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Looking at your Community
We all love to surf Young men like their home comforts WORLD CUP: 10 questions for Ze Roberto What is meant by spiritual healing? Inspired! campaign to save historic churches Team up with your schools Bike Week
We all love to surf
Surfing the Net overtakes TV watching as the favourite activity of web users in the UK, according to new research by Google. Over the last year, two thirds of people have increased the amount of time they spend on the web. The average internet user now spends 2¾ hours a day online, compared with 2½ hours watching TV. Often, these activities happen at the same time. Men are the highest internet users, spending 10% more time online than women.
Young men like their home comforts
Young men often tend to live at home, while young women move out, according to recent Government figures.
An impressive 57% of men in the UK, aged 20 to 24, still live at home. This compares to only 38% of women. But both these figures have increased by six percentage points since 1991.
For those aged 25 to 29, the gender differences remain: 23% of men are still living at home compared with only 11% of women.
WORLD CUP: 10 questions for Ze Roberto
Stuart Weir talks to a footballer who is expected to be in the Brazil team for the World Cup.
What has been your biggest disappointment in football?
Not being selected for the 2002 World Cup. I was really disappointed. I felt that I was at the peak of my career. My club, Bayer Leverkusen, had made history by reaching the final of the Champions League, the final of the German Cup as well as finishing second in the league. And I still ended up not going to the World Cup in 2002.
Do you play any other sports?
I enjoy tennis. I don’t play well but I like it.
How would you like to me remembered?
As a player I will be remembered by a goal that I scored or a title that I won but that is quickly forgotten. I would like to be remembered as an honest person, for the good things that I can give a person. A hug can mean a lot, and a word can mean much more. I would like to be remembered for that kind of thing.
What difference does Jesus make in your life?
The difference is that when you don’t have Jesus in your heart you try to seek out worldly things to fill the emptiness in your heart with which we were all created. The emptiness that I had was filled by Jesus. Today I no longer need to search for something to fill the emptiness with the things of the world because nothing has made me so happy as the things of Jesus in my life. And today I can see this difference because I have lived on both sides – trying to fill this emptiness with worldly things, and today having my heart filled with the things of God, and the difference is that you become a new person, a new creature, and to live totally differently.
Have you ever had a red card?
Yes, once early in my career. I was playing against a player named Euler and he was very fast! He would kick the ball way ahead of us and take off running and I could never catch him, so I fouled him. The second time I couldn’t catch him, I held him back and ended up getting a red card. This was embarrassing.
Do you find being expected to win the World Cup gives you extra pressure?
I think this is normal, from that time that you are a professional you have to learn to deal with the pressures of being expected to win. If you were to look at the Brazilian team, five time World Cup winners, winners of the Copa America, Confederations Cup holders, and top of the qualifying group, we should be favourites to win the 2006 World Cup. Have you heard of the story of David and Goliath? The favourite does not always win. We will go to the World Cup with our feet on the ground because we know that Goliath was felled by one little stone. That could happen to us too.
How important is scoring goals for you?
For me, it’s more important to win than to score a goal. Perhaps if I was a striker I would think that scoring a goal is more important. But for me, it’s more important to win, and for the team to be winners. It’s no use for me to score a goal if the team still loses – that won’t help anything.
Do you play differently as a Christian?
Christians play differently because our hearts don’t have the maliciousness that we once had. Before I was a Christian, if I didn’t like a player I would be out to get him during the game. Now that I have Jesus, and I have peace in me, there is a big difference. Instead of wanting to get him out of meanness or something else that was upsetting me and making me not like that player, I try to do what is right and to respect the players we are playing against.
What does winning mean to you?
I always try to win. I always go for the win. But, we know that in our lives we don’t always win. Sometimes we lose, and when I enter a game, to do my job, I always pray to the Lord, and ask that His will be done, even if it’s for my team to lose.
What would playing in the World Cup mean to you?
I have played in for Brazil in a team that won the Copa America and the Confederations Cup but the World Cup different. I was in the Brazil squad for World Cup in 1998 but only played part of one game. I was not selected in 2002. Now I have the opportunity to go to the 2006 World Cup here in Germany, and my main goal – my biggest dream – is to be a World Cup winner. Players have many dreams, and if I were to speak of my life, my biggest dream is to return to the World Cup and be able to be a winner.
What is meant by spiritual healing?
There is considerable confusion among Christians about the terms commonly used to describe the Ministry of Healing. The phrase ‘faith healing’ is best avoided because it can give rise to dangerous misconceptions. Some who use this phrase mean that healing is achieved either through belief in the healer’s personal powers or by some ambiguous ‘energy source’. Another danger is that, if healing does not come, the sick person may be made to feel that this is because they did not have enough ‘faith’. The faith need not necessarily be the patient’s.
Spiritual healing is a term which, when used carefully within the Christian community, is intended to emphasise the belief that restoration to health is the work of the Holy Spirit, but some feel that the phrase is too imprecise. It is also easily confused in the public mind with ‘spiritualist’ connotations.
The National Federation of Spiritual Healers sets standards for healers it admits to membership and these healer members have to train for at least two years. Although it is not a religious organisation, the Federation’s members come from many backgrounds. Helen Beck, currently chair of the NFSH and a regular churchgoer, emphasises that it is definitely not a ‘spiritualist’ organisation.
The NFSH defines the purpose of healing as being “to bring balance to a person’s body, mind and spirit.” Healers see themselves as only a link to the source of the healing, which is acknowledged to be ‘something greater than us.’
“The ‘something greater than us’ is at the heart of the ministry of healing as it is practised in the mainstream Christian churches,” says Bishop George Hacker of the Guild of St Raphael, an Anglican organisation dedicated to the promotion of the ministry of healing. “The best definition I know of this ministry is that given by Bishop Morris Maddocks in an off-the-cuff answer just before a broadcast: ‘The ministry of healing is Christ meeting people at their point of need. For Christians, Christ is the only 'healer’. We are simply channels through which he works.’
As the Common Worship form for the laying on of hands says: "Receive Christ's healing touch to make you whole".
The Guild can be contacted at 27 Homestead Avenue, Haydock, St Helen’s, Merseyside WA11 0ND (Tel. 0151 228 3193). Website: www.guildofstraphael.
Inspired! campaign to save historic churches
‘Inspired!’ is the name of a campaign launched by English Heritage a few weeks ago to save historic church buildings which, despite the continuing efforts of conservationists, are facing an uncertain future.
Many such churches across England are maintained by dedicated but ageing congregations, while the bill for needed repairs creeps steadily higher. The new campaign is designed to draw attention to the problem and to put forward an action plan to help secure a future for these precious buildings.
Simon Thurley, chief executive of English Heritage, says: “An incredible 45 per cent of England’s Grade 1 listed buildings are churches and every survey has shown that they are valued by the vast majority of people – non-believers and believers alike. So why are they under threat?
“To get to the root of the problem, English Heritage has commissioned a ‘needs survey’ with the Church of England which will provide the most accurate figure so far for outstanding repairs to listed churches. We have also commissioned a map highlighting the areas with the most vulnerable places of worship.”
Having gained a clearer picture of the problem, English Heritage feels it will be able to use its grants budget more effectively. It will act, in partnership with Christian denominations and faith groups looking after historic buildings, to achieve several objectives. For example, it will demonstrate how pilot maintenance projects have helped congregations to look after their church. Advice and training will be offered to congregations to help them understand what is really special about their place of worship (so that making changes becomes easier).
Local authorities will be encouraged to become more engaged with churches over conservation matters. The campaign will also provide a toolkit for denominations to help them decide which churches can be adapted for new forms of worship and other uses. New posts will be sponsored to mentor congregations and help them apply for a grant, or to carry out new work.
English Heritage will present the results of its research to central and local government to make “a cast-iron case” for greater public funding.
Team up with your schools
How many we are this autumn/ introducing any new teachers / any new changes at the school itself Profiles on individual teachers New courses being offered at the school Our Christmas programme – what’s coming How to help your child do well at school – tips for helping them do their homework well What makes a good school lunch? Volunteer work that you can do to help the school…. Etc, etc! Your local school will have many ideas of its own…!
Bike Week 17 – 25 June is the UK’s annual celebration of cycling
Editor: If you’ve got bicycle riders in your congregation, you may want to visit this website and get details of any local events in your area. (www.bikeweek.org.uk) You could suggest a sponsored cycle ride on behalf of your church, or how about inviting some of your church people to go out and cycle on behalf of a local charity? A hospice or battered woman’s refuge or animal sanctuary would always be grateful for any support. This year 1,500 local events will attract more than 250,000 participants.
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