“THE ROLL CALL” – a sermon
for the welcome of new members
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Top: Roll Call,
Battle of Inkerman, 1854
Bottom left: Annual Methodist Conference Logo July 2007 & “The Big One”
Roller Coaster, Blackpool
Bottom Right: “Jenga” Tower
Roll
Call: a Sermon for the welcome of new members
I’ve just returned from a week at our annual
Methodist Conference in Blackpool –
I have even brought back some Blackpool Rock
with the Conference Logo on the label –
though I fear there is only enough rock for the children to share.
The logo of the conference symbolises the Blackpool
“Big One” –
the largest and fastest roller coaster ride in Europe –
and underneath, supporting the roller coaster,
is the cross and orb symbol which traditionally
represents the Methodist Church.
The Conference Logo says something about the Christian journey –
There is no promise that this will be a walk in the park –
indeed it may sometimes be a roller coaster ride –
as scary as it is exhilarating.
But the Church – in our case the Methodist Church –
is there to support us on that journey!
It seemed a good image for a
morning
when we formally welcome new members into our Church Community.
Those of you being welcomed today
have all been confirmed or made Church members elsewhere in the past –
in other Methodist Churches or in other parts of the Christian family.
Wherever you come, today you all do the same thing -
you identify with the Church in the particular place
where you happen to be right now.
And you commit yourself
to sharing in what it means to be and do Church in this place.
And I hope and pray that as we
welcome you here at the Mint,
we will both support and challenge you
in the next steps of your Christian journey here.
I am also aware that as many
continue to arrive
and join us here at the Mint,
others of you are completing courses and jobs
and will shortly be leaving us –
moving elsewhere in the UK or around the world.
I hope that you too will find in your journey,
new challenges and find yourself encouraged,
enabled and supported by the Church wherever you may go.
At the Methodist Conference last week
we elected Ruby Beech as our new Vice President.
In her inaugural address, she referred to the game Jenga.
I don’t know if you have ever played the game, -
but basically you start with a square tower of wooden blocks.
Each player in turn has to remove a block
from some point below the top layer.
The object is to take blocks away
without making the whole thing collapse –
a difficult and ultimately impossible task.
Jenga provides another image of the
Church –
a building made of interdependent units –
you and me and millions of others –
each one of us living stones dependent
on each other for mutual support.
If we stop supporting each other in the power of the Spirit,
it is only a matter of time before the Church collapses.
To those who join the Church here
we welcome you,
and recognize that (as Paul says writing to the Corinthians Christians)
we are all members of one body of the Church,
each with our own part to play.
As we welcome you, we commit ourselves to help and support you –
but also look to you to support those around you.
When we come to welcome our new
members,
we will read out each individual name of those being welcomed.
I remember one day talking to a man called Des –
he said it was short for Decimus. Why Decimus I
asked?
“I had nine elder brothers”, he said –
“I think that by the time they got to me
my parents had run our of names and decided
just number their children from me onwards.”
Spoken I hope in jest –
for we all know that a true parent
doesn’t just give a child a number –
no: each child is named,
named to affirm their individual identity and worth within the family.
Such a parent is our God, a God
who knows and calls us each by name.
The Bible has all kinds of lists
of names.
We tend to skip over them as boring bits.
I wonder when you last read that passage we heard from Romans 16,
listing and greeting by name all the people Paul know in the Roman Church?
But for Paul it was so much more
than a boring old list -
it is Paul recalling and giving thanks for this individual and then that
one.
I wonder,
do you know the names of everyone in this Church today?
Could you greet them by name and give thanks to God
for what they have done with you in the Lord’s name?
Now that wouldn’t be a boring list
–
it would be a powerful celebration of a real Church –
bound together like the interlocking bricks of an immovable tower,
surging forward on the rollercoaster of life
knowing that we are at one in the Lord.
To be fair, our congregation keeps
changing,
and I guess you won’t know every name –
but you could learn a few more each day
-
egin today maybe with those whose names we will call
out
in a few minutes time – our newest members –
and so ensure that new and old together we are bound together.
One of the most moving parts of the Methodist
Conference
is the Memorial Service for ministers who have died during the past year.
Those who have lost loved ones come up to Conference
specially to share in this service of celebration and thanksgiving.
Gwyneth Brown came specially to remember Douglas’ life –
Douglas who meant so much to so many of us here at the
Mint.
Liz & I had the privilege of sitting with Gwyneth during that event.
During the service there is a roll call
as the names of all the ministers who have died are read out.
So we stood together and heard over 60 names read out,
including that of Douglas.
And we sang, as we always sing at that service,
Charles Wesley’s words
Come, let us join our friends above
That have obtained the prize…..
One family we dwell in him,
One church, above, beneath,
Though now divided by the stream,
The narrow stream of death:
One army of the living God,
To his command we bow;
Part of his host have crossed the flood,
And part are crossing now…..
O that we now might grasp our guide!
O that the word were given!
Come, Lord of hosts, the waves divide,
And land us all in heaven.
So today, we celebrate, each one
of us,
our place in the roll call of the Church,
militant on earth and triumphant in heaven.
Every name is called individually
and lovingly –
your name, my name,
the name of our loved ones in this world and the world to come,
the names precious to us,
the names known only to God –
So let us look forward to the
final day
when the roll is called up yonder,
when at last we hear our name and know that we are called home.
Meanwhile, the roll is called down
here -
let’s hear and respond to God’s call
and as members of his Church in this time and place -
Let’s begin heaven’s work here and now!.
ORDER OF SERVICE
10.30
a.m. Service of Holy Communion
with Welcome of New Members,
led by Rev Andrew Sails
Hymn
569 “O what shall I
do my Saviour to praise”
Prayers
Reading: Romans
16:3-16 (p.1142)
Korean Choir
Reading: Luke 6:12-23 (p.1033)
Hymn: 764 “Christ from whom all blessings flow”
Sermon
“Roll Call”
Hymn CLUW 263 “I the
Lord of sea and sky”
[During this hymn the collection will be taken &
Offertory brought forward]
Welcome of New Members
[As their names are read, those joining the
membership roll step forward]
Minister: We welcome those who have already been confirmed or
made their act of adult commitment elsewhere,
or have been recognized as Church members in other Methodist Churches or in
other Christian denominations,
and who now become, or during the past year have become, members of the
Methodist Church here at the Mint:
Rachel Hamby (by transfer from the
Bradford Circuit)
Maureen Kincey (by transfer from the
Bishops Stortford Circuit)
Viv Davies (by transfer from
Edinburgh & Forth Circuit)
Rob Turner and
Maggie Bonfield (by transfer from the Farnham and Alton Circuit)
Caroline Colin (by transfer from
Richard and Anna
Kapff (by
transfer from from St Johns United Church of Canada,
Sato and
Ernestine Saya-an (Joint Membership with United
Richard and
Glory Jane Cabaya (Joint Membership with United
Robert Gleave (by transfer from Bristol
West Circuit)
Kathleen Jones (by transfer from the
Jessie Steele(Joint Membership with
Church of England)
Gordon and Dee
Kemp (by transfer
from the Church of England)
[The congregation stands]
Minister: Sisters and brothers, we rejoice that you have already committed yourselves to the
Lord’s service
within his Church on previous occasions elsewhere.
It is now our joy to welcome you to the membership of God’s people here at the
Mint Methodist Church.
[The Minister and a representative of the
local Church extend a hand of fellowship to each new member at the Mint]
Minister: I now invite you to recall the promises you have
previously made.
And so doing, I ask you: Do you now
reaffirm your commitment to journey with Christ?
Will you now seek to work as members of his people here in this place?
Will you trust in the power of the Spirit to guide & strengthen you in the
work to which God continues to call you?
New Members: With God’s help, we will.
Promise of the people
Minister: Members of the Body of Christ,
we rejoice that these our sisters and brothers have
joined our membership here in this place.
Will you so maintain the Church’s life of worship and service that together
we may build each other up and grow in grace
and in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord?
All: With God’s help, we will.
Minister Let us pray
All: Generous God,
touch us again with the fire of your Spirit
and renew us by your grace,
that we may profess the one true faith
and live in love and unity
with all who follow Christ. Amen.
The Peace
Minister: The peace
of the Lord be with you
People: And also with you
[Members of the congregation greet each other
with a handshake and the words
“The peace of the Lord be
with you”.
Please seek out especially those who have been welcomed into membership here
today]
[Members of Young Church enter here or during the
next hymn]
[New members return to their seats and all
are seated]
Prayers and Lord’s Prayer
Hymn 617 “Lord Jesus Christ”
(with musical
accompaniment by the Mint Orchestra)
Holy Communion [The congregation remains standing.]
Leader: The Lord
be with you.
All: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them to the Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give our thanks and
praise.
Leader: Blessed are you, O God,
For you have brought forth bread from the earth.
and created the fruit of the vine.
In the beginning you watered the earth
That man and woman might have food and drink.
You gave to your
servant Sarah
Bread to strengthen her family on their journey,
And wine to make them glad.
You called Moses and his people out of bondage
And refreshed them with food in the wilderness.
You gave Mary and Jesus their daily bread to share.
And
here at your table you offer us bread and wine for the journey,
to nourish us as sons and daughters.
And so with all our sisters and brothers,
Before us and beside us,
We join in the song of your unending greatness:
Leader: Glory to God, glory to God,
glory in the highest
All(sing): Glory to God, glory to God,
glory in the highest
Leader: To God be glory for ever!
All(sing): To God be glory for ever!
Leader: Alleluia! Amen!
All(sing): Alleluia! Amen!
Leader: Alleluia! Amen!
All(sing): Alleluia! Amen!
Leader: Alleluia! Amen!
All(sing): Alleluia! Amen! Alleluia! Amen! Alleluia! Amen!
Leader: Among friends, gathered round a table,
Jesus took bread, and, having blessed it,
He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying,
“This is my body which is given for you”.
In
the same way he took the wine and,
having given thanks for it,
He poured it out and gave the cup to his disciples, saying,
“This cup is the new relationship with God, Sealed with my blood.
Take this and share it.
I shall drink wine with you next
in the coming Kingdom of God”.
Lord Jesus Christ, present with us now
As we do in this place what you did in an upstairs room,
Breathe your Spirit upon us,
and upon this bread and wine,
That they may be heaven’s food and drink for us
Renewing, sustaining and making us whole,
And that we may be your body on earth,
Loving and caring in the world
Leader: Look, the Bread of Heaven broken for the life of the
world.
[The congregation is
seated]
The Distribution of Bread and Wine
[all
who seek to love the Lord Jesus are invited to share in bread and wine
- please come forward when the steward beckons your row]
Final Prayers
All: God
of power,
may the boldness of your Spirit transform us,
may the gentleness of your Spirit lead us,
and may the gifts of your Spirit equip us,
to serve and worship you, now and always.
Amen.
Hymn 745 “O Thou Who Camest
from Above”
(with
musical accompaniment by the Mint Orchestra)
Korean Blessing and English
Blessing
[Prayers based on the Iona Abbey Worship Book © Iona
Community 2001
with final prayer from the Methodist Worship Book.
The sung responsive Gloria is the Peruvian Gloria (World Praise no.42)