Mini Conference

Can't make it to the Equipt 09 Conference in Ngaruawahi?
BUT
Still want to get some ideas on how to reach people in your community for Christ?

Then Carey Baptist College on Saturday 2 May is THE place for you to be.

You can choose from

Faith Sharing Workshop Dr Eddie Fox (Executive Director of the World Methodist Evangelism Institute)
An all day workshop in which Dr Fox will share fresh ideas and ways of sharing your faith.

OR

In the afternoon there will be two sessions when some speakers will offer the workshops they ran at the main conference in Ngaruawahia.

For more details Click here to see the flyer

Enable '09: Church Possible

Church Possible is a ministry training programme for churches, to help ordinary people in ordinary churches minister effectively to the people of their own area.

This event will be stimulating and practical. There will be plenty of opportunity to connect with people from other Northland churches, and to get ideas from what they are doing.

It will be held at the Centre for Re-Creation of Bay of Islands Co-operating Parish in Paihia from Sunday afternoon March 29 to lunchtime Wednesday April 1.

For more information please click on the links below

• Church Possible - Information flyer

• Church Possible - Registration form

Equipt 09 - Connecting Communities with Christ

Equipt 09 is a multi-cultural conference geared to resource pastors, youth workers and lay leader ship teams to reach their communities with the gospel.

The programme contains a range of international speakers, practical workshops and Wesley Groups and will provide opportunities to learn, interact and reflect.

Equipt 09 is a regional conference of the World Methodist Evangelism Institute and has been organised in New Zealand as a co-operative venture between the Methodist Church of New Zealand Te Haahi Weteriana o Aotearoa, the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand and the Church of the Nazarene in New Zealand. Equipt 09 is structured around five components: Worship, Plenary speakers, Workshops, Wesley Groups and Headspace.


For further information and registration forms please email Andrew at gammanclan(@)bindon.co.nz or visit our website at www.equipt.org.nz

Local Shared Ministry Booklet 2009

We have now posted the updated Local Shared Ministry Booklet onto our website

Please Click here to link to the LSM Booklet 2009

Nehu Te Pou

Methodist Enable '09: Advance Notice

UPDATED 5 FEBRUARY 2009

News flash: Date and venue has changed and been confirmed.
The new dates are Sunday afternoon March 29 to lunchtime Wednesday April 1. We will be hosted at the gorgeous facilities of the Centre for Re-Creation in Paihia, Bay of Islands.
Speakers will include Peter MacKenzie (Executive Officer for UCANZ) and Marilyn Welch (Anglican). Program and costings are currently being confirmed and will be notified as soon as they are available on this blog and through E-messenger.

Please note that this information is different from what was previously advertised.

The Local Shared Ministry workgroup are pleased to announce that Methodist Enable 2009 will be held in Northland. The venue is still to be clarified. The Northland Synod / Churches Together in Northland will be hosting the event, which will be held from Sunday March 29 to Wednesday April 1, 2009 (Please note the change of dates). There may also be a further day event for enablers if there is sufficient interest.

As in previous years, an invitation is therefore extended to the church to send participants. Participants are asked to seek the support of their synods for attendance. Synods are also encouraged to send people who they would like trained for Enabler ministry, or informed about Local Shared Ministry or the ministry of enabling.

Topics/ workshops are still to be confirmed, but at this stage include Creative Mission, Supervision, Worship, Building Christian faith, and expectations of enablers. As usual there will also be significant time to share each others stories and swap resources.

Details of cost, venue and final program will be announced as they become available.
Keep an eye out on http://methodistenable.blogspot.com/ for updates and conversation topics.

Nigel Hanscamp
Director Mission Resourcing
for the Local Shared Ministry Workgroup

Faith and Wellness

Here's an idea for a pastoral care group study or for personal reflection.

A few months ago, I came across an article written by Alan Leadley, currently chaplain at Waikato Hospital. The article grabbed my attention because it sought to bring under a spotlight some questions and tools around the issues of health, faith and wellness. Alan begins:

Chaplains are involved in patient and family care, primarily in the spiritual and religious arena. Chaplains inevitably are deeply involved in the care of dying patients and death, such as through trauma or stillbirth, but what of the living and the recovering patients? It is a given that people who believe in a Higher Power are prone, like all people, to life's vagaries, crises, trauma, sickness and death. The question that is asked in this paper is 'do religious or spiritual people cope with illness and death more effectively than persons who do not hold such beliefs?'

He then goes on to explore where spirituality has positive health, how religious beliefs are defined (including the difference between organised religious practice and spirituality and the benefits of both), how research may measure health and wellbeing in connection with faith, whether there is a valid relationship between religion, spirituality and health, how and where spirituality can have a negative impact on health, how to get a person's 'spiritual history' and how to assess spiritual needs. I found the last two sections particularly helpful in getting into pastoral conversations, particularly in its critique of Rogerian counselling methods.

This would be a very interesting base for pastoral care group study or training – or for a home group wanting to talk about care in a missional setting. It opens questions of exploring spirituality and how God's grace is experienced in people's lives. At very least it certainly is worth the 15 minutes reading over a cuppa.

The full article is available here. Please acknowledge Alan when you use it, and feel free to contact him with any comments (or comment here on the blog).

Nigel Hanscamp

A week in the life of an enabler: Gillian Mary @ Riverton

A Week in the life of Gillian-Mary, Enabler for Riverton Union parish.

I am an Anglican priest, contracted by Methodist church as Enabler for Union parish of Riverton, coastal Southland. This is my second year. I live in Lumsden, 100km away. The first year I tried staying in Riverton for a long weekend, Thursday – Sunday. We found this was taking too much of parishioners precious weekends so now I stay one week a month in a rented crib and enjoy some free time and work 8 units ( 1 unit = morning/afternoon or eve session). Is this a great job! A typical week looks like this:

Help: Talk with a small group about principles of LSM. How can we share more of what we do in the parish? We were worried about burnout for the preachers but maybe its burnout for the leaders? Teams working well, how does role of Parish Council challenge LSM model of ministry? Can they too learn to work as a team? Interesting conversation, expect to continue this, probably at parish planning day.

Listen: Coffee with parishioner as I listen to some more of the parish story and the hurts still needing healing in the aftermath of parish changing direction to LSM.

Supervision: Check in with Ministry Leadership Team. We talk about tasks, what resources needed, pray together and usually have a laugh as we get to know each other better.

Encourage: Talk through with Pastoral Team leader about a training session on "story listening". The difficulty is timing as all leading busy lives!

Refreshment: Time out for me. Enjoy walking on the beach, discover I'm not as agile as I was jumping the rocks. Bothereration! I might be getting older.

Provide: Resources for preachers – looking at Methodist Lead Worship year 2. Think we could get a group going. Also get further with setting date for first adult Sunday Club gathering. This is really exciting for a group of parishioners looking for a chance to revisit subjects they have put on a graffiti board. Starting off with the Holy Spirit. Sure hope she comes!

Assist: Visit home group "Friday Friends" and join in bible study looking at coming reading for Sunday. A wonderful group of women that energise me and give me hope for future church!! Wonder if we can get a group together, men? Maybe Monday Mates!!

Facilitate: On-going call process and discernment for next Worship team Leader. Wow, God surely led us left field on this one!

I am not "the minister" but enable the ministering community to be the presence of Christ in this community. To do this I have received Enabler training with the Anglican Church (Waikanae 1997), receive regular supervision and spiritual direction, have a supportive family and a group of friends with whom I am able to let my hair down, relax, enjoy good food and wine and laugh! I love what I do and feel I am greatly blessed.