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Scottish Local History Forum : Submissions for Journal

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The Scottish Local History Forum is seeking contributions for a special issue of its journal, Scottish Local History, which will focus on church history and heritage.
While church heritage has been given publicity by recent and potential closures, we don’t wish to focus only on churches at risk. The Forum promotes local history in its widest sense – the people and places that have contributed to Scottish history and heritage. Churches and their congregations have played a huge role in our heritage and we would like to promote and celebrate that in this special edition of the journal. We would therefore welcome contributions on any aspect – on a specific theme as well as individual churches, their congregations or contents.
Articles can be any size up to 5000 words and shorter notes are also welcome, as are photographs. Articles should be referenced where appropriate but will not be peer-reviewed. Further information on submitting an article is available on the Scottish Local History Forum website, which also contains a contact form for specific editorial questions.
Ideally contributions should be received by mid-October for publication in January 2027, but later contributions could be included in further issues of the journal.
The forum encourages wide participation in this project from people of all backgrounds and from all parts of Scotland so please feel free to publicise this invitation as widely as possible.
It is important that anyone planning to submit an article notifies the forum well in advance. If you are interested in submitting an article or want to know more about this initiative please contact Jan Polley.

Palestine

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The voices of Christians in Palestine have been heard by the Conference as they received the Kairos II document as part of the Mission Committee presentation. The document was created in response to the events in Gaza following 7 October 2023. It was launched last year as A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide and calls for justice and an urgent, global Christian response.

A Notice of Motion was put forward asking for a study resource to be produced based on Kairos II that can be used in churches. It also asked for the President of the Conference to write to the UK Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary and the governing bodies of other jurisdictions in which the Methodist Church in Britain has a presence, urging them to uphold international law and to take the actions outlined in the Time To Act campaign. The President, the Revd Mark Slaney, along with All We Can and Christian Aid, is supporting the Time to Act Campaign.

Read more about Kairos II

Online Communion

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Following five years of deliberation, it was generally agreed at the Methodist Conference that online celebrations of Holy Communion should be permitted in the Methodist Church. However, this will not come into force until the matter has received approval from the Synods.

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Methodists in the UK Respond to Venezuela’s Humanitarian Emergency

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The death toll in Venezuela following last week’s back-to-back earthquakes is mounting, with more than 2,000 people dead and many more injured.

Christian Aid is one of the partners of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), which has launched an appeal this week to help provide emergency aid to survivors of the earthquake.

Read more

Donate to the DEC Venezuela Appeal

Methodist Conference

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The Methodist Conference is being held in Telford from 25 June to 1 July.
This is the governing body of the Methodist Church. Meeting once a year, it provides a forum for prayerful reflection and decision-making on issues that shape the life of the Church, as well as matters that impact the wider community, the nation and the world.You can find the full agenda for the Methodist Conference and the reports that are being discussed here:
Read full details of the Conference

Follow the Conference live
All public sessions of this year’s Conference will be live-streamed as usual. See the live-streaming schedule here.

For churches wanting to take part in Sunday’s Reception into Full Connexion and Conference
Worship, the Order of Service is now available here.

Know Your Hirer – A TMCP Resource

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One-off bookings can be a great way for Local Churches to raise additional income and engage with the wider community. However, accepting bookings is not always a simple question of whether or not space is available at a certain time. 

A booking by a particular group or for a particular purpose could lead to unintended consequences and reputational damage, particularly in these times of societal division.

TMCP have put together a list of questions that you can run through to ensure you “know your hirer” before accepting bookings. You can access the list through here.

Introducing Our New Energy Broker

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2buy2 Energy Broker

Global energy markets remain highly volatile, with prices affected ongoing supply uncertainties.

For managing trustees, this makes budgeting and financial planning for your church’s increasingly challenging.

The 2buy2 Energy Basket offers a more stable approach by spreading energy purchasing over time. This helps reduce exposure to price spikes. Rather than trying to time the market, this strategy enables managing trustees to manage risk more effectively and plan with greater confidence.

Click here to learn more.

Taizé trip for young adults | 25th July – 3rd August 2026

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If you’re 17 – 25 years old, how about a week in rural France with other young adults from around the world?

The Darlington Methodist District is organising a visit to the Taizé Community: a group of Christians from different traditions who live together in a simple way to show unity and peace. You’ll share in prayer, reflection and conversation, with space to explore faith and life’s big questions together.

Thanks to generous funding, the cost is just £150. Contact Joel Baldry ASAP to register your interest, or forward this email to a young adult you know who’d love this opportunity.