© 2011 Banbury Circuit -
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A rural Circuit, Banbury has sixteen churches, five based in the town itself.
- Mar 2012 Newsletter as PDF
- Feb 2012 District News as PDF
- Plan Jan-
Mar 2012 as PDF
Journeying On
Rev Rob Anning, Superintendent Minister, writes:
By the time the March Newsletter is published, we will be into the first weeks of Lent. We will have begun our journey towards Easter, preparing ourselves to share the same journey that Jesus took to the Cross and Resurrection.
There is, in the journey that Jesus took, something about the inevitability of the human life: we are constantly on the move, journeying to a destination, and consequently, we are always surrounded by change. This is reflected in the Christian tradition of pilgrimage.
On the whole I find most people dislike change. We like the security of where we are, what we have become used to. But of all people, we as Christians should be able to acknowledge that change is inevitable and we can journey on in the secure knowledge that while change surrounds us, and we constantly change, we believe in an unchanging God. The Psalmist writes (71v3): ". . . you are my rock and my fortress" summing up something of his understanding of the nature of God.
Our Banbury Circuit is not immune from change. Already, the Circuit Meeting has
agreed that in order to keep our budget in check, we will reduce our staffing of
Ministers (Presbyters) to two in September 2014. This means we have just over two
years to think through how we re-
This will involve some radical thinking and open discussions if we are to find the way forward and carry everyone with us. We will need to be open and honest with each other. To speak our minds whilst at the same time, listen to other points of view. We will need to think through what kind of skills, gifts and talents we will need in our Ministers in the years ahead.
The Circuit Leadership Team will be discussing some thoughts and ideas during this coming Spring, and intend to bring a discussion paper to the Circuit Meeting in order to involve as many people as possible in plotting our way forward. I ask you all to engage with this process in a positive way, recognising that a part of God's creation is the inevitability of change and travel. We need to take this journey on together.
ORGANIST
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New resource available. We have put a PDF copy of the February District News on our Resources page.