The Northern Men’s Network have invited Mel Ashy of Blue Mountains City Church to speak at our May breakfast. Mel Ashby is a Pastor at Blue Mountains City Church which is at Mount Riverview about 40 miles from Sydney up in the Blue Mountains. His role at Church is Pastoral & Crisis care Pastor. He has been at Blue Mountains City Church for 20 years. Mel is also a Regional Chaplain with CHAPLAINCY AUSTRALIA (http://www.chaplaincyaustralia.com/), where he oversees the Chaplains who work in the Blue Mountains, a region covering an area about 2 times the size of the Isle of Man. Chaplaincy Australia have, in addition to Chaplains in the usual positions i.e.. jails army hospitals etc., teams of Chaplains trained to minister to people who have gone through major trauma through disasters. In the past they have sent teams to the Indonesian tsunami, Cyclones in Northern Queensland, the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, to Samoa after the tsunami, & this year the recent inland flooding in Toowoomba Queensland, hurricane Yasi in Northern Queensland, Victorian floods & the earthquake in Christchurch NZ, along with many more local disasters. Mel has been at most of those disasters ministering to the people that have survived & bringing the love of Christ to them in their desperate moment of need. Many of the people that Chaplaincy Australia minister to have lost family friends & neighbours, their teams go in to be the hands & feet of Christ, not preaching but showing Christs love grace & mercy. One example is a family that were being told by the Police as a team arrived that 17 of their neighbours had perished in the bush fires, Mel & 2 other Chaplains spent time listening to their grief & despair, they weren't Christians but welcomed us to pray for them. People can be much more willing to sit down with a Chaplain who they see as non-threatening as opposed to a Pastor from the local Church who they see as pushing their particular Church. Chaplaincy Australia is all about evangelism by letting people experience Christs love through their work in a tangible way. We are looking forward to a very enjoyable time and as many men as possible to join us: in sharing a good meal, in fellowship and in what is bound to be a very interesting talk. The breakfast will be at The Factory Lounge situated above the Elim Church in Ramsey on Saturday, 4 June 2011 at 7:30 am. As we have limited space, it is important that we have numbers in advance of the breakfast. Therefore please reserve your place as soon as possible with Peter Cannell on 880824, 451135 or peter.cannell@mcb.net, or in any event, no later than Wednesday, 1 June 2011. About the Northern Men’s Network The Northern Men’s Network has grown out of the regular Churches Together in Ramsey men’s breakfast, following a re-launch in October 2008. The Northern Men’s Network aims to provide an opportunity for Christian Men from all the churches in the North of the Isle of Man to meet together and enjoy a meal and fellowship as well as identifying the needs in our community where we can demonstrate Jesus' love for the community in a practical and relevant way. - END -