Comedy legends Cannon and Ball will throw their support behind Manchester charity The Message Trust next week (Fri 19 Nov) when they take part in a Gala Dinner to raise funds for young people.

The duo will bring their trademark knockabout comedy and tell stories from over thirty years in show business. They rose from obscurity performing in clubs in Oldham to become one of the most famous TV comedy acts of the 1980s.

The Gala Dinner, which takes place at the five-star Lowry Hotel on Friday 19 November, will showcase the work of The Message and will feature first-person testimonies from young people who have been helped by the charity and an address from Founder and CEO, Andy Hawthorne.

An auction of fantastic money-can’t-buy items will top off the evening. Exclusive lots already donated include a behind-the-scenes day with Greater Manchester Police, a Caterham track day and an opportunity to professionally record your own EP.

Tickets for the Gala Dinner cost £60 and include a five-star, three-course meal. Tables of 10 places can also be reserved at a cost of £600.

For more information, please contact Tess Hartley at The Message Trust via tess.hartley@message.org.uk or 0161 946 2304.

We’re all thrilled that the LZ7 single debuted at number 26 in this weeks single charts. Now let’s see what God will do with this fantastic ‘lamp on a stand’.

Thanks to all our supporters for getting behind the song. Today LZ7 are back in school doing a full schools week in a school in Bolton, please pray that many young people would respond to the gospel this week.

Please also pray that radio and music TV stations get behind the track and hundreds of thousands of young people find out about Jesus because of the single.

We obviously want to keep this in the charts so if have not bought your copy of This Little Light it’s not too late Click here

Since Message 2000, The Message has been involved with well over a thousand more community action projects in every corner of Greater Manchester.

‘We’ve cleaned and painted and fixed and helped, and as a result, crime has come down, whole areas have been changed, and — yes — we’ve been privileged to have some great opportunities to share our faith’ says Andy Hawthorne.

‘For me the secret to success in any ministry is to genuinely combine word and deed. We have to ditch the dualism that says that it’s only words that matter, or that actions win out every time. We have to have both, because that’s how Jesus did it.’

The latest in this long line of word and deed evangelism projects is this year’s Shine Your Light campaign. This nationwide initiative fronted by Lindz West and LZ7 kicked off earlier this year with the Shine Your Light website. It will continue throughout the summer on a long tour of Christian festivals.

The campaign challenges young people to do fifteen specific acts of kindness for their friends, family and local community, including spending time with the elderly, buying lunch for a homeless person or dropping in a thank you card to the local police station.

After completing each challenge, young people are encouraged to post pictures, videos and stories on the website and Facebook, helping spread the positive and encourage others to do the same. The goal is the same as ever – that these small acts of kindness will point towards a generous God and provide opportunities for the good news.

‘Facebook and social networking give us an unprecedented way of communicating with vast numbers of people,’ comments Andy. ‘They make peer-to-peer evangelism easier than ever before.’

Shine Your Light ties in with a government campaign for young people, Shine Week, running from July 12-16. Over 6,000 school and organisations took part in Shine Week last year, involving nearly 1 million young people, showcasing their talent and putting young people in a positive light. Shine Week’s theme song is none other than LZ7’s This Little Light, which will be released into the UK charts at the end of the summer.

A nationwide competition to create a music video for the expected chart hit is one of the ways young people will be able to engage with Shine Week, bringing many into contact with The Message’s bands for the first time and opening doors for sharing the good news.

‘Shine Your Light and Shine Week really are awesome opportunities for the good news to go further than ever – quickly and relevantly,’ says Andy. ‘This has all the potential to be the biggest thing we’ve ever been involved with.’

More…

Perhaps the most powerful change in all has been in the lives of the thousands of individuals who took part in serving during ‘word and deed’ events.

One young man, Tim Mycock, was 19 at the time of Message 2000. He had made a commitment to Christ at a World Wide Message Tribe gig some years earlier and had volunteered to help on the merchandise stand during Message 2000.

Finding himself with a bit of time on his hands during the day, Tim volunteered to help wherever he was needed and was soon asked to go and help with a project in Oldham where a particular young man had been causing discipline problems. Tim picks up the story:

‘My first introduction to this kid was to stop him bringing a chair down on the head of another young person. He was a troubled young man but through the week as I got to know his story and understand him, God broke my heart for him and other young men on the margins, the disaffected.’

‘A police officer I talked to told me about him. He called him a lost cause, a hopeless case. I knew that wasn’t true – that God could change his life if he’d let him. On the last night of the event, miraculously this kid showed up and I had the chance to pray with him as he gave his life to Christ.’

As a result of serving on Message 2000, Tim gave up his ambition to be a music teacher and instead trained with The Message’s Xcelerate course. Today he works with young offenders with the Reflex prisons team.

‘I never saw him again so I don’t know where he ended up. But I wish I could have a chance to let that young man know that getting to know him had a profound impact on my life.’

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One of the most remarked-upon aspects of community action evangelism events is how they act as a catalyst for unity among churches. This always produces results far greater than churches could ever see alone.

Momentum from unity-building work among churches for Festival:Manchester in 2003, resulted in the creation of an initiative designed to help churches support their local police and the public sector, Redeeming Our Communities.

The strength of the partnership which has developed over the years will be shown by a Community Showcase event at the Manchester Velodrome on June 30, held in association with Greater Manchester Police and Fire and Rescue Services. And the results speak for themselves: Greater Manchester Police’s latest figures show crime at its lowest level for 10 years – a fact which they attribute to their operations, changes to policing and new initiatives like Redeeming Our Communities.

What was pioneered in Manchester is now being investigated and adopted by other cities. A Merseyside initiative launched last year; Birmingham launches in November 2010 and London in April 2011. Redeeming Our Communities is also now working with the police nationally through the National Policing Improvement Agency which works with all 43 police divisions in England and Wales and the Home Office.

Debra Green, founder, remarks: ‘There has been a bridge built across the sacred-secular divide which we would never in our wildest dreams have thought possible ten years ago. The idea that we could put on a big event that politicians, police, local authorities would gladly come and be a part of – and that is unashamedly Christian – was inconceivable.’

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Message 2000 was a kick-start for several new churches and community organisations, including G-Force, a charity working with children, young people and families on the Broomwood estate in South Trafford.

The four-day focus on social action activities during Message 2000, served to highlight the needs in Broomwood and identified Paul and Tina Huxley, leaders of a local Christian youth group, as community action entrepreneurs.

Tina explains: ‘For Message 2000, we had 100 volunteers come into the area to do projects focussing on cleaning up the woods, shifting rubbish, planting flower beds and cleaning round the youth centre, with a big fun day to close. I think it highlighted the big issues on the estate which we knew were there but this really brought them into the light.’

It seemed natural for the couple to set up a community association, involving parents and local residents. This led to God opening doors up for them supporting needy individuals and families; special courses in local schools; adult education classes and groups for the elderly; an arts and crafts drop-in in Altrincham town centre, and a community cafe in the heart of the Broomwood.

Most recently, the group has been involved in a consultation and fundraising with local young people to redevelop local park land.

In just ten years, G-Force has won several prestigious awards for its pioneering work, and has become a magnet for funding from local authorities and businesses. What started as a small youth group surviving on revenues from the tuck-shop on a Saturday night now supports five full time staff and a host of part-time people in face-to-face contact with over 900 children and young people a year.

‘You realise there are certain milestones in the development of G-Force and one of those was Message 2000 and all those guys coming in,’ reflects Paul.

‘The impression they made and the impact within the hearts of the people in the community was huge – they didn’t just change the environment but there was a sea-change in the way local people looked upon Broomwood as the place where they lived. They saw how it could change and the assets that were there but were being overlooked – like the woods.

‘It was inspirational for the community and inspirational for other agencies working here too, one of whom gave us a grant to put a beautiful fence up around the woods, saying “Broomwood Community Woods”. They suddenly realised, hey, we can do stuff here. It all came from Message 2000.’

More…

‘I was surprised. What on earth did washing someone’s car have to do with the gospel? How did painting park benches lead to salvation? I couldn’t remember Jesus talking about the importance of weeding communal gardens!’

But his decision to agree with the Soul Survivor leader led to the creation of Message 2000, an unprecedented festival of ‘word and deed’ evangelism that was to set the tone for the rest of the next ten years.

Over ten summer days in July 2000, 400 community action projects across Greater Manchester involved almost 10,000 young Christian volunteers in social, environmental and crime reduction projects on some of the city’s roughest and toughest estates. The results were instant and dramatic. New life burst out on old streets.

Andy continues: ‘There was something remarkable about that time we spent together in the summer of 2000. It was as if we did ten years’ work in ten days. Perhaps some of our earlier attempts at ‘hit and run evangelism’ had led people to believe that we were some kind of foaming-at-the-mouth fundamentalists. But suddenly we had the police and local authorities on our side, seeing us as a real force for good rather than people to be avoided.’

In the coming years, The Message built on this momentum with Message 2K1 (2001); Festival:Manchester, in partnership with the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association (2003); the Big Deal weekends in Salford, Stockport and Macclesfield (2005-6); the UK-wide Hope 08 initiative in partnership with dozens of other agencies and thousands of local churches (2008), and last summer’s 10,000 Hours of Hope, part of the !Audacious youth conference.

Stories of how lives were changed and whole new initiatives were birthed as a result of Message 2000 and subsequent word and deed evangelism find their way back to The Message all the time.

Communities benefitted from the sudden influx of fired-up young people with a paint brush in their hand and a smile on their face. In several cases, whole new churches or community organisations were set up as a direct consequence of people being inspired by what they saw was possible when churches worked together to make a difference.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking back on Message 2000 and asking: what’s changed?

Church unity grown

Local communities transformed

Individual lives impacted

What’s next?

A young man from Old Trafford who turned his problematic behaviour around to become a leader among his peers has won the Volunteer Award at the 2010 Urban Hero Awards, presented by Manchester youth charity, The Message Trust.

John McGuinness, 15, was until two years ago regularly being excluded from school and grounded at home. Anger and confusion at the early death of his father led to John making some destructive choices and getting a bad reputation in Old Trafford.

Ben Woodfield from Eden Old Trafford, a youth project run in association with The Message Trust, is John’s youth worker. He explains:

‘We knew John from the age of about 10. He was known in Old Trafford as a little rascal – or words to that effect! – and it was clear that his behaviour was starting to get out of control.

‘We began to get to know him, his mum Barbara and her partner Nick, and gradually John got involved in some of our youth activities.

We saw he was obviously a strong character and had leadership written all over him so we started mentoring him and as he entered his teenage years, we started to see a change. He began to get his head down and realise that some of the decisions he was making weren’t good for him.’

John found himself wanting to to put something back into his community and the Eden team helped to steer him towards suitable opportunities. But his discipline and commitment surprised everyone. Beginning with a regular slot playing in a church band, John began to get involved with his local community on a volunteer basis.

John started taking an active role in the work of Trafford Housing Trust, completing the first stage of an apprenticeship as part of their Repairs team. He also led the way in putting together a proposal for a new permanent play area for children on his estate.

Michaela Baker from Trafford Housing Trust comments, ‘John is inspirational in his commitment to see his local area improve. He gets involved on many different levels – he helps plan programmes, runs litter picks and gets fully involved in decision-making groups – often sitting with people with more experience than him but contributing at the same level.

‘He’s really well thought of within the Trust – people look up to him.’

John recently sat his GCSEs and has secured a place at Trafford College to study plumbing next year. He hopes to continue his work with the Housing Trust alongside his studies.

The Volunteer Award, one of five,was presented at this year’s Urban Hero Awards at Manchester’s Palace Hotel on July 9. The awards recognise young people who stand out as having made major changes in their lives or particularly positive contributions to their communities.

Ben Woodfield explains the reasons the Eden team nominated John:

‘People in the local community have been so impressed by him. He’s proved to us that he’s not just saying he’s changed – there’s real fruit to those words.

‘This is the story of a young guy who has started to make positive decisions in the face of some of life’s harder experiences and in an environment where some of his peers are failing to make those good choices.

‘We’re very hopeful for John’s future and excited about who he’s becoming.’

John’s Award was presented by Mick Spratt, MD of Wigwam Acoustics, the Award sponsor.

A young man from Old Trafford who turned his problematic behaviour around to become a leader among his peers was named Urban Hero of the Year 2010 last night (Friday, July 9).

John McGuinness, pictured right, also picked up the Volunteer Award for services to his local community at the third annual Urban Hero Awards, presented by The Message Trust.

The Awards recognise young people who have made exceptional contributions to their local communities over the last year – or have bravely overcome a major obstacle in their lives. All of the nominees have been directly impacted by the work of The Message.

Around 700 people gathered to celebrate the achievements of the winners. VIPs including Lord Mayor Mark Hackett, Chief Constable Peter Fahy and business leaders Sir John Zochonis and David Briggs joined celebrities including Olympian Diane Modahl and a host of stars from stage and screen.

Five awards winners were named before the overall Urban Hero of the Year was announced.

Fifteen-year-old Andrei Keating won the Achiever Award for impressing family and friends by transforming his attitude to school and achieving significant qualifications over the last year. Click here for Andrei’s story.

An innovative partnership between the church, police, local authorities and the housing association in Limeside, Oldham won the Champion Award. Click here for their story.

Nick Shahlavi, a former drug dealer who transformed his life and is now helping others transform theirs walked off with the Inspiration Award. Click here for Nick’s story.

And sixteen-year-old Cody O’Grady from Openshaw who fought aggressive cancer this year was named winner of the Courage Award. Click here for Cody’s story.

But the Volunteer Award and the overall Urban Hero of the Year title went to John McGuinness, 15, from Old Trafford.

Until two years ago, John was regarded as a local trouble maker, regularly excluded from school and a problem at home. But it all changed when he started getting involved with Eden Old Trafford, a youth project run in association with The Message.

As he began to be mentored by members of the Eden team, his leadership abilities quickly became obvious to everyone around him. Before long, John was volunteering regularly for his church, his local housing trust and other community activities.

Ben Woodfield, John’s youth worker commented, ‘This is the story of a young guy who has started to make positive decisions in the face of some of life’s harder experiences and in an environment where some of his peers are failing to make those good choices. We’re very hopeful for John’s future and excited about what he’s becoming.’

As well as his trophy, John was presented with ten drum lessons with LZ7 drummer Rob and a top-flight drum kit.

Staged at Manchester’s Palace Hotel, the night also featured live performances from The Message’s schools bands LZ7, Twelve24 and theatre company In Yer Face.

‘We work with 100,000 young people a year and this is just a snapshot of all those lives were involved with in Greater Manchester and beyond,’ said Message CEO and host of the evening, Andy Hawthorne, as he asked guests to give generously to support The Message.

‘But I’m frustrated. There’s so much more to be done. But there’s no way we can do it on our own. Thank you for all your support.’

The Urban Hero Awards 2010 was sponsored by Stagecoach and a host of north west businesses: Wigwam, Safe Records Management, Stephensons, The Grand and Jurang.

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Urban Heroes in the Press: On Friday 16 July, the Manchester Evening News printed a special eight-page supplement celebrating the winners of the Urban Hero Awards 2010. Make sure you pick up your copy.

Watch each of the winner’s nomination videos via our Media Hub.

A gift to The Message Trust today will allow us to raise many more Urban Heroes in the year to come. Click here to give online.

A young man from Openshaw who fought aggressive cancer this year was awarded the Courage Award at the 2010 Urban Hero Awards, presented by Manchester youth charity, The Message Trust.

Cody O’Grady, 16, was nominated by his youth leader who watched how he and his family bravely coped through diagnosis, treatment and its side effects.

Sam Ward from Eden Openshaw, part of The Message Trust – a  youth charity working with the hardest-to-reach young people in Manchester’s prisons, schools and communities – explains:

‘Ten months ago, Cody came along to our football training session on a Wednesday night. He seemed to have a really sore eye but he said he’d been prescribed some antibiotics and so we thought nothing more of it.

‘But a couple of weeks later Cody turned up at a club and his face was a whole lot worse. What he first thought was a sinus infection actually turned out to be aggressive cancer. He was referred to Christies Hospital for treatment.

‘We got a call at 2.30am one morning from Cody’s dad, Steve. He said Cody was in a bad way. When we arrived, Cody was struggling to move and could hardly breathe. We rushed him to Christies who told us this a serious tumour that was heading towards the brain, which would be fatal. They started chemotherapy that night.’

Cody’s treatment has put him in incredible pain. Successive courses of chemo-and radiotherapy meant he lost weight at an alarming rate. Cody also had to overcome his claustrophobia as he spent many hours in scanning and radiotherapy machines.

Without a car to take them to and from Christies, Cody’s parents Steve and Debbie relied on support from the Eden team and the local church, Openshaw Community Church, to visit Cody. The Eden team also organised weekly prayer vigils throughout the treatment.

Cody’s father, Steve, is proud of how his son coped over the last year:

‘He never complained. He never once moaned. Six months of chemo, six weeks of radiotherapy – then maintenance therapy. He got me through it, to be honest. He really deserves this award.’

Cody’s award, one of five, was presented at this year’s Urban Hero Awards at Manchester’s Palace Hotel on July 9. The awards recognise young people who stand out as having made major changes in their lives or particularly positive contributions to their communities.

Prior to the Awards, Sam Ward explained why he chose to nominate Cody for the Courage Award:

‘It’s the way Cody has coped with cancer that makes him so courageous. He just got on with it – the way he’s coped with the treatment and the side effects. He has been in severe pain but never even wanted pain relief. He just wants to get on with life.’

At the point of nomination Cody was responding so well to treatment that doctors informed him that he was heading for remission and that only maintenance therapy was required. He was expected to gain strength and return to the standard routines of life.

But as the Awards night approached Cody suffered two significant attacks, both of which left him comatose for days. At first doctors thought this was simply a reaction to his many months of treatment but tests revealed that Cody’s cancer had reappeared in the lining around his brain.

Cody was told that he had only months to live as there were nothing further the doctors could do. With only a handful of people knowing the prognosis, Cody stood strong in front of the many hundreds of guests at the Urban Hero Awards Ceremony.

His courage was clear for all to see. Cody fought on, living each day at a time. He came to know Jesus and valued times of prayer.

A rapid decline saw Cody readmitted to hospital in late August but he requested to be allowed home. Doctors granted his last wish.

Cody passed away peacefully in his own bed on September 8th, 2010.