A Methodist Way of Life
In Millennium Year, 2000, the Methodist Church produced the statement Our Calling in which they listed the four main callings of the Christian. They are: Worship; Learning and Caring; Service; and Evangelism. It was reaffirmed at the 2018 Methodist Conference and we are asked to look again at how, as a Church, we might best respond to Our Calling today.
A series of four Sunday morning services is being arranged to look at each calling in turn. The first two of these services took place on Sunday 6 October and Sunday 17 November.
The final two are planned to follow early in 2025: on Sunday 19 January the theme is to be SERVICE; and on Sunday 2 February it is EVANGELISM.
The Methodist Church web-site notes that the calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God’s love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.
It identifies the four main callings:
| Worship | The Church exists to increase awareness of God’s presence and to celebrate God’s love. |
| Learning and Caring | The Church exists to help people to grow and learn as Christians, through mutual support and care. |
| Service | The Church exists to be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice. |
| Evangelism | The Church exists to make more followers of Jesus Christ. |
Another part of the web-site notes that in the Methodist Church, there are twelve practices that are thought particularly to help us to encounter God. These form A Methodist Way of Life. Each practice is a station on the journey where we meet God and grow in faith. In groups of three, these combine to form the four callings.