Today is Ash Wednesday – the beginning of Lent

The Darlington Methodist District is giving us some challenges to mark each week of Lent… See if you can take up the following actions over this first week of Lent:

Come along at 10am this Thursday for the town’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Service with preacher, Fr Dennis Tindall, or listen to it on 105.9 BishopFM on Sunday at 11am or watch it then on our YouTube channel. All are welcome to join us in person on Thursday or remotely on Sunday.

Epiphany, 6 January 2022

Dear friends,

It’s not often that I hear Pause for Thought. But driving in the car yesterday I heard Remona Aly, a Muslim woman, describing the difficulties of orientating herself in the right physical direction for prayer. She described an App on her phone which seemed less than helpful – it was like a ‘confused compass’, she said. The season of Epiphany is a bridge which leads us from Christmas towards the public ministry of Jesus and ultimately in the direction of Lent and Easter. It’s a time when we remember wise pilgrims orientated by a star, carefully searching, and humbly leaving their gifts in awe and devotion as they kneel before the Christ child. Epiphany is also a time when we think of Christ being ‘shown forth’ or ‘manifested’, a time of revelation. It is a bit like that experience of opening the curtains in a room and allowing the light to shine in, dispelling the darkness.

I wonder if any of those images appeal to you. Do you feel like a ‘confused compass’? Are you looking for orientation, a reliable star, a compass guide? Are you searching for wisdom? Do you yearn for new light, new insight, new guidance? I have been struck in recent days by two things which help to orientate me. The first is an insight from the Benedictine tradition. A Benedictine monk belongs to a single monastery, a single community of monks. Wherever he may travel or minister in his life, he always belongs to the same community. It is what is known in the Benedictine tradition as stability. But this physical dimension of place and belonging is matched by a spiritual sense. Wherever we may be, whatever our circumstances, we look for an inner stability, an inner belonging centred in Christ. This is who we are. This is where we belong. This is where we are centred. The second insight flows from the first. A compass has to be held steady and the orientating arrow aligned with the magnetic arrow, with both pointing north, to gain a sense of where you are. Of course, it also helps to have other tools – a good map, for example – but the image is an evocative one for Epiphany. If we do not want our inner compass to be confused, it matters what we orientate ourselves upon and what we are led by.

As we continue to journey out of the pandemic it matters what we are orientated on. Are there things which obscure or confuse our purpose? If so, then perhaps we need to re-think. Our compass needs to be set on its true goal. Whether at a personal, church, circuit or community level, my prayer for all of us in 2022 is that we might become increasingly focused on Christ as our true goal and centre and, in the spirit of Epiphany, that we might make him manifest in all that we are and all that we do.

Peace and light,

Revd Richard Andrew

Chair, Darlington District

The Baptist Church across the road from us is very active on a Wednesday. Watch and see what they are up to. Maybe you would like to pop in and see for yourself sometime!

Sign up NOW for Sep-Nov Meaningful Ageing Course in building at Woodhouse Close Church and Community Centre or remotely via Zoom.

8 weeks in Sept-Nov for 2 hours per week

Thu eve 7-9pm at Woodhouse Close Church Community Centre

       and on Zoom – participants welcome either in building or remotely

Please can you pass this information onto anyone who you think may benefit from or be interested in this course.  It is especially appropriate to those working in a care setting, but also for anyone who interacts with those struggling with the ageing process in a professional or a personal capacity.
It has also been beneficial for those struggling with the ageing process themselves.
Those who have done the course previously have spoken highly of its benefits. 

23rd Sept ‘Understanding the Ageing Journey’
30th Sept ‘Spirituality in Ageing’,
7th Oct ‘Good Communication’
14th Oct ‘The Power of Storytelling’
21st Oct ‘Dementia’
28th Oct ‘A New Home and a New Way of Life’
*4th Nov ‘Loss, Grief, Death and Dying’,
*11th Nov ‘Roles, Boundaries and Self-Care’

This course is funded by Gaunless Gateway and is free to all participants.
If they contact us in advance, there is a free course workbook that goes with the course and we will get it to participants if possible in advance of the first session.

Video Trailer for Course

Kindness, Compassion and Respect

Meaningful Ageing works to enable those who are supporting older people to be their best selves. There is a wide range of practical resources for organisations to develop and support capability in emotional support for older people. This includes building empathy, kindness, compassion and respect. All of these are fundamental to contemporary spiritual care.

Spiritual Care

Spiritual care in its widest sense which the course embraces, looks at giving purpose, meaning and value to the lives of those in the ageing process.  All of us are ageing and we should hold spiritual care and ageing in high regard, not just content to care about the medical / physical needs but to appreciate the spiritual life and changing needs as we age. Spirituality is about what gives us a purpose to our lives. It is about our sources of meaning and hope, which in turn is closely related to our connectedness to ourselves, to others and to the world. And the good news is, as we age, and as we decline mentally and physically that does not mean a spiritual decline. In fact, with advanced years, greater life experiences, and a history of spiritual lessons under our belt, we can have a healthier spiritual life than when we are younger.

Is this for me?

Are you ageing? – then yes, it’s for you. Are you caring for a loved one who is ageing and struggling with what it all means? – then yes, it’s for you. Do you visit and/or care for those who are ageing in a community or family setting or have a role in church or community where you meet older people and want to offer the best love and care? – then yes, it’s for you.

Sign up

To book your place or find out more
contact Rev John Purdy on 01388 603142
or use the contact form to contact him and book your place.

August approaches, and Kath’s thoughts turn to the next issue of “The Messenger”, due out on September 5^th. Deadline date- August 22^nd.

So a reminder for our members and friends that Kath would be grateful for other contributions.

Get your creative thinking caps on! Is there any news that you could share or stories that are worth (re) telling?

A report for local churches about the business of the 2021 Methodist Conference

Click the text below to open the document…

Our prayers and thoughts go to the family of Colin Stanyon, member of the church, following his death. If anyone wishes to attend the funeral, contact Rev John for details.

A Five week -session course facilitated by Rev Ruth Newton of the Diocese of Leeds on behalf of the North East Churches Environment group

• What are the connections between ecological concerns and faith?
• Does the Bible help or hinder us when thinking about creation-care?
• Is Salvation just for humans?

These are some of the questions addressed in The Bible and Ecology Course. Using online material from the University of Exeter, you will have the chance to hear from expert theologians in this area, followed by discussion in a local group.

Taking place on Zoom Thursdays in Jul from 7.30 to 9pm.
Thursday 1^st July and continuing on  8^th, 15^th, 22^nd and 29^th of July.

Rev Ruth Newton is parish priest of St John’s, Sharow, near Ripon and author of Greeningthelectionary.net. Ruth is studying for a Doctorate in eco-theology and mission. She is member of the Church of England General Synod and Area Environment Champion for Ripon Episcopal Area (South).

To register, please contact the North East Churches Ecumenical Environment group on this email.   Places are limited.

What previous participants said about the course:

“This course has helped to pull to gather lots of disparate thoughts I have had on the environment and enabled me to place them on a strong Biblical framework.”

“I’ve found it really helpful to try to see eco issues form others’ perspectives. Thank you Ruth for your excellent facilitation.”

“The group discussion on the course has been really stimulating. I have learnt a lot from others”