Passion Play Stafford
Friday 7th – Saturday
8th April 2023, 11am & 3pm
Life changing theatre on the streets of Stafford
The
Stafford Passion Play produced by The Saltmine Trust is coming to
town this Easter. Crowds, laughter, and raw emotion will fill the
streets with the power of a story that changed the world.
In
partnership with Love Stafford, this production is by the
community, for the community. Over a hundred volunteers will
gather alongside Saltmine’s professional actors to steward, act,
sing, and perform.
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NPNP Enabler Post Vacancy
The Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District is
seeking to recruit a New Places for New People (NPNP) Enabler for
Additional Needs.
The
District believes that everybody should be given the opportunity
to connect with and follow Jesus, and to belong and participate
in a worshipping community where they are loved and valued. This
District role will aim to create a culture of disability inclusion,
belonging and spiritual deepening of those who serve within the
church and those who are yet to connect with Jesus; so that this
becomes not just something we say but something we live out in
practice.
The
overall aim of the role is to support, equip and enable
disability inclusion across the district, enhancing existing
ministries and pioneering new ones.
You
will be a self-starter with a proven record of accomplishment
using disability inclusion practices. Working within a team you
will have pioneered new places for new people and know what it is
to work collaboratively with those both within and outside of
church.
Salary:
£29,000-£31,000 per annum dependent on experience and
qualification
Location:
Home based with frequent work/travel across the District
Terms
of appointment: full time
Normal
working pattern: 37 hours per week including evening and
occasional weekend work as required.
Please
email the District office for an application pack.
admin@wsmethodist.org.uk
Closing
Date: 19th April 2023
There
is an occupation requirement that the role holder is a committed
Christian in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 9 of the Equality
Act 2010.
We
encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim
to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we
serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We
champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a
workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging.
To
find out more about how we do this visit:
The Inclusive Methodist
Church
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Kesher training
Discover the connections between Judaism and Christianity Israel
and the Church
Produced by Christian Friends of Israel (UK)
The Kesher Course will :
Give a different view and understanding of Jesus and the Bible :
To view Scripture through a Hebraic understanding
The Kesher course comprises 10 sessions • The Jewishness of Jesus
• Jesus the Rabbi • Jesus the Messiah • The Jewishness of the
Scriptures • Salvation of the Jews • The Great Divide ( the
Church and Judaism) • Anti Semitism • The Physical Restoration of
Israel • Israel Prophecy Fulfilled • Israel today and Tomorrow
Each Session will include a simple Hebrew word study Worship
including Hebrew Songs Opportunity for Questions and discussion
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Advanced Safeguarding Training
Advanced
Safeguarding Training Dates.
Anyone wishing to book onto one of these sessions needs to email kayredfern@birminghammethodist.org
All of the below are training dates at The Methodist Churches
below:
15th April 23 – Cannock – St Stephens face to face -
9.45 am registration
20th April - Bishops Castle – face to face –
9.30am registration
27th April – online – 4.30pm start zoom - FULL
13th May 23 – Stafford – Trinity Church – face to face
– 9.45 am registration
16th May 23 – Droitwich – face to face – 9.45am
registration
24th June 23 – Pleck – face to face – 9.45am
registration
1st July 23 – Kidderminster – face to face – 9.45
Registration
22nd July – Wednesbury Leabrook – face to face –
9.45am registration
16th Sept – Dudley Wood – face to face – 9.45am
registration
9th Sept – Coventry – Central - Eadon Hall – face to
face – 9.45am registration
14th October – Kenilworth – face to face – 9.45am
registration
25th November – Solihull – face to face – 9.45am
registration
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Creating Church and Community Amongst Families
with Additional Needs
A one hour workshop featuring “The Gate Church”* Experience, led
by Jo Yair (Wolverhampton & Shrewsbury District Ministry
& Mission Co-ordinator) and Geoff Bond (Regional Learning
Network Co-ordinator) exploring how to establish, resource and
equip churches for working with families with additional needs
Dates and booking: 19th
April 23, 24th May 23, 12th June 23
Eventbrite Link: Church
& Community: Families with Additional needs | Eventbrite
*The Gate Church, founded in 2018 by two lay workers, at The
Storehouse in Brierley Hill, followed a long history of listening
to, and journeying with parents whose children have additional
and complex needs. The Gate Church was a natural step for a group
of parents who were previously supported by circuit children
& families workers, to bring their families to worship. The
group began to Meet once a month on a Friday evening, it enabled
the whole family to come along and connect together as a church
family. The formation of The Gateway discipleship group quickly
followed, enabling adults to meet whilst their children were at
school to explore where God fits into their life.
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FE Sunday
Pray for your Local Further Education College on
FE Sunday 14 May 2023
Did
you know that more 16-19s attend a Further Education or Sixth
Form College than stay on at school? FE Colleges play a
huge role at a vital stage in young people's lives, offering
training, qualifications and skills for life, as well as being major
local employers. FE Sunday (14 May 2023) is a great
opportunity to pray for your local college, its staff and
students, and consider how your church could love your local
college.
Visit www.fe-sunday.uk for
downloadable prayer resources, videos and ideas for worship and
action. Get involved on Twitter #FESunday2023.
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Saltley Trust funding available
Could St
Peter's Saltley Trust help you with your bright idea?
St Peter's Saltley Trust offering funding and support to creative
projects focused on faith and learning across the West Midlands
region. Our three main areas of interest are:
- Religion in school
education
- Faith and Further
Education (16-19+)
- Christian
learning, discipleship and theological education
Small
grants of up to £1000 are available for one-off projects with a
definite focus on faith and learning. For details of what
the Trust does and doesn't fund, plus more on the Trust's current
funding priorities, see: https://www.saltleytrust.org.uk/what-we-support/
(larger grant streams are currently closed but expected to
re-open to new applications later in 2023).
For more information, please contact Ian Jones (director@saltleytrust.org.uk)
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News from Action for Children
Join our campaign to
raise awareness of barriers to work
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In
February, we published a major report, All Worked Out,
on the structural barriers that
families face in accessing work and
adequate support from the social
security system when work is not a
realistic option.
Our research shows up to 1.95 million
children in the UK could be trapped in
poverty and hardship due to their
parents facing one or more major
barriers to working, or to taking on
extra work. We also find out why work
isn't a route out of poverty and
hardship for many families.
Our primary recommendations as a result
of this research are:
- to
Increase the child element of Universal
Credit by at least £15 a week and
abolish the Benefit Cap to lift more
than 300,000 children out of poverty
while also eliminating the single
greatest driver of deepening poverty.
- Overhaul
the annual uprating of benefit levels
so that rates always keep pace with
prices and living standards.
We have developed a powerful digital
tool giving a snapshot of
levels of child poverty and financial
hardship in each constituency. We
encourage our Methodist supporters to
use this tool to raise awareness with
their MP of levels of child poverty in
the local area.
Read Paul and Fiona's story about
living with long-term illness as a
barrier to work here.
If you would like to get involved with
our ongoing work in this area you can
sign up for our regular policy and
campaign updates here.
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Fundraising with The
Very Hungry Caterpillar™
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Sign
up to support Action for Children and
we’ll send you exclusive The Very
Hungry Caterpillar™ growing packs in
the post for every season. Perfect for
children under eight, the packs
contain:Seeds for seasonal fruit and
vegetablesStickers and a progress chartLots
of activities to try, including
instructions to grow lettuce, tomatoes
and cress, make a bug hotel, and build
a bird feederMonthly digital activities
including crafting and cooking
activities inspired by what you’re
growing.Each growing pack is inspired
by Eric Carle’s timeless classic, The
Very Hungry Caterpillar™. First
published in 1969, the story continues
to captivate children and parents more
than 50 years later.Find out more here.
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President of
Conference visits Action for Children
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We
were delighted to welcome the President
of the Methodist Conference, the Revd
Graham Thompson to Norfolk’s Early
Childhood and Family Service in Norwich
this week. Graham met with the team in
Norwich to hear about the extensive
work of Action for Children across
Norfolk supporting younger children and
their parents. The service offers
one-to-one and group support via a
range of activities and courses.
These include play sessions, parenting courses
and programmes to boost
self-esteem. The service runs
from venues such as libraries,
community centres and schools, as well
as from a number of bases across the
county.
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Revd Rachel
Parkinson came to visit
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The
Revd Rachel Parkinson, Chair of the
Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District
recently visited Sycamore House in
Shrewsbury to meet staff and find out
more about the home. Speaking about the
visit Rachel said, "When I say
Sycamore House is "home" to
four young people it really is. The
wraparound love and care given to each
child....illustrated by so many
touching details... was evident. In
fact that was my main takeaway from my
day - that the work of Action for Children
is child focused." We were so
pleased that Rachel was able to take
the time to visit.
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Climate Emergency: The Big One
21-24 April
Many Methodists will be amongst the 100,000
people surrounding the Houses of Parliament on Friday 21st
April to demand action on the climate emergency.
Christians will be gathering at St John’s Church,
Waterloo at 11am for worship at noon led by many
Christian organisations involved in campaigning around the
Climate Emergency, including Christian Aid. This will be followed
by a pilgrimage to the protest outside Parliament. https://christianclimateaction.org/2022/10/22/the-big-one/
Whilst the District is not organising a group to travel together,
it would be good if those going could keep in touch, perhaps on a
WhatsApp group.
There is also a Facebook group covering the Connexion, search “Methodists
@ The Big One”. If you’d like to be linked up please
contact the Chair, who will be attending.
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Volunteering
at 3Generate is now open
"Going
to 3Generate is like having an energy boost! To see so many
Methodist young people in one place is just amazing." -
volunteer at 3Gen 2022
Volunteer registration opens today, Wednesday 1 March 2023 for
this year's event and we're looking for new people to join our
growing community of staff and volunteers, who make up the
brilliant 3Generate Delivery Team. If you served as part of the
3Generate delivery team last year, you do not need to complete
the full application again - you will be contacted directly and
asked to fill out a short form if you'd like to join the team
again this year.
Why you should consider volunteering...
- Join a team of
250+ people, living out their discipleship in an exciting
way.
- Play your part in
a vibrant event that transforms and inspires everyone
involved.
- Use your skills -
and develop new ones!
- Encourage and
equip the younger generation of the Methodist Church.
- Meet new people,
have fun and be welcomed into the 3Generate family.
Apply to be part of the 3Gen delivery team
here
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Property Administrator Opportunity in Walsall
Walsall
Methodist Circuit
Job Opportunity: Property Administrator
Closing Date: 14th April 2023
Salary: £10.90 – £12.60ph depending on experience.
4 hours a week working flexibly throughout the year.
Fixed contract for 18 months, due to possible merger of circuits.
Walsall Methodist Circuit is looking for a part time Property
Administrator to look after the circuit property and
administration.
We are looking for someone who:
- Has experience of working in administration and is computer
literate.
- Has understanding and/or experience of maintaining property
- Will engage with the Methodist property Systems and work with
other partners as and when needed.
- Will act on recommendations on the Manse Quinquennials within
the remit of the report and finances available.
- Will work with the Circuit Leadership Team to ensure manses are
maintained, and support Ministers in dealing with emergencies.
- Able to prepare reports for Circuit meetings.
- Is adaptable to working on their own initiative and as part of
a team.
- Is organised and self-motivated.
- Will be flexible with their working hours, taking into account
the needs of the circuit.
Interview Date: 3rd May 2023
Start date: As soon as possible.
To request a detailed job description, person specification and
application form, or for any further details, please contact walsallcircuit2804@gmail.com
The appointment will be subject to references and an enhanced DBS
check.
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Wesley House Webinar
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Every Church a Growing Church: Mission
Planning for all
Be
inspired, gain practical tips and receive help tailored to your
context, so that every church might freely share God's love in
Christ.
Date and time:
Sat, 8 July 2023, 10:00 – 15:00 BST
Location:
Online
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/every-church-a-growing-church-mission-planning-for-all-tickets-525626953367
Perhaps you have found yourself asking some of these questions:
How do we do mission when we’re all worn out?
What if we have big ideas and a small congregation?
How do we produce a circuit mission plan?
This online conference seeks to inspire you to
discover the particular gifts your church/es have to offer the
community and to create simple, useful plans for positive action.
Through a mixture of presentations, workshops and team coaching
sessions, we'll explore God's call to share the love of Christ in
word and deed, offering what we have to our community and letting
the Spirit get to work.
Maybe your church has struggled to get started with mission
planning. Or you've made a start, but got stuck along the way.
Perhaps you have a mission plan, but it hasn't yet translated
into positive action. Or maybe you're leading a whole circuit in
mission planning. Wherever you are, this conference will help you
get unstuck and get going. Workshops will explore topics such as
doing mission in small churches, building community partnerships
and mission planning at circuit level.
The conference is aimed at lay and ordained church leaders -
church and circuit stewards, lay workers, ministers and
Superintendents - all those responsible for helping churches live
out their calling. Individuals are welcome, but for an even
greater impact, why not bring a team from your church or circuit?
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Children's Support Fund
There
is still money available from the above and if your Church is
thinking of running any Children's activities, then, please
consider applying for a maximum of £500. The attached application
form needs to be completed.. Any further questions
please contact Tim Lorimer on tim.a.lorimer@gmail.com Many
thanks
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