Women's Training Day

06/04/2010

Sophia Network in association with Cliff College are running a networking training day for women and we would like to invite any women in your organisation who might benefit from this day.  It is a day to help women be more effective in their networking within their job. It is great that we have Sue Green (a very experienced 'networker') coming to lead the day with us and we really hope you will be able to send someone along. Many women will be able to use this day as part of their continuing professional development and therefore their employers will pay for the cost of the day which we have tried to keep to a minimum. However, if you are not able to pay as the employer and it is a problem for your organisation then please let us know and we can discuss letting you have a complimentary ticket. We do not want anyone to be put off attending because of the cost.
 
We are inviting various people, but if you know of anyone who you think will also benefit from this day then please let them know and get them to book in. We really do look forward to seeing women from your organisation on the day.
 
If you have any questions then please get in touch with Sharon Prior on sharonprior1@btinternet.com
 
We look forward to hearing from you.
 
God bless
 
Sharon 

Camping in the Community

22/03/2010

My ‘Bible in a Year' reading programme plunged me deep into the book of Exodus in this Lenten season. It's amazing how God involved the Israelites in the construction of his tabernacle: scurrying to their tents in search of blue, purple and scarlet yarn; sanding down fragrant acacia poles and impregnating them with oil, moulding molten ear-rings into clasps to hold together the tent of God's dwelling place among them. 

It must have stunned the Israelites to see themselves woven into the fabric of God's tabernacle: catching a brief glimpse of their red thread in the embroidered curtains; their golden cord sewn into its awnings; their ear-rings moulded into the candlesticks Moses placed in the secret inner tent; their gemstones shimmering on the ephod of the Priest.

As teams of Cliff students prepare to go out on Easter missions this year, we too, in a very real sense, weave unique parts of ourselves into the fabric of God's worship.  The offerings we bring - a word of testimony at an outreach event; a significant conversation with a teenager in an RE class; a knowing look exchanged on a doorstep during door-to door visitation - are precious parts of ourselves, woven into the worship of the God who draws men and women; boys and girls to himself. 

Pray for us this Easter as we ‘set up our tents' in Northallerton in North Yorkshire and Berkhamstead and Newham in London: ‘tabernacling' for a short while among congregations faithfully sharing the love of Jesus in their communities.  Pray that the small offerings we bring might be woven tenderly into the tent of God's presence in our generation: sharing his Shekinah glory with the people we live and witness among.

Dr Gwen Henderson

EASTER TWEETERS TO TELL A SNAPPY STORY FOR LENT

03/03/2010

What does Easter mean to you? Tweeters and Facebook members are being invited to share their feelings about Easter by answering this question on a new Lent twitter feed. 

Easter (LIVE) will run throughout Lent, bringing together 140-character reflections from well-known tweeters on Easter.  

Alistair Johnson, from Cliff College, and Huw Tyler, from Share Creative, have created the Twitter feed as part of the Biblefresh movement of churches and agencies, which seeks to help Christians gain confidence in and appetite for the scriptures.  

Alistair said: "Easter is the pinnacle of the story of Jesus. In it we see the passion God has for His people.  

"Easter (LIVE) is an exciting way for people to reflect on the meaning behind the eggs, flowers and other trappings of Easter time."  

Huw added: "Easter (LIVE) is about reaching new audiences to explore the Easter story. We're keen to engage with these communities and get deeper through discussion, thought and response.  

"We're excited about seeing 'tweets' from well-known contributors to regular users of Twitter and Facebook and finding out what Easter means in a digital world."  

Evangelical Alliance General Director Steve Clifford started the tweets off with this tweet: "Looked like a disaster. Hopes gone, dreadful defeat. But it was the watershed of history, amazing victory, death was beaten."  

He said: "Easter (LIVE) provides an opportunity to explore what, for Christians, is the pivotal event of history.   "There cannot be a more important question for each of us to ask. If Jesus rose from the dead, what does Easter mean for me?"  

You can follow Easter (LIVE) at http://twitter.com/EasterLIVE or http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=293981895417&ref=ts.