The Sunday after Easter has for many years been observed in Irish Methodist churches as local preachers' Sunday. Local preachers are lay members of the church who are accredited to lead worship. Throughout the year they do so in places where ministers are not available.
On this particular Sunday they are appointed to lead worship in many churches as a recognition of their calling. In some areas in recent years they have been asked to do so more often from the conviction that as the church has recognised their calling, it must give them the opportunity to exercise it.
Tomorrow the service of morning worship to be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 will be led by Dr Fergus O'Ferrall and members of the Methodist Church in Dún Laoghaire. Dr O'Ferrall, a local preacher, is the director of the Adelaide Hospital Society.
The World Methodist conference will meet in July at Seoul in Korea.
The European Methodist conference has submitted a resolution to it on the subject of justice and social responsibility. Citing biblical teaching on the needs of the poor and Methodist traditions on the subject, it has called for a stronger commitment to trade justice, the cancellation of debt and increased development aid.
It has drawn attention to the fact that many of the world's poorest countries currently pay out more on debt servicing than they receive in development aid, and has urged that resources freed by debt cancellation should be used to develop policies aimed at good governance and poverty reduction. It has affirmed that efforts to address poverty will only be effective to the extent that those in poverty, who are often marginalised, are involved in the process.
A recent news release from the Dublin office of Christian Aid has welcomed the announcement by Minister of State for Development Conor Lenihan of €200,000 of additional funding for emergency relief in Ethiopia.
Another has announced the killing of five medical staff in Afghanistan, who were working with a Christian Aid-funded organisation there. Gunmen broke into their clinic just over 10 days ago and shot them.
Seven years ago a team of nearly 60 Irish Methodists went to Uganda to assist in the creation of five multi-purpose buildings for the church there, and in the intervening years two other teams have continued that enterprise. The buildings are used as churches and schools.
The Synod of the Dresden district of the United Methodist Church in Germany will, as a gesture of international goodwill, meet in Derry next week. The Rev Desmond Bain, president of the church, will visit the synod on April 27th.