Letter from the Manse 

 

Dear Friends,

Happy First Birthday Cornerstone! Indeed, here we are one year into our journey together as Cornerstone Methodist Church. What a year it has been!

It began with the District Chair settng us on our way by asking us a question: So what is in a name? He reminded us, that as our name suggests, we have a solid foundation upon which to build a new faith community, even Christ himself! Our risen Lord and Saviour.

In this affirmation we have set forth on our journey and, I believe, the work is well begun. Just a cursory glance at our Annual Report – which only actually covered six months of our journey – tells us so! We are seeking to embrace a greater narrative, a bigger story, than just one of our Chapels on their own.

In many ways we are shaping a new narrative.

•  of engagement with the community through the Community Fridge at London Road and St Andrew’s
• of offering friendship and fellowship through Tea & Chat, Friday & Wednesday Café, Movie Mondays and more
• of sharing resources and enabling new opportuni9es through technology
• of building new pastoral networks and sustaining that important aspect of our work in the wider church family
• of enabling engagement with families in Horsham and Partridge Green through Messy Church
• of an ecumenical endeavour on The Green in Partridge Green at Pentecost

To name but a few!

Of course, setting out on such an adventure is not without its own challenges. Challenges, however, are merely opportunities in a different disguise. As we consider some of the challenges, maybe we ought to ask ourselves what might be the opportunity hidden in this disguise? And we have been trying to do just that.

The Discerning Prayer Journey (DPJ) was just such an opportunity for us to decipher the opportunity hidden in two specific challenges. 
Firstly, the realisation that if we are seeking to write the narrative I have listed above, we need companions to help us shape it because we are not enough on our own to do so. There is a vulnerability there that has the potential to hinder our progress.
Secondly, there is the conundrum of just what to do with buildings that need a significant investment of financial resources just to make them good never mind fit for purpose in our new narrative. Now, I am not here going to attempt to unpack the conversation that has unfolded over the course of our three DPJ events. That will come because the conversation has been good and is rich with the seeds of opportunity to reshape our narrative. All I want to say at this point is simply this:

What is your, what is my picture of God?

•  Is God the stingy miser who reluctantly parts with mere morsels at the end of our bitter pleading?
•  Is God the efficient manager who doles out just enough for what we require?
• Or, is God the bountiful supplier, the reckless benefactor, the exuberant giver of more than we could ever imagine to meet even the smallest need?

Go to the Scriptures. No, go to these specific Scriptures – they’re not the only ones, but they’re a beginning. Matthew 13, The Parable of the Sower and John 6, the Feeding of the 5,000. Read them again and tell me if God is not the bountiful supplier, the reckless benefactor, the exuberant giver of more than we could ever imagine! Let that be the narrative that shapes our story afresh.

On the cover of this edition of Outlook you’ll find a photo of the cover of this year’s Connexional Prayer Handbook. It flows from Isaiah’s call through the ages to “learn to do right; seek justice and defend the oppressed” (Isaiah 1:17a, NIV). And Mary’s song of praise, the ‘Magnificat’ (Luke 1:46-55). “...announce God’s kingdom which “brings down the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly.”

It is a call to engage in God’s mission and be part of that transformation. To be a Church that is called to become an increasingly evangelistic, inclusive and justice-seeking Church. I grew up in just such a Church in South Africa. Indeed, Praise and Protest, although they weren’t the specific watchwords, were, nevertheless, fundamental to the vision that shaped a Church in its response to the need. The same need lies at the gate here, now and our President and Vice President have placed an amazing resource at our disposal. My prayer is that we use it accordingly.

Lastly, Angela and I would like to thank you all for your love and care. We are indeed glad to be able to tell you your prayers are being answered. Whereas when we arrived, Brian’s circumstances were dire, now they are filled with hope and healing. He suffered a significant brain infection that led to a stroke which was complicated by their inability to respond immediately owing to his circumstances. He’s come through that and is beginning a journey of recovery that will take some time. Just what the end of that road looks like we don’t yet know. However, we do know who to trust. Please do continue to keep us in your prayers.

Blessings, Gavin