Category: Sunday Letter

Some of you are aware that amidst our memorabilia at CMM we have an original handwritten letter by John Wesley, dated 1772. We are looking forward to displaying this and other memorabilia as soon as the sanctuary has been painted.

As I was reflecting on Methodist history I remembered a delightful exchange of communication written by the Duchess of Buckingham to the Countess of Huntingdon. Lady Huntingdon was a supporter of the Wesleyans (Methodists).

“I thank your ladyship for the information concerning the Methodist Preachers. Their doctrines are most repulsive, and strongly tinctured with impertinence and disrespect towards their superiors, in perpetually endeavouring to level all ranks, and do away with all distinctions. It is monstrous to be told that you have a heart as sinful as the common wretches that crawl on the earth. This is highly offensive and insulting, and I cannot but wonder that your ladyship should relish any sentiment so much at variance with high rank and good breeding.”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if CMM were to be accused of levelling all ranks and do away with all distinctions!

Lets be radical — meaning, let’s remember our roots!  Alan

On Monday afternoon I went to see The King’s Speech — a movie about King George VI who had a speech impediment from a very young age.  His stammering made it impossible for him to make public speeches. In 1939, however, war was declared with Germany and the King was expected to bring a word of comfort and courage to the nation. The King’s Speech is one of personal triumph and how it was achieved — most notably through a transformative friendship with a speech therapist.

I will not tell you anymore about the movie except to make an observation: Lionel Logue (the speech therapist) insisted on referring to the king as Bertie (the name used only by his wife and family) and not Your Royal Highness, as royal etiquette required. Instead, Lionel demanded a relationship of equality. By using the name Bertie, he related to the king as a person first before his role as king.

To be healed of our own stuttering lives we all need relationships of equality where we are seen as people first, regardless of our role or position. O God fill our lives with Lionel-like-people as we pray to be Lionel-like-people to others.

Peace, Alan
Sunday 3 April 2011

Today is the start of National Water Week.  Now I am sure you know that nearly 97% of all the world’s water is salty, or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2% is locked in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves only 1% for all of our needs!  And 70% of that is used for irrigation and 20% used by industry—so we are left with about 0.1% of the world’s water for us to actually drink.  Making fresh, drinkable water a very precious resource!

We live on the driest continent on the planet that is likely to become more and more drought-stricken due to severe climate change.  For example Africa’s Lake Chad, once a landmark for astronauts circling the earth, is now difficult for them to locate.  The lake has shrunk 96% in 40 years.  Closer to home, we only need to think back to Beaufort West that ran out of water in December.

Jesus asked a woman for a drink in Samaria and for a moment it was touch and go whether he would have his thirst met.  Later on the Cross, amongst his final words he cried out was, “I thirst”.  This will certainly be the cry of our century if we do not use water much more sparingly, as well as begin harvesting rainwater and the like.

Please consider making this part of our Lenten journey towards the “Cross of thirst”.  Alan.

Even though I had a great trip overseas, it is great to be back home — thank you to everyone who travelled with me in prayer, and for those who were landed with extra work as a result of me being away!

Well the week that I left it was at least 35 degrees in the city bowl, so you will understand that my system was in shock when I landed in Minnesota to sub-zero temperatures, getting to as low as -17 degrees at one point during my visit.

In fact the day after I arrived my hosts thought it would be a good idea for me to try cross-country skiing to acclimatise. I thought so too! I figured because I could down-hill ski that cross-country skiing should be a breeze. Before clicking into my skis I looked with envy at the experienced cross-country skiers gliding briskly and effortlessly across the smooth, white carpet of snow. I pictured myself soon imitating them.  In short, I was confident.

My friend advised that I stick to the cross-country track (two parallel ruts in the snow that help to direct one’s skis). I admit when I heard this I thought to myself that I was being unnecessarily stifled. After ignoring the advice I soon found myself “slip sliding away” down the broad path of aimlessness — with no control to stop myself. Humbled I decided to take the advice and get into the track that I now realised was there to enable, rather than curtail my freedom. I soon became very appreciative of those who had gone before, who had carved out the track in the first place.

As we start our Lenten journey I suggest that we step into the carved-out tracks of the faithful who have gone before us, and be increasingly deliberate in our devotion to Jesus. To enter the track of prayerful silence and reading the Scriptures not just to be informed, but transformed. To hunger for justice for another human being who has been wronged, and to share mercy with someone who has wronged us. To live in reverent relationship with creation by preserving our natural resources.

This track is for our freedom!  Alan
Sunday 13 March 2011

Welcome everyone!

This past Tuesday we had our first Order of Donkeys’ meeting.  This is the name we have given to the Leadership Team at CMM, reminding us of that old, old story, and our single most important task is to humbly carry Jesus into this city.

We realize that in order for us to faithfully carry Jesus in this city our most important task is to safeguard and grow our relationship with  Jesus through prayer and reflection on the Scriptures, together.  We have therefore not only committed to hold each other accountable to prayer and devotion, but also agreed to meet at CMM on a Sunday morning at 9am before the service to pray together.  This actually may be the most important decision the Order of Donkey’s ever makes!  This is open to everyone!!  How good it would be if we could all gather for prayer practice at 9am before the service.

Wednesday Church is alive and nourishing.  Remember none of us can survive longer than three days without water.  Wednesday Church promises living-water to inspire, challenge and comfort.  Once again how awe-some it would be if all us met midweek to worship God and grow as a  Christ-centered Community.  See you there, Alan.

Welcome everyone!  On Thursday evening, as I sat down to write this letter I heard the State of the Nation 21 Gun Salute.  I felt the buildings around my office slightly shudder.  I heard the  military band and imagined the military accompaniment.

Why is it that we use machines of death to celebrate the state of a nation?  These instruments of destruction point to a nation’s shame not glory.  Have our imaginations become so stunted that we are unable to express our nationhood with signs and symbols of life and unity?  Symbols that remind us that we are part of a larger world, that we are called to care for, instead of threaten.

There is one country in the world that we can learn from in this regard.  On December 1, 1948, President José Figueres Ferrer, of Costa Rica, abolished the military of Costa Rica after victory in the civil war in that year.  In a ceremony in the Cuartel Bellavista, Figueres broke a wall with a mallet, symbolizing the end of Costa Rica’s military spirit. In 1949, the abolition of the military was introduced in Article 12 of the Costa Rican Constitution.

The budget previously dedicated to the military now is dedicated to security, education and culture; the country maintains Police Guard forces. The museum Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, was placed in the Cuartel Bellavista as a symbol of commitment to culture. In 1986, President Oscar Arias Sánchez declared December 1 as the Día de la Abolición del Ejército (Military abolition day) with Law #8115.

Thank you God for inspiring and faithful examples.  Lord help us as a nation, to follow.  Alan

Welcome everyone!

Last week I wrote about having recently met a few people whose lives were scarred with suffering yet there was no hint of bitterness or blame.  They took responsibility to live their life fully and freely.  They were not victims—they were survivors.

Their courageous example is in stark contrast to the many moments when we play the victim even in the absence of real suffering.   The attraction of this victim mentality is that it releases us from full responsibility for our living.  It helps to convince us (or is the result of having convinced us) that we don’t have a choice, which in turn convinces us that we don’t have to do anything because there is “nothing” we can do.  When we play the victim we are never wrong—everyone else is—everyone else is to blame.  In fact, victims are    passionate about finding out the faults of others and exposing them—it helps turn the spotlight away from our own inadequacies.

Another characteristic of this victim mentality is the great ease with which we take offence.  I read the other day the following quote from a certain radio personality, “Remember you TAKE offence, nobody gives it to you”.   To take offence is therefore more a reflection of our inner insecurity than any particular trait of the other.

Lord heal us from being a victim!  Alan

I was reminded this week again about how painfully difficult life is for some people.  That through no fault of their own they have suffered at the hands of others – be it sexual abuse when they were a child, or beatings by a father who would otherwise never speak to them, or the death of an intimate     partner, for the third time – “Whoever I love dies!”  At times, suffering seems to stalk some disproportionately more than others and it makes one want to yell at God and say, “Are you blind, or do you simply not care?”

This depth of pain is such that one does not “get over” it—ever!  One may be able to live with it in less debilitating ways and by time, work and grace may even live with it in life-giving ways—but it is always there living with us.

There is something very humbling about being in the presence of one who has suffered so much.  Perhaps because their lives have been taken beyond the trivial forever, never to return.  They literally do life at deeper depths.

What further moved me was that none of these people sounded like a victim.  Their language was free of bitterness and blame.  They had such a sense of ownership and responsibility to live life fully and freely.  Their life—though scarred—was still their life and they were determined to live it.

Thank you Lord for inspiring people!

Grace, Alan

Welcome everyone,

On the homepage you will notice that our annual Covenant Service takes place on the 30th January.  In order for us to prepare for this we are all invited to join together on Wednesday 26th (7pm – 9pm).  This will be our first Wednesday Church gathering and we will be reflecting on the Covenant prayer.

I believe the psalmist speaks for all of us when s/he prays, “As a deer longs for flowing streams so my life longs for you O God” [Psalm 42:1].  I also believe that the psalmist is speaking literally rather than metaphorically.  Simply put, we thirst for God as we thirst for water.

Human beings can only go without water for about three days and even one day without water is tough!  The same applies to our relationship with God—reminding us to drink daily from the multitude of means of grace given to us, not least the gifts of silence and prayer and reading of the Scriptures.

Equally it would be a health risk for us to think that we can last much past three days without connecting as Church.  Church simply understood is Christ-centered Community.

For this reason I want to invite you to attend Wednesday Church.

The evenings will generally include a mixture of  worship / teaching / discussion / coffee….from 7pm-9pm.

Prayer Practice will be from 6:30pm7pm every Wednesday

Grace, Alan

Welcome everyone

I am not sure what decisions you have made about your life for this New Year, but one resolution that we should all have is to follow Jesus more faithfully – to trust in what he trusted in – to love what he loved – to be occupied with what  occupied him – to resist what he resisted, etc.  In order for us to follow Jesus and have faith in what Jesus had faith in, we need to be constantly growing in our knowledge and understanding of Jesus – learning about the way he lived and the way he calls us to live.

I have just planted a small garden and one thing I have been reminded of again is that plants are either growing or dying.  There is no in-between for plants.  It is growth or death!  I think we humans are not too different to plants – we too are either growing or dying.  So the question we need to ask ourselves is what are we doing to grow?  Where is our water and nutrient supply and are we getting enough sunlight?

To this end I want to invite you to seriously consider signing up for Connections (a 12- week course starting Sunday 30^th January at 19:00).  If you have done it before—there is no harm in doing it again—because it WILL be different, not least because there will be a different group of people doing it.  This will also give you an opportunity to meet new people at CMM.   Or if you have done Connections then it may be time to try the DISCIPLE course (also starting end of January).

What I know about my own journey with Jesus is that when I am meeting weekly with other serious seekers of the way, the truth and the life – I grow and when I don’t I die a little.  It is as simple as that!  I want to encourage you to carve out some time this year for GROWTH…to journey with others in following Jesus.

Just do it!  Alan