Lancashire Methodist District

Dear friends,

We're all in it together: this exhilarating, sometimes frustrating, sometimes inspiring, lifelong journey of following Jesus. Being the church means we have each other. This month you'll read about a fantastic piece of creative, ecumenical evangelism that took place in Liverpool during Eurovision, bringing lots of diverse people together, united in prayer. You'll hear about a new resource to help your small group explore Church at the Margins. We'll consider together some thinking around complexity, illustrated by some of our fabulous District Mission Enablers. You'll discover resources available to help your church read Revelation together as part of Bible Month. You'll hear a fascinating story of a very young person discerning a call from God - and how someone else helped them hear it. And you'll gain a new perspective on comedian Sally Phillips, who shares how two colleagues helped her discover Jesus in her 20s. As Gerry and the Pacemakers once sang: You'll never walk alone!  

- The Evangelism and Growth Team  

This month’s story of hope

God was at Eurovision: did you notice? The Liverpool Methodist District, in partnership with ecumenical colleagues and volunteers from across the Connexion, held a creative evangelism campaign during Eurovision week under the banner ‘Imagine Peace’. There were daily prayer walks on the Albert Dock, daily peace vigils around the city, and a ‘United in Worship’ event at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral which was livestreamed to a global audience. The Hope and Anchor also popped up at Strawberry Field, a popular stop on the Beatles tour. Visitors were invited into the tipi to play games, be creative and participate in real conversations. Volunteers took a large white dove down to the Albert Dock on the day of the Eurovision final and invited tourists to leave their fingerprints in the colours of the Ukrainian flag as part of a prayer for peace in Ukraine. What’s going on in your local area soon? How could you join in, offering people moments to acknowledge and welcome the presence of God?

01

Listen and learn.

Can you imagine how it feels to worry every day about how you will pay your bills, buy food, or have enough money to put the heating on?

Dave and Sharon have two young children and three very low-income jobs between them; Dave has two part-time jobs to support the family. They had stopped going to the foodbank when Sharon began her part-time job. During the pandemic two of their jobs came to an end with no opportunity for further work. Not only did they need to rely on the foodbank again, but they were also forced into debt as they waited for benefits to begin. Dave and Sharon are, sadly, part of the 60 per cent of people who are working and in poverty. As the cost-of-living crisis emerges, they are really worried. They have no reserves to fall back on, and have to use 20 per cent of their income to pay their energy bills. They are deeply afraid and the impact on their physical and mental health is obvious. A sense of shame overwhelms Dave whenever he speaks of the challenges his family face.

In the UK, millions of people are worried about just surviving. Church at the Margins is part of the Methodist Church’s vision to develop new Christian communities amongst people who don’t have enough money, by listening to and learning from people experiencing poverty - because they are the experts. This isn’t a new initiative: it is at the heart of the gospel. If you want to respond, why not take a look at our new small group resource, Beginning a Church at the Margins?

02

Experiment.

Do you ever feel confused about the right way forward? Wondering what to do for the best, and not even sure how to understand the situation you’re in? Then you may be facing a complex problem. In this picture, some of the District Missioner Community illustrate Dave Snowden's ‘Cynefin Framework,’ which categorises problems as ‘simple’, ‘complicated’, ‘complex’ or ‘chaos.’ There is no right answer to a complex problem, as it involves a number of interacting factors which cannot be known. What’s needed is 'safe-to-fail' experimentation in order to figure out what works and what doesn't. (Evangelism and church growth in the UK right now feels a lot like this, doesn’t it?). You can read more about the framework on this page. If you’re facing a complex situation in your church or circuit, find out if your district has a missioner and ask for their help – enabling others to tackle complex problems is what they do.

03

Feast.

For Bible Month this year we’re going to be feasting on the book of Revelation. Revelation is one of those biblical books we can be tempted to avoid. It has a bit of a history and reputation for being misused, abused and misconstrued. Its odd and even disturbing imagery can make it quite an uncomfortable and perplexing read. But, believe it or not, it’s actually all about discipleship. It’s a frank but encouraging explanation as to why sometimes being a Christian can feel so challenging, what it looks like to faithfully persevere, and why continuing to say ‘Yes’ to Jesus is so worth it. Its full of everyday hope and guidance for everyday disciples which we want everyone to feel able to tuck into and savour. This 30 Day Reading Guide will help you do just that. Breaking down the text into 30, bite-sized daily chunks, with brief introductions that will help you navigate what you’re reading. For more information and resources relating to Bible Month visit methodist.org.uk/biblemonth. You can download a digital copy of the daily reading guide for free, and access links to buy study guides to use in your small groups and all age contexts.

04

Notice.

A young person exploring their vocation recently shared this with our team: "I felt like I had more important things to worry about, like my GCSEs... I thought this is not the right time... But that nudge wasn't going away. I was constantly getting that feeling that I was being called to be a Local Preacher, despite all the reservations that I had. Really, me? A Local Preacher! No, that can't be right, I can't stand up there and preach... It was the fact that somebody [a Superintendent minister whom I had just met] recognised the call that God had given me to be a Local Preacher. It made me finally realise that no matter what I was thinking, God was really calling me to be a Local Preacher." What nudges from God have you been noticing? How might you help someone in your church recognise their nudges from God?

05

Laugh.

Comedian Sally Phillips is best known for her roles in sitcoms Miranda and I'm Alan Partridge and as Shazzer in the Bridget Jones's Diary films. In this article she discusses becoming a Christian in her 20s while working with fellow comedian Milton Jones and actor Patrice Naiambana. She had been losing sleep month after month, troubled by nightmares, and then Patrice prayed for her in a shopping centre at 3am and Sally found peace. Here's Sally on Would I Lie to You?

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