rural ministry
Jenny Carpenter is retiring J
Jenny’s enthusiasm is contagious, her sense of fun infectious. Her commitment is total and her faith impressive. She has worked for the
Methodist Church as a volunteer and as a full-time officer, in a denominational role and in an ecumenical capacity through Churches Together in England. Jenny was Vice President of Methodist Conference in 1988-9. To cap it all she is probably the only person to have presented the late Pope with a box of Bassett’s Liquorice Allsorts, offered as a symbol of unity in diversity and made in her home town of Sheffield.
For the past five years however, Jenny Carpenter has been the Rural Officer-Consultant for the United Reformed and Methodist churches and as such has been a key member of the Arthur Rank Centre team. During this time she has tirelessly promoted the cause of rural mission within the two denominations, not least in helping to instigate ‘Presence’ the recent Methodist publication to encourage an effective Christian presence in rural communities.
Her demanding and wide ranging work has involved her in tasks as different as preparing prayers and liturgies for rural focused services, and interpreting and responding to the Government’s agenda for regionalisation. She has served as secretary of the Churches Rural Group, represented rural concerns and issues as a member of the Churches Commission for Racial Justice, and has helped organise and lead the ARC’s Rural Ministry Course and its rural conferences. Jenny has been a valuable and enthusiastic contributor to Country Way, seeking out the different and unusual to inform and enlighten. She has travelled the country conducting worship, speaking at conferences, and leading workshops on how the church engages with the wider rural community. And in villages such as Empingham, where the church is now home to the local post office, she’s helped individual churches actually put it into practice.
Jenny meeting HRH the Prince of Wales during an ARC fund-raising concert in 2001
Churches Rural Group are producing a leaflet which not only gives an overview of the issues but also provides guidelines for churches as to how they can support and help this migrant workforce.
It is likely to prove one of the most far-reaching
pieces of work that the Group has undertaken and will undoubtedly be a valuable resource for churches and communities in the affected areas.
Always ready to challenge prejudice and injustice, Jenny has been the driving force behind the recent work that the Churches Rural Group has been doing on the issue of migrant workers. The gangmaster system has a long history in certain agricultural sectors and whilst there are many labour providers who are fair and just, there are others who have blatantly exploited vulnerable employees, especially those from overseas.
It has been largely due to Jenny that the
www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk
At the end of July, Jenny retires. She does so knowing that the ARC, many rural communities and rural churches, owe her a deep debt of gratitude. The decision of both denominations to continue the post and to appoint a successor is an affirmation of all that she has achieved. We hope and pray that she and her husband Joe will have a long and enjoyable retirement together.
Gordon Gatward 23
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