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Website last updated on 28th Mar 2010. |
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Our Minister
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Telephone Number: 01252 544823
Email: linda.phillips@theinvernet.co.uk
Linda writes (taken from our April 2010 newsletter) ...
Dear Friends,
What is the Church? Or perhaps we should be asking what ought it to be. I am constantly challenged by this question in various guises, perhaps especially at this time of year. Through Lent and Easter we focus particularly on the person of Jesus, what he did, and what happened to him at the end of his life. We believe that he died so that we might be forgiven our sins and that our relationship with God, damaged by our wrongdoing, might be restored to what it was always intended to be, that of his sons and daughters. We believe that the way of life which Jesus himself lived and taught his disciples is the one that he calls us to follow, a way of love and compassion, and a desire for peace and justice, honesty and integrity. We follow a man, a human being, like us in every way, except that he got it right, he showed us that it is possible to live the kind of life that God created us to live and not the broken, painful and self-centred lives that we so often end up living. We follow an individual who lived a very free and open life, who challenged his followers to be set free from the burden of regulation and self-righteousness that clogged up the Jewish faith at that time.
What have we done in response? We have taken the freedom that Jesus offered to his followers and created the church! We have created human institutions, fenced our faith around with doctrines and rules and regulations, excluded many, burdened ourselves with vast quantities of expensive-to-maintain real estate and expend much of our energy in the maintenance of our institutions.
But at the same time Jesus did call his followers together and urged them to care for each other as a way of demonstrating the truth and power of his teaching and being the means of spreading his message throughout the world. So I think the church, as a body of believers called to prayer and worship and with a mission to the rest of the world, IS part of God’s plan, but probably the rest of the baggage we carry is of our making alone. Still, God must have known, since he created us, that our natural human tendency is to build institutions within which we can feel secure, which provide us with a structure for our lives, rules to follow and like-minded friends with which to share the work. How are we to make the best of that natural desire for structure, which is obviously God-given, without allowing it to stifle our ability to put energy into preaching the Gospel and serving our communities?
On the 18th April we will be holding our yearly General Church Meeting immediately after a shortened morning service. This is an opportunity for EVERYONE connected with Sandhurst & Yateley Methodist Church to come and have their say about the life of our church, and for us to take counsel together as to how we can best serve God in this place and at this time. It’s an opportunity for us to reflect on the past year, and to find better ways of structuring our life together, of using the resources we have to place the claims of Christ before the people of this town in the future. It’s also a formal occasion at which we appoint our Church Stewards for the coming year, and elect a number of representatives to serve on our Church Council. (ALL are welcome to share in this meeting, but please note that only those who are formally members of the Methodist Church and on the membership role of this congregation may stand for election or vote on any decisions.)
We have a structured life within this congregation which has to be maintained, just like a car needs servicing, in order to serve God as well as possible. If everyone is committed to help with the maintenance then that structure need not be a burden or a drain on our energy. But if the work is left to just a few stalwarts then it does become a burden. Will you help lighten the load, come along on the 18th prepared to take an active part in the meeting and the life of this church in the year to come? Your church needs YOU so that together we may fulfil our calling to share in the work of Christ in this place, and without YOU that work is diminished and restricted.
I look forward to seeing you on April 18th!
May you have a joyful and blessèd Easter, as we celebrate our Risen
Lord!
Linda