Visit of The President & Vice President to the District
3rd - 6th Dec 2009.

Rural Areas
The visit began with the President and myself being shown around some of the rural areas of the District by the Rural Chaplain, Revd. Eleanor Reddington.

We started out at a Pig  Farm at Morton Mill, were the farmers - John & Margaret Griffiths, and their son William Griffiths took us through the problems and blessings of Pig Farming.

The president advises on the digging of a hole,
at Morton Mill Pig Farm.

The President, Chair & Chaplain
with another "flock".

After visiting the Pig Farm we then went on to visit a Dairy Farm, where the farmers, Simon and Jackie Williams rent Wood Farm on an annual renewable lease.
The President discussed with Simon some of the problems of being a tenant farmer.
 

The President being admired

Later we shared an evening meal with circuit stewards and superintendent of the Shrewsbury Circuit. The President was then taken to Belle Vue Methodist Church to meet representatives of the eight circuits coming together to form the Shropshire and Marches Circuit on first September 2010. This circuit - with 89 churches and running some seventy miles down both sides of the England/Wales border - is developing a radical new approach to rural ministry within Methodism - and the President was able to hear about and respond to these exciting plans.

Old Friends & New
Friday began with a meeting with the ministers, lay workers and their spouses at Fallings Park Methodist Church, Wolverhampton. The president met both old friends and folk he had never met before, and was able to describe his presidency since the Wolverhampton Conference just six months before. He then travelled on to Darlington Street Church at the centre of Wolverhampton - where some of the various groups who exercise ministry from the building were able to meet the President and have lunch with him. This included the "Little Brothers" who serve 150 sandwich lunches daily from the building to homeless people in the area, Wolverhampton Inter Faith Council, the Wolverhampton Faith and Regeneration Network, and the Superintendent of the Wolverhampton Circuit Revd David Lavender who is also minister at Darlington Street.

The afternoon included a visit to Wolverhampton Pioneer Ministries, a joint Anglican/Methodist Project running Street Pastors, Vitalize (contemporary youth worship), Bible studies in Starbucks, and other outreach work amongst the sixteen to thirty age group. The enthusiasm and commitment of the team was evident

Centrepoint.
An evening meal was shared with the leaders of "Centrepoint" - the fresh expression of church being developed in the Tipton Circuit.
Fresh from winning the "ITV People's Millions" Martyn Pulfryman was able to share something of his vision and where it had got to so far. After the disappointment of not being adopted as one of the Venture FX projects it was an important opportunity for wider Methodism to affirm its support of the project.

The Wave.

Protesters at "The Wave"

Saturday 5^th of December had been chosen by the Climate Change Alliance to be the date of
"The Wave" - and they didn't consult the Wolverhampton & Shrewsbury District about it! As a result the President was heading off to London for the event - we were therefore willing to embrace London into the Wolverhampton & Shrewsbury District for one day!
Coaches were going to "The Wave" from both Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury, but wisely the President chose to travel to London by train. (The coach from Wolverhampton was held up in traffic and as a result was not able to get to the service at Westminster Central Hall). After visiting 10 Downing Street, the Vice President was able to join the President on the return coach to Wolverhampton, and for a very late Chinese take away at the District Manse.
 

Mary Howard at "The Wave"

A Polar Bear at "The Wave"

Sunday.
Sunday started early for the Vice President as he had been invited to speak on Radio Shropshire about "The Wave" at 8am. He then went on the Bayston Hill Methodist Church in Shrewsbury to share in the morning service. Meanwhile the President went to St. John's Methodist Church Bloxwich for their Church Aniversary.
The District had arranged two "Advent Praise" services - for the West of the District at St. Chad's Shrewsbury and for the East of the District at Codsall Methodist Church Wolverhampton. The Shrewsbury event was addressed by the Vice President and both the President and the Vice President took part in the Codsall event. Both services had been arranged by a team from the District led by Revd Phil Hoar.
The Meditation written by Deacon Sue Huband and acted out in a mime by Phil Shuttleworth was something that many of us will never forget.

John Howard