DigiComms - Yorkshire North & East Methodist District

5th November 20201st December 2020News & Events

Live Prayer Thursdays at 6pm

Our Chair of District, Revd Leslie Newton, will be leading live prayers every Thursday (starting today – 5th November) at 6pm over in our public Facebook Group, supporting and encouraging the call to make November a month of prayer.Watch and engage here: www.facebook.com/groups/YorkshireNorthandEastMethodists

Leslie says: “We’re encouraging everyone to respond to the call to make November a month of prayer for our nation. The Church of England is encouraging people to pray at 6pm each day. In support of that, I’ll be leading a 15 minute prayer time each Thursday at 6pm on Facebook Live in this group – beginning this evening.”

The prayer videos will continue to be available to watch later for those who can’t join live. We will update this post with the direct link and include the video below, for those who don’t use Facebook.

Watch the video here: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.newton.562/videos/10157089959546307

26th October 202026th October 2020Sleep Out for Homelessness Blog

SLEEP OUT FOR HOMELESSNESS

Living with homelessness this winter

The Sleep Out for Homelessness event on January 23rd 2021 will help to raise funds for Carecent in York, and SASH. Short for ‘Safe and Sound Homes’, SASH operates across a large geographical area and provides services to prevent youth homelessness right across the Yorkshire North & East Methodist District. Nationally, the last few months have seen huge shifts in provision for rough sleepers, and services on the ground have had to adapt quickly in order to provide safe options for people experiencing this form of homelessness. Recent trends have also thrown into sharp relief how the wider experience of homelessness is much more than what we see in terms of visible rough sleeping. Escalating levels of domestic violence during the pandemic have exposed many more individuals to the risks of homelessness. Goodness only knows how the hidden homeless of sofa surfers coped during the lockdown.

At the same time a recent article in the Lancet has drawn attention to the particular risks that COVID19 poses for homeless people this coming winter and what this means for accommodation and support services over the next few months. The urgency of the situation is reflected in the announcement last week of a new call for evidence by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee which will look at homelessness and consider what additional support may be needed over the winter months and following the increase in infection rates.

How are churches responding to homelessness?

Recent attention on homelessness by the Joint Public Issues Team (made up of the Baptist Union, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church) has made sure that people who have experienced homelessness are at the centre of discussions about how churches can be part of the solutions. From Harrogate to Hull and Selby to Scarborough, there’s already a fantastic range of work all around our own District both within and between churches, and the challenge is how we build on this work going forwards. In this respect the response within our own area is replicated right across the Connexion and there have been three Methodist Homelessness and Housing Gatherings this year to share and learn from our experiences of the current crisis. But these meetings are also thinking about how churches respond in the future and how we can be part of a bigger picture of tackling homelessness locally and nationally in the coming years. We have been challenged to think much more broadly about how we might also work in partnership with other agencies to prevent homelessness, as well as supporting how people move on from homelessness. That is, how churches can be part of people’s recovery and reconnection within communities. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Commission on Housing, Church and Community will soon be publishing a toolkit to support how churches might further respond in their areas and build upon the work already going on. Once this ‘how to’ toolkit is available, we will be hosting an event over the District to look at what this means for us in our own contexts and how it might help to shape our own responses to homelessness within our communities.

Exploring homelessness

In the run up to the Sleep Out for Homelessness we’ll look in more detail at some of the particular issues facing homeless people. Over the next few weeks we’ll feature a series of blogs that will explore:

youth homelessness;
some of the issues that contribute to the risk of homelessness in childhood;
the hidden nature of homelessness especially in the rural areas of our District.
contributions from Carecent and SASH,
how we might respond locally as individuals and churches going forwards into 2021.

The timing of the Sleep Out for Homelessness in January reminds us that whilst Christmas is often a time that grabs the headlines about homelessness, winter is a long season for anyone living in precarious and vulnerable housing situations or rooflessness.

Find out more about the Sleep Out for Homelessness event here:
www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/district-youth/sleep-out

15th September 202015th September 2020News & Events

District Synod Recordings and Notes

The live stream from District Synod on Saturday 12th September is still available to watch back on YouTube here

Synod Videos

Individual clips and videos shown during Synod are now available to watch separately and are all contained in this playlist

Documents from Jongi’s presentation

The notes and documents shown by Revd Dr Jongikaya Zihle during his session at Synod on “Flourishing as an Inclusive Church” are available below:

Building affirming inclusive communities (doc.)

Encountering Diversity (doc.)

Unconscious Bias (jpeg)

District Synod Summary

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the planning and delivery of our Synod this morning. It was especially encouraging that Synod:
a) agreed to seek Conference approval for a brand new, non-geographically defined Circuit to provide a District-wide ‘new place for new people.’ and
b) committed to becoming a Net Zero Carbon District by 2040, at least.

A summary report of District Synod will be availiable soon.

7th September 20207th September 2020News & Events

District Synod Live Stream

District Synod will meet virtually on the morning of Saturday 12 September from 9:30am to 12:30pm. All procedings will be live streamed to YouTube.

Watch the Synod live stream on YouTube here:
https://youtu.be/ExQVJ4njTd8

Join in the conversation and say hello to people at Synod over in our District Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Yorks…

Yorkshire North & East District Synod will take place using Zoom Webinar, which is the same platform that the Methodist Conference used this year. If you attended the 2020 Methodist Conference, or watched online, then you will have some idea how our Synod will work. More info about Synod can be found on our District Website here: https://www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/…

31st August 202031st August 2020News & Events

District Prayer Diary 2020/21

Take a look at our new District Prayer Diary for 2020/21. We will also be sharing the prayers over on our District Facebook Page every day during September as we start on a Connexional ‘Year of Prayer’.

The District Prayer Diary can be viewed online here:
www.yorkshirenemethodist.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-21-District-Prayer-Diary.pdf

Follow the prayers during September on our Facebook Page here:
www.facebook.com/YNEMethodists

YEAR OF PRAYER
The Conference has declared 2020/2021 a year of prayer so that our Church-wide commitments to evangelism, church growth, church at the margins, and pioneering and church planting will flow from a deep, contemplative orientation to God’s grace and love.
Be part of this movement of prayer as we ask the Holy Spirit to help us be a growing, evangelistic, inclusive, justice-seeking Church of gospel people.
You can join others across the country to pray together every Tuesday (starting 1st September 2020) from 12.45 to 1.00pm. Watch the live stream over on the Methodist Church Facebook Page

More info here: www.methodist.org.uk/our-work/our-work-in-britain/evangelism-growth/year-of-prayer/

20th July 202020th July 2020News & Events

Ebor Lectures Online

The Ebor Lectures series is an ecumenical project jointly sponsored and organised by York Minster, York St John University, The Order of Carmelites, The Yorkshire North and East District of the Methodist Church and The C. & J. B. Morrell Trust.

The Ebor Lectures in Theology and Public Life were established in 2006 in the city of York.

This prominent series of lectures, and related events, promotes a conversation between theology and public issues, offered free-of-charge to the general public.

In 2020 the Ebor Lectures organising committee started a YouTube channel in the hope of sharing resources with an even wider group of people.

We hope you will find the materials on offer provoke you to think – and maybe to act – in new ways for the benefit of wider society.

Playlist:

23rd June 202023rd June 2020News & Events

The Theme for Flourish 21

ANNOUNCING…
We’re thrilled to release the theme for “Flourish 21”, our District event taking place next year! Watch our teaser trailer…

Flourish 21
ROOTED IN LOVE
Weekend 17th – 19th September 2021
Taking place at Scarborough Spa

What is Flourish all about? Or want a recap? Watch the video to get a feel of what to expect. We’re looking forward to it already!

Background:
After the success of our Flourish District Gathering in 2019, Flourish is returning in 2021. New focus. Same great event.
Bringing people together from accross the District in a weekend for all ages.

We can’t wait to share more details with you all soon.
#flourish21

9th June 202021st October 2020News & Events

Getting Ready for the Future

The impact on us all in responding to the global pandemic has been unprecedented and life-transforming. Of course, this includes the life of our churches. As we move to a gradual emerging from a comprehensive lockdown, we face considerable challenges. We look ahead, recognising that we cannot simply go back. I’m reminded of words in Isaiah 43:16-21. To a people in exile in Babylon we read words both reminding them of God’s faithfulness in the past, but also God’s promise of ‘the new.’

The district has produced this document:

Getting Ready for the Future (pdf)
A guide for churches and circuits in Yorkshire North & East District as we respond to living with a pandemic.

A digest of government mandates and advice for churches, Oct 2020

This document will be updated regularly as the guidance changes

Notes

For more Coronavirus news, guidance and resources, please visit our District Coronavirus Page here

Latest Methodist Church guidance: (click here)
Updated 4 July
We continue to heed the Government guidelines for churches and to consider carefully the needs and risks involved in reopening places of worship.

2nd June 20202nd June 2020News & Events

What is the Spirit saying to our Churches?

What is the Spirit saying to our Churches” A Pentecost Sunday District Zoom Gathering Sunday 31st May at 6.30pm – 8.00pm. A Zoom gathering hosted by Leslie Newton, Chair of District, with sharing from people within the District and a space for conversation together.

It was great to welcome people from all around the District for our Pentecost Zoom Gathering. A sincere thanks to Andy Lindley, Heather Shipman, Lansford Penn-Timity, Amy Shephard, Liane Kensett, and Richard Teal for their contributions. I’m so sorry that the upgraded Zoom subscription that should have allowed our numbers to be over 100 failed. Huge apologies to those who tried to get in but couldn’t.

Watch the recording:

However, the contributions have been recorded so you can watch most of the time together here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFR2lk1hZwo

Music video shared by Amy (removed from this recording) can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiTrp…

24th April 202025th April 2020News & Events

Representative Synod Live

It is not possible for Representative Synod to physically meet together this Spring. However, in addition to papers sent out to Synod members, Revd Leslie Newton, Chair of District, will offer a live video for Synod members (and anyone else who wishes to view) lasting about half an hour on Saturday 25th April at 10am.

Tune in live on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/leslie.newton.562 (it will also appear on our District Facebook Page and District Facebook Group) or for those who are not on Facebook, you should be able to view the video on this page below:

Watch Live

Catch up

Transcript

Fly the Flag – click the link below to open/download the document
Facebook Live transcript 25^th April 2020 by Leslie Newton (pdf)