St.Margaret Contact Magazine

LETTER FROM THE MINISTER

2007-01-07T16:16:00.000Z

Dear Friends

Congratulations on our 70th anniversary year. I am only just beginning to learn about all the effort that has gone into the life of this church over the years.

As you look back with gratitude, you will realise all the changes that have taken place since 1937. This booklet can be studied along with those for your previous decades as still pictures of a movie which is yet in progress. This anniversary year will be an opportunity to discern how our story will develop in the next decade of our church’s life. You will all have an opportunity to work out the latest chapter in that story.

You will see from the Mission Statement that worship is at the centre of our church’s life. This is in keeping with recent developments, including the recognition of new worship leaders and the installation of a multimedia system. The next stage will be to enable the congregation to grow as Christians through an enhanced worship experience. We need to be a learning church in which we all learn from each other. There is no distinction between teacher and taught. As Jesus showed by washing his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, both teacher and taught are servants of one another.

Once we are growing as Christians, then there will be a new depth to our community experience. Christian love, or ‘agape’ in the Greek, is about loving those who are different from us. Herein lies the essence of all community. If people can say of us, “See how much they love each other”, then we will be witnessing to the wider community about the nature of the Kingdom of God.

Have a good year… Raymond

MISSION STATEMENT

2005-11-20T20:14:00.000Z

As was set out in our 60th anniversary Mission Statement, we continue to make worship, care and witness the centre of our life in a busy and challenging part of Luton. Many things have changed over the last 70 years, whilst the family spirit of St Margaret’s has continued.

Great progress has recently been made and new dimensions brought to our worship through the installation of a new multi-media system. We will continue to use these facilities to enhance worship in order to strengthen our witness. We must also be ready to accept more change if we are to continue the excellent witness to God’s kingdom in the Biscot Mill area.

Above all it is our prayer that we should joyfully proclaim the Good News so that all may come to know Christ as their Saviour. “Through Christ all things are made possible”.

In Response To The Terrorist Attacks, A Sermon From Our Minister

2005-07-11T21:42:00.000Z

Luke 20:1-8: One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders 2and said to him, ‘Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?’ 3He answered them, ‘I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ 5They discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why did you not believe him?” 6But if we say, “Of human origin”, all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.’ 7So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8Then Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’

Where do people take their authority from today? Through the events on Thursday we witnessed a group of people whose authority comes from their ability to end innocent lives and injure everyday bystanders. Certainly the capacity to wound and destroy is powerful, and men and women throughout history have taken that power and abused that authority. But the response of ordinary people in London has shown that they do not respect such authority, and so they refuse to be swayed by its effect.

As Christians, we most certainly do not believe in a recognise any authority which expresses itself in hatred and destruction. We believe in a God who has had the capacity, throughout human history, and before time began, to destroy, or crush, or dehumanise, but our God has chosen instead to show authority in creativity, in giving freedom, and in dying rather than waging war.

When the world had turned against God, God could have come with armies to destroy us and end this creation, but chose instead to come as one of us, experiencing our weakness and vulnerability, Christ Jesus, even allowing his own liberty to be removed, and his life to be taken.

Even now, in the 21st century when so many in the western world refuse even to admit that God exists, yet still, God bears with humanity in patience and love, still opening us possibilities of reconciliation. God’s authority is seen in patient love and powerful compassion. This is the God whom we follow. That is why our every instinct observes the mayhem caused by the terrorist and rejects it, and fights it. In our hearts, minds and souls God has placed an understanding that terrorism cannot and must not win any victory. A terrorist can damage a body, can take a life, can scare a nation, but they cannot win the hearts and minds of a people.

And when Jesus came to the Temple to teach, those who opposed him could do nothing to him at that moment because he had won the hearts and minds of those who met him. Just as people today are looking with revulsion upon the terrorists and knowing that their way is wrong, so people looked on Jesus and somehow knew that he was right.

They asked him where his authority came from, but they were really scared because they knew the answer to that question. They knew that he came from God because his words had a power that they had never seen before, and his genuine manner told them that there was no lying or falsehood in him. Jesus was real.

You and I are not much like a 1st century Palestinian in so many ways. We are media savvy, we know about Political arguments, we are used to fighting off manipulation by advertising companies, and some of us belong to generations who feel ourselves to be more cynical than any that has existed ever before. Yet still Jesus’ words echo true. Still we look at his life and see a man who truly meant what he said. Still we look at his life and see a man who was willing to die a painful, shameful, lonely death, which he could have got out of, because he believed what he said, because he was, what he said. And for 21 centuries people have believed in the authority of this 1st century Jew enough to give their own lives.

Terrorism might be able to kill, but there is only on who can brink the dead back to life. The authority of Jesus was finally, and triumphantly proved beyond doubt when God raised him from the dead on the third day. The authority of you and I as Christians comes not from remembering the life of a wonderful man, but from the living presence of Jesus here with us today. Jesus’ living presence when we pray, his involvement in the world by his Holy Spirit is the reason we still proclaim this gospel.

We believe that in the darkness of the underground tunnel, as people died and lived, Jesus was there, by his Spirit. We believe that on the top deck of a double decker bus, in the shock and mayhem, Christ was present. We believe that in the anguish of the relatives who still do not know whether their loved ones are living, or dead, God suffers too.

And we believe that beyond the death and the shock and the anguish, lives Jesus, the Christ. The first to be resurrected from the dead, leading those who choose to follow to life everlasting. Beyond the terror, and the manipulation, and the false authority, we believe…
In the face of terrorism: a prayer by Rev. Jonathon Kerry, Methodist Minister.
For those who are injured, maimed, traumatised and dying:We pray God's peace; For the rescue workers - police and fire officers, paramedics, and hospital staff:We pray God's strength; For the fellow-travellers stooping to comfort, soothe and tend the wounds:We pray God's compassion; For those who are dispirited, angry, despairing, and grieving:We pray God's comfort; For the leaders who are called to speak for and to nation or communities:We pray God's wisdom; For those who turn to violence to achieve their ends:We pray God's forgiveness; For our sisters and brothers of all faiths and of none:We pray God's blessing; For ourselves - numbed, fearful, morbidly fascinated or guiltily relieved:We pray God's light in our lives. As we hold before God those who suffer, we give thanks for every sign of the resilience of the human spirit and the determination not to be cowed by the cowards. We pray that all people may learn to live in peace and with mutual respect. May we not cease in our striving for justice and for an end to poverty, preventable disease and the destruction of the environment. May our eyes be fixed on Jesus, who bears and takes away the sin of the world, and in whom nothing can separate us from the love of God. Amen.
Jonathan Kerry7th July 2005

What Does a Minister Do?

2005-05-10T20:08:00.000Z

Somebody asked me “What does a minister do?” yesterday. It’s a very good question & ministers don’t tend to be very good at giving an answer, but here’s my attempt…

Prayer is the first order of the day every day, & that’s probably the only constant!

Sundays: I normally preach twice on a Sunday. Preparation usually starts at 7am, then I go straight on to the morning service, then leave at around 12:30-ish, depending on what’s happening. Sometimes there’s a lunch afterwards, but more often, I can go to my family in Dunstable for a quick lunch, before coming back to Luton to try and finish preparing for the evening service. (sometimes I only have one service on a Sunday)
There’s usually something happening in the evening on a Sunday, which takes me through until 9:30ish.

Saturdays: Often these are fairly quiet days for me. I can use them to catch up on some preparation for Sunday’s services, do some paperwork, maybe even read a bit of a theological book, or even do a bit relaxing for a couple of hours. Of course, sometimes there are weddings, or synods, or other church events.

The week days:
I have one day off every week.
Staff Meetings happen once a month and tend to last for a morning.
There could be a meeting with Betty Trinder about how we’re working together, what issues have come up with the church and that kind of thing We meet about once a month for a couple of hours.
Evening meetings are usually each night that is not my day off. These include church councils, pastoral committees, Circuit meeting, local preachers’ meeting, Bible studies, meeting families for weddings, or baptisms, stewards meeting, prayer meetings…etc. (some people suggest that meetings are the curse of Methodism, but I feel that at least they mean we get together and discuss what we’re doing. As you know, I feel that we’re all a team, so these things are important to me.)
During the day, there might be a meeting with somebody who wants to know how to read the Bible, or a prayer meeting with discussions about how the church is doing.
There are visits to those who are terminally ill, or who would like communion, or who are unable to get to church at all any longer.
Sometimes there are meetings with people from the community who want the church to know about what they do, then I can pass the information on to relevant people so that they could come to meetings, or be contacted when needed.
There are emails when I’m trying to find a grant for somebody in need, or discussions about letters to be written, or people in new church positions to write to or speak to.
There are job descriptions to be written, and written again after consultation with the district, and similar experiences with letting agreements.
There are meetings with ministers of other denominations, and services to organise together.
There needs to be time to prayerfully consider the things that I have heard God saying through the people of the church and elsewhere this week about where each church ought to be heading.
There are individuals’ ideas which need looking into and discussing about what might be right to do next.
There is service and meeting preparation during the week.
If there are funerals, these involve one or, more usually I find, two visits with preparations of orders of service and addresses and discussions about words for hymns and versions of the Bible to use.
There are a number of other things which come up suddenly, or which I haven’t been looking out for, which need dealing with there and then. I need to be flexible.

My way of working is not very methodical, but then neither is my work! I have a tendency to work one day, all day without a break, and then lie in the following day because I’m shattered!
They told us at college to split the day into three sections (morning, afternoon and evening) and to work only two of them. I do that when I can, but more often, I use it as a reason to say to myself “I worked 12 hours yesterday, and the day before, if I can only manage 3 or 4 today, that’s OK”

If I do things that way, it means that I still have time to spend with my family in between work, and also to just take time out, or do the garden or the housework, or read a book, or watch TV, etc.

So, that’s my answer to “What does this minister do?” Some of the things you’ll look at and say “She doesn’t do that here!” and that’s true. My work is different with each church.
As to “What should your minister be doing?” maybe you feel that the two questions are completely different, and don’t meet at all. If that’s the case, what do you think I should drop out from these things that I am doing? I work at the very least a 40 hour week, it’s probably a lot more usually, and I don’t feel I can fit anything else in!

But you might feel that some of the things I am doing should be somebody else’s role, or you might feel you could do them better. As I’ve said, we’re a team. Let’s talk about it! Of course, I believe that I am serving God, but I’m well aware that God communicates through people other than myself! And it’s been my experience so far, that God moves us and changes us constantly as we’re able to grow, and prepared to listen.

The Mission of a Methodist Christian

2005-05-08T20:42:00.000Z

The methods of the Methodist Christian mission includes:

Telling the good news of Jesus.
Calling people to have faith in Jesus Christ and to Christian discipleship.
Caring for individual people and communities.
Sharing the task of education and social and spiritual development.
Becoming friends with people of different cultures and faiths.
Caring for the earth.
Building partnerships with other churches and other groups who share some of our mission aims.

Loving and Joyful God

2005-05-01T20:12:00.000Z

You must be so full of fun! You made people who find red noses funny!
You made men and woman who love to clown about, who find laughter
Therapeutic. What kind of a God you must be!
You made laughter lower our blood pressure and relieve our stress.
You made laughter a cementer of friendships, a builder of relationships.
The Smile you made to warm us to one another.
You gave us a spirit that is raised by silliness.
You gave us a sense of humour and created the sound of laughter rippling through a crowd, or passing from person to person in a room.

Creator God, you made joy. Thank you
Amen

Dear Heavenly Father

2005-04-19T19:24:00.000Z

There are still so may unanswered questions in my life. But there is one thing I do know; you are the answer to life.

You loved me before I was even born. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I will not run from you anymore.

Thank you for allowing Jesus to pay the price of death for me. He saved me from destruction.
Today, Jesus, I ask you to come into my life. I choose you as the Lord of my life. Please change me from within. Let your Holy Spirit live within me. I believe that I am a new person. You are now my God and Saviour.

From today on, I choose to acknowledge and follow you. I believe that you will guide me and help me to succeed in all that I do .

Please teach me to love you. In the Name of Jesus.
Amen

2005-04-18T19:15:00.000Z

St.Margarets Church

The World

2005-04-16T00:10:00.000Z

The world we live in seems to be speeding up every day. We seem to have less time today than we did a decade ago. Yet the reality is that we still have the same 24hrs each day. It’s just that we have more options concerning how we spend those hours. With the aid of personal computers, the internet and mobile phones, we can do things much faster than we used to. The trouble is, now we’re expected to take on more instead of using this “additional” time for things that are important to us. Today there are more distractions and interruptions than ever and many of us feel we have lost the privilege to just sit, think and dream. We seem to have lost sight of who we really are what we really stand for and we really want out of life.

Many of are caught up in the frenzy of consumerism, where the primary focus is on money and our lack of lack of it. Our careers and professions have become money driven instead of purpose and passion driven. And we justify this by telling ourselves that once we have put in all the time and effort we will than have time and money to spend with our families and loved ones.

Sadly, however, the opposite happens. Our families and loved ones drift away because we don’t seem to have time for them. Maybe if we go on a crash diet we’ll put the spice back in our lives. Maybe if we buy a new car or new house (or, in extreme cases, find ourselves a new spouse), things will get back to normal. Maybe but usually not. Usually we end up repeating the process an experiencing the same frustrations and pain over again. The fact is, the pattern will keep on reoccurring whilst our daily actions are not in tune with our highest priorities.

The only way to correct this phenomenon is to practice daily behavioural balanced habits that can slowly and incrementally re-align us with the actions and attitudes that are of highest value. Take ‘Urgent’ and ‘Important’. For example. We need to re-establish the difference. Should the mobile call (urgent but not always important) take preference over family mealtimes (important but not urgent.)?

You see there is not enough time to accomplish everything that comes our way on a daily basis. But there is always enough time to do the important things. Have-Do-Be is putting the cart before the horse. Before you have, you must do. And before you can do you must be. That’s most probably why we are called human beings and not human havings or human doings.

Like most people, you probably started every year off with exciting new year resolutions – only to find they fall by the wayside before the first month is over. Why not start year off differently; knowing who you are, what you stand for and what you really want to accomplish. In the same way as you can re-align your personal and family life. You can re-align your financial goals. And right now is the best time ever to change your life, and the lives of those around you, for the better