On this page you will find out about some of the European links that came out of this year s Methodists for World Mission conference at Swanwick and some of the individual projects that local Southampton District churches are supporting. If you want to add to this page please get in touch with me Rev Les Judd, my email is at the bottom of the page Methodist for World Mission Conference. Each year Methodists for World Mission (MWM) have a conference at Swanwick in Derbyshire. I have been to the last three. The first was on Africa, the second on the Caribbean which I enjoyed because it refreshed some of my own memories of working there. This year it was about mission in Europe. I have to confess that I was not overly excited by the idea of mission in Europe, thinking that I already knew so much about the continent on which I live. However, through the seminars that I attended and the keynote speakers, I found how woefully ignorant I am about the work of the church in Europe. Our times of worship were led by the Bishop Sifredo Teixeira of the Portuguese Methodist Church and a young people s musical group from one of the churches in the northern part of Portugal. They used their traditional style of music which was very uplifting and gave us an insight into their regular worship. The evening prayers were led by Reverend Nicola Vidamore who has spent several years working with the Methodist Church in Russia and so used icons to help us reflect on our own spirituality. The first keynote speaker was Dr Helena Vilaca a sociologist from Portugal who spoke about religious commitment across Europe. She was looking at it from a sociologist s point of view. She used power point to explain which countries might be considered to be the most religious in Europe and which the least. She spoke about secularisation and the impact it had on the church right across Europe. She also spoke about the diminishing influence the church had in the political arena of Europe. However, she insisted, decline was not inevitable. Growth, both spiritual and numerical could be achieved if we were willing to speak in the market place about faith issues. She was adamant the gospel can compete with secularism and she insisted that the church needs to engage in the debate about justice, freedom and the purpose of life. Reverend Alistair Redfern, the Anglican Bishop of Derby (a second keynote speaker), serves on a parliamentary committee for Europe and he had a very interesting take on what he thought was uniquely part of the DNA of Europe, ever since Paul s vision and call to come over to Macedonia. He traced a thought that ran through the exchange of ideas between nations. Such discussion identified differences. Differences needed to be resolved. Historical differences often broke into war before some sort of resolution was found, though he said, that was not inevitable. The process then moved on toward mutual development. The European Union is a product of this and even a model for others to follow. He went on to suggest that the DNA of the gospel with its reconciling power brings hope into every endeavour. It is this hope we need to be confident about and proclaim. Again the business of confidence and holding our own in the market place of ideas was stressed as something for which we should strive.
There were a variety of seminars after these key note addresses, which ranged from looking at issues that are affecting Europe, to lobbying our European MP. One of the tasks that I was given was to write up the responses to the weekend. All the responses seemed to appreciate the clarity in the key note addresses with their call to be more confident in proclaiming the good news in the public arena and the encouragement everyone received as the European Methodist Church exchanged ideas and learned from each other. The thought presently resonating in church life and strongly packaged in this conference is the confidence to proclaim the gospel in word and action thereby allowing the gospel to compete with secular ideas and other faith traditions Local church mission initiatives in the Southampton District. The extent of the commitment of the Southampton District to missions becomes clearer when looked at on a wider map. It is right to assume that each church continues to support missions at home and overseas in a variety of ways. Sometimes this is through special donations and sometimes through the regular work of the church. Several churches replied to the invitation relating how they are engaged in partnering overseas work either with individuals or projects. Some emphasise that their contact with the overseas project grew out of a visit to that nation. Seeing a need they became involved and set up a charity to meet the need. Others support overseas work because of personal knowledge of a mission partner who has gone to work alongside a receiving church, education or health establishment. Still others mention their links through the Methodist Church or LEP church. I am glad that some responses not only mention financial support, but prayer support. We must not forget that people witness to the tangible encouragement they receive knowing that people are praying for them at home. Paddy Coles from Broadstone,Poole writes about the Matthew Rusike Children's Home in Zimbabwe. My wife and I, plus two friends went to the home and worked with the children briefly in 1995, when Zimbabwe was relatively peaceful. At that time the home which is part of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, received Government financial assistance for each child. When we returned to the U.K. we met with four other couples who had been to the home and decided to raise a few pounds to give the children a treat at Christmas. Thus we raised 1,000 in the first year, 2,000 in the second and 4,000 in the third. Then the Government funding ceased and we felt we had to do more. So we started a Charity called The Friends of Matthew Rusike Children's Home and in the last 13 years have raised around 1 million. Currently I send US$6,000 every month and only send a further remittance once I have received acknowledgement of receipt. Subsequent to setting up our charity, the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe have adopted our name for the Methodist Church's child care outreach in Zimbabwe, and now has helped as many as 7,000 children over a period of time. This is only a drop in the ocean as there are as many as 1 million orphans in Zimbabwe. A few years ago the Southampton District Network made us their project for a year. You can look us up on the website.
Also at Broadstone Roger Jackson writes, we support the Karibuni Trust with its work in Kenya. We also remember in our prayers Catherine Allen who is working in South Korea, but it is not an official Methodist appointment. Poole Methodists have a growing number of members from the Philippines within the congregation. This connection stems from Tala Methodist United Church in Manila. Rev. Frazer Smith writes, Last year, I had the chance to visit the church in order to better understand the work which they do caring for individuals and their families who have been affected by leprosy. This work includes operating a school as well as supporting a sewing cooperative. I am now preparing to share my experiences at a circuit service which is being organized by the Circuit Missions Committee. Weymouth Methodist church.. Peter Philp writes, We are involved with a school in Kenya. My wife and I went to Kenya on vacations and whilst there visited a school, it s name is Barani. It is about 15km north of Mombasa. It was obvious to us they were in need. They had no electricity. We shocked the local bank by drawing out sufficient money there and then (emptied their cash machine!) to bring electric to the school. Since then we have been raising money by various methods and are more than half way through paying for a block of 2 classrooms which will be the "High School" for the area...thus avoiding a long trek to the next nearest high school. At the moment the pupils have to board at great cost. WeyBay Church is very much involved. Many of our members donate to all regularly at the events put on for the charity. Not so long ago the ladies did catering for a wedding and all proceeds went to Barani. In the past I have been with a local preacher to other churches and talked about Barani. Most of our local churches are aware of the work we continue to do with the school.. Hambledon chapel Meon Valley We are only a small (but prayerfully growing) fellowship at Hambledon Methodist chapel but we do try to do our part in supporting overseas work. Currently we: support the Barnabas Fund through prayer and financial giving, and we have also asked them to preach at our monthly Prayer and Praise services support Maoz Israel through prayer and financial giving, and we have also asked them to preach at our monthly Prayer and Praise services sponsor a teacher at the Prospect Christian School in Ibadan, Nigeria support through exchange of ministers (Jan Zadic) and prayer the United Methodist Church at Jihlava in the Czech Republic support through prayer and visits to the UK the exiled Iranian preacher Siamak Aminmansour support Mercy Ships through prayer and financial giving pray continually for the suffering church as part of our Sunday services and our weekly prayer meetings In addition we are considering a new initiative to support a gospel church in Karachi, Pakistan. Waltham Chase Meon Valley. We are not in contact with a specific church overseas but here is the list of the missions that we support. I do have news from them all from time to time and do a
missionary newsletter for the church. We also send them a gift once a year and we have a missionary prayer meeting once a month. Tim and Tricia Barrow SIM Johannesburg Jonathan and Lupita Morton OMS Regalla Aid Sri Lanka Medical Missionary News. Mission Outreach - supporting pastors in the rural areas of Zimbabwe and widows and orphans. Tear Fund Gate Christian Fellowship - Southampton under the covering of Life Church Southampton. Hart Plain Church We have an informal link with the Anglican Church in Tanzania, but specifically we help to support Paul and Christine Salaman through CMS, as Link Missionaries in Dodoma, Tanzania. Paul works at the University in Dodoma, and Christine works in the Mission and Evangelism Department of the Church in Tanzania. This link is maintained by the Mission Team, but particularly, Dorothy Oliver. And we have too, an informal link with the Church in India and we support Harvest India. This link is maintained again by the Mission Team, but particularly by Sue Slack and Sarah Taylor, who have been to India. You may wish to know that the Mission Team has a budget supported by 10% of the Church's giving and finance the above links through that budget in the case of the Salamans and in part in the case of Harvest India. We support about 20 other Christian organisations on any one year through the budget. Drayton United Church - LEP URC and Methodist: We don't have a link with an overseas church but do with a school in Zambia whose headmistress, Alison Gibbs, is a church member. St. Mark's Bordon, have sponsored two children through a project with Compassion UK for the past 11-12 years. In that time the children have changed as they reached the age limit of the project but we are currently sponsoring two girls, one in Ecuador and one in Peru. My wife, Dawn has been the 'writing Link' for the church and children in the project since we began sponsoring. We receive 3-4 letters per year from each of them. Midhurst Methodist Church We support Hope for Life, in Kenya. Two of our members have a daughter and sonin-law who have been teachers at a school in Kenya for the past 5 yrs. Whilst there, they have become involved with the above project, which is run by Ma Joseph. They have set up a day care centre to support children and adolescents (the Carers) who have been orphaned by HIV/Aids. They are provided with breakfast, lunch and evening meal and are also helped in many other ways eg - using old fashioned sewing machines sent over from the UK, they are able to make school uniforms and other clothing.
Over the years, our church has raised funds and paid for the building of a new kitchen complete with stove and latterly a medical room and dispensary where visiting doctors can examine the children, as some of them also have HIV. The family will soon be returning permanently to the UK and so our involvement with Hope for Life will finish. We are pleased that other churches will be continuing their support for this excellent project. Play Kenya - supporting emotionally damaged children through therapeutic play. This is another project which we have been encouraged to support. We were able to give them several donations in the last year. We support MRDF and have chosen work in Mali for our current overseas support. One of our members keeps in touch with MRDF and informs us of opportunities to help. We hope to contribute this year at Harvest and Christmas. Our monthly coffee mornings, held at a member's home, raise funds for many different good causes, some linked with the Methodist Church and others chosen by our fundraising team. Over the last year we have supported several overseas good causes such as Addis Abba Fistula Hospital, Smile Train Last but not least, we support both financially and organisationally Christian Aid. Petersfield Methodist Church. We are committed to work in the Philippines. Brian and Laureen Powell are our workers with OMF in the Philippines. Their sphere of service includes translation of scripture and other church-related material into local languages (Cebuano and Manobo). They also work in advisory capacities helping with children s educational needs and receiving short-term-workers. Around 40 people at Petersfield Methodist Church receive news up-dates and use these for prayer, and individuals support them in other ways too. Periodically PMC makes donations toward the financial support of these missionaries Romsey Circuit has a contact at and supports the TESO trust which is a UK Christian charity supporting relief, development and Christian ministry in the troubled Teso area of North East Uganda. It works in partnership with Christian Churches and other development groups seeking to improve the lives of a desperately poor people. Hilary Babey writes that Cadman has had an historical association with some work which is now undertaken by Evangelical Action Brazil. It has a links with some 86 churches in Brazil and manages a variety of social programmes like prison work, well- drilling with tear fund, family support and community development programmes. Cadman has a gift box at the back of the church and they have an evening of information and entertainment which raised nearly 2000. They receive a magazine which keeps them informed about the work. I know that other circuits and churches in the District support overseas projects but I have not specifically heard from them so cannot accurately report the work that is
being supported. I also know that some young people of the District have visited overseas and that the Methodist Women in Britain also have exchanged visits with members of the United Methodist church in Europe. Developing Relationships and giving to Overseas projects. It is true to say that the World Church Relations team at Methodist Church House has a vast amount of expertise and knowledge of overseas issues. If you want to establish a partnership with a partner church in a different part of the world, the WCR are keen to assist you. I understand this is the preferred way that the Methodist Church would want local churches to participate in partnering overseas projects. However, local knowledge and experience borne out of visits to overseas countries has created opportunities for local churches to get involved. The information here is not comprehensive but is indicative of church mission concerns within our district. If your church wants to develop a partnership mission, do get in touch with the World Church Office at Methodist Church House http://www.methodist.org.uk/mission/world-church If you want to get in touch with me my email address is 4georgejudd@gmail.com. I am also available to lead worship with a world church focus.