Dear Friends
We begin the Connexional Year welcoming our new Chair of District, Revd Mark Slaney. The District welcome service is Saturday 31stAugust, 14:30 at Perth Methodist Church and refreshments will be served afterwards. Please pray for Mark and the District as he and we prepare for this new leadership in the District.
Itinerancy in Methodism can bring challenges as people loosen existing ties and seek to discover new friendships and relationships. One of the joys in this is that we can share new stories and old stories anew! Across the District we have been engaging in conversations about our mission and our resources – sharing something of our story. At the Methodist Conference this year the theme chosen for the year by the President and Vice President is “So what’s the story..?”. This combines neatly with the Year of Testimony for 2019/20 – something that the Youth conference strongly encouraged us to commit to this year.
How can our stories build each other up, help us grow in faith and deepen our discipleship? How can they challenge and enrich us? How do our stories connect with the stories of Jesus? How do the stories in our communities help us connect with others?
Over the summer I was fortunate to visit the town of Wittenburg in Germany – the place where Martin Luther lived and taught. The protestant reformation born out of a desire to share the gospel, the same Spirit in John Wesley, seeking to share the gospel story, in a way that was accessible for all.
These two followers of Jesus strived and struggled. As they cleared the debris of their lives and built trust in God they discovered the gift of God’s grace already dwelling within – and then just could not stop sharing this good news of amazing love. The story of God’s great love in our lives and the difference it makes is something that can flow out of us. So listen out for the stories in church, in communities (local, national & international) and ask what is my story?
With love
Nick