Dear friends,
“To die is nothing; but it is terrible not to live.” (Victor Hugo, ‘Les Miserables’)
He not busy being born is busy dying.” (Bob Dylan)
Brace yourself! It is almost certain that your church will have ceased to exist in a few years time. Precisely when that will happen is known only to God but its near certainty is because our churches are finite things just like us. God’s Church overall will never die, you can be sure of that, but every individual church is a finite expression of that bigger Church and will have its own lifespan. Every year some churches come to the end of their life journey whilst others are being born.
So, having accepted that fact, let’s not get anxious about what the future holds. Let’s leave that in God’s hands and get on with the business of living!
I’ve met people over the years, of all ages, who had pretty much given up on living. I’ve met churches, too, that were seemingly just waiting for the inevitable. Equally, I’ve met people who were advanced in years but still absolutely full of life. Whatever time you might see left for your church congregation, let’s agree to be churches determined to be full of life.
When Jesus spoke with Nicodemus (John 3), he said that we should be born as human beings but also born of the Holy Spirit:
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
I would argue that, for our churches, the work of the Spirit is one of constant reinvigoration, bringing to birth new things from God. If that is not so, to borrow the words of Bob Dylan above, are we not just busy dying?
In my last Minister’s Message, I introduced the idea of a Circuit Review. We want the chief idea within this review to be about LIVING. How does God want to use my church with all that it has to offer? What new things or directions might the Spirit be wanting to bring to birth?
To that end we are setting two things into motion right now. Firstly, after Easter, we want to visit each church in the circuit to help reflect upon these questions. And, from March, we want to support that in prayer by moving our Tuesday Circuit prayer meeting from monthly to weekly.
The Spirit, like the wind, blows wherever he pleases. Let’s brace ourselves for where that might take us.
With love
Steve
Circuit Stewards report January 2025
Since our last report in September we have been blessed with the ministries of Rev Steve Oliver at Museum St, Alan Rd and Landseer Rd, and Rev Paulson Devasahayam at Felixstowe, Chantry and Bramford Rd, supported by Rev Steve Mann as Superintendent and Rev Saul Tadzaushe . Rev Steve Oliver and Rev Paulson Devasahayam are employed for a twelve month period before we enter Stationing again for 2025.
We are excited to inform the circuit that we were successfully matched with the position of Superintendent and Rev Vivienne Smith will be joining us from September 2025. She is moving from Lincolnshire with her husband Luke who is also a Methodist minister, and he will be taking up the superintendent appointment in the Tendring Circuit, over the border in Essex. This means that they will be sharing a manse, which is likely to be in Manningtree. Vivienne will have pastoral charge of Museum St, Bramford Rd, and Landseer Rd.
We were not successful in a match for Felixstowe, Alan Rd, and Chantry, but have submitted a profile for a Minister from other Church or Conference (MOCC) and are praying, and trusting in God, that this will be fruitful.
The circuit stewards are grateful and give thanks for all the great work that continues to go on in each of our churches. It was great to gather together to mark the beginning of Advent in a time of worship at Framlingham United Free Church, and share in their hospitality in their new renovated facilities following the floods two years ago.
Judy Steward, Liz Cope and Margaret Gooderham are stepping down from their roles as Circuit Stewards in September 2025, having served their tenure. However we are blessed to have other members of the circuit willing to step into these roles. Christine O’Neill (Alan Rd(, Kath Calvesbert (Museum St), and Jamie and Sally Scott (Knodishall) will be proposed and seek approval at the Circuit Meeting in March.
The Ipswich Round provides a fantastic medium for sharing and advertising what is happening in our churches. Please do continue to send in information about your church’s activities, and to encourage others to sign up to receive this directly via the circuit website
Our Online presence continues to reach beyond the Ipswich circuit, and we are grateful for contributors to the “digital sermon”, Bite Sized Church and Thought for the Day (TFTD). We are always grateful for contributions to Thought for The Day. They can be light-hearted or more in depth. It is great to have a variety of styles, so please consider submitting your “TFTD” to Emma Bowyer who coordinates these.
We were grateful to Elizabeth Welbourn, and family for the beautiful photos from the late David Welbourn’s collection that have been put together in a calendar, raising funds for IHAG and ARocha. (There are still some available)
CIRCUIT REVIEW
In September 2024 we were disappointed not to have been able to replace Rev Derek Grimshaw and Rev Abe Konadu-Yiadom, and so felt it was an opportune time to undergo a Circuit Review. Consequently, the circuit stewards met with Rev Helen Hollands in October.
This was only the start of the process and as we are all members of the one body of the church we ask for you to consider the following:
Purpose
Why are we here? What does God want to achieve through us?
Pastoral
How best can we support one another and show God’s love and care to others within the community?
Partnerships
How do we develop our existing links?
Are there other organisations we could partner with to deliver what God wants done here?
Premises
Is our existing building likely to be a help or a hindrance to future mission plans? Might God be prompting us towards other premises we could use to better do what we are called to do?
We are truly blessed in the Ipswich Circuit with so many different missional activities going on throughout the circuit and we wish to build on this.
We are all called to do the work of the Kingdom, and we are all part of the body of Christ. The CLT want to help churches as they explore their missional opportunities, and so it is proposed that a meeting is arranged following your Church Council, (probably after Easter) to help facilitate this process, with Circuit Steward and/or Minister meeting with you.
Prayer!
We invite your prayers for the future of our church and circuit family. We have no doubt that God has plans for us and work for us to do here but we seek his guidance as to what that might look like and how best it might be resourced.
There will be opportunity every Tuesday morning 9am-9.30am to meet together on Zoom to pray, and we invite as many people as possible to join this call to prayer, which we intend will be led by a member from different Missional Area each week.
(Liz Cope, Circuit Steward – on behalf of Judy Steward who is on “sabbatical” in Australia)