Page 9 - Moravian Messenger May 2021

Lancashire District Conference Meeting
welcomed and helpful but the people who do not possess the technology to view, have missed out. We regret that there is not much we can do to address this.
The Conference then moved to the election of District Officers. Sr Janet Warr had previously advised that she no longer wishes to act as Chair of the Conference, although she was happy to continue as Treasurer. There is a facility to hold anonymous votes and polling on Zoom and so this medium was used. Br Philip Cooper was unanimously elected our new Chair and he took over the meeting from this point. He thanked Sr Warr for her dedicated service as Chair for over 10 years. Sr Sue Selby was happy to continue as Secretary of the Conference and she was accepted in this role for a further 12 months by a show of hands.
The Youth Secretary's role is currently jointly led by Srs Denise Lee and Sarah Haldane and both sisters are willing to continue. They were also elected by a show of hands.
Br David Howarth then began the PEC report by thanking all congregations, committees and groups for their work in keeping the churches ticking over during the past twelve months.
He highlighted the forthcoming Synod to be held on Zoom in June and stressed the need to encourage members to put their names forward in applying for the vacancies both on the Provincial Board
and on the Standing Committees.
The Treasurer then presented her report in stating that there had been little expenditure during the past year. There was no District Youth Report as no events have been held.
Sr Warr then gave a brief outline of the work of the Greater Manchester Churches Together since our last meeting in October. Her role as representative of the Moravian Church will pass to Br Cooper but she and her husband, Ian, will still be working in the role of Treasurers to GMCT. Thanks were offered to Sr Warr for her work with this Group in previous years. Under the heading of 'new business' it was announced that a pre-Synod meeting will be held on Zoom on 1st June at 7pm.
It was agreed that our annual District Gathering this year, will be held on 27th June and will take the form of a District Service with no external speakers. If the Coronavirus prevents this from going ahead, then it will be easy to cancel the arrangements.
Our next meeting will be on 9th October at Salem starting at 9.30am. This is presuming that the Coronavirus will not prevent us from meeting in person. In such an event, then a Zoom meeting will again be organised.
Sr Sue Selby
Secretary
The Lancashire District Conference was held on 20th March by the medium of Zoom. The conference started with the Text for the Day and prayer by Sr Janet Warr, our Chair. There were three items to discuss from the intervening period. A Retreat Day was held on Zoom on 13th February, and we were pleased that Sr Lorraine Shorten could lead this.
The Fairfield congregation have been bequeathed a large sum of money that they would like to use in the employment of a District Family Worker. This would be a two-year post and although it would be welcomed, the subject of the writing of a contract of employment, job description etc., will need to be addressed before any such vacancy could be posted. It was decided, in hindsight, to tackle these legal requirements before discussing the matter further.
The impact of the Coronavirus was then debated. Fairfield reported that the lockdown had a detrimental effect on the finances of the church due to the inability to hire out the halls and that no weddings have taken place for 12 months. The Dukinfield representative suggested that the paying of collections directly into the bank had a positive impact on their finances. However, finances aside, we are all looking forward to a resumption of services in church and we are praying that people return, especially the youth. The Zoom meetings and services held at Dukinfield have been
Star Mountain
Star Mountain Rehabilitation Centre has signed an agreement with the Palestinian Ministry of Education to support the integration of special education into public
schools. School principals, supervisors and counsellors will receive training on inclusive education at 30 public schools in the Ramallah region. The agreement guarantees the right to high-quality school and vocational training for people with learning disabilities. It also deals with the protection of people with disabilities
from violence and exclusion. Mrs Ranya Karam, head of Star Mountain has highlighted the importance of implanting such an agreement which will lead to a framework of support and continue to mitigate against the challenges faced by children with mental health disabilities.
BMB (British Mission Board) News in Brief
Church Building
in Khokana
The Church in Khokana in Nepal
has started to build a new
permanent place of worship.
This will replace the temporary
construction that was built upon
land purchased with the support
of the British Mission Board in 2015. The Church facilities are used for worship as well as a range of vital ministry initiatives for the local community which continues to rebuild following the devasting earthquake in 2015 that destroyed much of the village. Activities include a nursery and food distribution. The congregation have raised significant amount of funds but are still facing a shortfall of £9,000. If you are able to support you can do so in various way:
Card payment: please telephone Church House on 020 8883 3409 who can take payment over the phone.
Cash: donations to your local congregation.
Cheques: should be made payable to Moravian Union Inc.
Bank transfer: 40-52-40 Acc # 00023436. Please use reference: Khokana Nepal.
Ranya Karam, the director of Star Mountain, and Mohammed Al-Hash, Head of Special Education in the Ministry of Education in Ramallah
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© HMH
© Br Nagendra Pradhan