The Methodist Conference is underway. The Conference is the governing body of the Methodist Church and meets annually to discuss matters affecting the life of the Church, the nation and the world. This year the Conference is meeting online from 25th June to 1st July. Watch the livestream and find all the documentation by starting here.
On Saturday the 20th June hundreds of campaigners gathered in two Suffolk towns to hold peaceful Black Lives Matter protests. Protesters assembled in Felixstowe and Woodbridge to share their support for the global campaign. The Felixstowe event was held in the Spa Gardens and I attended along with other Members of the Local Methodist Church. …
Pastoral Letter – East Anglia District Chair of the District – Rev. Julian M. Pursehouse 24:06:2020 Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Over the last few days I’ve been preparing for the Annual Methodist Conference by reading through the numerous agenda items that will be placed before us and assiduously checking the Stations that will be…
You may have heard that the government is allowing church buildings to open for private prayer from Monday 15th June and for community worship at the earliest from sometime in July. Our Methodist Connexion has advised us not to open for private prayer unless it is essential to our ministry, which at this point, we do not deem it to be. There is a long and complex checklist that we will have to follow whenever we do decide that we are ready to open our buildings, and it will take time to prepare the building and provide training.
Pastoral Letter – East Anglia District Chair of the District – Revd. Julian M. Pursehouse 17:06:2020 Sisters and Brothers in Christ, I am writing this letter the day after the easing of the current lockdown when some non-essential shops have reopened, additional children have returned to schools and a greater provision of public transport is…
Peni Rokobuli gives a presentation about his mission trip in our service today. It is MHA Sunday. Six people from around the circuit participated in singing the Ipswich Blessing. The local clergy made the newspaper with our statement about racism. Thank you to everyone from Museum Street who donated food to our food drive for FIND.
One of the set readings for this Sunday the 14th of June is Psalm 100. C.S. Lewis once wrote “The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.” Take time today not only to read Psalm 100 but to pray Psalm 100, for…
Pastoral Letter – East Anglia District Chair of the District – Revd. Julian M. Pursehouse 10:06:2020 Sisters and Brothers in Christ, I am writing to you at the end of a tumultuous week when the world was shocked by the despicable and brutal death of George Floyd, a 46 year old black American who became…
Christian leaders in Ipswich have today put out a press release with a joint statement in response to the killing of George Floyd. Your six appointed circuit ministers have all signed it. This was put together in a short period of time, so, please do not assume, therefore, that if a neighbouring church or church leader is not on the list that they didn’t agree with the sentiment of the letter!
The Sixth and final reflection on the life of Julian of Norwich written by Rev. Diane Smith. Not much is known about Julian, but we do know that that she was a quiet, reflective individual and that her way of coming close to God was to be by herself. In these days of isolation from…