World Watch, June 2011

WELCOMEto our 'World Watch' bulletin for June 2011 brought to you by your Parish Justice and Peace Group.  We hope you will find it a helpful resource.

In each edition we aim to offer you something under three headings:

1)   awareness raising;

2)    prayerful support;

3)    practical help.

Please share this bulletin with family, friends and neighbours. We'd like to 'make Christ known by building his church' whilst doing our bit for a beleaguered world!

We are always open to ideas.  If you have something you want readers to know about, have a word with Tony Garland or ring the Parish Office on 251 4216.

Five Talents

One of the main beneficiaries of our Christmas giving was the Anglican inspired charity Five Talents which is a micro finance project that provides small loans to people in deprived areas of the world to fund solid business ventures.  Most loans are paid in full so the money is recycled over and over again for the benefit of other entrepreneurs. 

It’s certainly a worthwhile project, but your Justice and Peace Group are aware that there are genuine concerns about why we give so much away when we have needs of our own.  Well, if you can cast your minds back a few years there was a TV sketch featuring John Cleese and the Two Ronnies and I suppose we find ourselves right in the middle like Ronnie Barker – or do we.  Considering that 1.4 billion people in the world live on $1 a day we have to be among the richest, so maybe Jesus’ saying go sell your possessions and give to the poor (Matt 19) is relevant to us in this situation.  By supporting Five Talents and other similar charities as a church community, we can really make a difference.                                                      

Clean safe water:  St Mary’s will help changelives in Sierra Leone

St Mary’s has just become the first church in the Newcastle Diocese to enter into a formal partnership with Christian Aid.  The PCC felt we ought to be trying to raise funds for a project in the wider world in parallel with the efforts we’re putting into raising money for our church development.

We’ve undertaken to raise £5,000 by October 2012 for a ‘Clean, safe, water project’ in Sierra Leone.  Because of our Partnership with Christian Aid, they’ll be able to secure 3-to-1 matched funding from European Community development funds, so in effect we’ll be raising £20,000 for the project.  Christian Aid will ensure that the project will be delivered by established local partners, by-passing opportunities for misappropriation or corruption by formal agencies and officials.

Why choose this project?  Well, in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone on the coast of west Africa less than 46% of the population has access to safe sources of drinking water.  Pujehun District has a population of over 280,000 with less than one toilet facility for every 125 people.  Of these, most are 'local latrines', which can mean just a space with a shallow pit in the ground.  The same water sources are used for toilet, washing, cooking and drinking.  It is no surprise that diarrhoeal diseases such as dysentery, diarrhoea, worms and scabies are rampant and a major cause of death in babies and young children.

Moreover, women and girls have to walk long distances to rivers and swamps to fetch water, facing the risk of assault whilst walking alone in the bush.

Sierra Leonereceives, on average, over 3500 mm of rainfall annually, more than enough to meet local needs if properly looked after.  Through rainwater collection systems, new wells and provision of low cost ‘eco latrines’ and a major education programme, the project will make women's and girls' lives safer, will improve the health of people in 78 rural communities and will save children's lives.

So look out for fund-raising ideas from your Justice and Peace Group, and please give generously!                                                      

World Environment Day – Forests: Nature at your service.

World environment day falls on 5th June every year and some of you will remember that last year the Justice and Peace Group brought to our attention the plight of the bumble bee under the theme of Many species: one planet one future.  In the weeks and months that followed many of you commented how they couldn’t turn on the radio or TV without learning more about the species and its problems.  So what we achieved was not only a highlighting of awareness of the situation but also a heightening of awareness of the role that Christians have in the creation story and our responsibility towards this fragile earth.

This year’s theme is Forests: Nature at your service,when we are reminded that forests cover one third of the earth’s land mass and help keep our planet alive.  They have a key role in the battle against climate change by releasing oxygen into the air and absorbing carbon dioxide.  Forests feed our rivers, create and maintain soil fertility and regulate the often devastating effects of storms, floods and fires.  Forests are splendid and inspiring:  they are the most biologically diverse ecosystem on the planet and home to more than half of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects; they provide shelter, jobs and security for forest-dependent communities; they are the Green Lungs of the planet; and they are vital to people everywhere – all 7 billion of us.

Forests embody all that is good and strong in our lives, and yet despite these priceless benefits we are destroying them for short term gain.  Every one of us has a part to play by supporting the call for sustainable forest management towards a greater green economy. 

Let us pray:

God of wonder, in the forests of the earth you reveal the diversity of your creation.  Help us, in wonder, to care for your forests and in so doing protect and strengthen the lungs of the earth.  Bless native peoples and forest dwellers, and help us with them to learn the lesson of our shared belonging and interdependence.  We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen

(Prayer 18, Praying for the Earth – Church of England Newcastle Diocese 2011)                                                                                              

The WOW Factor – Praying for the Earth, 2nd Edition.

This little booklet published by the Newcastle Diocese is packed with short prayers and biddings that acknowledge God’s love for all creation.  I liked the 1st edition but the new one has a WOW factor in the hand of Sue Hart as the Design Consultant and some stunning photographs taken by our very own Alison Stroud.  It is excellent value at £2 including postage and packing – cheques made payable to Newcastle Diocese Board of Finance – and is a must for anyone who takes intercessions seriously.  It can also be downloaded from www.newcastle.anglican.org                                                     

Justices of the Peace 1361 - 2011

North Tyneside Magistrates in the Community are celebrating 650 years of the Magistracy and are inviting everyone to a birthday party.  They will take you through a journey from ducking stools and stocks (1361) to community orders (2011), with mock trials involving local solicitors and the Crown Prosecution Service.  You can decide the outcome of whether to remand in custody or release on bail.  You can decide on a fine, prison sentence or community order.  It all takes place in the Council Chamber, Wallsend Town Hall, between 7.00 pm and 8.30 pm on Thursday 30th June and Tuesday 5th July 2011.  Everyone welcome to witness how justice works in practice.

Street Pastors – Situation Vacant

The Street Pastor Scheme is really gathering momentum with support from all the churches, the police, local authority and various other agencies.  Plans for training volunteers are at an advanced stage and we at St Mary’s have given valuable financial support.  As yet, however, we do not have an Anglican representative on the Management Committee.  Although we are kept in the loop through Whitley Bay Churches Together it would be good if we could find someone to give us a voice in this very worthwhile scheme.