Women in Leadership

The main reason we were visiting South Africa was to find out about Magnify, the women in leadership programme, written and delivered by Rev Jane Day.  The name for the programme takes inspiration from the song of Mary in Luke Chapter 1 when she says, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant…the mighty one has done great things for me…holy is his name.’

The programme aims to equip, encourage and empower women to serve God wherever they are in God’s mission and takes place on six Saturdays throughout the year.  The six sessions, all beginning with ‘C’ are as follows:

• ·         Context – Women in leadership
• ·         Character – The inward journey
• ·         Competence – What gifts do we bring?
• ·         Connect – Who is around you?
• ·         Communion – Exploring spirituality
• ·         Courage – What are you aiming for?
• ·         Celebration – Telling stories of changed lives

Rachel and I attended a ‘Magnify’ day exploring spirituality, which was held at a wonderful retreat centre called Enseni - a former family home that was bequeathed to the church and is set in beautiful gardens. 

      

The theme of the day was ‘love’ and we were offered three different options to help us engage with the theme.  One was creative – to decorate a compassion box and fill it with things that give us pleasure or enjoyment and reflect on how we take care of ourselves. The second was an awareness walk – we were invited to walk in the garden and really take time to notice the beauty of the nature around us and listen for God’s voice.  This was helped by the fact that it was summer in South Africa and it was a beautiful, hot, still, sunny day! The third invitation was to go to a quiet prayer room and focus on different aspects of God’s heart, resting in his love for us. 

      

After a couple of hours we gathered together again and shared communion and were invited to share any thoughts from the morning.  We then ended the time together with lunch before everyone went their separate ways.

   

Jane very kindly allowed Rachel and myself to look at all her Magnify resources and we were both impressed by the professionalism, careful thought and attention to detail that Jane has put into the planning of the days and by some of the amazing stories of women who have done the course and have been enabled to realise their worth to God and how he has gifted them and gone on to do some amazing things in a leadership role.  Another thing that was inspiring for us was that in a nation where there is still a lot of segregation and division, even sometimes in the churches, that the Magnify programme is pulling together women of all backgrounds, races and nationalities in a common bond of sisterhood that must surely put a smile on God’s face.

     

Nicky, Jane and Deirdre - the team from Creative Communication

South Africa - introduction

Our visit to South Africa came about because as the British Officer for the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, I was offered a trip on behalf of the British Methodist Church at some point in my five year appointment. 

I had begun to correspond with one of our Mission Partners, Rev Jane Day, and was interested particularly in the leadership programme for women she had instigated and the executive agreed this could be a useful connection and learning experience.  The Methodist Women in Britain policy is for two people to travel together and so it was felt that this trip could be of benefit to Rachel Allison, our Helen Kim Memorial Scholar and she agreed to accompany me.  Jane’s husband Steve, is also a minister so Mark came too and we planned that while Rachel and I accompanied Jane and worked with her, Mark would work alongside Steve in his ministry. 

Jane and Steve live in a place called Germiston which is close to Johannesburg.  They very graciously allowed us to stay with them in their home and it was great to spend time with them and find out about their life in South Africa as well as some of the issues facing them and the nation. 

Revs Jane and Steve Day

Jane, Rachel and myself

    

Bus tour

The first day that we were there, Jane and Steve organised for us to take an open top bus tour of Johannesburg which was a great way to gain an overview of the city.  We could have hopped on and off all day but we only stopped at two places – Constitution Hill (which I will write about in another blog) and the Transnet Building to get a view of Jo’Burg from above.  Jo’Burg has several names but the one we kept hearing was ‘City of Gold’ because it developed around a gold rush in 1886. 

     

 

The Jo'Burg red bus

 

Nelson Mandela bridge

Ghandi Square

Jo'Burg sreet scene

Transnet Building - tallest building in Jo'Burg

Views from the top

        

          

  

Theatre

A highlight of our week was when Jane and Steve took us to the Joburg Theatre to see a performance of ‘The Colour Purple’.  It was great to experience not only the amazing voices and acting talents of the cast but also the wonderful way in which the audience interacted with the show – something we have never experienced before.  People were clapping, cheering, gasping, shouting ‘Amen’ and generally engaging with the plot and the characters!  It is an experience I will never forget. 

    

This is just an introduction to our trip but I will write further blogs, some on a more serious note on the Magnify – Women in Leadership course, on what I have learned about Apartheid and about Methodism in South Africa with more photos to share! 

Life without supermarkets

Gracious I am not sure where that year went without updating my blog! 

I am writing today just as we approach Lent, because my daughter has challenged me to join her in giving up supermarkets for Lent.   

My new year's resolution was to 'eat less and eat better' and I have been searching our local shops, farm shops etc for meat and veg in an attempt to eat more ethically and cut down on the use of plastic, food miles as well as eat food that supports our local economy and good animal welfare. Attempting to give up supermarkets for Lent really takes that a step further as I will see if it is possible to get everything we need locally.

This challenge has made me feel a bit nervous and made me realise just how much we rely on our weekly supermarket shop.  My research so far has shown that buying more local and organic produce costs more and involves a lot more effort to seek out what we need.  I love the food writer, Joanna Blythman, who suggests that we CAN eat ethically and organically on a budget so long as we shop wisely, buy cheaper cuts of meat, eat less meat and cook everything from scratch.

I already do cook most food from scratch but the challenge now is to spend this time eating more simply, eating a bit less but more ethically.  I am not sure how I am going to fit all this in to my busy life but as Emily has laid down the challenge I will have a go and let you know how I get on!  If anyone has any handy hints and suggestions do get in touch! 

All We Can, the charity for which I am one of trustees, has produced some excellent Lent resources, called 'Keep it Simple' which aims to help us explore the pleasure of living simply while joining in solidarity with our global neighbours.  I would really encourage you to have a look and use them in your personal daily devotions or in your Lent groups or to give to the amazing work they are doing around the world with people who often struggle to provide for the daily needs of themselves and their families.  www.allwecan.org.uk/simple