
9 minute read
My Church Needs One of Those! Pages Exhibition features:
Homeless grateful for any pod in a storm
AMAZING GRACE SPACES, exhibitors at CRE National 2022, are creators of the emergency pod containing a bed, chemical toilet and a USB socket for charging a mobile phone – providing accommodation for the user until a permanent home can be found. The Salvation Army have installed two pods as part of a pilot scheme to provide temporary support and in two months they proved their worth. Andy Parkinson, manager of Lifehouses in Sheffield, said: ‘The pods provide a warm and safe place to sleep while The Salvation Army and local council tackle some of the reasons why the occupiers have become homeless. We have seen a real difference in the two clients placed in them.’ Stuart Johnson started
Advertisement
An Amazing Grace Spaces pod will be on stand B4 at CRE 2022
Bell on song for CRE return
YVONNE BELL SPECIALISES in silk painting for vestments, icons on wood and acrylic on canvas. She produces hangings for churches, altar frontals, pulpit and lectern falls and banners. Vestment ranges include chasubles and stoles for priests and copes and mitres for bishops. Her artwork often crosses over from paintings to vestments, as in ‘Given for you’ (pictured) a set featuring a painting, stole and chasuble. The hands of God the Father are shown in rainbow colours as a reminder Amazing Grace Spaces with his wife Caroline in 2015. He is keen to find churches prepared to donate a car parking space on which to locate a pod. ‘They are not the final answer, but while someone is waiting for permanent accommodation, they are safe from bullying or injury,’ he said. ‘They also give members of a church the opportunity to minister to them in a caring manner.’
of the flood and covenant represented by the rainbow. Yvonne began producing beautiful clerical items after being unable to get a job operating electroencephalograms! A lover of art, it led to a change of career and a switch to the C of E from the United Reformed Church. ‘That was fortunate,’ she explained, ‘because the URC do not wear clerical clothing of this kind!’ Yvonne Bell is on stand R6 at CRE National 2022


Time to close all food banks
THERE ARE ABOUT 1,200 food banks in their network – but the Trussell Trust wants rid of them all. That will be Rev Jessica Foster’s message to visitors at CRE National 2022 (11am, Tue 11 Oct). Jessica, head of church engagement at the trust, will encourage Christians to join the call for an end to the need for food banks and the poverty which has led to their necessity. ‘We support about two thirds of the food banks in the UK to provide a minimum of threedays’ nutritionally-balanced emergency food for people in crisis,’ she said. ‘It is time for a change and that will only be possible as we raise our voices together.’ With more than 14 million people in the UK living below the poverty line, she will point to the need for communities to challenge the structural issues that lock people into poverty – and campaign for change. ‘We know it takes more than food to end hunger so we bring together the experiences of food banks in our network, and their communities, to challenge the structural economic issues that lock people in poverty,’ said Jessica. ‘It is time food banks are resigned to the history books.’
Bring waves of change to Africa
LONG-ESTABLISHED charity Send a Cow changed its name to Ripple Effect earlier this year – and announced an ambitious plan to reach five million more people by 2030. The organisation has long known that change starts when farmers come together to learn practical ways to grow and sell more. Their farms become more productive, they lift themselves out of poverty and share what they learn with families and neighbours. ‘For every family we work with, three more families benefit,’ said Ripple Effect’s Ann Hatton. ‘Like a drop of water in a still pond, the impact spreads, and in time millions are making the most of the potential in their land, moving beyond surviving to thriving. We invite you to join us in creating a wave of change in rural Africa.’
Ripple Effect (formerly Send a Cow) are on stand F8 at CRE National 2022


The benefits of a divided church
WHEN THE CHILDREN wanted something a little out of the ordinary, church leaders at St Peter and St Paul, Northleach ordered a 6ft high lamb created from huge cliptogether Everblock units. An instant success, it is one of the more unusual orders fulfilled by The Portable Partitions Company, a first-time exhibitor at CRE National 2022 and a leading manufacturer and supplier of portable partitions, room dividers, barriers and outdoor partitions. ‘We have an unrivalled range of high quality, great value products for virtually every space-division problem and budget,’ said PPC’s Sally Tyson. ‘We manufacture most of our products in our workshop in Tewkesbury, so we are pretty sure we will have a height, width, colour and sound-dampening material to suit all needs, including screens for separating areas within places of worship.’ Alistair Mitchell, who is children’s worker at Otford Methodist Church, Oxford, ordered PPC screens for use in the Sunday school but has found many uses for them. ‘Different colours on two sides adds a bonus to the product and gives more versatility,’ he said. ‘They also act as back panels for interview evenings and are great for art displays.’ The Portable Partitions Company will be on stand P3 at CRE National 2022
Bagging a better future
PROMISE BAGS IS an Indian business giving holistic freedom to women trapped in caste-based discrimination, poverty and hopelessness. ‘Our mission is to offer freedom to Dalit (or Untouchable) women trapped in 3000 years of a caste system in which they have been treated with less dignity than an animal,’ said founder and CEO Elisha Cowtapalli. The company currently provides employment for 12 women who create beautiful and high-quality leather and jute bags, handcrafted with heart and passion. Samples will be on sale at CRE National 2022. ‘We produce 100 per cent genuine leather bags,’ said Elisha, ‘and our dream is to employ 100 women by 2025.’ He brought a selection of bags to CRE National 2017 – and sold out! He will show this year’s visitors a variety of products suitable for individual, family, church or business needs. Forty per cent of profits from sales go towards a not-for-profit education project with Dalit children, www. lightkids.org. See Promise Bags on stand H9 at CRE National 2022



Info-Point: your visitors’ new guide
TWO BROTHERS-IN-LAW have created a system for showing visitors round any church – without a personal guide. Dan Boys and Joe Middleton established Info-Point from WildFi two years ago when Dan realised the system would benefit historic churches in remote areas with poor or nonexistent wi-fi. It allows visitors to discover more about the building, its historic background and even the people buried in the churchyard. The size of an A4 box file, Info-Point powers a QR code system which links with mobile phones to provide commentary in words, text or using photographs at key points in the church and grounds. ‘The system is simple, entirely self-contained and doesn’t use phone signals or require connection to the internet,’ said Dan. St Swithun’s Church, Long Bennington, Lincolnshire have Info-Point. Anyone visiting the church with a smartphone can take an historical tour of the church, read about its WW1 story and war graves, discover the God’s Acre churchyard wildlife project, download walks and rambles – and be informed of the church’s upcoming events. A church without a lot of historical background can still find the system useful. A notice board outside the church can provide the link to details of service times and other facilities.
Info-Point from WildFi is on stand H4 at CRE National 2022

Time to slay the ‘dementia dragon’
ON ANCIENT MAPS the boundary of uncharted areas was marked with ‘Here Be Dragons’ to indicate the potential dangers beyond. CRE speaker Louise Morse, of Pilgrims’ Friend Society, sees it as a good metaphor for danger on the border of our lives as we approach the uncharted territory of old age. ‘The dragon that we fear most over this border is dementia: invisible and invidious,’ explained Louise. ‘The good news is that the dementia dragon is slowly being slain with modifiable factors that prevent or delay the disease proven and applied at different life stages.’ In her talk at CRE (2pm, Tue 11 Oct) she will be looking at the most recent news and the Pilgrims’ Friend Society Brain and Soul Boosting workbook.
Pilgrims’ Friend Society are on stand T7 at CRE National 2022

Home is where God’s heart is
FINDING A HOME for every UK child and teenager who needs one through fostering, adoption and supported lodgings – that’s the bold vision exhibitors Home for Good will share at CRE National 2022. ‘We believe churches have a crucial role to play to make this vision a reality,’ said CEO Tania Bright. As a former supported lodgings host and foster carer, and now adoptive mum to ‘two brilliant boys’, Tania knows the joy and challenge that can come as we reimagine family and open our homes. ‘Our faith inspires us to believe that change is possible,’ she said. ‘For some this will mean personally exploring fostering, adoption or supported lodgings. For others it will be about intentionally offering support to families raising children with an experience of care in our churches and communities.’ Tania, speaking on all three days at CRE National 2022 (see talks programme on page 23), will point to the fact that in every village, town and city churches are filled with people who want to follow the example of Jesus and walk alongside the marginalised. ‘Psalm 68 tells us that God sets the lonely in families,’ she said. ‘Imagine the impact if church communities wrapped around those families with love, encouragement, prayer and practical support.’ Home for Good are on stand V5 at CRE National 2022

Make the most of Barry and Dave’s cost-cutting crusade
TWO CHRISTIAN bookshops are promising to make 2022 a cost-cutting year for visitors to their stand with many items priced at £2.22 – or less. ‘We appreciate people cannot always afford to spend as much as they would like much,’ said Barry Mockford, manager of Canaan Christian Ministries in Staines. He and Dave Lock, from Manna Christian Centre in Streatham, aim to display a large range of books, cds, posters and cards – and represent the small, independent Christian bookshops in the UK. ‘We all know everything is going up in price,’ said Barry. ‘However, where possible, we intend to bring our prices down at CRE. Many items will be cheaper than you will usually find in the shops, or online, with a lot at our special £2.22 price or less. It will be the ideal time to support a couple of local bricks and mortar shops – and grab some excellent bargains!’
Canaan Christian Ministries and Manna Christian Books are on stand N3 at CRE National 2022