Message from the Circuit Superintendent September 2022
As we embark on a new year serving God and leading the people of the twenty-two Churches in this part of Suffolk, we face fresh challenges as we continue to recover from the experiences of the pandemic. I have likened our situation to that of the children of Israel as they stood facing the waters of the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army closing in behind them, it must have felt as though the dream was ended, that all was lost. Even in that dire situation, God intervened and led the Israelites through the parted water. There are times when it feels as though the life of Church is under threat and we must remember that the God who helped Moses, is still with us today! After hearing me quote this example, a wise colleague asked the question
“Is the Ipswich Circuit still committed to seeking the promised land? Or are we still longing to return to Egypt?”
God has been gracious to this Circuit during the last two years and his Spirit has guided us through the whole pandemic experience, not simply enabling us to maintain the status quo but to experience new ways of being Church. We have engaged with the challenges of God in love unites us, recognising that whilst people have differing views, we can still accept our differences and move forward in love. We have explored topical issues like the Black Lives Matter campaign, we have engaged with the climate crisis, the impact of the pandemic on people’s mental wellbeing, the war in Ukraine and the current issues surrounding escalating fuel costs and the cost-of-living crisis.
We have worked hard over the last few years building up strong teams of ordained and lay leaders, who have brought passion, skill, knowledge, experience, and vision into the life of the Circuit. We have made great headway, but now is not the time to relax and pat ourselves on the back, we start with new colleagues this September, both lay and ordained and start on the next stage of our journey towards the promised land, committed to exploring new ways to be Church as we share the Gospel message, helping those with a faith to deepen and grow in their love for God and to bring people with little or no knowledge of God into the community of his people.
Communication is at the core of what we do. We have invested heavily in our media work with our website www.methodistic.org.uk including our weekly newsletter Ipswich Round Online, weekly worship opportunities, bible teaching, thought for the day and circuit information. We are growing in our use of social media and information sharing around a diverse circuit.
We respond to God’s grace by moving forward with him into this new year, ready to engage with all that he has in store for the people of this part of Suffolk.
God Bless
Derek
Section 1 Our Mission Statement:
1.0 Our Mission is:
To support and resource our Methodist communities appropriately and encourage each one in its mission as effective church.
2.0 We aim to:
- – to be a discipleship movement shaped for mission.
- – support and resource our Methodist communities in fulfilling ‘Our Calling.’
‘The calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God’s love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.’
- Worship.
- Learning and Caring.
- Service.
- Evangelism.
- Encourage innovative partnership:
- with other Methodist communities.
- with ecumenical partners.
- With secular partners
- in specific mission projects.
- Resource and provide pastoral oversight for our Methodist Churches through ordained and lay staff within the limits of available funding.
- Resource specific mission initiatives to meet the challenges of our changing communities.
Circuit Mission Statement
The Ipswich Methodist Circuit aims to support the Methodist Churches in the area around Ipswich, Felixstowe and Woodbridge in their primary work of Worship, Learning and caring, service and evangelism.
Circuit Vision Statement September 2022
Aims:
- To continue to support the existing twenty-two worshipping congregations.
- To help people to worship in creative and inspirational styles with provision of preachers and in resourcing Local Arrangements.
- To encourage lifelong discipleship, helping people to grow in faith in a safe environment.
- To serve the community around us, supporting those in need by our giving of time, money, and service.
- To witness to the communities we serve, sharing the love of Christ and developing new worshipping congregations
Objectives:
Worship:
Aim
To resource Churches to experience the best possible worship as an offering to God.
- To provide quarterly Circuit worship
- To provide weekly printed worship complimented with a digital sermon.
- To continue to pioneer Bite Sized Worship and Thought for the Day.
- To pioneer creative styles of worship like Café, puppet ministry, and contemporary worship.
- To resource Churches for Local Arrangements
Learning and Caring:
Aim:
To build up disciples for Christ.
- To resource or write materials for house groups, Advent groups and Lent groups.
- To help people with lifelong Christian learning.
- Encourage people to engage with challenging and difficult issues, like the Climate Crisis, God in love unites us, Credit Crisis, contemporary, Christian and Methodist Issues.
- To support local Churches with their pastoral ministry.
- To ensure that Safeguarding records are up to date and the latest training provided.
Service:
Aim:
To encourage local Churches and the Circuit to engage with the servant ministry.
- To review and catalogue the different charities being supported by Churches around the Circuit, both home and overseas.
- To identify areas of need around the Circuit, that we should be supporting.
- To identify external agencies that the church can work with and create active partnerships.
- To actively promote a social ministry
- To ensure that the Circuit Website is populated with helpful information and contacts.
- Our aim is to encourage hopefulness for all.
Evangelism:
Aim:
To share the gospel message with people new to faith and to grow the Kingdom of God.
- To further develop ecumenical work and strengthen links with other denominations.
- To improve information sharing, through the wide choice of media available to us by developing the website and social media opportunities.
- To identify opportunities for further outreach and development making use of the skills and gifts of the Circuit people.
- To create new and creative ways of strengthening links with new people and build up those on the periphery of the Church.
- To remind people in the church communities that Methodism was born as an evangelical movement.
Administration
Aim
To encourage responsible stewardship in all the Circuit Churches.
- To deal with all staffing issues, ensuring that there is a balance of appropriate ministers both lay and ordained to support the work and mission of local Churches.
- To deal with the finances of the circuit, budget carefully and ensure that we are working responsibly under the remit of The Methodist Church and the Charity Commission.
- To look after the properties under the management of the circuit, namely the manses and be responsible landlords. To work with Churches to ensure that their building are kept in line with Methodist Church guidance, with all reporting up to date.
- To review policies as a circuit and to ensure that local church policies are current and accurate.
Priorities for the Methodist Church
In partnership with others wherever possible, the Methodist Church will concentrate its prayers, resources, imagination and commitments on this priority:
To proclaim and affirm its conviction of God’s love in Christ, for us and for all the world; and renew confidence in God’s presence and action in the world and in the Church
As ways towards realising this priority, the Methodist Church will give particular attention to the following:
- Underpinning everything we do with God-centred worship and prayer
- Supporting community development and action for justice, especially among the most deprived and poor – in Britain and worldwide
- Developing confidence in evangelism and in the capacity to speak of God and faith in ways that make sense to all involved
- Encouraging fresh ways of being Church
- Nurturing a culture in the Church which is people-centred and flexible