 | | Prefer to read this online? Click here for the browser version of this newsletter | | | | Ascension Trust exists to equip the Church to serve. At Ascension Trust, we look to do this through a number of God-led initiatives and we're also part of Serve, as we seek to enable churches to do great things.
This year, Ascension Trust will celebrate two important dates - our 20th year as a charity and the 10th anniversary of one of our initiatives, Street Pastors.
No-one could have imagined the impact that a simple vision of wanting to be where the people were to "care, listen and help" would have caught the imagination of not only the Church, but society as a whole.
Click here to read more
Eustace Constance is Operations Director at Ascension Trust and a member of Serve.
| |  | | In this edition you'll find....
Funding, new resources, latest news, stories and events.
| | | | Funding
Tearfund's IMPACT UK Team are inviting applications for new partners on their 'Activate' Early Accompaniment Programme.
The programme provides grant funding of up to £30,000 over three years to church-based community projects working in areas of high deprivation in the UK. To receive further information and the initial application form, please contact impactuk@tearfund.org
The deadline for applications for this initial stage is 10th May 2013.
KINGDOM BANK LTD
Kingdom Bank is a UK based independent Christian bank with a strong ethical ethos – a commitment to use its available funds to build and enrich society.
When savers make a deposit into Kingdom Bank's savings accounts, the bank puts that money to work in building God's kingdom, working with UK Christian churches and charities providing mortgages that help them achieve their building projects.
The bank provides savings accounts, general insurance, church and charity mortgages.
www.kingdombank.co.uk
| | | | New resources
To recognise World Autism Day on April 2, take a look at 'Making Church Accessible for All'.
The book provides a strong argument for rethinking the way we present church. Working from the biblical basis for including people with disabilities, Tony Phelps-Jones considers the obstacles that church can put in the way and the practicalities of establishing an effective ministry. The book includes examples of inclusive teaching and worship, together with sections focusing on learning disabilities, autism, sight loss, hearing loss, mobility difficulty, mental health conditions and families with children with additional needs.
Visit the Prospects website to find out more.
This month we also recognise the work of partners raising the profile of homelessness on Youth Homelessness Matters Day, April 17. Your church can partner with Green Pastures to house homeless people. To find out more, go to http://greenpastures.net
 | | | | Latest news
This month the cabinet office announced that more funding would be released for social action.
£3.1 million will be distributed amongst 4 organisations. Click here to read the press release and find out who has received funding.
| | | | Stories
Nottingham outreach decreases street prostitution
With thanks to our partner HOPE Together for sharing this story.
Christians in Nottingham, led by Rev Richard Clark of St Andrew's Church, have been working in the city's red light district bringing hope to women who have been caught in the vicious cycle of prostitution. More than 50 volunteers offer their help in a drop-in centre, take part in street outreaches twice a week, and carry out pastoral visits to those in prison or working in brothels. Read more from the Jericho Road Project story.
How are you or your church transforming lives around you? Have you got a story to tell about reaching out with God's love on your streets? Tell us here...
| | | | | Events | | | THE BRINK CONFERENCE @thebrinknet
 Date: Saturday 13th April, 9.30am - 5.00pm
Venue: Cottingham Christ Church, 31 Endyke Lane, Cottingham, HU16 4QD
Cost: £21 and will include a buffet lunch & refreshments.
More info and booking: http://brinknet.eventbrite.co.uk/
As society has changed so the landscape of the church is undergoing a transformation.
The truth remains the same but the way it is delivered and lived out is shifting.
No longer can churches expect people to walk through the door and just rely on one-off programmes to bring people to Christ.
This one-day event will take you on a journey of exploring what the future could look like and provide plenty of ideas to provoke thought, discussion and some practical tips to take away.
| | | Cinnamon Network Social Enterprise
Date: 17th April 2013
Venue: The Chapel, Central Hall, Storey's Gate, Westminster, London, London, SW1H 9NH
Time: 3-5pm
The Cinnamon Network and partners would like to invite leaders of church based social enterprises, and those considering starting one, to a forum to explore ideas, funding and best practice.
More information and booking: http://cinnamonnetwork.co.uk/event/cinnamon-network-social-enterprise-forum/
| | | Transforming communities through the local church: theology, practice, experience from North and South
 Date: 21st May 2013, 10am - 4pm
Venue: Conference Room, Christian Medical Fellowship, 6 Marshalsea Road, London, SE1 1HL
Cost: £15 to people from Global Connections member agencies and churches. Cost for non-Global Connections members is £45. Refreshments and a buffet lunch are included in the price.
Please book soon: http://www.globalconnections.co.uk/events/networkevents/currentevents/randd1305
Often bypassed or neglected as an agent of community outreach, the local church is now seen as God's strategic focus for transforming the community around it. By using the wealth of gifts and abilities given to its members, the local church can burst out of its walls to bring the kingdom of God where Jesus planned it to be: in the streets, the houses, the neighbourhoods, the villages, the alleys of the world, incarnating the love of God in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Come and learn from leading practitioners and thinkers as they share their understanding of how this process has and does work, at the Relief and Development Forum event on 21 May 2013. They will address the subject from their wide personal experience, as well as facilitate workshop discussions and present case studies. Take the opportunity to share your experiences with friends and colleagues working in and through local churches.
Don't miss this very special opportunity to be energised for church mobilisation.
Thank you for reading Serve e-news. We hope you have a blessed and restful Easter.
The Serve team
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