Withington Methodist Church
WE ARE OPEN FOR WORSHIP
Sundays at 10.45am
We look forward to seeing you soon
Bread Church
Friday 17th February sees something new beginning in the life of our church.
Bread Church is an opportunity to make bread together, kneading and shaping the dough until we have the loaves we want.
Then we will worship together, listening to music and stories, talking together, maybe doing some craft,
while the bread bakes.
Finally we will eat together, hot soup and fresh bread, until we are satisfied.
Friends from the L’Arche Community will join us.
If you’re free on Friday 17th February from 11.00am till about 1.00pm,
please come and join us.
We hope to continue worshipping in this way once a month,
alongside everything else that happens in church week by week
Withington Methodist Church Pancake Party
A warm invitation is extended to all to our annual Pancake Party, which will take place on
Shrove Tuesday, February 21st from 6.00pm – 8.00pm.
Entry free – as always, all are welcome to join us.
Tickets available from Heather (07773 015882) or on the door.
There is no charge for attending our party, but donations will be very gratefully received
in aid of L’Arche Community, Withington. Many thanks
Volunteering
Contact centres and the family courts
Recent media reports have highlighted the plight of children in families that have separated due to domestic violence. Very often the courts grant the abusive partners unsupervised access to the children, and there is mounting evidence that this could be putting many children at risk.
Unfortunately, courts often have limited options. Who's going to supervise the contact between parent and child? Family or friends on either side are often unwilling or are mistrusted. Professionals are expensive: who's going to pay? Austerity has had a massive impact on funding.
While the media has highlighted domestic violence, the same questions arise in many separations where there wasn't domestic violence, but where parents don't trust each other.
Where can they go for impartial and safe supervision of contact?
The Withington Child Contact Centre is one such place. We're part of a network of contact centres across the country. But this network has contracted sharply in recent years. In 2012 there were roughly 15 child contact centres serving the Greater Manchester area, while today there are roughly 3. Cuts in funding the Covid pandemic were major factors in most closures. Waiting times at centres have increased markedly.
Help keep your contact centre open
Withington Contact Centre is a completely volunteer run centre which offers a FREE service: free to families, free to the courts, free to local authorities, free to everyone. We don't charge anyone any money. Instead we rely on volunteers who offer up one Saturday afternoon every 6 weeks.
However our volunteer numbers have fallen low in recent months, and the future of the centre is at risk. We urgently need volunteers to help us to continue supporting families.
What can we offer you:
1. Training in all aspects of being a volunteer
2. Mentoring and support from team leaders
3. A chance to help your local community
What do we need from you:
1. Time: one Saturday from 9am to 12.30pm every six weeks
2. Commitment: the centre must have 4 volunteers to open. If you can no longer make an agreed date, you must let us know in good time so we can try find a substitute.
If you feel you are able to help us with this work, then please email us at
contact@withingtonmethodistchurch.org
Volunteering may not seem like a big thing, but your help will mean the difference between relationships existing, or not existing, and that is an impact which stretches into the future for many many years ...