The Week Ahead

Sylvia Plath: Life Inside the Bell Jar

Saturday 11 August

BBC Two, 9.00pm

Documentary focusing on Sylvia Plath’s semi-autobiographical novel, exploring the wider landscape of 1950s gender politics and Plath’s own struggles to survive society’s constraints.

Lost Boys? What’s Going Wrong for Asian Men

Sunday 12 August

BBC Two, 10.00pm

Reporter Mehreen Baig examines the challenges facing Asian men growing up in modern Britain.

Faith behind bars

Tuesday 14 August

BBC One, 10.45pm

Cameras follow prison chaplains as they give spiritual guidance and religious support to offenders. Can anyone be forgiven, regardless of what they’ve done?

Something Understood

Sunday 12 August

BBC Radio 4, 6.05am

Rabbi Harvey Belovski discovers the tension between togetherness and personal space at the heart of every marriage and reveals the dance between these two polarities.

Reflections with Peter Hennessy

Tuesday 14 August

BBC Radio 4, 9.00am

The guest is David Blunkett, who served in Tony Blair’s Cabinet as Education and Employment Secretary, Home Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary. He reveals how he regards his blindness as an inconvenience rather than a disability.

Charity Business

Tuesday 14 August

BBC Radio 4, 9.00pm

Matthew Taylor examines how charities work and questions what they are for.

Fernley Hartley Lecture 2018  

‘Revival, Revolution and Reform in Global Methodism: An understanding of Christian Perfection as African Christian Humanism in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa’, given by the Revd Dr Dion Forster. This is an open lecture in conjunction with the 14th Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies. Friday 17 August, 5.00pm–6.30pm, Wesley Memorial Church, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford.

10 years of Methodist Heritage   
      

The Methodist Heritage Committee invites you to an event to celebrate this anniversary. Hear about how it is telling its story, how others can help and how you can tell it too. Saturday 18 August, 10am-4pm at Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford. To reserve your place, contact Diane Foster.

Clothes Aid

Action for Children has partnered with Clothes Aid, a textile collection service, raising money for vital services supporting the well-being of children and families. Your church can get involved by becoming a drop-off point for donated bags of clothes and by asking members of your congregation to donate unwanted items. To do this, please call Clothes Aid on 0207 288 8545. 

Church partnerships survey

The Demos think tank has partnered with the Good Faith Partnership on a research project about church social action. Many churches are doing extensive community work for social purposes and often work with non-Christian organisations, such as local authorities and schools. Their report will look at partnership working and how they can be better supported in their work. They are collecting responses from churches through this survey.

Twelve Baskets

The Vine is a monthly resource of full scripted local arrangement services. Each includes an order of service,

prayers, a children’s talk, reflections on the lectionary Bible readings and a selection of hymns. To order your copy, please email wayne@twelvebaskets.co.uk.

Church building works

Churches currently have to pay 20% VAT on any extensions or refurbishments they make to their buildings. This can have a detrimental effect on churches in deprived areas that are trying to serve their communities and need to have work done. A petition has been launched to have this VAT requirement removed; please sign it here.

1000 Letters

Write a letter to the young people attending 3Generate and encourage them to be courageous in their faith by sharing your own faith story. The letters will help children and young people feel connected to, and part of, the wider body of the Methodist Church.

This week in Parliament

The UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales are in recess.

Reflections
 

In the coming week the Prayer Handbook encourages us to pray for the World Church, Christians in Latin America and the Caribbean, North and Central America, as well as Britain and Ireland. The theme for next week’s A Word in Time Bible studies is ‘The Supremacy of Christ’.

Video Thursday: The reverend of rhythm

This week’s film features a minister who uses his talent of rhythm to beatbox the Bible.