Wider World December 2019

WIDER WORLD Winter: Dec 19 - Feb 20

WOMEN GROWING TOGETHER Side by Side

Rosaria Butterfield reveals how the Gospel comes with a house key Table Fellowship

with Margaret Feinberg

World Development Appeal;

Farming God’s Way

TOGETHER UNDER PRESSURE

by Catherine Campbell

Sonya Anderson Shore Street, Donaghadee

Eileen Black

Great Victoria Street/ SBFH

Rachel Cubitt Whiteabbey

Eleanor Drysdale

Wellington, Ballymena

Joanne Dunlop Craigavon/Antrim Hospitals

Sharon Heron International Meeting Point

2019/20 Roberta Irvine Greystone Road, Antirm

Heather McCracken Belfast Health & Social Care Trust

DEACONESSES Serving God, the Church and their community

Amy Magee

Tracey Nicholl St James’s, Ballymoney

www.presbyterianireland.org/pw

Michelle Purdy

Hazel Reid

Ballyclare

First Broughshane

Margaret Robertson

Rosemary Spiers Greenwell Street, Newtownards

Elmwood

Heidi England Probationary Deaconess

Paula Burrows

Student Deaconess

Louise Davidson Student Deaconess

Sylvia Santos Bryce Student Deaconess

EDITOR’S LETTER

You can email Suzanne at: widerworld@presbyterianireland.org

CONTENTS Suzanne Simpson, Editor

My family and I have recently experienced a massive upheaval in our lives. An electrical fire in our kitchen has meant we have had to leave our home for an undetermined amount of time while an army of builders, plumbers, electricians, painters and joiners work to put it back together again.

Since this happened, we have experienced radical, ordinary hospitality from our family, our friends, our church, our colleagues and our neighbours. Homes have been opened to us. Clothes and toys have been provided for our kids. Dinners have been delivered. Prayers have been said. The list could go on. Our painful circumstance has been met with overwhelming generousity and kindness; each one giving us a glimpse of the Kingdom to come that Jesus describes in Matthew 25:34-36: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’”

This issue of Wider World is filled with visions of the kind of hospitality that Jesus is describing here. In ‘Side by Side’, you will read how entwined hospitality and discipleship have impacted women’s faith journeys within our congregations. Catherine Campbell invites us to consider how we are using our homes to serve the Lord and share the gospel, just as Priscilla and Aquila did. Best-selling author, Rosaria Butterfield, is living out this call in North Carolina today, using her home as a tool for the Kingdom by welcoming in people who look, think, believe and act differently so that, through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, they will become part of the family of God. And if you want to know how you’ll go about feeding all of these people, Margaret Feinberg has fantastic suggestions for making your time spent at the table together transformative.

I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed these articles and assisted in the coming together of this issue.

And, as one year draws to a close and another begins, I pray that you will be blessed and be a blessing as you prayerfully seek opportunities to open up your home and welcome in the ‘stranger’. To bring comfort and hope to those in need. To see the poor and the poor in heart restored in Jesus’ name.

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Side by Side Together Under Pressure: Priscilla & Aquila The Lives in the Day of a Deaconess Radical, Ordinary Hospitality Real Empowerment Loving Our Neighbours PW Group Focus - A Crafted Revelation Helping Families, Restoring Hope Farming God’s Way: World Development Appeal Called to Follow, Commanded to Love Taste and See with Margaret Feinberg Mission-Minded People The Nook Global Mission

Editor: Suzanne Simpson Contact: Presbyterian Women, Congregational Life & Witness Department, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, BT1 6DW. Email: widerworld@presbyterianireland.org Web: www.presbyterianireland.org/pw Tel: +44 (0)28 9041 7256 Like us on Facebook: Presbyterian Women Follow us on Instagram: @widerworldmagazine Digital download: issuu.com/presbyterianireland Designed by: Break - madebybreak.com Printed by: Peninsula Print & Design Wider World is the magazine of PW. Published quarterly: March, June, September and December. Annual subscription: £6/€7 or £1.50/€1.75 per issue. Each year, an order form will be sent to Wider World agents. This should be returned, together with payment, to the above address. If required, invoices will be issued upon receipt of the order form. Cheques should be made payable to ‘The Presbyterian Church in Ireland’ marked Wider World on the reverse.

Wider World is available on CD for blind and partially sighted people and is produced by Belfast Talking Newspapers, Unit 4 Lyndon Court, 32 Queen Street, Belfast, BT1 6EF. Our sincere thanks to Belfast Talking Newspapers and Winnie Moffett for coordinating this service. For further details telephone +44 (0)28 9041 7256. The Editor reserves the right to accept, reject or edit contributions. Opinions expressed in Wider World are not necessarily those of PCI, Presbyterian Women or the Editor.

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WOM E N ’ S M I N I S T RY

Side by Side WOM E N G ROW I N G TO G E T H E R As Women’s Ministry and PW Development Officer, Pauline Kennedy is responsible for supporting the ministry of Presbyterian Women and assisting in the development of strategy and coordination of women’s ministry generally. Here, along with some of those involved in the regional events, she shares about the heart behind the ‘Side by Side’ initiative.

W

e can all think of different people in our lives who have helped us grow as Christians. People who have gently encouraged us, given us a hand up when we were struggling, and taken the time to pray with us.

Side by side relationships with others can be simple, but their significance can last a lifetime. As I look back on my life, I am thankful to God for the people he used to draw me to him and help me grow in him. Paula from Wales springs quickly to my mind. She reached out to me in friendship, shared her life and shared what Jesus had done for her.

Eventually, she led me to him as we chatted into the small hours of the morning back in October 1982.

It’s good to have relationships that go deeper than small talk. When God blesses us through the people he has brought into our lives, it is so that we, in turn, can draw alongside others to pass that blessing on.

In the Bible, we see the power of drawing side by side in Christian relationship. It’s what Jesus did. He didn’t just teach from the front, he modelled his life, side by side, walking, talking, eating, serving and reaching out with his disciples.

Throughout the gospels, we see how Jesus demonstrated that making disciples and building faith was done up close.

‘Side by Side’ is not a programme, and it’s not the next new ‘shiny thing’. It’s simply doing what we’ve been called to do by the One who did it for us. Therefore, we need to intentionally find fresh ways to invest in the lives of others. In her book, ‘One-to-One’, Sophie DeWitt defines this as: ‘One Christian taking the initiative with another individual to help them know Christ better and obey him more fully, through studying the Scriptures, prayer (for and with them) and sharing one’s life with them – leaving the results to God.’

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Being side by side with someone is not complicated or difficult. Every day, God gives us ways to connect with one another in our church families and communities.

We can get side by side to develop: • A caring relationship with someone you know is going through a hard time • A prayer partnership • An outreach relationship that helps someone experience church and explore the gospel maybe for the first time • A working relationship that helps someone grow in leadership • An intergenerational relationship in which women share their faith and benefit from their differing life experiences • A discipling relationship in which you read the Bible together and talk about what God is teaching you through his Word.

So who is God putting on your heart even now? How could you invest in them over the next year? Pray for opportunities and conversations, and be alert to God’s leading. Then, ask him to help you to take the next step. Love always moves towards others. Getting side by side – rather than keeping our distance – is about answering that call to love and be loved in the community of his Church.

Stories from Side by Side

Side by Side together Allison Moffett is a member of Richhill Presbyterian Church and works as a GP in the local village. Married to Jonny, they have two children, Seth and Emily.

What I have learned over the past few years is that we were never meant to do this life alone. We were always meant to be part of the family of God. For me, the last 4-5 years have been a bit of a blur, as a new mum, working and studying for GP exams, moving house, having baby number two and moving house again. To be honest, during that time life was chaotic and stressful. It’s only now that I can look back and see how it was nearly impossible to be a good friend to anyone, and that meant I was very lonely. I distanced myself from church with the all-too-easy excuse of being ‘too busy’, and found myself even more isolated, in a ‘terrible twos’ house, watching non-stop CBeebies, feeling even more unhappy and lonely.

That Proverbs 31 woman could not have been further from my radar. I hadn’t lifted my Bible in months and I felt like a fraud for even showing up to church. I felt people looked at my life and thought it was perfect, but all I could think was, “If my life is so perfect, why am I so unhappy with it?” I felt weak for not coping better with what seemed to be normal struggles that everyone goes through.

Then, after communion one night, someone from the congregation saw me and spoke to me. I mean she saw me.

She cared enough to see me, and see my struggles and she came alongside me and listened. She asked me to join a small group, and I can honestly say that it has been my lifeline.

Had she not come alongside me that night in church, and had I not made that commitment, my life may have taken a very different path.

We met every week, studying God’s Word and praying together. We shared our lives with each other, including our struggles and our worries. Do you know what I discovered? Believe it or not - no one is perfect.

We are all struggling through life with insecurities, worries, problems and temptations. We all have disappointments.

We all let each other down and we all have been let down by others. We all sin and we all lose sight of the purpose of this life.

To anyone who feels lonely or lost; to anyone who feels worthless or inferior to others; to anyone who feels guilt, temptation or addiction; to anyone disappointed with what life has thrown at them, I would say this: if you have a hunger to get close to God again, join a small group or find a Christian friend to study God’s Word with. It is here you will learn to open the Bible again, learn to pray again and learn to hand over everything to Jesus. It is here that you will be honest with each other and accountable for each other and help carry each other’s burdens.

As great as it is to have friends to meet with for coffee, lunches and play dates, there is nothing more fulfilling than a group of friends studying the Bible and praying for each other.

We need each other. We need the Bible. We need Jesus. And we all need the support and sincere encouragement that comes from having good friends.

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Stories from Side by Side

Side by Side reaching out Deborah Sloan is a member of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church. She sits on the Women’s Ministry Panel and works as a university lecturer.

After attending a focus day on women’s ministry in Assembly Buildings, Belfast, last year, I felt that God was prompting me to do something with the passion I already had for women of all ages in my congregation.

I prayed about it and, considering we were entering the summer period when no organisations were meeting, schools were off and people generally had a little more time, I decided to organise some ‘gatherings’. Part of my original idea was to engage those on the outskirts of the church or who didn’t attend church, so, I chose to use my house for six Monday night gatherings in July and August. I based the structure of the evening on a format used by Shore Street Presbyterian Church’s ministry called ‘GIFT’, which had been shared at the focus day. This was to go for a walk, have a short talk and then share supper. I approached my minster with this idea and he was very happy for me to go ahead with it. I also shared the idea with a couple of friends who helped to organise speakers.

On that first Monday I didn’t know how many people would come (if any!) or how it would turn out. I still remember the look on my husband’s face as women started stream down our driveway at 7.30pm. I also remember sitting in amongst all these women and thinking, “I actually don’t know what I am doing!” But, there is something amazing in bringing people together and allowing God to lead.

Not every night went perfectly. The high numbers that came on the first night were followed by low numbers on week three, when it rained heavily and people decided to stay home. Yet, instead of a large group of women standing in different places having different conversations, the numbers enabled us to all sit around the same table and have one deeper conversation. Numbers are not the priority. God used that night to connect smaller numbers on a much deeper level.

As summer drew to a close, I knew I didn’t want to leave the connections we had made hanging until the following year. So, I organised one-off gatherings in November and in May. The first was ‘In Conversation with Teenagers’ and the second was ‘In Conversation with ‘Wise’ Ladies.’ These featured Q&A sessions and time to hear how each group was walking in their Christian lives.

I couldn’t possibly have known how these gatherings would develop over the course of just a year. I didn’t have a plan - in fact a lot of the time I didn’t really know what I was doing! However, looking back, I can see that God had a plan. I believe God has given me a specific passion for women’s ministry, so I responded to his prompts to take action. I got started, not knowing where it would lead, and God did the rest.

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Resources We want to inspire and enthuse you to catch this vision, and we also want to enable and equip you by highlighting some great resources that are available.

Side by Side web page features a downloadable version of the Side by Side video and recordings of the talks and stories shared at these events. Visit presbyterianireland.org/sidebyside for more information.

Women Growing Together Side by Side is a resource that summarises the heart behind side by side relationships, giving practical suggestions about what to do next. It is available to purchase from the Congregational Life and Witness office or through the Side by Side webpage.

ASK is a set of cards, on various themes, which can be used as prayer prompts.

SHARE is a resource that helps support congregations to develop their community witness and grow in confidence in telling others about Jesus.

PROXIMITY is a resource that has been specifically designed for meeting one-to-one or in twos and threes to study the Bible.

Suggested Reading Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin We all know it’s important to study God’s Word, but sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. What’s more, a lack of time, emotionally driven approaches, and past frustrations can erode our resolve to keep growing in our knowledge of Scripture. How can we, as Christian women, keep our focus and sustain our passion when reading the Bible?

Popular Bible teacher, Jen Wilkin, is concerned that sometimes we let our emotions rule our study of Scripture and forget that the Bible is primarily about God, not us. Offering a clear and concise plan, she challenges hungry women to go deeper in their study of Scripture. This book can help you to refocus your efforts on feeding your mind first and foremost. Whether you’re young or old, married or single, ‘Women of the Word’ will energise and equip you for the kind of Bible study that transforms both your heart and your mind.

One to One by Sophie DeWitt The gospel is all about changed lives.

Peter, James and John, transformed by Jesus’ teaching, were commanded to ‘go and make disciples of all nations.’ Many of us have been influenced by an individual within our own journey to faith.

‘One-To-One’ unpacks the practical and spiritual implications of this ministry, and shows how we can support each other one to one.

Taking the New Testament examples of Jesus, Paul, Timothy and Titus, Sophie DeWitt looks at what this means for us in practice. In this book, she interviews people who have experienced this ‘one-to-one’ work and their comments are interspersed with biblical principles to provide honesty, encouragement and real application for Christian living today.

A full list of resources for one-to-one work is also listed towards the end of the book including: study resources; courses for new Christians; three sample studies from Colossians for new Christians; two sample studies from Mark for non-Christians; books to read and recommend; podcasts, internet resources and counselling organisations.

In May 2020, Sophie DeWitt will be the keynote speaker at Presbyterian Women’s Conference held in Assembly Buildings, Belfast.

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Together under pressure

Priscilla & Aquila

Catherine Campbell, author of Journey with Me, Broken Works Best and other titles, has spent many years involved in women’s Bible ministry.

In this devotional, she continues to highlight relationships from the Bible that display the life-changing impact of discipleship by creatively exploring the experiences of wife and husband team, Priscilla and Aquila.

READ

Acts 18:1-8; 18-20 & 24-28; Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19

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“How can the sun shine so brightly on such a dark day?” thought Priscilla, as home became a misshapen line merging with the horizon.

The sailors shouted instructions to one another as sails billowed in the stiff breeze that was taking its passengers and cargo away from the land of her birth. Praying her stomach would cease its rolling, Priscilla glanced at the man standing beside her, recognising the same sadness in his eyes. Her husband, Aquila, was no stranger to sailing this treacherous stretch of water, having previously migrated to Rome from Pontus on the Black Sea. “At least we are together on this unwanted and difficult journey,” she whispered.

Together. Priscilla found it hard to think of a time when she and Aquila were not side by side. They not only shared their lives in marriage but also in business. Most tradesmen passed on their skills to their sons, but theirs was a different situation, so Aquila taught Priscilla the skill of tent making and working in leather. Though where they’d put a tent on this crowded deck, she had no idea!

Pulling away from their own thoughts, the couple began doing what was also second nature to them: helping others. They were key members of the new church in Rome; together also in faith and evangelism. The gospel had reached the capital of the Empire long before Paul or Peter arrived, and Priscilla and Aquila shared the good news from their market stall, as well as teaching new believers both in the synagogue and in their home. Now, on a ship bound for Corinth, all around them were simple, hardworking people who the Emperor Claudius had expelled as troublemakers. Their crime? They were Jews. This made them a threat to Rome and had resulted in a forced exodus. To make matters worse, the Romans couldn’t differentiate between Jews and Christians, so both were included in the Imperial expulsion order. The worship of only one God was preposterous to Claudius, especially when that one ‘god’ wasn’t him! Pressure and persecution came hand-in-hand to the believers in the one the Romans called, ‘Christus’.

DE VOT IONA L

• Thank God if you have a believing husband with whom you worship, pray and serve God side by side.

• Don’t give up if your husband has not yet trusted Christ. Pray on.

Ask God for a good friend you can trust when life is pressured.

• Ask God to create within you a willing heart to stand firm in the face of increasing opposition to Christian beliefs and be bold in how you share the Gospel.

We can only imagine the atmosphere on board as so many refugees had to leave everything they owned behind. Priscilla and Aquila were God’s representatives where pain and heartache filled the air, and they quickly responded to the pressure of their new surroundings in Corinth. They immediately set up a business in the huge marketplace, willingly accepting the change that had been forced on them and taking every opportunity they could to speak of Christ and spread the gospel.

Corinth sat on a land bridge providing a vital trade route between Asia and Rome, but it was a city offering immorality and pagan worship in abundance. Pressure to conform to the status quo was a huge temptation for the fledgling church, but the faithful couple quickly became involved in the local synagogue, until the Jews opposed Paul’s message when he arrived a year later. Soon, a house church was set up right next door (Acts 18:6-8). Here they could teach and share freely from God’s Word and the instruction reaching them from the apostles in Jerusalem.

Hospitality was intertwined with their faith in Jesus, even when their lives were in danger (Romans 16:3-4). Not only did Paul stay with them in Corinth (Acts 18:2-3) and later in Ephesus, but also we are told that the church met in their home in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:19) and in Rome, where they returned after Emperor Claudius had died (Romans 16:3-5).

Priscilla and Aquila were truly a wonderful example of working together for the church of Jesus Christ. They were both practical and immensely spiritual, working alongside Timothy as he pastored the church at Ephesus (2 Timothy 4:19), while teaching and mentoring Apollos to equip him for the ministry God had for him within the early church (Acts 18:24-28).

The words of Jesus, recorded in John 16:33, should encourage us to look at Priscilla and Aquila’s life with hope, as they point us to God’s final victory: ‘In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’ Persecution may have been a daily reality for them but they spread the Gospel everywhere God sent them, as they lived their lives together under pressure.

• How could you use your home to serve the Lord?

• Are you looking for opportunities to witness for Christ wherever you go, even if there is opposition?

• Are you willing to respond positively to a young believer who may seek you out for a discipling relationship?

Realistically, there may be few Priscilla and Aquila partnerships around today, but God simply asks us for a passionate heart, and a willing life, to go and make a difference in our world today. And he loves it when we work together.

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DE AC ON E S S

“The opportunities deaconesses have had over the years to share God’s Word, and minister to all ages, as servants of Christ and his Church, are immeasurable.”

The Lives in a Day OF A DEACONESS Rosemary Spiers has been serving as a deaconess in Greenwell Street Presbyterian Church in Newtownards since September 2017. In her role, she engages with a range of ministries within the church, as well as undertaking pastoral visitation both for members of the congregation and the wider community.

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Belfast News-Letter THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1929.

DEACONESS MOVEMENT Dedication Service at Newtownards

An impressive service was held in Greenwell Street Presbyterian Church, Newtownards, last evening, when Miss Isobel Sloan was inducted as a deaconess in connection with the congregation. A great deal of interest was aroused in the service, as Miss Sloan is the first deaconess to be appointed in Newtownards.

Prior to the dedication, the Moderator of the General Assembly (Rev T A Smyth MA, LLB), visiting ministers and deaconesses were entertained to tea by the congregation. A hearty welcome was extended to those present by Rev T McIlwrath, minister of the congregation. The Moderator in reply said that deaconesses were one of the finest agents in the Church.

Mr T J Spratt, who has played a prominent part in organising the deaconess movement, said that this year would mark the coming of age of the movement, as it was started 21 years ago. Miss Stevenson, Ballymena, one of the first deaconesses in connection with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, also addressed the meeting.

At the dedication service Rev T A Smyth presided and the opening prayer was given by Rev H Kirker, Moderator of the Presbytery, Rev T Mcllwrath read the lesson after which an address was given by the Moderator of the General Assembly, who gave a historical sketch of the work done in the Church by the deaconess movement.

The large congregation remained standing while the dedication prayer was offered up by the Moderator, who also delivered an impressive charge to the deaconess and the congregation.

Newtownards, July 2019 Margaret greeted me as I entered her home with, “I was just thinking about you, Rosemary.” We chatted away and I listened with added interest as she shared about her late mother who had been the first deaconess of Greenwell Street Presbyterian Church, Isobel Sloan. On my previous visit with Margaret, I had given her a copy of the newspaper clipping about her mother’s dedication service that was displayed in the church during its 150th anniversary celebrations.

On this particularly beautiful day, I got into the car and headed to Newtownards, praying that the Lord would guide me in what I would say and what I would share from his Word. Margaret and I read a passage from 1 Samuel 25 in which Abigail prepares to meet King David and through her humility and wisdom saves the lives of many. After we prayed together, I reflected back on the other people whom God had brought me to that day and how the life of a deaconess requires the same God-given ability displayed by Abigail and modelled by Margaret’s mother nearly one hundred years ago.

That morning, the weekly Bible study that I helped to lead for mums in our church had been cancelled. We were really enjoying our time together with the Bible, and also reading and discussing the book, ‘Even Better Than Eden’, by Nancy Guthrie. So with this break in routine, I decided that a coffee, a fruit scone and fellowship with one of the mums-to-be was how I would spend my newly acquired time.

The afternoon began with a visit to a member of our congregation who lives in an upstairs flat and is now, unfortunately, unable to get out and about. In her living room, I spotted a photograph that I recognised from a display I had seen that past April which celebrated the 150th anniversary of Greenwell Street Presbyterian. I brought the photograph over to her and together we guessed who the ministers were in the picture that had obviously been taken at a special occasion. Alongside the ministers in the photograph was the then deaconess of Greenwell Street, Julia Hamilton.

During her time at the church, the Lord used Julia’s influence to impress upon Sharon Herron a desire to train to become a deaconess. Sharon is presently serving as the deaconess for International Meeting Point and Greenwell Street continues to be her home congregation. As we read God’s Word and prayed together, I gave thanks to God for this wonderful woman who just loves him dearly.

The sun was shining as I got into my car and journeyed home on that day in July. I thought about how my life as a deaconess in 2019 looks so different to how Isobel Sloan’s life would have looked almost 100 years ago. In just this one day I had used Google, WhatsApp, email, text, and Facebook to communicate with and locate the various people with whom I had shared fellowship and God’s Word. What would Isobel have made of my iPhone, photocopier, laminator and sat-nav?!

However, some things don’t change. Lives still matter.

Visitation is still a vital connection for many members of our congregations. The Bible and salvation in Jesus Christ are still all we need. The opportunities deaconesses have had over the years, to share God’s Word and minister to all ages as servants of Christ and his church, are immeasurable. This year marks my tenth year as a deaconess. What a privilege it has been, and continues to be, to serve the Lord in this way.

In Romans 16:1-2, we read about Phoebe, ‘a deacon of the church in Cenchrea’, who helped Paul and the early church.

We don’t know what she looked like, how old she was or if she was single, married or widowed…she definitely didn’t have a car or a phone! Yet, there are three things we do know about Phoebe. She was a ‘sister’, a committed member of the family of God. She was ‘servant’, one who serves in the church. And, she was a ‘great help’ to Paul and many others.

The name Phoebe means, ‘bright and radiant.’ As sisters who love the Lord, may we, as deaconesses, shine brightly and radiantly in this dark world for his glory.

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I N T E RV I E W

Radical

Ordinary Hospitality

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Rosaria Butterfield became a Christian in 1999, in what she describes as a ‘train-wreck’. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert charts that difficult journey. In her latest book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key, she encourages us to consider a life of ‘radical, ordinary hospitality’ in which our homes are not our own but instead God’s tools for his kingdom as we welcome those who look, think, believe and act differently from us into our everyday (sometimes messy) lives; helping them see what true Christian faith really looks like.

A

s I sit down beside Rosaria Butterfield in a now empty tent at New Horizon, a Christian festival held on the Coleraine campus of Ulster University, I am certain that I am going to be deeply challenged about how I open my life to others. But, as she lifts her knitting from a bag sitting next to her, I sense that this will be a gentle revelation communicated with the grace that saturates her message of gospel-filled hospitality.

I begin by asking how she defines the radically ordinary hospitality that her family practises in their home in Durham, North Carolina. ‘First of all, I called it ‘ordinary hospitality’ until publishers got involved. They like adjectives more than I do!’ she jokes. ‘I don’t think it’s radical, I think it’s pretty ordinary. What it means is that you are daily and intentionally seeking the stranger for the purpose of welcoming that stranger as a neighbour, then prayerfully, by the power of the Holy Spirit, watching that neighbour become part of the family of God. For my husband Kent and me, the intentional part has involved things like homeschooling our foster kids so that prisoners could come to our home on day-release and come to our church on the Lord’s Day. We are also intentional with our neighbours and our church family by opening our home daily at dinner time.

‘We have always practised family devotions, and now we have up to 25 people at the table. People that we don’t presume are going to catch the gospel by osmosis, so after dinner our children bring the dishes to the sink and send mugs of coffee down the long rows, along with Bibles and psalters. Kent will explain that everyone is welcome to stay for devotions, but they don’t have to, and that we’re going to read a chapter of the Bible and we’re going to talk about it; then we’re going to sing a psalm and ask for prayer requests before praying together.’

What do you find to be the benefit of doing this nightly, rather than setting aside a weekly time, as many of us may feel more comfortable doing?

‘Because we do this every night, there’s no rush. There’s no sense that we better get the gospel in or that person might get in the car and be hit by a meteor! We also realised that we had a group of people in our church who were suffering from almost chaotic loneliness.

Not just single people or those struggling with same-sex attraction, it was recently divorced people and people with a recent diagnosis. We saw how loneliness captures the Christian and terrifies them. So, we invited them to come every day, and if they needed to move in, they were welcome to.’

As you and Kent opened your home, what did you learn was necessary for people to be able to accept an invitation?

‘When you engage in radical, ordinary hospitality, you learn early on that your words can’t be stronger than your relationships and, therefore, building relationships is foundational. One of the things that comes from seeking strangers is that you become emotionally and intellectually sensitive to the strangers in your midst. You begin to notice people who are deeply afflicted by abuse and addiction. You start to realise that inviting them to dinner next Tuesday at 7pm might not be very helpful because they don’t know if they will be sober or safe next Tuesday at 7pm. You’re alert to the fact that people’s lives are deeply hurt and compromised, so you become more creative about being open and available to meet their needs.’

“...the gospel is especially for people who can’t change their circumstances.”

continued overleaf...

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How then has this expression of hospitality looked in In Rosaria’s book, she details her friendship with their practice for you and your family? neighbour, Hank, whose life could be accurately described ‘A year ago, a family displaced by homelessness walked as troubled. I ask her to explain how it all began. through the doors of our church, not to go to church but ‘When Hank moved in he was a self-described recluse, to use the toilets and get some water. We were able to build and we could tell he was a broken man. He had no contact a relationship with them alongside another family in our with us until his 100 lb. pit-bull, Tank, went missing and we church who partners with us in these kinds of situations. helped to find him. I love dogs but I want you to know that We were supported by an organisation called Safe Family, my life flashed before my eyes every time Tank came running and people were praying for us. But something happened at me! Once we got to know Hank, we invited him to walk which was striking. As this family was about to move in, dogs together and became friends. However, Hank was a some members of our church became quite critical of us. As misfit in our neighbourhood. He had tattoos representing they saw it, we were ‘crazy idiots’ who weren’t considering the bad things, he used language that was ‘creative’ at best. He safety of our children in allowing these strangers to live with bought a house with a beautiful garden that he let become a us. wasteland and he kept strange hours. The neighbours hated ‘A young man, who at that time was a drug addict and not him. Then one morning, we woke up to find the DEA (Drug a member of our church (his parents would drag him along), Enforcement Administration) dragging Hank out of his said to me, “Rosaria, I just heard you guys are going to have house. That’s how we learned there was a crystal meth factory a homeless family move in with you. How about I stay sober across the street, and that’s how we learned he was a drug and I’ll move in and help you?” Let me tell you something, addict.’ no one else offered to do this, in spite of the concerns they expressed. So this young man moved in too, which caused What was the fallout from his arrest like? a member of the congregation to exclaim to me, “You’ve got ‘At that moment, our concern was very much for him, a homeless family living with you and the drug-addicted but our neighbours were very concerned about how this teenager is helping you look after the kids?!”’ would impact house prices in the area. We had seen the signs Smiling from ear to ear, she explains, ‘I know this all but we didn’t know what they were pointing to. We knew sounds crazy, but I loved this young man and he meant he had mental health issues; there were signs of unevenness what he said. He had a great deal of integrity and he was and unpredictability. But our neighbours thought it was phenomenal. He was central to integrating this homeless ridiculous that we were friends with this evil person. This is family into our home; a family who had been living in a car, where Christians need to set a better example. What might keeping two jobs and getting happen and what does happen a 6-year-old to school every is under the sovereign will of “True hospitality will cost you day. I can’t even imagine the God. Our job is not to worry money and time, heartache and about this, our job is to love our intelligence and capacity that goes with those things! Then, neighbour.’ hardship. And it will bless you at the table one night, as Kent Hank wasn’t the only was sharing the gospel, the dad person to be arrested that in ways you can’t anticipate.” of the family started sharing day either. ‘There had been a the gospel back. He spoke about how the Lord had been woman living in the house, Hank’s girlfriend, and I didn’t like working in his life in this circumstance, and that’s when we her at all. Her name was Amy and she really loved me. She realised that we weren’t just sharing our home with people used to go garbage picking at night to bring me things. Once, displaced by homelessness, this was Hebrews 13:1-3. We were she found out that I did public speaking, she came to me with showing hospitality to angels without knowing it. And my a black dress that she had found in the garbage. But my heart young teenage friend, who was helping us and staying sober, was so hardened to her that I threw it away. The day before whispered to me, “Even the homeless dude is a Christian?” the meth lab was discovered, she came to me – drunk or high ‘So that is radical hospitality. It’s a way of life. It’s a or both – because she wanted to talk to me. Here’s what I said sacrificial way of life. Some people ask me, “If I turn my to her, “I’m sorry Amy I can’t talk today, I need to get ready spare room into an Airbnb - is that hospitality?” No. Because for church. Can I talk to you tomorrow?” And tomorrow - here’s the good litmus test - with true hospitality you will was lost to us.’ It is clear that this is a painful admission for lose money. With your Airbnb you will make money. True Rosaria to make, but one that she also feels is necessary. hospitality will cost you money and time, heartache and hardship. And it will bless you in ways you can’t anticipate.’

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I N T E RV I E W

‘We wrote immediately to Hank and he replied saying that he knew I didn’t like Amy but could I help her because she didn’t have anyone, and detoxing from meth in prison is really hard. I wrote to her and asked for her forgiveness. She was so gracious. I asked what she needed and one of the first things she asked for was a Bible. The only ones the jail had were King James and she explained, “I never went to school. I don’t know these words.” So I sent her a Bible and we became fast friends.

‘Sobriety was hard, but it came. And for Amy, sobriety and salvation came simultaneously. It came with powerful refreshment. In one of her letters, she described her baptism in prison in ways that I have never imagined. They did it up on the roof in small pools, and she wrote, “As I came up through the water, I saw the sunshine and my hands were cupped in prayer and I saw the chains and I thought I am now chained to Christ.”

‘Amy is now thriving in Christ and living in the Lord. Amy is looking at five years and can see daylight at the end of the tunnel.

She has a shorter sentence because Hank took the fall for her. Hank, who has also given his life to Jesus, has a sentence of 18 years. He is old enough that it could be a life sentence. In his first letter to us he wrote, “I’m so ashamed. I don’t want the children to remember me this way.” He’s stumbling around in darkness, but Jesus won’t let go of him. The gospel is not just for people who can change their circumstances, the gospel is especially for people who can’t change their circumstances.’

A particularly impactful line from her book is, ‘When Christians throw their lots in with Jesus, they lose the rights to their own reputation.’ What has it been like living this out as a result of your friendship with Hank?

‘When the DEA wrapped our community in yellow tape marked ‘crime scene’, our neighbours were quick to let the police know that we were Hank’s only friends because the rest of them knew he was a very bad man. Neighbours used to tell us they had a bad feeling about Hank and we would’ve told them their gossip was a sin. So when they came to us to say, “We were right and you were wrong!” that seemed to be true. Let me be clear, there is nothing but humility in being an ambassador for Christ. You will be proved to be a fool over and over again because you will dare to love people who will hurt you or who could. You will dare to risk loving people who are just as dangerous as you are.’

How did you experience God at work within this difficult situation?

‘He used our feeble reputation to continue to stand in solidarity with Hank, and also to share the gospel with our neighbours who needed to know that their gossip, hard-heartedness, hatred, and lack of faith were all sins.

That sounds really rough, but these are the conversations that real grown-ups have around the table when they’re not on social media. Social media would have you believe that if you don’t approve of each other you can’t possibly dine together. Well, we don’t agree to disagree, we disagree and we eat dinner together. We do that night after night, and one of the things that happens when we read the word of God is that Jesus Christ can be seen as the Saviour of the world. Because everyone has a gospel bridge to Jesus, you’ve just got to get off your high horse to find out what it is. And there’s nothing quite like living across the street from a meth lab, having the property prices plummet, and all the other middle class problems that came with this, to get people off their high horse, and it was wonderful.

There is no gospel for nice people. Jesus said he came for sinners, not for the righteous.’

In a ‘post-Christian’ world, Rosaria’s life of radical ordinary hospitality offers hope to the hopeless and belonging to the lonely.

‘It’s not that every home needs to look like this, but if you look around your church and no home does, that means there’s no bridge to the gospel in your neighbourhoods. It’s a matter of prayerfully thinking about it. In Acts 12:1-17, when Peter was miraculously released from prison, how did he know which house to go to? It was a house he knew people could gather in a crisis. It isn’t that this has to be your house, but it has to be somebody’s.

‘Part of how the world will know your faith is real is how you care for your own. I want our neighbours, who have no desire for the gospel, to look at our houses and see that we are never lonely; that we can quickly find solutions to problems because there are so many of us mobilised; that we genuinely love each other and have so much to share because we live below our means. I want them to know this so they will ask for help. I want them to want to know what makes us tick: the gospel. I want them to want the gospel too. Radically ordinary hospitality is as simple as that.’

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REAL

Empowerment Catherine Parks is a writer and Bible teacher who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, two children, and a cute dog named Ollivander. She’s the author of four books, including ‘Empowered’ and ‘Strong’, collections of Christian biographies for teenage readers, and ‘Real: The Surprising Secret to Deeper Relationships’. Here she shares about what inspired her to write ‘Empowered’.

A

Corrie ten Boom

few years ago, I had a conversation with a friend about the pressure being putting on the next generation of young women. How all our talk of female empowerment may actually be saddling girls with expectations they can never live up to. Then, as I walked through the girls’ department in a large store one day, I noticed the messages on some of the t-shirts: ‘Girl Power’, ‘Girls Have No Limits’, ‘Girls Never Give Up’, ‘Girls are the Future’ and ‘Future Role Model’.

While these messages may be well-intentioned, I want my own daughter and other girls to see their value not in what they do, but in who is living in and working through them. I want them to know what it truly looks like to ‘be brave’ and ‘change the world’. Rather than relying on their inner strength, I want them to see that weakness is true strength, humility is true power and service is true happiness. So, I wrote a book that I hoped would cast a greater vision of ‘girl power’.

Empowered takes this popular idea of what it means to be a strong girl and flips it on its head, using the stories of real women to show that real power Pandita Ramabai comes from our loving Father through his Son. So, as I began researching, I chose some women whose stories I already knew, while also asking for help in identifying women from a range of backgrounds, with a variety of stories to tell. It was a dream come true to get to sit and read biographies for months to prepare to write each chapter, and the Lord did so much work in my own heart as I read account after account of his faithfulness and power.

The Hiding Place is my favourite book, so I knew right away I wanted to include the story of Corrie and Betsie ten Boom; of God’s provision and providence in their lives as they hid Jewish neighbours in their home in Holland, and how they faced the horrors of living in a German concentration camp. Betsie’s example of gratitude in the face of so much suffering is something God has used over and over in my life to encourage me. If she could be grateful for fleas, then surely I can be grateful for the circumstances God has placed in my life.

My husband and I named our daughter after Sophie Scholl, a young German woman who was put to death for her role in an anti-Nazi resistance movement. I have loved sharing her story with readers, many of whom may never have heard of her.

Then there’s Phillis Wheatley, who was (like so many others) kidnapped, taken from her African home and forced into slavery at the age of seven. Her Christian faith and love for her fellow man inspired her to use poetry as an instrument to seek freedom and justice for those who, like her, were oppressed.

I grew to love each of these women as I spent time with their stories.

Charlotte Forten Grimke’s journal entries about justice and love, ambition and humility were instantly relatable. I couldn’t put down Esther Ahn Kim’s story of God’s deliverance and kindness during her time in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Elisabeth Elliot’s obedience, Pandita Ramabai’s fear of God, and Fanny Crosby’s kindness were all possible only because of the grace and power of God Charlotte Forten Grimke at work in their lives.

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GUEST WRITER

“...they had the tools they needed to stand up under pressure because they had hidden God’s Word in their hearts...”

Available to buy now in Christian bookshops and via www.cathparks.com

The common thread that linked these women together was this: they truly knew God. When they were tested by suffering and trials, they had the tools they needed to stand up under pressure because they had hidden God’s Word in their hearts and they were already accustomed to speaking with him in prayer. They didn’t just know about him, they knew him personally.

It was also an encouragement any time I read about the sin struggles of these women. We tend to put people like this on a pedestal, thinking they are somehow immune to sin and temptation. But reading about struggles in relationships, the desire for popularity, feelings of fear and selfishness, helped me relate to them in a deeper way. It Phillis Wheatley helped me see God as the true hero of each of our stories.

The God who was faithful to give Corrie ten Boom the love she needed in order to forgive her prison guard, is the same God who can help my daughter to love the unlovable bully at school. The love for Jesus that compelled Sophie Scholl to sacrifice her life for a higher cause, can inspire a young girl who sees injustice in the world around her.

I hope girls who read Empowered come to understand that they don’t have to do the things these women did to live a life of purpose. But by making a direct connection to their daily lives, my prayer is that they will have a bigger, more personal view of their Father, of his love for them and of the ways in which he is working in their lives right now.

I also hope that girls will be inspired to have a bigger view of the world and the work God is doing in it. I hope they will see that their lives have purpose and meaning; that they have a role to play, not just some time in the future, but right now, wherever God has placed them.

Most importantly, I hope they know that it’s not up to them to ‘change the world’ or ‘have no limits’. I want them to see that the accomplishments of the women in this book were not by their own might or strength, but by God’s power - the same God living in and working in girls who have trusted Christ. And, hopefully, they will find other girls and women to cheer them on as they seek to live the lives God has for them.

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I N SP I R AT ION S : R E S TOR E

Loving

Our Neighbours In this year’s Inspirations, a resource for women’s ministry, you can find a programme entitled ‘Restoration of the Whole Earth’ designed to focus on our role as stewards called to take care of God’s Creation. This programme includes a range of ideas, activities, organisations and prayer topics to help engage women in our congregations and communities with our responsibility for creation care and how this provides opportunities to share God’s love with others through global mission. To accompany this programme, Gemma Brown, Tearfund’s NI Communications Officer, shares how Tearfund’s latest ‘Rubbish Campaign’ can help us make everyday decisions that will have a long lasting impact on the world that God has called us to be stewards of.

A

s we come to the end of another year, I can almost smell the crisp, white pages of the next chapter. 2020 will be here before we know it. It’s during this time of year that most of us like to take time to consider our lifestyles and make resolutions (normally fitness or finance related), so I wonder if you would consider a different kind of resolution, one which could positively impact our global neighbours around the world.

What if I told you that every 30 seconds someone dies because of pollution caused by waste? That’s one million people every year.

Currently, two billion people live and work among piles of waste, with no waste management.

What’s more, multinational companies are making this worse by selling billions of products in single-use plastic packaging in poorer countries where waste isn’t collected. Rubbish is burned, discarded in waterways or just left to pile up. That means people drink polluted water and breathe toxic air, which leads to serious illnesses and death.

One of the people affected by this is Rubina. She lives in a slum in Islamabad with her three children. Her elder son, Javed, is disabled. He struggles with breathing problems because of toxic fumes from burning rubbish, including plastic, and often has to go to hospital. Her younger son, Tariq, suffered burns to his face from harmful waste near his home, and also had to have stitches in his hand after he was cut by broken glass.

“People would burn waste in the open since there were no other means of disposal,” explains Rubina. “This would cause my children to cough and get sick, especially when soft drink bottles were burnt along with other plastics, causing thick, dense smoke. These big and rich companies should do something to help us keep our surroundings clean and stop their bottles from being burnt or lying around.”

We have a plastic pollution problem in the UK too. It’s estimated that we throw away almost 300 billion pieces of plastic each year – more than 4,000 pieces per person. Most of these aren’t recyclable. So, in the face of this mess, what does it mean to love our neighbour as Jesus commands in Mark 12:13?

Tearfund has launched a ‘Rubbish Campaign’ which provides two ways that you can do this. Firstly, we’re calling on four multinational companies - Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Unilever - to take responsibility for their actions and reduce plastic waste.

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“These big and rich companies should do something to help us keep our surroundings clean and stop their bottles from being burnt or lying around.”

Rubina

The petition asks Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Unilever and Nestlé to make four commitments:

REPORT

by 2020 on the number of units of single-use plastic products you sell

REDUCE

commit to halve the number of these products by 2025

RECYCLE

by 2022, ensure one single-use plastic item is collected for every one you sell

RESTORE

work with waste pickers to provide employment with dignity

Continued overleaf...

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Secondly, we are asking people to take a ‘Plastic Pledge’ and give up an item of single-use plastic for 40 days. To tell you more about this, I’ve enlisted the help of two friends, one of whom is Hannah Elliott, Tearfund’s Youth and Young Adult Manager.

Hannah says, “I love seeing the upcoming generation embracing the call to love others and care for creation. Not only have many signed the petition, they have also taken our ‘Plastic Pledge’ and are making changes in their everyday lives to be good stewards by treading more lightly on the planet God has given us.

One young person challenged her church to switch from disposable cups to reusable cups on a Sunday, a youth group asked if they could clean the beach on their weekend away, and a student started a crisp packet collection service on her street. This year at Summer Madness (a Christian festival attended by young people from all over Ireland), we invited young people to join the ‘Rubbish Revolution’. Over 1200 young people added their voice to the petition to the four big companies.”

Across the UK, over 30,000 people have added their voices to the petition so far; our aim is 50,000. Some of the companies have already responded and met with us.

However, they are still some way off from making the commitments that will transform the lives of people in poverty. Many of the companies are focused on strategies to improve recycling – but this won’t deal with the long term problem that It was a natural decision, then, to try “So it’s vital to keep affects the poorest people: single-use and cut plastic consumption - indeed, plastic. We need them to commit to Barbara had already been doing it for applying pressure turning off the plastic tap at source years. Things like bringing reusable and using our voices, by finding alternatives to single-use shopping bags to the supermarket were plastic packaging. So it’s vital to keep second-nature to her. “So when Tearfund as Christians and applying pressure and using our voices, as approached us, I said I’d like to make customers, to urge these the decision to not use plastic in food Christians and customers, to urge these companies to stop. packaging.” What did she find? “Well, companies to stop.”

We love seeing people take on the it’s virtually impossible. Most vegetables ‘Plastic Pledge’ challenge. Making changes come in plastic. I asked my sister where to their own habits, like: swapping plastic water bottles for she thought I might find plastic-free lettuce...She said you reusable ones; using reusable instead of disposable nappies; have to grow it!” or buying bamboo toothbrushes. When we make these swaps, But, over the course of 40 days (the time it takes to form we are valuing what God has given us and following Jesus in a habit), Barbara found she was able to make swaps in her loving our neighbours and caring for creation. weekly shop. And now, long after the McMullens’ ‘Plastic Pledge’ officially ended, they continue to find ways to reduce their consumption of single-use plastic. Barbara’s advice During his moderatorial year in to others is simple: “One thing at a time,” she says. “Pick 2018-2019, Charles and Barbara McMullen something that works for you where you’re at. If you do decided to take Tearfund’s ‘Plastic Pledge’ that, it leads to another choice and those little steps become and reduce their consumption of incremental.” single-use plastic for 40 days. Barbara This ‘rubbish’ situation can change, if we act together. was Tearfund’s first youth worker in When we steward the earth’s precious resources wisely, we Ireland and she recalls how caring can all flourish. We can drink clean water. Breathe fresh air. for creation has always been part of its Enjoy good health. Our rubbish can be reduced and reused purpose: “I can remember a campaign called and this can bring restoration to the poorest communities.

‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it’, based on Psalm 24:1. Tearfund has always had this heart... and it Please go to www.tearfund.org/rubbish to sign is in our calling as Christians - as much as tithing, worship, Tearfund’s ‘Rubbish Campaign’ petition, and consider which service - to take care of God’s creation.” item of single-use plastic you could swap as you take their ‘Plastic Pledge’.

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JOYMOUNT PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN’S GROUP PRESENT,

A Crafted

Revelation Over a sunny weekend in May 2019, Joymount PW Group opened their ‘Crafted Revelation’ exhibition to the public, as part of their 130th anniversary celebrations. The display consisted of 30 scenes from the Bible created and lovingly hand-crafted in yarns, threads, wood, paper, card, papier-mâché and more.

Visitors came from across Ireland (and further afield) to count the animals walking two by two into ‘Noah’s Ark’; look with love at ‘The Nativity’; gaze with reverence on the ‘Last Supper’; and marvel at the ‘New Heaven and the New Earth’. These guests were also encouraged to interact with a range of displays, including being able to leave prayer requests pinned to crafted garlands which adorned the pillars of the church, and share their experiences of the exhibition with the delighted organisers.

The event was the bright idea of Sharon Adamson and Joanne Magee, both members of Joymount’s PW Group, who had been tasked with organising a fundraising event linked to deaconess training and South Belfast Friendship House. The idea of a ‘Crafted Revelation’ was born from how both are grounded in biblical teaching, and Sharon and Joanne also decided to use the event to fulfil the planning committee’s vision to make connections with all age groups in the congregation. They invited the congregation and their friends to get involved, which led to scenes being provided by Joymount’s children right through to the most senior members.

Throughout the entire weekend, the atmosphere within the church was one of overwhelming peace, love and fellowship. Many felt that a weekend simply wasn’t long enough! Joymount PW Group would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who provided for, helped with and prayed over the event. Those who attended and supported a ‘Crafted Revelation’ raised over £2000, which was donated to the PW Mission Fund in support of this valuable mission work. Due to the popluarity of the exhibition, it will be open again for individual and group bookings on 8-9 and 16-17 May 2020.

Joanne Taylor, Deputy Leader

Helping Families R ES TO RI NG HO PE The Presbyterian Children’s Society exists to support Presbyterian children in Ireland, working mainly through ministers to alleviate poverty and financial hardship for these children and their families. Executive Secretary, Jason Nicholson, considers the impact the Society’s restorative work is having on the lives of approximately 900 children in 460 families in over 200 congregations that it is currently assisting.

“As with Elijah, God meets us where we are and provides a way out of difficult circumstances...”

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P R E SB Y T E R IA N C H I L DR E N ’ S S O C I E T Y

U

p-cycling is very popular today. It’s the process of transforming broken items often discarded as waste and beautifully and purposefully restoring them. Television programmes such as ‘Money For Nothing’ highlight this for us perfectly. A tired and dusty old sofa can be fashioned skillfully into a modern dining table or set of chairs. One person’s waste becomes another’s wonder and, in the right hands, something which might appear unwanted and without value can be rescued and remade.

Over time, almost everything needs to be restored: cars, houses, kitchens, churches. And we, as individuals, are no exception.

We can feel, at times, discarded and unloved. We can appear overworked and undervalued.

Even when we do experience a period of calm, all of that can change in an instant. Hope can check out and we’re left facing a difficult situation ourselves. Alone and broken. What can be done to restore confidence and renew hope? Perhaps the Old Testament prophet, Elijah, and his experience of God’s restoring touch might provide some wisdom.

Elijah lived during one of the darkest periods in the history of Israel, where the Northern Kingdom had 19 kings, almost all of whom were described as ‘evil’. The nation’s leaders were corrupt and the hearts of the people were cold.

Yet, stars are often most visible against a black sky and in the midst of this enveloping darkness, a fiery and outspoken Elijah appears. At last some hope, surely?

Despite many miraculous experiences, such as causing the rain to stop for more than three years (1 Kings 17:1); witnessing a widow’s son resurrected (1 Kings 17:22); gaining a victory over the prophets of Baal by calling down fire from heaven (1 Kings 18:38); Elijah felt like many of us at times when faced with family trouble and financial difficulties: isolated and endangered. The weight of daily life as a prophet in Israel became too much, and if that’s how he felt when faced with circumstances outside of his control, surely that’s some comfort to us as everyday disciples. Even the best of us cannot get through life without experiencing brokenness.

In his broken state, Elijah ran into the wilderness and it was there, bereft of purpose, shattered and broken, that God met him. He was nourished, encouraged, restored and re-equipped for his work. God not only sees our need but he enables something to be done about it.

For over 150 years, God has been pleased to sustain the Presbyterian Children’s Society in its work of restoring hope by helping children of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and their families, as they journey through a financial wilderness. As with Elijah, God meets us where we are and provides a way out of difficult circumstances through prayer-fuelled action, in the form of help from others and financial grants.

In the Society’s new promotional feature, ‘People Like Us’, Kelley shares her story: “My minister approached me and explained about the Presbyterian Children’s Society and asked would I mind if she approached the Society on our behalf.

That was on the Wednesday evening. By Friday, she had a cheque for me. It was absolutely amazing.”

Kelley describes her situation movingly and honestly, bravely telling how after “...a very stressful time” her marriage broke down. Despite her hope being restored as a result of a new relationship and the couple celebrating the birth of a daughter, the father left when she was only six weeks old. It was not long after that Kelley felt that she had “…really hit our financial brick wall.”

This kind of experience isn’t untypical of life today for many people. Rev Colin Morrison reflects that within our Presbyterian community, “…lots of family issues have been steadily increasing; mums and dads falling out, and children being raised by one parent.”

What, therefore, can be done to restore hope and offer help in these circumstances?

Someone once said that everyone is either entering, in the midst of, or just exiting a trial. Almost everyone is dealing with something whether the death of a loved one, marriage issues, illness, unemployment, or the financial stresses of everyday life. We need the assurance that God will carry us through. Offering pastoral care to people struggling to deal with unforeseen circumstances is hugely important. Taking time to listen and journey with people through their pain demonstrates true biblical compassion - the root of the word literally meaning ‘to suffer with’. Cathy, who is also featured in the promotional film, shares her experience of time spent in the wilderness of bereavement: “It’s nice to know that someone is praying for you. It’s nice to know that there is somebody out there who cares for you and that makes you feel less lonely. I know God is always there, but it’s always nice to have a human aspect to it too.”

The Presbyterian Children’s Society is never guided by the nature of someone’s character or their ‘worthiness’ to receive help. Our grants are not ‘charity’, reluctantly dispensed, but rather warm-hearted compassion, generously given.

Without any value judgements as to their circumstances, the Society provides these grants, administered confidentially by ministers, to Presbyterian families in financial need.

With sensitivity and care, the Society seeks to reassure those families we help that they are not struggling in isolation but are valued members of our community. They are important, appreciated, cared for and restored by a church who sees beyond their circumstances.

As someone who has experienced restoration through the help of the Presbyterian Children’s Society, Kelley explains the impact that its work has had on hers and her daughter’s life: “You’ve got that wider church family who don’t know us personally but who are generously helping people like us. We have been shown so much love, care and compassion and life definitely looks so much better now than it did before.”

‘People like Us’ is a series of three films; a nine minute version that tells the stories of both Kelley and Cathy and two, five minute films which tell their stories individually.

All three films are available to download from www.presbyterianchildrenssociety.org or can be ordered on DVD by contacting the Presbyterian Children’s Society office on +44 (0)28 9032 3737.

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The 2019 World Development Appeal, ‘Farming God’s Way’, highlights the work of Tearfund’s partner, Comité Ecuménico Para O Desenvolvimento Social (CEDES), in Mozambique. A team that included representatives from PCI visited the project earlier this year to find out more about its restorative work in this war-torn country.

H

elena hasn’t had an easy life. She lived through Mozambique’s brutal civil war, which lasted for 15 years.

She told us that, back then, life was just about “running away from guns.” When the war was over, she returned to her home and began farming. But it was hard work, and climate change had caused the rain to become less and less reliable. Less rain meant less food to eat, and even less money to buy other daily necessities. Helena, her husband and three children had to get by on one meal a day. The children became weak and unable to attend school.

And yet, when we met her this summer, Helena had a smile on her face and was proudly watering plants. She was growing huge peppers, scallions and bushy, deep green kale.

You see, things have changed for Helena. Along with others in her neighbourhood, she heard about another region where lives were changing and farming was different. The people there had formed a group which had been trained by Tearfund’s partner, CEDES in a new way of farming.

CEDES combines Bible studies with training in an agricultural technique called ‘Farming God’s Way’. The result is transformation in both the church and the community. Time and time again, around the world, we find that studying God’s Word is key to unlocking people’s potential and helping them understand that, through Jesus, they are able to bring about change in their own lives and those of others.

“Even though Helena can’t read or write, she told me these Bible studies have increased her self-confidence and changed her prayers. From daily asking God to help her and her family stay alive, she now prays for the needs of others in her community.”

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WOR L D DE V E L OP M E N T A P P E A L Helena and her community learnt how Jesus used the resources available to him, like the five loaves and two fish, to feed thousands of hungry mouths. With training from CEDES, they began to use locally available resources, like leaves from the peanut plant and even bat droppings, to improve their farming. The peanut leaves act as a mulch, often called ‘God’s blanket’, to protect the plants from the hot sun and keep the moisture in, and the droppings are used as an organic fertiliser.

Helena showed us that, by applying these techniques, the plants grow quicker and the harvest is greater. They now have enough food to eat as a family as well as a surplus to sell in order to buy things like blankets, school books, chickens and goats. She and her husband have bought bricks to improve their home, making it more secure.

Every time the group meets, they study the Bible together.

Even though Helena can’t read or write, she told me these Bible studies have increased her self-confidence and changed her prayers. From daily asking God to help her and her

family stay alive, she now prays for the needs of others in her community.

From a life of running away from guns to a secure home with hope for the future. Through the ‘Farming God’s Way’ project, simple changes are having a profound impact.

Helena’s life, and that of her family, have been transformed.

When we asked Helena what she hoped for in the future she laughed and said, “A car!” What was once unthinkable was now a very real possibility. As we stood in her community garden, an oasis in the desert which once was dry scrub, we knew why.

For more information regarding this project and the work of CEDES, see the back page.

25

Called to Follow

COMMANDED TO LOVE “...our job is to show them something of God’s love in here that will help them withstand the life out there.”

South Belfast Friendship House (SBFH) is an initiative of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland that reaches out into the community of Sandy Row to promote the gospel and support people living with social difficulties and deprivation. Rev William Harkness shares about the impact SBFH is having as it shines God’s light into the lives of those living in this inner-city area.

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M I S SION Can you tell us a little of the history of South Belfast Friendship House?

South Belfast Friendship House was born around 30 years ago in a two-up two-down house on Malone Place. Funded and managed by Presbyterian Women, it grew due to the sheer number of people who were coming along to mums’ groups, pensioners’ groups, kids’ clubs: the same programmes that we continue to run today. After two moves into increasingly larger spaces, the purpose built facility of Friendship House came into being, and it allows myself and the team to continue the legacy of sharing the gospel in South Belfast. We don’t want SBFH to be considered a ‘community centre’. Most inner-city areas have community centres and they don’t need any more. We are a place of outreach.

One of the greatest rewards comes when you see somebody’s life saved. At a lunch for homeless men last Christmas, I was speaking about Mary and how she knew who it was that she had been chosen to give birth to. One man got cross with me, accusing me of just telling stories. He later told me that a short while after, he found himself still thinking about Mary, so he called into a church he was passing that Sunday morning.

During the service, he gave his life to Jesus. He is now working, has a place of his own and encourages those he works with to know Jesus too. Stories like these are the reason that it is crucial that the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has places like South Belfast Friendship House which continue to promote the gospel in inner-city areas.

What is your role within Friendship House?

Originally, I was brought in to be the minister of Great Victoria Street Presbyterian Church and Friendship House. My role in Friendship House has grown to include managing the work going on here and providing pastoral care, which is a new role within the structure of the team. Eileen Black joined us as deaconess for Friendship House and Great Victoria Street Presbyterian Church earlier in 2019. I am responsible for the oversight of everything that goes on within the House, including the planning of programmes and the direction they will take, and how to expand these in the future.

Why is Friendship House a significant resource for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland?

I believe Friendship House is important for the outreach of PCI. It gives us a chance to reach people who would never walk through the doors of a church. Getting them to do so would be a huge first step, so we have the opportunity to meet with them in a different kind of space. Through Friendship House, we get a chance to share the gospel with the people of South Belfast and show them what Jesus can do in their lives.

What are the biggest challenges you face in Friendship House?

The biggest challenge here is sharing the gospel. Two nights ago, I was chatting to a couple of teenagers about what Jesus meant to them, but they just couldn’t understand who he was. So I asked them did they believe in God. They automatically said, “Yes.” But they went on to explain that the reason they didn’t want to go any further in their understanding of Jesus was because they believed Christianity doesn’t match with their lives. That’s the biggest challenge. What we teach young people about God is counteracted the moment they walk out the door. So, our job is to show them something of God’s love in here that will help them withstand the life out there.

What have you found to be the most rewarding aspect of your work?

Sometimes it’s just lovely to see children coming in and kicking their shoes off before they sit down because they’re so comfortable here. This place is a part of their lives. It’s somewhere they’re safe, somewhere they’re loved and somewhere they’re looked after. And because the children love the House, so do their parents. One of our younger boys has Autism, which has, amongst other things, impacted his ability to communicate verbally. It has been a joy to see him sing and dance during the after-school club. He runs into the House each week with the biggest smile on his face. He is so happy to be here with us. We thank God for him and praise God for how he is moving in this boy’s life.

How your donations to the PW Mission Fund help support the work of Friendship House.

Presbyterian Women’s Mission Fund continues to support the work of South Belfast Friendship House. In 2018-19, a total of £55,000 was given to the running costs of the House, which is 80.2% of the overall costs. We want to say thank you to all who have contributed to the PW Mission Fund, partnering with us in sharing the gospel in Sandy Row through SBFH.

SUPPORTING LOCAL MISSION

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Taste AND SEE

Margaret Feinberg is a speaker at churches and conferences, whose books have sold more than one million copies and received critical acclaim. She lives in Utah with her husband, Leif, who pastors a local campus, and their dog, Hershey. In the final part of her exclusive interview for Wider World, she shares more discoveries from her new book, ‘Taste and See: Discovering God Among Butchers, Bakers, and Fresh Food Makers’, and explores the spiritual importance of our call to hospitality.

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As you were writing ‘Taste and See’, which food in particular gained greater significance once you understood more about its use within the Bible?

Once you start to study food in the Bible on a granular level, you find so many passages come alive in fresh new ways. Here’s one…

On Palm Sunday, many churches pass out palm branches, or the children make them as a craft in Sunday school. When we read of palm trees in the Bible, we may be tempted to think of tropical island palm trees or tall palms from the famous streets of Los Angeles. Yet, whenever you read about palm trees in the Bible, it is always referring to a date palm.

‘What does that matter?’ you may wonder.

Remember that when Jesus enters Jerusalem shortly before his arrest, he is greeted by people waving date palm branches: ‘A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him.’ (John 12:12-13). Now, in the ancient world, dates were a symbol of life over death.

Therefore, when Jesus enters Jerusalem, people are prophetically waving him in with a message of life over death. So you see, once you start to understand the background and significance of something as simple as fruit, passages like this one gain a much deeper meaning.

RECIPES

How can we cultivate a lifestyle that makes our dinner tables places of sharing, teaching and learning the gospel?

I love this question. In ‘Taste and See’, each chapter ends with Table Time activities designed for families and friends to engage with biblical foods and their rich imagery. For example, at the end of the chapter entitled ‘A Bowl of Delectable Olives’, I encourage those at the table to share an area where they long for healing and wholeness, then each person dips their fingers in olive oil and prays for one another. This kind of active engagement with each other, as we encourage each other in fruitfulness, can transform lives in powerful ways.

Sharing Platter Here is a suggestion for a delicious sharing platter that you can make when inviting friends and family, neighbours and strangers into your home to join together at the dinner table, just as Margaret has described. The amounts depend on how many people you’re going to be sharing it with.

Jesus spends a lot of time eating with others - often very surprising people!

Why do you think sharing food together helps to create special times in our relationships?

It’s fascinating. If you look at the Gospels, you’ll discover Jesus is often described as either coming from a meal, going to a meal, or sharing a meal…when he wasn’t multiplying a meal! This is particularly true in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus knew that table time is transformation time. There is something about the process of eating that is vulnerable; with each bite, we confess that we cannot survive on our own. We need our God who hangs the stars, spins the sun, and fashions the seasons. And, we need each other. I believe there isn’t a table of people who gather together with whom God does not pull up a chair.

Taste and See is available to purchase now in Christian bookshops. www.margaretfeinberg.com Instagram: @mafeinberg

Hands-on time: 15min Serves as many as you can fit around your table Ingredients • Grapes • Salami, chorizo and parma ham • Cheddar, edam and brie • Spiced chutney • Selection of crackers • Cream cheese and hummus • Green olives stuffed with pimento peppers • Blueberries • Cantaloupe melon Method 1. Add the grapes, still on the vine, to your platter first.

2. Layer rolled parma ham, chorizo and salami in three bunches randomly around platter.

3. Include slices of cheese and the round of brie – you might want to top the brie with your spiced chutney or serve this on the side.

4. Add small bowls filled with olives, cream cheese and hummus.

5. Fill in the gaps with cantaloupe pieces, blueberries and plenty of crackers.

6. Serve and enjoy your time together.

29

MISSION-MINDED

People Diane Cusick, early childhood development co-ordinator with Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Zambia, reflects on the power of mission to unite believers from radically different cultures in Jesus’ name.

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G L OBA L

I

have been serving with Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) in overseas mission now for 24 years. I have had many mission teams, and individuals on mission trips, pass through my door during my time serving in Malawi and Zambia. Part of my job, as the link person in Zambia, is to try to orientate both the host church about the culture of the visitors, and the visitors about the culture they are coming into. The youngest visitor I have had was 11 years old; the oldest in their late 80’s.

All come with certain expectations and sometimes those expectations are very different from the reality they find on the ground. Some visitors come to experience another culture and discover how God is working in that culture and in people’s lives. Some visitors come to do something tangible, like build a school classroom block or volunteer with a local church. For some visitors, a mission experience can be life-changing because they experience God in a new and amazing way while living outside of their comfort zone (seeing real poverty can be difficult to cope with), both physically and spiritually.

I work with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Synod of Zambia which was constituted in 1984.

It is a young church which is growing rapidly, and the membership is largely composed of young people under the age of 35. There is a vibrant Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) and Sunday school in many of our congregations.

There have been many visitors to CCAP Synod of Zambia mainly from USA, but in 2019 they had their first team from PCI, sent by Hillsborough Presbyterian Church (HPC).

The team from HPC came to spend time with members of the CYF in Mtendere congregation (where I worship) in Lusaka, and with the Sunday school kids in Matero congregation. They were a mixed team in terms of age - ranging from 16 to 63 years old - and experience - some had been on previous mission teams and a few had been to other African countries. The team was led by their youth worker, Ashley Parks, and CCAP Synod of Zambia’s youth co-ordinator, Rev Lloyd Ng’ambi, was on the organising team for the visit.

Approximately 74% of Zambia’s 18 million population are under the age of 30. They face many challenges, including high unemployment and lack of educational opportunities.

Even though this age range makes up a significant amount of the labour force, about half are unemployed. Young adults are also one of the most at-risk populations as there is a high prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Very few reach tertiary education and secondary school dropout rates are high, particularly for young women.

Being with the CYF in Mtendere CCAP was a great encouragement to both the church and the community.

To interact with people from a different culture was an eye opener for both groups in many ways, and the excitement of the young people in Mtendere to meet with others from a different culture was incredible.

“For some visitors, a mission experience can be life-changing because they experience God in a new and amazing way while living outside of their comfort zone...”

Continued overleaf...

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“Mission is showing God’s love in all that you do, all that you say and all that you are in your being.”

The HPC team come from a culture in which primary and secondary education is free; in which they have easy access to many resources; in which they have food to eat every day. Many of the youth of Mtendere struggle to go to school, or have dropped out of school because they can’t pay school fees, and come to the daily activities not having had any food to eat that day. Meeting them was a definite culture shock for the team. The variety of differences between the two groups were not hard to identify. Most of the young people from HPC can drive, have cars or have access to private vehicles to travel around in, while most young people in Mtendere do not have a driving licence and depend on public transport or push bicycles when they can afford it.

Most of the young people from HPC have supportive parents and stable family situations, whereas many of the young people in Mtendere have no parents and depend on relatives to look after their daily needs, even having to look after their siblings as head of the family. These differences seem so insurmountable if we consider them in the way that the world might. And yet, even though the backgrounds of these young people differed greatly, there were deep bonds that linked them closely together: being united in Christ and desiring to serve God, no matter the situation.

It was so wonderful to see both groups sharing and learning from one another because of their oneness in Christ. They visited old people from Mtendere CCAP, bringing them gifts and spending time chatting to them and showing them the love of Christ. In Matero, the HPC team worked together with the Sunday school teachers and ran a kids’ club.

Although many of the younger children struggled to understand the foreign English, they always sang the name of Jesus at the top of their voices in one of the songs because they understood it well. The team went litter picking in the township, which enabled many conversations with market traders and shop owners about what they were doing. They ate different foods together, shared football stories (and even football shirts) and took selfies with their new friends.

Doing mission is all about being with people; learning about how they live, how they perceive things, what they eat, and sharing and learning more about God through the people you come into contact with. The young people at Mtendere CCAP and the children at Matero CCAP will always remember the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church group because they brought the good news about Jesus and shared it with them. And not just that. They played with them, talked with them, gave them gifts, laughed with them, ate with them and became part of their community for the short time they were there. Mission is showing God’s love in all that you do, all that you say and all that you are in your being. I look forward to welcoming more mission-minded people here in Zambia.

“...even though the backgrounds of these young people differed greatly, there were deep bonds that linked them closely together: being united in Christ and desiring to serve God, no matter the situation.”

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G RO U P N E WS

Raphoe PW Group Harvest Appeal

First Rathfriland PW Group

For their congregation’s Harvest Appeal, Raphoe Presbyterian Church’s PW Group organised an incredibly well-supported collection of tinned goods and non-perishable items to be donated to the Letterkenny Food Bank, an intervention service helping families and individuals in crisis.

First Rathfriland PW Group group held its 70th anniversary dinner in May with special guests, Lesley Smith, Claire Dixon and Hazel Neilly in attendance. Each woman received an anniversary coaster depicting the church and entertainment was arranged by Maud Harbinson. Group leader, Barbara Boyd, thanked everyone for attending the very memorable occasion.

First Dunboe Craft and Craic Group

PW Panel 2019-20

PW Panel reconvened in September for their first meeting of the 2019-20 season, which also included a communion service led by Rev Rob Craig.

As Karen Craig begins her year as President and Heather Clements continues in her role as Overseas Vice-President, PW Panel also welcomed Linda Beattie onto Panel for the first time and welcomed Esther Parker to her role as Home Vice-President.

(L-R: Pauline Kennedy, Elizabeth Moffett, Ann Wilson, Naomi Campbell, Libby Russell, Linda Beattie, Ellen Hillen, Heather Clements, Esther Parker, Shelia Malcomson, Karen Craig, Margaret Johnston, Liz Hamilton, Suzanne Simpson)

First Dunboe Craft and Craic Group have met every Tuesday afternoon over the past three winters. There is always a great buzz of chat as lots of knitted and crocheted items are produced. These include baby vests, hats for premature baby units and knee rugs for residents in Trinity House, Garvagh and patients staying in the cancer unit at Altnagelvin Hospital. They have also knitted hats and scarves to give to sailors at Christmas, trauma teddies, organised large numbers of items to be sent to Lokichoggio in Northern Kenya and filled several plastic boxes with baby blankets for the hospital in Malawi where Dr Lynn Dowds served.

Recently, they created a throw to give as a retirement gift to Rev Jim and Alison McCaughan. Some months prior, Alison had given the group a bag of wool which had belonged to her late mother, and in the bag were some pink squares knitted by her. These were lovingly incorporated into the throw along with at least one knitted or crocheted square contributed by each member of the group. At the last meeting of the season, Jim and Alison were invited to join the group for afternoon tea in the church hall where they were presented with their gifts.

33

G L OBA L

Global Mission Mission Department, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, 2-10 Fisherwick Place, Belfast, BT1 6DW Tel: +44 (0)28 9041 7263 Email: global@presbyterianireland.org Website: www.presbyterianireland.org/mission

Information included in Global Mission News is supplied by the PCI Mission Department. While it is correct at the time of writing, which is normally some weeks before publication, readers should be aware that some details may subsequently change.

Up-to-date news and information are available online at: www.presbyterianireland.org/mission.

Prayer Diary

Chris and Rachel Humphries

Csaba and Ilona Veres

Location: Porto, Portugal Mission: Church Planting

Location: Cluj, Romania Mission: Outreach ministry and children’s

ministry and teaching

• Pray that Chris and Rachel’s love for Christ would be central to all that they do.

•

Give thanks for the work of God through the Diakonia over the past 18 years, bringing help and dignity to needy communities across Transylvania through education, healthcare, community development and Bible teaching.

•

Praise God for the Roma who have come to faith in Christ.

Pray that they will grow in faith and be faithful witnesses to God’s power and grace, and that God’s kingdom would continue to spread among the Roma communities.

•

Pray for Csaba and Ilona and the staff of the Diakonia, for teachers, social workers, educators who minister to the Roma communities daily. Ask God to bless their special skills and give them hearts of compassion and opportunities to share their faith in a clear and sensitive way.

• Pray that the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives would be evident to their neighbours and enable evangelism in a natural and honest way.

• Pray that they would be able to learn the Portuguese language well and quickly.

• Pray that God would encourage, challenge and equip those taking part in small discipleship groups, and pray for wisdom and guidance for those leading the groups.

• Pray that God would use the Humphries’ as a young family to reach other families.

• Pray that God would continue to build his church in Portugal.

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• Pray too for health and safety for the Veres family.

Overseas News Overseas Visits

Monthly Bulletins

Portugal - Rev Uel Marrs (Secretary, Council for Global Mission) led a retreat for PCI global workers serving in Europe in Porto, Portugal from 31 October to 4 November.

All PCI global mission workers write a monthly bulletin to update the church and their supporters on the work they are involved in.

These bulletins have recently been redesigned and are now available with accompanying PowerPoint slides to encourage people to share prayer requests at church services and meetings.

Indonesia - Rev Dr Liz Hughes (Convener, Council for Global Mission) represented PCI at the General Assembly of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, which took place on the Indonesian island of Sumba in November.

Nepal - Helen Johnston (Mission Support Officer – Member Care) along with Karen Craig (PW President) and her husband Very Rev Dr Rob Craig, visited Nepal in mid-November. Their visit included participating in the General Assembly meetings of the United Mission to Nepal; leading and attending a retreat for global mission workers, Peter and Valerie Lockwood and Peter and Jayne Fleming; and a visit, on behalf of Presbyterian Women, to UMN’s Okhaldhunga Community Hospital.

Home - Ruth: A Migrant’s Story New Bible study resource Through the lens of the Old Testament book of Ruth, ‘Home’ will help you engage with the issues of migration and to think about your response. For more information or to order copies of Home contact Beverley in the Mission Department on +44 (0)28 9032 2284 or email mission@presbyterianireland.org

To sign up to receive the bulletins and PowerPoint slides, contact Beverley in the Mission Department on +44 (0)28 9032 2284 or email mission@presbyterianireland.org.

Personnel News Stephen Cowan, who is engaged in church-based community development and outreach in northern Kenya, returned to Kenya in mid-November following a short home assignment.

Gary and Mary Reid, who work with the Maasai community in the south-west of Kenya will be on home assignment in December and involved in deputation.

Annes and Olga are preparing to serve in Russia: Annes as lecturer and Olga as translator at a university providing scientific theological training for leaders in church and society. They hope to be commissioned on 1 December 2019 and then move to Russia to begin working at the university early in the new year.

Global Mission Workers Naomi Keefe Da Caixa Postal 73 Codigo da agencia 32300018 AC Central Recife Avenida Guararapes 250 CEP 50010970 Brazil

Peter & Valerie Lockwood c/o UMN PO Box 126 Kathmandu Nepal

Stephen & Angelina Cowan PCEA Tuum PO Box 13 Baragoi via Maralal 20601 Kenya

Peter & Jayne Fleming c/o UMN PO Box 126 Kathmandu Nepal

BRAZIL

KENYA Naomi & Thomas Leremore PO Box 23450-00100 Nairobi (GPO) Kenya

KENYA Gary & Mary Reid PO Box 846-20500 Narok Kenya

KENYA Volker & JinHyeog Glissmann PO Box 30048 Chichiri Blantyre 3 Malawi

MALAWI

NEPAL

NEPAL James & Heather Cochrane Rua Monte da Mina, 4466 3 Dto. Leça do Balio 4465-693 Matosinhos Portugal

PORTUGAL

Chris & Rachel Humphries Rua da Mainça, 85, 2 Esq. São Mamede Infesta Matosinhos Porto 4465-19/207 Portugal

PORTUGAL

Csaba & Ilona Veres Str Intre Lacuri 43 Cluj Napoca Jud Cluj

ROMANIA

Derek & Jane French Calle Lekueder 9, 4A 48940 Leioa Spain

SPAIN Diane Cusick The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) PO Box 320261 Woodlands Lusaka 10101 Zambia

ZAMBIA

Edwin & Anne Kibathi Partner Church Mission Workers 167 Wickhay Basildon Essex SS15 5AQ

ENGLAND

WORLD DEVELOPMENT APPEAL 2019

Mozambique is a fragile and dangerous place – prone to natural disasters and placed 181st out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index. Many families rely on small-scale agriculture for their survival but there are major issues around food security due to the frequency of natural disasters, the impact of climate change, and the use of outdated farming techniques.

Tearfund’s partner in Mozambique, CEDES (Comité Ecuménico Para O Desenvolvimento Social), is sowing seeds of hope in the lives of rural communities there.

CEDES encourages the formation of farming co-operatives in the local community and, alongside contextualised Bible study, the people are trained in conservation agriculture techniques.

This training enables the production of a better quality and quantity of crops, providing a regular supply of food for households and even some surplus to sell.

CEDES encourages people to participate in savings and loans groups using the small surplus income which they can generate from their produce. For these communities ‘farming God’s way’ means they are reaping a harvest of benefits.

Your practical and prayerful support will enable organisations like CEDES and others to engage with some of the world’s poorest people, implementing good sustainable development practices and seeding the hope of a more secure future, where communities work together to enjoy the fruits of the resources and resilience within them.

Learn, pray, and give through the resources provided by World Development, available within your congregation or online at www.presbyterianireland.org/world-development