Connexional News

Promoting Exploring

Promote Explore

58 people engaged with the Discerning Ordained Vocation1 (DOV1 ) process this spring, and the indications are that most of them will candidate for ordained ministry in 2023/24.

The process for discerning ordained vocation is Exploring ~ Discovering ~ Offering.

From now, the Exploring element is live. Therefore anyone who is exploring a sense of call to any form of lay or ordained leadership and ministry is encouraged to consider making the most of the support available through Explore.

As the good news story of the number of candidates is shared, please do encourage people to take time to reflect on their own vocations, lay and ordained, in the church and in wider society.

Resources:

A film, which you might have seen at Conference, which encourages people to explore God's call to them. The film is 90 seconds long, and would be suitable to play at Synods or other District meetings.

2 sides of A-4 laying out what is on offer

The direct link to all the information is  www.methodist.org.uk/exploring

Also online are a range of discernment resources and information about a wide range ways to offer and to serve in the church:  www.methodist.org.uk/vocations

Research has shown that one of the keys to developing a positive culture of vocational exploration is to create a culture of appreciation and encouragement of those in existing roles.

Justice-Seeking Church

Following Conference's decision to adopt the  Justice-Seeking Church report, a reminder that a short (approx 5 minute) film explaining the report will be available in time for autumn synods, along with copies of a  shortened version of the report  with questions for reflection and discussion (available from Methodist Publishing). If you have any questions or follow up, please contact Rachel Lampard – lampardr@methodistchurch.org.uk 

Methodist Way of Life

We have added a new resource that helps to introduce a Methodist Way of Life. The new animation can be found on our website  A Methodist Way of Life Videos. The Mission Team is undergoing an evaluation of the Methodists for Ukraine project, which launched in October 2022. We want to capture the learning – good and bad – that can help inform the Church's current and future mission projects, particularly those that emerge as an emergency response to a humanitarian situation. Chairs are invited to share any reflections they may have via  this anonymised form, and are also asked to share it with colleagues within the District who might also be able to contribute.