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A strategy to beat Pandemic

The game of choice this year has been Pandemic, a cooperative board game where all players join together to defeat viruses outbreaks across the world. I don’t know what made us think of this, but there we are. Pandemic is a notoriously difficult cooperative game…

A strategy to beat Pandemic
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Who's afraid of the farmer?

I am not fully decided whether it is the pandemic or the predicted economic and employment turmoil that I am most concerned about.

Who's afraid of the farmer?
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God's irresistible transformation

In Acts 9 we read of Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, and his sudden and unexpected experience of being rendered blind. Done to him, it plunged him into darkness and removed from him every confidence, certainty, and comfort that he was previously used to, and made him dependent upon others.

God's irresistible transformation
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Stop the world... don't stop the world

I remember press coverage of a “private” conversation between world leaders at a G8 summit a few years back where our (then) prime minister complained about the lack of thinking time and the relentless unceasing mill of meetings and decisions. There was no opportunity to pause or reflect or to gather evidence before setting events in motion, and as the leaders talked they each revealed a longing for space to reflect and consider.

Stop the world... don't stop the world
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What if normal never was?

If you’re starting to struggle, you’re not alone. I’ve been grappling this week with feeling sad at the ministries and gatherings that have dropped away because they can’t meet, and trying to summon up the energy to make some calls to colleagues. I suspect I’m not alone in wanting things to hurry up in a return to “normal”.

What if normal never was?

UCAN at New Wine

Thank you to all the UCAN members who came and supported the networking events over the two weeks of New Wine and for those who attended the seminar led by Andy Bagwell in Week 2 on ‘The Spiritual Gift of Administration’. Andy spoke about the crucial importance of this gift to the people of God and provided ways for those attending to think about how effective, creative and strategic administration can advance the Kingdom of God in their home church contexts. It was really well attended and the feedback afterwards was very positive.

It was good to meet people at the networking events who were considering joining UCAN and looking at ways to develop church administration in their contexts and we are delighted that a number of you have since signed up for UCAN – welcome!

Planning for the Autumn ...

Planning for the Autumn ...

Summer is the time to encourage advanced planning and adequate preparation for the autumn. September will most likely bring increased activity and busy-ness as well as new visitors to your church. What a crucial time in the annual lifecycle of a church! To help you prepare, here are UCAN’s top 10 tips for your autumn planning, helping you be at your best for ‘game time’ in September…

A fistful of data

A fistful of data

On 25 May this year GDPR legislation became law and many churches will have spent a good deal of time and energy trying to ensure that both their members and others had signed the appropriate forms and given the appropriate permissions to store and use their personal data.  See our related paper on GDPR implementation here (link).

But now the deadline has come and gone, I wonder how much time and thought has gone into what happens next?

Cheque payments

With apologies to all those of you who have sent cheques to pay for subscriptions or other services.  We are currently experiencing difficulties with our postal provider and you may find the cheque you have sent is returned to you.  If you need to pay for your subscription by cheque please send it to the Treasurer, 2 Garridge Close, Albrighton, Nr. Wolverhampton WV7 3PZ.  We hope to resolve this issue as soon as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused.  

Only the Brave ... came to the UCAN Seminar at Spring Harvest

(Only the Brave – Determined Discipleship – was the overarching theme for Spring Harvest 2018, plumbing the depths of the book of James to discover some very real challenges and wisdom in this section of Scripture.)

Andy Bagwell and I were thrilled to meet up with a good number of church administrators and managers at both Minehead and Skegness …….. some of whom were UCAN members (thank you for coming!), and some of whom weren’t (quite!)

We took a look at the new UCAN – for the benefit of those who hadn’t come across the network before – and then broke into small groups to discuss the most usual feedback points from administrators about their role (‘Sundays are a nightmare’!), and from Ministers about administration (‘I lack administrative support’!) 

Those attending found great comfort in knowing that their challenges were generally common to church administration itself, and in realising the benefit of sharing wisdom and practice with one another!  Many stayed at the end of the designated time to discuss specific tasks which were challenging them at the time.  Hopefully the name and potential of UCAN to support and strengthen practical church life around the nation is now a little more widely known and appreciated!  UCAN members – please keep spreading the word!! (Oh, and see you next year at Spring Harvest!)

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