Minister’s Report: Revd Naomi Cooke for the ACGM 21st April 2024
What life have you if you have not life together? There is no life that is not in community,
and no community not lived in praise of God.[1]
This past twelve months have been a time of growth and a time of the deepening of community. It’s a very special thing, to look out across the sanctuary and to see so many new faces of people who have found their way into this community, and by being here, changing it. We are after all, the living, breathing body of Christ in this place. Look around – behold the body, the beautiful, broken, resurrected body of Christ, called to worship, to service, to sharing, and to giving.
Our worshipping life is rich, with many varied expressions. We strive to provide a mixed economy of worship which isn’t fixed but open to fresh expressions and ideas. Of great importance is the embracing of inclusivity, seeking to ensure that all in the community, from the oldest to the youngest and everyone in between, can access worship in a meaningful way. Why? Because worship is the spring, the powerhouse from which all else is born and we need to keep it fresh and challenging and inclusive whether it be in a traditional or a more contemporary form. And we are always wanting to learn how we can do it better!
The past year has seen special celebrations: our 25th Anniversary as an LEP was a wonderful day of both looking back and anticipating what’s to come, of reconnecting with old friends and embracing new ones. We have celebrated in the sacrament of baptism and shared in the joy of marriage; we have confirmed and received into membership, as God has brought new people into our midst. Our All-Soul’s service in November offered space, time and liturgy for those who grieve. Our journey through Advent and Christmas as we gathered in community ‘around the manger’ was a time of blessing to us all and our Carols by Candlelight Service was again a highlight of the year. Holy Week offered deeply contrasting services in style and in content, from Passion to Palm, through the darkness and distress of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, culminating in the joy of Easter Day.
Attendance at Wednesday Holy Communion and Taizé is strong and I do encourage you to drop in and experience the different content and nature of these services. Our heartfelt thanks to all who give their time to leading, planning, and participating in our worshipping life.
My thanks to a wonderful team of wardens and stewards and our chair of the ECC Anna, all of whom have worked hard to enable the life of the church and have graciously served in so many capacities, not least in their support to me. My thanks to them and of course to the ECC for all they have given of themselves in the leadership of the church. And my thanks to each and every one of you who contributes to the life and health of our congregation and in service to our local community and the wider church.
We delight in the news that we are now registered to offer same sex marriages and blessings and we pray that this area of ministry and service will help to build bridges with those who have so often felt excluded from the community of faith.
We are delighted that work on the new spire was completed during the last year and again offer our thanks to the team that oversaw this project and alongside them, all those who ensure that the building is well cared for.
We continue to think through what it means to be a church of sanctuary – in the many expressions of the word and how it might find embodiment here at SAPLC.
We delight in the children’s ministry among us, celebrating with the Junior Church as they have extended the hospitality of the church to children in the local neighbourhood, through parties and special events. But friends this is an area of our life which needs more support and commitment. If we want it to flourish we need to help out. We cannot deprive our children’s parents from the nourishment of corporate worship or the desire to serve the community in other ways, by continually relying on them to plan and provide Junior church. So let us support this ministry and its future. Please step up and offer your help and encouragement. It would be so helpful if we could commit to finding a way forward where more of us carry less, so that all of us bear a lighter load.
We give thanks for Sophie Peel Yates and Adam Denno, both members here, and their desire to explore the call of God upon their lives and whether the path to ordination in the Methodist Church might be a part of that. In so doing they make themselves vulnerable – as any call such as this is not just determined by the individual but also by teams of people at every level of church life. Please hold both Adam and Sophie and their families in your prayers over the coming months.
There is so much to celebrate. Work is going on apace in discerning the Spirit’s lead to fresh expressions of worship, spiritual nourishment, service and the building of community. As we continue to grow together, let us remember we have the great honour of being thrown together in this same age and place to embrace and embody the radical love of Jesus and to live in kindness and compassion together in community, showing by the way we live and the way we love, the very heart of the one we serve.
Didst thou not make us one,
That we might one remain,
Together travel on,
And bear each other's pain,
Till all thy utmost goodness prove,
And rise renew'd in perfect love?[2]