Welcome to the Southampton District Website!
Dear Friends,
Twenty twelve promises to be a year of challenge to us all: in our society we are facing changes and economic upheaval with all that implies in terms of unemployment, re-deployment and uncertainty. In our churches also we are facing the ever present test of apparent decline in congregations and rise in average age of our members. However, there is lots to be thankful for and many positive messages that we can offer to one another and our society as a whole.
So many churches in our district are involved in work in the community with the elderly, homeless, and needy. There are exciting developments with Messy Church and other Fresh Expressions of church and some places are re-discovering what it means to be a ‘Discipleship movement shaped for mission’ as our General Secretary, Martyn Atkins reminds us.
As a Connexional Church, we have been invited to share in two important visionary documents: first, the Fruitful Fields consultation is encouraging us to think more creatively at ways of being a Learning Church in which we all take responsibility for our growth as Christians. The second paper is the General Secretary’s report to Conference 2011 in which Martyn challenged us to re-think what we mean when we talk about the ministry of the whole people of God, to re-visit the Methodist understanding of small groups in which we ‘watch over each other in love’. He raises the issue of much Methodist worship when he says ‘I hear many declare ruefully that our contemporary Methodist worship touches neither the ‘heights’ nor the ‘depths’, and I confess to having some sympathy with that view.’ The challenge to us is to work at improving our worship and encouraging Ministers, Local Preachers and Worship Leaders to be regularly inspired and supported as they prepare worship.
It’s the year of the Olympics and with Weymouth and Portland in our District we have the unique opportunity to be quite closely involved in events. But all churches are encouraged to get involved one way or another through the More than Gold events being organised.
The ReShaping for Mission agenda is an ongoing piece of work in the District and we are doing all that we can to support ministers and churches as they engage in this important re-visioning of our Circuit mission and ministry.
Here on the website we continue to offer resources to support you in all that you do for the church. If you are involved in any District event, then the calendar pages are the best place to start looking for details. If you are not sure where to start looking for a particular resource, then enter it into the search button above and see what results!
I hope that 2012 will be a good year for you and your family, church and community.
Andrew Wood
District Chair
Andre
w Wood is our District Chair - find out about other District Officers here