For September 2009
GOD’S WELCOMING PEOPLE
We reach out a warm and welcoming hand to
the Reverend Suzanna Bates and to Chris Wheeler as they come into our fellowship
at EMC and join our ministry team.
Rev. Suzanna Bates comes from an ecumenical team ministry in
Livingstone, near Edinburgh, and brings wide experience and a refreshing
approach to ministry. Suzanna will be working with the Rev Julie Underwood in a
new team approach at Bandon Hill, Carshalton and Wallington churches at the
other end of the Circuit, as well as working with us at Epsom Methodist Church.
That’s quite a demanding job, 50% in each of two teams, at the extreme ends of
the Circuit! So we hope that the whole church here at Epsom Methodist Church
will surround her with support and prayers as we celebrate her response to God’s
call and welcome her among us. And we hope the very same for Chris Wheeler, our
new Youth Pastor. Chris’ background has been with the United Reformed Church
and he comes to us from Kingston United Reformed Church where he has been a
youth worker. Chris has told us, however, that it was in a Methodist youth
group that he found his Christian faith. Chris brings youth, enthusiasm and
talent to this challenging sphere of ministry. A service of commissioning and
welcome for Chris will be on Sunday September 6, 2009 at 10.30am.
Towards the end of the month we will be welcoming back the Rev David
Coote to lead worship on 20 September. Many will look forward to seeing him
here again.
While we’re thinking about welcomes, let me mention that we are
still looking forward to welcoming the full membership of the Scouts back onto
our premises at Epsom Methodist Church, when the Youth Hall is completed and we
have enough room. When I came to Epsom Methodist Church five years ago, and we
brought the Youth Hall back into a new building development programme, I was
then expecting to see it completed and in use during my years here. Sadly it is
now evident that it will not be ‘done and dusted’ within the next ten months (my
final weekend at Epsom Methodist Church will be July 17th & 18th
2010). Nevertheless the building of the hall is no longer on the far horizon
but very much nearer indeed.
Special Ministry
Welcoming is a very special ministry. We aim to be a church that
welcomes people without coercion or pressure that invites people and gives them
proper personal recognition. Nevertheless “welcoming” is the kind of thing that
can too easily be left to other people. It’s disturbing when we discover that
someone has been missed and left feeling unwanted. The responsibility falls to
every one of us to help people to feel valued and able to belong.
It follows then, that for us to be a welcoming community demand
something of every person. It’s not only about the greeting received at the
door on Sunday, although that matters greatly. It isn’t simply about the
regular meetings to welcome new people, although those meetings are important,
but it is about being a warm and flexible community that is willing to adapt and
to reach out with sensitivity and with care.
Motivation
There are very many reasons why someone may find their way into a
church. That may be prompted by personal burdens, troubles and needs but it
could equally be because a person is simply looking around and enquiring. At
all times people who come need to find worship that is life affirming and
celebratory and yet at the same time sensitive to painful human experience.
People seek preaching which deals with real life, takes the world seriously and
builds up faith, confidence and hope. But even more than this people need to
find a community that is accepting and warm, without being pushy or
interfering. The welcoming role of the church is rooted in the spirituality and
the ethos of the whole Christian community.
I have mentioned before that professional research tells us that if
a new person receives contact from the church within the first week of so of
coming to the church, it is likely that about 80% of those people will come
again. If it’s left to more that a week, it falls to around 60% and when it
reaches two to three weeks then it falls to about 15%. But there is another
surprise. If that first contact comes from the minister, then all those
percentages are reduced by half! The researchers think that some people may
feel a bit threatened or pressurised by a quick contact from the minister. Or
perhaps the thought of the newcomer is that the minister is ‘simply doing his
job’. But if an ordinary member of the church takes the trouble to make contact
people are more likely to feel – “this must be a caring community, if the people
are making contact already”. Or, “This church must be important to the people
if they take this kind of trouble”. The research certainly makes it clear that
the most significant factors in people setting within a church are the warmth
and the friendliness of the people as well as the cultural relevance and style
of the worship.
New people often need a group to which they can belong and worship
that includes the whole family – children and young people. Questions are asked
like ‘does this church really accept anyone who comes along like those whose
marriage has broken, couples who are not married, disabled people, people from
different racial backgrounds, gay people and people who may not fit into the
stereotypical image of a ‘churchgoer’ (what ever that is!). We must also
remember that we live in a supermarket generation and, to some extent, people
are used to shopping around. They may do just the same when they are seeking a
church.
A Welcoming God
For us to be a welcoming community is not only about how we greet
those who come to worship on Sunday, but about the whole life of this
community. It’s about the way in which we approach those who we see in the
‘welcome area’ or pass in the corridor during the week. Do we acknowledge
parents who bring their children, members of groups who are now meeting on the
premises, young people who belong to the various youth groups and organisations
and anyone who happens to drop in? We are called to be God’s welcoming people.
It is to do with the spirit of the church and ‘welcoming’ has always been an
essential element in the nature of the Christian church. Love and care for one
another was a distinctive mark of the New Testament Church. Paul’s letters to
the young and growing Christian communities emphasised the need to welcome the
poor, the sick, the needy, outcasts and foreigners. The Acts of the Apostles
describe how ‘they were adding to their numbers day by day’. Jesus said, ‘come
to me when you are tired and worn out’, and he said, ‘whoever welcomes a child
in my name welcomes me’.
To truly be a church means that we must be a welcoming people. That
is essential to the nature of the church because God’s community is called to
reflect the very nature of God. The more we seek to be like Jesus then the more
God’s spirit will be alive within our community. Like the father of the
prodigal son God waits longingly, lovingly, with understanding and acceptance
ready for all people. Like the father of the prodigal not only is there a
yearning to welcome those who are still a way off, but he runs out with
outstretched arms, ready to welcome home each one he loves. Welcoming is a gift
of God’s grace ….. a gift that we treasure and pray for at Epsom Methodist
Church.
With my love to all,
David Winwood
Encomium for the Editor of FOCUS the monthly magazine of Epsom
Methodist Church
Now reach for the dictionary to see what it means! It is a plural
word from a Latin origin, which means ‘Many Praises’ being officially expressed.
As
Una Alexander (left) has decided to retire as Editor of ‘Focus’, after more than
six years of loyal service, this is the right time to hear the many expressions
of praise and thanks which are owed to her. She has certainly heard many
criticisms over the years, even when the problems have arisen from a faulty
printing machine or the original article! But this is a time for praise.
It was a courageous venture for Una to take on this role when the
need arose some years ago. It was an enormous challenge but Una has risen to
that challenge, developing her skills and her knowledge of computer programs to
enable ‘Focus’ to be produced month by month.
Una – please accept the gratitude of Epsom Methodist Church for your
diligent work, for the enormous amount of time and effort you have given and for
your personal commitment.
Much of the material for ‘Focus’ now comes into the office
electronically, so Sue Massingham, who has been working with Una at the
production end, has now offered to compile ‘Focus’ – working with Carol Thorley
and Carol Stringer, both of whom have been lending a hand, as a small production
team. Tom and Shirley Hall have been faithfully doing the printing and the
office staff, particularly Janet de Bourcier, have helped with the folding and
stapling. So we are grateful to all for this valuable work.
David Winwood
For August 2009
Today's Message from the Pastor with thanks
to the Chinese Congregation
The Chinese bible study class have just
finished reading Nehemiah. The break-through was about restoring God's
testimony, rebuilding the city wall of Jerusalem; thereby manifesting God's
Glory.
Let us reflect and learn
together through the work of Nehemiah, his attitude towards work,
his principles and how God has used him.
There are three factors when considering
Nehemiah being a man after God's own heart. First, to be concerned with
understanding God's will, and second, to fulfil what God has entrusted in him,
and third, to be willing to pay a price.
How to be concerned with understanding God's
will? One should belong to a church as a family for worship, praise and praying.
When a child has grown up, will his concerns be the same as those of his
parents? A mature Christian's concerns are those of God's. If we do not have
such basic understanding, then our spiritual life and prayers could only be very
superficial.
How to fulfil what God has entrusted in us?
To devote our lives to what God considers to be important and that becomes our
mission. We ought to be clear about the current situation. What about ideology
and reality? We must find out what our responsibilities are. This responsibility
is relevant to the Glory of God and our own efforts. Our diligence should not be
blinded when serving God and men. It should work well with God's will and be
clear about which vision comes from God.
How to pay the price? When children of God
say: "Let's build..." there will be other people shouting "Let us oppose...". In
the process of doing God's work Nehemiah has had his tears. This price, however,
brought real successes. When we are willing to carry the cross we also step into
the road of crown.
After we have been given God's revelation,
we need to come before God always seeking His light until we attain a clean and
pure heart to care for our church and congregation which God has given us.
When we are working hard for the
ever-increasing work load of the church, we must consistently offer our prayers
before God, asking Him to raise up more 'little Nehemiah's who only have God in
mind, nothing else. Let us be united and let our vision bring about real
changes.
Amen!
Hazel Yu
For July 2009
Dear One and All,
I write this after returning from pilgrimage to Holy Island, the
Isle of Whithorn and Iona. These three centres are very much the cradle of what
has become known as Celtic Christianity, but which should be more properly known
as Christianity of the Islands.
St Ninian brought the Christian message to the Picts in southern
Scotland in the 6th century. He was a nobleman and had been educated in Rome and
became a bishop. His parents had wanted him to become a soldier but his was a
call to the priesthood. His mentor was the Bishop of Tours in France, later to
become St. Martin of Tours. Our local parish church has St Martin as their
patron saint. Ninian was a profoundly spiritual man and succeeded in converting
the native population. He was often to be found on retreat in a local cave on
the southernmost coast of Galloway, which is still there to this day and a
beautiful location.
Then of course came St. Columba from Ireland. Again his mission was
to the Picts. Columba or Column Cille (angel of the church) had been exiled from
his native land after schism in the synod - nothing changes - which concerned
his copying of a psalter without permission. It led to a war during which many
died. He was left with a choice, excommunication or exile. Fortunately he chose
the latter and vowed to convert at least as many people to Christianity as had
died in war at home.
Columba impressed the local Pictish leaders and was granted the
island of Iona as a base for mission, study and prayer. Iona is hard enough to
get to today, even with excellent modern transport, but in those days travel
must have been a nightmare. But travel he did, by boat and foot, venturing to
the north of Scotland, including Inverness. Legend has it, in Adomnan's Life of
Columba, that he even had an encounter with the Loch Ness monster; rescuing a
man from the jaws of large creature from the deep.
From Iona the monks travelled all over Scotland and the north east
of England. St Aidan, a monk on Iona, was sent to Lindisfarne to mission there
and in the kingdom of Northumbria, which stretched as far south as the midlands.
His predecessor has failed to impress the Northumbrians as he was too hard a
task master and could not get on with the people. Aidan was critical of him and
was challenged to do better. Put simply, Aidan befriended the locals and spread
the Gospel through friendship. King Oswald, the Nothumbrian king was delighted,
and rather like John Wesley, Aidan was gifted a horse to permit him to travel
further and preach the gospel. Unlike Wesley, Aidan sold the horse and gave the
money to the poor!
While on our journey we learnt more of Bede of Jarrow, the only
English saint to become a Doctor of the Church and of St Cuthbert, who like
Bede, was finally laid to rest in Durham Cathedral.
On our last night together we celebrated Holy Communion with a Celtic liturgy in
St Cuthbert's chapel at Ushaw College, a Roman Catholic seminary and part of
Durham University. The chapel is breathtakingly beautiful, designed by Pugin and
our Roman Catholic hosts were most hospitable. Indeed, we celebrated Aldersgate
Sunday, on Lindisfarne and Bro. Damian, the parish priest, made us all most
welcome during his normal Sunday service. One of Charles Wesley's lesser known
hymns was sung and we celebrated Holy Communion together. The hospitality
offered to us throughout the pilgrimage, from every denomination we encountered,
was really humbling.
On our return home we ventured into Lincoln Cathedral and had a
splendid guided tour of this most impressive building. At one point we were
joined by Jonnie Rotten of Sex Pistols fame - who would have thought it!
I suspect we all learnt many things and took away a great many
useful experiences. The church of the 6th to 9th century was hard pressed in
this country, but the zeal, courage, humility and scholarly endeavour of such as
Ninian, Columba, Aidan and Bede allowed the light to shine in the darkness. We
have much to learn from their example and use in our present day and the
commitment to Christian mission is at its heart.
Every blessing,
Simon. 
Afterword:
It occurs to me that this will be my last minister's letter. It has
been a privilege serving at Epsom Methodist Church on two occasions and I offer you my thanks for
all your kindness and loving support over the years. I have thoroughly enjoyed
being with you.
I have been lucky too in having good colleagues, first in David
Coote, KK Yap and Hazel Yu and so too in David Winwood who has always been so
supportive.
I must pay tribute to my dear old friend Michael Whelton, who has
been, as he has been to so many, a father in Christ. His wisdom, joy, friendship
and Christian love have meant so much. On the first occasion I met Michael he
said to me “We have been really looking forward to a good probationer coming to
Epsom Methodist Church, sadly we've got you!" At that he laughed and I'm glad to say we teased each
other unmercifully for the next 13 years. Thanks Michael for everything.
So now to Plymouth and a new chapter begins.
For June 2009
Strangers into Citizens
I was deeply moved when I joined
Christians from other denominations to celebrate a ‘National Day of Action’ at
the Methodist Central Hall recently. It was a ‘Strangers into Citizens’ Gospel
Service. Revd Ermal Kirby of the London District was the co-host at this Gospel
Service. During the service, there was time to share and reflect by people of
different nationalities about their stories through a very difficult journey.
After the service, we all joined a mass rally at Trafalgar Square. For many of
us, we took part as Christian people to create communities of moral discourse
and social action.
Those present took part in a
rally with a peaceful walk with banners and Union Jack in their hands. On my
way home, I reflected on passages read during the service. The one that touched
me was, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and
you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in” (Matthew
25:35).
This familiar passage describes
acts of mercy we can all do every day. These acts do not depend on wealth,
ability, or intelligence; they are simply freely given and freely received. Do
we have excuses to neglect those who have deep needs? Think of people such as
those who are in Zimbabwe or our response to Christian Aid Week. Jesus demands
our personal involvement in caring for others’ needs. And in Jesus’ second
greatest command is to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
Who are our neighbours in this
land? Jesus says that if we truly love God and our neighbour, we will keep this
commandment and act naturally and positively. The reason that we are called to
love our neighbour is not only because this is for the common good, but also the
image of God is present in everyone.
The image of God
What is the image of God? We
were made in the ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ of God (Gen 1:26). I believe that the
image of God refers to recognising the image of God in each person that if we
fail to love our neighbour, we actually fail to love God. To love God and love
our neighbours cannot be separated. Christians conform to God's commands.
This concept reminds us also that if anyone says, “I love God”, yet hates his
brother, he is a liar (1John 4:20). It is easy to say that we love God when
that love does not cost us anything more than weekly attendance at religious
services. The real test of our love for God is how we communicate, accept,
tolerant, respect, love and care for the people right in front of us, our family
members and fellow Christians.
Christ-like image
Jesus Christ is the perfect
image of God. As we are re-created in his image, by his presence in us, we are
being changed in our relationships with other humans and with God. Jesus is our
perfect example. There are many Gospel stories that Jesus welcomes the
Samaritan woman, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, those who suffer from
disease, and Jesus even calls us to love our enemies too. All these stories
reflect the common message that Jesus sees the image of God in these people to
be honoured, cared for, respected, served and loved. Jesus advocates emotions
such as love in interpersonal attitude and faith in interaction with God.
Christians must become more Christ-like, so that the image of God is in each and
every person.
The Church
The church has the
responsibility to prepare God's people for works of service, and working toward
unity in faith and the knowledge of Christ and maturity in him. Worship service,
education, social needs and prayer are all within the responsibility of the
church.
Physical needs are important.
Just as all humans have the duty to avoid bodily harm and cursing because of the
image of God. Christians have the duty to take positive actions for others. The
church not only teaches Christians to perform physical works of service that
help the needy, but also sets an example of ministering to physical needs, as
Jesus did.
The church has social
responsibility and morality to all who are being transformed into the image of
Christ. The church teaches about God and Christ and exhorts people to accept the
relationship with God that is offered through Christ and the Spirit. A
love-based relationship with God, in turn, carries with it obligations regarding
our relationship with other people including strangers.
Conclusion
We are made in God's image; this
image will not be realized unless we become conformed to the image of Christ in
us. To be living in God's image, we must be in a closer relationship with God
and with God’s people, using our minds and our authority to serve God and our
fellow Christians and non-Christians. This is what it means to be in the image
of God and conformed to the perfect image of his Son. Amen.
With every blessing,
Hazel Yu
It’s Koinonia!
“Community” has always been an
essential emphasis in the Christian life. Some of the post-reformation
interpretations of Christian experience tended to individualise our relationship
with God, but the New Testament is clear – our relationship with God is
personal, even intimate through the love of Christ, but of necessity it has
corporate dimensions. We are called to love God but also to love our
neighbour.
The Methodist Church, from its
beginning, has cherished a personal experience of God, but always in the context
of rich fellowship within the church - spilling over into service to the wider
community. The New Testament word was Koinonia, which is usually translated as,
“Fellowship”, but it could equally be translated as, “Community”. Koinonia was
the work of the Holy Spirit which is found at the heart of Holy Communion. The
word communion has its root in the same Greek word – Koinonia. Are you still
with me?
Community Tactics!
Aristotle was the first to
define the word “Community”. He defined it as,
“A group of people having
shared values”. By the 1950s sociologist George Hillery noted about ninety
different ways in which we use the word “community” – an economic community, the
black or ethnic community, the stamp-collecting community, a neighbourhood
community, the medical community, a church community, the Muslim community ….
there is such a wide diversity in its usage that the only defining feature is
that is describes people who have at least one major thing in common, even
though they may not share the closeness which is sometimes associated with the
word community.
In the 1960s, as my ministry
began in Glasgow, Community Development and Community Action was beginning to
reach the UK from the USA, as ways of working with people. We formed a group at
the University to study these approaches and to apply them in our different
spheres of work. Some were social workers, some worked with housing
associations, some were community workers, youth workers or ministers who were
working with the wider community as well as within churches.
By the time I moved to my second
appointment in Gillingham, Kent, the Universities were sending students from
their courses in Social Work / Community Work for practical placements in the
Student Unit as St Peter’s Methodist Church and Centre. Half of my work there
was in supervising the development of the students within the law clinic, the
homeless group, the welfare rights group, a one-parent family group, within the
youth work and children’s work and other similar projects which we were setting
up within the church. All these things were, of course, alongside the Women’s
Fellowship, Bible study group, Guides and Scouts, pastoral care and counselling
and the worshipping life of the church.
The whole process was about
people working with people – pooling their experience and abilities to
develop a stronger sense of community, within which people can grow more
confident and able.
From Experience
It became abundantly clear that
we grow in confidence, trust, cooperation, mutual support and understanding and
in becoming an enriched and happy community – by knowing each other and by
meeting face to face, by understanding our separate goals and discovering our
shared objectives.
Building community is the work
of the Holy Spirit, but it also needs quite an effort from us! I love the
community at Epsom Methodist Church but I am also aware of some of the tensions and frustrations
that sometimes arise between groups and the misunderstandings which can arise
from the isolation and distance which one group can have from another. The
harmony and joy of the community then suffers.
Epsom Methodist Church Community Day
I don’t imagine that there will
be an amazing transformation on the morning of May 9th, but our
Community Day can provide a small step towards closer understanding and closer
relationships between the many groups which are part of the Epsom Methodist
Church Community.
If you are among those who have
been able to give another bit of your time in order to share in the programme on
that day – thank you. I hope that it will be a little step forward and
therefore a little bit beneficial to each of us, to all of our groups, and to
the Epsom Methodist Church community. Any contribution you are able to make towards the greater
harmony, happiness and service of the Epsom Methodist Church community is of immense value. Sadly,
it is not always fully acknowledged but, believe me, it is greatly needed. If
you have something in mind which may help our overall work and is not evident,
please don’t hesitate to make an offer – and pray that the Sprit of God will be
at work powerfully in building up our corporate community in true Koinonia –
reflecting God’s love in our life.
If
you can make it, I hope to see you on 9th May 2009.
As
always,
David Winwood
Pastor
Kok Kong Yap Farewell to Epsom Methodist Church
First and foremost, we thank God
our heavenly Father for His mercy, love and grace of salvation. God has
chosen not me alone but also members of my family to receive salvation. We
become children of God, have an opportunity to serve and proclaim the Word
of His Kingdom. God works in His mysterious way, I and my family moved
into a wonderful land in England. This opens the opportunity for me to
proclaim the Good News and to minister to a congregation with a pastoral
responsibility in a church.
Time flies like the speed of an
arrow. Nine years has past so quickly since my arrival in March, 2000. For
the past nine years, with God’s grace, and the care, support, help and love
from Superintendent Minister, minister colleagues, leaders of the leadership
team, members of the Chinese and English congregations, it has enabled me to
grow, minister and reach out and evangelise.
For now, I give thanks to God
and to each one of you I say a sincere thank you as well. Your patience,
support, love and care during my stay at Epsom Methodist Church are beyond words.
May God Himself reward you personally.
My wish is to see members of the
Chinese and the English congregations at to love one another for the sake of
the Gospel work with one accord, revive the Good News, seek the power of the
Holy Spirit to guide you and pray broadly.
Zechariah says in 4:6 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit”, says
the Lord Almighty. May the revival of the spiritual fire ignite each one of
you in your heart.
Reflect on John Wesley, he
ignited the Good News like spreading a fire. We need to work hard and to
aim for each person on earth to receive the Good News.
“The world is your parish”.
I wish members of the Chinese
and English congregations of Epsom Methodist Church to pray for me and my
family often and we will also remember you in our prayers always.
We may live in different places
but we have the same purpose to spread the Good News. So let us bring the
good News to people of all nationality and every race. Bring it to all four
corners of the earth to the end of the world. May God’s beloved people be
led to the Kingdom of Heaven.
All glory and honours belong to God, the
Father. Amen.
Pastor
Kok Kong Yap
The Drama of Easter
Frequently we speak of ‘Telling
the Christian Story’ as there is great power in the spoken word, but as
Christ takes His final steps towards the cross, every day is packed with
action rather than words. Perhaps the die was cast, for the drama of those
final days, in the wilderness of temptation at the beginning of Christ’s
ministry. The wrestling in His soul in the desert of temptation resonates
in the prayers of Gethsemane and His suffering on the cross.
The struggle in the heart and
mind of Christ is brilliantly captured in the disturbing drama ‘Temptations’
by Michael J Austin. This is why I want to bring this script into the
devotions of Holy Week. It echoes again in his work, ‘Gethsemane’, and in
Dennis Potter’s ‘Son of Man’ or in the dramatic tension between Judas and
Jesus in the musical production, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’. There are many
other Easter dramas which seek to re-enact the story of Jesus. This Easter
we want to engage with the drama which is itself within the scriptural
story.
Action
Drama is about what we see, hear
and feel. It is action as well as words. This year we will seek to enter
into the drama of Holy Week and reflect on the action and emotion of those
events. Holy Week began in the dramatic entry of Christ into Jerusalem and
the action continued as He drove money changers from the temple. His
attention to a widow’s sacrificial coin made it glow with glory, compared to
the extravagant and flamboyant gifts of the wealthy! Jesus must have been
seen as the best stand-up act in the temple, when He humiliated the
authorities with His punch line ‘Render to Caesar’. He let rip at the
religious leaders. The whole crowd was staggered when He claimed that He
could pull down the temple and build it up again in three days. He
certainly knew how to hold the attention of the audience, when He spoke of
the most dramatic coming of the Son of Man on clouds with glory! Then it
must have seemed that Jesus had fallen from the heights of great vision to
the depths of profanity, when He allowed a prostitute to anoint Him with
oil. The action continues as He washes feet, breaks bread, is bathed in His
own tears and sweats in the torment of Gethsemane, is kissed by His betrayer
…. and He carries a cross.
The gospel writers tell of the
crucifixion with simplicity and power. Christ’s words from the cross strike
home with dramatic impact – ‘Father forgive them’, ‘Why have you forsaken
me?’, ‘It is finished!’, and His final prayer, ‘Into your hands …’
‘Very early on the first day of
the week’ …. with these words, gently and quietly, we are led towards the
almost unbelievable end of the gospel story. After the traumatic events of
Good Friday, how did the women and the disciples find the emotional energy
to cope with the events of that day – the stone being rolled back, the shock
of an empty tomb, the fears that His body had been stolen? . …. Then the
messages about Jesus being alive, claims to have seen Him and heard Him and
a transforming revelation during the breaking of bread at Emmaus? No wonder
some of them did not believe, and thought that the words were nonsense!
Each of these incidents is quite
staggering but the great drama of the gospel, expressed in the action packed
events of Holy Week, was in what God was doing in Christ on the cross and
through the Resurrection. What He did was for us, and for all the world –
every one of us is in the cast.
Contemporary Drama
The great joy of Easter Day is
in the realisation that we are participants in this life-giving drama. We
are changed as the spirit of Emmaus opens our eyes, as the truth of God’s
saving-love touches our lives and the dramatic impact of the Risen, living
Lord transforms us.
If we come together, in faith
and expectation, to enter into the Easter drama, it could be that, like the
disciples, we are stunned by the reality of Easter Day. We could find Jesus
standing among us saying, ‘Peace be with you’, and, ‘As the Father has sent
me, I am sending you.’ Then we will know that we are in the cast. We will
be part of the action and through us, and through our church here at Epsom
Methodist Church,
the true life drama will go on.
David Winwood
The year of the Ox.
Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year. It starts in late
January to mid-February, a date between 21st January and 20th
February. The lunisolar Chinese calendar determines Chinese New Year dates.
This year, the 1st day falls on 26th January 2009. In
the traditional Chinese Culture, lichun is a solar term marking the start of
spring, which occurs around the 4th February. Alongside the
12-year cycle of the animal zodiac, there is also a 10-year cycle of
heavenly terms. Each of the ten heavenly terms is associated with one of
the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and
Water. These elements rotate every two years while a yin and yang
association alternates every year. Thus, producing a combined cycle that
repeats every 60 years.
I
wish you all a Happy New Year again, in Cantonese, ‘Sun Nin Fai Lok’.
Covenant with God
At Christmas we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ into this world to
fulfil the promises of God made to His people. At the beginning of each
New Year, it is of the Methodist tradition we renew our covenant with God.
During our covenant service, we responded together to ask God to strengthen
us with faith so that we will act upon God’s Word to meet the needs of our
Church. Through the renewal of our Covenant with God, our responsibilities
and commitments individually and collectively as a Church can be further
enhanced and focused.
In Christian life, covenant is an integral part of our personal faith and
experience. It spreads throughout the whole Bible. We cannot ignore it if
we desire to know God because He reveals himself as a covenant-making and
covenant-keeping God.
Commitment
Covenant requires individual’s commitment to maintain the life of a living
church. I have realised that certain tasks that I do such as pastoral
visits have brought God’s love, warmth and peace to those visited. Within
the church family, we need to encourage fellowship through visit. We should
commit to visiting those who cannot attend church services regularly. As
our relationships and friendships are strengthened as a church, we can
radiate God’s love into our community.
With your help we can achieve great things. Our focus is to complete the
task which our Lord Jesus Christ has given us. We cannot proclaim the
gospel of God’s love with any degree of integrity if we do not show our
commitment in church life.
Being a part in ministry
A mother once showed me a year 10 booklet from a local school. On its
cover, it read: “Put God in charge of your work, then what you have planned
will take place”. I suppose this statement is part of the school’s
programme to ensure that pupils’ development is on a positive attitude about
God. I am impressed about the way faith is promoted in this school.
When we commit ourselves to becoming Christian we are adopted into the
family of God, to become sons and daughters and heirs. God who has done so
much for us in the past will continue to help us in the future. His love
and care will never fail us. We can rest on Him as a loving Father who will
love us, protect us and guide us always - through whether our good times or
through our tough times. We pray that all tasks and needs of the church
will be met by spiritually and practically minded people.
It is a privilege that we are called to ministry at Epsom Methodist Church.
The spirit of God dwells within us. The Holy Spirit strengthens us and
leads us in the right path, producing the fruits of love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control.
With every blessing
Hazel Yu
Christmas
Celebrations!
Warm and heartfelt thanks are
expressed to everyone who contributed to the host of Christmas events at
Epsom Methodist Church. Oodles of energy, talent and hard work made it a
wonderful time for many people.
Lots of the groups and
organisations arranged some lovely Christmas parties. The young people
presented a novel and enjoyable nativity drama on Parade & Gift Sunday. The
Guides received a bumper number of fine gifts that morning, then volunteers
packed them and others delivered them …. and thanks have been coming in from
all directions.
The Silhouette Theatre Company
presented a hilarious and moving version of ‘A Christmas Carol’. The Scouts
delivered hundreds of Christmas cards. The COTE Carol Concert brought
together the Epsom & Ewell Silver Band, the Pilgrim Singers and a number of
Christmas readings with lots of laughter in between. Christmas trees and
decorations have given a warm Christmas feeling to our new building for the
first time this year, welcoming people in. The little children produced a
lovely nativity service for the under 5s and their parents and
grandparents. The church was packed for a splendid and moving Carol
Service, which included a candlelight procession, the Chinese choir and
English singers and a bit of moving drama from a ‘shepherd boy’. Our hearts
and voices were lifted by and array of brass and other instruments blended
with the organ and keyboards. The Christmas message provided an opportunity
for folk to support the victims of poverty, hunger and brutality in
Zimbabwe. Over £1,300 was sent from that service and about another £750 has
been added to it since.
Those who came to the
Christingle gave money for the Junior Missionary Work around the world, the
late Communion Service collected for Mission Alongside the Poor and the
Christmas Day collection was for Action for Children (formerly NCH).
You won’t be surprised to know
that there was the usual excitement at the Christingle Service on Christmas
Eve, although the moments when the children filled the church with
candlelight, whilst singing ‘Away in a Manger’, was as holy and quiet as it
usually is.
The late service of Holy
Communion finished as we moved into Christmas day, when we filled the
welcome area with candlelight to sing ‘Yea Lord we greet Thee, born this
happy morning’. And we were singing it again to begin the 10.30am Christmas
Day family service, where we enjoyed each others Christmas presents and
remembered how all the things around us at Christmas are declaring the
message of God’s love at Christ’s birth – Christmas trees and holly,
mistletoe and Santa Claus, the giving of gifts, mince pies, boxing day …..
By that time a lot of hard work had been going on in the kitchen, preparing
for ‘Christmas Alone’, when around 60 elderly people were welcomed for their
Christmas dinner and an afternoon of entertainment.
If you participated,
contributed, supported, prayed for or prepared any of these many events –
then thank you for making it a wonderful Christmas at
Epsom Methodist Church..
David Winwood
and
2009
Dear One and All,
And so Christmas comes again and soon another year passes by. What sort of a
year has it been for you? There will have been highs and for some there will
have been some awful lows too. Who would have thought at the beginning of
the year that we would witness an economic crash as significant as that of
the 1930's. Astonishing! This was the year too that a black American was
elected to the White House. Astonishingly significant and greatly to be
welcomed. The year has shown us an awesome spectacle in China as the
Olympics unfolded, but so too another 44 servicemen and women lost their
lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our year is bitter-sweet. The turning of the
year can bring evident hope as much as pangs of melancholy.
During this coming festive season I urge you to take a look at your
relationship with Christ. Take some time to reflect on the importance and
quality of that relationship. How's it doing, where is it going, and what
does it feel like?
Are you satisfied with the relationship, or have you a feeling that it is
not as it should be? I know the Christmas season is hectic and there are
just so many things that have to be done, but in reality they are quite
trivial in comparison to the questions I asked of you.
Christmas is about Christ and Christ is about you. The gift of Christmas is
that God's love for you is grounded in Jesus. As that love is earthed,
entering into the messiness of life, life is given meaning, value and
potential. Here is the gift. Take it, open it, taste it, inhale it, let your
senses relish the subtle simplicity of a gift so precious but so open to
you.
Our Advent readings lead us towards Christmas. Our carols sing out the
wonder of love, grace and hope. Our tradition immerses us in the ancient
story and its timeless truth. In a world filled with pain and cynicism, so
too something good and hopeful stirs in our hearts and the light overcomes
the darkness. The light is Christ's presence with us and Christ's light will
enliven our lives if we but submit in humble acceptance of our ultimate
need; to be loved, forgiven and adopted as daughters and sons of God.
I wish you and your families the real blessing of Christmas. I pray the
Peace of Christmas will bring you real joy. I pray the child in you will
hear the angels sing and that the gift of Christmas will be real in your
lives, for the sake of the Lord Jesus.
So may Gods blessing go with you all in 2009
As ever
Simon
Bible Talk
I was bowled over to discover
that more than 40 people had signed up for the Bible Study Series on ‘New
Testament People and Places’. I hope that they are enjoying the sessions as
much as I am. We are discovering how closely New Testament writings relate
to the original destinations and getting the feel of those places, through
slides and music, in ways which open up the meaning of the scriptures and
enable us to hear God’s word for today. I think we’re finding that the
study enriches us in knowledge, in deeper spiritual understanding and in the
fellowship that we share. I am grateful to those who have been
participating and contributing to the whole experience.
Bible today
No one could suggest that the
Bible is the most popular book of the 21st Century, even though
it was, until recently, a best seller! Most witnesses in a courtroom still
swear on the Bible, the Coronation vows are made on the Bible and Senator
Obama or perhaps McCain, will take his oath of office on the Bible. The
Orange Order carry an open Bible at the head of their parades and frequently
you’ll find an open Bible included in a town’s Coat of Arms but, in most
cases, that seems to be using it more as a lucky charm rather than a living
word – to be read, understood and to influence our life and faith.
Misuse
Some people argue against the
Bible as though it is claiming to be an accurate science, history,
cosmology, or psychology – which it is not. Nor is it an almanac,
predicting the date the world will come to an end, or predicting the maximum
number of people who can be accommodated in heaven! If you try hard enough
you can find a biblical text to prove any crazy theory, but that’s not what
the bible is for. Did you know, for example, that there’s a suggestion that
Shakespeare wrote the Psalms? Well, he died at 46, he wrote 46 sonnets and
46 plays – and if you look up Psalm 46 and count the 46th word
from the beginning, you will find that it is ‘Shake’, and the 46th
word from the end is ‘Spear’. What more proof do you want?
Book of Faith
The Bible is a book about God
and about our human experience. It helps us to know what He is like and
guides us in our relationship and response to God. It tells us about
Jesus. It is the main source of inspiration and authority for Christians,
but it is not easy reading – and many Christians are not familiar with its
contents.
The Bible is an exciting book,
full of human interest and touching on the deepest experiences of life, but
most of us need a little help to understand it.
It is not one book but many. It
was written over a period of 1000 years. It brings together many different
kinds of writing including – history, poetry, stories, sermons, letters and
personal testimony. They have all been woven together to express the
experience of God’s people, to communicate faith, and to disclose God’s
nature and his will.
The Bible was not written to
give us a factual account of everything since creation! It includes a lot
of facts but they are secondary to faith. The Bible shows us that God works
in history from the ancient times of Abraham to St Paul and beyond. In the
Old Testament an understanding of God slowly unfolds, and in the New
Testament it is seen most clearly in Jesus. He gives authority to the whole
Bible. It’s not possible to understand part of the Old Testament without
looking at it in the light of what Jesus did and said.
Have another go
Bible Sunday used to be during
Advent, but it was moved to the end of October. So November would be a good
time to have another go at reading the Bible for yourself. Use a modern
translation so that it is understandable. Bible reading notes would help
you with the background and the meaning. Read your Bible with other people
so that you can help each other. Try reading Mark’s gospel right through
like a novel. Use a good, readable translation and get an overall feel of
the life of Jesus. Give yourself time. It’s better to sit down for an hour
once a week, rather than rush thoughtlessly through a verse every day.
Follow the scripture passages on the screen when you’re at church. Make a
little note of anything you don’t understand – and please ask. We’ll all
gain a little when we share our questions about the bible, and I think we’ll
probably gain a little bit more when we share some of the ways in which the
truth of the Bible questions us.
Happy reading,
With my love and prayers,
David Winwood
Zimbabwe -
URGENT
Now it’s
starvation!
Each month the
Zimbabwe Victims Support Fund (run by three of us in the UK) has been
sending £5,000 to enable the volunteers at Hillside Methodist Church,
supported by some other churches in Bulawayo, to feed street children, old
people, rural villages, poor urban areas and around 400 come to the church
each week to seek support from the feeding scheme.
Last month
(October 2008) the same amount of food cost £8,500.
Shops and
warehouses are empty!
People are now
starving.
The fund has
enough to sustain its support until January or February 2009.
But then
what?
If you can
help, even a little, please do.
Gifts can be
sent directly, or to Richard Smith, EMC Treasurer (cheques made to EMC, but
stating that it is for the Zimbabwe appeal. Then it can also be Gift Aided,
if you say so.)
If it’s
possible please pray for relief from this desperate situation.
David Winwood
Sitting Down!
The Methodist Church has some
weird and wonderful terminology – ‘Circuit’, ‘Connexion’, ‘Supernumerary’
etc. Another example is that ministers do not ‘retire’ they ‘sit down’,
and they have to seek permission to do so! From what I have seen of retired
people they don’t seem to have much time for ‘sitting down’, so I have
agreed to stay standing a little longer!
2009 is my retirement year, but
after extensive consultation about my ministry in the church and Circuit, as
required by our Methodist system, and a rather overwhelmingly generous
report, the Circuit Meeting on 11 September invited me to extend my time
here. I gladly agreed to stay for a further year until July 2010.
Wilma and I have been asked to
attend a Retirement Course, so that we can receive a lot of good advice
about pensions, health and housing and I can learn how to ‘sit down’ without
falling apart!
Many people at EMC have asked
where we will live in retirement, and the honest answer is – we really don’t
know!We very much want to be in the London area, as that is home to us, but
we do not have property or the means to buy any, so we are hoping that it
may be possible to rent a place from the Ministers Housing Society ….
although they seem to have very few places indeed around London! Naturally,
we’re a bit anxious about that but, as usual, we have to trust God.
Trust
When I reflect on our history I
am inclined to think that God does not have a very good track record when it
comes to trusting that things will turn out as we hope and pray! Early in
my ministry I was convinced that my call from God was to minister in local
congregations and within the community, but before too many years I found
myself with a Connexional responsibility and working nationally with about a
hundred thousand young people in Methodist youth groups! That was a
tremendous privilege and immensely rewarding, so it turned out that although
God got it wrong, he seemed to know just what He was doing after all! I had
always been interested in the world church but, as a young man, it became
clear that my gifts and inclinations were best suited to ministry within my
own culture. Then through the 1980s I found myself being invited to preach
and lead courses in the USA, the Bahamas, Australia, Zimbabwe and in many
parts of Europe. Then on top of that a request came to work with the
Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, which took us to live in Bulawayo for five
years. Those years were full of challenging and enriching experience so,
again, God got the better of me! When we returned from Zimbabwe we had
decided it would be right to return to the south of England but we landed in
St Annes, Lancashire. We loved it there – so again we can’t complain. But
of this I am absolutely convinced – that to be offered a house to rent in
Skye or at Lands End cannot possibly be woven into the elusive will of God
for us!
If God sees fit to provide us
with a home, through the caring support of the church, for forty two years
of ministry, and provide an income from which we could hardly buy a posh
garden shed, then I am sure that He will not dump us at the end of the
line. So here we go again – trusting God!
Still learning
When I see TV pictures of
hurricanes devastating whole communities, destroying thousands of homes and
leaving people destitute: when I see pictures of bombed out houses and
people fleeing for their lives, or crowded into temporary camps where they
have to survive for years: when I hear reports from friends in Zimbabwe of
houses being destroyed by bulldozers and whole communities being disrupted
and removed at gunpoint, because they do not support a cruel and oppressive
government – then I am ashamed of being anxious about our future. It makes
me hope that we will be thankful for whatever provision may come our way.
After all these years of preaching about ‘trust’ – I must still learn to
trust God and pray that He will find a way.
He commissioned His followers to
care for the homeless, so I am certain that that is never a condition God
would want to inflict on the thousands around the world who suffer
homelessness, but at the same time, I must remember that ‘The Son of Man had
nowhere of His own to lay his head’. (Matthew 8 v 20: Luke 9 v 58).
So we are very happy that we
will be with you for a couple of years from now, in which I hope we can,
together, strengthen our church and extend its mission – ‘giving praise for
all that is past and trusting God for all that is to come’. (See Hymn 277).
With love David Winwood
Dear One and All,
The new 'Plan' for the Circuit arrived the other day (if this means nothing
then see footnote first). Some of you, I know, are great 'plan' watchers and
perhaps share in the excitement of seeing who will be preaching at our
various churches during the next quarter. Others of you will yawn, reach for
the Prozac or feel I should get out a bit more! Whatever your feelings I ask
you to stick with me a bit longer.
The Plan is a unique document and goes deep into Methodist history. It says
something about us as a Methodist people and about us too as Christians,
which is far more important. What does it say about us as Methodists?
It says this at least, that we are a people under discipline and not
tyranny. The discipline is this that both lay and ordained who bring their
gifts, talents, weaknesses and frailties are willing to be subject to
direction. It may be far easier simply to ask to preach and lead worship at
our favourite churches, where one suspects there will be a good reception,
rather than to accept being placed, at the discretion of the Superintendent,
who has absolute power in this matter, in any of the churches within the
Circuit. Both lay and ordained people willingly accept this discipline and
joyfully respond, but it does require a willingness to be under discipline.
It may be that some would pour scorn on this as being a fairly light kind of
discipline, but then perhaps those who do have never had to bring a hard
message to a church during a sermon, would least of all understand the
pressure this brings on the preacher or minister. It may be tempting simply
to walk away or not preach about what truly is laid on one's heart. This is
discipline.
The Plan is not simply a document restricted to British Methodism for I have
seen it in the United States and elsewhere. Its authority binds us together
as a Methodist community, larger than the Anglican Communion, across the
face of the world. It reminds us of a common heritage, a set of values and
an implicit demand that we recognise that our church is part of something
far greater and that the discipline of Methodism, rather like that of the
Jesuits, is international in flavour but common in intent.
The Plan says something too about us as Christians. The Plan follows the
liturgical year and in so doing imbues us with the sights and sound, seasons
if you like of the Christian year from Advent through to the long Trinity
weeks of the summer. It marks our passage of Christian living. Perhaps most
importantly it marks the fact that the church is a worshipping community
seeking Christ at its heart. I didn't ever expect to say this, but perhaps I
could be so bold in saying that in the Plan we see the work of the Holy
Spirit! Wow, what a claim! But why not? For those brave souls who have heard
the call of God to preach the Good News and that far greater number who have
heard God's calling to them to follow Christ in the church, through the
publication of the Plan, hear the Good News brought to them. Each preacher
will bring their own unique perspective, each service will have its own
style, but whether in sacrament or preaching each will bring Christ. In
fulfilling the obligations of the Plan, the preacher, the minister, the
musicians and congregation will play its part and in so doing our lives are
immeasurably enriched. Our task is to hold firm to the faith and I contend
that the discipline of the Plan is a useful tool in enabling us to do just
that.
So the next time you pick up your copy of 'The Plan', see it with new eyes,
as a theological tool, a statement of the church's mission and the
possibility of meeting Christ in a new way.
Every blessing,
Simon.
Footnote:-
The new 'Plan' for the Circuit arrived the other day, if you have
not seen the Circuit Plan then download......................here.
and
My Journey
My heart rejoices when I made my
commitment to Christ because my inner peace and joy told me of God’s
greatness.
On reflection,
my response to God’s call was gradual. After I had been working in nursing
and teaching, ministry is my third career. I had doubts and fears to begin
with. Am I the right person? I have asked God many times because I do not
think that I am a good speaker.
I believe God has a personal plan for each of us. God’s purpose for us in
our lives can only be accomplished when we obey and trust Him.
God first called me when I was living in Leatherhead. My husband and I
wanted to offer our house to be a place for worship, for prayer and
Bible study.
It was because when we looked around the churches, there were only few
Chinese Christians attending. So we started a house group with eight
people. The number increased each week with non-Christians joining. In
four months time, there were about fifty people worshipping in our
house.
I felt God’s call to me become stronger as our house group increased in
number. It was the Methodist Superintendent who introduced the Faith and
Worship Course and I responded to God’s call by embarking on this course.
Through prayers and conversation with the Superintendent, I felt God’s call
to Presbyterian ministry became clear. Going through various levels of
interviews and assessments, I was approved to further my training to become
a Minister in Wesley House, Cambridge. I enjoyed the training as a Local
Preacher which gave me a foundation to learn more of God’s Word. I learned
much more in the Pre-ordination training with Pastoral Theology in Wesley
House, Cambridge. To become a student again taught me humility. I had to
re-learn my study skills. It took me a total of seven years in training
since the Faith and Worship Course. God has given me patience in this
extended time to become His servant. It is God’s grace and mercy to appoint
me to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (John 15:16).
My Commitment
I am now committed to serve in
Epsom Methodist Church. I am pleased to be able to serve both the Chinese
speaking and the English speaking congregations and have the opportunity to
bring two cultures together. God’s purpose is sure for me to minister in
this community. I know God has called me to make disciples of all nations
(Matthew 28:19a). I aim towards Jesus’ Great Commission to bring the
Gospel to all people.
Last month, I had a chance to join a short term mission to Qingyuen in
mainland China. I received further inspiration in this mission field. But
I know a mission field can be very close to home. It could be a neighbour
who has not heard the Good News or neighbours who need help. Jesus calls us
to spend our lives in the service of the least, the lost and lonely. It is
about putting Jesus teaching into practice. I give praise and thanks to God
for His firm promise. He says, “I am with you always, to the end of the
age” (Matthew 28:20b). My confidence comes from Jesus. I know He will
support me to the end of the world.
The Challenge
God’s Word constantly resurfaces in my mind, “I am the Lord your God, don’t
be afraid, I will help you” (Isaiah 41:13). God’s promise and mercy are
sure from age to age, and now reaching me. It is a challenge to me with
many responsibilities to love, to care and to serve God and His people.
But, I feel secure, safe and happy because God’s Spirit is behind me. My
vision is to serve. After Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, He said, “I
have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you” (John
13:15). By the power of His Spirit, I am prepared to be more liked Jesus.
To God be all glory and praise. Amen.
Blessings,
Hazel Yu
Spirit of God among us
Thank you for a glorious
celebration weekend. I mentioned, at the time, that to say ‘thank you’ does
not seem adequate for the generosity, hard work and commitment that has
brought us to this point. It was inspiring to see more than 400 people at
the
Service of Dedication on Saturday and, with the children and young
people on Sunday there were well over that number at the morning services.
People are still talking about the joyful, challenging and uplifting
weekend.
Appropriately, at Pentecost,
there was a powerful sense of God’s Spirit among us and recognition that,
although we had taken a major step forward in renewing the buildings, this
is a new beginning in the life of the church and not an end!
In the next few months we will
be seeking to appoint a Youth Pastor to develop our ministry among young
people and to invite them to follow Jesus.
In the next few years we aim to
build a Youth Hall to improve facilities for the excellent youth work.
But now, our immediate task is
to build up the church in loyalty, commitment, personal faith and in zeal to
bring others to share in the fellowship and to find faith in God.
You may be thinking that, if we
have many more weekends like Pentecost, we won’t know where to put any more
people! But it is our calling – gently, but clearly, to share what faith
and hope we have, and to invite other people to come nearer to God.
“You will be witnesses to me at
home, at work, and further away. And you will receive power when God’s
Spirit touches your heart. (Acts 1, verse 8)
Pentecost Question
The big problem for us is, “How
shall we do that?” I mentioned the Pentecost Question in the May edition of
this newsletter. You will find it in Acts 2 verse 37, ‘They asked,
“What shall we do?”’ We are asking the same question in an age of
scepticism, mistrust of religion, secular materialism and strong media
pressure to go with the flow! So what shall we do?
Well, nothing much will happen
without prayer, faithful regular worship, as far as you are able living a
true and open Christian life and having the Spirit of God amongst us.
At the Service of Dedication,
Tom Stuckey encouraged us to talk about God, to each other and in daily
life. Richard Dawkins and other atheists have put ‘God talk’ into the
public arena again, but with all kinds of negative misrepresentations of the
Christian faith. He seeks to have the last word by demanding tangible
proof. But in our own quiet positive way we can set the record straight
about what we know of God in our experience, without claiming that we know
everything! We can do it, as Tom said, ‘By telling our stories’. Life is
full of questions and doubts, but they do not obliterate the truth.
Opportunities for action
The programme of special events
in the next 18 months is not being planned simply for our own entertainment,
but to provide opportunities to engage with people in the community, of
different interests, and to invite them to come closer. Music, art, dance
and drama sometimes reach parts of human experience that traditional worship
cannot reach. They touch spiritual dimensions in believers and in those who
may claim no faith at all. They create platforms for relationship and self
expression and they appeal too many in the community. Therefore, a Flower
Festival, a Brass Band weekend, a multi-cultural celebration and a Jazz Nite
(which are among the first in our programme) provide opportunities for each
of us to bring friends to the public events and to the Sunday worship, when
we will continue in the same spirit.
Will you make it your aim to
bring as many as you can to these weekends and to ensure that you bring at
least one new person right into the fellowship of the church in the next 12
months?
Build your Church Lord!
At the Service of Dedication I mentioned that, during the building
development, the work of the stone masons seemed like an enacted parable to
me.
Slowly and patiently they reconstructed the windows and, although the stones
were of different sizes, they chose each one to fit carefully beside the
next, supported by the stones already in place, re-building the wall with
care and with a clear sense of purpose. That is the way in which God builds
the church. Our part in this will be our willingness to be his witnesses –
living faithfully, telling others and creating personal opportunities to
discover where they fit into God’s will and purpose. We must let people
know how the life and love of Jesus can be transforming, that the fellowship
of the church can be enriching and that the Spirit of God has truly come
among us!
“We will praise him for all that has passed and trust him for all that’s to
come”
As always, David Winwood
Something to Celebrate
The birth of the Church was at Pentecost. That’s why we have chosen
Pentecost weekend, 10th and 11th May 2008 for the
Dedication and Celebration of our church and its renewed building. We are
hoping and praying for the re-birth of the church to which we belong – new
life, new energy and new people.
As Luke records what happened at Pentecost, in Acts, chapter 2, verses 1-47,
he begins by telling us that, “All the believers were gathered together in
one place”. We are hoping that our new beginning will start in the same
way. We have written to all the members, and those in the directory of the
church, inviting them to share this new beginning. On Saturday 10th
May we expect to have guests from other churches, representatives from the
town, the choir of the Chinese congregation and a song from the Brazilian
fellowship, and on Sunday 11th the Scouts and the Guides will
also be present ….. so all the believers will be coming together in one
place (and we will make sure that as many seats as possible will be ready in
the church.) If the celebration follows the pattern of Acts Chapter 2, and
3,000 people are added to our numbers (verse 41), I don’t know what we shall
do!!!
Creative Change
There are bits and pieces of the building still to be completed, but they
are being tackled one by one. I have not heard many complaints, but perhaps
some things do not suit some people. The overwhelming reaction has been of
delight and gratitude for the simplicity and spacious feel of the new
worship area, and for the focus on the cross.
The policy of the church from the outset was to open up the church building,
to make worship more visible and more accessible, and that has been well
done. We are hoping that Coffee Cup will soon be underway at the rear of
the church and in the welcome area on Monday to Friday, together with
Rendezvous and possibly snack lunches, in time. The area beyond the arch
will be kept as a prayer space, except on very full Sundays, where you can
be quiet at any time, and especially after church – when we hope that there
will be someone available each Sunday to pray with you if you wish. The
sound system carries the service into the welcome area so that people with
young babies can sit there if the baby is distressed, but still see and hear
the worship.
All sorts of new possibilities are open to us, and we would like to hear
every creative contribution about the way forward. By June we will be
launching into a series of special weekends, one each month, with
opportunities for every member of the congregation to bring a guest. The
events will create natural occasions for mission. That is, times when we
can reach into community life and to bring new people into the fellowship of
the church.
Pentecost Question
I mentioned, above, the way in which this step forward opens up the
possibility of all sorts of new and creative ideas being thrown into the
pot. I believe that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our concern is not
simply to do new things in new ways, but to share in spiritual renewal. The
danger is that groups can easily think only of themselves, and argue for
their own interests alone. Or some of us can get a bee in our bonnet about
what we think should happen and put forward ideas almost like demands! At
Pentecost the people were not seeking their own way, but God’s way. The
Pentecost question came from those who wanted to know the will of God. When
the people were stirred by the Spirit and by the gospel message they asked
Peter and the apostles, “What shall we do?”
We must share our ideas and seek the very best as we understand it, but
together we need to seek God’s guidance for the re-birth of his church among
us. We must open our hearts to ask Him, “Lord, what must we do?” Then with
renewed hope and firm resolution we must encourage one another to do it.
Thank you for all you’re your prayers, your generosity, your hard work and
your resilient hopes, which have brought us, by God’s grace, to this point
of renewal.
With my love, David Winwood
Slavery & Freedom
During the years of the slave
trade strong young men were taken by the Slavers from the Mafa people in the
Cameroon. They were oppressed and broken by their masters and they became
passive in the face of defeat – or so it seemed. They were Baptised
Christians who found a deep calm and strength within themselves – a freedom
that no–one could touch or take from them. This was their salvation, which
enabled them to be liberated and be at peace within, whilst shackled without
by the chains of slavery.
Before the Berlin wall came down
I was often at conferences or leading courses in East Germany, where I found
that Christians, who had no choice but to live in an authoritarian,
atheistic and totalitarian state, found ways to live out the freedom that
was theirs in Christ, by not allowing their mind, spirit or lifestyle to be
owned by the prevailing powers. This was frequently at considerable cost to
themselves and was surprisingly unnerving to the dominant authorities! They
also lived with spiritual freedom in circumstances which sought to enslave
them.
In South America and South
Africa the liberating power of the Christian gospel inspired many who were
oppressed by poverty and by apartide to challenge and resist unjust
governments. In Zimbabwe today, many of my Christian friends are bravely
standing for truth and justice in the hope that hungry and brutalised people
may, in time, be freed from Mugabe’s cruel regime.
Power within us
In his reflections on Easter,
Thomas Merton, a Trappist Monk said –
“True encounter with Christ liberates something in us, a power we did not
know we had
A hope, a capacity for life, a resilience, an ability to bounce back when we
thought we were completely defeated, a capacity to grow and change, a power
of creative transformation.
For the Christian there is no defeat, because Christ is risen and lives in
us, and Christ has overcome all that seeks to destroy us or to block our
human and spiritual growth.”
It is, therefore, not surprising
to find that Christians are challenged, as the world is being challenged, by
the way in which the dynamics of slavery are still rampant in the 21st
Century. I am referring to the buying and selling of people, or parts of
their bodies, to the ownership of people, and to the oppressive denial of a
full human life to some people.
Modern slavery
‘Modern Slavery’ is the term
being used to describe the trafficking of children for the ‘adoption market’
or the sex industry, the exploitation or abuse of women being recruited for
employment in legitimate jobs from areas of poverty, only to find themselves
transported to other parts of the world where they are forced into
prostitution; migrant workers who are compelled to work long hours for less
than the minimum wage in western countries who, at the same time, find that
inflated rents for inferior hostel accommodation and for minimal food has
been deducted from their wages before payment.
Some women are treated by their
husbands as servants rather than partners, and some au–pair’s are grossly
exploited. Our world economic system and our trade barriers keep millions
in poverty, third world farmers are enslaved by transnational companies and
vast populations are dependant on frugal aid from the western world.
Christians cannot keep quiet in
the face of this modern slavery. There is something in our ‘spiritual
bones’ that cries out with Moses, ‘Let my people go’, and declares with
Jesus that the ‘Spirit of the Lord demands liberty for the captives and
freedom for the oppressed’.
Christian courage
Christians dare to believe that,
not only is Christ risen, but we are risen with Christ. We risk living
within a new dimension of life – His Resurrection, His Spirit, and His
boundless life. God gives us a freedom which releases us from the chains of
prejudice, taboos, legalism and dehumanising subjection.
The Christian must venture to
live like Christ, to follow his conscience even when he/she is swimming
against the tide. If standing with the gospel and the way of Jesus means
standing against the majority that’s what we must do!
Many Christians are not free
because they submit to the domination of popular culture and media
propaganda, or they may be swallowed up by overwhelming personal
circumstances. They hide in the crowd, giving in to fashionable opinion and
afraid of being alone or of being pushed out of the crowd - they allow
themselves to be enslaved!
Freedom – God’s gift
The early Christians were
‘dangerous radicals’ who refused to be enslaved by all kinds of tyranny and
all forms of domination. They lived, and died, in the freedom of God’s
Spirit, directed by the way of love, empowered by the purpose and grace of
God.
“Freedom is what we have – Christ has set us free! Stand,
then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.”
(Galatians Chapter5 verse 1)
This matter is not for the super
mature or spiritually accomplished alone, but for every Christian. The
secret is in finding the calm reassurance and inner freedom that the Mafa
people found in Christ. Then, as our own spirit is liberated from whatever
enslaves us, so we will find the confidence and conviction which enables us
to challenge all the things, in our modern world, that bind our brothers and
sisters in slavery.
In love and peace.
David Winwood
Holy Spirit- Eternal perspective
(Please note this was written prior to the
situation that barred David sadly from leading the party
tour to Turkey)
One of the things people most dread when they read the Scripture in
church is that they will be lumbered with some of those long and unpronounceable
biblical names!
In the middle of the exciting story of Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2,
for example, the pace is mounting as people from all over the known world are
responding to the gospel message. Then verse 9 suddenly puts on the brakes, as
you struggle through – ‘Parthians, Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya …..’
You are bound to stumble over one of them! But Luke is insistent! He wants it to
be known that the impact of God’s Spirit came upon all the people, from all
places –
‘From every nation under heaven’,
he said, but probably making a tiny exaggeration!
Luke was stressing that the Holy Spirit was God’s gift of himself to
a great and diverse company of people, who were visiting Jerusalem for the
Pentecost festival. No doubt, they took their experience and the message away
with them. Luke continues the story throughout the chapters that follow, making
it clear that the power of the Holy Spirit gave birth and life to the church, as
it began to take root all over Asia Minor.
Turkey Pilgrimage
These things are on my mind because a group of us, mainly from
Carshalton Methodist Church and Epsom Methodist Church, will be in Asia Minor
(ancient Anatolia, i.e. modern Turkey) in late May 2006. We will be exploring
the life of the early church, learning about the spread of God’s mission and
visiting the places where the Holy Spirit had powerful impact in the lives of
ordinary people. We will be back to celebrate Pentecost at the beginning of
June.
Luke mentioned that pilgrims from Cappadocia were in Jerusalem at
Pentecost. They must have been caught up in that amazing experience. When they
returned, they told their friends and neighbours about Jesus Christ and a
Christian church began to grow in that troglodyte community from the earliest
days.
Cappadocia
You may have heard me waxing lyrical about Cappadocia before now as
I’m spellbound by its unique, haunting, multi-coloured, fairytale, lunar-like
landscape. People lived in caves for thousands of years. Rock houses were hewn
from inside the soft volcanic rock from about 4000BC. (If you have missed those
words then look no further – just
CLICK here.)
Christians sheltered in the caves for safety throughout the Roman
persecution. By the third century fanatical, crazy emperors claimed divinity and
demanded that they should be worshipped. Christians, who had found life and
salvation in Jesus Christ, could not give in and publicly declare that ‘Caesar
is Lord’. Later on Christians found that the caves of Cappadocia provided a
hiding place during the Arab invasions, then through the Turkish assaults and
the Muslim incursions.
For centuries this area of central Turkey provided some protection
from violence and fear. It seems surprising that faith survives through poverty
and persecution, but more than 2000 churches have been found in the region. Over
350 of them are in the Goreme valley. Churches had been carved out of the rock
or cut into tunnels that burrowed into the ground. We will be seeing the remains
of convents, monasteries, chapels and churches. Some have been painted with
magnificent frescoes, expressing the faith and worship of generations of
Christians and of a growing church. I find that Cappadocia is quite a wonderful
place to be.
Hooked
I can’t resist. I keep returning to different parts of Turkey to
explore the New Testament sites, to learn from local people and to discover more
about the early mission of the church. In doing so I am infected by the
inspiration and energy that gave life and spirit to the early followers of
Jesus. I am seeking the same Spirit that empowered them to pass on their faith
and to build up radiant and loyal Christian communities against enormous odds.
That is the Spirit I long for and pray for, to continue its work in our church –
to ensure that the building programme is, first and foremost, the work of God’s
Spirit in building the life and witness of the church, rather than building
merely in bricks and mortar!
I have chosen to continue work on the New Testament church as the
focus of my sabbatical study, when I will away from the church from
mid-September to Christmas. This means that I will be off again, exploring some
of the almost inaccessible places where Christian mission first took root.
Why am I so hooked? Well, the photogenic beauty of the strange and
‘mystical’ scenery is one reason. The fascination of the New Testament history
and spirituality is another. You could add the challenges of other
civilisations, cultures and religious convictions. But one of the things that
impress me most is in the matter of perspective! When I see the evidence and
hear the testimony of Christian communities which, from the time of the
apostles, have persisted through the struggles of history, poverty and
persecution, through suffering and through slaughter, and have survived the
affluence and power of dominant empires - it puts the troubles of life and the
problems of the church into perspective! The Eternal God is working his purpose
out as century succeeds to century. My fuss and worries for the church pale into
insignificance when I see the fingerprints on the landscape of our history. My
own sin and failure and the many problems of the contemporary church in the
modern world are but hiccoughs in the long-term plans which God is working out
with his people through the centuries. When I see these things, it tells me to
leave a little more of the worrying to God, and gives me courage and vision to
go on.
And
I pray that you will catch the Spirit, or that the
Spirit may catch you, this Pentecost.
David Winwood
Those of us who attended
this year’s ecumenical Lent Groups found much to consider and think about over
the course of the weekly sessions. The book which we followed, “Life Attitudes”
by Robert Warren and Sue Mayfield, took us through the Beatitudes, causing us
not only to look at the meaning of this well-known passage in Chapter 5 of
Matthew’s gospel but also to think about how to apply its lessons to our own
lives by means of “Get Real” challenges.
Of course the
ecumenical Lent Groups also provided a wonderful opportunity to get to know
Christians from other denominations and to share together with them. The group
which was held at the Manor Green Road Manse comprised members of 4 different
churches, and it was enriching and fascinating to hear each other’s views and
find out a little about our respective church backgrounds.
A few years ago I
came across an ‘alternative’ set of Beatitudes by Joseph Folliet which I’d like
to share with you here:
Blessed are those who
can laugh at themselves;
they will have no end of
fun.
Blessed are those who
can tell a mountain from a molehill;
they will be saved a lot
of bother.
Blessed are those who
know how to relax without looking for excuses;
they are on the way to
becoming wise.
Blessed are those who
are sane enough not to take themselves too seriously;
they will be valued most
by those about them.
Happy are you if you can
take things seriously and face serious things calmly;
you will go far in life.
Happy are you if you can
appreciate a smile and forget a frown;
you will walk on the
sunny side of the street.
Happy are if you can be
kind in understanding the attitudes of others even when the signs are
unfavourable;
you may be taken for a
fool but this is the price of charity.
Blessed are those who
think before acting and pray before thinking;
they will avoid many
blunders.
Happy are you if you
know how to hold your tongue and smile, even when people interrupt and
contradict you or tread on your toes;the Gospel has begun to seep into your
heart.
Above all, blessed are you
who recognise the Lord in all whom you meet;
the light of truth shines in
your life for you have found true wisdom.’
Yours,
Nigel Wright
CROSS AND
RESURRECTION
Easter helps
me to know that beyond every cross there is resurrection – beyond every
crisis, failure, worry, pain and disaster, although we may not be able to
perceive or believe when in the midst of it, there will be life and hope
again – in this world or beyond it.
We can only know that by faith and trust in God. When we are in darkness
and distress it frequently feels as though there will never be a glimmer of
light again. Even when we have chosen to walk in the light with Christ, we
still stumble and fall along the way, as he did on his way to crucifixion.
Yet we dare to believe in forgiveness and renewal, in healing and peace.
Part of our task is to help one another along the way with loving prayer,
compassionate understanding and practical support. That is an essential
part of our ministry as a church, which is to be shared by every Christian.
We are called to help carry each other’s cross and to be a healing,
renewing, life-giving community within which the spirit of Christ’s
resurrection may be known in the life-giving support found in its
fellowship.
At EMC I am thankful that, not only do we have loyal and committed leaders
and a wonderful Christian community with whom we share Christ’s mission, but
we also have a fine group of ministers, who, in colleagueship with each
other, participate in that total ministry. What a privilege that is! Most
ministers in Methodism work virtually alone, and rarely see other ministers
in the Circuit. We have a team who are called by God to work together.
What a bizarre bunch we are! Where else would you find such an amazing
miscellany of ministers? One glorious bundle of contrasting personalities,
complementary gifts and a variety of faults and failings, yet committed to
encouraging each others contribution, seeking to share each others burden,
praying that together we can be used by God to sustain and stimulate the
spiritual life of our church and the community of Epsom.
Godly gossip
Perhaps this is a good time to bring you up to date on the ministry team.
First our grand patriarch – Reverend Michael Whelton, whose wonderful
chaplaincy at the hospital came to a conclusion last month, when Michael
retired. He has not retired from ministry, as he will continue in
leadership and pastoral care alongside us at EMC. We are thankful for his
energy and for his loving care.
Six months ago Reverend Nigel Wright came into the team, following his first
period of ministry at Knaphill, near Woking. Nigel brings expertise from
his legal background, he continues his specialist prison ministry on Tuesday
afternoon each week, and he is leading worship, visiting folk in hospital
and at home and carrying special responsibility for supporting those who
work with children and young people in EMC’s wide spectrum of activities.
We are glad he is part of the team.
Reverend KK Yap is Pastor to our Chinese congregation with its growing youth
group, choir and worship band. On April 2nd the Chinese
congregation will be celebrating its 10th anniversary, and the
Chairman of the District, Reverend John Swarbrick, will be visiting as guest
preacher. The whole church at EMC congratulates the Chinese members of our
family and assures them of our prayers in this special anniversary year.
KK also visits the Chinese congregation at Gillingham, and in Hastings, to
conduct Holy Communion, Baptisms, for pastoral care and Christian education,
as minister with oversight of these communities as well as the Epsom
congregation. KK faithfully worships with us in the morning services each
Sunday and frequently shares in Holy Communion.
New and
Renewable
In September 2006 Reverend Hazel Yu will return from her studies in
Cambridge to begin her new ministry as a Probationer Minister at EMC. She
will work with KK in the Chinese congregation, but also with the whole
church – and beyond it in the community. Hazel will still be in training
for two years, so she will have a heavy programme of study. Her work will
be on a part-time basis, so we must not be too demanding on our
expectations.
Please pray for Hazel as she begins this new stage in her life. We know she
will bring God’s blessing to many through her ministry. Please pray for all
of the ministers, as we need strength, support, inspiration and
understanding, to enable us to give our best in God’s work.
One of the ways in which the Methodist Church seeks to support its ministers
is in requiring them to take sabbatical leave for study and renewal every
seven years. It’s like taking an aging vehicle for an MOT and service. My
sabbatical was due in 2004. So by this stage I am in desperate need of a
spiritual oil change and the renewal of a few well-worn out spark plugs!
In 2004 I delayed this sabbatical as I was coming to a new appointment, with
the expectation that we would be about to begin a building programme. When
that programme fell through I renegotiated the sabbatical period for 2005,
but our new project is not yet underway so I have been given special
permission to delay the sabbatical period until autumn this year. It
therefore follows that for three months I will not be on the job, from mid
September, when the development programme should be well underway, until mid
December.
I know you will be understanding and will work well together, to maintain
the life and harmony of the whole church community during this difficult
time, at the beginning of the building development programme.
Change not
decay
Prompted by the many changes taking place throughout the Circuit a major
review has been commissioned and will be making some strategic
recommendations to ensure the best use of the Circuit’s staff and resources
to sustain and develop our Christian mission for the next ten years. A
small team from each church has been in consultation with the commission
members, reporting extensively on statistics, programmes and vision. We do
not yet know what impact these recommendations have on our church and our
ministerial team, but perhaps we should be prepared for some changes.
September 2006 will see us re-structured into a New London District of the
Methodist Church, but that may not bring many immediate changes to the local
church.
One other change which has happened recently on the ecumenical scene is that
the ordained ministers of EMC have been authorised by the Bishop of
Guildford to preside at Holy Communion in the Anglican churches of Epsom.
This will remove any hindrance to the mutual acceptability of ministries
between the two denominations on our own patch. We were already able to
welcome Anglican clergy to preside in a Methodist church. This is a
positive change and a cause for rejoicing!
Transformation
Some changes and challenges which are ahead may be more painful in our
personal lives and in the church, but this is the right time for us to be
aware of them, as we approach the cross. Yet we do so knowing about the
life-giving hope of Easter day – believing that beyond every cross there is
the hope of resurrection and the promise of new life.
I’m sorry that the one person I have not named in our review of this
ministry team is you. The ministry of this
church would be incomplete without you. We would be less than the church,
only part of the body of Christ. We need each other’s love, support,
prayers and partnership to enable us to be God’s people.
Let us complete our Lenten pilgrimage and carry our cross together –
prayerfully encouraging one another to claim the promise of new and
transforming life beyond the cross. And we will celebrate that with joy on
Easter day.
In love and care, David
Hi
How easy do you find it to live out a life of faith? We constantly
face dilemmas that test and challenge us in our daily lives and many of us are
faced with competing demands on our time, maybe from our family, maybe from the
workplace, maybe from the church.
It is always important, though, no matter how busy we are, to set
aside time for our relationship with God. In worshipping together in church on a
Sunday we give ourselves the opportunity and space to be open to God.
The message that we receive varies from week to week;
it is sometimes comforting,
but also at times disturbing and challenging and
God can and does speak to us through our worship.
It is for each of us as we come together to worship to ask God to
speak to us and to show us what he is saying, whether it is through
the hymns and songs,
the prayers,
the readings,
the silences,
the communion
or through the words of the sermon.
There may
well be different messages for different people. I have vivid memories of one
service I attended when I felt that God had been speaking to me very strongly
and eagerly awaited the transcript of the sermon - but when I read it there was
nothing there about the message I had received! God had taken a throw-away
remark by the preacher and had used it to speak to me. I have come across
numerous services where some people have felt that they didn’t receive anything
from that particular service but others have been profoundly touched by God.
Our personal devotions and house groups that include bible study and
prayer also help us to create some space for our relationship with God to
develop. Please consider joining a house group – it might feel like one more
extra pressure on your time but being part of a small fellowship group has been
where I’ve experienced the greatest growth in my own spiritual journey and where
friendships have developed and deepened.
It is also an excellent way of creating space in our lives for God.
If you would like to know more about house groups then please do have a chat
with me e-mail me.
Nigel
The Art
of Mission
Thank you for
Christmas.
I know it’s almost forgotten now, but the joy and genuineness of Christmas
worship makes Christmas for me. This Christian celebration has amazing power to
bring many people together – when the church is decorated, the candles are lit,
the music is bright, the children dress up and people feel able to enter the
spirit and drama of this part of the Christian gospel.
I am always delighted at Christmas, when some people remark on the beauty of our
carved wooden nativity figures that form a centre-piece on the Communion table.
I’m delighted because they are among our treasures. We fell in love with them
years ago, when we used to go camping in France or Switzerland every summer, but
as a young Minister on £625 stipend per year (plus Wilma’s university grant of
£300) we could not afford to buy them. We saved up over a couple of years and
returned to buy them later. Since then, it has been a joy to share them with
every church to which we have belonged.
Spirituality and Art
Fine craft, art, music, dance and drama are wonderful mediums for creating
spiritual contact. They convey meaning, beauty, emotion and creativity. They
link people of different denominations and of different faiths and cultures.
They provide common ground for spiritual relationship within our secular
culture, when people of faith and people without are uplifted by the same piece
of music, stirred by the same drama or inspired by the same work of art. The
arts therefore offer new dimensions for mission and evangelism in the twenty
first century and need to be greatly valued within the church.
It is for these reasons that I am deeply saddened by the decision of our
Methodist Connexion (central staff and central committees) to cut out the
funding for “Creative Arts in Methodism” and for the MAYC Orchestra and Singers,
because of financial pressures on the church. It is also the reason why I am
chairing a steering group which is aiming to set up a charitable company to work
throughout Methodism (and ecumenically) to sustain those things that will now be
left without support, and to develop creative arts, music, dance and drama
within the church. The outcome will, of course, be dependent upon the
availability of funding.
On our patch
There are wonderful opportunities within our church when musicians come
together, when the children act things out, through the drama group, the young
people’s Performing Arts Group, the Chinese Youth Band and their choir, the Gang
Show, flower arranging, the quilters
Looking ahead to the completion of the building development, our Church Council
has already agreed to a year or so of mission and outreach with all these things
in mind. We hope to arrange a special event each month to draw people from the
town together at EMC. A new building will attract people anyway. I will always
remember how more young families started coming to my last church after the
development, and people said, “It’s so much easier to come into the church
now!”
We are thinking of organising a weekend with
The
National Methodist Youth Brass Band
Methodist Art Collection
Flower Festival
Easter Musical Drama
The
MAYC Orchestra and Singers
Youth Festival
Choral Concert
….such events will provide opportunities to meet people, to be drawn together in
creativity, for Sunday Services to be linked with the events, and all this to
lead to a period of mission and evangelism.
We’re even thinking of building some artistic elements into the design for our
development – a water feature near the entrance, linking Epsom’s history of
spring water with the New Testament ‘water of life’. And we have recently been
discussing the possibility of a small memorial garden. Like the Connexion’s
funding problems, the big challenge for us will be coping with the rapidly
rising costs of the building development. There is, however, an even bigger
challenge in the long run. That is God’s challenge to build up the church, to
find a new spirit of mission, to make new spiritual contacts with the people of
Epsom, to be open in our witness and faith-sharing, and to create opportunities
for people to come closer to Christ.
“Craftsman’s art and music’s measure
For thy pleasure
All combine.”
(Hymns & Psalms 484)
As
always, David
Happy New Year
May I begin
by wishing you a very ‘Happy new year’! But, no sooner have I said it, than
my cheerful spirit is quickly dampened by the words of a wet-blanket
preacher in Ecclesiastes Chapter 1, verse 9 – when he says,
“There is nothing new under the sun.”
In the next
verse he goes on to say,
“When they say, ‘look here’s something new’, they are wrong.
It has all
happened before, long before we were born!”
How can I
wish you a happy new year if there is nothing new under the sun? Are my
words mere ‘vanity’, as that old-time preacher said, are they meaningless or
useless?
“Generations come and generations go,”
The preacher
continues,
“But the world is still the same!
The sun rises
and the sun sets. The wind blows from the south and then from the north.
Everything leads to weariness. What happened before will happen again.
What’s been done before will be done again. There is nothing new in the
whole wide world!”
That poor old
preacher must have had a really bad year! The implication of what is said
is right however. The world will not change because we have entered into a
new year. At a personal level it is good to make a new start and to be as
positive and hopeful as we can, but the truth is, we cannot leave behind all
the worries, pain and disappointments of the past year – it seems as though
it may all come round again, as the preacher says. And yet, we have no
reason to believe that life could be renewed by entering a new year, by a
change in the date! Would we not be setting up great disappointments for
ourselves - Would we not be likely to face a disastrous sense of failure –
if we expect to be made new by the tick of a clock at midnight?
Yes – the
preacher is a bit of a killjoy, a spoilsport, perhaps even a misery-gut, but
what else would you expect from a preacher? And yet I believe he is right.
If we are expecting things to be renewed, then something much more profound
is needed to bring about that change in our lives, and in our world. We
need something much deeper, more lasting, more dependable, more powerful,
and more effective!
By way of
contrast
Let us put
this word from Ecclesiastes alongside the word of a visionary from
Revelation 21, verse 5 – “Behold, I will make all things new.” The book of
Revelation was written by a visionary, St John, but at this point God is
speaking. For the first time in the whole vision we hear our word directly
from God,
“Behold I will make all things new.”
God the
creator is promising to re-create. Our maker will re-make. He is ‘Alpha
and Omega’ – the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the old and
the new, the source and the goal. Life begins from God and ends in God.
There are some things that only God can do – like, ‘Making all things new.’
It is a big
and bold promise, and yet we know from experience that God does not usually
step in to change things. He does not protect us from harm or rescue the
world from its course towards conflict and destruction. God does not
transform our personal circumstances to take away risk or failure – although
sometimes we wish he would!
I think that
God usually makes things new, not by changing life around us, but by
changing life within us. Most of us know that, as we receive greetings for
a happy new year, that happiness will not finally be dependent upon our
circumstances or on the world around us, but more probably on ourselves.
Our contentment and peace of mind usually needs to be found within us. Of
course we would want things to change, especially when they cause pain to
us, or to other people. I think the secret of a happy new year, however, is
most likely to be found in our attitude, within our spirit, in our heart and
mind.
What God is
offering to us in this promise is a new relationship with him – a new
beginning in his loving kindness. He says,
“I will be your God and you will be my people.”
He adds,
“God will make his home with his people – the place where he lives
will be among them.”
It is as
though he is saying – ‘This is how I will make all things new’, by living
with you and changing your life.
Human
relationships change our lives enormously - when we fall in love, when a
baby is born, when a friend helps us through a bad patch, when a new teacher
challenges us, a counsellor listens to us and takes us seriously, or a
leader inspires us. Relationships with people can change our lives. How
much more can a relationship with God make our lives new? Then the next
step is clear - when people are changed the world around begins to change as
we all have an impact on our own circumstances and on those with whom we
share our lives at home, at work and within the community.
Perhaps God
is saying –
“I will be your God”
Or
‘Allow me to be your God,
And will you
be among my people so that then, working together, I will make all things
new.’ It is evident that, in this life, we will not be completely renewed,
not finally, but what God does in our lives will be for real. In
relationship with him, new things can happen from within us. He can renew
us; he will make this a renewed year – in our spirit, lived out in our
lives, within the church, and in our mission and service within the
community.
So, we need
not allow the old preacher to have the final word and, therefore, in the
light of what we’ve said about Revelation, Chapter 21, I have no hesitation,
in fact I have full confidence, in wishing you -
A Very Happy
New Year.
Hi
As we
end December we realise that yet another year is drawing to an end and a new
one will soon begin. Of course, before it came to an end we celebrated
Christmas at EMC in a number of different services over the Christmas period.
Once again we had the opportunity to remember Jesus Christ’s coming to
earth as a baby and to give thanks to God for the wonderful gift of his son who
changes lives and who sets us free.
And
then as 2005 actually closes will bring a round of shows on
television looking back at the events of the previous year.
As you look back
over 2005 what has the past year held for you?
What good things have happened in
your life, what changes have come about, and what were the low points?
If 2005
has left behind some scars and bruises let us ask God for healing and the
strength to go forward into the New Year and if it has brought success and
blessings let us give God our thanks.
I wonder what 2006 has in store for us as individuals and together as a
church?
We
are probably aware of some of the things that are coming.
It is impossible, of
course, to know exactly what next year will bring but what we can be sure of is
that God will be alongside us, guiding us and inspiring us if we’re open to him.
In the Covenant Service, which will be taking place on 15 January
2006, there will be
the opportunity to recommit ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ.
What better
way can there be to start a New Year?
I
urge you to make it a priority to be there.
I
trust you had a Happy Christmas
And the New Year will be full of God’s
peace.
Nigel Wright
‘Others like seed
sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty,
sixty or even a hundred times what was sown’
Mark Chapter 4:
Verse 20
I have long found the parable of the sower
fascinating because it is trying to explain why people respond to the gospel
in such different ways and because this is obviously not a new issue but one
that has been around since the very beginning of Christianity.
It can be a mystery to those who are wholeheartedly
committed to the gospel why others reject it completely. But this is the
first of the categories that Jesus deals with – he compares that reaction to
seed falling on a path, the seed cannot get into the soil and is unable to
germinate. At that stage in their lives the people represented here are
unable, for whatever reason, to accept the gospel. It does not of course
mean that that will always be the case – there may be other times in the
future when they will be more receptive.
There are some who seem so keen when they first come
to faith but who then fade away. Jesus compares these people with seed
falling on to rocky soil. The plant grows strongly to start off with but
then withers when scorched by the sun. It raises all kinds of questions
including the question about whether these people thought that the journey
of faith would be easy. As we know it is not easy; it can bring all kinds of
ethical dilemmas, it can bring ridicule and even persecution, and it can
challenge the status quo in some very disturbing ways. But it also raises
questions for us as a church about how we nurture people who have come to
faith so that they can put down deep roots which help them to sustain their
faith when life gets difficult.
People in our society complain about not having
enough time, imagining that this is a curse of 21st century life
in comparison with the halcyon days of the past. The third category of
people which Jesus refers to indicates that this is nothing new. Luke, in
his account of this parable, emphasises that the seed that fell among thorns
stands for those who hear the word of God, but as they go on their way they
are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature,
and therefore do not produce any fruit. It has always been very easy for
human beings to become distracted by the acquisition of possessions, the
desire for status or the latest experience, or by the concerns and worries
of human existence and as a consequence it is so easy to push God to the
edges of our lives without even realising what we are doing and then we
wonder why our faith is not as it used to be.
Lastly there is the seed that fell in good soil which
represents the situation where the message of the gospel has been taken on
board and acted upon come what may. In this situation the faith of the
people concerned has become mature and you can see the harvest that has
resulted through that person’s witness and work.
The seed, which Jesus says represents the word of
God, is the one constant in all the scenarios but the soils and growing
conditions are very different.
The parable of the sower leaves us with a number of
questions to ask ourselves and urges us to become and remain good soil in
which God’s word can be sown. Spending time in prayer, worshipping together
with other Christians on a frequent basis, and studying the bible are all
good ways of fertilising the soil and helping the seeds of God’s word to
grow in our lives.
What are the soil and the growing conditions like in
your life and how is the seed of God’s word being nurtured?
Nigel
Wright
“For I know the plans I have for
you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to
give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah. 29: v11.
This letter is
being written to you on a beautiful spring day as I admire the garden with
its colourful display of daffodils heralding the coming of summer. Yet it
seems only a few weeks ago that we were celebrating Christmas when, in a
sermon, I was saying that we cannot look upon the baby in the manger without
seeing the shadow of the cross of Good Friday and all that it means to us.
You will
probably be reading this letter as we approach Holy week and move towards
the good news of Easter Day. It was at that first Easter that the disciples
who had been following their Master were disillusioned and shattered by the
events that had taken their Lord from them. Yet they found themselves
transformed by his resurrection appearances. As a result they became
effective witnesses to one another and to the world.
This was in my
mind as I watched the contractors this week busy at the front of our church
and thought of the hope that awaits us when the work is finished. The
inconvenience of the building works has proved far less that I had
anticipated. All thanks to the development team.
Although we
may all suffer somewhat as a result of the upheaval, I sense a mood of
excitement now that the work is under way. The long awaited redevelopment
will transform our ministry in Epsom and give wonderful opportunities to
further the Lord’s work in the community.
I consider
that we, who are at presently involved in EMC, are probably not unlike those
who, many years ago, built our present church and provided a centre of
worship that has served us so well over the years. But we live in a changing
world and must look at new ways of reaching out and meeting the needs of
those about us.
We are
privileged to be called upon to provide for the years ahead and for the
future generations who will benefit and bless us for the sacrifices we are
now making.
I
know that I speak for the whole Leadership Team in wishing you all a happy
and Holy 2007 Easter.
Michael J Whelton.
DEVELOPMENT FACTS
DEVELOPMENT FAITH
You may not believe this, but the contractors will be on site for the church
building development programme to begin on 26th February
2007.
Once you have taken it in, the first thought must be of praise and
thanksgiving. We are thankful to God, to the architect, the quantity
surveyor and contractor, to the design advisory team, the finance committee,
to all who have been making personal contributions and working hard to raise
funds, to those who have promised grants and to the staff of the Methodist
Property Office in Manchester, who have now given us permission to get
going.
Let me explain the delay, as the contractor was ready to start in October
and has generously held the price, and been ready to go ahead, for four
months. Permission was not available from the Property Office, however,
while £900,000 of our budget was still at a stage of negotiation. It is
wonderful that £500,000 has been granted to EMC’s scheme by the Circuit,
from the sale of Great Tattenham Methodist Church closure and proposed sale,
but that sale is not yet completed. The sale of the house beside our church
in Ashley Road (which was purchased from the development fund to provide
land for the new Scout headquarters) is also not yet complete. So the
Property Officers were resolute in saving us from possible financial
disaster!
Where there’s a will
I was alarmed, when I returned to EMC in January, to find that, despite
every conscientious and committed effort, we could not move ahead and that
the unstinting extension by the contractor was about to run out. We feared
that the scheme could crumble!
It was, therefore, necessary to find a way to request permission to proceed
with the first phase of the project in the expectation that the two sales
will be completed in time, to enable the work to proceed to completion
without a break. After careful consideration of the case that we presented
(and recognising the detailed and responsible assessment and costings which
had been undertaken by the team and our professional advisors) the Property
Office staff in Manchester gave approval for us to proceed with the first
phase. This is a considerable departure from their usual procedure – so for
this decision we are most grateful.
The first phase
I hope I am not boring you with unnecessary detail, but inevitably folk have
been wondering what has been going on and this seems a good time to bring
you up to date. I imagine that your next question may be – ‘What will be
included in the first phase?’ So here goes –
The removal of the garages for the Nursery play area and access to the site
for the Scout headquarters
Children’s toilets and storage space
New ladies and gents toilets
Reconfigured offices, interview room and access to the hall
Dovecote Bookshop at the front of the building
Preparatory work for the entrance and welcome area, for the church extension
and for the Scout headquarters (drains, water supply, electricity etc.)
Within a few months the funding matters should be settled, permission for
the completion secured and the preparatory work done – then we will expect
to move into the second phase on completion of the first. It is then our
further hope and commitment to work towards the building of the Scout
headquarters within a year or so.
I’m gratefully relieved that we can no go ahead. I am deeply grateful for
the work and worry which has been carried by some of our members and for the
generous giving which has brought us this far. These things witness to the
faith and devotion of the Christian community at EMC.
We will have a period of five years in which to complete the fundraising for
this project. That will be possible only because of the kindness of those
who have been making regular gifts to the Development Fund and are willing
to continue. It will also depend on the willingness of the congregations to
continue to work on fundraising efforts, as they have done in recent years,
to clear the final £72,000.
The foundation is faith
I mentioned faith and devotion. Jesus said that this is the stuff of the
foundation of the Church (Matthew 16 verses 16-17). In Jesus, Peter
recognised the living God. He dared to believe that He was the Christ.
Peter’s witness to Jesus, his allegiance to Jesus (despite his humanity and
failure in denying Him), and his surrender to Jesus – is the bedrock of the
Christian Church.
“Peter, you are a rock,” said Jesus, “and on this foundation I will build my
Church.”
He was not planning a building project, of course, but this project of ours
will be a testing time in which we either build up God’s church at EMC or
our life could fall apart!
A year without a car park, constant building dust, restricted space, groups
being moved to other rooms, nerves occasionally fraying at the ends! These
things will demand more constancy, more understanding and care for one
another, more loyalty to our groups, regular presence in worship, continued
giving, patience, prayer and faithfulness in following Jesus with vision and
expectation.
“Faith, trusting love – this is the foundation on which I will build my
church”
The building project is not just about bricks and mortar it is more about
our spiritual life and the quality of the Christian community. It is about
our commitment to the future and our vision for God’s mission for,
“If the Lord does not build this house we will be wasting our time!”
(Psalm 127 verses 1)
Blessings,
David J Winwood
Blessings!
It is lovely to
greet you again at this glorious time of the year. I hope that 2007 brings
many blessings and challenges, and that we have grown a year of knowing
Jesus more intimately.
We welcome
David back at the beginning of a New Year. We give thanks to God that his
health has greatly improved and now is with us. Those present during his
leading Services gave a loud applause on his return, his ‘second coming’.
Ernest and I
are proud to announce of the safe arrival of our grandson, Maxwell Chergfai,
on 10th December last year. He is God’s wonderful gift to our
son Timothy and his wife Kan. The gift of a new life reminds us to be
thankful to God, for His love endures forever. A new life thus inspires us
to think of a new beginning in 2007.
A famous Chinese proverb says: -
“A whole year’s
plan is made in Spring
一年之計在於春”
How sensible it is! Similarly in Christian tradition, the Covenant Sunday
marks Christians’ yearly commitment to Christ. It
is powerful for a congregation to say together their commitments in the
Church on the first Sunday of the year. Liturgically, this is also a Sunday
called 1st Epiphany. The great truth after the angel, shepherds
and the wise men have seen that a child is born for us, a son is given. We
praise and thank God for the wonder and supreme demonstration of that love
in Jesus Christ.
We are blessed
to have English and Chinese speaking congregations at EMC. May God’s grace
and love enable us to grow to love Him and each other.
Challenges!
Together we
build a strong Church. The EMC Church Building Project needs prayer and
support this year but so does every aspect of the Church’s life. Our vision
of God’s purpose depends on Him and on His power. Jesus did not die to make
good theology. Jesus died to love us. “For God loved so much that He gave
His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have
eternal life” (John 3:16). Our first challenge for this year is not to
lose sight of the need to rekindle our relationship with God. Our second
challenge is to love one another. In a community life, we belong to clubs,
classes, and professional organisations and so on. But in the Church, we
are part of the one body, a fellowship with God and with one another
- The Body of Christ.
Christ is the
head of the body. He is the one who gives us direction, energy and life.
This image speaks of the intimacy between Christ and His Church. There is
no closer bond in existence than the union of the varied aspects of a human
person. In a real sense, we share one Church life. Each of us affects one
another in every way. We have inter-dependent relationships with one
another. The head is needed by other parts of the body to make whole and
complete.
We see God’s
divine presence manifested in the variety of spiritual gifts which are
continually bestowed on EMC. Having been involved with members of the
congregation in Worship for the past few months, I realised that there are
many gifts and talents among us. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians gives us
some encouragement. He described many of the these gifts such as
prophesying, healing, working miracles, involving and exercising leadership,
teaching, extending charity and helping are signs of God’s presence to His
people. Methodists in particular value and recognise people’s many gifts
and talents. Please make a list of things that you are good at and not so
good at, and let this list be a challenge in your 2007 year plan. We have a
strong team of ministers at EMC, we are delighted to hear from you and serve
you. Please share your gifts and talents and also ask for help if needed.
May the greatest gift of love remain in us forever.
