16 March 2018
Giving up is good for the world: new pack aims to help Methodists with self-denial
Members of Horsforth and Bramley Methodist circuit in Leeds havehad their prayers answered and may soon be celebrating by denyingthemselves! Only eight months after their memorial to Conference onself-denial a new pack, Take Up Your Cross, has been produced intime for Lent, designed to raise support for and increase giving tofor the Fund for World Mission, which shares in the Church'smission worldwide.
Self-denial is more than just giving up chocolate for Lent, saidMichael King, Team Leader for World Church Relationships for theMethodist Church. 'People can cut back on luxuries such as watchingTV, give old clothes to charity or volunteer to help in theircommunity,' he says 'Take Up Your Cross is an importantcontribution for individuals and churches who want to take givingseriously. Self-denial for Christians is as much about justice ascharity, and this resource is for those who want to be challengedand involved as part of the Methodist Church's overall strategytowards those in need throughout the world.'
'We have always strongly supported self-denial practices designedto deepen one's spiritual life and help those in need, by givingany money saved through self denial to good causes,' saidConnexional Mission Support Worker John Newton, who worked on thenew resource. 'We're glad to see so many British Methodists askingfor this new resource on self- denial. Although Horsforth andBramley circuit brought the matter to the 2005 Conference, wereceive dozens of calls a month about self- denial, and this packwill answer all those questions and more.'
Self-denial stresses solidarity with those in poorer areas of theglobe who have no luxuries, and value the few possessions theyhave. In order to assist those in such areas giving has always beenat the heart of self-denial events, and the new self-denial packwill include Fund for World Mission gift-aid envelopes so thattaxpayers can increase the value of any offering.
Take Up Your Cross will help to resource and inform thoseorganising self-denial events in their churches, by givinginformation about mission, self-denial, helping the poor, and thework of the Fund for World Mission, as well as listing resourcesavailable to support self- denial activities.
The new Self-denial Pack is available from mph. Order Code HA378.(Tel: 01733 325002 online sales:
More information can be found in the 'Latest News' section of theMission Education web pages
The Fund for World Mission supports mission work carried out by 61partner churches worldwide. Last year it gave over £2.5 million ingrants.