Page 4 - Moravian Messenger August 2018

Vacancy for a Stipendiary (Full-time) Provincial Board Member
Following Synod, the Provincial Board now consists of six members of the Moravian Church in the British Province, elected by nomination and ballot at Synod. Two serve in a stipendiary, full-time capacity and four serve part-time as non- stipendiary members, all holding office until their successors are elected (Book of Order, section 3.1.a).
At Synod, the vacant non-stipendiary positions were filled, however a vacancy remains for a full-time stipendiary position for four years. In order for this vacancy to be filled a postal ballot now needs to be held. This election will follow the procedures outlined in our Book of Order (section 3.1.a.2).
The nomination process:
Those who wish to offer for election to serve as a stipendiary member of the PEC should fill in an official nomination form. Once completed, it should be sent to Sr Roberta Hoey at Moravian Church House, 5 Muswell Hill, London N10 3TJ. The closing date for nomination forms to arrive at Church House is 5pm on Friday 31st August 2018.
The voting process:
Once the closing date is passed, all nominations will be collated and copied for circulation, along with the ballot papers to Church Committees and to ministers. Each Church Committee and each ex officio member of Synod is entitled to one vote. The ex officio members of Synod are: members of the Provincial Board, Bishops who are resident in the British Province, Ministers in active service in the British Province, the PYCO and the two members of the Church holding the posts of Advocatus Unitatis Fratrum in Anglia and Secretarius Unitatis Fratrum in Anglia. To be elected to the board, a two thirds majority must be obtained. The nomination papers must be shredded once voting has taken place.
Once the votes have been made the ballot forms should be returned to Sr Lindsey Newens at Church House for counting. The result of the postal ballot will be sent out to ministers and Church Secretaries by email and will appear as soon as possible in the Moravian Messenger.
Nomination papers will be sent out to
each Congregation and ex officio member of Synod. They can also be obtained along with any information about the role by contacting Sr Roberta Hoey on roberta.hoey@moravian.org.uk or telephoning 020 8883 3409.
Please note:
- Provincial Board members must be members of the Moravian Church in the British Province.
- When a person has been elected to the Provincial Board, appointment is subject to trustee eligibility checks, including a DBS clearance.
- Nominations are for four years. The nominator and seconder may be individual members of the church or a congregation committee as a whole, in which case one member of the committee should sign on its behalf. The nominator and seconder should not be the nominee.
- A house is available in Greater London for the person who is elected to serve in this capacity.
Their menu is the same each week: fruit juice, soup with a soft white roll, stew, tea and coffee, apple, orange or a banana. They also have a rule of feeding the animals first with dog food. They will supply food, blankets, clothing and bags of encouragement.
The land where they operate the soup run from has been sold by the council and they seek other suitable accommodation.
A question and answer session followed which was appreciated by all.
John Tempest was thanked by Br Ken.
Holy Communion: Br David presided over Holy Communion.
Closing for another year: The Men's Fellowship rally closed with refreshment.
Note for diaries - 2019: The Men's Fellowship Rally will be held on Saturday 22 June 2019 at Queen's Park Bedford.
Br Edwin Quildan
Minister at Harlesden and Bedford Queens Park
..Men's Fellowship Rally - Saturday 23 June 2018 Horton
Welcome and opening worship: the programme commenced at 1pm with a welcome and opening devotions by Br Ken Evans. Br David Howarth welcomed everyone to Horton. Our speaker for the day was introduced as, 'John Tempest, Founder and Director of the Bradford Soup Run'.
Key note speaker: John Tempest thanked Br Ken for the introduction and (as part of his opening remarks) commented on two things that he noticed about the Moravians: they sing loud and have shiny shoes. About 30 years ago he went to a pub for a social with two friends, when someone said, 'I bet there are no homeless in Bradford. A couple of nights later the weather was bitterly cold and John plus his friends went to investigate around the town centre. They carried a flask with food and a loaf of bread. They saw the first person, who was called David, with two of everything on a bench, and went to help and encourage him. The second person was sleeping in a tunnel and turned them away quite rudely. They also noted that a number of people on the streets had dogs, as
they preferred the company of the animals to humans. They continued the rounds around Bradford for a while when they decided it was better for the homeless to come to them on a Friday night, as the council facilities were closed on Friday. They catered for 100 homeless people who came from various backgrounds including former managing directors, managerial staff, shop workers, ex-military personnel, to name a few. He said that there are more men on the streets than women and when a man loses his job it can be devastating.
John Tempest stressed that the soup run was set-up based on the following verses from the bible; Matthew chapter 25 vv 30-40: 'I was hungry and you fed me ...' He said that political and religious views were left at the door, but there were some house rules for the soup runs, particularly for the location that they provide the food from. So no drugs, no alcohol, no photos, no fighting, and no politics are allowed. They accept people as they are. However, there are bouncers on site during the sessions, which will assist them if and when required.
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