Gloucestershire Circuit of the Methodist Church

Prayers

We ask you to remember in your prayers this week the worship, work and witness of the congregation at Pillowell.

Fairford United Church

A celebration of the Psalms – 12th to 19th September 2010

Flower Display & Events Schedule Sunday 12th 10:00 Service and Shared Lunch Tuesday 14th 10:00 - 12:00

2:00 - 4:00

7:00 - 9:00 Study the Psalms

Reflective time and craft activities

Reflective time and craft activities Wednesday 15th 10:00 - 12:00 Chapel open to view flowers Friday 17th 10:00 - 12:00

12:30 - 3:00

7:00 - 9:30 Toddler Group

Chapel open to view flowers

Supper Fellowship (Please book)

Speaker: Alison Thislethwaite Saturday 18th 10:00 - 3:00 Chapel open to view flowers

With refreshments & light lunches Sunday 19th 10:00

6:00 Morning Worship

Psalms and Praise Service

Donations will be shared between Christian Aid (Goat Aid they don’t do Lambs!) and Chapel Funds.

For more information or to book Supper Fellowship contact: Rosie Emmerson on 01451-844656 or Peter Bennett on 01285-750479

Parent/Carers' and Toddlers Leader for Christ Church, Tetbury.

3 hours per week, Friday mornings at Christ Church, The Chipping, Tetbury.

Leave and Bank Holidays pro rata.

Experience of working with children and managing volunteers desirable. Informal discussion tel Brian Cook 01454 238357 or Rev James Taylor 01285 641715.

Application form from Methodist Circuit Office, Northgate Hall, St John’s Lane, Gloucester GL1 2AN, tel 01452 415769, email gloscircuit1@btconnect.com. Closing date Sunday 5th September.'

Mission

James Rowley has recently returned from Sri Lanka where he and his wife Revd Rosemary Fletcher have been working as Mission Partners for the past 5 years. During that time they have been linked directly to the Bristol District and have valued our prayers and support. James will be addressing the Circuit Assembly on the afternoon of Sunday 10th October and would welcome the opportunity to speak at one of our churches in the morning. If any

church can make use of him on that morning please contact Jerry Barr (their District mission link) on 01242 244785 or email: barrs@jerrysue .co.uk

Bethesda Methodist Church, Great Norwood Street ,Cheltenham

Bethesda Methodist Church in Cheltenham has been granted its third national Eco-award and become only the 3rd church in England to receive this honour. Since collecting its first award in 2003, followed by a 2nd in 2008 the church has continued to develop its environmental programme and is widely known as an “eco-church”. The independent assessment was carried out by Climate Change & Transition Town campaigner Jerry Barr and Rev Dr Simon

Topping - founder and director of the Green Cross Coop. Simon will present the award plaque at a special service on October 10th.

Congratulations on achieving a 3rd Award have been received from Jonathon Porritt - former Chair of the Government Sustainability Panel and Director of Forum for the Future and local MP Martin Horwood.

“Some organisations describe sustainability as ‘a never-ending journey” writes Jonathon –“and that’s just how it must feel to the Bethesda Community! But three national awards in eight years provides telling recognition of the extraordinary commitment (and creativity) of church members. So the message here is simple: keep lifting up your eyes not just to the hills, but to the solar panels too!”

“This is a fantastic achievement by Bethesda” said Martin. “Their third Eco-award reinforces their green credentials and sets a great example for other community organisations who want to help create a cleaner greener country with more renewable energy and less waste.”

A small group from the church met with the assessors, who were impressed that issues of environment and sustainability were being integrated into all aspects of church life. Reports were heard that Bethesda's environmental concerns had affected lifestyle choices, with members being encouraged to reduce their personal carbon footprint by recycling more, campaigning against excessive packaging, reducing car travel by walking and cycling where appropriate, and offsetting flights. One member of the group explained that he had also sought to encourage his business clients to become more environmentally friendly in their approach.

Since signing up to the Eco-Congregation Award scheme in 2000, Bethesda has sold almost £20,000 worth of fair-trade goods, it runs a regular “Traidgreen” stall, and has been formally recognised as a FairTrade church. It has distributed 1000s of low energy light bulbs, extended the recycling programme to cover 9 different items, started its own carbon offset scheme, paid for a solar hot water system for an AIDS orphanage in South Africa and provided public showings of films on the subject of climate change.

The Environment Agency asked a panel of experts to come up with the most important actions we could all take to “save the planet”. The second of their 50 recommendations read as follows: “It is time the world’s faith groups took a lead in reminding us that we have a duty to restore and maintain the ecological balance of the planet”. Bethesda has played a

leadership role on environmental issues for the best part of a decade and has been described as a “beacon church”. It is now actively sharing its considerable knowledge and experience and encouraging other churches to do likewise.

Links to download this report and the Consultation response form can be found on the front page of Bethesda's website.

Spirit of Peace

Dear Friends,

Just an informal "nudge" to say the next Spirit of Peace meetings are on:

Monday 6th September at 7pm at Friendship Cafe, Barton Street, Gloucester.

As it is Ramadan we shall hear from three people about what Fasting means from the Muslim, Jew and Christian perspectives.

On Thursday 7th October at 7pm in the Gloucester City Council Chamber at the North Warehouse of the Docks, Gloucester.

Stories 4 Peace As part of their UK tour we welcome Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, a spiritual teacher, author, and scholar of Islamic writers including Rumi and Ibn Arab, together with Jewish musician and story-teller, Chana Yaffe (www.stories4peace.org ).

They will be sharing their cultural traditions of storytelling, together with other participatory arts, to bring multifaith and cultural groups together around the important themes of peace and reconciliation.

Admission is free, however donations are invited for the work of Spirit of Peace.

The November Bring & Share is on Monday 29th at 7pm in the Friendship Cafe, Barton Street, Gloucester. More details to follow.

Enjoy the rest of the Summer and see you on 6th September.

David

Gloucestershire Coordinator

Spirit of Peace

The Methodist Relief and Development Fund

Methodists respond to Pakistan emergency

With over 1,400 people dead and three million people affected after heavy flooding in Pakistan, the Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) and the Methodist Church are supporting efforts to help the survivors.

There are fears that the number of casualties and homeless will rise as rescuers gain access to hard-to-reach areas where roads were destroyed. Initial aerial pictures show that whole

villages have been washed away. There are also concerns that diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea will spread as there is a limited supply of clean water.

MRDF has set up an emergency fund and donations will be channelled through its partner Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, which is responding to some of the immediate needs. This includes providing food and temporary shelter to some of the most vulnerable communities, as well as setting up mobile health clinics.

In an appeal for help, the Bishop of Peshawar, Rt Revd Humphrey Peters, said: “The monsoon rains have caused havoc all over Pakistan, but the Khyber Pakhtunkwa province has been hit hard by the floods. Thousands of villages are under water and hundreds of people are

either dead or missing. All road links within the Province have been cut down, relief workers are trying to reach through boats or on foot.”

In response the World Mission Fund has agreed to send an immediate grant of £15,000 to the Diocese, which has launched an emergency Relief and Rescue programme for more than 1300 families affected by the floods. The Diocese is putting all its efforts into reaching those still stranded by the floods and proving affected families with food.

World Church Partnership Coordinator Steve Pearce said: “The Church of Pakistan, which is a united church, is doing its utmost to minister to as many people as it can. The Christian community is a small minority in Pakistan and is heartened by our prompt support and most of all by our prayer. We ask people to pray for all those affected by this disaster, for safety and for their needs to be met.” A special prayer for use by churches and individuals is available online here.

Simeon Mitchell, MRDF’s Fundraising Director, said: “This is the worst flooding Pakistan has experienced in over 70 years, and has affected a region already dealing with poverty and conflict. The immediate priorities are getting people to places of safety and trying to prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases. In the long term, restoring the communities and livelihoods swept away by the floods will be a major challenge. Donations to our appeal will help alleviate some of the suffering in the short term, and empower people to begin rebuilding their lives.”

To donate to MRDF’s emergency fund, visit www.mrdf.org.uk, or call 020 7224 4814 to give by debit or credit card or by a cheque made payable to 'MRDF (Pakistan emergency)' and sent to MRDF, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR.

Taxpayers are encouraged to gift aid their donations where possible, adding 28p to every pound they give, at no extra personal cost.

Racial Justice Sunday

Dear Friends in Christ,

We are happy to announce that the 12th September 2010 Racial Justice Sunday resources are now on our website.

As some of you now know, this year’s theme is Migration: Building Bridges or Barriers? The inspiration for this theme was derived from the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME) in recognition of the centenary anniversary of the World Missionary Conference which first took place in 1910 and was marked by the world churches in Edinburgh in June this year. The key focus of the resources is the question in Luke 10:29 ‘Who is my neighbour?’

This year’s resources were produced by CTBI Racial Justice Network and the Catholic Association for Racial Justice and can be downloaded on our website via this link http://www.ctbi.org.uk/490; as a complete pack or in individual sections.

Having said all these, we sincerely apologise for the late release of the resources. Please know that we know and understand the importance of making this and indeed all our other resources available in good time for your use. With your continued support, we hope and pray for improvement in the future.

We do hope that you will find the 2010 Racial Justice Sunday Resources as valuable as we have and please do not hesitate to let us know if you need any assistance along the way.

Once more, apologies for the late release of the resources.

With every blessing for a lovely and restful summer.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Akinyode

Churches Together in Britain & Ireland (CTBI)

39 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1BX

Tel: +44 (0) 207 901 4891 Fax: +44 (0) 207 901 4894

Email: Victoria.Akinyode@ctbi.org.uk

General Email: info@ctbi.org.uk

Web: www.ctbi.org.uk

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The Methodist Circuit of Gloucestershire

Circuit Office Address: Northgate Hall, St. John’s Lane, Gloucester, GL1 2AT

Telephone: 01452 415769 Email: gloscircuit1@btconnect.com