A Methodist Way of Life (MWoL)

The calling of the Methodist Church…

is to respond to the gospel of God’s love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.

Here are some thoughts from the two groups that have been going since the summer:

They even got to share their experiences in an article about Methodist Way of Life in the Methodist Recorder of 15th January:

Could you commit to meet regularly (every couple of weeks) with two or three others (by computer or socially distanced in person)?

Begin with a simple opening prayer
– then sharing of recent stories, and the God part in them (5 minutes each max) while others listen, encourage, and pray as led
– then have a conversation on MWoL questions – one each session e.g. What is the pattern of your prayer life? which could lead on to more questions such as – has this changed during lockdown? how much of this is dependent on being in church with others?
– then continue to encourage by asking: How can we support each other in our Way of Life commitments?
Finally end by saying together the MWoL commitment:

As far as we are able, with God’s help:

•Worship

• We will pray daily.
• We will worship with others regularly.
• We will look and listen for God in Scripture, and the world.

•Learning and Caring

• We will care for ourselves and those around us.
• We will learn more about our faith.
• We will practise hospitality and generosity.

•Service

• We will help people in our communities and beyond.
• We will care for creation and all God’s gifts.
• We will challenge injustice.

•Evangelism

• We will speak of the love of God.
• We will live in a way that draws others to Jesus.
• We will share our faith with others.

May we be a blessing within and beyond God’s Church, for the transformation of the world.

The Questions fall into the four headings of ‘Our Calling’

•Worship

• What is the pattern of your prayer life?
• How easy or hard do you find it to pray?
• What has spoken to you recently in worship or in the Bible?
• When, lately, have you felt close to God or distant from God?

•Learning and Caring

• How have you practised generosity since we last met?
• How have you shown hospitality to others recently?
• How are you caring for yourself?
• How and what are you learning now?

•Service

• How are you seeking to serve others in your communities and beyond?
• What has helped or hindered you in your service of others?
• How are you caring for God’s creation?
• How are you using God’s gifts (including your financial resources)?
• What issues of injustice are you currently concerned about?
• What are you doing in response?

•Evangelism

• When was the last time you were able to talk about God?
• What opportunities to share your faith have there been since we last met?
• How have you responded to opportunities to share your faith?
• Is there anyone you might invite to consider Christian faith?

A couple of groups have started in Bishop Auckland If you are interested in joining or starting one – get in touch.

Feel free to chat about it with Ev, Margaret, Cliff H or Cliff L or indeed Vanessa or myself, to discover further what we make from the experience…

God bless

John