C.M.S. Christmas Mailing Service Dec 08

CHRISTMAS MUSICAL SPECTAULAR

Alexandra Burke won the X factor final singing Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah and has sparked a mini war on the internet over whose version is best. The purists (like me) prefer Jeff Buckley’s.  You can read all about it in the Times online    Actually I also really like a version by Canadian singer Allison Crowe.  There's also an article on the CMS website on Halleluyah's X Factor by Martin Wroe one of Greenbelt's Trustees and a main mover behind an online Community called Generous

Phil, based in India. posted a link on his facebook to another Music piece or should that read Music 'Peace'!   Playing For Change: Song Around the World "Stand By Me" which I thought was brill.

I have been inspired by a website wherethehellismatt  Excuse the title but watch the video: Dancing2008  It has become for me a metaphor of mission, inviting people to ‘join the dance’ and I have been showing it everywhere. Any theological reflections on a postcard please.

COMPLEXITY MADE SIMPLE

We had a CMS office party Christmas staff celebrations which went very well indeed You can look at the videos I produced as our ASIA contribution on facebook and I am trying to upload them to YouTube (inspired by the aforementioned film Dancing2008)   Anyone on facebook can see them already   Back on the Road Again  and  Will Ye Go? 

When Jonny Baker uploads his video Complexity Made Simple we will send you the link It brought the house down at our Christmas celebration. It was based on a talk that Tim Dakin did to a group of managers trying to simplify the complex. It is now part of CMS legend.

CONSTANTLY MOVING STRUCTURES 

We are anticipating more changes in the New Year. Don’t you just love change!
The Asia enquiry Process is going well so far. We have conducted around 25 structured interviews using a questionnaire. And have also had group processes in Thailand, at the faith2share  consultation in October and then in Rawlpindi and Karachi in Pakistan in November.  In February we are meeting partners in Pune India to continue the process and we are planning an event in East Asia, hopefully in the Spring.   All of this will feed into the process of Asia CMS becoming a separate entity (like CMS Africa) We will try to keep you updated.

CHALLENGING MONEY SITUATION

The global economic downturn is understandably affecting the charity sector. So we face challenges. Although I am assured that religions charities do are not as affected as others. However we are cutting back in order to face the challenge as well as increasing our fundraising targets.   But this means we are more than tightening our belts. There are some redundancies and vacant staff posts are currently frozen. There will be a strong emphasis to ensure that MPs are ‘fully resourced’ and this may mean if the situation cannot be improved for some severely underfunded MPS, we will seriously need to look at bringing people back earlier than planned. I share this not to raise anxieties but to be realistic about the challenges ahead of us in the coming year.  

     COMMUNITY of MISSION SERVICE
CMS is now acknowledged as a community within the Church of England, so let me know of you feel ontologically changed in any way!
What it is meant to mean is that we are acknowledged for who we already are, a ‘community of mission service’ - a movement of people in mission. But it will also be a way for people to focus their mission vocation and be resourced within the wider mission community. There are people working on the prayer resources encouraging a mission focused spirituality, building on the prayer resources we already have. What I have seen so far is excellent.

CELEBRATING MINISTRY SUCCESSES 

I thought that the resource that Sheilagh sent round our yahoo group, ‘Celebrating Successes in Ministry’, was a very helpful way of focusing thoughts during the change of year, a traditional time to reflect and plan and make those resolutions. Let us know if you get any profound thoughts.

That’s enough from me. May I simply pray that you will experience real peace and deep joy where ever you are, this Christmas, and may your ministry in 2009 be even more fruitful.

Phil