tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58303859287333689022024-03-13T00:14:00.156+00:00Archive: The President and Vice-President of the Methodist ConferenceArchive of the blog of The Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Methodist Conference from 2007 - 2017Methodist Media Servicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292918142913285984noreply@blogger.comBlogger917125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-32864393758267435052018-09-14T10:09:00.002+01:002018-09-14T10:09:29.213+01:00This blog is now an archive<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This blog is an archive.<br />
The current blog of the President and Vice-President can be found at <a href="http://www.methodist.org.uk/presvpblog">www.methodist.org.uk/presvpblog</a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-81869964637363119032018-06-29T22:55:00.001+01:002018-06-29T22:55:14.656+01:00A year of laughter and lament This morning, Friday 29th June 2018, I had an opportunity to share some reflections from this past year as the Vice-President of the Conference, with those who are here in Nottingham for Conference, but are not members of the Presbyteral Session, during their period of closed business.<br />
So, as a final entry on this blog, before handing on to Michaela and Bala tomorrow morning, here are the notes from that session, which I called "A year of laughter and lament".<br />
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Some may have been here last year when I used the VP address to speak of the rhythm of “Laughter and Lament”… this has travelled with me and I am very grateful to so many around the Connexion who have shared their stories with me – stories of joy and of sorrow, in personal lives, in the life of the church and in the life of the world.<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Is it really a year ago? Is it only a year ago? It’s been the longest and the shortest year of my life…<br />
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•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s been a year which began with the death of Pauline Webb, one of the greatest lay people of our generation and has ended with the death of Colin Morris, one of our greatest presbyters – how are the mighty fallen - does their death offer a charge to us all - lay and ordained, women and men - to be the revolutionaries and prophets of the church in the coming decades?<br />
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•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s also been a notable year personally; with the birth of my first grandchild, Martha Grace, to Tim & Hannah in January, and the death of my sister-in-law, Cathi, at the age of 51, in March. Laughter and lament are with us all the time. <br />
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If I were to share everything I have learned and experienced it would take until next Conference, so I am mainly sharing headlines, but in the hope that there may be some time for discussion at the end.<br />
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10 things to laugh about/celebrate, then 10 things to lament and then a few closing thoughts…<br />
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Celebrate/laugh<br />
<b>1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is life in the extremities</b> – I live in the extremities and Scotland is a hard field; but been good to see life & growth in other fringes of the Connexion (what Jennie Hurd calls the Celtic Heart, rather than the Celtic Fringe) … Shetland; Isle of Man; Sark (leading a Quiet Day on Holy Saturday in the wonderful new Sanctuary centre) & Cornwall – where I was excited to pay my first visit to Gwennap Pit (& have a Cornish pasty there with the indomitable Steve Wild!)<br />
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Stepping beyond our connexion briefly:<br />
<b>2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The work of All We Can and World Church Relations</b>: With All We Can I had an amazing trip to Ethiopia; operating with real partnership ethos, not paternalism. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Planted a tree – hope it’s still growing!<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Feeling of sisterly solidarity as I made eye contact with a woman with whom I shared almost nothing else – language, situation, lifestyle…<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(Also brilliant day conference in London in January – raised the bar for church events).<br />
World Church Relations sent me to Russia… in Jan/Feb! Again too much to say there, but came back with one new concept, after talking with their brilliant Methodist Bishop, Eduard Khegay, that of “Horizontal Connexionalism” … e.g. Youth Forum (& for us; 3-Gen; Connecting Disciples; MWiB…)<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In my research for the trip I discovered that, around 1906, 2 Scandinavian pastors working to establish Methodism in Russia published a number of booklets and song books, including a booklet entitled “Methodists: who they are and what they want”. I would like a copy of that!!<br />
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<b>3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Committed and hardworking ministers</b>: but this has a shadow side which we’ll come back to later. <br />
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<b>4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Committed and hardworking laity:</b> again at every possible level, doing every possible job in local churches<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>also e.g. Connecting Disciples – excellent training and fellowship event for paid lay workers;<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>special mention of the DMLN team whose work I have seen in many parts of the Connexion and am really impressed – don’t let it become a hidden treasure! <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But also “ordinary” lay people, unpaid, trying to be disciples and getting on with the job wherever they are… unsung heroes and heroines. <br />
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<b>5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Personally the joy of preaching so regularly</b> (e.g. Lent, Holy Week & Easter) & sharing in distribution of communion: again there are other issues we may explore later here about the role of lay people. <br />
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<b>6.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Churches engaging with messiness</b> – all of church should be called “Messy Church” –<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>some city centres; Manchester, Sheffield, housing estate on IoM,<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>the work of Action for Children (I visited 3 services in Scotland doing excellent work with young carers, respite care for seriously disturbed young adults and provision of accommodation for homeless young people)<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>lots of examples…<br />
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<b>7.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rural work: </b>especially Germinate & the work of the Peak Park Development officer (Deacon Lorraine Brown) working with tiny congregations to find their place in the local situation (also in IoM and Shetland) – potential for pilgrimage here. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Mention one small rural church which I visited whilst on a pilgrimage with Chester & Stoke which had been redeveloped beautifully, but they put their growth down not to the improved building but to the consistent, good preaching which had been provided for them by nearby Swanbank…<br />
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<b>8.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pilgrimage generally</b>: so grateful to districts who have indulged me with this and some great experiences of doing pilgrimage and of learning from the pilgrim ethos… I could talk for 5 days on this without drawing breath – see me later if interested! <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Special highlight was the Pilgrimage conference at Cliff College in April; 70 folk gathered with real energy and potential.<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I feel more strongly than ever that the pilgrim ethos is where we need to go & my reflections at Methodist Council in April were in the form of a pilgrimage – (and are available if you would like them). <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Early on in the year, at a pilgrimage event with women from the northern districts at Rydal Hall in Grasmere I noted in my journal, “I feel empassioned to urge us all to embrace liminality, to be prepared to be unsettled, to be vulnerable and to live with uncertainty and so to become an attractive, wounded community!" I stand by that a year later. <br />
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<b>9.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Attendance at Labour Party Conference</b>: similarities & differences to Methodist Conference; “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” sung with evangelistic fervour unmatched in much of our worship – standing on seats to attract attention… but good engagement with MPs who wanted to hear what the Free Church leaders group had to say (& excellent ecumenical cooperation amongst the Free Churches, led by Salvation Army)<br />
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<b>10.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Finally… :</b> in a wonderful “celebration of Cornish Methodism” at Truro Cathedral, with Holy Communion celebrated by Methodist rites for first time, seeing the Anglican servers refilling not just the chalices which were being used, but also the trays of little glasses with (non-alcoholic) communion wine!!!<br />
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Situations and attitudes to Lament or which have given rise to lament in me and in the wider church/world:<br />
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<b>1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Grenfell Tower</b>: I have to begin here - the fire took place just before Conference last year and in a sense we have all lived with this all year. I went to Notting Hill Methodist Church in March to meet Mike Long and to record an interview on lament for BBC R4 which was used as part of the meditation on Good Friday. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Found myself very moved by the site of the burnt-out Tower – some of you live with that daily – and so awed by Mike and the work he and the congregation have done there. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And it’s so right to use the word “Lament” here – on lots of levels. It is not just about the church providing “aid” or even moral support, but about the church leading the way in helping people to lament and to weep and to believe that that is what God is doing in this situation – discovering the heart of God. <br />
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<b>2.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Starvation in Ethiopia</b>: meeting with 80-100 farmers on the last day and hearing how they had eaten leaves throughout the previous winter when frost had killed their crops. But they were not looking for handouts, but so grateful to All We Can’s partner on the ground who are offering not handouts, but training in cultivation which can resist a changing climate.<br />
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<b>3.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Heartbroken people not always finding church the place to be:</b> people have shared many stories with me – particularly around suicide of course. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Last year at Conference the music group sang the Proclaimers’ song, “Shadows Fall”. Shadows are still falling on people’s lives and we share the brokenness of the world to which we are called, for we are broken people too.<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A common feature of the stories people have shared with me has been that they are not telling these stories at church because of the stigma or sense that they are failing God… by being heartbroken… how do we rediscover and share the broken heart of God?<br />
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<b>4.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Terrible theology</b>: during this year I have just about managed to continue as LP tutor in my circuit and so have encountered Module 4 of the new WLP course. Section 1 of this module is called “Encountering God in difficult times” and it is excellent – read it if you haven’t done!<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It calls out “Terrible Theology” where (as in my last point) we make God out to be an unfeeling tyrant and condemn people who are bruised reeds and dimly-burning wicks. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sorry to say I have encountered some of this theology around the Connexion – including in a few people we have trained for ministry. Lord have mercy.<br />
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<b>5.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A very male God…</b>: just an observation – but worship and even some key events within Methodism do not reflect the inclusive God we find (generally) at Conference…<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maybe this is partly why I still wear black on Thursdays – that age-old campaign raising awareness of gender-based violence<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maybe this is partly why I now find myself asked to do some listening around the area of sexual harassment in our church… hard stories.<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We’ve come a long way in our theology and practice, but there is still an instinctive default to the male God and the consequent imbalance of the sexes which is holding us back in so many ways. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maybe discovering more about a non-genderised God would help us to be more inclusive of those who don’t identify as male or female in our churches and in our society?<br />
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<b>6.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Limited horizons:</b> one of the lessons I have learned from going on pilgrimage to Lindisfarne is that small islands have bigger physical horizons than great cities… but this doesn’t always extend to mental or spiritual horizons. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have found small, limited horizons in lots of places – from the Isle of Man, to inner City Glasgow and other places too: an example over a church tea party:<br />
Me: “What do you see as the future for your church?<br />
Neighbour: “We just have to hope and pray that people will come in”.<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God is bigger and wilder than we think – something else I have learned from pilgrimage. <br />
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<b>7.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lack of grace</b>: while I’m in whingeing mode, I have to say that despite a great deal of wonderful hospitality, love and care there have been times when I have encountered poor grace… and have wondered, if that’s how they treat the VP, how do they treat folk who might just drop in when they are in need…? So that (not my own treatment) worries me. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Having to buy my own lunch from the canteen at an event where I was the keynote speaker is just a tiny example… we don’t always live out what we say we believe. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Grace in human relationships says a lot more to me than polished worship, beautifully refurbished buildings or erudite preaching.<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Just occasionally I have left places (& I do mean Methodist churches) fully understanding what Jesus meant when he talked about shaking the dust off your feet. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s been a tiny minority of places but it has happened and I am risking losing all the friends I still have in Methodism by calling it out. <br />
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<b>8.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Presbyters who find it difficult to treat lay people as fellow-disciples: </b>again here I risk any friends who are still with me. Again this is a small minority, but, as a lay person, I have sometimes been made to feel “what would you know?” and I don’t want that to creep into Methodism, which at one level prides itself on the ministry of the whole people of God, and on lay-ordained collaboration – that’s the whole point of this role really. But we don’t all “get it”!<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How many times have I been asked “So you will be President next year?” (By Methodists as well as non-Methodists). “So you are some sort of deputy for the President?”<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In Westminster Abbey at the celebrations of 500 years since the Lutheran Reformation I was the only lay person in a procession of about 80. I relish that – not for myself but for what it says about Methodism – let’s not fail at ground level what we celebrate in our leadership structures. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(in Westminster Cathedral at the Solemn Vespers for the Dead after the death of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor I was the only woman in a procession of over 100, but that’s another story!)<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>During Moving Mountains, the ecumenical mission in Cumbria, in conversation with sundry bishops when I was trying to explain my lay role, one said “but we’re going to ordain her” and laid hands on me… in a car park! (Well stranger things have happened in car parks in recent years) Somehow I had to explain that I wouldn’t see that as a promotion or a privilege… more friends lost!<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sorry to harp on about this, but from conversations with others too, I sense a real danger of going backwards here, just at a time when we desperately need to move forwards and grasp full collaboration in ministry – with all the questions that might raise about why we ordain in the first place and what we expect of those we ordain. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lay people are not "The Great Uncalled" - many of us feel strongly called to non-ordained discipleship & ministry.<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Lay people do not exist to help the minister with his/her job… if anything it’s the other way round. <br />
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Sorry – it’s going to get more depressing before it gets any better again!...<br />
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<b>9.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A sense of futility:</b> just before the end of the year I was gripped by a real sense that the year had been for nothing and that I was exhausted for nothing and had left my husband on his own for more than half the year for nothing… and I felt like giving it all up. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And that sense is not confined to the last weeks of a year like this – many of us are living with it all the time, and it’s terrible. <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We preach our hearts out (which I have loved doing) and then wonder if it has made any difference at all… this leads me back to what I said earlier about very hard-working laity and ordained people.<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And leads on to my final thing to lament…<br />
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<b>10.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Weariness: Everyone is tired. </b><br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This struck me particularly in February, preaching in mid-Derbyshire, when the lectionary reading was Isaiah 40… “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…” we all know it, we love it, we sing it with all the energy we can summon up… but does it work? <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I asked the congregation where I was preaching on that day if they were tired or full of energy… and you can guess their response! <br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This may be nothing new – at Wesley House Brian Beck took me around the archives and put a copy of the 1st issue of the MR into my hands; there on the front, under the title, it said “Any proceeds from the sale of this paper will be given to the Fund for Worn-out Ministers and Widows”!<br />
•<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What do we do? This is, to me, the most vital of all my observations. How do we redress the balance of our lives so that we are doing more of the stuff which gives us energy and less of the stuff that drains us? More “waiting on God” (whatever that means in your situation) and less ticking boxes… we can’t answer this today I know! How do we structure our lives and rhythms to be energising?<br />
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In the communion service last year I preached on manna in the wilderness and used that really as an apologetic for stopping the business for an hour or two and putting worship central… but sometimes it feels as though we have to make an effort to do that… how do we allow spirituality – allow God – to infiltrate everything else we do? That’s what I am taking into the next year – particularly if Conference affirms my appointment as the next chair of the Methodist Council!<br />
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So, I hope the “Day by Day”/“Five-A-Day” ideas which Loraine and I introduced last year may continue and undergird our new emphasis which Micky and Bala will share tomorrow… for me one of the 5-a-day, Keep Silence, has been particularly energising and sustaining in a busy year.<br />
Please pray for Micky and Bala – and pray for Sandy, Robert and Tamsin too, and for Sylvia, Dinesh & Shamila. There is a huge personal cost in these roles. I don’t want to elaborate on that now, other than to suggest that the reason may be that the roles are seen primarily as a “ministry of visitation”, in other words of presence, of incarnation, of physically BEING in the districts. And that has been really important…<br />
I just wonder aloud if we need to find ways to spread that ministry of presence across the Connexional Team and beyond… ?<br />
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I hope we will keep exploring how laughter might be a mission strategy, so one final story, and then questions or comments if you wish:<br />
When arriving at churches where I am preaching I always introduce myself, and don’t expect people to know who I am; in one large church (which shall be nameless!) the steward happened to have a copy of the presidential prayer card in her hand as I arrived. <br />
"Hello, I’m Jill" (I said to her)<br />
"Yes, I can see that", (she replied), "I recognise you from your photograph… very flattering photograph”!<br />
<br />Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-17965273444974655812018-04-28T21:36:00.000+01:002018-04-28T21:42:46.931+01:00Windrush - movement of the peopleLast night, before speaking at the London Synod today, I went with friends to the Peacock Theatre in London to see the production by Phoenix Dance Company of "Windrush - movement of the people". I am very unversed in modern dance, so found the performances in the first half of the evening- "Calyx" and "Shadows" - intriguing but rather mystifying.<br />
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The second half, however, telling the story of the folk who came to Britain in 1948 on the S.S.Windrush (and on other boats in subsequent years) was mesmerising, powerful, vibrant and poignant. Of course this is hugely topical as the Government find themselves in disarray about their recent treatment of so many Caribbean-British-citizens who, as the soundtrack to the dance made clear, came because "you called", but often met racism and hostility from the country they viewed as the "Motherland". A brilliant scene danced by women with white paper faces, using washing lines and underwear, spelled out the unpalatable and shameful slogan often seen in the windows of rented accommodation; "No blacks, no dogs, no Irish".<br />
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The energy and passion of the dancers and the injustice and power of the story came over forcibly and the audience received it enthusiastically. If you have the opportunity do try to see it. More information <a href="https://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk/work/windrush-movement-people/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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The Methodist Church in Britain owes a huge amount to the "Windrush generation" who, despite often receiving treatment in churches which was at best ungracious, and at worst, racist, have nevertheless shown courage and grace in sticking with Methodism and have, in many places, transformed and revitalized church life and worship. That message was clearly reinforced for me today at Synod.<br />
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JPIT are publicising the news that the House of Commons will be debating Windrush on Monday afternoon and are sharing advice on asking MPs to attend. Visit <a href="http://www.jcwi.org.uk/">www.jcwi.org.uk</a> for more information.<br />
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Memories of the loving, generous, hospitable way in which Andrew, Timothy, Peter and I were received when we landed as Mission Partners in the Caribbean in 1994 make me doubly ashamed of our current national behaviour.<br />
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Jill.Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-70447011804597610382018-04-13T11:25:00.000+01:002018-04-13T11:25:17.637+01:00To be a pilgrim...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last weekend saw 70 folk gather at Cliff College for a weekend exploring pilgrimage. People came from all over the Connexion and brought with them energy and enthusiasm, curiosity and commitment to sharing what they already knew or had experienced and openness to learn more. The team of facilitators shared brilliantly on a range of aspects of pilgrimage - looking at where it chimes with (amongst other things) heritage, mission, justice and pain.. This latter presentation noted that physical pilgrimage is not possible for everyone - and further considered how chronic pain and disability may itself be a sort of pilgrimage.<br />
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The keynote presentation was given by Rev. Michaela Youngson who shared the lessons and insights into life which she had gained when walking the Camino in Spain with her daughter; "Sacred wells", "Holy detours", "Arid places", "Letting go".... and much much more. Micky was inspiring, deep and amusing all at once - we look forward to her forthcoming pilgrimage as President of the Conference.<br />
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The whole weekend included a "Rhythm of Prayer", following the Five-A-Day shape. Early morning prayer included rooftop worship on Saturday - when we were blessed with a dry morning and even a sunrise... and on Sunday around the empty cross, such a powerful feature of Cliff. <br />
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Other opportunities for prayer and reflection were offered in various ways, including the mega-labyrinth brought along by Fiona Fidgin for Saturday afternoon. <br />
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Saturday evening was given over to "Pilgrimage on a wider map" in which Rev. Dr. Stephen Skuce conversed on stage with a number of people who have journeyed to life in Britain from various parts of the world - Barbados, Hong Kong, Cameroon and Benin. Their reasons for coming - and their treatment on arrival - varied hugely and we were humbled to learn from Pride of his long journey (pilgrimage?) to being granted refugee status. All participants were gracious - if only the same could be said of all our churches and of our Home Office!<br />
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At four points throughout the weekend Rev. Graham Sparkes, a Baptist minister and President of Luther King House, reflected back to us what he was hearing and what he felt was emerging of a theology and understanding of pilgrimage. His reflections were wise and perceptive and will be made available in due course on the pilgrimage pages of the Methodist Church website. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQFmYaug9oB6T13rlqulV6hYZAtxtuuHaPF-Z0rY4stK2tqJ1_j2fA1L-HB3z0SWdfWNeTY0-8zWXh_cj2BVEnUMC9rTviC7ppX4kLuEktRmS8ppMa80_-yvyRbkFl2WP-WYaRpU8a-M/s1600/Pilgrim+weaver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQFmYaug9oB6T13rlqulV6hYZAtxtuuHaPF-Z0rY4stK2tqJ1_j2fA1L-HB3z0SWdfWNeTY0-8zWXh_cj2BVEnUMC9rTviC7ppX4kLuEktRmS8ppMa80_-yvyRbkFl2WP-WYaRpU8a-M/s200/Pilgrim+weaver.jpg" width="133" /></a>All this talking, listening, discussing and thinking was enriched and surrounded by the wonderful creativity of Ruth Sprague. Her series of weaves on a pilgrimage theme literally encircled us in the meeting room and the prayerful work which had gone into both the weaves and the booklets accompanying them seeped into all our conferring in a mystical way. Ruth had also brought along her loom and invited pilgrims to spend a few minutes weaving with her over the weekend - a wonderfully rhythmic, soothing activity. The result was a fabulous textile which expresses so much of the variety and togetherness of the time.<br />
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For those with energy and a passion to do pilgrimage outdoors, several options were on offer - some chose to stop off at Tissington en route and share in the Tissington Village Pilgrimage, devised and led by Peak Park Rural Officer, Deacon Lorraine Brown. Lorraine also led a group of 18 on the final section of the Peak Pilgrimage on Saturday afternoon. A prayer walk around the Cliff College grounds was one of many workshop choices.</div>
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Closing worship centred around the story of two early Easter pilgrims on the Emmaus Road - the whole act of worship, which I led, was shaped by the story, and as the disciples shared their meal with a stranger, we were led by Micky in a communion which captured that sense of Jesus being revealed in the breaking of bread. <br />
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So much more could be said - and I hope it will be in all sorts of locations and events, as some of the richness of the pilgrim ethos is shared with the wider Connexion. Look out for further reflections and report in the Methodist Recorder and elsewhere and many more photos can be viewed at <span style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/92902340@N00/albums/72157689622947590" style="font-family: GillSans; font-size: 12pt;">https://www.flickr.com/photos/92902340@N00/albums/72157689622947590</a><br />
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Meanwhile, my heartfelt thanks to DMLN for wonderful support in putting on this event - especially Dr. Tony Moodie - and to the brilliant planning group of Sarah, Lynne, Simon, John, Marlene and Tony who all worked so hard. Blessings for the journey, JillJill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-51468957955748117812018-03-07T18:17:00.000+00:002018-03-07T18:17:32.765+00:00Lament in Notting HillThis morning I travelled from High Leigh in Hertfordshire (leaving the brilliant Connecting Disciples event early) to Notting Hill Methodist Church. Exiting the tube station and turning into Lancaster Road I immediately noticed graffiti on a wall, "Justice 4 Grenfell" <br />
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and moments later the wreckage of the burnt out tower block came into view. It is the first time I have been there and I found myself very moved and not a little shaken.<br />
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At the church - still bedecked with flowers, soft toys, photographs and tributes (although, apparently, the scale of this now is nothing to the weeks immediately after the fire in June) - I met Rev. Mike Long, the minister. Mike had only been in the appointment for a few months when the tragedy struck; many of us have followed in the media the extraordinary way in which he and the congregation at Notting Hill have embraced and responded to this horrendous "knock in the night" right on their doorstep. Mike says it has radically altered his life and his ministry. The Methodist Church is blessed to have him.<br />
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Our meeting was to talk about "Lament" and to record a brief interview between us which will form part of the Good Friday 3pm programme on BBC radio 4 to which Mike will be a main contributor. Producer Trevor Barnes, whose voice was very familiar to me from various programmes, particularly the religious affairs coverage of "Sunday" at 7am each week, conducted the recording.<br />
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As we left Mike pointed out to me a poignant sculpture which has been made and given to the church.<br />
Depicting a weeping figure, perhaps a woman, it chimed strongly with all that we had been sharing about Good Friday, loss and lament.<br />
It currently hides between the boarding which is necessary for some ongoing rebuilding work. Perhaps that is fitting; so often our tears and sorrows are hidden, passed by, unnoticed. Perhaps this broadcast will be one small channel for the grief of a community to continue to be heard and shared. Jill.Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-59873617612331204662018-03-02T09:15:00.000+00:002018-03-02T09:15:20.735+00:00Women's World Day of Prayer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today we join with millions of women across the world in celebrating Women's World Day of Prayer.<br />
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This year we joined with eight other Methodist women from across the Connexion to offer our thoughts, prayers and reflections in celebration of Women's World Day of Prayer.<br />
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For more information, please visit their website: <a href="http://www.wwdp.org.uk/">www.wwdp.org.uk</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-8063048099582462632018-01-25T23:30:00.002+00:002018-01-25T23:31:30.981+00:00Holocaust Memorial Day UK CeremonyAlthough Holocaust Memorial Day is not until Saturday, the UK Ceremony marking this day was held today at Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Westminster and Loraine and I were invited to attend.<br />
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We just managed to slide it into the diary, travelling there directly from Methodist Council in Hertfordshire and setting off immediately it finished for Queens Foundation, Birmingham (tomorrow's story).<br />
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The ceremony was on a much larger scale than I had expected - perhaps 5,000 people present and a star-studded list of participants. Amidst a 90 minute programme of narration, music, film clips and personal testimony, Derek Jacobi, Charles Dance, Maureen Lipman and Celia Imrie all read from letters and diaries written by Holocaust survivors.<br />
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We listened to Richard Dimbleby's landmark BBC radio news report from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp which alerted the world to the horrors which had taken place, then Jonathan Dimbleby, in the flesh, reflected on the impact on his father, the whole family, and indeed the world, of this shocking news broadcast. He spoke with great integrity and passion, naming anti-Semitism as a 'cesspit which needs to be drained', but also having the courage to suggest that we must be careful not to confuse all criticism of the Israeli government's policies with anti-Semitism.<br />
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The theme for this year's commemorations is 'The power of words' so all the contributions linked to this in some way, demonstrating how the Holocaust did not come from nowhere, but began with a campaign of intentional slander, defamation of the character of an entire race, and provocative talk, intended to inculcate hatred and suspicion. Words do indeed have great power, for evil or for good.<br />
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Very moving was the conversation between a very elderly Holocaust survivor, Helen, and a much younger survivor of the Bosnian ethnic cleansing as they compared experiences and found much common ground.<br />
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At the end of the ceremony 6 large candles were lit, representing the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust but also standing for the 6 atrocities which the Holocaust Memorial Day remembers; the Holocaust itself, other groups targeted by the Nazi regime and the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.<br />
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One phrase, used by Richard Dimbleby more than 70 years ago, was repeated by many contributors, 'Never again'... but have we learned? Have we changed? Our talkative taxi driver was very much of the opinion that human nature can't be changed... (but that conversation is another story entirely...) as Loraine and I stood with so many others for the haunting, chanted closing prayer, the crosses we wear in our roles felt very obvious and rather rare, but speak of the power for transformation found in the Word become flesh.<br />
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<br />Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-87553056094547083122018-01-15T22:13:00.004+00:002018-01-15T22:13:45.449+00:00Called and Commissioned<b>Called and Commissioned</b><br />
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Yesterday evening Andrew and I were delighted to represent Methodism at the Commissioning Service for Ms. Fiona Kendall as a Mission Partner, jointly appointed by the Church of Scotland and the Methodist Church.<br />
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The service took place in Kay Park Church of Scotland in Kilmarnock, the church where Fiona grew up (although she has been worshipping in the Methodist Church in Ilkley for the past decade so has strong links with both appointing churches). <br />
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It was an excellent service, led mainly by Rev. George Lind, the Moderator of the Presbytery of Irvine and Kilmarnock, and included a splendid sermon by the Very Rev. Dr. David Lacy, a helpful and interesting background to Fiona's appointment with "Mediterranean Hope" in Italy, where she will be working in conjunction with the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome (and our other Mission Partners to Italy, Tim and Angela Macquiban), and the presentation of a Bible (in Italian) by Mr. Norman Liddle of the Scottish Bible Society. <br />
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However, the highlight of the service for me, and I think for many, was Fiona's own testimony of how this next step in her Christian journey has come about. As she told her own story, of her love for languages and the law (and the Lord), of earlier studies in Florence during which time she became fluent in Italian, of a deep desire to work with those on the margins, particularly refugees, the pieces of her calling fell into place so surely that there could be no doubt that Fiona has been called and equipped over many years for the role she will shortly take up as European and Legal Affairs Adviser for Mediterranean Hope, an organisation set up by the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy to respond to the crisis of migration.<br />
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The Commissioning was led by Rev. Iain Cunningham, Convenor of the World Mission Council of the Church of Scotland, after which I led a prayer of dedication. <br />
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Amongst the hymns (all well chosen and enthusiastically sung by the large congregation - although it was a wild night) we sang Andrew Pratt's challenging and thought-provoking "There are no strangers to God's love", the last verse of which sums up the work to which Fiona has been called:<br />
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"When people seeking sanctuary come to this place and need our aid,</div>
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then in Christ's name let's offer care; through this our debt of love is paid.</div>
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God's grace is free, this grace receive, let actions show what we believe."</div>
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News and updates from Fiona will appear on the <a href="http://www.methodist.org.uk/our-work/our-work-worldwide/world-church/" target="_blank">World Church pages</a> of the Methodist Church website; let's all hold her, and all our mission partners, in prayer, giving thanks to God for them.<br />
JillJill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-86077693985031211952017-12-08T13:43:00.004+00:002017-12-08T13:43:56.979+00:00Homeless Jesus in Glasgow<div class="MsoNormal">
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figure lying on a park bench, shrouded in a ragged blanket which covers the
head and face, but with bare feet showing... It might seem an unusual subject
for a sculpture. Look closely, though, and notice that the feet bear the marks
of having been pierced by nails. This homeless man lying on a bench is Jesus. </div>
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The sculpture was created by the Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz who, since
2013, has been seeking locations around the world for castings of the
"Homeless Jesus". Through his art he intentionally illustrates the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40; "Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are my family, you did it to me". His work has been controversial, with the first church for which it was made not accepting the sculpture in the end, and, as we know, despite a prolonged and vigorous campaign by Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, the council there would not grant permission for a similar installation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So I was very glad to attend the unveiling of the "Homeless Jesus" in Glasgow city centre on Thursday 7th December. After some introductions by Father Willy Slavin, who initiated the idea, Rev. Ian Galloway (Church of Scotland Glasgow Presbytery moderator) prayed, using the striking words; "Here you are, Lord but not lording it, once more awkwardly in a manger laid. Still there is no room at the inn, not for the likes of you". Matthew 25:31-46 was read by URC minister Rev. Mary Buchanan and the Roman Catholic Archbishop Philip Tartaglia blessed the sculpture.</div>
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Not unusually, for Glasgow, it was quite cold, and began to rain during the ceremony, but this only served to highlight the real conditions in which many have to sleep rough night after night. Grant Campbell, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Mission (far L in the photo above) told us that 50 people had spent the previous night in the shelter they provide in the city. </div>
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Other speakers highlighted the poignancy of installing this sculpture and drawing our attention to homelessness as Christmas approaches, when the streets are full of shoppers and when the stores are at their busiest, but also when we remember that even from birth Jesus had no secure home.</div>
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This is the first "Homeless Jesus" to be installed in the UK; there is one in Dublin and there are plans for one in Manchester. Internationally they can also be found in many locations including the Vatican, in Madrid, in India and in several locations across the USA. Here in Glasgow it is to be found in a much-frequented side road behind St. George's Tron Church, Buchanan Street. After the ceremony we went inside the "Tron" for another event; the unveiling of a painting by Scottish artist Peter Howson, to link with the sculpture, and also depicting a homeless Jesus. </div>
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There is space at the end of the bench to stop and sit for a while... to keep Jesus company perhaps, to pray, to express concern at the existence of such widespread homelessness in a "land of plenty" (as another prayer described us). Whether people do this or simply walk on by, I have no doubt that Glasgow's "Homeless Jesus" will convey its intended message with challenge and dignity. Jill </div>
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A short video and report on <a href="http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/take-first-look-glasgows-homeless-14006091" target="_blank">Glasgow Live</a> tells you more. </div>
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Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-27718851926221359062017-11-14T08:16:00.004+00:002017-11-14T08:16:40.123+00:00<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We pray for all those affected by the earthquake in Iraq and Iran. For the bereaved, the injured, medical services, rescue teams and all who helping in the wake of the devastation caused by the earthquake. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We pray for patience and understanding to those who are trying to make shelters for those who have no homes and no possessions. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We pray for consolation in the love God of those who have lost loved ones. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We pray for healing and wholeness for those who are injured. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We pray for those working in the emergency actions teams providing food water and support. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We pray from a distance, being mindful of the comfort of our own situation praying in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who suffer. amen</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07245067264473811265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-11717944713068471152017-10-31T20:44:00.002+00:002017-10-31T20:46:00.428+00:00"Always to be reformed"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Church history –
like all history – is a mixture of glory and horror, of beauty and ugliness, of
love and hatred, of pride and shame.
Today Loraine and I were among many hundreds gathered in Westminster
Abbey for a “service to mark the 500<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the 95 theses
and the start of the reformation” which included confession and absolution for
the horror and hatred along with celebration and thanksgiving for the glory and
beauty. It was a significant event.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was also a large-scale
event, with meticulous planning and preparation by the Dean and Chapter of the
Abbey. We had received a 30-page
briefing document covering every imaginable detail from which flag would fly
(the Abbey’s) to who would move the music stand of the conductor of the German
choir (an honorary steward), how every square inch of the building would be
used and in which order the 80 church leaders should process to our seats. (
Apparently this latter caused some difficulties, as some of the denominations
involved normally process with the least important at the front and the most
important at the back – and others do it the other way round!) Methodism was represented in the “First
Eleven” (which made it sound rather like a big ecumenical cricket match) by The
Right Reverend Ivan Abrahams, General Secretary of the World Methodist Council
and Loraine and I found ourselves towards the front of “the rest” with The Rev.
Tim Macquiban, Director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome (so we had
an excellent view of the proceedings).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The music throughout
was note-worthy, as might be expected for a celebration of Martin Luther, a
prolific hymn-writer. Before the service
the packed congregation were treated to appropriate music from a vast array of
choirs, many from UK-based international Lutheran congregations (German, Norwegian,
Swahili, Estonian, Swedish, Icelandic, Danish, Latvian, Finnish, Chinese). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Those of us in the procession missed this as
we were robing up (or not) in the Lady Chapel but as we began our long journey
up the side of the Abbey and down the aisle we were treated to a
specially-commissioned piece which wove together words and music from many of
Luther’s own hymns sung in an ingenious musical arrangement and in around a
dozen languages. The angelic choir of
Westminster Abbey sang a number of pieces during the service, including another
specially-composed anthem, “I in them and you in me” by Bent Sørensen, a haunting piece which, like the
church universal, blended dissonance and harmony. The congregation had our opportunity to sing
lustily and with good courage in three German hymns; “A safe stronghold” (<i>Ein feste Burg</i>), “O Holy Spirit, enter in” (to the tune <i>Wie sch</i><i>ön leuchtet der Morgenstern</i>) and “Now thank we all our God” (<i>Nun danket</i>).<br />
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In his address the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, began by asking “What’s not to like?”
about the Reformation, listing some of the enlightenment and revelation which
has resulted, but went on to face honestly the pain and cruelty which also
followed this cataclysmic schism in the Church, before concluding in
thanksgiving for the healing of division and the progress since made along the
road of ecumenical relations. Later in
the service the Archbishop, on behalf of the <span lang="EN-US">Anglican Communion, presented its resolution from
the General Synod earlier this year affirming the Joint Declaration on the
Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ). This
Declaration was drafted in 1997, signed by representatives of the Catholic
Church and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999, adopted by the World
Methodist Council in 2006 and earlier this year the World Communion of Reformed
Churches signed a statement of association with it, so representatives of all
these august bodies received or witnessed today’s presentation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As far as I
could tell, I was the only lay person in today’s procession, and whilst Loraine
and I were not the only women, we were certainly in a minority group! So, as a lay woman with a Primitive Methodist
background, I feel a sort of humble pride which asks “What am I doing here?”
whilst at the same time rejoicing that we are a denomination which has a lay
person within its Presidency. I take
heart too from the words of the bidding in today’s service, given by the Dean of
Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall, who reminded us that “the
universal Church, the body of Christ is under God <i>semper reformanda</i>, always to be reformed”. Methodism needs to offer our own charisms and
insights to that ongoing journey of reformation, to the greater glory of
God. </span><b><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-53363607982596344792017-10-27T10:56:00.001+01:002017-10-27T11:01:44.977+01:00Visit to Fiji: August 2017 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In August, I was privileged to attend the Fijian Conference as part of my World Church visit as President of the Conference of the Methodist Church in Britain. For the last seven years, I have been working with the people who make up the Fijian Methodist fellowships in our Connexion and supporting their chaplain the Revd Jimi Kaci, who works part-time in the Nottingham and Derby District. I went to sign a Memorandum of Understanding which cements a long-term relationship between the British and Fijian Methodist Churches, and commits us to praying, listening to each other and supporting each other as we journey together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We reached Fiji early one morning, and were welcomed at the airport with singing. During the four-hour car journey that followed, our driver regaled us with stories and gave us a potted history of the islands. I had heard lots about Fiji from my friends in the fellowship, seen films and knew some of the history, but nothing prepared me for my first glimpses of these ‘paradise’ islands.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">On arrival at our base in Suva, we were met by Simisa, a minister who is responsible for formal education and training for lay and ordained colleagues. Our welcome ceremony was held in the boardroom of the conference offices. As part of the formal greeting and ceremonial, we received food, mats to sleep on and garlands to keep us warm. These are deeply significant to the Fijian people and extend radical hospitality and friendship to visitors. I found such a welcome very moving and a significant </span><span style="font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">moment in linking ourselves to each other as a sign of our faith and togetherness.</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arrival</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">After a very good night’s sleep, we rose early for a series of meetings with recipients of grants from the World Mission Fund. Our first meeting was with the Trust Committee, a group set up to establish and keep in good order all the property the Church owns (our nearest equivalent would be our Trustees for Methodist Church purposes). All the members are volunteers and the Chair is the President of the Fijian Conference. It was a meeting that challenged me about what trusteeship really means.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I also met with the Land Registry Team, which is working hard to establish which land belongs to the churches and to register it all. The team has been working on this for the last 5 years and has so far registered 35 of the 58 divisions. The Conference is held annually and is two weeks long. The first week is an experience in itself as choirs come from all over the islands to sing in competitions.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">At the next meeting about education and in-service training for lay and ordained, I quickly recognised what a task this was. There are 17 schools on the main island and developing a curriculum is a full-time job. Presbyters train for three years in college and then three years </span></span><span style="font-size: 14px;">on probation and there is great need for a well-planned programme of ongoing leadership training. There were many informal conversations along the way and I rejoiced in those about faith, mission and evangelism.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Then there was the Conference. The ministerial session of the Conference was very interesting as all the ministers have to attend, 400 in all (with very few women presbyters, though interestingly the deacons were all female). Every day of the Conference starts with an act of worship at 8am. The President enters around 9am to start the formal business, which concludes around 6pm (we work on ‘Fijian time’). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In front of the whole Conference, President Tevita and I signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Methodist Church in Fiji and the Methodist Church in Britain. This was greeted warmly and with a great deal of thankfulness for our ongoing partnership together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The Conference then went on to deal with issues much like ours: decisions about ministry and mission, property finance, election of officers. The ordination service started at 7pm on Sunday evening with a large choir, lots of singing, readings and prayers. For me, the most compelling part was when the ordinands came into the Conference to be examined by the ministers. The 14 presbyters and 3 deacons were questioned on a number of issues, which must have been scary in front of the whole of the Conference with questions coming from all parts. They got through, but at times it seemed like touch and go. Later, I had the privilege of ordaining them with President Tevita and then preaching at the worship – not getting up to preach until 8.30pm, but no one seemed worried about the time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I took a morning off from the Conference to attend a seminar led by one of our mission partners: Julia Edwards, who works with market traders on climate change. It was fascinating learning how best to cope when hurricanes and bad weather come and how to deal with rubbish left at the end of the day’s trading. I had a very stimulating conversion with two women who are the caretakers of their village’s market. They were very concerned about the number of women who arrive to sell with their small children, so they had started to think about having a school near the market. They had also built an overnight shelter with showers for women travelling to the market, and were hoping to open a women’s clinic as part of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We then visited another of our mission partners, the Revd Val Ogden, who works at the Pacific Theological College. Val is director of a distance learning arm at the college; she is doing a fantastic job.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We had to leave midway through the Conference due to my other commitments, but we came away with a mountain of gifts. The generosity and the hospitality offered by our World Church partners is to be admired and this visit will stay long in my memory.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Revd Loraine N Mellor</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">President of the Methodist Conference 2017/2018</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">October 2017</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-21230696516379056162017-10-13T14:02:00.003+01:002017-10-13T14:07:48.794+01:00Travelling south to the north-eastHaving studied at Durham University (a long time ago) I always love returning to the area we generally call "the North-East" but which now, of course, is south of where I live, in Glasgow. Being somewhat directionally challenged this always confuses me and I often head to the "northbound" platform automatically - and invariably sit on the wrong side of the train to view Lindisfarne as I pass... but thankfully last Friday I managed to arrive safely in Darlington to spend the weekend staying with Ruth Gee, chair of district.<br />
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On Saturday I led a Quiet Day on the theme of "Bless You" at Elm Ridge Church in Darlington. The words Blessing/Bless/Blessed occur about 1000 times in the bible - we didn't look up every reference (!) but worked our way through many of the stories, exploring God's great desire to bless in all sorts of situations and our response of learning to "bless the Lord" even in hard times. Throughout the day we added our own blessings to our "Blessings Board" - always an uplifting thing to do.<br />
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We looked at the words of Pharaoh in Exodus 12:32, "and bring a blessing on me too" and wondered how we, as individuals and as church, might bring a blessing on our public life and society. Everyone settled down for half an hour before lunch to write their own blessings to be given to family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, politicians... who knows? Some of the thinking for this came from my experience in the Isle of Man district in July when Loraine and I met with a group at Ballagarey who meet every morning with the explicit purpose of asking God's blessing on their communities. (See a previous <a href="http://methodist-presandvp.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/loraine-and-i-crossed-irish-sea.html" target="_blank">blog entry</a>). In the afternoon the group responded powerfully to an invitation to offer prayers of intercession around the words of the Beatitudes - so relevant to the world we find ourselves in now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDPHyICX36qMHxguCiL67iOwGOv0qpewdByljauS33S2Sn4otCwA-qumMShwqV9ioiujTJ0I8j92nwaOpCIWgabsg5V1S8vU5SNOv34rLmLMqCkyH4g21AYzm3it_4Qdgtoz29vfhcEY/s1600/4.+Chinese+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDPHyICX36qMHxguCiL67iOwGOv0qpewdByljauS33S2Sn4otCwA-qumMShwqV9ioiujTJ0I8j92nwaOpCIWgabsg5V1S8vU5SNOv34rLmLMqCkyH4g21AYzm3it_4Qdgtoz29vfhcEY/s200/4.+Chinese+cake.jpg" width="150" /></a>Sunday was spent mainly at Elvet Methodist Church in Durham; and the 35 years since I graduated slipped by as I reacquainted myself with this beautiful church. In the morning I was glad to preach and share in the leading of worship with Rev. Shaun Swithenbank and in the afternoon attended the growing Chinese Congregation which meets monthly at Elvet. They were celebrating their third birthday, a joyful service at which Ruth preached (on John 2, "The party must go on"!) and 6 people were baptised. The party certainly did go on with plenty of delicious Chinese food and cake afterwards too!<br />
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On Monday I moved on to Newcastle and spent four hours with <a href="http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/" target="_blank">UK Biobank</a> having all sorts of scans and tests as part of a national survey of health and well-being... not really a VP task, but as Newcastle is one of only 2 centres in the country offering this, it seemed a good opportunity to participate.<br />
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Tuesday was to be an exciting day - not only my birthday (!) but a Newcastle District pilgrimage following the Pilgrim Poles to Lindisfarne - one of my very favourite locations in the world! The weather was fair, the spirits were high, the water was not as cold as I have known it, nor the mud as deep or sticky as sometimes, and I was thrilled to be able to include such a special adventure into my year of office, organised by Rev. Gill Welsh, minister in the Lindisfarne circuit, who has often led my pilgrim groups in worship and communion before our crossings in the past few years.<br />
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Along with around 25 walking pilgrims from the district (plus a few others who joined us on the other side by car) our party included a woman who was on holiday and had been disappointed not to be able to cross to the island for various reasons. She shared this with a member of staff at the hostel where she was staying, and that staff member just happened to be a Methodist who knew of the event and arranged for her to join us! I feel that the day played an important part in her life's journey and she was a great blessing to the pilgrim band.<br />
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After the crossing we gathered in St. Cuthbert's Centre on Holy Island for picnic lunches and some reflections from me on rhythm and from all of us on our experience. Within my thinking about rhythm, for some time I have been captivated by the idea that much of life is about finding the balance between Adventure and Security (a pair of words I first heard used together in a Radio 4 Sunday Worship, applied there to the journey of ordination, but, I think, relevant to most if not all of us on our own life's pilgrimage).<br />
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Chair of district, Stephen Lindridge, was amongst the company and took many photos which, I think, capture something of that blend of adventure and security which filled the day.<br />
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We were all transported in cars back to the mainland before the tide cut us off at 4:30pm and I headed to Berwick-upon-Tweed station, remembering that this time I did need the "northbound" platform! Jill<br />
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<br />Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-88286443805917700932017-10-08T19:19:00.000+01:002017-10-08T19:29:22.015+01:00Shetland revisitedAs this wonderful year of experiences and encounters unfolds I begin to have more and more regard for Wesley's famous journal. Not only the content but the mere fact of it - when did he find time to write it? As Loraine and I make our way around the Connexion, sometimes together and sometimes separately, we are trying to record our travels in various ways - blogs, Facebook, Twitter - ways which were not available to Wesley, but which I feel sure he would have used if they had been, but sometimes it's hard to keep up!<br />
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So here I am in Darlington at the end of a varied and thoroughly enjoyable district visit, reflecting back to last week in Shetland. I have posted some initial photos and notes on <a href="https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1516047038502548&id=969004143206843" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and my own <a href="https://northoftheborderblog.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/blowing-in-the-wind/" target="_blank">blog</a>, but, a week later, am still reflecting on aspects of the visit.<br />
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<b>Nearer to </b><b>Norway</b><br />
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Several folk in Shetland pointed out that Lerwick, the capital, is closer to Bergen in Norway than to Edinburgh. Shetland generally feels more affinity with England than with Scotland (I decided not to wear my Methodist tartan kilt there!) and would be in an interesting, but uncomfortable, positon if Scotland ever does become independent.<br />
These Scandinavian links were clear when I participated in a meeting of the relatively newly-formed ecumenical Shetland Women's Network - a gathering of almost 100 women aged between 16 & 86 who are linked with an organisation in Norway (as the worship focus displays).<br />
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<b>Pilgrim</b> <b>possibilities</b><br />
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Along with both ministers in the islands, Andrew and David, I visited a number of small, beautifully-kept, but relatively isolated Methodist chapels. The pilgrim in me was itching to find paths to walk between them and put together a Methodist pilgrim route... maybe one day... These little gems already bear witness to the faith story of the islands; perhaps there are ways to use the buildings to proclaim more clearly their story, and the story which lies behind all such chapels, the story of Jesus?<br />
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<b>Celebrating</b> <b>worship</b><br />
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On Sunday afternoon I was delighted to present a certificate marking 25 years as a local preacher to Joy at North Roe chapel. Her enthusiasm for sharing the gospel - through singing and guitar-playing as well as preaching and worship leading - had clearly contributed enormously to the life of that little congregation. For me it was a little incarnation too - having sat with Loraine in Methodist Church House many months ago signing a huge pile of such certificates it was special to see the "word made flesh"!<br />
On my final evening I met with a group of 8 people committed to sharing the good news through preaching and worship leading; half of them just setting out on the new course and the other half there as mentors. The meeting began with a wonderful take on our "5-a-day" theme as Susie invited us to dip 5 different fruits into a chocolate fountain - strongly recommended! I was greatly heartened by the passion and excitement of this group (not only for the chocolate) and more widely by the ministry being offered in different roles by so many folk I met. All of this inspires in me great hope for Methodism in our most northerly district. I give thanks.<br />
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News from Darlington and Newcastle in due course...<br />
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<br />Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-81165881870611051162017-09-27T17:41:00.001+01:002017-09-27T19:43:29.663+01:0024 hours in politicsHarold Wilson is supposed to have said once that "a week is a long time in politics"; I am quite sure he was correct, as, having returned late last night after a visit to the Labour Party Conference in Brighton I can't believe I was only there for 28 hours. I had never been to Brighton before and found it very different from Glasgow (!) - symptomatic, perhaps, of my feeling of entering a brave new world. As I arrived before the time appointed for the Free Church Leaders' Group to convene, I sat on the sea wall for a few minutes and pondered the vast grey ocean and a little brightness in the sky above - was this how the Labour Party were feeling at this point in time?<br />
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All along the seafront there was a sense of something big happening; lots of delegates and others wearing the lanyards which say to the world "I am someone"... so I put mine on too and entered the Conference venue. If I had been hoping to bump into Jeremy Corbyn or someone else famous and have a little chat I soon realised that this conference was on a different scale from Methodist Conference and that was highly unlikely! I enjoyed the buzz as I looked around the stalls and paid over the odds for two (admittedly high quality) "For the many" postcards. Since it was the lunch break, a kind steward allowed me to have a little look in the auditorium (even though my lanyard only said that I was someone who should be admitted to the balcony - not a proper member) then I made my way to the balcony for the opening of the afternoon session.<br />
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"Good afternoon Conference" sounded familiar as the chair brought us to order and I was half expecting us to sing a hymn at that point... we didn't, although choruses of "Oh Jeremy Corbyn" rang throughout the chamber whenever he was mentioned or appeared. Speakers were introduced and business proceeded, again with a sense of familiarity, and I pondered on the shared roots of the Labour Party Conference, Methodist Conference and the Trades Union Congress. However, when it became clear that there would be opportunity for a number of members to speak, those who wished to do so stood on their chairs waving articles of clothing, umbrellas and flags... until the chair indicated who could come forward; "the woman waving the bright green scarf", "the man jumping up and down on the back row..." I did feel that we have a somewhat more decorous system in Methodism! <br />
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In the main hall - and wherever I went - there was a great deal of energy, a great deal of optimism that Labour's time is about to arrive and a great deal of passion amongst people who want to create a better world. The church does not have the monopoly on that! I came away with a strong sense of God at work in so many ways and through so many channels.<br />
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It was so good to meet with the other church leaders later for a briefing meeting and then a meal together. The Salvation Army had organised our visit brilliantly, with excellent town centre accommodation and really helpful briefing papers. As well as the Salvation Army, the group comprised church leaders or staff members with responsibility for political life and public issues from Baptist, United Reformed, Quaker and Methodist Churches, along with Steve Hucklesby representing <a href="http://www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/" target="_blank">JPIT</a> who do such wonderful work across denominations.<br />
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On Tuesday (was that really only yesterday?) we all attended the Prayer Breakfast organised jointly by <a href="http://www.christiansontheleft.org.uk/conf17_splash?splash=1" target="_blank">Christians on the Left</a> and <a href="http://allwecan.org.uk/" target="_blank">All We Can</a>, where I was proud to hear All We Can's Simon Beresford speaking about the importance of relationship in international development. (Delicious breakfast too). Then we moved to a group of sofas and chairs in the foyer of the Grand Hotel, carefully saved for us by the Salvation Army's superb admin assistant, Olivia.<br />
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These we occupied for the whole morning - not just sitting around drinking coffee. One after another we were joined by MPs and other activists (representing the Refugee Council and Joseph Rowntree Foundation) for a succession of quick-fire 15 minute meetings. At each one we introduced ourselves, asked one or two leading questions, allowing the guest to share what they were involved in, raised some of the related issues in which our churches are working, and offered prayer for the MP and their work before having a photo taken with each one. Discussions focussed particularly on the refugee crisis, poverty, peace-making and, of course, the effect on all of these of Brexit, In all cases we were treated with warmth and appreciation and we sought not to lobby or harangue, but to affirm. A great privilege and fascinating experience. As someone who is very much a beginner in politics, I was so glad to have the expertise and insights of the others to inform and guide our discussions and felt again the great wealth of wisdom, compassion and hunger for justice which there is in our churches.<br />
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Over lunch time I attended a fringe event with the Scottish Labour Party - effectively hustings for their new leader - and just had time to catch 20 minutes of Naomi Klein, International Speaker in the main arena, before another short gathering with the church leaders and then my train north... reaching home just before midnight. What a fascinating time, what a privilege... but a week in politics? I'm not sure I could take the pace! JillJill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-56473659327353026152017-09-13T07:51:00.001+01:002017-09-13T07:51:19.391+01:00At Westminster CathedralThis year continues to unfold with rich and varied experiences and I am so grateful to the Methodist Church for these opportunities (literally, "open doors").<br />
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Yesterday began early as I was on the 5:40 train from Glasgow to London - which enables me to be at Methodist Church House for 10:30am (I admit I wouldn't want to do it every day!) I attended Ministries Committee, of which I have been a member for 2 years, and engaged with about a dozen others on a wide-ranging and packed agenda.<br />
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I had to leave a little before the end to travel to Westminster Cathedral with Rev. Neil Stubbens, the Methodist Church Ecumenical Officer; together we were representing the Methodist Church in Britain at the service of "Solemn Vespers of the dead" for His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, former Archbishop of Westminster, who died on 1st September. In the Sacristy (surrounded by dozens of priests and bishops donning robes of white, black and purple) we were made extremely welcome. Canon John O'Toole, the Catholic Ecumenical Officer, who has attended the last two Methodist Conferences went out of his way to make us feel comfortable and at home and numerous other clergy greeted us, introduced themselves and made conversation, including the current Archbishop, Vincent Nichols. It was certainly good to have Neil there who already knew many of them and was able to fill in bits of background and context for me.<br />
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We processed into a packed Cathedral for a service full of awe and beauty but also full of love and thankfulness for a wise leader who had been friend to many there. The choir were superb and the silence held after their rendition of Bruckner's motet "The mouth of the just" was like the silence of heaven. It was my first time inside this magnificent building so I breathed in the sense of the sacred, along with the incense of prayers.<br />
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I couldn't help but be aware that, in a procession of at least a hundred all told (plus the choir), I was the only woman. The weight of representation settled on my shoulders! At least one other Methodist woman was present in the service, Gillian Kingston from Ireland, currently Vice-President of the World Methodist Council who came across from High Leigh where she was attending the European Methodist Council so we were glad to catch up with her later.<br />
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<br />Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-36016624791740788622017-09-08T22:33:00.002+01:002017-09-08T22:37:43.612+01:00Happy Methodist HogmanayDuring the two years I have lived in Scotland I have gained a greater understanding of the significance of celebrating the New Year - "Hogmanay" is big north of the border! The Methodist Church in Britain starts a new organisational year on 1st September each year so for Loraine and me this has been a week of events marking that.<br />
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We began on Sunday morning at Wesley's Chapel, City Road, London for a great time of worship and dedication. It is a time of transition for Wesley's Chapel as Rev. Dr. Jennifer Smith takes the role of superintendent minister so we were delighted to share in worship with her. Loraine preached on "Ambassadors of Christ" (you can still watch the service <a href="https://www.wesleyschapel.org.uk/worship-music/previous-services/" target="_blank">here</a>). As we arrived, we encountered Rev. Jorg Niederer, a Swiss Methodist minister who had walked here from Switzerland over the past two months! I had been following his blog intermittently during his pilgrimage and was so glad to meet up. </div>
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After a fantastic international lunch there we made our way to Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, where we shared in an evening service of Holy Communion and prayers for healing. This was conducted in a very relaxed and Spirit-filled atmosphere and it was so good to see clergy and laity together giving and receiving ministry in this historic church. I tackled the evening Old Testament lectionary reading from 2 Kings and you can listen to my attempts to make sense of it <a href="https://methodist-central-hall.org.uk/sermons-2/" target="_blank">here</a>. We were both somewhat awed to find our names on these boards... we stand in some mighty shoes!</div>
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On Monday we shared in a very special event at Methodist Church House as 8 young people were commissioned to serve in a variety of situations as interns for one year. Abigail, Dean, Georgia, Hannah, Helen, Madalena, Rachel and Rebecca will be in locations as diverse as Action for Children, Rome, Central Finance Board, the House of Lords, JPIT and the Academy for Executive Coaching. It was such a privilege to meet them and hear about their plans; do remember them in your prayers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNNTIZ4fIvkE9ZazMpr_iGGfemG26k9AHEusiVrMdJA0oi_M881L-svPdIrxHDxP-bCTZvQpCc0DAK8gPC2mnowaERl9k9x_FdQgald8nvZIQDw11vP2zvhWQyR3JbR8OnLOwXMJRsyc/s1600/8..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNNTIZ4fIvkE9ZazMpr_iGGfemG26k9AHEusiVrMdJA0oi_M881L-svPdIrxHDxP-bCTZvQpCc0DAK8gPC2mnowaERl9k9x_FdQgald8nvZIQDw11vP2zvhWQyR3JbR8OnLOwXMJRsyc/s320/8..jpg" width="320" /></a>On Tuesday we headed north together to share in worship, conversation and encounter at Manchester Central Buildings as we saw in the new year with Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes (TMCP) and members of the bilingual Swahili-English congregation, and from the circuit and district. Another great experience and good to hear of the work happening there from Rev. Ian Rutherford and Deacon Ruth Lackenby amongst others.<br />
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Back to London in the evening to be ready for the Connexional Team New Year gathering. Along with the brand new Youth President, Michael Pryke, I led brief prayers before the team meeting which Loraine addressed. She used the idea of early explorers struggling to navigate mountainous territories when they were only equipped with canoes for river voyages. We too need new equipment for new terrain in the church in this generation. The meeting then heard from from two exciting pieces of work, the Holy Biscuit in Newcastle, and church-planting in Stoke-on-Trent, both of which are finding just those new tools for new situations. The Connexional Team work very hard in all sorts of ways - when I arrived at Methodist Church House at 8:30 on Monday morning I was surprised how many people I found already at their desks, beavering away. Do pray for these folk as well. </div>
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Perhaps the idea of a "Methodist Hogmanay" sounds like a contradiction in terms, but John Wesley certainly valued the opportunity a new calendar year brings to renew our walk with God, so perhaps not! Charles Wesley's new year hymn "Come, let us anew our journey pursue" (Singing the Faith 460) includes the phrase "and never stand still"... which seems to have fitted our week quite well so far! </div>
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Of course the week has also included the terrible destruction of hurricane Irma. We continue to hold a suffering world in prayer - do visit the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MethodistPresidency/?hc_ref=ARSQ9PsolkKAgW2_TYmT-5WIbhev8u_mz3Ule_MF5edNPS-BnyL1ns31zKKyNnMKzcY&fref=nf" target="_blank">facebook pages</a> as well if you can.</div>
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Jill </div>
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Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-21469241268227319892017-08-31T11:43:00.002+01:002017-08-31T11:45:26.232+01:00Pray out the old, pray in the new<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>31<sup>st</sup> August…</b> the last day of the meteorological
summer (about the only sort of summer some of us have had this year!) and also
the last day of the Methodist Connexional year… How do we feel as this date dawns?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Loraine and I are almost ten weeks into our new roles and
have begun getting to know new parts of the Connexion and of the world. Thank you for your prayers for us as we
travel and share – those prayers make all the difference. As we all say good bye to one year and hello
to a new year, prayer seems to be the place to start… so here I share a few
thoughts about where my prayers may take me in these days:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Confessing and
letting go</b> – perhaps, if I am honest, there are things about the past year
which weren’t so great; upsets, disputes, disappointments, hasty words... Today
seems like a good day to let go of anything which could fester or distract me
from my own discipleship. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Amongst people I meet in the wider Methodist church too I have
encountered strained relationships, hurt and bitterness. All of this is not surprising – we all “fall
short of the glory of God” (as Paul puts it in Romans3:23) – but, as I always
urge those who come with me on pilgrimage, heavy loads slow us down and
grievance is a very heavy load. Can we
make today a day for putting down some of those loads and walking away, towards
a shared goal of peace?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Tomorrow, 1<sup>st</sup>
September, is being marked by many as a day of prayer and fasting. </b>There is plenty for which to pray…<b> </b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Hoping and picking up</b>
– A new Connexional year brings with it many signs of hope and new
beginnings. The Yorkshire districts have
been reconfigured and launched in new shapes; the districts of London,
Northampton and Yorkshire North & East have welcomed new chairs, on Monday Loraine
and I will share in the induction of 8 young people who will be placed in all
sorts of exciting locations as part of the ONE internship programme and on
Tuesday and Wednesday we will take part in new year worship in Manchester with
TMCP and in London with the Connexional Team.
Many circuits around the Connexion will be welcoming new ministers or
reconfigured boundaries. All of this is
not mere formality, but happens in a context of worship and prayer which
affirms that we are looking to God to work amongst us. It is a day to listen to “what the Spirit is
saying to the churches” (Rev. 2:7) <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Longing and looking
out</b> – Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer we express our longing for the
Kingdom of God to come “on earth as it is in heaven”. But every day the media open windows onto a
world which is very far from that Kingdom.
Day by day we hear of natural disasters, catastrophes, violence,
suffering. The list of places in need of
prayer grows all the time; Freetown, Barcelona, Houston, Mumbai, Pakistan, Bangladesh…
and there are all the places we don’t hear about in the media too. Both Loraine
and I have been moved and challenged by our visits to Uganda and Ethiopia respectively. We
spoke on the phone yesterday and grieved together over such a pain-filled
world. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once again we invite the people called Methodist to join us
in prayer, prayer for ourselves, prayer for the church and prayer for the
world. Prayer can be hard work – during a
very long Ethiopian Orthodox service which I attended in Debre Birhan a few
weeks ago we were given “prayer sticks” to lean upon as we stood and prayed; I
would have liked to bring one home, but that wasn’t allowed. However, we do have the new <a href="https://www.methodistpublishing.org.uk/features/methodist-prayer-handbook-20172018">Methodist
Prayer Handbook</a> to help us! This year it is entitled “Jesus the First and Last”,
reminding us of where all our prayers begin and end. If yours hasn’t arrived yet, I hope it soon
will; meanwhile, from day 22, here is Loraine’s prayer which we may all lean
upon as we offer our prayers today and tomorrow and beyond:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Holy God of the
morning: still our minds.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Holy God of
creation: create through us new life and
vitality today.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Holy God of whispering
gentle breeze: come to us in sighs too
deep for words.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Holy God of
crashing thunder: break into our lives
and into our complacency.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Holy God of
sun and warmth: encourage us to reach
out with love.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<i>Holy God of
the evening: fill the fading light of
this day with your awesome presence that we might worship you, honour you,
glorify you , bless you , praise and adore you as we take our rest. Amen.</i><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-19752541451629061042017-08-13T09:36:00.001+01:002017-08-14T13:37:10.552+01:00Coming and going (or "planes in the night")One of the great privileges of holding these offices of President or Vice-President of the Methodist Conference is the invitation to travel to different parts of the world. In January/February this year I made a two-week visit to our Methodist sisters and brothers in Russia, which was an amazing experience with much warm hospitality offered in temperatures that reached -21C! My full report can be read on the <a href="http://www.methodist.org.uk/media/2548123/wcr_isitreport_Russia.pdf" target="_blank">Mission pages</a> of this website. <br />
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This week, Loraine has set off for her partnership visit to Hong Kong and Fiji and I look forward to hearing more about that in due course.<br />
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About 48 hours before she took to the airways, I landed at Heathrow following an extraordinary week in Ethiopia with our relief and development charity, <a href="http://www.allwecan.org.uk/" target="_blank">All We Can</a> (with whom Loraine recently went to Uganda; her reports are on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MethodistPresidency/?modal=composer" target="_blank">Presidential Facebook pages</a>)<br />
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<b>Ethiopia was a huge surprise to me</b> - probably most of us think of Michael Buerk, Bob Geldof and Band Aid in 1984 or, if we are a bit older, of Jonathan Dimbleby revealing "The Hidden Famine" a decade earlier in 1973 and so we associate Ethiopia with desert, famine and drought. Sadly, it is still a country of poverty, need and injustice, but it is a vast country and my visit was centred in Debre Birhan, about two hours' north of Addis Ababa in the Ethiopian Highlands (which are much higher than the Scottish Highlands! We reached heights of around 3000 metres, where I found the altitude affected my breathing and ability to climb considerably!) The rainy season is now underway - and farmers told us it has been a good rainy season so far, with plenty of rain, but without the excessive deluges which can do more harm than good - so everywhere was looking green and fertile.<br />
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I travelled with Claire Welch from All We Can and we were guided by two of All We Can's partner organisations, SUNARMA and ADEHNO, both NGOs working with local farmers and communities to find ways of increasing productivity and improving living conditions in mainly rural areas. This method of working, with its emphasis on partnership, strikes me as extremely good practice. We are not sending people into places to teach new methods but working on the ground with those who live there and who, day by day, are exploring how best to harness nature and, through soil and water conservation techniques, alleviate the effects of climate change and other environmental disasters. </div>
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Amongst many others, we met shepherds rearing new strains of sheep; beekeepers with new design hives (I still managed to get stung!); women making a more efficient stove; an apple farmer discovering how this relatively new crop flourishes in the highlands (despite frost and hail - which we experienced on our visit!); a potato farmer having great success with Irish potatoes (now known locally as SUNARMA potatoes!), women breeding chickens (of course!)... and time and time again the farmers impressed upon us how their lives are being transformed, "Day by Day". It was humbling and a huge privilege to enter the homes and lands of these generous, dignified people and to share around their tables in the ever-present "injera" (the local staple food) as well as huge loaves of celebratory bread, and, of course, the very special coffee ceremony. (I politely declined the home-brewed beer and spirits, known to be very powerful!)<br />
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On the final day, as we were driving back to Debre Birhan and then on to Addis for our flight, I noticed a group of people gathering on the skyline, some 800 yards from the roadside. Our driver slowed down and our hosts explained that they were a group of farmers waiting to see us and to thank us. We walked along a low embankment through the mud to be warmly greeted (in the rain) by about 80 Ethiopian farmers from that plainland area. Movingly they told us of how last winter the frost had devastated their crops. They had had to go to the government for emergency food aid but even so many had had to eat leaves. Their message was clear, however, they didn't want to be given food, they wanted to be supported in ways of making the land more fertile and protecting their crops from erosion and weather-damage. Their gratitude to ADEHNO (and therefore All We Can) for working with them in this way was enormous. It was a profoundly moving and humbling experience.<br />
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There is so much more I could write, and so much more I have to learn about the history of this amazing land and culture - with its proud ancient history of the origins of the human race, and its bloody recent history of the Derg Regime and the Red Terror of 1974-1991. There is so much more I could write about the influence of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (which we attended from 5:30am - 7:15am last Sunday morning - and even then the service was not half-way through)...<br />
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I flew home with many faces, voices, prayers and hopes in my heart and mind and I am so grateful to All We Can and to the Methodist people for this life-changing encounter. Please keep Ethiopia in your prayers. <br />
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JillJill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-29414554298765290592017-07-30T18:20:00.000+01:002017-07-30T18:24:26.621+01:00More from the Isle of ManThe blessings of being here in the Isle of Man have continued... yesterday Loraine and I went on pilgrimage together with around 20 others, encountering some of the ancient, holy sites on this island as we walked from Maughold Head along some stunning coastline to the Quaker burial ground - all in bright (& breezy) sunshine.<br />
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Today it has been our privilege to lead worship; Loraine in the north of the island at Ramsey and me in the east at Union Mills. Both were celebration services for 6 or 7 congregations coming together so we had full churches and a good feel. (Read more in Loraine's Facebook post).</div>
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In conversation over these few days we have sensed God at work amongst the Methodist folk here and as we leave tomorrow we are grateful for the welcome and spirituality we have encountered here and will continue to pray for this part of the Connexion.Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-37552674806413081552017-07-29T08:34:00.000+01:002017-07-29T13:06:25.548+01:00Loraine and I crossed the Irish Sea (separately) yesterday to make our first joint district visit- to the Isle of Man. Various people of the Isle of Man have been woven through my life story (and I am very glad to have a Manx daughter-in-law) so this is my fourth visit to the island, Loraine's first.<br />
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We were welcomed at the airport by chair of district, Richard, and Ruth, and went first to Balagarrey Methodist Church, a small chapel with a big heart. A recent extension gives wonderful views over beautiful countryside and there the members meet to pray at 7:30 every morning.<br />
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Their prayers are prayers of blessing, blessing the community around them, blessing all with whom they come into contact, yesterday blessing us. We were moved and very grateful - What a wonderful start to a visit!<br />
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Our next call was at Manor Ark on the Pulrose estate where community worker Panda explained to us how this former police house has been leased by the church (for a peppercorn sum) and is being developed as a youth and community centre. <br />
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Located as it is right next to the primary school, immediately opposite the Methodist chapel and right at the entrance to the estate it is in a prime position and we heard exciting stories of the ministry unfolding there.<br />
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Yesterday evening we were taken to the area around Tynwald Hill, adjacent to the Royal Chapel which is home to the Manx parliament, believed to be the oldest continuous parliament in the world having celebrated its millennium in 1979. The Celtic cross of the national war memorial looked resplendent in the evening sunshine. We gathered across the road at St John's Church hall with around 70 members of the island's churches to share in a delicious meal after which Loraine and I did a sort of double act, sharing something of our role, something of our hopes, some of our stories then hearing and discussing questions from the floor. There are challenges ahead for the Methodist Church in the Isle of Man (where aren't there?) but we were heartened by the love, faith, vision and prayer we met yesterday. Jill.<br />
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Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-76771596430100813892017-07-25T10:48:00.000+01:002017-07-25T10:48:33.742+01:00<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have just returned from a visit to Uganda with ALL WE CAN. I have posted on my Facebook page and these are some random thoughts of my journey. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">Our first day we visited Bussie Island a very derived community on Lake Victoria where I met Gladys a widow who now has no children of her own at home and takes in orphan children. She was overjoyed with her tippy tap and her Lattrine and water tank that she says has saved her life. These were provided by the VAD team and 'All WE CAN' She asked if I could pray with her and it took some doing as it was such an emotional moment.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9i4qJl8XjINxPCw5nHtBLazGqD_m-RXKx-XrA-UPOztmQM8nrE1ETctKbD4WMPR980VFJQA59C6H0bm1r0CiTZYOJPMEC85tYiojbsLkBklZ0gQ3CaFvvoA6xVB6mLfJo83uf0ZB7i4/s1600/IMG_1722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9i4qJl8XjINxPCw5nHtBLazGqD_m-RXKx-XrA-UPOztmQM8nrE1ETctKbD4WMPR980VFJQA59C6H0bm1r0CiTZYOJPMEC85tYiojbsLkBklZ0gQ3CaFvvoA6xVB6mLfJo83uf0ZB7i4/s320/IMG_1722.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Tuesday we </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">travelled to Jinja and passed over the source of the Nile and worshiped with the local Methodist Circuit when we used Cliff Praise and felt very much at home. Feeling very blessed by welcome and hospitality.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few weeks ago I attended a Bridge builders course when £240 was raised for All We Can for a women to be empowered somewhere in the world. Today I met Edith at her new piggery with her piglet in Jinja Uganda. Edith is a widow and when she sells her piglets will be able to have her own home and not live with her eldest son, she will also be able to feed her children. £240 changed a life today thank you Bridge Builder colleagues and thank you God.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #1d2129;">While in Jinja we worked with the Methodist Church in Uganda in seminars on leadership. Stimulating day with so many really interesting conversations. Hoping and praying that Bishop William and the team can achieve there vision. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">This is a Methodist school and you can see 3 classrooms! The staff and children were so welcoming to us. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">I have waited a few days to post about my last day in Uganda as I was not sure what I would write and if in fact I could write anything without becoming too emotional as </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #666666; display: inline;">it was so harrowing as we visited the region of Bwondha where 40 thousand people live in a settlement called by many a slum and is one of the most inaccessible and deprived communities in Uganda. We arrived to a public meeting where the mood was sombre as people complained about the lack of support for them as we listened as they described themselves as a lost and left community. They had no fresh clean water other than that they have to pay for which course many of them cant afford. The women have to walk down to the lake and you will see for the photographs what they have to content with as pigs and livestock live near the water and cause disease but the women have no choice and you cant call it a beach it was more like a tip. Can you imagine how that must be gathering water that you know is going to harm you and your children, but as one women told us what choice do we have. Having gathered the water the women then have to walk up the big hill back to there homes that may be more than 2 or 3 miles way or even further. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #666666; display: inline;">A visit that wil stay long in my memory. Thank you to ALL WE CAN and especially Graeme Hodge and Dean Gillespie who made the trip so stimulating, educating and where I learned so much.</span> Loraine </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07245067264473811265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-11591887301601923062017-07-25T10:27:00.000+01:002017-07-25T10:27:50.277+01:00<div style="color: #454545; font-family: '.SF UI Display'; font-size: 21px; line-height: normal; margin-left: 32px;">
Jill and I have been together today July 14th as first thing Friday morning we met over breakfast to catch up then to Lambeth Palace for a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Gareth Powell, Neil Stubbens David Walton and Anglican colleagues with an agenda which was wide ranging which reflected our concern for European relationships in the light of Brexit and a update by David and Bishop Paul Bayes on the Joint Covenant Monitoring and Advocacy group. Our conversation was good humoured, generous and in the spirit of seeking the Lords will for our world.</div>
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We then moved to the chapel in a moving Eucharist lead by the Archbishop as Revd Clinton Langston was collated and licensed as Archdeacon to the Army. A number of Methodists from the forces chaplaincy teams were present and in this ecumenical gathering we shared in the bread and wine, a sort of pinch yourself moment which I found very moving. An interesting moment when I received the wine from the Archbishops Chaplain Isabelle who used to be our local Vicar in Edwalton at Holy Rood until a few months ago. </div>
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All going our separate ways Jill and then walked up the Lambeth Road to the office of the Methodist Recorder to agree our engagement over the next year. </div>
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I then discovered that the publishing house has sold out of the prayer cubes!</div>
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Loraine </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07245067264473811265noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-5019116073055259032017-07-17T14:00:00.002+01:002017-07-17T14:12:14.360+01:00Celebrating Methodist lay leaders at Tolpuddle"Tolpuddle" is a name I seem to have known all my life. I think it was probably in Sunday School that I first learned about the Tolpuddle Martyrs - six Dorsetshire labourers who, in a desperate attempt to save their families from total degradation in 1834 at a time when wages were falling, formed one of the earliest trade unions. Because they then also took an oath to secrecy, they were tried and sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia - an extremely harsh sentence which caused major public outcry. After three years they were pardoned and able to return, and their names and their courageous actions have lived on ever since. You can read much more about them and their stories on the <a href="http://www.methodistheritage.org.uk/tolpuddlevillage.htm" target="_blank">Methodist Heritage webpages</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT66Fqcvp37-mluwb9v_o-cqO7X9gSrvmJwC2CFo7vskiHN27MlUuy8JpQ9C23rHMGuiExjHD-Vl2SPlE0IMk-1TRfYs-ODyIcCRa4XA5U1YKsH0tVR4VXqo7XUrHvYfDrVWyY8EIhEfI/s1600/20170716_141852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="961" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT66Fqcvp37-mluwb9v_o-cqO7X9gSrvmJwC2CFo7vskiHN27MlUuy8JpQ9C23rHMGuiExjHD-Vl2SPlE0IMk-1TRfYs-ODyIcCRa4XA5U1YKsH0tVR4VXqo7XUrHvYfDrVWyY8EIhEfI/s320/20170716_141852.jpg" width="192" /></a>Annually in July the Trades Union Congress (TUC) organise a festival in the village of Tolpuddle which now attracts about 10,000 visitors and yesterday (Sunday 16th July) I made my first visit. It was everything a festival should be - sunny and hot (with no mud in sight), happy and noisy, celebratory and yet serious, as all sorts of unions, groups and organisations took the opportunity to highlight their desire for justice and holiness (although they may not all have put it in those words!)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPZafJCqVRW_QpvLxSDEz94sfrTH49Iwb4Z8dEFZObkuj-strovKnxi7CscZLcEjMtiMvBlDnWqhBccfErmh9SLIJ3YgaJ8HKIPb9Fpr4NUdUYmzWzvWQKKCHhQCmDwypysvpp0kQw74/s1600/WP_20170716_14_20_33_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPZafJCqVRW_QpvLxSDEz94sfrTH49Iwb4Z8dEFZObkuj-strovKnxi7CscZLcEjMtiMvBlDnWqhBccfErmh9SLIJ3YgaJ8HKIPb9Fpr4NUdUYmzWzvWQKKCHhQCmDwypysvpp0kQw74/s320/WP_20170716_14_20_33_Pro.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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I was proud to march under the church's banner, which, on the reverse listed the names of the six martyrs along with their Methodist connections. Rev. Steph Jenner, the local superintendent minister, has done much to increase the involvement of local Methodists and other Christians in the festival and to take this opportunity to bear witness to the faith of the martyrs which led them to take their courageous actions. As Rev. Inderjit Bhogal commented to me as we marched, "all these people are here because of the commitment, faith and actions of Methodist lay preachers" - Wow!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Nuszb2hrblqy2xU0yMox0XSf51xfLJcevULGP0IFZkxY1p4N-96LGJ3rE6i03T75KlRk6yzIogxzGn2vDCXSMQTj4_0oF5ss64qrY9-9XQAwMpOAwHm2jJyClwl_-7yvKAkq_h3KtgY/s1600/20170716_133727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1600" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Nuszb2hrblqy2xU0yMox0XSf51xfLJcevULGP0IFZkxY1p4N-96LGJ3rE6i03T75KlRk6yzIogxzGn2vDCXSMQTj4_0oF5ss64qrY9-9XQAwMpOAwHm2jJyClwl_-7yvKAkq_h3KtgY/s320/20170716_133727.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We did glimpse the festival's most famous visitor - Jeremy Corbyn - who has been attending regularly for over thirty years, but now draws crowds in his own right of course! Inderjit preached powerfully at the service which ended the Festival in the "new" Methodist chapel (around 150 years old, but newer than the "old" chapel, which is the focus of a major restoration project) and I was glad to lead prayers there too. In a day which focused on justice, liberty, faith, government, heritage and celebration, there is still much to pray for around the world. JillJill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830385928733368902.post-31534610577501792312017-07-13T16:15:00.000+01:002017-07-13T16:25:26.773+01:00<b>Honouring Pauline Webb</b><br />
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On Saturday 8th July I had the great privilege of attending the Memorial Service for Pauline Webb at Wesley's Chapel, London. Pauline was an outstanding lay woman in the life of the Methodist Church - and on a much broader platform too - and much has already been written about her in many places which I will not duplicate here. (See the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/05/pauline-webb-obituary" target="_blank">Guardian obituary</a> for example).<br />
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My reason for being there was as one of her many successors in the role of Vice-President of Conference, an office which she held in 1965-66 at the age of 38; the youngest person ever to have served as Vice-President.</div>
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It was during her year of office, when I was about 7, that I first heard of Pauline Webb. As chance would have it, I had a friend in Sunday School with the same name; when the JMA awards were given in church that year there was a ripple of laughter as "Pauline Webb" was called - I later asked my mother why and still remember her reply; "Pauline Webb is the Vice-President of the Methodist Conference and one of the greatest Methodist women of all time"! I didn't understand what "Vice-President of the Methodist Conference" meant but was intrigued. Her name - and her great achievements, especially in the areas of world mission, gender and racial justice and religious broadcasting, have woven like a thread through my life ever since and have blessed and challenged me and so many.</div>
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I left Glasgow in cool, damp weather at 6:30am and returned there (after the hottest hours on a train I have ever experienced) at 11pm, but I was more than glad to be there; to bring a short greeting from Conference this year, where Pauline was remembered with great affection and respect, and to read from Romans 8 in the church and then the 23rd Psalm outside as her ashes were interred - close to the feet of John Wesley's statue.</div>
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But it was at the feet of Christ that Pauline lived her life - receiving and acting on the challenge of the Gospel to work for the coming of God's kingdom of justice, peace and righteousness. Thanks be to God.</div>
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A recording of the live stream can be found on <a href="https://www.wesleyschapel.org.uk/worship-music/previous-services/" target="_blank">Wesley's Chapel website</a>. </div>
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Jill Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10463136763568950236noreply@blogger.com0