “I hope that the book sets out the grounds
for hope for a solution to the conflict that has gone on for so
long. The first thing that those who look for peace in the land
called Holy need, is the belief that a just peace is
attainable.”
The meeting will be chaired by Revd Rachel Parkinson and will be
@ 7.30 pm at Beckminster Methodist Church, Birches Barn Road,
Wolverhampton, WV2 4PX.
Please put the date in your diary!
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3Generate
Q&A session
Over the
past couple of months or so I have contacted all the churches in
the district that seemed to be offering children and young
people's work at the present time and have received some positive
responses. I have emailed those people personally to invite them
to the below event, but I'm keen to make sure everyone relevant
knows about it.
As we now have a date for 3Generate and tickets are on sale, we
have arranged a Zoom meeting for anyone who is interested to find
out more about the event and a representative from Connexion will
be attending to answer our questions.
This event will take place on Friday 10 September
from 11-12.
The zoom link is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7711426177
There will also be an opportunity for children and young people's
workers to get to know each other a bit more and just chat
about how things are going, what we would like from the group
etc, all very informal.
God bless
Melody Jones
Melody
Jones l District Ambassador 3Generate365
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Let's
Talk - Modern Salvery
Real
conversations that make a difference
This event
will focus on how to stay safe and protect our children from
criminal exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery.
The Lichfield Diocese Mothers’ Union, Lichfield Cathedral and
Transforming Communities Together (TCT) are inviting families
from across the Lichfield Diocese to join this ground breaking
event.
This
is a call to action, to gather and to equip!
We are bringing together Lichfield Diocese Mothers’ Union
Members, their children and their grandchildren (from 10 years
and upwards) at Lichfield Cathedral for two hours to focus on
Modern Slavery.
There is power in all generations coming together to discuss this
growing issue, that affects all ages. We’ll be sensitively
discussing how we might work together to keep our children safe, with
the input of the children themselves. This is a unique
opportunity to engage with our LDMU members, their families, and
the wider church.
We will be blessed with the support of:
- The Children’s
Society
- West Midlands
Police Violence Reduction
- Blue Bear Coffee
company
What
will the format be?
It is a call to action, as this event will be centred around the
narrative ‘What
will you do next?’
Everyone in attendance will be working together in family groups
to create a plan around their tables.
It will be an engaging interactive session for all attending,
with quizzes, talks and art.
Why?
With alarming figures reported in April 2021, we must act now.
Our children are at risk and we MUST act together to ensure that
they are safe.
No matter where we live, there is a real risk. The pandemic has
not been kind to many and vulnerable people have been targeted
here in the UK. Our children are being groomed into drug criminal
gangs in so-called ’county lines’ trafficking, forced begging and
shoplifting. The BBC reported recently that a 14-year-old boy was
recruited in less than 80 minutes on social media[1].
Reports of sexual and criminal exploitation increased
dramatically during the pandemic, new figures from Unseen's Helpline
reveal. The data is part of the Modern Slavery & Exploitation
Helpline Annual Assessment, a yearly stock take on UK slavery and
human trafficking. Despite an overall drop in contacts to the MS
Helpline, reports of sexual exploitation were up 25% on the
previous year, with nearly a quarter of potential victims being
children. Criminal exploitation, meanwhile, was up by 42%, with a
fifth of potential victims being minors. 10% of all victims
reported overall in 2020 were children, up from 7% in 2019.
Need
more information?
Please contact info@tctogether.org.uk
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Gender,
Church and Culture Conference
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“Can a person choose their gender?”
“Is gender established at creation or constructed
by society?”
“Is gender a binary thing or is it a spectrum?”
These are just some of the many questions increasingly
faced by every one of us in Britain in 2021.
Understanding the complexity of those questions and
offering both theological and pastoral responses is
something churches will not be able to avoid for much
longer.
We need to be able to critically engage with our
culture, seeking to understand what is ‘going on’ in
the world we live amongst, but also to think through
our theology, seeking to understand what the Bible does
(and doesn’t) say about these issues.
The Theology Network invite you to join with
Christian leaders from across the Midlands at a two-day
conference to explore the issue of gender fluidity with
the help of two experts in this field.
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Guest speakers
Dr Elaine Storkey is
a Christian feminist, philosopher, sociologist and
theologian who has published and taught widely on
gender-related issues for over thirty years as well as
working extensively in broadcasting, including being a
regular contributor to Radio 4’s “Thought for the Day”.
Dr Ian Paul is an ordained Church
of England minister, lecturer and theologian who runs
psephizo.com, one of the most widely read Christian
leadership blogs in the country, in which he has
repeatedly engaged in gender-related issues over many
years.
Both Elaine and Ian are informed academics who are also
heavily involved in the church. It’s hard to think of two
better people to have help us with these questions.
Conference
format
The conference will take place over
two days on Friday 15th October –
Saturday 16th October 2021 at Chawn Hill
Church, Chawn Hill, Stourbridge, DY9 7JD.
Friday 15th October
Time: 12pm-4:30pm and 7pm-9:30pm
Friday will include teaching sessions which focus on
understanding where we’ve got to in culture, how we’ve
got there and the issues facing the church.
Saturday 16th October
Time: 9:30am–4pm
Saturday will include teaching sessions that focus on the
biblical anthropology of gender and what we can really
say about these questions from a Christian perspective.
Both days will include panel sessions with Elaine and Ian
where we will delve deeper into asking and discussing key
questions around the issue of gender fluidity.
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Questions
being explored
Gender fluidity is a huge area of
study and we only have two days to look at it.
Therefore, attendees will be asked to send in their
questions ahead of time to ensure that we address the
real issues people are currently facing. Specific
questions that will be covered include:
- Is
gender something we can choose?
- Is
gender essentialised (are we, with very few
exceptions, either male or female) or is it a
spectrum?
- Is
gender something established in creation or
something constructed by society?
- If
men and women are created different, is it just
about biology and reproductive systems?
- What
are the theological and pastoral implications of
transgenderism?
Who can
attend?
The heart behind the conference is
to serve the church by providing a safe place
to explore this highly emotive issue with sensitivity
and with the help of knowledgeable academic and
theological experts.
The conference is open to anyone with an interest in
this topic, however we strongly recommend church
leaders, youth and children’s workers and church staff
teams to book in and join us.
Whatever your opinion on the subject, we aim to provide
a helpful and constructive environment in which to
wrestle with this issue and develop well-informed and
gracious responses to key questions about gender fluidity.
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Book your
place
Advance booking is essential and can
be done online by clicking here.
In order to make the conference accessible to as many
people as possible, there are multiple booking options:
- Whole
conference – £40
- Friday
all day (12-4:30pm
& 7-9:30pm) – £25
- Saturday
all day (9:30-4pm)
– £25
- Friday
afternoon (12-4:30pm) – £15
- Friday
evening (7-9:30pm) – £10
Lunch will be provided on both days
and is included in the price unless otherwise
specified.
Place are limited so we recommend you book in ASAP
to secure a space.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Many thanks,
Adrian Lowe and Tim Murray
On behalf of the Theology Network.
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Lay
Conference 2021
Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District in
partnership with Lichfield Diocese
Lay Conference Detail
Title;
Discipleship Today – Being and Doing
Date;
Saturday 4th December 2021
Time;
10.00am – 4.00pm
Venue; Yarnfield Park
Conference and Training Centre, Yarnfield near Stone,
Staffordshire
Cost;
£20.00 per person
Programme
09.30 –
10.00
Arrival
10.00 –
10.20
Welcome and Worship
10.20 –
11.15
Bible Study / Reflection on Discipleship - Revd Rachel Parkinson
11.15 –
11.35
Coffee Break
11.35 –
13.00
Keynote Address – Revd. Roger Walton
13.00 –
14.00
Lunch
14.00 – 14.40
Round 1 workshops
14.40 –
14.50
Movement
14.50 –
15.30
Round 2 workshops
15.30 –
15.45
Summing up – Bishop Michael
15.45 –
16.00
Closing Worship
16.00 Departure
Workshop Leader and Title
Roger Walton – Discipleship – Following a rule for life
Andrew Roberts – Discipleship and Forgiveness
Dr Lindsey Hall – Discipleship and
Change
Helen Morby – Discipleship and Joy
Click here for
more details and here.
For more background information, click here
For booking forms, click here.
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3Generate
comes to Brum!
Calling
all Junior Church leaders, Youth and Children's workers and
Ministers. 3 Generate (for 8 -23 year olds) is happening this
year, at the NEC, Birmingham, October 29-31. Tickets are on sale
now. Please go to the 3
Generate pages on the Methodist Church website for
more details. Volunteers will be needed too.
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District
Children's Support Fund
The funding allocated
specifically to the support of children and families in the
District - particularly those experiencing some form of
deprivation - is still open to accept applications at the moment.
Are there projects you might consider which could offer
support even during the lockdown?
The
maximum amount of any claim is £500 and a Church can apply at any
time using the attached form
and send it electronically to Tim Lorimer who will process your
application and give a decision within six weeks of receipt. The
application will need the support of the hosting Church and
circuit superintendent. Church’s cannot apply for retrospective
funding.
We would hope that individuals and groups that have contributed
in the past to the Holiday Fund will still wish to do so knowing
that there money will still be used for Children’s Projects.
For more information please contact Tim Lorimer
on lorimertim@yahoo.co.uk
07971899084.
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