News

Our New Vicar at St Martin's

The appointment of Revd Derek Tighe has been announced.

He is currently a Curate at Wimborne Minster, and hopes to move to Dorking during July.

Dorking United Reformed Church

Our friends in West Street celebrate 350 years of worship and service this year.

Details of special events can be found at:

www.dorkingurc.org.uk/2012celebrations

Lent 2012

Lent begins on Wednesday February 22 (Ash Wednesday), and this year ecumenical discussion groups are

being organised in Dorking. They will use the book "Handing on the Torch: Sacred words for a secular world".

Groups will be available on various mornings and evenings Monday to Thursday.

For more information, see page 16 of the February Church magazine, or phone Elizabeth on 01306 881479.

Introducing Ministerial Development Review

from Revd John Hellyer, Chair of the South East District of the Methodist Church

As disciples we all want to offer our best to God. As part of a community of disciples we all want to encourage and support one another in becoming the best we can be for God.

That is why this year your minister will be taking part in a new process of Ministerial Development Review. It will probably happen without most of you knowing when it is happening, but it’s important that you should be aware of the ways in which the church tries to support your minister and what you can do to offer support as well. This is what Martyn Atkins, the General Secretary of the Methodist church has written:

Ministerial Development Review has its roots in the Church’s responsibility to support its ministers, and in the Conference’s specific desire to provide a structured means for ministers to reflect on and review their ministry.

A key feature of Ministerial Development Review is the annual review meeting – a significant event which provides an important opportunity for ministers to share their reflections, insights and hopes with others who have a responsibility for their well-being and for their growth in ministry (one other minister and a lay person). But whilst the organisation and facilitation of the review meeting is a key task, Ministerial Development Review is about much more than this. At its core, it is not an annual event but an ongoing process of collaborative reflection and learning, of reshaping ministry in the light of experience and feedback, of sharing and addressing blockages to progress and growth, and of celebrating successes and affirming gifts and graces.

It is my hope that Ministerial Development Review will strengthen the Christian ministry in which we share, and help us all as we focus on our prayerful and active intention to be a discipleship movement shaped for mission.

You can all help by regularly praying for the ministers in your circuit and their families. To realise that you are being prayed for by someone, sometimes without asking, can be very affirming. You may be asked to give some feedback about some area of your minister’s work. You will have been asked because your minister and those helping them in the review value your insights. If you are asked it’s an opportunity for you to encourage your minister to be the best they can be for God.

If you want to know more about Ministerial Development Review you can find out from the Methodist website going to www.methodistchurch.org.uk and typing “ministerial development review” into the search box.

THE NEW METHODIST HYMN COLLECTION

"SINGING THE FAITH" WAS PUBLISHED ON 22 SEPTEMBER 2011

New Methodist Hymn Collection Published

After seven years of deliberation, theological scrutiny, musical collaboration and editing, Singing the Faith has been published; a new authorised collection of hymns and songs for the Methodist Church.

Published by Hymns Ancient & Modern, Singing the Faith contains 840 hymns and songs, including 50 canticles and psalms, and would take an estimated forty hours to sing in total. The Music Resources Group, which was responsible for selecting and compiling the book, sang every song, as well as examining it for musical merit, before allowing it to be added to the collection. Meanwhile, the Church’s Faith and Order Network scrutinised each song for theological value and content.

“I opened a music copy at the end of last week and felt quite emotional,” said Barbara Bircumshaw, Chair of the Music Resources Group. “Having been part of the project from the outset, it was like seeing the birth of a baby - exciting and beautiful. I thought of the many people who've been involved along the way; there have been a few rocky times but God has journeyed with us. Through the Spirit's power, we've been enabled to publish a new resource of Singing the Faith we proclaim 'to serve the present age'.”

The book is now available in three editions; music, words and large print words, and can be purchased from Methodist Publishing.

“Worshipping in music and song is at the very heart of what it means to be a Methodist,” said the Revd Leo Osborn, President of the Methodist Conference. “Every item in this collection has been carefully chosen and considered suitable for publication. I have no doubt that Singing the Faith will enhance and enrich the life and worship of the Methodist Church.”

An electronic words edition will soon follow and the collection will be supported by the regularly updated Singing the Faith Plus website, which will feature search tools, week-by-week song and hymn suggestions and guidance for using the collection as a tool for personal devotion, as well as space for worship leaders to share their own ideas.

Prices for Singing the Faith are:

Words Edition - £9

Large Print Words Edition - £15

Music Edition - £30

Electronic Words Edition - £30

This leaflet is well worth downloading from the Methodist Church website for study,
as it introduces future developments of our Church.

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