NOVEMBER 2013
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AMBASSADORS OF HOLINESS (PART 2) PURE WATER – An opportunity to consider holiness: what does it mean for a 21st-century young person in The Salvation Army and how can we recapture and refresh holiness in our generation in a way that makes our world a better place? Last month we began to consider the Salvation Army doctrines numbers 9 and 10, as part of our ‘Pure Water’ stream. We discussed how these doctrines emphasise the importance of living life in the way that is pleasing to God, by staying strong in our faith, obedient to God’s call and open to allow the Holy Spirit to continue to change us into the people of God we are created to be! This is holy living! We also discussed how holiness is a really vital part of Salvation Army doctrine. The Salvation Army is a Holiness Movement. It is part of our heritage. Last month we considered personal holiness. This month we turn our attention to social holiness, a phrase coined by John Wesley. We will consider how our lives empowered by the Holy Spirit can spill over into transforming the society in which we live, and discover our heritage in social action. One of the main things that birthed The Salvation Army and its mission was the fact that its founders were immersed in a world rife with poverty, starvation and injustice. William and Catherine Booth, so stirred up by the degradation they saw on the streets, realised that if the gospel story was to have power amongst the poor of their time, it needed to be backed up with actions. Their approach to mission changed and the ‘three S’s’ became the underlying theme of The Salvation Army: first soup, then soap, and finally salvation. Social action was central to William and Catherine’s spiritual and evangelistic beliefs – a vision that would help mend and heal a broken society. ‘A deep compassion for the plight of society’s outcasts, combined with the boldness and initiative to visit them on their home turf, was not just a distinctive of The Salvation Army – it was its very essence.’ Munn & Collinson, Insane
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Social justice is a massive and complex issue, but put simply it is the idea that the world and everyone in it can live equal, safe and dignified lives. It means that it is not acceptable that people should live in the world today without basic human rights, such as access to food, clean water, shelter, education, healthcare and the opportunity to work. But that’s not the picture for a large percentage of the people living today. The poorest in our world, that’s 1.4 billion people, live on less than about 80 pence a day. Imagine having just 80 pence to cover all your food, water, clothing, children’s education, healthcare and anything else that you need to provide for yourself and your family. In social action we demonstrate the love and justice of God. We seek to meet the needs of our fellow human beings. We show them that they matter, to us and to their Creator. What is the use of telling people that God loves them if their circumstances make it all but impossible for them to experience his love? ‘An ambassador of holiness is one who claims God’s love, along with his power to forgive, cleanse and restore. Once claimed for ourselves, we can bring hope and freedom to others through his saving grace. Are you up for the challenge?’ Major Beverly Ivany
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celloutlines | overview (continued...) Leaders Notes Recommended Resources The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine, Chapters 9 & 10 Ruth Valerio, L is for Lifestyle, Christian Living that Doesn’t Cost the Earth The Salvation Army Year Book Chris Marshall, The Little Book of Biblical Justice: A Fresh Approach to the Bible’s Teachings on Justice Danielle Strickland & Campbell Roberts, Just: Imagine, The Social Justice Agenda S. Carvosso Gauntlett & Danielle Strickland, Challenging Evil. Dispatches from the Frontlines of Radical Justice Marijke Hoek & Justin Thacker (ed), Micah’s Challenge. The Church’s Responsibility to the Global Poor Munn & Collinson, Insane: The Stories of Crazy Salvos Who Changed the World
Cell Extra Don’t forget to remind your group about Cell Extra – which you/they can download from the ALOVE website. This month’s Cell Extra provides seven devotional style activities to complement the cell notes.
Summer School 2013 This month focuses on the Salvation Army International Development WATERSHED campaign. Summer School 2013 also included WATERSHED as part of the Bible study material, which was focused around the theme of water. It is possible that for those young people who attended a summer school some of the activities included in this month’s cell groups may be repeats of things they have already done. It is even possible that the young people are already organising (or have recently done so) their own WATERSHED fundraiser. If so, you will need to adapt these cell notes as relevant to the needs of your group.
WATERSHED Take some time to familiarise yourself with WATERSHED and all the resources that are available at the following website.
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www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/watershed There is a comprehensive Action Pack online which includes many downloadable resources such as powerpoint presentations, creative prayer ideas, fundraising ideas, games, photos, stories, and films. www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/watershed_action_pack
Week 4 Week 4 this month will be a bit different. The usual session structure has been abandoned in favour of a more active approach! There are three different ideas for this session. The main one is planning and/or running a fundraiser for WATERSHED. It is suggested that you allow time in weeks 1, 2 and 3 to discuss with the group and plan your fundraiser. You could then use week 4 to make the final preparations, or to actually carry out the event. Read more in the Week Four notes.
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celloutlines | overview (continued...) Additional Watery Themed Games! (some of which you may have played before!) 1. Uses of water In two teams ask people to create a list of all the different uses of water that they can think of. The team with the most ideas wins! (You could play this as a charade style game… each person acting out a use of water to his /her team mates!) 2. Thirsty straws Split into two teams, and stand each team in a separate line. Give each person a plastic cup full of water with a straw. This game is a relay race to see which team can finish all their water first. On the ‘go’ signal the first person in each team drinks their water through the straw as quickly as possible. When their cup is empty the next person in the team can begin drinking, and so on until one team finishes all their water… they are the winners! 3. In the water, out the water! The young people need to stand shoulder to shoulder in a line, ideally all with their toes behind a line (a piece of rope, or some lining on the floor). Agree which side of the line is ‘in the water’ and which is ‘out the water’. As you call out ‘in the water’ the competitors must jump to that side of the rope, and vice versa for ‘out the water’. The aim of the game is to be the last person standing. Competitors are eliminated if they jump to the wrong side of the line when directed. If it is too difficult to get people out, you can eliminate people based on them being the last person to arrive at the correct side of the line or have somebody else shouting instructions that the young people find it difficult to ignore. 4. Water numbers quiz In this activity group members are asked to match up a number with a statement, either on their own or in pairs. Print out and give each person a copy of the Water Numbers sheet below. Simply ask people to draw lines between the number and statement that they feel match up. (This quiz is also available in the WATERSHED Action Pack in the Secondary Schools lesson ideas, resource sheets 3 and 4. It also includes the sources of the statistics.)
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5. Holding water! Have one or two of the large containers of water that you can buy from supermarkets, or a camping water container. Ask group members to volunteer to lift the water, who can lift it for the longest? Who can lift the highest? (You could refer back to this when you introduce the WATERSHED campaign and the distances many women in the developing world have to carry huge weights of water.) 6. Name that drink! Make up several different ‘cocktails’ using different flavours of fruit juice and/or squash. Ask young people to try to discern which flavours they can taste in each drink. (Check for allergies before allowing young people to drink fruit juices.)
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celloutlines | overview (continued...) Water Numbers Match up the numbers with the correct statement
160
2000
school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases
2.5 million
The weight of water, in kgs, that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads
884 million
litres of water used by each person in the UK every day
40 billion
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lives that could be saved each year by achieving universal access to safe water and sanitation
the average cost, in pounds, of building a well providing a whole community with clean water
443 million
people who live more than a kilometre from their water source
700
people in the world without access to safe water
1.1billion
20
hours spent carrying water each year in Africa
children die every day from diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation
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Numbers Quiz Answer Sheet 443 million
school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases
160
litres of water used by each person in the UK every day
1.1 billion
people who live more than a kilometre from their water source
2.5 million
lives that could be saved each year by achieving universal access to safe water and sanitation
2000
children die every day from diarrhoea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation
40 billion
hours spent carrying water each year in Africa
20
the weight of water, in kgs, that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads
700
the average cost, in pounds, of building a well providing a whole community with clean water
884 million
people in the world without access to safe water
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NOVEMBER 2013
celloutlines | overview (continued...)
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NOVEMBER 2013
celloutlines | week one These Cell Outlines are written by ALOVE UK. They are available every month from our web site. For more information and other cell resources, visit alove.salvationarmy.org.uk
SOCIAL HOLINESS WELCOME Fish Race Give each participant a paper fish and a folded newspaper and get them in a line. At the opposite end of the room place a paper or plastic plate. The aim of the game is for each person to race to get their paper fish on to the plastic plate by fanning it along with the folded newspaper. Anyone who touches the fish with their hands or feet is disqualified. To link this in with the theme of the session, you could set up this race in such a way as to give some participants an unfair advantage over the others, thus illustrating the inequality present in the world today. For example, allow a couple of people to start ahead of the others, and push a couple further back. Maybe one person has to participate with a blindfold on, or another with their hands tied behind their back!
Read the Cell Introduction together The Cell Introduction provides an important introduction to this month’s theme so it is essential to make some time to read it together.
WORD 1. Social Holiness John Wesley said there is ‘no holiness but social holiness’. He meant that we can’t do this on our own – it is within Christian community that holiness of life is to be realised. But more than that, we have a responsibility to outwork holiness to make our world a better place – a more just place, a more compassionate place.
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Read the following two quotes to the group and discuss the idea of social holiness and social action. ‘You cannot be holy except as you are engaged in making the world a better place. You do not become holy by keeping yourself pure and clean from the world but by plunging into ministry on behalf of the world’s hurting ones.’ Rev. Dean Snyder1 ‘What is the use of preaching the Gospel to men whose whole attention is concentrated upon a mad, desperate struggle to survive? No-one gets a blessing if they have cold feet, and nobody ever got saved while they had toothache.’ William Booth, 1989 At the end of last month’s cell groups one of the action points was for group members to research the topic of ‘Social Holiness’. This would be a good place to ask for feedback and include group members’ thoughts in the discussion.
1 “Social Holiness: Our Wesleyan DNA” By Rev. Dean Snyder, October 5, 2003 www.foundryumc.org/sermons/10_5_2003.pdf
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celloutlines | week one (continued...) 2. Social Action and The Salvation Army ‘The Salvation Army’s calling is linked to the poor and to the marginalised and if we ever abandoned that we would cease to be The Salvation Army.’ General André Cox (Elected 20th General of The Salvation Army in August 2013) Social action is at the very heart of The Salvation Army. The commitment to actively serving the community and the fight for justice, both in the UK and all around the world, remains one of the central missional aims of The Salvation Army today, just as it was for its founders over 150 years ago. Consider the following international annual statistics taken from the 2012 edition of The Salvation Army Year Book. (You may want to print this out for your group members.) Countries and territories where SA serves
124
Children’s homes (capacity 9966) 244 Homes for street children (capacity 632)
Hostels for homeless/transient people and emergency lodges (capacity 43,538) People helped by counselling services People helped through emergency relief services
33
Hospitals, specialist hospitals and clinics
Beneficiaries of health education programmes
423 406,979 1,340,720 310 707,618
Prisoners visited 288,380 Prisoners helped on discharge 192,148 Missing persons traced
2,338
Residential and non-residential addiction dependency services (capacity 21,990)
315
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Education programme; including nurseries, primary & secondary schools, colleges, universities 2772 Discuss the following questions: Have you been involved in the Salvation Army’s work in any of the above areas? If yes, share your experience with the group. Have you been involved in social action with the Salvation Army that is not mentioned above? If yes, share your experience with the group. Which statistic / area of work stand out to you the most from the above list? Why? How do you feel to be part of an organisation that is the largest non-governmental provider of social services/ aid in the UK? How are you playing your part?
3. God’s heart for the poor ‘But you must defend those who are helpless and have no hope. Be fair and give justice to the poor and homeless’ Proverbs 31:8–9 (CEV)
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celloutlines | week one (continued...) The story is told of a young Bible college student who decided that he would go through his Bible and cut out every reference that mentioned justice and the poor. He started in Genesis and worked his way all the way through to Revelation. When he had finished this task his Bible hung in threads. It wouldn’t hold together – it literally fell apart in his hands. The Bible has a lot to say about justice and the poor; in fact it is one of the most frequently spoken about issues in the Bible, with over one thousand references. Time and again God shows his compassion and love for the poor and marginalised people in society. Justice is at the heart of who God is and what God does. If we want to show his nature and purposes in the world we must therefore include an active demonstration of such compassion and care. Give each person a copy of the diagram (see final page of Week 1). Give each person a highlighter and ask them to highlight words or phrases that stand out to them. Discuss why this is. Ask your group members to consider what area of human need / injustice they feel the most strongly about. This may be an area of work that they are already involved in, something they have had personal experience of or something they have only just thought about. What can they do practically to follow up on this? Share with each other. Choose one of the verses on the diagram to memorise by next week.
PRAYER Use the following track by Chaos Curb, ‘To Break Chains’, in a time of prayer and worship in which each person commits themselves to being used by God in the fight for justice, in whatever form that may look like for them. You can download the track from iTunes or from the Chaos Curb website ‘chaos-curb.com’.
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To Break Chains To break chains of injustice To let slaves go free To share food with the hungry To meet homeless’ needs To turn sons to fathers Turn fathers to sons Seek to clothe the naked Then we’ll shine like the dawn
To do away with gossip Quick to welcome all To liberate the captive Then you’ll hear us call Our light will rise in darkness You will guide each day Shade us in desert Then your hope will strengthen our frame
You are the God of perfect justice This is the worship you require
You are the God of perfect justice This is the worship you require
We will be your hands and feet Your grace and your kindness Bringing a hope for today A healing stream For those who grieve Compassion and justice and mercy are the breaking chains
As we surrender comfort And seek your kingdom first You will fill us with power You will quench our thirst
© David Griffiths/Paul Oakley 2011
ACTION Start discussing your fundraising ideas for Week 4.
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For Next Week (Choose one of the following action points for your group members – or let them choose!) Research ‘The Maiden Tribute’ or ‘Phossy Jaw’ stories from Salvation Army history. These are really inspirational early stories of how The Salvation Army changed lives! Look at The Salvation Army YouTube channel and watch some of the films of the variety of social action projects that The Salvation Army is involved in around the world. Look at The Salvation Army International Development website and read about the many campaigns that The Salvation Army are involved in around the world. Is there one campaign that really touches your heart? (Next week we will be looking at the WATERSHED campaign) Browse through an up-to-date copy The Salvation Army Year Book and note the many projects and people involved in the fight for social justice all around the world today. Download ALOVE’s Change the World app to get you thinking about how you can make a difference in your communities, with your friends and neighbours. Look at the other Change the World resources on the ALOVE website too.
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celloutlines | week one (continued...)
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‘Our LORD, I know that you defend the homeless and see that the poor are given justice’ (Psalm 140:12 CEV) ‘Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honours God’ (Proverbs 14:31 NIV)
‘The Lord raises the poor up from the dust, and he lifts the needy from the ashes. He lets the poor sit with princes and receive a throne of honour’ ( 1 Samuel 2:8 NCV)
‘God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly and to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness’
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(Luke 4:18–19 NCV)
‘He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them’ (Psalm 72:12 NLT) ‘Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do’
‘The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do”’ (Psalm 12:5 NLT)
(Deuteronomy 15:10 NLT)
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NOVEMBER 2013
celloutlines | week two These Cell Outlines are written by ALOVE UK. They are available every month from our web site. For more information and other cell resources, visit alove.salvationarmy.org.uk
WATER STORIES WELCOME From the beginning of this cell group, have a small bottle of what looks like very dirty water, and take sips from this water every so often, ignoring the questions or groans from the group members! You can make this ‘dirty water’ by adding some chocolate powder to a bottle of water and shaking! Try the WATERSHED Quiz (download from the WATERSHED Action Pack) or Water Numbers game (see Leaders Notes).
Feedback from last week Allow some time for feedback on any of the action points set at the end of the last session. Don’t forget to test the group members on their memory verse!
WORD 1. WATERSHED a. WATERSHED Presentation If possible, use the Secondary School assembly presentation with accompanying powerpoint slides to introduce WATERSHED. (You can download these from the WATERSHED Action Pack). As this is designed for a school assembly, you may need to adapt slightly for your own group setting. If you want a shorter presentation then you could use the churches presentation, also available in the Action Pack.
b. Water Stories
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Either watch the following two videos from the WATERSHED Action Pack or give out the written form of stories from the WATERSHED Stories PDF. (You can also source the film clips on YouTube.)
Nawoitorong School Tawa Community Ask the group to compare how people’s lives were before and after the introduction of a safe clean supply of water. You can use some or all of the following questions to help stimulate the discussion if needed. What problems are there in the community without a reliable water supply? Where do they get their water from and what problems may this cause? How do you think this affects the children in the community? How did the introduction of the water supply help solve some of the problems you noted earlier? How did the introduction of the water supply impact things like health, education, work and what people did with their time? What other positive changes did you notice?
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PRAYER Offer your group members a drink from your ‘dirty water’. Would they drink water that looks like this? The reality is that if you were thirsty, you probably would. In many places in our world people don’t have a choice – they have to use whatever water is available, no matter how clean (or not) it is. Thank God that you don’t have to make this choice, and pray for the millions around the world who don’t have any choice but to drink dirty water. Print out some of the WATERSHED photos from the online Action Pack. Give each group member a photo and ask them to write a prayer for the people in the photo based on what you have discussed and considered during this session. Pray together. Perhaps each person could take their photo and prayer home and continue to pray throughout the week.
ACTION Continue planning your fundraising event for Week 4.
For Next Week Look at the website End Water Poverty and consider the ‘Keep Your Promises’ petition. Would you be prepared to sign this petition? Speak to your parents/carers about this. www.endwaterpoverty.org
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NOVEMBER 2013
celloutlines | week two (continued...)
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NOVEMBER 2013
celloutlines | week three These Cell Outlines are written by ALOVE UK. They are available every month from our web site. For more information and other cell resources, visit alove.salvationarmy.org.uk
A CUP OF WATER WELCOME You will need two small cups and four watertight containers – one small (eg, 1 litre bottle), one large (eg, 15 litres, such as a bin or storage box) and two identical medium-sized containers with a ruler to mark the height of their contents. Fill the small and very large containers with water. Split your group into two teams. Team A must use one small cup each to transfer their water from the small container into their medium container. Team B must do the same with the large container. For every centimetre the water level reaches in their medium-sized container, each team receives a prize (such as a square of Fairtrade chocolate per cm). Set a generous time limit, although Team A will finish very quickly. Allow them to finish and then watch as Team B earns significantly more chocolate.
Feedback from last week Ask group members to feedback on any tasks you set in the last session.
WORD 1. To follow up the game ask: Was this a fair game? If not, why not? The UN says that a person needs between 20–50 litres of water a day to meet their basic needs. In the UK, on average, each person uses 150 litres per day. In the developing world, on average, each person uses just 10 litres of water per day (in many areas less), the same amount we can use in a single toilet flush or short shower. In the game, Team B earned more – were more able to be successful – because they had more resources available to them to begin with.
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Ask: If you only had 10 litres of water a day to use, what impact would it have on your life? Set up some tasks for group members to do with either no water, or only a very small amount, eg, make a cup of tea or jug of squash, wash up some dirty dishes, wash a dirty T-shirt, water some plants, bath a baby(doll!), cook some pasta. Perhaps you could ask them how they would prioritise how they would use their small allowance of water.
2. A cup of water The following Bible Study was used at Summer School 2013. If your group attended summer school and have already considered these Bible passages, you may want to skip this part! Read Matthew 10: 40–42 and Isaiah 41:17–20. How much we love God can be measured by how well we treat others. God notices every good deed we do or don’t do as if he were the one receiving it. These verses are clear on what we are called to do for Jesus and what we can expect in return, both from the world and from God. Pass around a cup with some or all of the following questions written on folded slips of paper. (Add your own questions too). Have one person take a question out of the cup and read it aloud. This person gives his/her thoughts and then passes the cup to the next person. This person also gives her thoughts to the question and passes the cup on. Continue around the group until everyone has had the opportunity to respond to the question. (Allow people to quickly pass the cup on if they don’t want to contribute.) Then another person takes a question out of the cup and follows the same procedure. continued over u
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celloutlines | week three (continued...) What do these words show us about the value of water in Biblical times? What do these words teach us about serving others? Do you value water? Do you think God has forgotten those who live in drought areas, or lack access to clean water? Is it important that we remember those in drought areas / without access to clean water? Why? How do you think God uses other people in providing clean water? Can you think of a time when someone has provided you with a ‘cup of clean water’, eg, something you desperately needed at just the right time? How did you feel? Use the following thoughts as you find helpful during or to summarise your discussion. When Jesus said these words, he was using a way of speaking which the Jews regularly used. The Jews always felt that to receive and welcome a person’s messenger was the same as to receive that person. Receiving Jesus’ representatives with a cup of cold water probably refers to accepting into one’s home missionaries who have abandoned their own homes and security to bring Christ’s message. A cup of cold water might have been all that a peasant could offer, but hospitality given in faith to a prophet who requested it would be rewarded. How much we love God can be measured by how well we treat others. Jesus’ example of giving a cup of cold water to a thirsty child is a good model of unselfish service. A child usually can’t or won’t return the favour. God notices every good deed we do or don’t do as if he were the one receiving it. But it is likely that ‘little ones’ didn’t refer to children, but to new converts – ‘little ones’ in the faith - new disciples. If we want to welcome Jesus into our lives, we must also welcome these little ones in concrete ways that actually meet their real needs. And that could be a simple as (for those of us with access to clean water) giving a cup of cold water. If we want to participate in the reward prepared for those who are doing God’s work, we must help people in need wherever we encounter them. We do this by any and all means: a glass of cold water, food, housing, money, time, compassion, defence, prayers...an open heart.
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God’s words show the importance of water – and the difference it can make in people’s lives. ‘Most of the Bible is written in the middle East, where much of the land is desert and water is simply the number – one requirement wherever you go. If a town or tribe has a good water supply, from a stream or well, it can thrive; if it hasn’t, it can’t.’ N.T.Wright When we read Isaiah 41 we see that God, through Isaiah, is talking to people who knew what it was to be poor and in search of water. But God promises water: the barren desert will burst forth with growth. There are still so many places all round the world where people know what it is to be poor and needy and in search for water. They find there is none, and their tongues are parched with thirst. God will not forsake the hundreds of millions who are still physically thirsty – and neither must we. To paraphrase a quote by Gandhi, sometimes a man is so thirsty that God can only appear to him in a cup of water. We need to be that cup of water, that clean source of water, so that God can appear to them. We need to help channel water towards people who desperately need it. As you respond to God and live and give sacrificially, God will see your heart and will not only bless you but will cause others to ‘see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this’ (Isaiah 41:20) and they will respond to him. continued over u
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celloutlines | week three (continued...) 3. Keep Your Promises The Salvation Army is supporting the ‘Keep Your Promises’ campaign. See www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/Keep-Your-Promises. Keep Your Promises is a global campaign calling on decision makers to stick to the commitments they have made to end the sanitation and water crisis. Decision makers have made promises locally, nationally, regionally and globally to get safe drinking water and sanitation to the world’s poorest countries and communities – but words are not enough! These promises must be kept to bring an end to the global sanitation and water crisis. End Water Poverty is calling for a step change from all governments to keep all of their promises to improve access to sanitation and water. Furthermore, we’re calling on governments to go beyond these commitments and to work towards achieving universal access to basic sanitation and safe drinking water.
The Keep Your Promises campaign has 4 main demands: 1. More money More funding is needed to reach more people with safe sanitation and water services. Decision makers have pledged to increase funding to reach more people with these services but we now need to hold them to account and check that they keep these promises! The rewards are huge – every $1 invested in sanitation and water provides approximately $8 return in increased productivity2! 2. Better use of money Funding for sanitation and water needs to be better targeted to ensure that the poorest countries and most vulnerable communities are reached. This means making sure that governments spend money more effectively, and prioritise hard-to-reach areas (such as rural regions) in the least developed countries. 3. Improve transparency National governments need to be more open about how much money they are spending on sanitation and water. They also need to make it easier to track the progress being made, so that campaigners can easily tell if governments are keeping their promises.
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4. Make sanitation and water a priority beyond 2015 The Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015, and at the moment the development plans which will follow them have not been decided. Keep Your Promises calls for sanitation and water to be prioritised nationally, regionally, and globally beyond 2015. Your group members were asked to consider Keep Your Promises since the last session, and ask permission to sign the petition if required. Discuss together. Go online, using The Salvation Army link as above, and for those that want to encourage them to sign the petition, calling for an end to the water crisis.
PRAYER Have two buckets or bowls – one with clean water, one with dirty water. Ask volunteers to wash their hands in the dirty water. Question: How does that feel? Now allow them to use the clean water to wash their hands. 2 UNDP: Human Development Report, 2006
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Question: Does that feel better? Some people in our world don’t even have clean water at hand to drink, never mind to wash with. Pray for all those that don’t have access to clean water or adequate sanitation facilities. Pray that our eyes will be opened as to the different ways we can take action to change that.
ACTION Continue planning your fundraising event for Week 4. Consider: What would it look like for you to give a cup of water to someone today? Do you know someone in your family or community who is in obvious need? Do something about it this week.
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celloutlines | week three (continued...)
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NOVEMBER 2013
celloutlines | week four These Cell Outlines are written by ALOVE UK. They are available every month from our web site. For more information and other cell resources, visit alove.salvationarmy.org.uk
ACTION STATIONS Fundraising This month you will have spent a lot of time talking about issues of social justice, especially around the water crisis. Encourage your group to take some practical action by organising your own fundraising event for WATERSHED. Perhaps you could do something at a corps Sunday meeting, or at the next large youth gathering. (NB Seek permission from the leaders of these events first!) There are loads of fundraising ideas in the WATERSHED Action Pack, as well as the details of how to give the money. Some of these ideas are listed on the next page. During the first three cell groups this month make some time to discuss together and begin to plan a fundraising event. Then use Week 4 to either carry out your event or make all your final arrangements. Let us know at ALOVE what you are planning, or send us some photos of your event! We’d love to hear how you get on and how much money you manage to raise!
Corps Presentation As mentioned in the Leaders Notes, if any of your group members have been to Summer School 2013 they may have already carried out their own fundraising event for WATERSHED, or be planning one. If you don’t feel it would be appropriate to organise a fundraiser as a cell group then how about planning a presentation about WATERSHED for your corps. You could use any of the presentation material available from the online Action Pack. The assembly presentation that you did for your group in week 2 would work well. Encourage group members to plan the presentation and all take part. Don’t forget to discuss this with your corps officer first though! It may even be possible to take a collection from the congregation for the work of WATERSHED.
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Social Justice Presentations If you feel your group are all ‘watered out’ after Summer School, then you could try something completely different. Instead of planning a fundraiser or corps presentation, ask each group member to research an area of social injustice that they feel strongly about. Ask them to prepare a short 3–5 minute presentation/summary, with action points, to share with the group during Week 4. The following bullet points may help each person in their preparation. What is the problem? (Statistics and stories would be good illustrations.) What needs to be done to address the problem? What organisations/projects are already working in this area? What are some of the success stories? Why do you feel passionately about this issue? What can we do to get involved? Don’t forget to tell group members about this during the first week to give them time to prepare. Then take time during each cell group to find out how each person is getting on with their research and presentation.
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NOVEMBER 2013
celloutlines | week four (continued...)
Fundraising Ideas Organise a sponsored ‘water walk’. You could do this along a canal or river, or by getting everyone to carry a full bucket or container of water. You could even do it in fancy dress to make it even more entertaining. Use an empty water bottle to collect small change and donate the money you collect to WATERSHED. Give up all drinks but water for a one- or two-week period and donate the money you save to WATERSHED. You could also collect sponsorship for completing this challenge. Implement a ‘water tax’. Every time you use water, put some money aside, maybe in a water bottle, which you can then donate to WATERSHED. If you have a water meter you may even end up saving money on your water bill because you will be more aware of the amount of water you use. If you do, then why not donate the money saved to WATERSHED too? Ask friends and family to sponsor you to live on only 10 litres of water a day for a few days. Hold a car-wash using as little water as possible (perhaps just one bucket per car), and ask for donations for your service. Maybe consider only cleaning the inside of the cars, as this can be done using only very small amounts of water. Get a group of people all to do their own watercolour paintings, or to write poems or stories about water. Hold an auction to sell these, or set up an exhibition and charge a small amount for entry. Organise a sponsored swim to raise awareness and money to help some waterless communities.
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Get sponsored for wearing a shower cap, goggles, arm bands or flippers, or anything else ‘watery’, for one whole day at school, work, church or college. Grow your own water-neutral produce. These could be grown in a garden, in tubs or window boxes and only watered with recycled rain water or ‘grey water’ collected from the home (such as run-off from the shower/taps etc). This produce could then be sold to raise money for WATERSHED. If your church/school/workplace is having an event, especially in the summer time, provide glasses of ice-cold water for people attending in return for donations for WATERSHED. Ask your local café to become a ‘bottled water free zone’. Instead of buying bottled water, ask people to accept tap water and donate the money to WATERSHED. Using air-hardened clay, make a water droplet shape approximately 10–15cm long. Make a hole for a piece of twine or ribbon at the top of the droplet and paint the droplet in watery colours, eg, greens, blues, purples. These wall hangings could then be sold to raise money for WATERSHED. Make plant waterers by cutting the bottom off a 500ml plastic drinks bottle and removing the lid from the top. The top of the bottle is placed upside down into the soil next to the plant and the bottle is filled with water, acting as a reservoir. These plant waterers could be decorated with permanent markers, collage materials and sold in aid of WATERSHED.
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