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JULY
7 July 2011 Methodist Conference draws to
a close after a week of worship, debate and celebration More people than ever before followed the events and business of the Conference, with live video from the debates streamed over the internet on the Methodist Conference website. At its peak, 180 people tuned in to watch the proceedings. Conference members and guests, as well as those watching the live feed, were encouraged to use Twitter and Facebook to comment on debates and keep up to date with the action. The Conference hashtag on Twitter (#methconf) was used every 14 seconds on average at its peak on July 6, with 540,805 impressions (views) created and #methconf tweets reaching 58,303. During the week of the Conference, the Methodist Media Facebook page was viewed over 9,500 times. Toby Scott, Director of Communications, said: “I’m delighted that so many people were able to participate online, whether they were in Southport or not. We have been using social media and live broadcast to share the Conference with the world for a few years, but this year it all came together beautifully. The heart of Methodist Conference is in being together: praying, worshipping, celebrating and in deliberating on important issues. But through online media we have helped share that worldwide. This only worked because so many people got involved, both those in the office and the hundreds of others contributing online. There’s something wonderfully Methodist about the whole experience – being and staying connected with each other wherever we may be.” The Conference debated major reports on the Big Society, poverty and inequality, climate change and the Anglican-Methodist Covenant . The Conference also elected a new President and Vice-President Designate for 2012/13, the Revd Dr Mark Wakelin and Mr Michael King , who will be inducted as the first items of Conference business at Plymouth in 2012. Conference representatives also expressed their deep gratitude to the Revd Kenneth Howcroft, who is stepping down from his role as Assistant Secretary to the Conference to work as a presbyter at the Ponte St Angelo church in Rome and as Methodist Representative in Rome. Mr Howcroft been Assistant Secretary to the Conference for seven years and will be succeeded by the Revd Gareth Powell. The
Methodist Conference is the governing body of the Methodist Church, which meets
annually to discuss matters affecting the life, work and worship of the Church.
This year it met at the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre, 30 June – 7
July. For more information, visit www.methodistconference.org.uk. 6 July 2011 Big
Society: Engagement not endorsement, says Methodist Church Today
the Methodist Church agreed that, despite many concerns expressed by Methodists
about the Big Society, churches must not walk away from opportunities to serve
their communities. A report to presented to the annual Methodist Conference expressed serious concerns about the Government’s use of the Big Society initiative to justify cuts in public spending.
“We
are already seeing the impact of spending cuts on local charities, hitting the
lives of the most vulnerable and making the changes promised by the Big Society
harder to deliver," said Rachel Lampard, Public Issues Policy Adviser.
"Even if the emphasis on local decision-making and volunteering isn’t a
cynical cover for spending cuts it certainly makes the 'new austerity'
politically possible.”
“Not everyone will be able to join in the Big Society and benefit from its opportunities to the same degree,” continued Ms Lampard. “Communities that lack resilience, confidence, practical and inner resources will be less able to participate, and may end up in competition with more articulate and powerful communities. The Big Society will look very different in Kensington and Chelsea than it will in Kensington, Liverpool. In reality, the Big Society could reinforce the fault lines in an already fractured Britain.”
However, despite these concerns Ms Lampard argued that the Church’s response should not be one of disengagement: “Methodists don’t walk away because things get difficult. We are called to continue engaging, identifying who needs us and who we can work alongside. We are called to live out our faithful, long-term commitment to others. This has to be part of our mission as active followers of Jesus Christ.”
This report recommended that the Methodist Church should to continue to speak publicly about justice, whilst serving its communities locally, nationally and internationally. The Church was also encouraged to continue examining its own practices to ensure that it promotes equality and works towards a society in which all can participate.
The full report can be found online here.
6 July 2011 Tax avoidance impoverishes the vulnerable and is morally unacceptable, says Church Today
the Methodist Church called on the UK government and multinational businesses to
end tax avoidance schemes which impoverish the vulnerable. It claims that as
public services are being cut, the injustice of tax avoidance is becoming more
acute. The
Methodist Conference heard that the Treasury admits to not collecting a record
high of £42 billion in tax in the latest available figures. But independent
analysts estimate the amount of lost tax to be much higher at £120 billion. The
poorest 10% pay a much greater proportion of their income to the Government in
tax than the wealthiest tenth (46% compared to 34%). “Having
a team of expensive lawyers doesn’t absolve you of the moral responsibility to
pay a fair level of tax,” said Paul Morrison, Public Issues Policy Adviser.
“Taxation shouldn’t be a game of strategy where you win by paying the least.
Paying tax is a moral obligation – it is unacceptable to engage in complex
financial arrangements in order to wriggle out of paying your fair share.” Britain’s
20 largest companies between them operate a vast network of over 1,000 offshore
companies, potentially allowing the companies and their clients to avoid huge
sums in tax. The
Methodist Church is adding its voice to the ever-growing number of organisations
demanding tax justice and is supporting Christian Aid’s tax campaign, which
calls on the Government to end tax haven secrecy. The campaign also argues that
multinational companies should be required to publish financial information such
as the profits they make and the taxes they pay for each country in which they
operate. The
Church is also supporting Church
Action on Poverty’s ‘Close the Gap’ campaign, which highlights the
impact of the ‘Tax Gap’ in the UK. “Every pound avoided in tax is a pound less to spend on childcare, social care, health or education,” said Niall Cooper, National Coordinator of Church Action on Poverty. “At a time when spending cuts are having a real and damaging impact on the lives of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country, it is morally indefensible for some of Britain’s richest companies to be avoiding paying their fair share of UK taxes.” The report, entitled Of
Equal Value: Poverty and Inequality in the UK, adopted by the Conference,
also asks all Methodists to examine their own practices to ensure they pay all
the taxes they owe, both legally and morally. 06 July 2011 New Methodist president and vice-president designate elected The Revd Dr Mark Wakelin has been elected president designate of the Methodist Conference for 2012-2013 and Mr Michael King has been elected vice-president designate. The results of the elections were announced at the annual Methodist Conference in Southport today. Dr
Wakelin is described by his nominators as "an inspirational and energetic
speaker who speaks directly to people in ways which they can apply to their own
lives and the Church." He brings to the role of President a wide experience
of circuit ministry, chaplaincy, youth work and strategic leadership. He was
formerly the national secretary of the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs and
is currently Connexional Secretary for Internal Relationships for the Methodist
Church in Britain. He lives in Oakwood with his wife Judith and has three
children and three grandchildren. 05 July 2011
The Rt Hon Lord Mawhinney Kt told the Methodist Conference that the 2012 Games will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for Churches to engage in the largest logistical event in peacetime Britain. Speaking at the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre today, the chairman of More Than Gold backed the Methodist Church’s response to the Olympics and Paralympics. Lord Mawhinney said that next year will provide the single biggest opportunity for people to see what Jesus can do in communities. "The Olympics creates an opportunity for all of us in our communities,” said Lord Mawhinney, former cabinet minister and current Honorary President of the Football League. “It will provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for churches, either separately or together, to serve their local communities thereby witnessing to the power of the Christian Gospel. Next year this country is going to be totally bombarded with sport. The choice is not complicated: either be part of it or barricade yourself off from the rest of the country for a few months. And we don't do barricades as Christians. More Than God’s job is to inspire, encourage and train church workers. We are facilitators. We are going to make it happen.” Ish Lennox, Olympic and Paralympic Coordinator for the Methodist Church, is a member of the More Than Gold executive; the umbrella group for Christian outreach during the Games. “Now is the time for churches to get involved in what’s happening,” she said. “Churches need to appoint a Gold Champion to find out all the latest news and there are lots of resources out there that can help. The Games are an exciting mission and discipleship opportunity that we cannot afford to miss. The Shetland district is already engaged and they are the furthest from any of the Olympic venues – other districts can engage too as the Games take place across the country.” Gold Champions act as a link between More Than Gold and
churches. They receive dedicated eNews updates and invitations to briefings.
People can sign up to become Gold Champions by emailing Games@methodistchurch.org.uk
and find out about resources via the More
Than Gold resources website. 5 July 2011 Rediscover
the joy of sport, say Methodist youth The Methodist Church is being encouraged to rediscover the importance of sport for engaging with young people in their faith and personal development.
Presenting
their report to the annual Conference, the Methodist Youth Assembly, asked the
Church to affirm the role that sporting activity plays in young people’s
lives.
The report was warmly received by the Conference, which agreed to work with young people to develop strategies for promoting and supporting healthy lifestyles in local churches and districts across Great Britain.
The Conference also agreed to make worship leader training more accessible to young people. Presenting the report Youth Assembly representative John Colenutt said: “What better way to say ‘we get young people’ than a young person at the front leading worship? As a local preacher on trial, and a worship leader before that, I feel privileged each time I lead a congregation in worship. But sometimes the training materials, and requirements expected of young people are not relevant or appropriate for them.”
“The young people of the Methodist Church are not passive – we make a massive contribution to its life, mission and worship,” said Christy-Anna Errington, Methodist Youth President. “So we’re really pleased to be able to contribute to the business of the Methodist Conference.”
04 July 2011 Methodists commit to carbon
reduction pledge
The Methodist Conference agreed that failure to acknowledge the urgent need for radical cuts in greenhouse gas emissions was “morally irresponsible” in a statement adopted by the Church today. The statement has been two years in the making. In 2009 a report entitled “Hope in God’s Future” addressed the need to look at climate change within a theological context. Over the past year, British Methodists have been asked about their views on climate change in a Church-wide consultation. Now that the statement has been adopted, it will stand as the official view of the Church and be referred to by key committees, such as the Faith and Order Committee, when deciding on related areas of doctrine. Dr Richard Vautrey, former Vice President of the Methodist Church, said: “The scientific analyses of climate change and the role of human greenhouse gas emissions are well-grounded. It is now morally irresponsible to fail to acknowledge and address the urgent need for radical cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent intolerable damage to human populations and mass extinctions of many plant and animal species.” This week the Church launched a webpage on how to reduce the carbon footprint of small, medium and large churches. The guidance will help to cut the Methodist Church’s carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 in line with Government targets. A report to the Methodist Conference last year revealed that the Methodist Church in Britain has a carbon footprint of around 120,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum for approximately 8,000 of its buildings. The Joint Public Issues Team for the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Baptist Union is lobbying the government on its climate change policy and has called for emissions from international aviation and shipping to be taken into account in international targets. Churches are also encouraged to start up eco-congregations: an environmental programme for local churches in Britain and Ireland. Last week, Nailsea Methodist Church was officially named as an Eco-Congregation after four years of working towards a greener church.
03 July 2011 More than 30,000 Britons transcribe Methodists' Bible Thousands of people across Britain and Northern Ireland have hand transcribed the Bible in the last 12 months, and the final version was presented to the Methodist Conference in Southport this weekend. As part of the 400th year anniversary of the King James Bible, people were invited to join Methodists in handwriting verses from the Scripture. Volunteers joined in from across communities, including prisons, schools, colleges, libraries, nursing homes, airports and shopping centres to copy verses from the NRSV version of the Bible after Methodists voted to transcribe the scripture at their Conference in Portsmouth last year. Revd Lionel Osborn, President of Conference, said: “The hand-written Bible has been a tremendous success. It has enabled people to engage with Scripture at perhaps a slower pace than usual and to really think about what they are copying. For many it has been a deep and enriching experience.” The Methodists’ handwritten Bible, which will be bound in 31 volumes and then tour the country, will also be available to read online on the Deepening Discipleship website. Verses have been written in English, Chinese, Welsh and braille with accompanying illustrations. Revd Jenny Ellis, Co-ordinator of Evangelism, Spirituality and Discipleship, said: “It has been wonderful to see how this project has captured the imaginations of many local churches. Methodists have used it as an opportunity to reach out and work together with people in their communities. The Scriptures were originally passed down through word of mouth and then through handwritten scripts, and so asking people to write out verses is a particularly significant way of valuing Scripture and its life giving words. The King James Bible was a book that changed the lives of many.” The idea to celebrate the year of the Bible with a handwritten version was put forward by Daniella Fetuga-Joensuu from the London District at last year’s Methodist conference. Revd Jenny Ellis drew up guidelines for the 31 Methodist districts, enabling them to organise the project as creatively as possible in their regions. The guidelines included advice on how to organise scriptoriums or writing “sit-outs” in public places. A scriptorium outside Westminster Central Hall attracted so many people that participants were limited to writing one word per verse. Some churches filmed their scriptoriums and posted them on You Tube. The handwritten Bible – a project that cost £3,500 in total – also travelled through Durham and Frankland prisons. Janet Deakin, an administrator at Methodist Church House in London, wrote her verses in braille. “I have a version of the Bible in braille,” said Jan. “It is made up of 35 volumes and they sit on two shelves of my bookcase at home. I also have five versions of the Bible on my braille sense machine.”
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