Dear Friends,
I want to share some news with you. As you may know Methodist ministers are invited to a circuit for a period of time and my current invitation comes to an end in the summer of 2022. After much reflection, prayer and discernment I have decided not to seek an extension to the invitation as I intend to retire.
As I am due a Sabbatical next year I will take that opportunity between May and July 2022. Thus this means that I will be around for the next 12 months in face to face work and ministry.
Clearly this is a big step for me to take, but it is also a big step for you in the churches as you discern what is the future vision and ministry needs.
The Circuit Stewards are responsible for leading the process of discernment and exploration in any change of Circuit minister. They will liaise with the leadership team in the church to look at the life of the church, what are the opportunities, priorities and needs of the community and how they might best be met in the future. The Circuit will look at the wider picture across the Circuit and how resources for ministry might best be met.
We know that we are all ministers, lay and ordained, in the church and beyond; now there is the opportunity to see what flavour and shape any new ministry might take and where and how it might be focussed. If an ordained person is sought, then, after consultation with the local church, a profile for an appointment will be created in August 2021. The profile will go into the stationing process and the earliest any match could be agreed would be in November, 2021, for a start in September 2022.
As you probably aware there are always more circuits across the country looking for ordained ministers than there are ministers available, so there are no guarantees that we would find someone.
So I ask you to begin praying about this next phase in our lives. Pray for discernment, wisdom, trust and patience in what is a long and complex process. But also pray for a post pandemic vision for the church. What might that look like? How might we be called to be a different community in the future? What sort of ministerial input would be appropriate for us in that context?
Peace
Tim