(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) numbers will be given where available)
Welcome to our Sunday Service, today shared on paper across our circuit and with the congregation at Baildon Methodist Church and led by Claire Nott one of our circuit local preachers and hosts from ‘Wellbeing at Wesleys’.
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
Song – StF 18 – Be still and know that I am God
Call to worship
The dictionary defines a trellis as “a plant support for climbing plants.”
In order to live life in all its fullness, there are times when we need the support of a trellis to help us flourish. But we are encouraged by the words that the Lord gave to Paul, “My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, The Message)
Our first song celebrates that grace and support provided by God:
Song – StF 83 – Praise my soul, the King of Heaven
Reading:
A Psalm of thanksgiving.
Prayer of thanksgiving
Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to praise you and sing songs together. We are grateful that we are free to meet together without fear of persecution. We love to look and listen for you in Scripture and the world. We thank you that you can be found in creation, in conversation, in words written centuries ago, and that we can praise you with singing and dancing and also meet you when we are still and silent. You provide us with a trellis for support and growth, your faithfulness rooting us in prayer, scripture and the testimony and actions of those you place alongside us in our journey. We are your people and we seek to be a blessing within and beyond your church for the transformation of the world. Amen
God is here, let us be still and acknowledge his presence, glory and power as we sing:
Song – StF 20 – Be still for the presence of the Lord
Introduction about Wellbeing at Wesleys from Kate Bell, community liaison officer at Baildon Methodist Church
I’ve been asked to share with you all a bit about Wellbeing at Wesleys – what we do and why.
Wellbeing at Wesleys meets in the alcove of Wesleys café on Wednesday mornings 10-12 and on Monday afternoons 1-3. We also use The Den as our separate space for guided prayer and quiet reflection. In the café alcove, we enjoy a variety of activities such as word and number puzzles, jigsaw puzzles and glass painting. The Wednesday group has been going for over a year now, and the Monday afternoon group for just a few months. We have a core group of regular guests and others just pop in for a short while. Wellbeing at Wesleys is one of around 250 similar groups, linked to churches around the UK and affiliated to the national charity Renew Wellbeing. This charity was founded by Baptist minister Ruth Rice. After she had experienced a severe breakdown, she felt led by God to share with others the wellbeing habits which were helping her to recover. So she set up the first Wellbeing space – a quiet, shared space, with the feel of a living room, where it’s ok not to be ok.
What exactly is Wellbeing at Wesleys?
Firstly, it’s especially geared towards those of us who are finding life a bit of a struggle. The pandemic has left many people still feeling isolated. Some of us find ourselves just feeling overwhelmed, perhaps due to health problems or the loss of someone we love. And it’s ok to acknowledge that. I speak from experience as I lived with chronic fatigue for 12 years when I was younger and have also experienced periods of severe depression and anxiety. So, Wellbeing at Wesleys is somewhere you can just come and be with other people even on your worst days.
Secondly, prayer: the other thing which makes Wellbeing at Wesleys different to many of the activities in Wesleys, is our simple guided prayer times which last only 15 minutes. These take place in a separate room, in the Den, so that our guests don’t feel any pressure to take part. I know that when I was feeling really low, I would have loved it if someone had introduced me to a prayer time like this when I couldn’t find the words to pray myself.
During each Wellbeing at Wesleys session, we pray in the same way, based on Psalm 103, because if people havenever prayed before, it helps them to feel more at ease if they know exactly what to expect from the prayer time.
Gardeners know that a plant needs to have good roots to grow well. If we know God as our father, the Word of God says in Ephesians 3:7 that we are “Rooted and established in God’s love” – our roots go down into the good soil of his love for us. So, in relationship with God as our father, we can grow, knowing that nothing we do can make God love us any more than he already does and equally, nothing we do can make him love us any less. And in Colossians 2:6 we read, “Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him” (NLT).
As you gardeners will know, a plant may have good roots and be growing well, but it may need something more to help it grow in the right direction. If we want to keep growing more and more like Jesus, into more Jesus-shaped people, we need a trellis too.
In our Wellbeing at Wesleys prayer times, we have found, like centuries of Christians before us, that a regular prayer routine supports our growth like a trellis. As we pray each time, our roots grow down deeper into our father God and draw up the nourishment of his love for us. Our prayer routine, at home and when we come together, is our trellis. lt gives shape to our lives and helps the fruit in our lives to keep growing.
We don’t want to keep this wonderful gift of connecting with God to ourselves, we want to share it with other people. Renew Wellbeing groups all over the country are finding that people with no church background are wanting to connect with God in this simple, accessible way. We make that easy by having the same form of prayer available as an option during a relaxed time of shared activities. As people get to know us over the weeks and months, trust grows and some then decide to try prayer.
Our next song celebrates that God is there when we call out and will lift us up when we fall down:
Song – StF 628 – Faithful One So Unchanging
Reading:
5 Ways to Wellbeing – show image of CLANG
Alongside the rhythm of prayer, Ruth Rice, the founder of wellbeing cafes, suggested as a framework 5 Ways to Wellbeing developed by the New Economics Foundation. They are based on good research and have been adopted by the NHS. They not only help guide our wellbeing groups but may also help with our Christian journey. The 5 ways are simple and easily remembered as they spell CLANG: Connect, Learn, be Active, take Notice, Give
First CONNECT: We all need connection with others. How we missed this during the Covid lockdowns. We also need to connect with ourselves, the world around us, with nature and ultimately with God. Connecting is key in our wellbeing spaces. We sit alongside those who come, chatting and listening. We make a point of knowing everyone by name. As Christians it’s also important. We can often get so busy running services, looking after buildings, and going to meetings that we fail to really connect with those we meet. In the Martha and Mary story, Martha was keen to connect by opening her home to Jesus and the disciples. But she soon got so weighed down by household tasks that she failed to fully connect with our Lord. Mary took the time, sat at Jesus’ feet and knew it was a precious moment. Why worry about the dinner when you have Jesus in your front room! Even God himself lives in connection as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
When we connect we also LEARN. Learning new skills and hobbies has been shown to be good for wellbeing. The group offers all the chance to learn and share new skills. I take the time to indulge my love of colouring but have enjoyed learning new ways to play dominoes! Others have enjoyed learning the art of glass painting. As Christians, in order to grow in our faith we need to open ourselves to learn eg from Sunday services, bible study, prayer groups, from our own experiences and the experiences of others.
Next get ACTIVE. At the group we encourage those who come to see activity helping body, mind and spirit. Jigsaws, puzzles, painting activate our minds. We have even learnt to make dovetail joints. We can join in a walk. We become fully engaged in the activities and leave refreshed. As Christians we can be active in prayer and studying the bible, or perhaps we can use our talents in service to others. Wesleys always seems a hive of activity throughout the week made only possible because of the effort of many.
Take NOTICE. How often have you stopped to talk with someone and you know they are distracted and not listening or even seeing you. How does that make you feel? In the group we try to really take notice of those who come as we share, listen and pray. During prayer times we notice our breathing, posture, the world around us. In our Christian life: when did we last fully notice the person sitting in front of us in church, the person sitting on their own, the words of the prayers? When did we look at someone we didn’t know and acknowledge that we “see them”? If we set aside some of our busyness perhaps we will notice our Lord in the most unexpected of people and circumstances.
GIVE: In the wellbeing group all who come have an opportunity to give: whether this is to share a hobby, teach a new skill, get someone a cup of tea or give attention by listening. Giving is very much part of how we live out our faith. We give of our time, talents, love, friendship, finance. Do we get this in balance? Remembering the Martha and Mary story, perhaps Mary should have been more aware of Martha’s needs. She could have given a hand and encouraged her to sit and listen to Jesus too.
To conclude, we all need to look after our wellbeing. I’m often too much of a Martha. I find the opportunity to slow down, take time with others and pray really refreshing. I come away from the wellbeing group feeling much more in balance with myself, the world and with God.
CLANG is a simple helpful strategy to keep in our minds. It can improve our wellbeing and help with our Christian journey. Perhaps the early Christians were already using something like CLANG. We read in Acts 2: 42 “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers”, all key elements in the CLANG strategy. But remember it works best when we have each element in balance.
Song – StF 611 – Brother sister let me serve you
Prayer Time based on Psalm 103: 1-4
We will pray now in the same way that we pray each time we meet during our Wellbeing sessions. I will read a verse from the Psalm and then pause for one of those praying with me to respond briefly – in a word, or short sentence. And there will be a short silence for you to say your own prayer in your heart.
As we enter prayer now, we pause…… to be still, to breathe slowly, to re-centre our scattered senses on the presence of God.
“With all my heart, I praise the Lord, and with all that I am, I praise his holy name.”
Lord we lift to you all you are to each of us: friend, counsellor, healer, guide, saviour.
In all we do you walk beside us.
“With all my heart I praise the Lord! I will never forget how kind He’s been.”
In the churches in our circuit, Lord, we are thankful for many people and activities, for kindness, food,
friendship. As the cold days approach we are thankful for warm buildings in which to meet. Thank you for
the beauty in nature.
“The Lord forgives our sins”. He is the one who forgives and forgets perfectly
Let’s take a moment quietly to ourselves to ask for God’s forgiveness, knowing that He has promised to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him.
Let’s receive His forgiveness and go into the rest of the day washed clean and forgiven, to forgive ourselves and to forgive others if we need to.
“He heals us when we are sick”
You are our healer, God, we believe you can heal. Let’s sit in the quiet and bring any sickness or brokenness in our lives to you, our Father God.
In our hearts let us remember those who need healing and leave them in his healing arms.
Thank you that you are holding all of these, your precious ones.
“He saves our lives from the pit”
We know God is with us even in those situations that seem hopeless and over which we have no control, situations we feel powerless to change. So let us lift those situations to God especially praying for people and places on our hearts.
“He crowns us with love and compassion”
Let us take time to feel God’s love and compassion on us and within us. Let us accept we are completely loved just the way we are.
Thank you, Father, that you have heard our prayers. Thank you that your love goes with us into the rest of our day.
Amen
We sing God’s praises now in our final hymn, celebrating that we are part of his family and one of his children:
Song – StF 72 – Father God I wonder
If you would like to partner with Wellbeing at Wesleys, there are 3 ways you can help:
- You could invite a friend or neighbour who is struggling to Wellbeing at Wesleys and bring them with you. It can be very hard to try something new on your own!
- Would you like to get involved as one of our hosts? Come along one week and see if it’s for you!
- And lastly, and most importantly, please pray for God to bless what we are doing.
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen.
If you would like more information about Wellbeing at Wesleys, please contact Kate Bell,
lettings.baildonmethodists@gmail.com
