Letter to Circuit

Dear Friends,

This Advent and Christmas the Methodist Church is introducing ‘Gifted’, a campaign to help people engage with the Church and the Christian faith. I am therefore using this edition of Memo to inform you about the campaign and summarise the essential information about Gifted.

The aim of Gifted is to reach people in the Christmas season who do not normally attend Church or who only do so occasionally. The Gifted team emphasises that Christmas is a great opportunity to engage with new people and should not be missed. Gifted provides accessible resources to help us stand alongside those seeking faith.

The campaign is based on a three-step approach that represents the journey of people who come to faith.

The three steps are:

• People are a gift - made by God with love
• Church community is a gift to others - for inviting them to be blessed
• Jesus is the ultimate gift - freely given

These steps offer a process towards faith and discipleship. They allow us to communicate appropriately with people at different stages of their faith journey. For example, someone who has had a difficult experience of Church in the past may need to realise that they are themselves a gift who is much loved by God. This realisation will need to come before they recognise the gift of their local Church, or the ultimate gift of Jesus.

No two people are the same and Gifted is not intended to impose a prescriptive process. People will engage with the Church at different stages of their faith journey which may itself ± years. Gifted provides an idea of the likely steps people will take with the Methodist Church.

The Gifted team produces a range of resources available for viewing on the Methodist Church website:

https://www.methodist.org.uk/for-churches/christmasresources/

These include:

• Digital resources such as video clips and social media templates.
• Worship resources including a liturgy for a Blue Christmas service and for the lighting of advent candles.
• Small group resources and free posters and postcards for distribution are also available.
• Ideas for church activities including offering food, music, storytelling or silence.

Gifted is intended for both faithful members of the Church and those seeking something more, perhaps longing for transformation but feeling stuck.

Through it we aim to demonstrate their inherent worth, which is not based on possessions, achievements or contributions, but on their identity as loved children of God. People are valued in God’s eyes and are wonderfully created. They are a gift to the world and to the Church.

The most effective way to convey this truth is through personal conversation and by inviting people to accessible and inclusive events and services.

I hope this information is helpful and will encourage you to explore the gifted material and make the most of it during the coming Advent and Christmas season.

With every blessing,

Revd. David Godfrey MA.