North Western Synod Website update As you will know from Brian’s earlier letter, the Synod website is undergoing a redesign. A temporary site which provides advice on the current situation is now live at www.nwsynod.org.uk Work is underway on the new permanent site and this is planned for launch by the end of June. Coronavirus Update I hope you have found the recent updates from the Synod helpful. We are planning a further good news publication next week, and we intend that this will become a regular part of our communications with you. Please let one of the Mentors know if you have something from your church that you would like to be shared in a future Good News booklet. I also wanted to draw your attention to a number of recent updates that have been published on the URC’s national website. Media and Technology A short guide to using Zoom securely https://urc.org.uk/ images/Communications/docs/Using-Zoom-securely.pdf Using Instagram https://urc.org.uk/images/Communications/docs/ Setting_up_an_Instagram_account.pdf 1 01 May 2020 Page 1 Website update Page 1 & 2 Coronavirus update Page 2 Online Organ Concert from Albion Page 3 Support for Missional Partnerships in the South Area Page 4 & 5 Support for Missional Partnerships in the Lancashire Area Page 6 & 7 Support for Missional Partnership in the Central Area Page 8 Children's and Youth Work - news and resources from your ‘ CYDO, Leo Roberts Page 9, 10 & 11 Feedback from the Gen- eral Assembly Mission Committee, February 2020 Newsletter
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North Western Synod
Website update As you will know from Brian’s earlier letter, the Synod website is undergoing a redesign. A temporary site which provides advice on the current situation is now live at www.nwsynod.org.uk Work is underway on the new permanent site and this is planned for launch by the end of June.
Coronavirus Update
I hope you have found the recent updates from the Synod
helpful.
We are planning a further good news publication next week,
and we intend that this will become a regular part of our
communications with you. Please let one of the Mentors
know if you have something from your church that you would
like to be shared in a future Good News booklet.
I also wanted to draw your attention to a number of recent updates that have been published on the URC’s national website.
Media and Technology
A short guide to using Zoom securely https://urc.org.uk/
Remember that a weekly “families on faith adventures” activity pack is available
for download from https://urc.org.uk/resources-for-children-and-youth
And finally if you don’t currently subscribe to Reform the URC’s monthly
magazine this is available for free during the current period. More information is
available at https://www.reform-magazine.co.uk/2020/04/read-reform-for-free/
Mike Hart
Interim Synod Clerk
Online Organ Concert from Albion
Please see the link to the online concert, Albion’s Organist Derek arranged with Jonathan Scott. https://youtu.be/YOx9YplJmf4 David Hey Albion Secretary
Support Missional Partnerships in the South of our Synod There are a number of Zoom orientated opportunities to stay connected and Informed: Our Zoom into Step Wise Group meets every other Tuesday night! If you are keen to reflect on, and develop your Christian faith, ready to be stimulated and challenged, and want to make a difference in your own life and the lives of others, then Stepwise is what you’re looking for. We will meet as a group every Fortnight and between meetings you will have your own personal access to the stepwise learning hub allowing you to complete individual reflections and learning Our weekly coffee mornings gather every Wednesday at 11.00am There will be an opportunity to share ideas and God inspired new approaches.
If you fancy popping in then all you have to do is send an email to [email protected] telling us you want an invite and we will send you easy to follow instructions.
Pentecost prayers begin 25 may to the 31 may at 11.00am A time to come together for thirty minutes to pray for our churches, community and world. Elders training on the 1
st, 8
th and 15th June from 10.30 -12.00
An opportunity led by all three Mission Mentors to explore Elders hip, its meaning and practical skills. For more details and for a Zoom link for any of these activities do not hesitate to get in touch with your Mission Mentor Dave Fraser.
Details – This will be an online training on Zoom, for 10 am to midday on May 18
th, technical support can be offered
Support for Missional Partnerships in the Central Area
Virtual Coffee Breaks – Fellowship and prayer (bring your own tea or coffee!) Rochdale, Bury and North Manchester Partnership Wednesdays 10.30am Bolton and Salford Partnership Thursdays 10.00am Oldham and Tameside Partnership Fridays 10.00 am Please contact Darren for the Zoom link for your partnership
Thy Kingdom Come – Creative Prayer for all ages Every day at 6pm (via Zoom) from Thursday May 21
st
(Ascension) to Sunday May 31st (Pentecost).
A great way to explore prayer together as church family! Everyone welcome.
What is an Elder? Understanding spirituality and leadership The Elder’s as a ‘dream team’! Exploring the Bible, models of eldership and ministry and thinking consistently about pastoral care for ourselves, our churches and all those we come into contact with – in particular thinking about our current situation. The mission mentors invite you to come and share together as we explore this increasingly vital role in our churches. Spaces are limited so please contact your Mission Mentor for more details: Lancashire – [email protected] Central – [email protected] South - [email protected] More sessions to come soon including Nuts and bolts – trusteeship and governance
Children's and Youth Work - news and resources from your CYDO, Leo Roberts
Families On Faith Adventures. This material has been produced by your friendly neighbourhood CYDO+ team (that's Leo and his colleagues) to help families continue in their faith development whilst on lockdown. A new session, with new material, is being produced each week. If you would like to receive this material as it is produced, please contact Leo and he will email it to you and, if families you know would like the material sent directly to them, ask them to email Leo on [email protected] Virtual Gathered Youth Group. Every Tuesday evening at 7pm young people from across the synod meet together on Zoom for a virtual youth group session. We play games, have discussions and check how everyone is. The sessions, which last about an hour, are for secondary school age young people. If you are aware of a young person in your church who might like to get involved please ask them, or their parent/carer to contact Leo on [email protected]. Leo and his colleagues have also produced a resource for helping you to help children and young people who have been bereaved. If you think a copy of the material would be useful in your ministry, please contact Leo on [email protected]
We give thanks for the work of our mission partners through the Council for World Mission. Lumen URC and the Taiwanese Fellowship in Lumen, London are blessed by the ministry of the Revd Yufen Chen from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Ms Alison Gibbs, who is working with the United Church of Zambia, recently moved to a school in a different part of the country to take up the post of Head Teacher. Even in the short time that she has been in the new place she has made a significant impact. Please pray for the work of our Partners in Mission, both in the UK and overseas, and the people they are working with. 2. Legacies of slavery
Discussions about the legacies of transatlantic slavery are continuing and the action plan from the Legacies of Slavery task group was discussed and accepted. A paper and the action plan will now be discussed further at the Mission Council meeting in March.
3. Commitment for Life
Commitment for Life, the URC’s global justice programme, is a way in which local congregations can participate in actions for justice around the world. The ‘look’ of Commitment for life has been updated in line with the new URC logo and now features on the resources, posters, giving boxes and communications. We are pleased to report greater engagement with Commitment for Life on the part of local churches. If you are interested in supporting Commitment for Life, and in particular our four partner regions, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Central America, then visit the URC website (www.urc.org.uk) or contact Suzanne Pearson on [email protected].
Please pray for the Commitment for Life staff and advocates, and the peoples of the areas covered by the programme (Bangladesh, Central America, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Zimbabwe).
Feedback from the General Assembly Mission Committee,
4. Visit to Israel-Palestine A group of 22 people from the URC visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (IOPT) in September 2019. The visit has resulted in an enthusiastic, committed fresh cohort of people who between them have already delivered more than 100 presentations across the denomination. The visit was in response to a 2016 General Assembly resolution mandating Mission Committee ‘to enable synods, local churches and individuals to become more aware and to respond with informed prayer, grace and solidarity.’ If your church would like someone from the group to come and talk about the visit, please contact Marion Tugwood ([email protected]) or Derek Estill. If your church or a group you know of is planning to visit the Holy Land, why not watch the FODIP (Forum for the Discussion of Israel and Palestine) film ‘Walking the Tightrope’ in preparation? You can order a copy here. Kevin Snyman, who was part of the September 2019 visit, made a number of films which can be found here. Please pray for the representatives who participated in the visit, the people they visited in Israel and Palestine, and the ongoing work towards peace in the region.
5. Interfaith day Are you interested in interfaith matters but don’t know where to start? Do you live in or near Yorkshire? Then why not join the Interfaith Day for local churches, aimed at giving easy first steps in meeting neighbours of other faiths. The day will take place on Saturday 14 March, 11.00 am to 3.30pm near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. The event is free of charge and will include a free lunch. For more information or to reserve a place, email Carole Sired ([email protected]). Did you know we have an Interfaith Fund for small grants for local churches? For more details contact Carole Sired
6. Greenbelt 2020 A URC team is planning its contribution to this summer’s festival, which will take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The theme of the URC’s programme will be ‘Revolting Christians’, linking with Greenbelt’s theme ‘Wild at Heart’. The planning team is now looking for volunteers. If you are interested, please apply by 23 March. They also need people to craft Christian symbols to be displayed in the URC tent and to nominate Revolting Christians. They would also like to see more URC congregations attending Greenbelt. Help and advice for first timers is available. Contact Samara Andrews on [email protected] for further information about any of the above.
If you have a new MP, why not invite them to your church to get to know them and begin to build a positive relationship. For support and resources, visit www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/MeetYourMP The return of JPIT’s Living Lent campaign. You are invited to become part of a community responding to the call to climate action by making a significant personal commitment to a lifestyle change during Lent. This could be going meat-free, giving up single use plastics, or taking up an alternative form of transport. Find out more and sign up at www.livinglent.org
8. Rural Mission
The situation of farmers continues to be challenging, with suicide among farmers being a particular concern. The Farming Community Network can be a lifeline. Can synods please put a weblink on their synod webpage? www.fcn.org.uk
Rural Mission Sunday will be on Sunday 19 July this year and further details can be found at: www.germinate.net/mission/rural-mission-sunday/rural-mission-sunday Please pray for members of the farming community and those who work to support them.
9. Secretary for Global and Intercultural Ministries
We said thanks and goodbye to the Revd Dr Michael Jagessar, who moved on in mid-February from his role as Secretary for Global and Intercultural Ministries to take up a role at CWM.
Since the meeting, a new Secretary for Global and Intercultural Ministries has
been appointed from 1 April. This is Karen Campbell, who is a Church Related
Community Worker and who brings many years of strong experience in that
area to the role. Karen has also been involved in many of the Global and Inter-
cultural networks, such as Racial Justice Advocates, Black and Minority Ethnic
Ministers and CRCWs and the network of BAME women, Cascades of Grace.
Karen represented the URC in the work the Council for World Mission is doing
on the Legacies of Transatlantic Slavery and she is part of the task group that
is taking that work forward in the URC. Karen is currently co-editor of the URC
