Listen carefully..... Reflections of a duty minister

One of the joys of ministry is the diverse and rich range of conversations one has during a week.

Over the last seven days I’ve spoken to someone just back from visiting Pakistan, and another person who hasn’t stepped outside her home in months.

I’ve talked with an elderly lady in preparation for her husband’s funeral, and a young mum preparing for her daughter’s baptism, both conversations evidencing the complexity of human relationships.

I’ve been part of a meeting considering the future of a church which meets in a listed building and is struggling to fund the maintenance, and in another heard of a new fellowship forming around a kitchen table.

I’ve visited a lady in hospital showing great courage in the face of a scary diagnosis, and a gentleman whose fortitude in the light of major disability is amazing.

Today I’m going around the shops local to one of our churches, taking the church’s offer to pray for the concerns of shopkeepers and customers, and later will be meeting with people considering their vocation, the call of God on their lives.

Reflecting on each of these conversation, and more besides, I’m grateful for opportunities to speak God’s love, and hear it, to see God’s presence and show it.

And I'm reminded I need to listen carefully.....

Rev Nick

Comments

Biblefresh Festival 11 June 2011 - bookings now open

Bradford North and South Circuits invite you to their city-wide Biblefresh Festival Saturday 11 June 2011 Full details and booking form

July message from Rev Phil

Dear Friends, The Methodist Church makes provision for its ministers to take a three-month sabbatical break from the routine of ministry every seven years – this year, in my case! By the time you read this letter, I will have already started my sabbatical and I will be absent from the circuit from mid-May to mid-August. This is not an extended holiday but an opening to do something different, as a way of being refreshed in ministry; an opportunity to ‘power down’ and to get away from a hectic, diary-driven ministry, in order to spend more focused time with God. It is a requirement and not an option for ministers to take their sabbatical break. There have been two main aspects to consider in planning the sabbatical. The first has been to decide how I should use the time. For your interest, I am pressing on with studies begun through Leeds University (which could lead to the award of a PhD), reflecting on my wor...

Godly Ways 8-10 March 2013

Godly Ways CODEC and the Dales Biblical Literacy Project present: A weekend of Worship – Teaching – Workshops. WHEN : March 8th to 10th 2013 (Starts Friday evening) WHERE : Elm Ridge Methodist Church and Bondgate Methodist Church, Darlington and Ingleton Methodist Church SPEAKERS: Revd. Professor David Wilkinson is a Methodist minister and Principal of St. John’s College, Durham. Well-known as a writer, speaker and broadcaster, David has wide-ranging interests, although he is especially concerned about science and religion. Revd. Dr. Peter Phillips is a Methodist minister and Director of Codec, a research centre housed at St. John’s College, Durham. For many years, Pete served on the staff of Cliff College. He has a great interest in the New Testament and in communicating the faith in a digital age. Revd. Ron Willoughby is an ordained minister with the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States, now living in this cou...

Bradford North Circuit

Search This Blog