Sisters and Brothers,<\/p>\n
As we start another Connexional Year, I invite us to give thanks for what God has enabled us to do in the past, and to launch out in faith into God\u2019s possibility for now and the future.<\/p>\n
This year marks the 35th<\/sup>\u00a0Anniversary of Methodist presence in this country. We give thanks for God\u2019s faithfulness in preserving this branch of the Church. However, as we look back, do we sense that the Methodist witness has been sufficiently vibrant? Can we boast of faithful stewardship that has served towards the extension of God\u2019s kingdom here, or has the life of the Methodist Church been confined to meeting the welfare of a declining membership?<\/p>\n As we look back in time and recall being part of a more vibrant faith community, may we be re-ignited with a passion for the things of God, and for sharing the faith we have inherited. As we launch into this thirty-fifth year, I invite us to be deliberate agents of revival, seeking a renewal of faith among us and others who have grown distant, as well as inspiring others to belong to the household of faith. If we are sufficiently passionate about this, the Lord will honour such holy desire and enable the Holland Circuit (Methodisten Kerk Nederland<\/em>), to use all the means at its disposal, to extend. The extension will happen not just in numbers, but we will witness old and young ones being passionate about and striving to be equipped for doing God\u2019s business.<\/p>\n As God\u2019s agents in this time and place, let us be ready to use our gifts and resources for the work of ministry, for the extension of God\u2019s community in the Netherlands. Through giving all that we can, we travel with travel with God into unexpected places, and experience the greatest surprises which help us to understand that, indeed, with God, all things are possible.<\/p>\n Speaking of giving, I am not speaking only about our\u00a0T<\/strong>ime and\u00a0T<\/strong>alent, but also our\u00a0T<\/strong>reasure. With reference to the last\u00a0T<\/strong>, I am referring specifically to money. Many have been very generous in the past. A few have given sparingly, and some have given far less that they could have.<\/p>\n How about us correcting that this year?\u00a0I invite every confirmed member of the circuit to give an Anniversary Gift of 35 euros.<\/strong>\u00a0When we celebrated our thirtieth anniversary, some gave the anniversary gift of \u20ac30, but not everyone did. Let\u2019s fix that. Let each one of us give \u20ac35 to the circuit between now and April 30, that is, at any time during the first three quarters. This way, by Aldersgate everyone will have given his\/her Anniversary Love Gift to the circuit. And let\u2019s not stop there. Let us focus on giving our all for the glory of God<\/p>\n Yours in God\u2019s service
\nJoan Delsol Meade, Pastor.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-2254","pastors_corner","type-pastors_corner","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demoshowcase.in\/churchen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pastors_corner\/2254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demoshowcase.in\/churchen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pastors_corner"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demoshowcase.in\/churchen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pastors_corner"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demoshowcase.in\/churchen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}