GEORGETOWN METHODIST CHURCH

Georgetown Road, St Saviour,Jersey, Channel Islands JE2 7PH

 Office Tel: 01534 730914  Minister: 01534 722093

EM Office: georgetown@jerseymail.co.uk        EM Minister: revshalls@supanet.com

Establishing our Priorities

....a working document

January 2010

 

Minister:  Rev Graeme Halls

 Tel: 01534 722093  

 EM: revshalls@supanet.com                                           

 

Priorities for Georgetown Methodist Church…….

 

The mission statements for both the Methodist Church(methodist.org.uk)  and Georgetown Methodist Church (see Church Mission page) are available, and I want them to be the beginning of a process that aims to establish what the priorities are for Georgetown Methodist Church.

 

Our mission statement asks us to engage in every aspect of our church’s and communities life, but it is not clear how we go about it and how we decide about one particular matter in relation to the whole.   It therefore seems to me we need to establish where our priorities lie and what our short, medium and long term aims are and how we seek to bring them about.

 

The process of conversation that I hope will take place over the next few months should involve every group and person in the life of the church so that the Church Council when it meets can have both a sense of what the Church believes to be important and then also have the courage to look ahead and plan for the future.

 

No one voice is more significant than any other, and we need to make sure that as we look at today’s issues we are not seeking yesterdays solutions.   Inevitably there will be more to do than we are able to do immediately, but it seems clear to me that, for example, our investment in a community link worker, Bev, means that other aspects of our church life, worship, property and so on, need to be able to respond to the opportunities that are already upon us, will take us forward and will involve change.

 

Most importantly of all we believe that God has put us here and calls us to respond to the needs, body, mind and spirit of the community. Unlike many churches in the circuit we are in the midst of a sizable community and on the edge of town, and we need to be able to respond to the needs of a world that is changing at a rate many of us find uncomfortable. It is increasingly demanding working with children and young people and we are a church that has a great opportunity to benefit from the circuit employment of a BB/GB development worker (Stephanie) from February.

 

Please have your say over the next few months.   Say how you think the church should better support your group or needs and also the needs of others. The church exists for those who do not yet come to it, so as we are the insiders, how do we reach others and draw them into faith and fellowship??

 

I hope that by the summer we will have answered some of the questions we are asking ourselves, and we will have raised more questions we have not thought of yet!   Listening to each other and taking brave decisions will be the challenge and I have every confidence we are well able to respond to this challenge.

 

Some questions to ask:

 

• What should we do that we are not at present doing?

 

• What should we stop doing that we presently are doing?

 

• What are our strengths?

 

• What are our weaknesses?

 

• What do we think of our church property?

 

• What should we be seeking to do through our worship?

 

• What is your vision for Georgetown in 5 years?

 

I am sure there are many more, so have a go at them as well!!!

If you want to talk to me that is fine, please get in touch. I am usually in church on a Thursday morning, but another time can be arranged.

 

Thank you for sharing in this journey. Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the opening of the newly refurbished church, I wonder if we can mark that with a new phase in the life of Georgetown Methodist Church.

 

 

Graeme