The Friday Fax - United Kingdom

Germany & Africa: reconciliation process

nospam@example.com (Friday Fax) — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 12:22:00 +0100

"The Berlin Conference from 17-19th November, 2005 was the climax of a six year process of relationship building between European and African Christian leaders," reports intercessor Brian Mills. In 1884, twelve European nations, the USA and Russia met to "cut up Africa like a cake". The process of reconciliation involved "uncovering the sins that contributed to and resulted from that 1884 Conference."
The November conference culminated in a statement drawn up by Roger Mitchell, Chris Seaton and Brian Mills: "It is our prayer that this will lead to many continuing acts of love and restitution from our nation towards those nations sinned against. We recognise that this is not the whole story. The Africans were gracious to remind us of the legacy of the Gospel that was brought by European missionaries, and of the contribution made to their well-being through education, medicine and certain infra-structures. In reference to the 1884 Conference which did not include any representative of any African nation, we confess:
"We as the nations of Great Britain & Ireland confess and repent of the sins we have committed against Africa and Africans from many nations, and against the Living God – Father, Son & Holy Spirit. We repent with a deep sense of guilt and shame of the following: Competition with our fellow European nations for imperial domination in the world; The imposition of the Empire Spirit upon Africa; Taking rather than giving; Dehumanising and degrading Africans, treating them as goods, calling them "black ivory", perpetrating the evil of the Transatlantic Slave Trade; Covenant breaking as we lied and deceived African leaders into signing away their rights to their lands for trivial returns; Imposing concentration camps in South Africa which created the ground for apartheid; Creating unjust trade patterns; Cultural domination through the imposition of the English language; Presenting the gospel to the African peoples without separating adequately the unholy alliance of the Church from the Empire and the Empire Spirit, which included imposing denominations, and failing to recognise that God had opened Africa to Britain for the expansion of the Kingdom of God."
Source: Brian Mills, (full report available)

England: Greenbelt rocks again

nospam@example.com (Friday Fax) — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 10:27:00 +0200

The Greenbelt Festival held in Cheltenham, England every August, is experiencing a comeback. The annual festival, originally evangelically-focussed and arts-oriented, began in 1974 with only 2,000 visitors. Following a period of decline in the 90's, this year's festival attracted a record number of 20,000 visitors.
John Bell of the Iona Community, which follows Celtic spirituality, says "In a materialistic and anti-institutional age, in which churches are marginalised and ridiculed, Greenbelt stands out as a life-changing, faith-strengthening and politically involved experience. Many people are losing their traditional understanding of Church, and see festivals like Greenbelt as the expression of a new way of being church."

England: holy spies in 70 churches

nospam@example.com (Friday Fax) — Fri, 20 May 2005 13:48:00 +0200

"On Sunday, 24^th April 2005, we sent out a small army of "Mystery Worshippers" into London's churches. These holy spies reconnoitred 70 services in the English capital, checking how hard the pews are, the length and quality of the sermon, strength of the coffee and warmth of the greeting. Many of our readers are dedicated pew warmers, and were excited to accept the challenge," says Simon Jenkins, editor of shipoffools.com, the Christian internet news site behind the project. Each of the mysterious spies left a card depicting a lone masked rider – the only sign for the churches that they had been examined by the service testers. The results were published on 10^th May. Here's a selection of what London's churches have to offer, compiled by Assist News Service's Michael Ireland:

rhythmic snoring during the (silent?) prayer time;
four old women on the back pew, criticising the pastor;
an immediate invitation to join the choir;
passionate singing of the Vatican national hymn;
"We'll be back in a moment" – a service with a commercial break;
a barking dog, accompanying the sermon for a full 52 minutes;
a 2½-hour service, with a sermon by a (female) preacher who spoke for a long time, said nothing and finally collapsed of excitement (or exhaustion?);
being discovered in a Puritan church and escorted out;
no coffee – but Champagne!
fleeing made impossible by pews which close automatically once you're seated;
in one church, visitors were greeted by attractive young women;
a Catholic church which didn't even mention the new Pope;
a church which welcomed the 'spy' so intensely and successfully that he was the last one to leave…

Do you want to know more? www.shipoffools.com has the full reports.

Source: Simon Jenkins, Steve Goddard, publisher of www.shipoffools.com

England: Churches with community influence

nospam@example.com (Friday Fax) — Fri, 20 May 2005 13:38:00 +0200

A "Strategic Leadership Consultation" was held in London from 5^th-7^th May 2005, at which leaders of church networks and parachurch organisations from 10 European nations met to discuss ways churches can involve themselves more in government processes. The central questions posed by the consultation were how the church can be involved in the political process without becoming party political? And how can the voice of Christian faith be heard on the social and political issues which shape people’s lives? Reverend Steve Chalke, the founder of Faithworks who has earned the respect of all of Britain's major political parties for his social projects, says "access and influence are based on whether we can help community leaders to get results. Real trust begins in small places and is built on trustworthiness." Mal Fletcher, Director of Next Wave International and host to the Consultation, added "The church is often better known for what it opposes than what it proposes! That needs to change. As churches, we need to learn to produce better societies by producing social reformers and activists. What sort of city, and what sort of nation do we want to live in in ten years, and what are we prepared to do to create that future?" Pastor McCauley, leader of South Africa's Rhema Church with 32,000 members, joined the Consultation by telephone. He asks the question "If our church was not there, would our community miss it?" The result of the Consultation were 14 statements of principle which the attendees agreed to apply to their work in local communities, and is available on the Next Wave International website

Source: www.nextwaveonline.com

England: the model railway church

nospam@example.com (Friday Fax) — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 22:05:00 +0200

Nige Gresley is a 43-year-old Methodist with two passions: the church and his model railways. "Most model railway exhibitions take place on Sunday morning, and I always had a bad conscience when I missed church to exhibit my models. But I slowly began to realise that church is not about being in a particular building at a particular time. I realised that God is also with me when I am with my fellow exhibitors. And then I had an idea...!"

Thomas the doubting tank-engine

For years, Nige had held special "Children's Hours" at the exhibitions, playing well-known stories to do with trains, such as 'Thomas the Tank Engine', to an excited audience. So he thought to himself that it would be a great opportunity to present the greatest story of all time - with model locomotives in the main roles! So he now tells stories from the Old and New Testaments, with trains playing the Biblical characters: Peter the Green Engine, James the Red Engine and the Virgin Voyager (Mary) play alongside The Fat Controller (God) and The Flying Scotsman (Jesus). "One chap got quite upset that I was suggesting Jesus might have been Scottish", Nige remembers, "but once I explained the power of metaphor as used in the parables - and let him have a go operating the signals - he calmed down." "It's more than entertainment," he says. "I believe we're genuinely building Church here."

Source: Nige Gresley interviewed by Jo Kerr on www.emergingchurch.info