Blog
Thank you so much to team who produced our palm crosses for this year's Palm Sunday service! There was lots of learning and laughing going on in the WMC lower hall on Friday morning as these works of art were being produced :)
This week we had a memorial service to celebrate the life of Doff Ponsie. Doff and her husband Rob worshipped and served in this church for many years. In the tributes that were shared, one of the things that was repeatedly said about Doff was that she made people feel welcomed and seen.
On Thursday this week it took me three hours to get to the office on my morning commute (there were accidents on the M13 and Field's Hill was closed for a few hours, while hundreds of us sat in Durban's biggest parking lot ... waiting).
It really shouldn't matter that much who wins a cricket game, but this week a whole nation felt the sadness of the Proteas' World Cup loss to New Zealand in Kolkata. Full credit to our captain and coach though for their mature responses - they acknowledged their disappointment, paid tribute to their opponents, and promised to learn what they could from the experience and move forward.
I've been reflecting on something that was a focus in last Sunday's sermon - the idea that the church (understandably) treats sin as something that we need to condemn, judge and distance ourselves from. Unfortunately, in the process, we often end up treating sinners as people to be judged and pushed away (which creates a serious inner contradiction, given that we too are sinners!) Jesus, by contrast, doesn't keep his distance or judge - he responds with compassion to sinful, broken people and looks to heal rather than condemn.
Many of us have been using the Lectio 365 devotional app this week to accompany us on our journey through Lent this year (if you haven't yet, it is well worth installing so that you can join us).
This week WMC hosted a three day meeting of the MCSA's Young Men's Guild and welcomed some 150 YMG leaders from around our Connexion into our space. If you visited us during this time, you may have seen our halls and sanctuary beautifully set up for the meetings, and you may have been treated to some singing that just about literally lifted the roof!
The season of Lent always seems to sneak up on us much faster than expected! Here are the details you need to be aware of for this year's season of preparation leading up to Easter: 1. Lent officially begins on Ash Wednesday (18 February) and we have an evening service (18h30) on that day where we will be marked with ash crosses on our foreheads as a sign of repentance and our longing to return to God.
This Sunday our gospel reading (John 15:1-10) has Jesus comparing us to branches that must remain connected to the vine if they want to experience life and bear fruit. The passage from John is the set reading for our covenant service (first instituted by John Wesley in 1755) which provides an annual opportunity to renew our commitment to the Vine and the Gardener who tends the vineyard.
At our leaders meeting this week, we prayed Paul's prayer in Phil 1:3-11, giving thanks for many years of fruitful "partnership in the gospel" for Westville Methodist, and asking God for wisdom that we "may be able to discern what is best" going forward.