Please find below an exciting email with a motivating message for the superb Soundcheck and delightful Day of Action ... Please read and send to others who might be interested

I hope you are all well and would love to hear from you- news/prayer points/questions/request for resources (the burdens packs are particularly recommended!)  etc. I'll hopefully be in touch with some of you before Christmas but in case not, have a fun and relaxing break.

God bless

Love Ele

xx

Welcome to the second Soundcheck and Day of Action email!  We are now 12 weeks away so we will be sending out email updates every three weeks with prayer points, reflections on the Soundcheck theme, information updates, recommended books / films / music / art … and much more!

Soundcheck – it’s only three Countdown emails away!

LAST CHANCE TO BOOK AT THE CHEAP RATE!

By the time the next Soundcheck Countdown email arrives, it will be too late for the discount booking rate of £25 / £45.  So get that form in now to save yourself some money!!  If you don’t have a form, you will be getting one in the new mailing next week so make sure you fill it in straight away.

SOUNDCHECK: QUESTIONING POWER

The theme of Soundcheck 06 is power.  We talk a lot about the power of God in church, but what does that really mean?  Are we talking about the same kind of power that the newspapers have in mind when they talk about “political power” or “military power” or “people power”? What kind of power do we have – as individuals, as communities, as a network, as a country?  How should we use it?

What about those that seek power over us?  How should we deal with them?  Do we fight them?  Do we submit to them?  One film that deals with power in many forms, is The Mission – find a review of this film at the end of the email.  It is well worth a watch to get your mind in motion on some of the topics that Soundcheck will be dealing with … not to mention, it also ties in very strongly with the …

DAY OF ACTION: BEARING THE BURDEN

This year’s day of action “Bearing the Burden”, will be a culmination of the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY year. In a prophetic and eye-catching action, we will bear real burdens through the streets of London and take them to Whitehall in order to symbolise the burdens of debt, trade rules, and aid conditions that weigh on the poorest people of the world.

This action is based on Ezekiel 4, when he lay on his side bearing the sin and injustice of Israel and Judah. Take some time to read this chapter and pray about the action and your part in it. God called Ezekiel to make visible to Israel what they were too blind to see. We want to make the burdens that the poor suffer visible to the government and society, sending a message that we are seeking change through the power of God to forgive and heal us and our society when we come to him in repentance for our part in the suffering of the poor.

But don’t wait till then to get involved – the Burdens Action starts NOW!!  Make your burden now, use it to pray and campaign and bring it to the Day of Action

You can get your Burdens Action pack from your regional support worker right now, and use it to gather signatures for our petition before you come, and to get media coverage in your local area drawing attention to these issues right where you are!  The burdens pack includes more in-depth information about the action, materials to make your own burden, statistics to go with your burden and burden petitions. Carry your burden to church or work, or uni, and wait for people to ask you what it’s all about!  Then you can get them to sign the petition, learn about debt, trade and aid – even invite them to Soundcheck!

Don’t forget to invite people to the Day of Action too – give someone you know a burden, to encourage them to come along!

FILM REVIEW – THE MISSION

Robert De Niro.  Jeremy Irons.  A film called simply “The Mission”. 

You might be forgiven for thinking that this would be just another paper- thin Hollywood pastiche of the church, with a bit of exotic scenery and action thrown in to spice it up.  You would be wrong.

In fact, The Mission is one of the most powerful and challenging films that you are likely to see.  It is hard to know how to say much about it without spoiling the impact of it, but here is an attempt at least.  The story centres around two men : Father Gabriel - a Jesuit priest, and Rodrigo - a mercenary and slave-trader.  After a disastrous resolution to a family feud, Rodrigo (De Niro) sinks into deep depression.  Father Gabriel persuades him to accompany him to a mission that he has started among the Guarana Indians and a startling process of healing and reconciliation is begun.

Clouds are on the horizon however, as the Jesuit Order finds itself under threat from the Portuguese government and the mission itself may have to be sacrificed to ensure the survival of the order.  The native community however are less than enthusiastic about this.  As events unravel to their gripping conclusion, you will find yourself considering themes of redemption and hope, power, resistance and submission, the place of violence, the relationship between church and world politics.

All this takes place against the backdrop of some of the most stunning camera-work you are likely to see, and with a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack by Ennio Morricombe which perfectly complements the themes and events in the film.  It must be noted that this film is neither for the faint-hearted, nor for those with a short attention span   However it is an intensely rewarding experience, especially if you are willing to engage with and reflect on the many issues that it raises.

“If might is right, then love has no place in the world” – Father

Gabriel

“We must work in the world, your eminence. The world is thus”

“No, Señor  … thus have we made the world”

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Joel Lewis

SPEAK Network Support Team

e: joel@...  t: (0207) 2494309