The scariest experience of my life

Ok, so the title may be a slight exaggeration!

What was this scary event - was it my second assessed service for candidating yesterday morning? No it wasn't! I was obviously nervous, but then I get nervous before any service. However, it all seemed to go well.

The scariest event was in fact going to the Parent and Toddler group at one of our local churches to tell the Christmas story. I was asked a couple of weeks ago as Mondays is our minister's day off. They said that the previous minister used to get the toddlers to help act out the story and they would all come dressed up. I have been working with children and young people for the past 8 years but the youngest I have worked with is 5 - toddlers has never been my age group of choice. This morning I was very nervous - far more so than yesterday for the service. Would the children get involved, how long was it meant to last, would they run a mile when they saw me, would we have 30 shepherds but no angels?? This was a new experience and definitely out of my comfort zone!

However, it seemed to go well. All the mums said that it was good. The children all got involved. We only had one shepherd and one wise man but hey, they weren't bothered. They even joined in a song telling the Christmas story with actions to the tune of 'The wheels on the bus.' Maybe I didn't need to be so scared after all!

Advent Reflections 2 - Saviour

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17)

What more needs to be said? As I sit and watch the candle burn down passed 2 it illuminates the title Saviour and I am reminded the Jesus came because God loves me so much. However, there is a challenge. Because Jesus came not just because God loves me, but because God loves the world. That means that God loves those that I struggle to, or just don't. He loves those that irritate me. He loves those who have done evil things in this world. Jesus came as Saviour for us all. So this Advent (and hopefully beyond) I'm going to try and remember that Jesus came because he loved all the world, not just me and my family and friends. And I'm going to try and especially remember this when people are irritating me or do things I don't like.

This title also reminds me that if Jesus came as Saviour then there is obviously something that I/we need saving from. I like to focus on God's love, which is always the best place to start. However, I also need to look inward and recognise that there are things I do which Jesus wouldn't. If I want to be truly the person God saved me to be then I do need to turn from those things. But it isn't always easy. The good news I'm reminded of is that God is with me. The book I'm reading for Advent had as it's reading today Lamentations 3:22 "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases."

Advent Reflections 1 - Lord

As with the last few Advents I have bought an Advent Candle. Maybe it is the prehistoric male urges within me to create fire but I find something fascinating about watching a candle burn. The candle I have this year not only has the numbers on it but it also has titles of Jesus - one for every day. So I thought I would use these as a way to reflect on what these titles mean for me as a way of preparing for Christmas.

Day 1 - Lord. 'Jesus is Lord', supposedly the oldest creed. What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord? For me it is a picture of power and authority. Jesus is one to be obeyed and he has the power to resource all he wants us to do. However, he is not a lord who just makes unreasonable demands upon his subjects. He is someone who loves his people, who wants what is best for them. As Lord he has led by example. When he tells us to pick up our crosses it is to follow him. He asks nothing of us that he hasn't done himself. So when we obey him as our Lord, we can do so knowing that all he instructs and requests is for our good and out of his love.

Back to Blog Wednesday

It has been a long while since I last blogged. Mainly due to having a chest infection which has stubbornly held on for a month and is still not giving up yet. However, the longer I have not blogged, the harder it has been to get back into it. Trying to think of things to blog, gaining the motivation to log back on. It has made me realise how easy it can be to stop attending church. Once you have missed a few weeks it becomes harder and harder. What will people say, will they have noticed I'm not there, what reasons can I give for not attending. How important it is to have events like Back to church Sunday. I'm sure there are countless people out there who just don't have the courage or motivation to go back to church even if they may want to, and yet may respond to someone else inviting them.

Rather than having pastoral visitors in our church we are all members of pastoral groups and our group meets up about once a month. This month we are going out for a Christmas dinner together (always good!) and I am really impressed that there are two couples who don't attend church much now who are both coming. In fact, one of the ladies has now started coming to church a bit since the invite for the meals went out. Keeping these connections with people is so important and something we mustn't underestimate.

It is good to be back blogging and I wonder if there is someone waiting for an invite from you back to church?

Unravelling the mystery

We have recently started a house group at our church. It is being led by a professor who is also an ordained minister. In the three sessions we have had we have looked at the books of Amos and Philippians - not at the same time! Our leader has given us a lot of information on the context of both books, some insight into the issues surrounding authorship and context, whilst also explaining world views that were current at the time. In many ways these aren't traditional Bible studies, they raise more questions than answers and challenge traditionally held beliefs. It has provoked much discussion and debate within the group and often we leave with a slight headache, but also the feeling of a deeper understanding of the book. This group has led me to feel quite uncomfortable and question many of my own beliefs about how I express God and view the Word of God which is no bad thing. Due to this, the group isn't to everyone's taste and one member has not been back since the second session which is sad but understandable.

At the same time I have been reading "Dawkins' God" by Alister McGrath as part of my portfolio for candidating. This book seeks to demonstrate how many of Dawkins' atheistic and anti-Christian beliefs are based upon misunderstandings, inconsistencies and out dated theology. It was a useful book as even I could understand most of the arguments that McGrath was presenting even though I have very little scientific knowledge.

However, both the book and the Bible study group have led me to question this unrelenting pursuit of knowledge and desire to explain every facet of life and Christian belief. Don't get me wrong, we all need to strive for a deeper understanding of who God is and what he does. We need to try and grasp more of what Jesus means for us and our society. And we need to have a greater awareness of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of our church. However, this desire for facts and evidence can lead to the removing of mystery that is an essential element of God's nature. Even when we unravel some mysteries, new ones present themselves. I wonder whether we can spend our whole time trying to find facts, and actually miss the God behind them all. I think that sometimes, the correct outlook is just to celebrate the mystery.

Speed restrictions

In the last two days I have followed vans with these stickers indicating the speed restriction that their vehicle is limited to. Am I the only one that thinks this is a bit of a nonsense - aren't we all limited to 70mph - by something called the law??

Universal Benefits?

There has been a lot written and spoken about the removal of child benefits for those families who have someone paying the higher level of tax. There are many who oppose it on economic grounds. There are some who oppose it on the grounds of fairness. Still others oppose it because it will be their benefit removed.

I am not an economist and I have no children so I can't oppose it on any of those grounds. I oppose the cut in benefits, not because the families necessarily need the money, or that anyone has a right to this money, but because of what it appears to say about the values of our society. Having universal child benefits, like universal winter heating allowance, demonstrates that our society values people as being the most important asset that makes up our society. Universal child benefit says that, regardless of whether the child comes from a rich family or a poor family, each child is of equal value and that society should invest in them. This move signals the end to that. It shows that economics and money are of greater worth. I don't deny that savings have to be made - and where ever the savings come from people will be unhappy. However, we should not sell out on our principles and values just to save money. Children are the future of this country - we must invest in them. Just as the older generation have served us well and deserve to be warm this winter. People must always come before money.

Has harvest had it?

I had an interesting chat with a local Anglican vicar the other day. He is a good friend and I have great respect for him and all he does with young people. However, he said that he felt harvest was an irrelevance and that Remembrance Sunday had lost meaning for today's society. Both of these events he felt should be dropped from the church calendar.

Yet I can't help but feel we would miss out on an awful lot if we scrapped harvest. Although in many parts of our country we have lost that link with agriculture and rural life, we all depend on it day by day for the food that sustains us. Harvest is a time to stop and be thankful for the many people in our country who work long hours, often for little pay, to provide food for us to eat. Harvest is also a time to think of trade justice. It is a time to support movements like Fairtrade that ensure that all producers of food and clothes receive a fair wage for the work that they do. While we must always support our local farmers and producers, if it wasn't for producers in far off lands we would not have the coffee, tea, spices, chocolate, cotton and many other products that we enjoy in our life.

We must never forget the harvest and harvesters. We must never cease to pray for them and their produce. We must never stop educating our young people about where their food comes from. And we must never stop thanking God for all that he blesses us with, while at the same time remembering all those who will be going hungry this harvest.

A modern day Cain and Abel?

With Ed's election to the Labour leadership on Saturday and then his speech to the Party Conference yesterday, the Miliband brothers have been in the media spotlight for many days. And much of the coverage has been focussed on the divisions between the two of them, with some commentators describing this as a modern day Cain and Abel story.

It saddens and angers me that such a large proportion of the media aren't happy unless they have a soap opera style story of deceit and division to report. Ed Miliband spoke for an hour yesterday, praising much that Labour achieved over the last 13 years, but also admitting some errors. He encouraged people to move on from the old arguments and factions and urged the party to be a new generation of optimists - optimistic about what can be achieved for our country and our world. He spoke with passion about the state the country could be left in if the Tories are allowed to bring in all their cuts. And yet all the media wanted to report was the couple of sentences where he said that, with hindsight, the war in Iraq was wrong. He didn't blame any of the people who voted for it, but he pointed out what a lot of people have being saying since 2003. Yet, because David voted for the war and didn't applaud this sentence when many others did, the media have leapt on this as the start of a war between the brothers. They chose to ignore the many times that David applauded what Ed was saying, to focus on the time he didn't.

This speaks volumes for the state of our country when people are more concerned with possible battles, highlighting differences and creating barriers rather than listening to what people have to say and the ideas that they put forward. Much of the media isn't happy unless it is doing someone down. And they won't rest until they have divided David and Ed.

This isn't another Cain and Abel story. These are two very talented people who both have clear visions for the direction of our country. They are both passionate about creating a more equal society. They happen to be brothers, and they happen to have differences of opinions on certain subjects - but then who does agree 100% with their siblings? Surely, for the good of this country we need to encourage both of these people to be involved in building a better country and not trying to tear them apart.

The end of a decade

This is my last day in my twenties - tomorrow I will become a 30 something. So please excuse my brief slide into nostalgia as I look back over the last decade.

I started my twenties studying theology with education studies at the University of Surrey, Roehampton (now the University of Roehampton). It was a good time - lots of fun, lots of friends. It taught me a lot about community and the need for regular contact to make communities work. I came into contact with many different people, from many denominations and faiths as well as ardent atheists and people who never thought about the spiritual dimension to life at all. I discovered that the stock answers that can be given as to why we should believe in Jesus and why there are so many problems in the world can often sound trite and even flippant. For many they certainly don't answer the questions that they have. I also learnt a lot about the challenges of managing change. At the end of my time at university there was a move to unite the four Christian unions based in the four colleges of the university into one big Christian Union. It wasn't a completely welcome move by many in our Christian Union but the ruling committee pushed it through regardless. I remember there being a lot of heartache at the time that has stayed with me. As church leaders we may see many benefits in change, but we must bring the people with us - forcing it through is not the way.

My twenties also saw me have my first period away from the Methodist Church. I worked for Homelands Free Church (affiliated to the Baptist Union) in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex. Whilst there I learnt that I love living by the sea (I miss that greatly now). I loved the intensity of the prayers that many of the people in the church prayed. And the fact that many old people (and there are many old people in Frinton!) saw that they still had a role to play - even when they couldn't leave their house. They would pray for the work we were doing. I learnt a great variety of ways of engaging with children and young people through clubs, house groups, holiday clubs and camps. But I also learnt what I loved about Methodism. I loved the use of lay people as leaders of worship and preachers, I loved the use of liturgy without dependence upon it, I loved the communal feeling during Holy Communion, I loved saying the Lord's prayer, and I loved the sense of Connexion.

I have also had the pleasure of working with children and young people with physical disabilities in my home area of West Berkshire. It has been a real challenge and privilege. Seeing them achieve so much is a real joy, seeing them struggle and disheartened about the future can be heartbreaking. However, it has also made me think how exclusive our worship can be. We may make the worship space accessible - but is the worship? I have also had to deal with death while here. We have had 2 young people die due to their disabilities. Although their parents knew the day was coming it didn't make it any easier. What an awful thing for any parent to have to deal with.

Death is something I have had to confront in my own family this decade. My cousin's only child died in a car crash a few years ago. Seeing the pain in the family still is horrible. What have we got to say to situations like that? Also my Gran, the last member of her generation died after suffering with dementia for a number of years. Seeing her quite rapidly decline in her mental capacity is something I don't want to have to see again, but preparing myself for the fact that I probably will. Also, realising that my parents generation are now the oldest generation in my family was quite alarming.

However, I am now also an accredited Local Preacher, chairman of the Thatcham Fairtrade Town campaign and Assistant Group Scout Leader at 2nd Thatcham Scout Group - all postitions of responsibility that I wouldn't have imagined 10 years ago.

And what of the next decade? Who knows what that may bring. I am now candidating - let's see what that brings in the spring. Either way it will lead to a change in my life as this is my last year in my current job. Hopefully I will have a family within the next 10 years. But this last 10 years has taught me that a lot happens that can't be planned or expected, yet in it all, whether I realised it at the time or not, God is there with me.

visualtheology: heaven can wait: the demise of escalator theology

visualtheology: heaven can wait: the demise of escalator theology

This is an excellent post. It really made me think about what our mission and gospel should be. I believe it has far more impact when we focus on lives transformed now and not at some point in the future. It was the way Jesus lived his life. This is well worth a read.

Back to the Blog

I can't believe 6 weeks have gone past since last I blogged. A quick summary of all that has happened:

• It has been hectic with work - I have had great fun organising about 3 activities a week with work. This included trips to theme parks, craft activities and a dinner out. However the two highlights were camping with the younger PALS and then a week long trip to the Calvert Trust. It was so inspiring to see how much our young people could achieve. We had people who are in wheelchairs being able to climb walls, abseil and ride horses. I wonder how we can encourage people with disabilities to fully engage in church life and to realise and achieve their full purpose. There has got to be more to it than just providing wider doorways and accessible toilets. How can we encourage more people with disabilities to engage with faith and talk about faith in a public setting? I long to see more people with disabilities leading worship and preaching.
• I am now the Chairman of the steering group to make Thatcham a Fairtrade Town. Fairtrade is something that I have long had a passion for and so was very excited when I discovered that there was a campaign starting for Thatcham to achieve Fairtrade Town status. It is campaigns like this that the church should be involved in as it impacts so many lives. One thing that I have come to think about Fairtrade is that there needs to be a local emphasis as well as the global one. There are many products (meat, dairy fruit etc) that is produced locally and we need to campaign to ensure fair trade for these people as well. There is a great post on visualtheology about the need for us to work for the Kingdom of God on Earth in the here and now ( visualtheology: heaven can wait: the demise of escalator theology ). This is one way that we can challenge the injustices in our world and seek the Kingdom of God in the here and now.
• I have filled in the online form expressing an interest in candidating for ministry in the coming Connexional year. This is by far the scariest thing that I have done this summer (even scarier than climbing the climbing walls at Calvert Trust!). It is something that I have considered for many years - but suddenly it is becoming very close and very real. As I read various books needed for my portfolio I realise how little I actually know and how utterly unprepared I feel. All I can do is trust that God will be with me, and that he will ensure that the right outcome is reached. Your prayers would be much appreciated.

Hopefully there will now resume a more regular blog!

Awards Dinner

We held our first work Awards Dinner at the weekend. It was a fantastic evening celebrating all that the young people with disabilities that I work with have achieved over the last year. We were able to present awards, both silly and serious, look at photos taken over the last year and show our appreciation to the hard working volunteers who make it all possible.

I was so incredibly proud of all the young people, both those with disabilities and our volunteers, who put so much effort in throughout the year. All the hard work organising the evening was worthwhile just to see them all enjoy looking back, while also looking to the year coming up.

Celebrating the achievements of people is something we should all do more of.

Be careful the words we use

There have been lots of words used to describe Raoul Moat over the last few days - and some of the strongest were by our Prime Minister. While I think what Raoul did was utterly horrendous, and I can't understand why some members of the public are treating him like a hero, I do think we have to be very careful about the words we use to describe him.

Because, despite all he has done, he is still someone's son and someone's brother and he is still the father of his ex partner's children. I can not begin to imagine what it must be like to come to terms with he did if he was a member of my family. But having to come to terms with it in the public eye, with so many nasty words used to describe him must be simply awful. I believe we must let them grieve the loss of their family member in private. The police need to carry out their investigation, but lets not add to their pain by the language we use.

Burning Embers or Flickering Flames?

I'm now relaxing after an evening in the woods with 36 Cub Scouts. As part of the evening we were cooking over fires. So often the Cubs were disappointed that there were only embers in the fire pits and no roaring flames. They got frustrated that it was taking so long to cook and so were so excited when a flame started to flicker. Unfortunately, in their enthusiasm, they thrust their skewers with the dough twiddled around the end into the flame, only to see their food burnt within seconds. You see the dough needed to cook slowly in the hot embers.

Our churches can be like that. We can be in such a rush to action, and can get so frustrated when things take a long time that we jump straight into doing things. So often we can end up getting burnt, or burnt out, because we rush into action too quickly. There is too much of a focus on what we do in church, and less of a focus on who we are.

Flames in a fire flicker around from place to place - going wherever the wind blows. Yet the embers are a stable and secure source of heat. They may not be as exciting and active, but in the long run they are far more effective. Maybe sometimes, we need to consider being burning embers rather than flickering flames.

A transforming church

I've just listened to the recording of Eunice Attwood's speach to the Methodist Conference - and what a breath of fresh air! Eunice is the new Vice President of the Methodist Conference and spoke with such passion, humour and down to earth common sense about the love of God, the impact that love has on us and the impact it should have on those around us. There were a number of things that struck me.

1. God's unconditional love for us. It is not 'God loves me if...' We need to be offering our world the unconditional love of God. This does not mean that we shouldn't challenge people about their lives, and it doesn't mean that we don't need changing, but we don't have to do any of this for God to love us.
2. Our faith must engage with people. It is no use being safe in our churches when the people who are suffering are often somewhere else. We need to find where people are, and we need to walk with them.
3. Small acts of kindness can have profound effects on people.
4. We need to create safe places for people to truly be who they are and be able to tell their story.
5. God's love should transform our life and our church. Knowledge about God is not enough. Only an acceptance of that love can truly transform us.
6. A church that doesn't transform will stagnate. As hard as change is, the alternative doesn't bear thinking about.
7. Methodism is a rich church in terms of members - both lay and ordained - and buildings. Lets use the resources that we have.

It is so great to hear someone speaking with such passion, hope and confidence in the gospel and in the Methodist Church as one of the bearers of that gospel. My prayer for Eunice and Alison (the President) is that their passion and vision for the Methodist Church will be infectious so that the Methodist Church can rise once again to what God has called it to.

Dads in church

Last Saturday I spent a rather unproductive day in Early Learning Centre trying to recruit volunteers for work. Most of those who came in were far too pre occupied trying to stop their children taking everything off the shelves to think about volunteering with our charity.

However, it did give me time to do a good bit of people watching. The most interesting group of people coming in were the Dads with their children. Most of the dads fell into two distinct catergories. There were the dads who were fraught with the whole shopping experience and then those who were so excited about being able to play in the Early Learning Centre without getting funny looks! There was one dad in particular who was thrilled by all the different gadgets and toys to play with. His favourite was a very cool policeman's helmet that had a flashing blue light and siren on top. I must admit, I would have liked to have one!!

It did make me wonder though if we are missing a trick at church. Traditional patterns of church probably do suit women better than they suit men and I wonder if we could do more activities to engage men, and dads in particular, in church. We should consider having more activities that revolve around gadgets and toys that many men can enjoy being part of. We should also focus on doing activities that bring whole families together. Not just something that one parent (often the mother) and the children attend, but have events that really do engage everybody. This may mean that for some of the time there is more than one activity happening so that all are fully engaged. The church should be promoting and modelling the family unit. Famillies are often men and women, old and young and that is how our churches should be. Families shouldn't stay together purely because it is economically beneficial to do so, but rather because being part of a truly loving family is the best place to be.

Cumbrian Shooting

At a time like this it can be so easy to rush to judgements about the person involved, whether we should ban gun etc.

However, today should just be a day to say that our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been touched by this tragedy. God bless them all.

World Cup Fever

The countdown to the World Cup is well and truly up and running. As with 4 years ago there are countless cars driving around with England flags flying from them. I feel this celebration of our national identity is really important and unifying. In an age where we mourn the loss of community and struggle to discern how to express our identity in a multicultural climate, it is important to have occasions to come together and celebrate who we are.

However, 4 years ago I was a leader on a youth group trip to Germany (where the World Cup was being held) and so we bought some German car flags to fly from our minibus. The mischievous side of me would like to drive around now flying the German flags and see what reaction I would get. I fear that it would be very negative. While it is good to celebrate national identity and hold a desire for our country to do well, it should not lead to others being excluded from celebrating their culture and beliefs, or a breakdown in dialogue between different cultures.

It is the same within different Christian denominations. I do not believe that Christian unity should mean Christian conformity where we all meet together and do the same thing every week. I believe we should celebrate our own denominational identities. Different denominations worship, engage with God and the community in different ways and this should be celebrated. However, it should not be done in such a way as to suggest that one denomination has all the answers or that one particular interpretation of Scripture is the only one.

I hope this World Cup will be a positive experience of national celebration from people of all nations. But let us continue the dialogue between different communities, cultures and denominations.

Diversity - not the dance group!

I have been reading 'Methodist Present Potential' (edited by Luke Curran and Angela Shier-Jones) as part of my candidating process. In it there is a chapter by Revd Shirlyn Toppin about how diverse the Methodist Church really is. This chapter has been the most challenging to me so far as I am a white male. I have always been proud of the diversity within the Methodist church and the way that people with different views and experiences have been welcomed.

However, when I read this I realised what a sheltered experience of church I have had in West Berkshire and Frinton-on-Sea. Even Putney Methodist Church wasn't the most diverse. My whole belief about diversity was based upon what I had read from other people. And it can be quite easy to celebrate the diversity of the church when you are a white, able bodied, fairly affluent male. This isn't to say that in large areas the Methodist Church isn't diverse or welcoming to all people, but there is obviously still work to be done.

We have to be continually striving to make sure our services and church communities are always open to all and celebrating the different stories that people come with rather than expecting everyone to conform to the patterns of the majority. This surely would also then brings freedom for all to truly be themselves and not who they think others want them to be. So the challenge is how do we make our worship so it is accessible for all. So often our worship is based around words read and heard which can alienate those who struggle with reading or hearing for whatever reason, or who don't have English as their first language. How do we ensure that our worship is accessible for those who have physical and learning disabilities? How do we ensure that all feel equally welcomed, listened to and not patronized so that all can encounter the Living God who created us all, and all can feel that they have something to offer just by being who they are?

I don't know the answers. And I guess they won't be easy. But that is not a reason not to try. I firmly believe we should celebrate diversity, not because it is politically correct, but because God has created each of us differently and so we should celebrate that diversity. Jesus Christ came to offer the good news of hope, life and love to ALL and so we must express that in our worship and in our wider church activities. In a world that often segregates we should be the agent that unites.

Where is the light switch?

I have just been reading the article about the Diaconnal Convocation in the Methodist Recorder. Richard Vautrey was saying that there was so much creativity in worship and outreach and yet a study said that the Methodist Church had 37 years left before the lights would be switched off. I worked out that this would make me 66 and possibly thinking about retirement - do I need to start looking for the light switch??

Rediscovering Methodism

Ed Miliband has just given a speech anouncing his decision to stand for the Labour leadership. In setting out his credentials for the job he expressed a desire for Labour to rediscover its radical past. To return to being a party with the interests of ordinary people at its heart and a party that listens to the needs of ordinary people. What is more, he believes that Labour needs to rediscover its mission and be a transformative party once again.

At the same time, I am preparing for an evening service next Sunday - the day before Aldersgate Sunday. It has prompted me to think about Methodism. I believe that we need to rediscover our mission and our radical nature. We must remember that we should be a church focussed on the ordinary person and listening to their needs. We can get so caught up in committees and policies to enable the Methodist Church best serve people in the 21st Century that we can forget to listen to what ordinary people need and are concerned about.

We should never forget what Wesley said and did, the need for holiness is as important now as it has ever been, we should be out where people are, we should have social justice high up on our agenda. But we should also remember that we are a church of the 21st Century and so we need to make sure that these values are expressed in ways that are relevent to people today. Methodism, like the Labour party, was a radical movement with a radical and transformative mission, and both need to rediscover their past for the good of the country and the kingdom of God.

Why are we here?

I was at a church AGM yesterday and the main question that was asked was 'why are we here?' The focus was on the use and location of the building and did it meet the needs of the mission of the church. This raised some interesting discussion amongst the members. Quite often church leaders and preachers focus on mission and going out from the church into the community, whereas many members of the congregation wish the church to focus on pastoral care (albeit with an element of extending that pastoral care out into the community).

What is the mission of the church? How do we ensure that the members of our community hear about the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ whilst not forgetting the needs of our current members?

Start of the journey

Welcome to the start of the Methodist Pilgramage! I hope this to be a journey of discovery about myself and my faith as I consider candidating for Methodist ministry, whilst stopping along the way to admire the view. I look forward to sharing the journey with others along the way.

Will.