Formation in World Mission, visit to Brazil

Dennis Wood of Trinity church, Congleton, visited Brazil as a representative of the Chester and Stoke-on-Trent District.  This is his report.  Dennis was a member of a group of seven people visiting Brazil from Britain.  He encountered and shared life experiences with many different people there.  During this wonderful experience he had the privilege of spending a weekend with members of a church in a favela (a shanty town or slum), worshipped in a plastic tent church in a new homeless camp, visited the Methodist Community of Street People sandwiched above and below major highways, and visited a Roman Catholic Base Community.

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The Word for the World, UK

The Word for the World trains mother tongue speakers to translate the Bible into their own language.  As well as training we provide assistance through financial support and technical consultancy.  This method has several advantages:

>       It is faster, because the translators already know their language

>       It is less costly, because it is using local people

>       It is readily accepted, because the local churches are fully involved in the work.

>       It avoids “translationese”, which is when use an expression which is not natural to the target language

At the moment more than 150 people are enrolled in training courses that are taking place in 4 African countries. 

This of course is very interesting but why is it so relevant to Congleton Circuit?  The reason is that The Word for the World, UK was formed to provide an additional support centre, and Jeff  Lewis, who is a member of Wellspring church, was appointed as one of the organisation’s first directors. He has been joined by John Band (Cross Street Pentecostal Church) and Dr Veroni Kruger.  Together they make up the Board of the organisation which was granted charitable status.  Their role in the UK is to increase awareness of the need for Bible translation, to recruit lecturers and ultimately new pioneer Bible Translators, as well as raising funds for the organisation.

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Anger over diverting aid to Iraq

[from www.christian-aid.org.uk/]

Christian Aid is shocked by the Department for International Development (DfID) announcement that it is to divert £100 million of aid money to Iraq.

More than 21 countries will be affected, with DfID closing programmes in Peru, Honduras, Anguilla, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Macedonia and reducing spending for countries such as South Africa, Bolivia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Albania, Kosovo and China.

The cutting of funds to South Africa, which is gripped by an HIV/Aids crisis, and Bolivia, where there has been widespread political instability in recent weeks, have caused particular concern.

In the announcement, DfID said its overall aid spending would increase during the next two years. But because of new DfID plans to target lower-income countries, programmes in middle-income counties will still be short changed.

Andrew Croggon, head of Christian Aid's Latin America and Caribbean division, said: 'Although the countries identified for a reduction in aid fall into the category of 'middle-income', this should not obscure the fact that many of these countries are characterised by severe pockets of poverty and by large and growing inequalities.

'In Honduras, one of the countries which will cease to receive funding from DfID in the near future, 44 per cent of the population live on less than $2 (USA) a day.'

Judith Turbyne, regional manager for Central America, said she was surprised to hear of DfID's withdrawal from Honduras. 'Having recently opened an office in Honduras to deal with the long term aftermath of Hurricane Mitch, this sudden change in funding represents a reversal in aid policy,' she said.

Christian Aid and other British agencies have been working along side DfID to help address some of the key problems of poverty and inequality in middle-income countries. British Government support for this vital work needs to continue.

Exhibition of Memorabilia from 
World War II

On Remembrance Sunday at Trinity church, there was a display of items and pictures of items in use during the Second World War.

It is hard for children today to visualise the conditions of the war years.  For example, bananas had been so scarce during these years that many children did not know how to eat them when they began to appear after the war.

Besides food, clothes and materials were very restricted.  For some years people had to use books of clothing coupons to acquire just utility clothing.

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