News from around the district

A Welcome To Brighten Your Day and Restore Faith

This beautiful sign has been kindly painted and gifted to Sage Cross Church in the Melton Mowbrary Circuit. There is a wonderful story behind the painting:

Just over a year ago we started free lunches for people in the town that live on very limited incomes. It has gone very well and we have built up relationships with the people who come.

One of our guests wanted to do something for the church as the lunches have in his words “restored his faith in Christ” .  He has a talent for painting and he did this using the 4 points of our calling as Methodists and incorporating the Methodist symbol.

So it has a wealth of meaning behind it!  

Second Helpings Welcomes Special Visitors

The café at Second Helpings, part of the national Real Junk Food Project, was very busy on Saturday 16th March. The room was packed as they hosted some very special guests to Barn Hill. Some of the leading people in The Methodist Church joined over 116 other people for a scrummy lunch. 

Revd Michaela A Youngson, President, and Bala Gnanapragasam, Vice-President of The Methodist Church, plus the ​​​​Chair of the Northampton ​Methodist District, Revd Helen Cameron, rubbed shoulders with other guests in a packed café. In thanking the team and local Minister Revd Andy Fyall, Revd Helen Cameron said: “Second Helpings was mentioned to everyone wherever the President and Vice President went, including the Lord Mayor of Leicester when he hosted us for breakfast in the Mayor’s Parlour.” News travels both far and fast!!  Read more about it here

Supporting the Farming Community

The weather made 2018 a challenging year for many farmers. For sheep farmers the problems began in the autumn of 2017 when prolonged cold and damp affected ewe fertility. The snow and cold temperatures of the ‘Beast from the East’ arrived at lambing time and there were losses of new lambs and ewes as well as cattle. This resulted in cash flow problems with fewer lambs to sell in the autumn and higher prices for replacement ewes. Read more about it here

A year in a new build community...

Just over a year ago, the Circuit of Wantage and Abingdon launched a Community Chaplaincy scheme. Unlike most chaplaincies, Sarah and Libby are chaplains to a new-build area, and support the schools, uniformed groups, Residents Association, shops, construction workers, residents, retirement home, SEN group and residents through an unobtrusive ministry of presence. Read more about it here...

The Community Chaplaincy on Great Western Park, Didcot

This project has been up and running for just over a year. It is a truly pioneering ministry as it is a first- Chaplaincy on a new housing estate, with no church as our base, only Hope our motorhome. It was conceived some 5 years ago and a little over year ago  it began on one of the biggest housing projects in the country- 3000 homes to be built with another 4000 promised.  Readmore about it here....