Northfield Methodist Church

Dear Friends

Having just moved into the second third of our 150 days of renewal, we ask God's Spirit to breathe change into our lives. At two of the morning services we also celebrate families and welcome eight new members into Northfield at the 10am service.

In the liturgies used by the church, one place where families are spoken of is in marriage ceremonies. I use it often and you most probably have heard it often. But like so much of church liturgy, it is easily glossed over without us being struck by its wisdom. The liturgy speaks of marriage being God's idea for us to experience the security of love and care, and grow towards maturity. It then declares that is the will of God that "through marriage, children may be nurtured, family life strengthened, and human society enriched."

It seems that God's idea for individuals is always community; in the case of marriage - for a man and a woman to enter into a relationship where destinies, dreams, successes, struggles, blessings and heartaches now share a common life. Sacrifice is always part of this journey, but so too is blessing beyond imagination. As the bride of Christ, the above too becomes true for the church. For you and for me and for all others who are Northfield, God's idea for each one of us is to swop that which is personal for that which is communal. I now share in a comon destiny, dream, success, struggle, blessing and heartache with Christ and with those who are Northfield. This change will always be sacrificial, but it will also always bless beyond imagination.

Is this our experience? What is our sacrifice and what is our unimaginable blessing? May God's Spirit continue His work of changing each one of us into a people who are loved, cared for, nurtured, strengthened and enriched by participating in God's idea of being part of the lives of others. May we be led into a deeper sacrifice and a deeper blessing as we swop our private individualism for the sake of our community God.

The Ministry Team