Really disappointing as I type to see yet another beautiful tree being cut down on Abbeyfield Road. Its not diseased, just disturbing the pavement, forget the benefit its bringing to the environment. Do I believe these trees being taken down across Sheffield will be replaced? Wait till the council says its run out of funds!!!
Well we are making good progress now with out scheme for the church building at Firth Park Methodist. September should see the beginning of the roof works so that a third of the roof where we have most serious ingress of water will be renewed. Internally we will begin to remove the pews to create the floor space for an internal wall and the installation of soft play equipment. For this first stage of the scheme we are still looking to raise £80,000 and grant applications are currently going into funders. If as a reader of this blog, and you would like to support this scheme to provide a much deprived area of the city, then please get in touch all donations will be gratefully received and wisely used.
Our trial soft play fortnight proved to be a success and gave us great encouragement to keep going to create a bespoke centre for the community.
One good thing about the summer is a chance to take a break from normal routine and if possible get away. So a delightful week in Crete was had . Wall to wall sunshine with tempratures ranging from 38C- 32C so yes warm and the need to go into the pool or the sea. This time we did visit Knossos , The Minoan palace, which I found fascinating even in the blazing heat.
The Parent and Toddler group as Mosborough have been supporting the church in Ghana and their last lot of gifts finally arrived. Parents and children once again were overwhelmed. Just a reminder that small things can make a massive difference.
This past Methodist year we decided to try and create a Sunday night youth group for year 7+ once a month. Thanks to three other volunteers its proved a success and we ended the year with a BQ at the manse and parachute games in the park. If all goes well we will move to meeting once a fortnight and hopefully our numbers will grow further.Now its back to the routine of circuit life and the current challenges we face in a climate of diminishing church membership. The new President and Vice president of the Church have asked the question of each church. Do you have a growth plan or a end of life plan?
The longer I serve as a minister I recognise that is exactly what I have had to ask all the way through my ministry. Even when I started and Methodism had the largest youth organisation in Europe the writing was on the wall. The lack of willingness to change and develop. To pool resources to generate the energy required to not just sustain the existing but undertake new work. It was obvious what would happen you didn't need to be prophetic.
So we find ourselves still with too many buildings often in the wrong places and many unfit to do the work we need to. A membership now down to 188,000 trying to sustain an institution that is unsustainable in its current form.
In the face of this the Sheffield Circuit is trying to express ministry in a variety of ways. The coming together of eight circuits was never going to be straightforward and its only now that a new momentum is building up. The appointment of a worker to reinvigorate children and youth work begins in October. They will not only organise key events, but identify new pieces of work, train, encourage and encourage existing workers among our young people. We have four pioneer workers lay and ordained in the circuit which again is a pointer to being open to new ways of being and doing church. We have many committed people who are still up for a growth plan. So even if the Methodist Church disappears it will leave a legacy of lives changed and continue to be part of God's work creating the Kingdom. So roll on the new Methodist Year who really knows what it holds?
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