Virtual Methodist

This morning I'm off to a meeting with mixed feelings... It breaks my heart that I have to go to it at all, but it is  also a wee ray of hope against a fairly bleak background. The background is created by an economic environment where people are facing mounting debts and are facing the choice of feeding or clothing their families, or heating their homes, and where small charities that have been seeking to help such people, such as our own Dundonald Family and Community Initiative, are having to fold due to lack of sustainable funding. So much for the BIG society... The ray of hope comes in the form of community food pantries... I first came across such ventures in the US on various fact-finding tours including one 5 years ago with a group of church leaders and civil servants under the auspices of CCWA, where we visited programmes in Pittsburgh and Washington DC. Many of us were impressed with what we saw but roundly dismissed the need for such ventures in the UK with our much va...

On Thursday the First Lady Michelle Obama became what a number of British copywriters called the " First DinnerLady " as she took time to help out at Miriam's Kitchen , a not-for-profit food pantry in northwest Washington DC. It reminded me of the tour I led last year to the US as part of CCWA's "Unlocking the Potential" programme, which seeks to show church leaders what they might be able to do for the local community, taking them to visit faith-based initiatives that are operating in a context where the division between church and state is constitutionally reinforced, unlike here where there is much more opportunity for collaboration between the faith and public sector. I led a team to Pittsburgh, while my colleague led one to DC. Both teams visited programmes similar to Miriam's Kitchen, and both were amazed by what they did, as well as by the need for such programmes in the richest nation on earth. We all reflected that inspiring though they were, th...

OK... I have breathed repeatedly into a brown paper bag before this one... but my head is still on the verge of exploding... As a number of faithful readers may have guessed by now, there are any number of things that will send me into a spiral of barely contained rage... Including organisations who sell programmes and packages to churches as the answer to all their possible needs in a particular area... A tendency that owes more to the franchising movement of the commercial world, than to scripture... It produces fads and fashions in ministry and mission... Alpha... Christianity Explored... Cafe Church... Fresh Expressions... Seeker Sensitive Services... Purpose Driven Whatevers... Most of these are great in their own right... And sensitively used can contribute to local mission... But they need to be carefully contextualised... Alpha, developed for the beautiful people of the dinner-party set around Knightsbridge and Chelsea, needs to be appropriately tailored for working class Bally...

Last night found me and my family eating sloppy burritos with friends before taking a dip in their pool and then sitting and chatting on their deck in nothing more than a tee shirt and swim shorts. Slightly different from my normal 11th night of recent years which has involved walking around the local bonfires and chatting to people in various states of intoxication. But that was not the only dramatic contrast with home yesterday. During the day Sally and I also went on a tour of 3 social engagement programmes/programs of Methodist origin... Community House , a family support centre in south west Grand Rapids, and both NECOM and SECOM (the North End and South End Community Outreach Ministries respectively). The former programme could have been any one of a hundred similar ones back home (although much better thought through and professional than most... but then they have been around for over a hundred years, giving them time to get their act together.) However, the two Community Outre...

On arriving at Faith UMC in Grand Rapids I was delighted to see that the tag-line for the Congregation, proclaimed on 2 beautiful banners outside the front doors, is: Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors. Certainly a sentiment I want to endorse. But it reminded me of a recent experience when I was asked to do a presentation for an congregation in north Belfast about Church, Community and Change , a Bible-based community engagement programme developed by Tearfund UK and administered by CCWA (NI). It must be said that the congregation I had been invited to, are already doing a good job of reaching out to their local community in a very difficult area. They have already established an independent Community Charity, but I was struck by its name: Open Doors Limited. In the United Kingdom any organisation which has that wee word “Limited” in its title is an incorporated body with specific rules governing its activities and the liabilities of its board of directors, protecting them from the i...

Have gone dark over the past two weeks because I was changing over my computer and working silly hours trying to clear the decks for a study trip I'm leading for CCWA and the Dept. of Social Development to Pittsburgh, USA next week looking at the state of the Faith-Based community sector there. Don't quite know whether I'm looking forward to it or not... Still have heaps to sort out before I go... But I plan to blog daily when I am over there... Whether anyone else reads them or not, it will at least help me to process my thoughts... So... next time I type something here, it will hopefully be from the home of the brave and the land of the freedom fries...

Recently had a bizarre and very full week. From Saturday 10th November through to Sunday 18th my church, Dundonald Methodist, worked with the other 2 main churches in Ballybeen, namely St. Mary's Church of Ireland and Christ Church Presbyterian, on an evangelistic outreach programme, which we called "Connect". It was underpinned by the idea of the 3 churches 'connecting' together, to 'connect' with the wider community and encourage people to 'connect' with God. You get the picture. We were supported in this by 3 evangelists: Roger Murphy, from Through Faith Missions , Paul Hoey of CPAS and Paul Woodman, an illusionist who is also a pastor in City Life Church in Southampton. There were a range of events in different venues around the estate all week, reaching out to all ages and interests, a men's health event, a seniors' tea dance, an evening of salsa aerobics for women, a beach party for teens (which is a novel idea for Ballybeen in the ...