This PowerPoint presentation, ‘Carrying Good News’, provides the prayers, stories and images to be used for a Autumn Partner Church update.

Children’s activity What you need: Eggs, with ‘Jesus loves you’ written on it. You may wish to hollow out or hard boil the eggs to avoid mess. Spoons Method: Invite the children to take part in an egg and spoon race. Explain that the eggs contain a very special message that needs to be passed on to people at the finishing line. The important thing is for them to not drop and break the egg. Share: Knowing that Jesus loves us is a very special gift that we can make known to others through our words and actions. One way of showing Jesus’ love is through the care we take of God’s world and all the people and animals he has created. Like the care we demonstrated with carrying the egg, we can be caring to others.

Reflection 1. Mary, an ordinary girl, was chosen to carry the most extraordinary gift the world would ever receive, Jesus our Saviour, who is good news to our world. In Mary, God chose someone low in social status, from a place of little significance, called Nazareth. This is surprising when compared to the story that precedes it… Zechariah was a Priest, someone considered righteous, and the announcement of John’s birth was in God’s Temple, in the Holy City of Jerusalem. But God chose a different setting for his precious Son. The King of the World would be received into humble circumstances, to an ordinary girl, from an unexceptional place. God is present in the places we expect to see him, such as the Temple, but he is also present in the most remote and forgotten places, which may not seem significant to the world. 2. Mary was not chosen because of her status or influence, but because of God’s grace and favour; it is not something earnt, rather it comes from God’s love towards us. Mary responded to God’s reaching out to her, by offering herself to him. She says, “I am your servant.” Mary is humble and offers to carry Jesus into the world. Are we as readily available to be used to carry the good news of Jesus into our world through our words and actions? Will we say, “I am your servant”? 3. Mary did not face her pregnancy alone. The Bible tells us that she spent time with her relative Elizabeth who also had a special pregnancy, and Joseph, the man she was engaged to, was by her side. Having the care and concern of others is in our lives is incredibly valuable, as we can share with others and receive their support. As an All We Can Partner Church we are showing our care and concern to our neighbours in Malawi, ensuring that they get the support they need in challenging situations.

As an All We Can Partner Church, this year we will be journeying with communities in Malawi. Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) is one of the incredible organisations All We Can works with in Malawi. Its vision: “Inspired by the gospel of good news to the poor, CARD envisions a more proactive and resilient society able to cope with effects of natural or climate change induced disasters.” Charles, a Project Officer of CARD says, “Climate change is a reality. The local river has never been dry before, but over the last three years, the river has completely lowered. So most of the people have faced a lot of problems here in terms of food insecurity.”

Identifying the districts particularly prone to disasters, like Nasanje where Shanu lives, CARD works with local communities to find ways to avert or lessen the disasters they’re facing. Such as introducing solar irrigation - a stable way to guarantee water to their crops all year round, avoiding the effects of drought. Transformation is coming to communities in districts like Nasanje, because CARD is seeking to be ‘good news to the poor’, by helping them to overcome the challenges they are facing.

Shanu’s parents died before he was 12-years-old Shanu’s parents died before he was 12-years-old. He no longer had anyone to support his education. With the possibility of school closed to him, he tried to make an income working in other people’s fields and getting any piecemeal work he could find. During this time, Shanu and Muona grew close together. At the age of 14, Shanu had his first child, Sam. Muona, now his wife, was just 12-years-old. From this point on, Shanu had a family to look after, and now at the age of 20, he and Muona (18) have three children to care for. This story may be surprising to us, but in Malawi, sadly it is typical. Malawi has the highest rate of child marriage worldwide. With roughly one in two girls getting married by the age of 18, with some as young as age nine or ten being forced to marry.

On 12 February 2015, the Malawian Parliament passed the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Bill (Marriage Act), aimed to make early marriage illegal, but the legal loopholes were only ironed out last year. It’s too early to tell if the law will have an effect, and there’s a long way to go to change tradition and culture. But as families like Shanu’s start to have a dependable income and a means to support their children in school, they will be able to complete their education and start their family later in life. Shanu says of his son Sam, “I’m proud of Sam. He’s a very intelligent young man. But I get sad because I don’t have enough to send him to school. I wish I had enough so that he goes to school and does his studies happily.” All We Can is also working with a local organisation that identify individuals who have missed out on primary education. Childcare is offered, while the young people can learn literacy, numeracy, and nutrition. As they start putting their new skills and knowledge to use, they can see the value of ensuring that their children stay in education. This change of behaviour will have a positive long-term impact in Malawi, helping to bring sustainable lasting change for generations. Such good news! [If people haven’t received their bookmarks already you can distribute them at this point and invite people to remember to keep the people of Malawi in their prayers]