Education

40 Seconds… Praying for Education

As part of our work in the FCG Education Team, over the last year or so we have been working with Festive - a UK based Christian charity who support students, chaplains and staff in further education (FE). You can read more about their important work HERE.

Each month, among other things, they publish a prayer bulletin entitled ‘40 Sec Prayer News’. You can register to be on the mailing list for this on their website.

Here are the prayers for October… pray with us…

Praise God that He hears and answers!

  • Please pray for Annabel and Thomas who are the new leaders of their CU. Please pray that they will find a suitable time and place for the CU to meet. They ask us to pray for the outreach events they plan, and that they will themselves be faithful witnesses to Jesus and good examples as leaders for others in the CU.  Pray for many others like them!
     

  • There isn’t a CU at Langley Park Girls’ School but Keziah has some Christian friends and she wants to start one. She is very uncertain about how to do that, and nervous about speaking to staff and management about it. Pray that God would give her the courage she needs and the words to speak, and that she would find favour with those she speaks to. Pray for Jess (our volunteer student support worker) as she writes to her and supports her.
     

  • Ali, a youth worker in Wakefield writes: ‘My biggest prayer is for more workers….there is a harvest but we need more people to be salt and light in these environments’. Please pray for more volunteers to work with Ali. Wakefield college is asking for a chaplaincy but there are not enough people available to set up a team. Pray for Ali as he looks for recruits, that God would raise up people to take up this opportunity.
     

  • Festive is now working in Northern Ireland!  Praise God for this and pray for our 15 new student contacts there.  Pray also for Elaine, James and some of the other Christian staff and chaplains we met over there who are keen to see chaplaincy and CU's established at various colleges across NI.  Pray we would see breakthrough in this.

Praying for Peace: then and now…

Some of you may have already come across the resources for the run up to the centenary of the end of the First World War. I have found them to be an uplifting, thought-provoking and profound set of prayers and Bible reflections.

If you haven’t come across them yet, you can find out more HERE.

On 4 August 1918 King George V called for a National Day of Prayer. One hundred days later the war ended. ‘Remembrance 100’ launched on 4 August 2018 with 100 Days of Peace and Hope – prayers, Bible readings, reflections and peace-making activities. It is an excellent free resource which leads us up to the centenary of Armistice Day. Lest we forget…

We are grateful to the men and women who served in WWI. We are conscious that their sacrifice needs to be remembered and shared today. Recently I made a visit to Swansea Museum, where a group of school children were learning about WWI - their teachers asserted that it is vital that they learn about our history - the photo on this post was taken by me at the exhibition - you can see more about this exhibition HERE.

Let us pray.

Loving God, we acknowledge the great sacrifice that the women and men who served in WWI made.

We recognise that many of our nations across the globe are in a state of conflict and war, so we pray for peace and reconciliation for all peoples.

We pray in Jesus’ name, who summons us all to be peacemakers…

Amen.

Revd Sara Iles,
FCG Education Assistant

Economic and ecological justice...

I am delighted that the FCG have kindly granted me study leave and the chance to take part in this project. The work is looking into ways in which churches can tackle and transform financial systems and promote environmental awareness.

Next week I will be joining a host of member churches from Europe and the Caribbean in Guyana as part of the Council for World Mission NIFEA project. I am travelling with my Congregational Federation colleague, Yvonne Campbell, CF General Secretary.

You can read more about this work HERE.

Your prayers are welcomed for our visit.

We, as part of the CF team, have produced a Bible study pack for churches about how we can support and educate our congregations and communities about these vital issues, so please get in touch if you would like one.

Revd Sara Iles, Education Assistant, FCG sara.iles@freechurches.org.uk

Do you want to learn more about the Reformation?

Are you involved in teaching RE and want to learn more about the Reformation? Or perhaps you are leading some Bible studies and have a goal to share more about the Reformed Protestant tradition to your congregation or youth and children’s groups?

The FCG, in partnership The Methodist Church, with support from the Westhill Endowment, have created some free resources which have been written by RE Today Services.

What does the Reformation mean to you? Ancient History? Something to do with Henry VIII? The period of soul-searching and challenge to authority which swept Europe 500 years ago heralded radical and sweeping changes to religion, culture and politics. What does this 500 year-old conflict mean to pupils and how can we bring the huge impact of the Reformation to life in the classroom?

You can find out more about this exciting and varied resources HERE.

Conference coming up soon - teaching Judaism for GCSE

The Board of Deputies of British Jews have an interesting conference coming up in November…

Over the last few years, the FCG have worked closely with this organisation as part of our work on the RE Council and with the DfE Faith School Providers’ Group.

Are you part of teaching and planning for RE in your area or perhaps you would like to learn more about Judaism?

About their forthcoming conference, they write:

“Following on from the success of our 2016 Conference, we are excited to inform you that we will be running the Second 2018 Teaching Judaism for GCSE Conference on November 7th 2018 at Marble Arch Synagogue.


What to expect

The day will begin with registration at 9.00am and finish at approximately 4.00pm.

The conference will include sessions on:

  • Nature of G-d

  • Moral Principles

  • Sabbath

  • Festivals

  • Cycle of Jewish Life

  • Tanach and Talmud

  • The Promised Land

  • Shekinah

  • Pikuach Nefesh

The cost per delegate is: £100 for the early bird offer – available until 10th October. £150 – any date after the 10th October .All day refreshments and a full Jewish lunch will be provided.

Please pass this on to any relevant colleagues or friends who are teaching Judaism at GCSE level who may be interested in participating in the training day.

To sign up to the training please go to this link: https://pajes.wufoo.com/forms/zwd67nc18om0ro/.

Once you have signed up, an invoice will be sent to your school.

For any questions regarding the conference, please email marni@pajes.org.uk

If you have any further requirements regarding Judaism educational resources or outreach educational programmes or require advice please email jewishliving@bod.org.uk “