From Community Mission Blog -- Collaborative or Counter-Cultural? - Creative Tension part 1

This is really good thought provoking stuff.....relevant to the discussions we have had in our recent Faith in the Community Events in Preston and Blackpool

 

"Continuing his guest series on creative tension, Andy Wier encourages us to look beyond our 'default setting'. As local churches, how should we relate to other organisations in our community like the Council, Police and secular voluntary sector provide"

 

 

http://communitymissionblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/28/collaborative-or-counter-cultural-creative-tension-part-1/

CUF - Shining the light of hope throughout Advent

http://cuf-news.org.uk/5DF-20A47-5C3GPAJIAF/cr.aspx

 

"The true light that gives light to everyone
was coming into the world" John 1:9

In the time before Christmas, Advent prepares us for the joyful celebrations ahead. Church Urban Fund offers you an Advent Calendar with a difference. An opportunity to prayerfully reflect each day of Advent on the mystery of Christ the Light who brings hope into the darkness of our world; hope to all those trapped in poverty and courage to all those working to tackle poverty.

Curbs Project --- Will you join us in prayer this advent?

 

----- Original Message -----

From: kate@curbsproject.org.uk

To: pcaninfo@gmail.com

Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2013 9:09 PM

Subject: Re: Will you join us in prayer this advent?

Hello CURBS friend,

 

I am writing to ask if you will join us in praying for the CURBS project and the children and families we focus on who live in our poorer urban or estate based communities across the UK.

 

The Christmas season is a tough time for many of the children and families we know and care about. The impact of debt, unemployment, benefits changes are adding pressure to family life and many of you will know what this looks and feels like in your community. Lets join together in prayer.

 

This season the CURBS Project is facing financial challenges and we are seeking God's direction about the future. We are passionate about equipping, supporting and encouraging Christians in sharing our life giving gospel with children/families on the edge - but we really want to discern which way forward we should focus on.

 

If you would like to join us I will send you an email for each advent week with a prayer focus for each day. You can also let me have your suggestions of prayer points to add into the mix!

 

Please email kate@curbsproject.org.uk  if you would like to pray with us this advent season.

 

Many thanks,

 

Kate and the CURBS team

 

www.curbsproject.org.uk

follow https://twitter.com/CURBSProject

like www.facebook.com/curbsproject

Give as you Live - Give to CURBS this Christmas as you shop online at no cost to you!

 

 

---

Unsubscribe / Change Profile
Powered by YMLP

Health, Well-Being and Housing Hearing and Tour

From

Third Sector Lancashire working with ONE Lancashire

 

 

Dear Friends

 

In parts of Lancashire, houses are in an appalling state, and this has a serious effect on the health of the people who live there.

 

Our hearing on the 4^th of December brings together local and international speakers to consult with the third sector and housing interests about this  problem, and what can be done about it.

 

Keynote speaker is Mike Grady, a member of the review team working with Professor Michael Marmot on the 'Social Determinants of Health', a European-wide project raising the profile of the root causes of ill –health. Mike has worked as an NHS Chief Executive and Chief Officer in a large Metropolitan Authority.

 

Our other speakers are:

 

Clare Pritchard, Deputy Leader of Hyndburn Council , who beat off opposition from Manchester and Liverpool to become Chair of the North West Housing Forum, holding also the Council's portfolio for Regeneration and Housing

 

Mark Ellerby, Associate Director of Place First,  a private housing developer working with the Council

 

Dr Fiona Ford, a General Practitioner in Accrington, who also researches health issues.

 

An additional feature of the event is a morning  bus tour of housing areas in Accrington, where there is an oversupply of ageing , low demand properties being brought to back to life, as well as innovative approaches to new house building.

 

This promises to be a fascinating and useful day. If you have already booked to attend the afternoon session, please use the additional form attached to signify your wish to join the bus tour. Following the tour Councillor Pritchard's presentation will expand on the links between health and housing and illustrate how effective housing investment can help reduce the pressures on health budgets.

 

The bus will be leaving at 12:00 but please arrive at the Globe Centre for 11:45 to avoid delays. The tour will finish at 13:00 and as we will not be providing lunch at this event a sufficient amount of time has been made available before the hearing for lunch. If you wish to purchase your lunch there is a canteen at the Globe Centre or a nearby Tesco's.

 

If you have not already booked to attend, please fill out both the forms attached and return them to my colleague Jo Thompson

 

Looking forward to seeing you

 

Mike Wedgeworth

 

 

      

 

 

Hearing Booking Form 4^th December 2013

 

Date: Wednesday 4^th December

 

Time: 14:00- 16:00

 

Venue: The Jupiter Suite at The Globe Centre, Accrington

 

Name:
Position:
Organisation:
Geographical Area:
Phone:
Email:
Any Specific Requirements:

 

 

Tour Booking Form

 

Date:  Wednesday 4th December

 

Time:  11:45- 13:00

Please note: As we will not be providing lunch a sufficient amount of time has been made available before the hearing, if you wish to purchase your lunch, The Globe Centre has a canteen and there is also a local Tesco's nearby.

 

Venue/ Meeting Point: The Globe Centre, Accrington

 

 

Name:
Position:
Organisation:
Geographical Area:
Phone:
Email:
Specific Requirements:

 

 

 

Poverty and homelessnes action week

A pre Christmas reminder that Poverty and Homelessness Action week is planned for the lats week of January 2014

See more and download worship resources from:

 

http://www.actionweek.org.uk/home.html

Urban Villages ...

http://communitymissionblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/urban-villages-radical-church-part-1/

 

 

Good stuff here from Ruth Smith (no relation - though she did grow up in Leyland!)

 

 

 

 

Archbishop attacks UK food poverty

 

John Sentamu calls for 'more equitable, more caring world' and questions effects of government's welfare reforms

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/19/food-poverty-archbishop-york-john-sentamu

Sorry the last posting from CUF conference came out garbled... This link should be sufficient...

 

 

http://cuf-news.org.uk/5DF-1ZKUD-CCC072WK6B/cr.aspx

Fw: Together Network Newsletter... with information re last week's CUF conference in London

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Church Urban Fund

To: greg.smith@together-lancashire.org.uk

Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 2:16 PM

Subject: Together Network Newsletter

If you are having problems reading this e-mail please click here

18 November 2013 Tackling Poverty Together Conference Well it happened! Thank you to everyone who helped to publicise the conference, brought people, got up early, stayed up late, contributed to workshops, networked on the day and generally made it a very positive event. We have asked people for feedback via an online survey so please do fill that in, or if you have specific comments to make then send them direct to Jenny Baker: jenny.baker@cuf.org.uk. We have put content from the day on our website. You can listen to the Archbishop of Canterbury's talk here, and read a transcript here. You can watch Maurice Glasman's talk here, and there will be a transcript of it on the website shortly. And then you can find various handouts and presentations from the workshops here (more to follow). Our thanks to all those who helped to make this such an inspiring event. Wellsprings Together Bradford Liz Firth is the new development worker for Wellsprings Together Bradford. She says: 'I've been in post since September and while Wellsprings has existed for a while as an organisation I'm the first worker and it's the beginning of our partnership with CUF as a joint venture. I'm from Bradford originally and have always lived here apart from a few years studying in Salford and a year in Paris. I'm married to Barry who runs his own bike shop and we have a small boy Alex who's 3. My working life in Bradford has been varied. I've mostly done community based work, lots of it in the post-riot context on the cohesion agenda. I'm passionate about working with women in particular. My interest in faith comes from my own beliefs as a Catholic and my involvement in interfaith work. I did an MA in interfaith a few years ago and work a day a week at Bradford Cathedral as an interfaith worker. I trained and worked as a community organiser for Church Action on Poverty several years ago and from that was involved in initial discussions with CUF and others about the Joint venture work so was very excited when the project came into fruition and even more excited to get the job! I'm working 3 days a week and still trying to get a grip on my role, what people are already up to, where the gaps are and what the priorities are. At the moment it looks like food poverty is an issue in need of some support; there's lots of activity and churches and others responding but nobody's got the time to do any of the coordination or conversations needed. Poverty is such a reality for so many people in Bradford that there is a lot of complacency and apathy amongst communities, institutions and faith groups as well as some amazing innovative, participatory and witness bearing work taking place. So I am trying to do lots of listening and with the support of the trustees work out how we start making a difference. I look forward to working with you all and hopefully get to know you all more soon." Liz's email is liz.firth@wellspringstogetherbradford.org.uk . Building an ethical finance system Credit unions represent a more ethical, community-based approach to banking. For that reason, the Archbishop has called on churches and church members to support credit unions in their local area, helping the sector as a whole to grow. CUF's latest briefing paper gives some background to the issues surrounding the problem of payday lending and the role credit unions can play in building a more ethical financial system. It also suggests ways in which churches can get involved with and support their local credit unions. You can download a copy from our website. Under the radar - what room for refugees? The Churches' Refugee Network Conference is on Saturday 5 April, 2014 at the Central United Reformed Church in Sheffield.  Please circulate the date. Keynote speakers will be announced soon and there will be workshops on destitution, access to health services, Housing Justice and Legal Aid. The Churches' Refugee Network is an informal network of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, and you can find out more on their website. Forward this email to someone else Bookmark with: Facebook Twitter Google+ Follow us on Twitter    Become a friend on Facebook    Visit our Youtube page    Church Urban Fund, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ T 020 7898 1647    F 020 7898 1601    E enquiries@cuf.org.uk    W www.cuf.org.uk Registered Charity number 297483. Want to unsubscribe?

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2014.0.4158 / Virus Database: 3615/6804 - Release Date: 11/02/13

Commissioner's Community Action Fund

 

Please find below a message regarding funding available to CVFS organisations from the Police and Crime Commissioners Office. Prior to submitting an application organisations may find it beneficial speaking to either Alison Hatton or Michelle Pilling (Tel 01772 209938/209796) from Preston's Community Safety Partnership who will be able to offer advice on the Partnership's current priorities in relation to any funding application.

 

 

Still time for grants to make a difference

Local community groups are being urged to bid for vital money which could make a real difference in their neighbourhoods.

So far Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner has given away more than £28,000 from his Community Action Fund – with just over £21,000 still to be allocated.

Clive Grunshaw is keen to ensure grassroots projects across Lancashire are benefitting from the money, and criteria for applying for the fund has been changed to focus more on local community groups.

The Commissioner said: "I am delighted we have been able to support so many worthwhile projects across Lancashire already, and I know from visiting some of the organisations the difference the money has made.

"I want the fund to go towards projects which support the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan, such as reducing anti-social behavior or protecting vulnerable people. I know there are many small community groups out there who are doing vital work in their local area, and I want to give these projects the funding they need to have a real impact in their communities."

Projects which have benefitted so far include:

• Cheets Not Streets, in Blackburn, which was granted £2,000 toward a summer project to provide diversionary activities for young people to reduce anti-social behaviour

• Sahara in Preston which was granted £1,500 to provide counselling services for women in the Asian community affected by domestic abuse and violence

• The Fraser Street Project, in Burnley, where a grant of £1,500 supported a 12-week project to reduce youth anti-social behaviour

• Lancaster Boys' and Girls' Club, which was granted £1,430 toward a community festival fun day as part of its Make a Positive Change programme.

In total, 21 projects across the county have successfully secured a grant to date.

To find out more about the revised application criteria, how to apply and the full list of which projects have benefitted so far log onto http://www.lancashire-pcc.gov.uk/Partnership/Commissioners-Community-Action-Fund

Credit Union report - from Church Urban Fund

 

I just wanted to let you know about the latest report...from CUF

 

In partnership with the Church of England, we have produced a short briefing paper about credit unions. The aim of this paper is to give some info on the problem of payday lending, to explain what credit unions are and to give some suggestions about how churches could support their local credit union.

 

You can see the paper here: http://www.cuf.org.uk/credit-unions

 

for more info contact 

Bethany Eckley

Research Manager

 

Follow me on twitter: @Bethany Eckley

 

T  020 7898 1141

W  www.cuf.org.uk

M Church House, 27 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3AZ

 

 

  

A company limited by guarantee. 

Registered in Cardiff No: 2138994

Registered charity number: 297483

 

 

Police commissioner's Community Action Fund

 

See below from Clive Grunshaw, Lancashire Policing and Crime Commissioner

 

Still time to apply for grants

 

 

My Community Action Fund has so far helped 21 organisations with grants of up to £2,500 to help them with projects making a real difference in their local neighbourhoods. To date, I have handed out grants totalling more than £28,000, meaning there is just over £21,000 of the fund left to allocate. I want to make sure the grants are helping small community projects that meet the priorities listed in my Police and Crime Plan, and some of the funding criteria has been changed to reflect this. Visit my website to apply.

 

 

JRF --- Weekly publications and blogs: w/b 4th November 2013

Useful stuff on loneliness, child poverty and the living wage

----- Original Message -----

From: Joseph Rowntree Foundation

To: greg.smith@together-lancashire.org.uk

Sent: Friday, November 08, 2013 11:32 AM

Subject: Weekly publications and blogs: w/b 4th November 2013

View this email in a web browser New publications and blogs w/b 4th November 2013 Publication: Loneliness resource pack A set of resources to help individuals, groups, communities and neighbourhoods take a closer look at – and to reduce – loneliness. JRF and JRHT's Neighbourhood approaches to loneliness has been a three-year action research programme exploring and identifying what makes us feel lonely where we live and work and what we can all do about it – personally and professionally. By Tracey Robbins and Susan Allen. Blog: Move people into good sustainable jobs to cut the benefit bill Reducing the claimant count is a headline-friendly goal, says Helen Barnard, but moving people into sustainable work is what will really improve lives and reduce the benefit bill. The Government must decide which is most important. Blog: What Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can do to reduce child poverty Devolution won't stop the rising tide of child poverty but it can impose some limits, explains Jim McCormick. Blog: How Comic Relief is helping people with dementia influence services and policies Working with other charities is a powerful way to help people with dementia, writes Philly Hare. Blog: Paying the Living Wage is just one step towards becoming an anti-poverty employer Improving pay is vital but jobs that are low-skilled, insecure or lack progression opportunities also perpetuate in-work poverty, says Katie Schmuecker. Blog: What you can do about loneliness in your neighbourhood JRF and JRHT are launching a free resource pack setting out what you can do to reduce loneliness where you are. Tracey Robbins explains. Press Release: JRF response to Universal Credit implementation report From Chief Executive, Julia Unwin. Press Release: JRF response to DWP welfare sanctions statistics DWP figures out today show over half a million JSA claimants have been subject to an adverse sanctions decision between 22 October 2012 and June 2013.  As a result of welfare reform, the UK now has a much tougher sanctions system. No longer wish to receive these alerts? Unsubscribe here (warning: choosing this link will unsubscribe you instantly) The Joseph Rowntree Foundation seeks to understand the root causes of social problems, identify ways of overcoming them, and show how social needs can be met in practice.

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2014.0.4158 / Virus Database: 3615/6804 - Release Date: 11/02/13

Christians working together.... a briefing from Roger Sutton of EA's Gather Movement

4 Lessons from Tim Keller and Movement Day in New York.

Having just got back from attending Movement Day in New York, I am staggered
at the size and scope of what God is doing around the world. Tim Keller
pastor of Church of the Redeemer has been drawing city leaders from around
the world to Movement Day to tell the stories of this extraordinary move of
God. All over the globe Church and Christian leaders in the cultural
spheres are coming together in unity, seeking God in prayer and working
together for the social, cultural and spiritual transformation of their
cities and towns. From Australia to Canada from Indonesia to South America,
from USA to Europe, these leaders are asking the questions, what could our
place look like in 30 years time?

Some key lessons from Movement Day 2013.

1. This is a move of the Spirit. The surprising thing about the story of
these unity for mission movements is that they have been below the radar for
so long. As we uncovered over 100 such movements in the UK, we realised that
in each place God had been doing a deep work of humility, repentance and
renewal. Ordinary pastors and Christian leaders in the cultural spheres had
been slowly building friendships, regularly praying together, uniting
resources in mission and growing in a kingdom vision for their town or city.
This is not the latest fad or the next Christian fashion accessory, this is
a move of God's spirit. Movement day underlined this as we mixed with
leaders from Australia Brazil, Sweden, Canada, and India. We heard stories
from major American cities and Eurpoean capitals alongside small towns in
Indonesia and the South Sea Islands. Each story was unique and each place
was special but they also shared the same common characteristics of
friendship based unity and
regular prayer, resulting in mission. This has not been learnt from a book
nor has it trended on twitter, this is a sacrificial incarnational move of
God in our world.

2. Tim Keller is giving the movement gravitas. We know many cities and towns
owe a great deal to leaders such as Ed Silvoso, and others, who pioneered
the vision to build unity in order to see social, cultural and spiritual
transformation. Arising more from the charismatic/ pentecostal stream the
movement had energy and life and produced some outstanding examples of
transformation. The unity movements across the world are still mainly
founded on this tradition however this is now broadening out to include
those from other traditions. Tim Keller and the work of Church of the
Redeemer in New York, is providing a wider theological framework, a more
nuanced city reaching strategy and a gravitas that is not so easily ignored.

3. The disconnect between church growth and city transformation. It was
sobering to hear the story of Claudio and Paulo who have served in San
Paulo, Brazil all their lives. This is a city of over 20 million people
where the evangelical church has grown to over 30% of the population.
Churches have grown and people have come to full faith in Christ. For many
this is the strategy of transformation, to see as many people come to faith
as possible and so affect the culture of the city. However their experience
is that as fast as the Church has grown in San Palau the state of the city
has decayed at the same rate. A city overwhelmed with poverty, violence and
corruption is not being impacted by the individual spiritual change in
peoples lives. This of course shouldn't surprise us, since we have
perpetuated a dualistic theology for many years, where personal piety and
church commitment is divorced often from the world, of employment, social
justice, culture, education and civic
life. Our strategy must now develop. Of course we want to see Churches grow
and people find faith but we also want to see those Christians being salt
and light in a dark world, affecting kingdom change for the sake of Christ's
world. As Keller put it we are called to be 'burning bushes of Gods presence
in the world".

4. Transformation will be built on sacrifice and humility. I was reminded
again that there is no quick fix to seeing a place transformed by the
gospel, there is no clever strategy that will short cut cultural, social and
spiritual transformation. City wide transformation is built on the personal
transformation of its spiritual leaders. The kingdom is only released
through repentance, humility and sacrifice. One of the most moving talks was
from an older black lady who had invested many years in developing the unity
movement in Kansas City USA. She very powerfully said,

"Everyone brings something to the table, and at the table we have honest,
open, discussion, authentic, preferring one another, speaking the truth in
love. We speak the hard truths, soul searching, tears, questions, silence,
prayer, apologies, dealing with issues, mindsets, thought patterns, more
prayer, emotions and most of all we just keep coming back to the table. We
share our burdens, concerns for our churches, children, for our cities, the
what, why, where. Knowing that before there is moral reformation in our
city, we have to have spiritual transformation. As the Bible says 'They will
know that we are Christ followers by the love we have for one another".
Although there is value in a single grape, in Isaiah 65:8 it speaks of the
new wine being in the cluster not in the single grape. One day I noticed
that the first letters of the mission statement for Citywide Prayer spelled
CUP. C is for connecting in friendship, U is for uniting in prayer, P is for
partnering in
mission. Jesus asked, "Can you drink from the same cup?" What's in the cup?
In the cup there is repent-ability, nobility of humility, community,
diversity, unity, integrity, spirit of hospitality, generosity and
accountability. In order to see hearts transformed, churches revived,
communities and cities reformed, Jesus is saying to us, "Can you (or are you
willing to) drink from the same cup? If your answer is yes, He says, "Drink
ye all of it!"

By Rev Roger Sutton.

============================================================
Gather is enabled by the Evangelical Alliance of Great Britain
Gather is enabled by the Evangelical Alliance of Great Britain

** follow on Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/GatherUK/

)
** friend on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/rogerlesleysutton

Still time to book your FREE charity training place!

 

 

Subject:	Still time to book your FREE charity training place!
Date:	Wed, 06 Nov 2013 14:38:47 +0000
From:	Pauline Broomhead <Pauline_Broomhead@mail.vresp.com>
Reply-To:	Pauline Broomhead <reply-7e412ad542-69051e2419-922c@u.cts.vresp.com>
To:	peter@therisenlordpreston.org.uk

Hi Peter

I would like to remind you about our free training event in Preston next month. The event offers The Parish of The Risen Lord Preston a choice of 8 free full day training sessions covering a wide range of skills essential for charities.  In addition we will be hosting a networking event with local councillors and MPs at the event on the first day, so book today to secure your place!  

FSI training courses have a market value of between £295 and £325 per delegate place but as a small charity* your place is ABSOLUTELY FREE. You can join us for both days or for a single day, and your charity can take up to 4 places across both days.


Tuesday 3rd December

• Develop Your Fundraising Strategy – provides a structured road map and relevant tools to enable you to link together fundraising sources and the areas you need to fundraise against in order to develop your fundraising strategy.
   
• Sell What You Do: Developing Earned Income - Explore earned income opportunities for your charities and what you need to consider when setting up your enterprise, from business planning, market research, pricing models through to start up funding.

• Developing Corporate Relationships - essential for any small charity looking to identify and develop corporate relationships, this course is always fully booked at our training events!

• Exploring Social Media - will help you understand how you can use social media to enhance and promote your valuable work.  We will look at how social media fits with your overall marketing and communications strategy.   

Wednesday 4th December

• Building Your Core Case for Support - will empower you to develop an inspiring internal document that creates a uniform message about why your charity is important, how you make a difference and what people can do to support or get involved.

• Major Donor Fundraising - provides an overview of major donor fundraising and the tools to start a major donor programme in their small charity.

• Fundraising from Trusts & Foundations - gives the essential skills and knowledge you need to develop successful fundraising from trusts and foundations.  A very popular course that books quickly!

• Demonstrating Your Impact - will be of benefit if you want to implement a monitoring and evaluation system within your charity and effectively demonstrate your impact to supporters, donors and funders.

FSI Training events also offer a great chance to meet like-minded organisations as we make sure there is plenty of time to network with other charities from your area and develop strategic links – a vital opportunity for any small charity.

FSI training courses have a market value of between £295 and £325 per delegate place but as a small charity* your place is ABSOLUTELY FREE.

*The FSI defines a small charity as a not-for-profit organisation with an annual turnover of less than £1.5 million. Only staff and trustees of small charities are eligible to join the FSI.  For our full eligibility criteria please see our website: http://www.thefsi.org/eligibility/

"The Major Donor fundraising course far exceeded my expectations.  The trainer is knowledgable, experienced and it shows"
- Preston Roadshow attendee, 2012

"The Trusts and Foundations course was well paced and covered all aspects of the subject in digestible chunks. Course leader was clear and attentive and gave useful, considered answers to all questions."
- Bristol Roadshow attendee, 2013

"Thanks for coming up North, it makes it so much more accessible.  Great chance to network and share experiences."
- Preston Roadshow attendee, 2012
 

The Preston Training Roadshow                                          

Date	3 - 4 December 2013 (attend one day or both days)
Time	9.30am - 4.30pm
Location	Preston Masonic Lodge, PR1 2QU
Cost	Free! (a deposit of £50 is required and will be  fully refunded within five working days of attending the  training)

 

 

   
 

Demand for the Training Roadshow is high so don't miss out - click here to book your place.  

 The Preston Training Roadshow is sponsored by Charity Bank

The FSI  - about our charity

Each year the trustees and donors to the FSI donate approximately £2.2 million worth of FREE support to Small Charities. Why? Because every day thousands of small charitable organisations struggle to remain open. Each day these organisations support individuals, families and communities who positively touch the lives of millions.    

Our aim is to support small charities to become more efficient, effective, accountable and self sustaining. We do this by delivering expert knowledge, strategy and support to small charities free of charge so their futures are secure and their users protected.

I hope you are able to join us at the training and look forward to meeting you. 




Pauline Broomhead
CEO, the FSI

---

Click to view this email in a browser If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

---

The FSI Ingestre Court Ingestre Place London, England W1F 0JL UK Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.