 | | Asset Based Community Development for Churches - 1 | | Sometimes answers lie within our community, within our shared experiences. Listening to one another, acknowledging our collective knowledge can guide us. But do our current responses exacerbate issues?
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| | From a webinar by Church Urban Fund |
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 | | Estates Evangelism | | More than bread, more than words. We must not be content to see those living on estates as anything less than family who deserve the dignity of food and the astounding truth of the gospel.
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| | From the Church of England |
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 | | Holding a sacred assembly in your community | | A sacred assembly is a gathering of Jesus followers in a community for a public event of worship and prayer - specifically prayers of repentance and proclamation - often combined with fasting. A manual..
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| | From a book by Bob Perry and Amy Lykosh |
|
 | | AI In The Church Survey 2024 | | Demonstrates a growing interest by church leaders in integrating AI into aspects of ministry. However there's a mix of excitement and caution between enhancing ministry versus ethical implications and preserving human touch.
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| | From a report by Exponential |
|
 | | Guide to prayer walking | | Prayer walking is “praying on-site with insight.”. Seeking the Spirit’s guidance, mercy, and transforming power in our context. Helping us become more aware of our neighbourhood and its cultural and spiritual realities.
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| | From a prayer guide by KC Underground |
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 | | Spirit-empowered ministry | | There's only one thing that's going to move the dial in our ministries, in our church. Not strategy, theology degrees, training, important as they are. Jesus knew it and he lived by it. The power and the life of the Holy Spirit.
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| | From a talk at Exponential 2024 - One Eighty: The |
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 | | Sheep Among Wolves | | A documentary that sheds light on the underground church in Iran. Their movement is characterized by rapid reproduction, yet it operates without property, buildings, budget, or formal status. Remarkably, it is mainly led by women.
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| | A film from FAI Studios |
|
 | | Discipling a million | | Story of a website that had over 50M visitors last year, all seeking answers to hard questions about life and God. 1M visitors found a link saying they invited Jesus into their life and wanted info to get discipled.
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| | From a podcast by Heaven in Business |
|
 | | Experiencing a whole church Bible reading week | | A church decided to undertake an adventure in the form of a whole church Bible reading week. On each day of the chosen week, the plan offered a choice of specified Bible passages. So how did the church react?
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| | From an article by Baptists Together |
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 | | The challenge and beauty of church planting | | You don't want your closest friends, who you feel will contribute to what you're doing, to leave you. But you're on a mission, you have to release them to go. There is a grief and sadness, but excitement too.
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| | From a video at a Confluence Church Conference |
|
 | | The failure of Celebrity Christianity | | The celebrity-ism that we are tempted with is one that's marked by entitlement, marked by performance, marked by power. This is the core of celebrity-ism. 4 questions to ask.
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| | From a video by Thinq Media |
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 | | Ministry in the age of AI - 2 | | Some of the adoptions of AI by churches. Summarising meeting notes, action points, sermons, manuscripts, etc. Things that are more strategic - building insights, trends. Giving pastoral care advice and coaching leaders...
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| | From a webinar by Barna and RightNow Media |
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 | | Ministry in the age of AI - 1 | | 25% of adults say that they would trust an AI response if they asked it questions about Christian teachings and beliefs. That rises to 40% for Gen Z and Millennials. We face interesting questions about how to do ministry.
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| | From a webinar by Barna and RightNow Media |
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 | | Pressing into prayer for revival | | "I've seen a vision of England, and over her I can see spots of light. Light. City after city. I believe God is going to raise up an army of light all over the nation." Let's believe. Let's constantly press in prayer.
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 | | Believing but not religious | | We're seeing the decline in the number of congregations and in the number of religious vocations. However, we still have incredibly high numbers of people who believe in God or a higher power...
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| | From a session at Human Flourishing |
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 | | Rethinking church planting: don't start with Sunday | | We must start with discipleship and mission and work toward church. Church planting is the outworking of engaging context and cultivating community. The church is formed by mission and is formed for mission.
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| | From an article by Missional Church Network |
|
 | | Holy/Hurt: Exploring spiritual trauma and healing | | A feature of trauma is loss of meaning and trust, undermining sense of self-worth, value, and humanity, while increasing the presence of guilt, shame, fear, and numbing, defensive strategies to mask it.
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| | From a podcast by Holy/Hurt Podcast |
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 | | Getting out of the fold into the flock | | The Lord spoke to me and said. "You're entering a new season. I have something more for you, something different." There was a real cost to that and a real laying down but I have to say I was ready for it.
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| | From a podcast by Transform Our World |
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 | | Three phases of revival | | Teo Hayashi continually sees hearts awakened and thousands of people give their lives to Christ. He shares from experience growing up in the mission field of Brazil and what he believes are the three phases of true revival.
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| | From a video by ThinkQ |
|
 | | Crossing Cultures 101 | | A free, online, self-paced course that gives you the basic information you need to know to work in another culture. General principles that apply widely to any cross-cultural experience.
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| | From a course offering by FieldPartner Internation |
|
 | | 5 life lessons from Mother Teresa | | 1. Never Quit. She persevered throughout all the adversities that she knew in her life.
2. Embrace the Power of Prayer. She said that if you're too busy to pray, you're too busy. For her, it all began with prayer. ..More
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 | | Intimacy, imagination, innovation | | Intimacy - create rhythms and patterns of intimacy - familial friendship with God. Imagination - take time to both dream and receive revelation. Innovation - try new things - prototype, test, learn.
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| | From a talk at Kairos Connextion |
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 | | Crisis Communications Course for Churches | | This free online course gives church leaders a foundational understanding of good crisis communications and application – from guidance on preventing a crisis, to how to respond and repair the damage.
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| | From a resource by Confident Church |
|
 | | Letter from the Father | | My Child, You may not know me but I know everything about you (Ps 139). You were made in my image (Gen 12v7). In me you live and move and have your being (Acts 17v28). I chose you when I planned creation (Eph 1v11). You were not a mistake (Ps 139)...
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| | Part of Thy Kingdom Come 2023 |
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 | | What we can learn from the persecuted church? | | "We see discipleship in two ways within the church. First is an intense encounter with Jesus. This is quite common. That intense encounter brings out the second - a following of Christ and paying the cost."
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| | From a discussion at Ekklesia 23 |
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 | | Giving parents authority over children's social media | | Encouraging law on social media - an example for governments to follow. Gives full administrator-level access to parents, so that they can see everything that their children are doing on social media.
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| | From an article by the Institute of Family Studies |
|
 | | That Night, I Had A Dream | | I said to God, “Jesus if you’re real, I need to see you”. That night when I was sleeping, I had a dream. I was standing in a courtroom and I was waiting to be judged...
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| | From an article by Unreached Network |
|
 | | Breaking Free from Benefits | | Julie Hawkins had to take benefits when she became a single mum. A system in which she was trapped by a lot of barriers at great cost - both financially to taxpayer and personally to individuals. Her suggestions for change...
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| | From a book by Julie Hawkins, Founder Single Mums' |
|
 | | 6 challenges that Christian leaders face | | Insights into challenges that Christian leaders have faced, particularly those who are entrepreneurial in nature - keen to transform or develop projects or ministries within a Christian setting.
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| | From a talk from Stronger Network |
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 | | 9 ways of communicating the gospel to postmoderns | | Their world view states there is no objective, absolute truth; ”truth” is what you believe it to be. So how can we convey understanding of the One who is the “way, the truth and the life” to them?
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| | From an article by Free Ministry Resources |
|
 | | Principles for asylum dispersal | | Ensuring that people seeking asylum receive adequate temporary accommodation and support while they wait for a decision on their application should be a fundamental aspect of a fair and just asylum system. 12 principles..
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| | From a briefing by Asylum Matters and NACCOM |
|
 | | Lessons for pioneer pastors | | Benjamin Francis was a rural pastor. English wasn't his native tongue. He was a bivocational farmer-pastor who looked after a small congregation in a small village. Yet in his ministry, he baptised 450 people. Lessons...
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| | From a Twitter thread by Tim Wilson |
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 | | A story of ‘Regeneration and Rest’ | | It started with prayer. Little local ‘houses of prayer’ began praying in their geographic locations and prayer walking the streets all over Whitby and the surrounding villages asking God to send revival.
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| | From an article by Kairos Connexion |
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 | | Standing firm | | The risks and rewards of pioneering. We need to be a people who stand firm. Stand firm in our calling. Stand firm against the schemes of the enemy. Stand firm in our faith...
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| | From a talk at a Pioneer Europe Conference |
|
 | | Storybook Dads and Mum | | In UK, 300,000+ children experience the imprisonment of a parent. Storybook enables families to reconnect through magic of storytelling. Helping parents in prison to record bedtime stories, messages for their children on CD or DVD.
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| | From information from Storybook Dads and Mum and t |
|
 | | Surviving domestic abuse: Sarah’s story | | “The coercive control I experienced was so subtle that I doubted myself. Struggling to trust my own judgement. The helpful thing the Church did was to make it clear that what I was experiencing was not normal.”
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| | From an article by the Diocese of Gloucester |
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 | | How nearly everyone can start a microchurch | | Practical ideas based on Scripture, examples, context, to help your friends encounter God and help you lead microchurch. You can keep your job, remain linked to home church, and lead a small congregation.
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| | From a book by Ralph Moore |
|
 | | Dismantling the poverty premium | | Limited means of consumers on low incomes reduces their economic flexibility, creates costly choices, which then serves to reduce their overall means. This cycle of paying over the odds makes up the poverty premium.
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| | From a report by the Centre for Social Justice (CS |
|
 | | 'The Guy' versus the Five-Fold Team | | If you reimagine church as a decentralized network of multiplying missionaries, microchurches that fill a city, region with the fullness of Jesus, then this requires a shift from centralized leadership to decentralized.
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| | From a webinar by Multiplication |
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 | | Reducing discrimination between groups | | A 'shared identity' helps bring people together. We may have institutions that make it hard for some to stay part of a common identity. People are not hardwired to be racist, etc - we are hardwired to be group-ish.
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| | From an article from Behavioral Scientist |
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 | | Growing a healthy and mature prophetic culture | | 10 years ago, God spoke to Cath very clearly and told her to start multiplying. Taking things that He'd been teaching them in their church, going to others and enabling them to grow a healthy prophetic culture.
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| | From a podcast from Accessible Prophecy |
|
 | | Offering hope to domestic abuse victims | | What do churches need to consider when it comes to domestic abuse, and how can they walk alongside and help victims best? We want our churches to be communities of hope - places where the right kind of support can be given.
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| | From an FIEC podcast |
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 | | Healing 'Church hurt' with coffee and community | | A common issue is ‘church hurt’ - pain stemming from experiences within a church community. For 10 years, The Salvation Army has been working to help heal these wounds through a relational ministry at a coffee shop...
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| | From Share Change - an initiative of the The Salva |
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 | | Increasing trust and engagement in fundraising | | Ripples asked the question, ‘What if donors could understand their impact in 5 seconds?’. They created an impact feed in their app - fast, personalized evidence. Donor feedback overwhelmingly positive.
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| | From a video at Digital Leaders |
|
 | | 'I’ve been looking for you! I’m healed!' | | When a delivery driver first knocked on my door, he had braces on both knees and wraps around both elbows. He was in pain and about to go on disability. I asked him, “Can I pray for you?” and he said, “Sure.” So, with very little faith I prayed..
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| | From an article by Exponential |
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 | | 'Worth dying for and therefore worth living in' | | There's a strong sense in E Mediterranean churches that we know how to be a martyr church, how to stand our ground when pressure comes. Makes us aware of the pursuit of the commitments we hold.
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| | From a podcast by Embrace the Middle East |
|
 | | He Gets Us | | A campaign in USA designed to create cultural change in the way people think about Jesus and His relevance in their lives. After extensive research, it launched in March 22. Already ads have had 200m+ YouTube views, 2Bn+ impressions on TV/media.
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| | From a campaign by He Gets Us |
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 | | He said, 'It's everywhere!' | | Many people pray who would not consider themselves religious. ‘Trypraying’ is written for them. It’s in accessible language and is a simple challenge to try praying for 7 days and see what happens.
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| | From an article by trypraying |
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 | | Turning small groups into missional communities | | "Over 10 years, we've discovered a vocabulary for mission, importance of each group ministering to city, doing things that build relationship with people beyond the walls of church, the priority of mission."
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| | From a talk by Sanjay Mahtani at Ekklesia ’22 |
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 | | Digital mission - 3 | | What is the 'ask'? Go and have a look at your church's social media presence. Realise that we can go to them and we can meet people where they are first - like Jesus did - rather than say 'come'.
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| | From a talk at Stronger Network |
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 | | Digital mission - 2 | | We need to be present at the wells, the pools and the marketplaces just as Jesus was in our online communities. Where could these be for you? Could it be the local Facebook group, local hashtags, local business social media?
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| | From a talk at Stronger Network |
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 | | Digital mission - 1 | | How can we as Christians, as church communities, mark success as digital missionaries? The danger is that we could get sucked into the influencer culture - narcissistic, chasing mass approval and likes. What can we do differently?
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| | From a talk at Stronger Network |
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 | | R;pple - suicide prevention technology | | Alice Hendy lost her brother Josh, 21, on 25/11/2020 to suicide. Josh had been researching how to take his own life via harmful internet searches. In order to prevent more suicides, Alice set up R;pple to discretely intercept harmful searches.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Gen Z snapshot: 4 youth culture trends in 2021 | | What are the latest trends for today’s young people, aka. Generation Z (born 1995 - before the early 2010s)? What's their world like and how are they spending their time? How are you connecting with them?
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| | From an article by Youthscape |
|
 | | Feast | | Allows refugee chefs to have a pop-up kitchen for a day a week and cook the food from their country. They keep the proceeds and pay a below market rate for the kitchen hire. It helps them develop skills and prove their ideas.
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| | A film from Faith and Co |
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 | | Meron - a ministry of hospitality | | One of a film series sharing stories of God at work through ordinary Christians in everyday places. For Meron, driving is a ministry of hospitality, not just transportation. She sees each customer as God-sent.
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| | From LICC |
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 | | Clarissa | | Clarissa is a film created to improve the health of people affected by homelessness, through better understanding of their experiences. It has been woven together from real experiences of people.
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| | A film by Groundswell |
|
 | | Recognizing the impact you already have | | What if we asked people before they engaged with another person what they expected their impact on the other person to be, and then immediately asked the other person how much they were actually impacted?
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| | From an article on Behavioral Scientist |
|
 | | From prisoner to preacher | | "One night, two police officers knocked on my door. They told me that if I continued preaching, they'd put me in jail.. I stood at my usual spot, proclaiming Jesus, then a police van came around the corner and my heart sank."
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| | From information by BigLife |
|
 | | Using tech to help people get back into work | | Held over 3 days, Hack2Work brought together over 150 people from many backgrounds to develop innovative digital solutions to help people back into employment post-pandemic. There were 2 winning teams..
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| | From an article by Digileaders |
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 | | Charity takeovers | | Should regulations allow dynamic charity takeovers? Currently, charities can consider merging but the number that do that is very small (0.1% of charities). Is the sector therefore risk adverse, inefficient with lots of duplication?
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| | Geoff Knott |
|
 | | The hidden impact of the smartphone industry | | 20 years ago we couldn't imagine a smartphone and now we can't live without one. Our constant demand for newer and better phones has a huge impact on the environment. One manufacturer is trying to change this..
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| | From a video by Fairphone |
|
 | | Bringing nature into your town | | La Riche decided to plant an urban forest in the community to lower temperatures and bring the nurturing elements of nature into an urban setting. They launched an online engagement platform for residents to choose a location.
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| | Geoff Knott |
|
 | | Heart of This Place | | A modern day re-telling of the parable of the prodigal son. In rural England, a father and his two sons run the family business. But their relationships are torn apart when the youngest son rebels...
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| | A video by Share Change |
|
 | | Different types of storms | | In the New Testament we see three types of storms; First type - believers cry out, Jesus stops it. Second, Jesus invites us to face it, walk on water, and then rescues us,
Third type is the most severe storm..
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| | From an article by Ed Silvoso |
|
 | | The Good Shepherd | | A video of a friendly encounter with a shepherd in mountains of the Middle East. They had a chat about the parable of the Good Shepherd and caught it on a 2 minute video. It helps put the parable in the cultural context.
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| | From a video from Unreached Network |
|
 | | You marry the mission and date the model | | "Hey, we're out of the 'Here comes Sunday' rhythm. So what can we do with this time? What can we do with this energy? What can we do digitally? What can we do in the community to be the hands and feet of Jesus?"
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| | From a presentation at Future Church Summit 2021 |
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 | | The Underground - 2 | | The Underground now has over 200 microchurches across the city, each with its own distinct ministry - no two the same. What a group of people can do who conceive church in an entirely different way - from the vantage point of mission.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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| | The Underground - 1 | | A true story of a 10-year experiment that unpacks the possibilities of a church structured and streamlined for mission. Over the last ten years the church has been validating its ideas with sustained and growing results.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Social distancing | | Although we proclaim we hate social distancing, what we love is to be socially distant from those we consider to be different to us. But the Carpenter from Nazareth invites us to consider another approach.
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| | From an article by Geoff Shattock |
|
 | | How resilient is your town? | | Following drought in Cape Town, the council approved Cape Town Resilience Strategy. This addressed how to build resilience to future shocks. The City had, in effect, a broad framework with which to mount its Covid-19 response.
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| | From an article by Apolitical |
|
 | | Scaling behaviour change | | Research found decisions were based on 2 variables: social proof + social pressure. People adopt new practices if they see successful adoption by others (social proof) or if they feel their use is expected by them (social pressure).
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| | From a blog by Behavioural Scientist |
|
 | | Do you know who made your clothes? | | With increased transparency, brands and consumers can identify whether or not people are being exploited in the supply chain or if the environment is being harmed. An example social enterprise in Nepal.
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| | From an article by Purnaa |
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 | | Are we willing to pay a price? | | In 42 years, a very dark time of Iran's history, over a million people have turned to Christ. Persecution is increasing. Iranians are paying a price. A sacrificing church who knows how much Jesus has loved and sacrificed.
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| | From a podcast by Release International |
|
 | | Repositioning church as a mission agency | | Having experienced a movement that produced over 200,000 new disciples and 22,000 different microchurches - ordinary people who were making new disciples in new contexts, then, "Okay, why not here why not us?".
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| | From a talk by Rob Wegner, Microchurch Leader Kans |
|
 | | I met God online | | To stress the importance of how this generation is using the internet to answer spiritual questions, listen to Kimberley's testimony.
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| | Geoff Knott |
|
 | | Speaking of poverty, differently | | Poverty is really not a failure of the individual. We should see it instead as a failure of society. A society that fails to recognize the competence of people in poverty. A society that relies on a unhealthy conception of merit.
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| | From a video by a UN Special Rapporteur |
|
 | | A vicar meets his Muslim parishioners | | It is important that I can explain Christian truths to my Muslim friends. And I do so out of friendship, a relationship of mutual respect. They may not engage with it, but many have no idea what Christianity is about.
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| | From a podcast from Mahabba |
|
 | | Look Beyond Borders | | When you sit down opposite a specific person and look into their eyes, you no longer see an anonymous refugee, one of the migrants, and notice the human before you, just like yourself – loving, suffering, dreaming.
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| | From a video by Amnesty International |
|
 | | Who I am in Christ | | “I am no longer a product of my past, I am a product of the work of Christ on the cross.”. What does this mean? I am Accepted, Secure and Significant in Christ..
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| | From the book, Living Free in Christ, by Neil Ande |
|
 | | Charity digital journeys | | Over the last year, COVID-19 has forced charities to move to remote working, deliver services online, invest in new tech and upskill staff faster than they ever anticipated. What works and what doesn't in digital transformation?
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| | From a report by Catalyst |
|
 | | 5 lessons from the wise men | | We are all called to communion with God. Finding and living out this communion sometimes involves embarking on a journey without knowing where it will take us.
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| | From an article on Mind & Spirit |
|
 | | Volunteering and human flourishing | | For many, engaging in volunteering can be a powerful way to contribute to the good of others, to the community, to the common good, and to the good of the person volunteering as well - with significant health benefits.
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| | From an article by Psychology Today |
|
 | | Shifting heaviness with praise | | “Lord, what’s going on? Why, the sudden crying and feeling of despair and hopelessness, when I was feeling OK 10 minutes ago?” The Holy Spirit brought a scripture to mind that talks about a ‘spirit of heaviness’. How to lift?
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| | From an article in Heaven in Business |
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 | | Taking burnout and our minds more seriously | | Burnout is a complex set of experiences and reactions. If you know you are running near to the edge take it seriously. We are all human. We all have a limit.
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| | From an article by the Mind and Soul Foundation |
|
 | | The contact hypothesis | | Prejudice, hatred and racism stem from a lack of contact. We generalise wildly about strangers because we don’t know them. So the remedy seems obvious: more contact.
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| | From an article in The Correspondent |
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 | | Everything course | | A 7 week small group course exploring how to play your part in the renewal of culture. As followers of Jesus, we are called to seek the renewal of our world. It’s part of our call to shape our culture for the common good.
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| | From an article by Everything Conference |
|
 | | At a Loss - bereavement support | | A coalition of Christian organisations has developed resources to help the Church support the bereaved. Especially important due to Covid-19 and the large number of people who are, and will be, seeking help.
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| | From the Loss and Hope initiative |
|
 | | CEO blueprint for achieving racial equity | | Ideas on themes; Designing HR practices that are actively anti-racist, Expanding worker power, Designing products and services, operations and supply chains that ensure racial equity.
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| | From an article by Just Capital |
|
 | | The fine-tuning of the Universe | | There are fundamental constants + quantities that determine the structure of the Universe. Scientists have realised that each of these numbers have been carefully dialled to an astonishingly precise value. Accident or design?
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| | From a video by Reasonable Faith |
|
 | | Are we really well? | | Have we created environments that help us to be well? How can we build wellness together where we live? There are four key foundations on which we need to build..
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| | From a TedX talk by Dr Andy Knox |
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 | | Deeply Rooted: A Wellbeing Resource for Leaders | | We all maintain our health through multiple means.The last weeks will have disrupted our usual strategies for self-care. It’s therefore vital that we take an honest look at how we are doing...
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| | From a resource by Sanctuary Mental Health Ministr |
|
 | | Drowning in empathy: compassion fatigue | | Compassion fatigue is experienced by those in a helping profession or ministry, whether paid or not. What puts you at a greater risk is empathy - putting yourself in someone else's shoes..
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| | From a TEDx talk |
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 | | Turning online attendance to deeper engagement | | Turning online attendance to deeper engagement. The transition from cyber church to physical church is not necessarily a smooth or fluid one. Recognise the audience. It's a different audience with a different set of needs.
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| | From a discussion with Mal Fletcher |
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 | | The colonel and the cleaner | | Jason Denney had severe Covid-19. A priest administered the last rites. He said goodbye to his family via FaceTime. But Rosaura Quinteros, a hospital cleaner, urged Jason not to lose hope. She said God was not done with him..
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| | From an article on CNN |
|
 | | Retraining your brain to stop prejudice | | We all have unconscious biases - the stuff you don't even know your brain is doing - quick to spot characteristics like age, race, social class and sort into groups that we might be wary of. You can change this.
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| | From a video by Nationswell |
|
 | | Answered prayer - when a nation prays | | May 24th 2020 was the 80th anniversary of the King calling the nation to pray. Subsequently, something happened which was incredible and it's a story that has impacted us deeply as a country.
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| | From a video by The Wall of Answered Prayer |
|
 | | Stay Alert - know the risks and avoid them | | We've heard very little about the findings of contact tracing from other nations. From these, can we see commonality of outbreaks of COVID-19? Yes. This knowledge can help us keep safe and lessen risk as we enter a new phase.
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| | From an article by Dr Erin Bromage |
|
 | | Carbon-neutral church buildings - lighting | | With the advent of affordable and aesthetic pleasing LED lighting, five churches within the Diocese of Durham have devised new lighting schemes whilst keeping costs to a minimum by using existing lighting wiring.
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| | A guest blog by Astley Fenwick, Trinity Energy Man |
|
 | | God sent a cleaner | | Pastor Lee McClelland recently contracted Covid-19 and was in a critical condition in hospital. "I remember really crying to the Lord and asking him to help me and somehow encourage my heart and strengthen me." The next morning a cleaner came in..
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| | Geoff Knott |
|
 | | The Connected Generation? | | What values are Millennials, and now Gen Z, bringing with them into adulthood? What kind of world are they already building? What is their relationship to faith? Results from interviews with 15,000 18-35s in 25 countries.
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| | From a report by Barna and World Vision |
|
 | | Cohabiting families’ disadvantage | | Many cohabiting couples with children doubt their current relationship will last, especially compared to married parents. And they are less likely to see their relationship as a vital part of their life.
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| | From a study by Institute of Family Studies |
|
 | | The Making of Us | | A film created by many, purely to spread a message of positivity and hope. Proof that even apart, we’re in this together. This could be the making of us.
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| | A video by The Making of Us |
|
 | | Setting up a prayer chain for your community | | As people in our communities turn to prayer, regardless of whether they attend church, they could be very interested in knowing about prayer support and churches may be interested in setting up prayer chains and publicising this to local households.
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| | Geoff Knott |
|
 | | Bloom | | An award-winning, touching story of Nadine, depressed and alone. A gift from a neighbour gives Nadine something to live for. Brings us back to the essentials of being human - kindness and thoughtfulness to others.
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| | From a video by students at the Animation/Illustra |
|
 | | Is Britain a fair country? | | Wealth inequality has been rising rapidly in Britain for the past 30 years. Is the public aware of the extent of this growth in inequality? Do we think we live in a fairer society than is the reality?
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| | From a video by High Pay Centre |
|
 | | Homeless shelter plus - the Cotton Street Project | | A centre that gives the guests a home, with a bed and their own clothes behind a lockable door, a community are where they can eat and a joinery and upholstery workshop, that has given them hope.
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| | From a video by Cotton Street Project |
|
 | | Becoming a carbon neutral church | | There are various sources of information to help you to manage and reduce the carbon footprint of the church i.e. the people and the buildings/events. What actions can you take?
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| | From materials by Eco Congregation |
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 | | Religious Change in Britain -1991 to 2018 | | Data from British Social Attitudes (BSA) surveys. The questions gauge different aspects of religion in wider society: religious authority, belief in God, other religious beliefs, and religious activity.
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| | From an article by British Religion in Numbers |
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 | | Case studies of modern slavery | | Izna was not paid properly for her work. She was unable to leave because the family she worked for had bought a small house for her family in India. She would had to stay to work for decades in order to pay off the debt.
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| | From a guide by Together Free |
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 | | 2019 Homelessness Hackathon | | Participants with a wide range of life and professional experience collaborated in teams to come up with innovative suggestions and solutions. The ideas were voted on by the event audience and the winning idea announced...
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| | From an article by Chartered Institute of Housing |
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 | | Detecting modern slavery in your supply chain | | Modern slavery is often invisible, hidden in factories, small farms, plantations, etc. It is challenging to detect and hard to eradicate. Two apps are emerging to help detect issues.
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| | From an article on Business Fights Poverty |
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 | | 99 good news stories in 2019 | | Good news stories of conservation, health, rising living standards, tolerance, peace, cleaner energy and environmental stewardship. We need to change the stories we tell ourselves.
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| | From an article by Future Crunch |
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 | | Presents with purpose | | A Gift Guide featuring products from 50+ social enterprises - gifts that make a real social or environmental impact.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Powerhouse - a house which is 100% off-grid | | A solar powered, ready-to-move-in, eco-friendly, smart home in India. Pre-fitted with electrical and plumbing systems that can be controlled remotely. For £18,000, buyers can have clean energy for their home and e-vehicle, free for life.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Capturing more carbon | | Two initiatives that will help remove carbon from the atmosphere. 500 billion new trees and a bioreactor to capture carbon - 1x1 metre x 2 metres - equivalent to 1 acre of trees. Opportunity to lower carbon for all communities.
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| | From articles on Singularity and Good News Network |
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 | | Changing perceptions of UK refugees | | "People did not see the ambition within me. I wanted to be seen as somebody who has got talent, skills and aspirations and, if given the opportunity, can and will contribute to UK society."
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| | From an article on Pioneers Post |
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 | | Stopping teen substance abuse in Iceland | | The %age of 15-16-year-olds who had been drunk in a month fell from 42% in 1998 to 5% in 2016. The %age who have ever used cannabis is down from 17% to 7%. Those smoking cigarettes every day fell from 23% to just 3%.
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| | From an article on Mosiac Science |
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 | | Innovation in youthwork | | The world is changing-and fast-and young people are connecting and gathering in different spaces and places, both real and virtual. Understanding, interest and perceptions about Christian faith are shifting. How affects youthwork?
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| | From an article by Youthscape |
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 | | There will soon be more trees than people in Milan | | The Italian city revealed plans to plant 3 million trees by the year 2030. If successful, they will absorb an additional 5M tons of CO2 a year, 3000 tons of small particulates over 10 years and lower temperature by 2C.
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| | From an article by Green Matters |
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 | | Launched: Journeying Through Uni with God | | A group study giving students a vision for whole-life discipleship at uni - the understanding, the tools, and the confidence to live for Christ in every area of uni life.
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| | From an article by LICC |
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 | | Love Thy Neighbour pack | | The Love Thy Neighbour pack is designed to help and inspire you to reach out to the people around you. Whether you have just moved into your area, are struggling to connect with your neighbours, or have lived in your street for years.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Kindness in public policy? | | Talk about kindness and public policy in the same breath and you get one of several reactions including embarrassment, dismissal, irritation. However kindness matters and it makes a huge difference.
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| | From a report by Carnegie UK Trust |
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 | | CitizenLab | | A citizen engagement platform for local governments. It helps reach more citizens, manage their ideas efficiently, and make decisions based on real-time data. It introduces local democracies to the digital age.
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| | From an article by CitizenLab |
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 | | Swords into ploughshares | | In an event organised by Bonny Downs Baptist Church in East London, 800 Londoners joined forces to chant ‘no to violence’ and melt down knives seized from London’s streets to make new garden tools and sculpture for display in a community garden.
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| | From an article by Red Letter Christians UK |
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 | | Community fridges | | More than 50 Community Fridges have popped up across the UK helping thousands connect to their communities, access nutritious food, save money and reduce waste.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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| | Ethics and artificial intelligence | | AI systems learn by looking at data from millions of examples. It is difficult to predict how they’ll behave in new scenarios outside these examples. How can we get artificial intelligence systems to behave ethically?
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| | From an article on Digital Insurance |
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 | | How to deal with debt - a 3-step guide | | A new guide which uses behavioural insight techniques and has gone through extensive user-testing to maximise the chances of people using it taking the steps they need to deal with their debts.
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| | A resource from The Money Advice Trust |
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 | | Pitching the Bible to the online generation | | For 2,000 years, the Bible has been communicated in reimagined ways to reach new audiences. Today's pioneers are making the Bible more accessible and attractive to those shaped by a world of visual content.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Estates evangelism | | In February 2019, the Bishop of Burnley, Philip North, spoke on a motion to have a church community on every significant social housing estate in the nation.
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| | From the Synod address by Bishop Philip North |
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 | | Giving a homeless person a chance | | In the summer of 2017, some roofing contractors in north London spotted a homeless man sleeping on a bench close to their latest job. The man asked if they might need some help with their roofing job one morning..
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | The power of prayer for families | | A practice that is beneficial to individual and family well-being. Strengthens marriages, unites family members, and boosts adolescent decision-making and health.
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| | From a blog by Institute for Family Studies |
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 | | Ways to reduce compulsive spending | | An update on a trial of an online tool which provided people with the ability to close online shops at times of their choosing and limit temptation to spend. Some good recommendations.
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| | From an article by Money and Mental Health |
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| | Preaching to middle-class can hurt the poor | | A good deal of the sermon applications are aimed at the middle class and this can be especially damaging for Christians who come from lower-income situations. Some nuggets.
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| | From a series of tweets by Timothy Isaiah Cho @tis |
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 | | Hidden in plain sight | | How one church found abundance in a community of material poverty. Viewing people - not programmes, finances, etc - as their most valuable resource moved church members beyond their own walls and out into the streets, where they discovered..
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 | | Pathways out of destitution | | Stories of destitute asylum seekers and organisations and people helping them. "Over the course of the first week that someone stays with you the person literally transforms."
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| | From a video by NACCOM |
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 | | Cooking on a bootstrap | | Simple recipes carefully costed for people to cook at home and incorporate more veg and plant-based foods on a budget.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | why on earth...? | | A lively collection of sessions that opens up some of life’s hardest questions in an accessible way. Each session offers simple first steps in exploring a difficult subject.
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| | Resources from Church Army and SPCK |
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 | | Illuminate your city | | Illuminate is a mission to young people in the UK and beyond. They do this nationwide, through music, mainstream presence, schools tours, using music to connect with young people and effective follow up.
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| | From an article by Illuminate |
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 | | Behind on the basics | | For some people, just keeping up with basic household costs can be a real struggle. In 2017, 140,000 people who received debt advice from StepChange were behind on at least one of their essential household bills.
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| | From a report by StepChange |
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 | | Fair pay for fair work | | A look at executive compensation by St Pauls Institute. Companies need to balance justice and self-interest in a way that society perceives as fair and supporting the common good.
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| | From a report by St Pauls Institute |
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 | | Navigating the asylum system | | The Refugee Resource Centre for Churches (R2C2) was set up at the request of many Christian groups working with refugees in Britain, bringing together the expertise and experience of those involved in this vital work.
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| | From and article by R2C2 |
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 | | Financing a house | | If you are a church or a church worker, finding finance is daunting but there could be help..
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| | From an article by Kingdom Bank |
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 | | Culture Makers | | A call to Christians not to forget the rest of life and ask the question: ‘What should I be doing in my world to bring God’s redemptive love and power into it?’
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Freed from Shame | | Real-life stories from Christians struggling with various mental health issues and suggestions for churches and individuals supporting people.
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| | From a blog by Dawn Holmes |
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 | | Prayer signs | | Barry Schoder broke the Lord's Prayer down, part by part, posting it onto ten red and white signs that could be read progressively as one drove down the main avenue of his town..
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| | From a blog by Transform our World |
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 | | Empty-handed ministers - 2 | | Are You a Good Neighbour? is an online course designed to help you apply the principles of helping without hurting in everyday life—and take the first steps toward building personal relationships with people in poverty.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Empty-handed ministers - 1 | | In stripping your team of their basic resources, Jesus is forcing you to rely completely on the local resources of those you visit due to your posture of dependence.
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| | From a blog by Fresh Expressions USA |
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 | | Trust in the Church | | The Charity Awareness Monitor includes a regular module on trust in public bodies and institutions. How is the Church perceived?
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| | From a report by nfpSynergy |
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 | | Time to Change | | Around 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem this year yet the shame and silence can be as bad as the mental health problem itself.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Insights into poverty and inequality - 4 | | Since the early 1990s, inequality, as shown by the Gini coefficient, has stayed relatively level. In other words, although there is inequality there has not been a large increase in recent years.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Insights into poverty and inequality - 1 | | The amount of money you have is not the main determinant of well-being; what matters is how you feel about it. People who feel relatively poor have behaviours which lead to poverty.
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| | From an article in the New Yorker magazine |
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 | | Mission with young adults | | Not as difficult as you think. Research on successful, unsuccessful, and unproven mission with young adults (aged 18 to 30) in various church groups.
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| | From research by Church Army |
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 | | Lifting the Lid | | Livability has launched a new, free church Bible study resource regarding mental health. ‘Lifting the Lid’ helps churches engage with the mental health challenges faced by those in their communities.
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| | From a blog by Livability |
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 | | Emergency Use Only: Update 2017 | | Foodbank use update - what more had been learned, what initiatives were working locally, what policies had been changed and what still needs to be done.
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| | From a report by CPAG |
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 | | Interdependence | | Individualism says that it is someone else’s job to make the world better, and it’s my job to put some coins in their bucket. Interdependence says that it’s my job to make the world better.
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| | From a blog by James Perry |
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 | | Presence is better than presents | | A recent study suggests that small acts of kindness, not grand overtures, make people feel most loved and supported.
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| | From a study in the Journal of Social and Personal |
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 | | How to help homeless people | | Church Housing Trust practical step by step guide for churches. Information on helping people at different stages of homelessness.
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| | From a booklet by Church Housing Trust |
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 | | Stop the knock | | The use of bailiffs to collect council tax and other debts has risen 14% in two years. They should only ever be used as a last resort.
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| | From a report by Money Advice Trust |
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 | | We need to talk | | What's most enjoyable - striking up conversations on a commute or just remaining solitary, alone with your smartphone?
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| | From a blog by Behavioural Scientist |
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 | | For the least of these | | Jesus calls on us to care for the poor. How do we do that when we live in a modern industrial society?
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| | 12 contributors look at Biblical+economic answers |
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 | | Insights into community life | | Results of the 2016-17 Community Life Survey exploring levels of community cohesion and engagement.
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| | From research Department of Digital, Culture, Medi |
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 | | The Church as a therapeutic community | | Overcoming social isolation is really important to help people recover from addiction. Therapeutic communities are very powerful because of the interactions between people
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | NUJ guidelines on reporting poverty | | A film emphasises guidelines for journalists to use when reporting poverty. This builds on a pack launched in April 2016
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| | From a pack and a film produced by National Union |
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 | | A Church for the Poor | | A new book presents a vision for and practicalities of becoming a church where people from all sections of society can find a home and play a part.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Letting go of a megachurch - taking on a new adventure | | I now want to gather people. Gatherings where they can actually use their gifts. Starting with just leading a small group, maybe I can just start multiplying that, teaching other people to lead and shepherd these groups.
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| | From a talk by Francis Chan |
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| | Beacons of light across the nation | | At a recent prayer day in Westminster Chapel, Terry Virgo was asked to talk about revival. These are some edited notes of his short talk.
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| | From a talk by Terry Virgo at a prayer day July 20 |
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 | | Global poverty 2 - Poverty Inc. | | When a film wins 30 worldwide Film Festival honours and 11+ awards and it's about poverty, we should sit up and take notice. Such a film is Poverty Inc., drawn from over 200 interviews filmed in 20 countries.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Church for the poor - William Booth | | William Booth 1829-1912, revivalist, champion of social reform and friend of the poor and downtrodden, speaking on the importance of practical Christian action.
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| | A rare recording of William Booth, founder of the |
|
 | | A theology of mental health | | A theology of mental health is an integrated biopsychosocial one. One that integrates mind, body, spirit, community, and family.
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| | From a talk at a CapitalMass event by Rev Will van |
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 | | Housing First - experience of a pilot | | In Manchester, Shelter are running a 2 year Housing First pilot working with people with complex needs. Some results are being seen.
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| | A blog by Sarah Walters who works for Shelter Manc |
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 | | Mental health and the Church | | Difficult emotions and challenging experiences are part of normal life, and we'll probably all have them at some point.
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| | From an interview on Radio 4 |
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 | | A place to call home? | | A set of six bible studies for small group discussion focusing on a range of issues around housing.
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| | Joint Public Issues Team |
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 | | An end to rough sleeping? | | Overwhelming evidence supports Housing First, which provides homes alongside support to homeless people with complex needs.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Justice for the Poor Bible study | | Poor families waited to come in for food. "Lord, we know that you will be coming through this line today, so help us to treat you well."
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| | From a video by Jim Wallis |
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 | | The World Family Map 2017 | | Confirms family stability and marriage but it also contains some observations which run counter to media headlines. You may be surprised.
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| | From a report by The Institute for Family Studies |
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 | | How diversity makes us smarter | | Decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, etc show that socially diverse groups have better outcomes than homogeneous ones. Affects a church?
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| | From an article in Scientific American |
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 | | Fundamental Facts about mental health 2016 | | The Mental Health Foundation have published a comprehensive summary of mental health research in November 2016. It provides a unique handbook of key facts and figures, covering all key areas of mental health.
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| | From a report by The Mental Health Foundation |
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 | | Top 10 blog posts 2016 | | I've been looking at the tens of thousands of visits to the Word on the Streets website since starting in April 2016 and the number of visits to each blog. Which ones were of most interest across the site?
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Clergy Hosting | | Clergy Hosting is clergy offering hospitality to homeless migrants or refugees.
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| | Initiative of CapitalMass, DioLondon. Housing Just |
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 | | Poverty and Mental Health | | Many people in the UK live in poverty. Many people will experience a mental health problem each year. What's the link between the two?
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Church as sanctuary to refugees | | The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, spoke recently of why Christians are mandated to offer welcome to all and how churches can support refugees and asylum seekers new to this country.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Night shelter | | As winter draws near, many churches will be participating in running night shelters for those on the streets. Here's the story of a Night Shelter provided each night by one of 6 churches in Manchester.
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| | From CofE Manchester |
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 | | Don't shut your eyes | | Human trafficking and other forms of exploitation are all around us. Victims may be washing your car, painting your nails, picking your food, etc. How do you spot the signs?
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| | From the European Freedom Network |
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 | | Hidden rules among classes | | Hidden rules are the unspoken cues and habits of a group. If you are in a group, you understand these hidden rules and the danger is you take these for granted that they for everyone.
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| | From A Framework for Understanding Poverty Dr Ruby |
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 | | 1000+ facts about the prison system | | Prison Reform Trust produced a fact file about prisons in England+Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in autumn 2015. It contains a huge number of insights and would inform prayer and other initiatives.
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| | From a report by The Prison Reform Trust |
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 | | Insights into teen health and well-being | | Dept of Education research. It is clear that the year 10 students in 2014 have markedly different attitudes and behaviours than those in 2005. How have things changed in those nine years?
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Online Church - extending gospel reach | | Everyday Church based in south-west London launched an online church in September 2015. Everyday Church has planted many churches and the online church is seen as another church plant.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Social action and church growth | | With the growth of social action in recent years, there have been many opportunities for Christians to express love and compassion to their neighbours, but how does that relate to evangelism?
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Supporting those in addiction | | The Community Church Honiton have a team of over 60 volunteers working in a wide variety of social action initiatives. One of these ‘Walk the Talk’ is supporting those in drug / alcohol addiction.
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| | From a blog by Commission/Community Church Honiton |
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 | | How can churches best respond to loneliness? | | In July 2016, CUF published a briefing paper 'Connecting Communities: The impact of loneliness and the opportunities for churches to respond'. The information is helpful for creating effective actions.
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| | From a report by Church Urban Fund |
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 | | An agent of reconciliation | | "We felt convicted that relational poverty, like material poverty, is a form of injustice. Without reconciliation this wonderful neighbourhood could never reach its potential and Jesus’ prayer for it to “be on earth as it is heaven”
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| | From a blog by The Centre for Theology and Communi |
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 | | Money and mental health - a consultation | | People with mental health problems are far more likely to face financial difficulty than others. The Money and Mental Health charity have launched a consultation on policies to protect such consumers.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | A time for reconciliation | | Steve Clifford, Director General of the Evangelical Alliance speaks about how the church needs to model reconciliation in these times of divided opinions, upheaval and uncertainty.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Helping financial management | | There are some financial products that could be useful for those struggling with budgeting and managing their finances. If you are involved in debt advice or helping vulnerable people you may want to investigate further.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Getting older... | | About 3.8m older people live alone. Over one in ten older people are in contact with family friends or neighbours less than once a month. Two-fifths of older people say that their main company is the TV. What can a church do?
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| | From a blog Graham Tomlin and Sian Brookes |
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 | | #AskTheQuestion | | Today over 45 million people are trapped in modern slavery around the world. We have the power to change this and make slavery history. From 1st April 2016, companies must disclose what steps they are taking to deal with slavery in their supply chains.
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | A Church for the poor? Letting go of power | | Inspired by Pope Francis’ vision of “a poor church, for the poor”, Church Action on Poverty is exploring how churches can do more to stand in solidarity with people in poverty. Reflections of many prominent Christians will shortly be published
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| | Liam Purcell |
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 | | A guide: refugees, asylum seekers and migrants | | Churches Together Merseyside region. A very comprehensive briefing paper and guide triggered by the international refugee crisis and inspired by the need to respond to the Gospel, to the injunction to ‘welcome the stranger’ and
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| | Geoff Knott |
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| | Hosting a refugee or an asylum seeker | | As Christians volunteer to open up their homes to refugees and asylum seekers, here are some thoughts regarding arrangements churches may want to put in place to set expectations and protect both the hosts and the guests.
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| | Based on a handout by Action Foundation |
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 | | From houses to homes | | It is impossible to work for social justice in cities today without addressing the issue of housing. What will happen if the poorest residents of our cities are priced out of their neighbourhoods by soaring housing costs?
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| | Geoff Knott |
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 | | Refugees - what churches are doing | | We are seeing a refugee crisis across Europe. So far a relatively small number have arrived in the UK, but over the coming months the number is likely to increase dramatically. In December 2015, Jubilee+ launched a short survey to understand what actions
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| | Geoff Knott |
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