A Word from one of our Ministers...
Friends,
I write this on the day before the Circuit Meeting in March, the meeting to which the
formal proposal for our new church in the south, Cornerstone Methodist Church, will
be taken for agreement. By the time you read this, I pray that that proposal will be
agreed and plans will be continuing to bring this new entity to birth.
It means that we are entering a liminal space, a time in which things are not yet
settled in the new, but in which we will begin to appreciate that the old is passing.
This is going to be an unsettling time for some, I think, and I believe that we should
all take time to value and appreciate what is passing, whilst anticipating the new.
Let’s pray for the present churches, the one in which we habitually worship, and the
other two, as we move forward to becoming Cornerstone. Let us also pray for
Cornerstone, and for all that it has the potential to become, and all that God holds in
store for it.
It will shortly be Easter, that great celebration of Resurrection, of defeating death and
beginning a different kind of living, and how very appropriate it is that we will be
beginning to work practically towards Cornerstone in that season. In a landscape of
church decline, let’s pray that Cornerstone can be a place of growth and
development. In a time of challenge, let’s pray that Cornerstone can be a space in
which we embrace living differently as Christ’s people in Partridge Green and
Horsham. I have said from the beginning that the plan for this new church was not
just a means to enable the three chapels to survive, but that it should be a way for
them to thrive. Thriving means growing, flourishing, developing – and it requires our
personal involvement, our personal development, our personal growth – as well as
that of the corporate body which is the church. If we personally stagnate in our
spiritual lives, how can we hope to grow as a church? Let’s embrace opportunities to
be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in us, and listen to the Spirit’s leading as we go
forward: the Spirit may be calling you to a new position in Cornerstone, to a new role
or opportunity…
As we continue now in Lent and anticipate the festival that is Easter, I pray that you
will take time to pray and discern what you feel about the future Cornerstone church.
Are you keenly anticipating it? Are you disinterested, not sure what to make of it?
Are you worried about the changes that it might bring to your worshipping life? Take
those thoughts and share them – with Gavin or me, with a steward, with your house
group or SALT group – and let us make sure that no one is left behind. Everyone’s
thoughts and feelings are valued, and need to be heard, at every stage.
With best wishes,
Deacon Sarah