Rev Matt iBlog

Do you ever think “why am I doing full-time ministry when I could be doing something else”? I’m having one of those weeks when I feel my honeymoon period of ministry is over. This week I’ve forgotten my church car park keys resulting in driving back for them and today discovering the communion wine had gone off just before doing home communion. All I found myself asking was ‘why am I doing this’.  But then I saw this below prayer from Rev Ruth Gee in the Methodist Prayer Handbook… Lord, it isn’t easy. It isn’t easy to speak out for you when they don’t want to listen. It isn’t easy to live by your story when they don’t believe it. It isn’t easy to welcome the stranger when the unfamiliar looks frightening  It isn’t easy to be open to others when they might change me. It isn’t easy to follow you when you go to the wrong places. Child, it isn’t easy. It isn’t easy to walk with me toward Jerusalem. It isn’t easy to trust when you want to direct. It isn’t

Dear Friends, When exploring London, I like to take the opportunity to explore the coffee shops. I love coffee (good coffee).  When I place my order in a particular coffee shop I am greeted by genuine and excited employees who asked me for my name. The team write my name on a take-out coffee cup. When my drink is ready the following was shouted; “one cappuccino for Matt”. That cup of cappuccino was mine because it had my name written on it. Coffee shops actually want to know who I am.  This made me feel: 1.      Welcomed 2.      Valued 3.      They met my  need The employees were having a great time. There was a lot of fun and laughter. This made me think; what if our churches were like that? What if our churches wanted to know who these people are? Getting to know more about people can make a huge difference.  The first publication of the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland was in 2016, which featured new studies on the meanings and origin