The Methodist Church in Scotland

Author: Wesley

  • Call to Prayer 6 June 2021

    Call to Prayer: Sunday 6th June 2021 Prayer @ 7pm

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    ‘Are we there yet?’ We can easily picture a small child enquiring plaintively from the back of the car as to whether, or not, the destination has been reached? Indeed, even as we mature, we can all readily identify with the sentiment as we enquire as to whether, or not, our desired destination has been reached? Over the past months, we might perhaps have been tempted to succumb to the frustration of a journey’s end delayed and to rather lose heart.

    As one who had journeyed and who continued to journey, the Apostle Paul was not unfamiliar with the challenges of doing so. In response to those whom he sensed were ready to succumb to frustration, Paul affirms the basis on which we should continue to journey and concludes: ‘Therefore we do not lose heart.’ What is that basis? It is the assurance that the One who ‘raised the Lord Jesus from the dead’ will also raise us with him and bring us into God’s presence. We share in the life of the risen Lord Jesus and the challenges we face on the journey are to be set in the light of this. We might not be there yet but, as we share in the life of the risen Lord Jesus, we are those who ‘do not lose heart’. (2 Corinthians 4: 13-5: 1) We pray:

    Living God,
    Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
    Be with us on the journey before us.
    Be with us when the path is smooth
    And the horizon is clear.
    Lead us on to the place of your presence.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
    Be with us on the journey before us.
    Be with us when the path is broken
    And the way obscured.
    Still lead us on to the place of your presence.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
    Be with us on the journey before us.
    Be with us as we face the challenges seen
    And those as yet unseen.
    In all we face, may your abiding presence remain.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
    Be with us on the journey.
    Be with those who grow frustrated
    And who feel disheartened.
    Renew us that we may discover your presence once more.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    Who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
    Be with us on the journey.
    Be with us that we might share
    In the life of the Risen Lord
    And the life everlasting in your presence.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Signed by:

    • Lord Wallace, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
    • Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
    • Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
    • Rev. Dr David Miller, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
    • Rev. Neil MacMillan, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland
    • Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
    • Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
    • Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
    • Rev. Thomas R. Wilson, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
    • Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
    • Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
    • Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
    • Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
    • Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

  • Call to Prayer 30th May 2021

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    The vision of the Lord offered by the prophet Isaiah is one in which the presence of the living God fills the Temple and we hear resounding from every corner the cry:

    ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; The whole earth is full of his glory.’

    The Temple itself is shaken as the fulness of God’s presence is revealed. The prophet Isaiah can do no more than acknowledge who he is before God. Yet, even as he senses his own weakness, he hears the voice of the Lord calling: “Whom shall I send?” In response, Isaiah says: “Here am I. Send me!”

    Today, in the midst of all we face, the fulness of the living God is made known to us in Creation and revealed through Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and by the Holy Spirit as our Sustainer. In our weakness, we also may hear the voice of the Lord calling: “Whom shall I send?” In response, we also may say: “Here am I. Send me!” We pray:

    Holy, holy, holy
    Is the Lord Almighty;
    Living God, may your presence be known to us
    Even in our weakness.
    May we know you as your presence is revealed
    And as your calling is renewed.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Holy, holy, holy
    Is the Lord Almighty;
    Living God, may your presence be known to us
    In all the gifts of Creation.
    May we receive these gifts as a sacred trust
    And treasure all that you have given to us.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Holy, holy, holy
    Is the Lord Almighty;
    Living God, may your presence be known to us
    In the One whom you have sent to redeem us.
    May we share in the life of Christ
    And in the life of the body of Christ.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Holy, holy, holy
    Is the Lord Almighty;
    Living God, may your presence be known to us
    In the One whom you have poured out upon us.
    May we be renewed by the Spirit
    And share in the life the Spirit gives to us.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Holy, holy, holy
    Is the Lord Almighty;
    Living God, may your presence be known to us
    In our worship in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
    May you receive us as we are
    And accept us in our weakness.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Signed by:

    • Lord Wallace, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
    • Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
    • Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
    • Rev. Dr David Miller, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
    • Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
    • Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
    • Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
    • Rev. Thomas R. Wilson, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
    • Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
    • Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
    • Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
    • Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
    • Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
    • Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

     

  • Communion in crisis – A perspective from the Methodist Church in Britain

    The Rev. Ruth Gee, the Assistant Secretary of the Conference of the Methodist Church in Britain and the Connexional Ecumenical Officer has written about Holy Communion during the pandemic.

  • Call to Prayer 23 May 2021

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    The Gospel of John speaks of the One who is to come and of the One who is go. Jesus is the One who is to go and he must do so first. On hearing this, the disciples of Jesus are filled with sorrow and he explains to them that ‘if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you’. The disciples fear that they will be left bereft and Jesus reassures them that his absence will be filled by the outpouring of ‘the Spirit of truth’. The Spirit is the One who is to come and Jesus is the One who is to go. (John 15: 26-27; 16: 4b-15)

    Who is the Spirit who is to come? In the Gospel of John, the word used to describe the Spirit is variously translated as ‘Advocate’, ‘Comforter’, ‘Counsellor’, ‘Helper’ or simply transliterated as ‘Paraclete’. (John 15: 26) The word used is found in only one other place in the New Testament outwith the Gospel and here it is used to describe Jesus. Jesus is the One who stands before the Father and pleads for us. (1 John 2: 1)

    On this Pentecost Sunday, we give thanks to God for the Spirit outpoured on the people of God. The Spirit comes to be the abiding presence of God in our lives and in the life of the people of God. We give thanks that the Spirit is the One who has come. We pray:

    Living God
    And Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Pour out your Spirit upon us
    And fill the hearts of your faithful people.
    May your Spirit come as the One who speaks for us
    And advocates on our behalf.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God
    And Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Pour out your Spirit upon us
    And kindle in us the fire of your love.
    May your Spirit comfort us in our sorrow
    And strengthen us in our weakness
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God
    And Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Pour out your Spirit upon us
    And create your people anew.
    May your Spirit come to counsel and direct us
    And grant to us wisdom in all we face.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God
    And Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Pour out your Spirit upon us
    And renew the face of all the earth.
    May your Spirit help us to care for Creation
    And to live as those who cherish the gifts you have given.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God
    And Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    Pour out your Spirit upon us
    And set us free to worship and glorify your name.
    Come, Holy Spirit,
    And fill our hearts with love for you.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Signed by:

    • Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
    • Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
    • Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
    • Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
    • Rev. Neil MacMillan, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland
    • Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
    • Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
    • Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
    • Rev. Thomas R. Wilson, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
    • Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
    • Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
    • Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
    • Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
    • Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
    • Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland) 

  • Call to Prayer 16th May 2021

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    Call to Prayer: Sunday 16th May 2021 Prayer @ 7pm

    Jesus prays for those who follow him. It can be put no more simply or profoundly: Jesus prays for those who follow him. In the Gospel of John, we see that Jesus prays for those who have been his followers and disciples and he does so as he comes to the end of his earthly ministry. Jesus has given to his followers all that he has received from the Father and now he must leave them to live in the world as witnesses to the truth. In the light of this, Jesus prays for them and asks for their protection: ‘And now I am no longer in the world…Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.’ (John 17: 6-19)

    We pray, in the light of the Ascension of our Lord and in anticipation of the gift of the Holy Spirit, with the assurance that as we do so; Jesus prays for us. As we come nearer, we trust, to the end of the restrictions that have characterised these past months, we pray in the knowledge that Jesus continues to pray for those who follow him in this world. We pray:

    God and Father
    Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    We thank you for all that we have received from your hand.
    We thank you for the life you have given to us
    And your presence with us in all we face.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God and Father
    Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    We thank you for all that we have received from your Son.
    We thank you that he has prayed for us
    And that he continues to uphold us in all we face.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God and Father
    Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    We thank you that you watch over us and protect us.
    Watch over us as we continue the journey we have taken in past months
    And protect us in days to come.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God and Father
    Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    We thank you that you watch over and protect this world.
    Watch over us as we give thanks for the gift of Creation
    And enable us to better care for the world you have entrusted to us.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God and Father
    Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    We thank you that your Son is Risen and Ascended.
    We join with the community of all your people
    And anticipate the outpouring of your Holy Spirit.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God and Father
    Of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    We thank you that your Risen and Ascended Son prays for us once more.
    We join with all your people in every place
    And ask that you might renew us by your Holy Spirit.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Signed by:
    Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland

    Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church

    Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church

    Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland

    Rev. Donnie G. MacDonald, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland

    Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)

    Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland

    Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)

    Rev. Thomas R. Wilson, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland

    Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army

    Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

    Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene

    Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God

    Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)

    Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

  • Love this Calling

    The latest edition of the Connexion Magazine is now published

  • Call to Prayer Sunday 9th May 2021

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    “In the Gospel of John, the ‘new commandment’ to ‘love one another’ transforms the idea of a ‘commandment’. In fulfilling the ‘new commandment’, we are called to give of ourselves in order that we might follow the pattern and example of Jesus. We love because we have first of all been loved, and to do so is a mark that we are a disciple of Jesus. (John 13: 34-35)

    “The ‘commandment’ to ‘love one another’ is taken up again in the Gospel and we see that the love of Jesus expressed to us is a love that flows from God: ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.’

    “As an illustration of the ‘commandment’, Jesus says: ‘No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ To be loved by God, though Jesus, is to be changed by the experience of being loved. As we are embraced and affirmed, we are changed and called a ‘friend’ of the One who has loved us and given His life for us. (John 15: 9-17)

    “In our fragile world, we are called to follow the pattern of Jesus and to love because we ourselves have first been loved.”

    We pray:

    Living God,
    You call us to love because we have first of all been loved.
    May we know that love abides in you
    And is expressed in your love for the world.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    You call us to love because we have first of all been loved.
    May we know the depth of your love
    In the contemplation of the life and death and resurrection of your Son.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    You call us to love because we have first of all been loved.
    May we hear the call to live by a new commandment
    And so bear the mark of a disciple.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    You call us to love because we have first of all been loved.
    May we know what it is to be embraced and affirmed
    And called a friend of the One who has given his life for us.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    You call us to love because we have first of all been loved.
    May we, who have been embraced and affirmed,
    Reach out to the lonely that they might know true friendship.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Living God,
    You call us to love because we have first of all been loved.
    May we know the abiding presence of your love
    In the life we share in the community of the Risen and Ascended Lord.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Signed by:

    • Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
    • Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
    • Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
    • Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
    • Rev. Donnie G. MacDonald, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland
    • Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
    • Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
    • Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
    • Rev. Thomas R. Wilson, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
    • Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
    • Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
    • Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
    • Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
    • Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
    • Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

  • Reconciling communities: living well with difference

    A webinar organised by the Safeguarding team

    13 May – 11.00am – 12.30pm

    Change, disagreement and conflict is a part of everyday church life. This interactive webinar invites you to look at disagreements in a new light, seeing them as an opportunity for creativity, community-building and conflict transformation. You will experience an online facilitated conversation and find out more about the exciting new reconciliation and mediation pilot project being run in partnership with Place for Hope.

    You can register here for this webinar.

  • Global access to vaccines

    The President and Vice-President, the Revd Richard Teal and Carolyn Lawrence, have added their names to this call for all the steps necessary to be taken to produce and distribute enough Covid vaccine for the entire global population. Read more in this article in the Guardian.

  • Call to Prayer Sunday May 2021

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    We live in a world in which questions of identity are much to the fore. The questions range from that of personal identity to those of communal identity. Such questions are important and from our understanding of who we are there will follow, in large measure, the pattern of how we engage with others.

    In similar fashion, the way in which we understand the nature of God will enable us to better understand the pattern of how God engages with us. Scripture speaks of the identity of God when it affirms: ‘God is love’. We understand this to be the case because: ‘God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world that we might live through him.’ (1 John 4: 7-21) We see something of the identity of God revealed in the self-giving of God. In the self-giving of God, we see revealed the truth that: ‘God is love’. In the light of our understanding of this truth, there will follow, in large measure, the pattern of how we engage with others. We pray:

    God whose name is Love,
    We see your love revealed
    In the giving of your Son.
    May we embrace the offer of your love And live in response to your generosity.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God whose name is Love,
    We see your love revealed
    In the One who shares in our humanity and who suffers on our behalf.
    May we live as those who share a common humanity
    And in the suffering of the world.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God whose name is Love,
    We see your love revealed
    In the community of your people and in all who are made in your image.
    May we share in the life of your people
    And recognise your image in the life of others.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God whose name is Love,
    We see your love revealed among us
    In the places where love is known and fear is cast out.
    May fear be cast out and love be known
    In the community we share and in the spaces we shape.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    God whose name is Love,
    We see your love revealed among us
    In the resurrection of your Son and in the promise of your Spirit.
    May we live as those who share in the hope of the resurrection
    And in the life of your Spirit.
    Lord, in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    Signed by:
    Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland

    Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church

    Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church

    Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland Rev. Donnie G. MacDonald, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland

    Rev. Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland) Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
    Rev. Thomas R. Wilson, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army

    Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

    Rev. Claire Fender, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene

    Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God

    Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)

    Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)