Text Version April Yorsay

This is a text version of Yorsay a full graphic version can be downloaded from http://www.yorkhullmethodist.org.uk/news.php?id=165


Welcome
Dear Friends
Welcome to the April Edition of YORSAY. Let me have news from your Churches and Circuits; contact details as the foot of the newsletter. On that point I have had a few e-mails asking that information could be announced earlier, well that is up to you!! Make sure you send me your details in good time so that others can plan what and where to visit. It is also good to see that apart from those who receive Yorsay by e mail, a number of you are downloading direct from the web site in both pdf and word. Thank you also to those who have sent good wishes for the newsletter. My apologies that this edition has been sent early but I’m having to change computers and to make sure that no information is lost during the transfer.
As a result of the survey the majority of replies would like the pdf copy to be attached with also a link to the website


Yorsay is not only meant for those who receive it via their e mail address it is hoped that at least one person in each church will copy it and make it available to All members of the congregation via notice boards or through church newsletters.

Reminder
Stephen Burgess is on Sabbatical from 22nd March to 21st June [inclusive] any District matter to be referred to Richard Andrew or District Admin Office ,you can still use the chairs e mail address or use the contact addresses on. http://www.yorkhullmethodist.org.uk/whoswho.php

HELP REQUIRED
Elizabeth Clarke our Rural Life Officer is hoping to make a DVD of Rural work in the District, but she needs help. She requires someone with a Video Camera [preferably digital ] willing to take some footage .She also requires someone to help edit and create the DVD possibly using Windows Movie Maker or similar. The DVD needs to be ready for September Synod if Possible. This is a task that may suit a Video/ computer enthusiast or a Media Student looking for a project to work on. If you are interested or know someone who can help please contact Rev Elizabeth Clarke elizclark57@hotmail.com

SYNOD April 2009

Details of travel and mapping references to get to Synod at the Hollybush Centre can be found on the District Web site http://www.yorkhullmethodist.org.uk/synod.php?id=55
A bring and share tea at Rievaulx
and evening prayer walk at Rievaulx Abbey is being organised by Ryedale, Pickering, Sherburn and Malton local preachers but is open to everyone. The Date 15th JUNE, with the tea beginning at 5 pm. Further details from Mary Jackman on jackmans@madasafish.com 01723 865773



“We will enter his courts with thanksgiving in our hearts ……
We sang as St Johns Church Market Weighton re opened in December after extensive renovations to the building, and over 20 years of planning and fund raising. Out had gone the dark wooden pews, high pulpit and worn carpet, in this rural Market Town church and in had come a beautiful laminated light wooden floor, lectern and comfortable upholstered (and moveable) chairs. In too had come a church lounge at the front of the building, a modern kitchen and of course the luxury of internal toilets. There were smiles, tears and great joy as we prepared to take up our place again as people of Christ and part of the community. We’d invited lots of ordinary folk in the town along to the opening ceremony, and of course our own congregation and District Chair. The local Mayor and the Town Councillors also came and it was good to see so them there. We’d decided that we didn’t want ‘just one opening celebration ‘ any more than to be ‘just another church’ but wanted a whole week of rejoicing and to become more than just a church, rather a place for the whole community. “We need to connect with the town” someone had told me when I arrived last September. This was somewhat of a relief to me because this is how I’d understood my calling to ministry and practised it, so I knew no other way. My thinking had been inspired by our youngest son , who was into theatre and had said “do you know mum at one time everybody used to go to the theatre but then the middle classes creamed it off – isn’t that sad?” It certainly rang bells not just as far as the theatre was concerned but sadly I could relate what he’s said to the church too. So on with the celebrations as we re opened, and did we celebrate! – From film nights to Toddler Praise, to a community lunch and concerts. By the end of the first week some 800 people had come through our doors, and by Christmas this number had swelled to over 1,000. There was simply something for everyone. The words of the Covenant Service in early January seemed extra pertinent; especially as we had to continually bear in mind that we were still some £30,000 in debt. So how were we to serve the community, maintain our community links and pay off the debt too?
Our first official slogan was ‘Come Home to St Johns’ hoping to re connect with the many who had, over the last few years become un connected for one reason or another. Then I had a phone call from one of our newly commissioned Worship Leaders, “How about Tasty Tuesdays?’” serving tea and toast to all? It sounded a good idea to me, at least folk would come through the doors and we’d also be able to invite them along to the many other events that we were planning. Then came another opportunity “would you serve tea and toast to walkers on the ‘walking for health group’ that’s being organised by the Town Council?” we were asked .Too good an opportunity to miss – and so our second project Welcome Wednesdays was formed. This brings up to 50 people a week into our premises who also stay a while and enjoy tea and toast as an added bonus. “Should we invite the young mums and babies along so they can chat to each other after dropping their older children off at school?” someone else suggested, and so we now we’ve begun to run an informal mums and tots group in the main worship area as the mums, and some of their tots too, enjoy – would you believe it, tea and toast! We made further links with the community through the organisation Sure Start who also bring young mums with their little ones into the building and I’ve had an invitation to join them for any of their sessions, which I do from time to time. Many have also come to enjoy film nights at which, in line with all the best cinemas, we serve choc ices at the interval. And future plans? Well nothing is ‘set in stone anymore’ For the Saturday after Easter, we’re planning, with all the local businesses in the town, for our very first (and a Methodist first?) Wedding Fare complete with bridal fashion show, and stalls. In line with the Town Council’s promotion of Yorkshire Day on August 1st we’re serving Yorkshire Puddings all day, and the dancing group who use our hall are taking part in our May Day worship by ‘dancing for springtime’ as we rejoice in Gods creation. There were only two young children in the church community until recently but now that number has swelled to seven, and more teenagers, until now involved in the Boys Brigade Friday night meetings, are beginning to come to worship and at present are undergoing, at their own request, the Start Course studying the Christian faith. So exciting times for St John’s Market Weighton. Our numbers have doubled and at present we welcome about 60 regular worshippers on a Sunday morning. “Do you se the cup as full or half empty?” I was asked the other day in relation to St Johns and it’s future


– and my answer? “I see it as overflowing!”
Revd Sue Pegg MA – Minister at Market Weighton



Future of Food

Christian Aid in Northallerton are organising a panel discussion on the ‘Future of Food’ in Northallerton Methodist church on Tuesday 28th April at 7.30pm.

Speakers will include:
Edward Dennison (NFU)
Tony Howard (Lewis and Cooper)
Michael Watkiss (Sainsbury’s Northallerton)
Diane Green (Christian Aid co-ordinator)

Please come for a discussion on the politics of food – whether it is about buying locally, buying fair trade, the link between farming policy and the quality and price of food.




Safeguarding
The District has brought out a new newsletter covering Safeguarding issues to download this first issue go to the Web site RESOURCES PAGE or CLICK HERE http://www.yorkhullmethodist.org.uk/SafeguardingnewsletterMar09.pdf




Hull Methodist Central Hall and Hull Community and Voluntary Services (Hull CVS) are pleased to announce an exciting partnership.

The two organisations are enthusiastic about working together to create the “Kings Centre” a new development on King Edward Street in Hull City Centre. The £4m project based on the site is currently occupied by Hull Methodist Central Hall. For 18 months conversations have been taking place between the two organisations to develop the idea.

Hull Methodist Central Hall, which has occupied the site for almost 50 years, currently works with a number of charitable organisations by providing accommodation for them. Therapy Services, One World fair trade shop, the Development Education Centre along with the Hull branch of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen all use space provided by the church. This project builds on that existing work and it is hoped will attract other organisations. Central Hall is a 7 day a week church with activities every day including the coffee bar and drop in which is open to all and provides low cost snacks and a listening ear.

Hull CVS supports the sustainable development of voluntary and community groups and volunteering across the city of Hull. In the last year it has provided information, advice, support, training and other services to over 500 local voluntary and community groups. Its Volunteer Centre is dealing with increasing numbers of enquiries about volunteering and in the last year assisted almost 5000 potential volunteers. This project will bring all of Hull CVS’s services together under one roof and provide state of the art premises for its service users from local voluntary and community groups and potential volunteers. It will greatly improve the access to CVS services and provide new opportunities to work with partner organisations and to provide new services.

The scheme will include conference centre, training facilities, office accommodation, cafeteria, and car parking for building users. All of the activities currently based on site will continue.

Plans are currently being submitted and it is hoped building work will commence next year.

Rev. Luke Smith superintendent minister of the Hull Mission circuit said “We believe this project will make a huge difference in the heart of the city as we create a one stop shop for support services on this one site”

Dave Rogers, Hull CVS Chief Officer said “We have been seeking to develop new premises in the City Centre for a number of years to improve the delivery of our services. Hull Methodist Central Hall is the ideal partner to help us achieve this. We are confident this new development will have a positive impact on the voluntary sector and on volunteering in Hull”.
[Copy of Official Press release 2nd March 2009 ]




Be part of Britain’s longest-running fundraising week!
Thirteen million red envelopes, 300,000 volunteers, thousands of sponsorship events and 1,500 quizzes can only mean one thing – Christian Aid Week which this year takes place from 10 – 16 May.
Launched in 1957, Christian Aid Week is famous for the distinctive red envelope dropping through millions of letterboxes. Last year an amazing £14.7 million was raised to fund work with some of the world’s poorest communities. The money raised has helped people like 18-year-old Nadia Kabula in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
When her father died, Nadia’s family struggled desperately to make ends meet. But a tailoring course run by Christian Aid partner Humanité Nouvelle has allowed Nadia to imagine a brighter future – and she hopes one day to open her own business. Meanwhile, Nadia is giving others the chance of a fuller life by passing on her skills and her love of fashion to other young girls in her community. ‘They’ve given me education for life,’ said Nadia.
‘Our supporters constantly amaze me, especially during Christian Aid Week,’ said Anne Phipps, Head of Church Marketing and Appeals, Christian Aid. ‘Whether collecting door–to-door, putting quiz teams together or doing 101 other exciting and amazing fundraising events, the commitment is phenomenal.
‘At www.caweek.org we’re creating an online community of volunteers, supporters, activists and enthusiasts so please go online and add the details of whatever you are doing.’
Last year, Christian Aid introduced Quizaid in which people used their brain power to raise £185,000 while having fun at the same time. Quizzes are organised amongst friends, family, work colleagues or in the pub. This year the target is £225,000 and to get even more people involved, four new levels of questions have been introduced - Brainiacs, Average Joe’s, 11-18 year olds or under-10s. Packs with everything you need to organise a quiz can be downloaded from www.christianaid.org.uk/quizaid. The names of all quiz organisers will go into a draw for a year’s supply of chocolate courtesy of the fair trade company, Divine Chocolate. There will also be a separate draw for quiz participants.
Christian Aid also wants to hear the views of the people who go door to door collecting donations. A collectors’ survey is available online at www.caweek.org.
This year, in the face of the credit crunch, supporting Christian Aid and collecting the red envelopes is crucially important. The risk is that people will feel less able to give; yet because of the global recession the poor are more at risk and the need is greater.



Shining Light on Easter
During the Easter fortnight the Visions group, a team of Christian multimedia
artists, are stepping outside and telling the Easter story outside in a trail of
vibrant video loops dotted around York.
“Via Luminosa - the Easter story in Light” consists of a collection of looped video
installations by a number of skilled multimedia artists. Each piece will be a
few minutes long and will tell a part of the Easter Story. Some of these installations
will be on walls or upon freestanding structures placed inside gardens, and the
projectors will be sited inside nearby buildings. Other projections will be on windows
themselves, which will have been turned into screens, showing images from a
projector sited inside a building, or on televisions sited inside shop windows.

“Via Luminosa” begins just outside Micklegate Bar, at St Bede's Centre, and leads
inside the city walls, finishing at York Minster. There will be 15 images in total,
switched on every evening between the hours of 7.30 pm to 10.00pm between 6 and
18 April.


THE VACATION TERM FOR BIBLICAL STUDY
A SUMMER SCHOOL FOR BIBLICAL STUDY IN OXFORD
TREASURER CHAIRMAN SECRETARY
Mr R Garner B.Sc., M.B.A., A.C.I.B Dr B Spensley B.D., M.Phil., Ph.D. Revd M Burrow B.A., M.Sc.

VACATION TERM FOR BIBLICAL STUDY 2009
Saturday, 25th July - Saturday, 8th August
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Sunday, 26th July at 5 p.m. in St. Giles’ Parish Church
Dom Henry Wansbrough
Formerly Master of St Benet’s Hall, Oxford University
BIBLICAL MORALITY
FIRST WEEK 25th JULY – 1st AUGUST
Course 1 Dr Jonathan Tubb
Curator of the Ancient Levant
Middle East Department, British Museum
ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE BIBLE
Course 2 The Very Revd Dr Stephen Smalley
Formerly Dean of Chester Cathedral
JOHN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Two Lectures Professor John Rogerson
Professor Emeritus, Dept of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield
THEMES FROM “A COMMUNICATIVE THEOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT”

SECOND WEEK 1st AUGUST – 8th AUGUST
Course 1 Professor Robert Hayward
Professor of Hebrew, University of Durham
TORAH AND TEMPLE: INSIGHTS FROM JEWISH BIBLE INTERPRETATION
Course 2 The Revd Professor Richard Burridge
Dean of King’s College London
Professor of Biblical Interpretation
IMITATING JESUS: THE USE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IN ETHICS TODAY
Three Lectures Dr Deborah Rooke
Lecturer in Old Testament Studies
King’s College London
MESSIANIC MEDITATIONS:
CHARLES JENNENS’S LIBRETTOS FOR HANDEL’S ORATORIOS
Further information, can be obtained from:–
Revd M Burrow, 1 Thorny Road, DOUGLAS, Isle of Man, IM2 5EF.
margaret.burrow@mcb.net Reg. Charity No. 1125494
Sian Henderson Has further details and information of partial funding for the course.




Generosity of Christians not affected by the 'credit crunch'
Since the start of 2009 Speaking Volumes has had an unprecedented amount of orders for Christian books to be donated by Churches to libraries across the UK. Heart warming that in a time of need God's people respond more generously than ever to those around them.
Paula Renouf the director of the Scheme reported that the close of 2008 was very quiet. "People seemed to be sucking in their breath to see what was going to happen to their finances. But following a quiet January suddenly there was a flurry of orders and we are now nearly 50% up on this period last year. "
The scheme Speaking Volumes, run by The Christian Book Promotion Trust, offers a generous 50% discount on the retail price of books to Churches and individuals so the books can be donated, free of charge, to a library, school, prison or indeed anywhere where books can be borrowed by an audience wider than the Christian community. "In these days when library book buying may be the first budget to be cut by our local councils the donation of quality Christian books to such places is more vital than ever before" said the Chairman of CBPT, Geoff Booker.
A new catalogue of books will be available in May and it's hoped that even more interest will be generated to get Christian books into the hands of people for whom it can be a life changing read.
For further information about the scheme visit www.speakingvolumes.org.uk
For further information and photos please contact Paula Renouf, 01223 832671, paula@speakingvolumes.org.uk
Attached photo is of Chalkwell Group of Churches donation of books to Leigh Library



Global Day of Prayer
One Voice York and Churches Together in York are organising York’s involvement in the Global
Day of Prayer and would like to invite you to join in too.
On Pentecost Sunday 31 May hundreds of people will gather to pray on York’s City Walls, from
5.45pm to 6.00pm. People of all ages, denominations and traditions will pray for our
homes, families, communities, nation, and world. Go to the section nearest your church or home, and trumpets will announce each 5 minute section of prayer. From 6.30pm, Dave Godfrey and band will be playing in York Minster, and at 7.15pm the Prayer Walk begins in the Minster. This walk will have various prayer stations and styles of prayer, finishing with a joint act of celebration. For more information, or to book your church into the celebrations, visit www.onevoiceyork.org.uk.



FRUITLESS - don't raise the stakes
The government is proposing to double the amount of money that can be staked and won on the kind of fruit machines found in pubs and amusement arcades.
If this goes through, the minimum stake will rise to £1 and the jackpot will rise to £70.
This means that the prize limit on fruit machines will be higher than weekly benefit levels, at a time when many families will be struggling to make ends meet.
In Great Britain today, there are around a quarter of a million problem gamblers.
We, the Churches and Christian organisations of the Fruitless campaign, are very concerned about the possible impact these increases will have on problem gambling. We are urging the government to reconsider.


Take Action
An increase in gambling opportunities risks an increase in problem gambling. You can help us let the government know that there are many people who are deeply concerned about the effects these proposals will have, particularly at a time of recession.
It's time that the vulnerable, and the victims of problem gambling, were put before profits.
• Write to your local MP and ask them to vote against the proposals. (You can find out how to do this by entering your postcode into: www.upmystreet.com/commons/l/ or calling 020 7219 4272)
• Sign the petition on the Number 10 website: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/fruitless
• Find out further information about the campaign on this website and spread the word. See resources
If you, or someone you know, is affected by problem gambling you can call GamCare on 0845 6000 133 or visit www.gamcare.org.uk. You can find out further information about responsible gambling at www.gambleaware.org.uk.
The Methodist Church, The Church of England, The Salvation Army, The Church of Scotland, The Baptist Union of Great Britain, The United Reformed Church, Quaker Action on Alcohol and Drugs, the Evangelical Alliance and Care.





Celebrate the true meaning of Easter with a world-first musical spectacular...
The first ever cinema broadcast of Handel's masterpiece... Messiah
Here is a unique opportunity to celebrate the true spirit of Easter and be a part of broadcast history. On April 5th, the Choir of King's College Cambridge will achieve a global first - the first ever live, international cinecast of the complete Messiah to state-of-the-art digital cinemas across the UK and Europe.
"The work's undying popularity is not only a measure of its sheer musical energy and accessibility; it is also something to do with this inescapable sense of being drawn into a whole world of meaning. And whether we own this world as ours or not, the depth and the scale of it remain utterly compelling."
- ROWAN WILLIAMS, Archbishop of Canterbury
This will truly be a unique and one-off event taking place live on Palm Sunday as Christians celebrate and remember the "triumphal entry" of Christ into Jerusalem at the start of Holy Week. Audiences will be able to sit back and be a part of a live sound and visual music extravaganza, presented in digital High Definition and 5.1 Surround Sound, at specially selected cinemas that will provide the finest audio-visual experience. See a preview of what the audience will see on http://www.yorkhullmethodist.org.uk/news.php?id=187
Conducted by Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music at King's, and featuring the Academy of Ancient Music and soloists Ailish Tynan, Alice Coote, Allan Clayton and Matthew Rose, the performance is a creative, original and wonderfully hi-tech way to celebrate the life of Jesus.
This remarkable event also marks the 250th anniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel and the 800th anniversary of the University of Cambridge.
Come and be part of history. Handel's Messiah will be streaming live via satellite to cinemas nationwide, including:
City Screen PICTURE House
13-17 Coney Street York –
Booking is essential






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Yorsay is sent on behalf of the York & Hull Methodist District by the Communications Office
Bob Lawe 27 Ryde Avenue Hull Hu5 1QA communications@yorkhullmethodist.org.uk
Please note that some of you may receive this and other mailings from a Karoo e mail address – Please do not reply or use this address as it is for mail delivery only The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the official views of the Methodist Church or of the York & Hull Methodist District and no inferred support for any of the items or organisations should be taken as granted.
Yorsay Newsletter © 2009 York & Hull Methodist District – All rights reserved.