The North Western Province of the United Reformed Church (Extract) (Last Edited 07/02/2010)

United Reformed Church launches new Lent initiative
 
United Reformed Church members are being invited to take part in an exciting new initiative for Lent.
 
The church's "Commitment for Life" programme, which supports programmes in Bangladesh, Jamaica, Israel and the Palestinian Territories and Zimbabwe, has created "Counting the Cost" - a web-based course for the season of Lent written by Helen Garton and Sally Whitehead.
 
The resource consists of Bible readings, reflections, prayers and background information about the development work supported by the church, and can be used as part of group or private study. Participants are asked to respond by giving a small donation to the Commitment for Life programme starting at 1p a day, and rising by a penny for each day of Lent - £8.20 in total.
 
This is the first time the church has created a resource specifically for Lent, which runs from 17 February to 3 April this year.
 
Commitment for Life coordinator Linda Mead said: "This is something different - we've never tried anything like it before. We hope that people will gain spiritually from it, as well as being able to put their faith into action by supporting the church's work overseas."
 
Falling exchange rates, combined with the belt-tightening brought by the recession, mean that Commitment for Life programmes need more support than ever, she added: "Although people are still being very generous, the money is not going as far as it was a year ago, and the need in our partner countries is great."
 
The course will be available from Ash Wednesday at www.cforl.org.uk If you would like to receive an email reminder to log onto the page at the start of Lent, send your email address to gill.hillman@urc.org.uk

General Election 2010
 
Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Church representatives have shared with other churches and agencies in preparing on-line resources. The main downloads are:
• Faith in Politics - document covering a range of the most important policy issues: children and young people, criminal justice, the economy, education, environment,health, migration, poverty and others. Each topic has sections on background, the main issues, suggested questions to candidates and contact details for further information.
• Planning a Hustings Meeting - Guidelines for local churches, Churches Together groups or Christian organisations considering planning a hustings meeting.
• You will also be able to register your interest in running a hustings event and be put in touch with others in your constituency who have responded.
• Additional material, links and other features will be added to the website shortly.

Migration 2010 - European Churches responding to migration
 
'Migration is at the heart of the churches' agenda in Europe' - Jean-Arnold de Clermont, President of the Conference of European Churches.
Migration 2010 aims to:
• make the churches' commitment to strangers visible;
• promote inclusive policy at European and national levels;
• press for the right to long term residence status after five years of legal stay.
There is already a substantial amount of material on the website including the presentations given at the launch meeting last November and a calendar highlighting focus themes for each month of the year. Further worship resources, information and suggestions for action will be added as contributions are received and shared.

The Central District of the North West Synod has created a Prayer Diary to help all the Churches think about one another by praying for particular Fellowships each Sunday throughout the year. We will be including these Churches in or "Prayers for the Church Family" during our Sunday morning worship.
 
During this month, please pray for:
 
Everyone in our Fellowship, young and old, especially those leading worship and those who cannot attend;
Pat Oliver our Community Minister and everyone involved in the work of the Children's Centre and the Building Bridges project; The Pupils, Parents and Staff of Tonge Moor Community Primary School and Moorgate Primary School; Friends at other local Churches: St Aidan's, St Andrew's, St Augustine's, St Columba's. Friends at our sister Churches: Rose Hill and St. Andrew and St George
 
Wendy White in her role as chaplain to Middlebrook Retail Park
 
These other Fellowships in the United Reformed Church :
February 2010
 

Upcoming Events from The Windermere Centre
 
NW Winter School and Local Leaders
Fri, Feb 12, 2010, 4pm
 
http://windermere.urc.org.uk/

Diary Dates
 
        See website below......
 
http://worldchurch.blogspot.com/

Copenhagen Climate Summit
 
As world leaders prepare to meet in Copenhagen in December to discuss climate change and carbon emissions, churches and Christians are invited to be part of the event.
 
Read our helpful briefing, the Copenhagen Climate Talks in under 3 minutes
 
Equality Bill FAQs
 
The Equality Bill has nearly finished its progress through the House of Commons and will soon be sent to the House of Lords for further consideration.
 
The Bill contains important measures designed to protect against discrimination and promote equal treatment for people regardless of gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, and marital status, or if they have a disability, are pregnant or transgendered.
 
The Bill has been warmly welcomed by some and criticised by others. We have produced a Frequently Asked Questions on the Equality Bill (PDF) for all you ever wanted to know about it...and more!
 
Alcohol and Gambling
 
Our comprehensive briefings on gambling and alcohol as public policy issues have recently been updated. They cover details including recent legislative changes, Christian perspectives, current controversies and suggestions for action for local churches.
 
Alcohol - One too many...?
 
Gambling - Against the odds...?
 
OFT Consultation on Lending
 
We have responded to an OFT consultation which seeks to set regulations as to what lenders need to do before lending money. The central principle to the response was, that all people should be treated with dignity and respect and their gift of free will not be compromised by the need to service repayable debts. A major policy implication of this was that lenders should not lend unless they can confirm that the borrower has a good prospect of both servicing the loan and removing themselves from debt within a reasonable timescale.
 
Read the Response
 
Peace Conference 2010
 
2010 could be a momentous year for peacemaking. Inspired by the challenge of faith-inspired peacemaking, we are going to hold a major day-conference on peace in February 2010. The conference will provide a space for church members and Christian peacemakers to learn new skills, pray, reflect and network. The exact details are being finalised so look out for the programme and how to book in our next newsletter. For now, please set 6 February 2010 aside. Prepare to come to Methodist Church House, London, and find out how you can build a more peaceful world.