Circuit News

Send items for inclusion to Juliana Caukwell, Circuit Administrator by Sunday
Regular events summary (see also the Calendar here.)
Peace Together - 23, 27 & 30 April: in the weeks after Easter, Grange Methodist Church is hosting an exhibition of five banners entitled ‘Peace Together’. These share stories of Methodists who have played a part in peace activism, from John Wesley through to the present day, and invite us to reflect on how we respond. The banners don’t give easy answers, but are designed to provoke us to think about what it means to work for a deeper peace in our world. On Sunday 27th April at 7pm we will have an hour of music and readings for peace in church, with time to see and reflect on the exhibition. The banners will also be available during Wednesday coffee mornings (10:30 to 12 noon) on 23rd and 30th April, and 7th May, and we are planning to go into several local schools with them as well. Throughout all these occasions we will be inviting people to make origami butterflies as a prayerful reflection on the change and transformation we long to see.
Broughton in Furness Methodist Church Closure - 3 May, 12noon to 2pm - open afternoon - view contents for any churches who can make use of them. An inventory was sent prior to Easter. Please contact Rev Hayley.
Job Vacancy at Kepplewray Outdoor Pursuits Centre - Kepplewray Trust are losing one of our valued cooks in the near future and we need to fill that post from the beginning of April. We would ideally like to employ an enthusiastic Christian person to do this work as we are intentionally working to grow and evolve the Christian ethos and ministry of Kepplewray so that it impacts across all aspects of our work. For the job advert, please ask Juliana
Shaping of the new Cumbria circuit from 2025 - click here
Green Fair - It has been very exciting to see churches developing their mission through treasuring creation as part of the Eco Church scheme. The Furness Eco Tribe – a newly formed group from across the area (please let me know if you’d like to join in...) have planned the next Green Fair to coincide with Big Green Week, a national celebration of all things Eco on Saturday, the 7th June from 9.30am to 11.30am at Dalton Community Church. Participating together helps us all on our green journey. Last year we had a lovely morning of coming together from across the area. Perhaps you could contribute a plant from your garden, bring an item of clothing to swap, put a photo in the competition, turn up on the morning or support the event in prayer. Perhaps you could make a LOAF product – something with an ingredient that may be Local or Organic or Animal Friendly or Fairtrade. For example – chocolate biscuit cake made with Fairtrade chocolate, or jam made with local, possibly home-grown, fruit. It would be great to see you there, sharing in our celebration of and care for God’s beautiful Creation. Click for poster and photo competition information.
Ruach Newsletter - the latest Ruach (Pioneer work) newsletter is here - please can you make a copy available in your church building
Ruach Network - As part of the Ruach Network (www.ruach.space) one of our plans has been to host a Community Table in a local cafe. These offer a place of connection, and an opportunity to build relationships with folk who wouldn't visit a local church. We will need a small team of facilitators, who are able to build relationships, signpost to other events and activities (coffee mornings, alpha, meditation sessions etc) as well as other services (manna house, street link, talking therapies...) The community table will be stocked with jigsaws, puzzle books and crafts, so folk can engage with others, or simply be alongside others. As we get closer to finding a venue (Bowness,) I am beginning to look for volunteers who would have availability to be part of a team, so that we can begin the safer recruitment process.
New Places for new people – If you are curious about new places for new people and would like more information, please have a look at this really useful and practical guide
Ministry Intern – Friends, do you remember me mentioning the possibility of an intern to work alongside me in the New Ways of Working Project? Well the great news is that between ourselves and our friends at St Mary’s Ambleside we have two interns coming. Anneli is part of the Norwegian Mission Scheme, she’s 19 and has just completed an apprenticeship in Content Creation. She will be working alongside me in Windermere and Ambleside as we continue with looking at how we can plant new microchurches which serve local folk as they grow in discipleship.
You might also remember me asking if you can pledge to offset the cost to the circuit of hosting an intern. The cost for the year is £1700 plus expenses. (Rydal Hall are kindly accommodating and feeding the interns in exchange for them working with the new chaplain building a praying community there.) If you feel God is calling you to make a contribution to this work please email Dare with your pledge, and he will arrange to take payment. Revd Grace
Thornleigh Hotel, Grange over Sands – why not look at their list of upcoming events here?

Warm regards,
Juliana Caukwell

Circuit Administrator

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Cumbria Focus

One Cumbria Circuit - An additional mid-month update was sent out, and can be seen here.
Click for April progress report; the March and February reports are still available. Sign up to receive your own copy by email here.
CTiC Social Action Audit: Results - At the end of November, presentations were held in Barrow, Penrith and Kendal. These were attended by over 60 people including faith leaders, police, local MP, NHS staff and local councillors.
If you missed out on these presentations but would like to know the results of the audit and explore the potential that they highlight, then you can follow this link to the CTIC website.

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