David and I had a great time on the first Sunday of our new connexional year. We shared in the morning worship at Wesley's Chapel with over 300 people from many parts of the world. It was wonderful to meet so many people who have now made this their home church as well as others who were visiting from abroad or elsewhere in Britain. There was an International Lunch afterwards and the tables were groaning with so many different kinds of food from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific and even a few quiches from Britain..... In the evening we shared in a healing service at Westminster Central hall with over 80 people in the beautiful chapel. Here again there was a good mix of ages, cultures, visitors and regular members. Both these churches are excellent examples of the Church engaging with the local community and seeking to be relevant to their local situations. There was a real sense of excitment and vibrancy. David took lots of photos so i hope he will post some of them in the next couple of days.
We travelled down to Brighton on the Monday to spend 24 hours at the TUC Conference. We met a number of thekey officals of the TUC who willingly gave of their time to share with us and all were open to continuing dialogue and partnership where we could work together on specific issues. Again and again, especially when we met with Dave Prentice the TUC president, we were reminded of our common heritage and how the Trade Union movement owes so much of their origins to Methodism. I wonder how many of our members are still involved at the different local, regional and national levels?
I am now in Cornwall for a District visit but specifically to share in the Induction of the new Chair, the Rev Steve Wild. It is going to be a very special service and I am sure it will be fun....so keep reading and you may get some surprising photos!
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