Northfield Methodist Church

I recieved an email today that showed pictures of a Muslim protest in London. This email upset me. Not because of what is portrayed as a threat to the western world and to Christianity, but because of what the email did not say and because of the clear lack of understanding i.e. provoking images were used out of context to elicit a response in a certain direction. One of the pictures was this one:

If you've ever attended one of the 18h30 services you'll remember an amazingly gifted singer by the name of Dirk Nel. He was part of the Contemporary Worship Team a few years back. His natural gifting was a real blessing and aid in our worship.

Dirk recently had the opportunity to record one of his songs, and has now distributed it. Country waiting to be born is the song, and I have uploaded it onto the Northfield site for you to listen to. Dirk is passionate about its message and that we spread it around.

Listen to it here.

A few months back I posted an entry wishing Trevor well in his next move after Northfield. It turns out now, after much discerning and discussion, that Trevor will remain a part of the Northfield team next year. Some of the website readers inquired as to how they could stay in touch with Trevor. Well, now it's quite easy ... his telephone number and email address will remain the same :)

Trev, perhaps you'd like to tell us a little more of what your involvement next year will be, by way of a comment to this post?

As part of their mammoth fundraising effort, the D-Camp leaders hosted the Josh Variety Show last night in the sanctuary. Never before has the sanctuary hosted such a wide variety of God-given talent - from a double-jointed stunt with a broom to a freestyle dance demonstration.

Well done to all involved for a spectacular evening. Below are some pics from the evening. You can see the full albums by clicking here and here.

I have been reading Rev Dion Forster's blog for a little while now (click here to go there). It's an amazing resource of thoughts, reflections, audio references and musings on the movements within the broader Methodist Church in South Africa.

Until I found his blog, I realised that I knew very little about what was happening within the broader church. I mean, I'd heard of "synods" and "conferences", but knew little about the issues that were dealt and wrestled with in these forums. I guess a worship service does not really cater for an announcement section that relays news from within the denomination. I wonder if this is the way it should be? How much richer would our faith and sense of connection with the church be if we were updated on this sort of news.

For example, over the last few decades there has been a vociferous debate on same-sex relationships within the Methodist church. Have you been aware of it? Do you know what our church's formal stance/statement is on this hot potato?

I didn't either, until I had read some of Dion's writings. Besides ministering at Bryanston Methodist , he is actively involved in the leadership structures of our denomination and writes prolifically on the happenings from a policy and political perspective as well as considering seriously where we are going from a discipleship point of view.

As a teaser, here is a statement from the document on same-sex relationships:

Conference therefore resolves:
i) That the grace, affirmation of diversity, and commitment to the unity of the church central to the same-sex resolutions of the 2001 and 2005 Conferences be re-affirmed;
ii) That our ministers and people continue to engage this issue in Christian conversation and
respectful listening, so that all of us may more fully understand and articulate the variety of viewpoints held within our church;
iii) That we will seek to be a Christ-honouring community:
Celebrating the rich diversity of those called
to follow Jesus, honouring the sacred worth of all people and practicing our Wesleyan heritage of warmth, welcome and hospitality;
Recognising the authority of Scripture, and noting that in our quest for understanding, there is no one, monolithic and incontrovertible interpretation of it;
Acknowledging that there are therefore some issues upon which there may never be total unanimity within the church and upon which we must "agree to differ" without reducing our respect for, and trust of, one another.

How do you prepare for a worship service?

Prepare?

Yes, when it comes to attending a worship service, what preparation do you go through in anticipation of meeting with God in that time? Do you center your mind as you're driving to Church? Do you say a short prayer as you enter the Sanctuary?

One of the ways I'd like to explore preparation for the 18h30 service is to post some of the thoughts that go through my mind as I prepare the worship set for the coming Sunday evening. This will mean that the worship time is not a lucky-packet for you as you arrive on a Sunday evening, but rather you get to share some of the worship leader's "mind" before hand.

Onto this coming week - 30th September.

The theme for Sunday is Compassion. As I read through the possible scriptures for the evening, I was struck by one of the most beautiful passages I've come across:

Isaiah 58:8-9 (New Living
Translation)

8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from
behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

These verses come after a series call to Holy living - a real challenge for us to live the life God wants us to live - yet, the promise is that our salvation will come like the dawn. It kinda reminds me of the scene from City of Angels where the angels move to the shores each morning and listen to the music of the dawn. It is a source of energy and rejuvenation for the angels.

And so, some of the preparation you can do for Sunday is to consider how your salvation has come like the dawn - what newness has it brought into your life and how has God sustained you as the day moves to noon and evening?

Hope to see you on Sunday evening.

This weekend's services greeted us with the news of Trevor's departure from Northfield at the end of 2008. It is sad news in the life of our church. How does one begin to take stock of the impact someone like Trevor has had on our community and faith?

Partings like this are always difficult - for all parties concerned. There is a natural grieving process, that in my experience, never manifests itself in the same way. Every minister's departure is difficult, but I suspect that after 17 years of service to Northfield, there will be immensely difficult goodbye's to be said.

I guess a congregation member also needs to remember that Ministers come and go in the life of a church. It's part and parcel of the Methodist Church of South Africa's (MCSA) approach to ministry - that after a period of time (usually 5 years I think), the eldership and minister need to review the invitation for another period of ministry.

A departure of this nature is also a very difficult personal journey - I remember the pain I went through when the minister at my first church left (I don't think he'll remember, but I made an appointment with the Circuit Superintendent, Bill Meaker, to protest the departure. ah, the vigour of youth!).

One of the best approaches in a time like this is to deal with the pain openly. A close friend, Rev Barry Marshall , chronicled his last departure from Edenvale Methodist church in his blog, Leaving Home.

Apt words I suspect, "leaving home" ... this will no doubt be the feeling we all have as Trevor moves on.