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September 2007
27 September 2007
Encircled in Care:
helping those who help others
Encircled in Care is
a resource for all those who care for others. Produced in
partnership between the Methodist Church and charity MHA, it is designed to
train, empower and enable pastoral visitors and all who offer care and support
in the church and community.
It offers practical, up-to-date ideas and
accessible resources that can help pastoral carers to seek ‘life in all its
fullness’ for the whole church.
The pack contains three foundation sessions,
focussing on why we care, skills needed in our caring and the development of
good practice. There are nine issue-based sessions, covering some of the
situations that pastoral visitors might need to respond to or be involved with,
including mental health issues, loss and bereavement and pastoral care across
the generations.
The Revd Dr Keith Albans, Director of
Chaplaincy and Spirituality for MHA, says; “The quality of our caring is a
sign of God’s love and witness to others that Christians have something
distinctive to offer a broken world that needs healing and reconciliation.
Encircled in Care challenges us
and offers the tools with which to fulfil that calling.”
Additional sessions and resources will be
made available on the Methodist Church website (www.methodist.org.uk
<http://www.methodist.org.uk>).
The pack also contains a CD-ROM with PowerPoint presentations of each session,
as well as the text of handouts and prayers.
“As Christians, we’re called to care
for one another and for our communities as the body of Christ,” says the Revd
Michaela Youngson, Secretary for Pastoral Care and Spirituality for the
Methodist Church, “All in the Church are involved in the health of that body
and we hope that Encircled in Care
helps people to explore the many issues involved in pastoral care and to develop
their skills.”
Encircled in Care
is available from MPH at the price of £16.99 (plus postage):
18 September
On the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the
Mine Ban Treaty the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Baptist
Union of Great Britain call on the UK Government to end their use of cluster
bombs by UK forces. The churches are also asking the Foreign Secretary David
Miliband to actively support an international treaty to ban such weapons.
Cluster bombs are air or ground launched devices
that scatter smaller bombs (or submunitions) over a large area. The submunitions
that fail to explode pose a unique threat to civilians. These unexploded bombs
effectively create minefields and maim and kill children or adults who disturb
them later on. In the two months after the conflict between Israel and
Hezbollah, three or four civilians were killed, on average, every day by
unexploded cluster bombs. On average, a child died each day as a result of these
weapons.
Moderator of the General Assembly of the United
Reformed Church, the Revd Dr Stephen Orchard, says; “Cluster bombs kill and
maim civilians indiscriminately and go on killing long after the fighting has
stopped. The coming year provides us with a unique opportunity to strengthen
international humanitarian law and to provide improved protection for civilians
during and after conflict.”
Earlier this year, the Government committed to
the Oslo Process - a new international process to agree a treaty on cluster
bombs - and has withdrawn two types of cluster bombs from its stockpiles.
But the Revd David Deeks, General Secretary of
the Methodist Church, says there is still much more to be done; “Important
progress has been made, but that’s no reason to stop now. The UK still retains
other types of cluster bomb, which are just as inhumane and leave behind a
deadly legacy. It’s time for the Government to act on the promises made
earlier this year and show that it means business.”
The Churches have also published campaign
information online with advice on how people can take action, from emailing the
Foreign Secretary or writing to their MP to getting others to take action.
Jonathan Edwards, General Secretary of the
Baptist Union of Great Britain, says; “This resource is a great starting point
for anyone interested in getting these terrible weapons banned for good.
Everyone can do something to make a difference, whether they have just two
minutes of time to spare, or twenty minutes.”
Notes
1. The
cluster munitions resource is available online at http://www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/clustermunitions
2.
The churches are supporting Landmine
Action’s campaign “Get them Milibanned”,
directed at the Foreign Secretary. For more information, visit http://www.landmineaction.org
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BOLTON
AND ROCHDALE METHODIST
DISTRICT