It has now become an established practice that at least every couple of years a group of Irish Methodists should visit churches in some other country for about three weeks and undertake work under the direction of the local churches. The work has usually been a blend of manual labour and the sharing of faith.
The intention was to demonstrate concern for those churches in a practical way for however short a period, and this has certainly been achieved. Those who have participated in the groups have found that their own faith was greatly enriched, and claim they received from the churches they visited far more than they gave.
The Rev Dr Norman Taggart has announced details of a visit to Sri Lanka in 2000. It follows his appeal for financial aid for the Sri Lankan church which raised £22,000 in the 18 months between June 1997 and December 1998. The visit will take place during the July, and the co-ordinator in Sri Lanka will be the Rev Stephen Skuce, at present serving in Colombo.
It will be a smaller team than usual, numbering only 20 and will work with Youth and Children, Peace and Reconciliation, and Lay Witness. Dr Taggart has invited applications from interested people between the ages of 20 and 50.
The Rev Duleep Fernando, president of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka, has commented on the project: "We have to work out our mission in similar situations of conflict. There is much we can learn from each other and do together."
Over the next couple of weeks, Methodist churches throughout this country will be celebrating Christmas in the traditional but no less meaningful ways. Services of lessons and carols will express the joy of the church as it remembers the great Christmas gift, God's gift of his Son continually given.
Offerings on Christmas Day will be given to the Methodist Child Care Society, which assists children in need. In city missions and elsewhere throughout the country, the poor, and particularly the elderly, will receive practical expressions of the care of the church.
The last day of 1999 and the first of 2000 will be a time of partying throughout the country, as people celebrate the new millennium. January 2nd, the first Sunday in the new year, will be marked by ecumenical gatherings in Dublin and Belfast. This Sunday has always been of special significance to Methodists, who use it as an occasion for renewing their covenant with God.
The Rev Michael Hurley SJ has likened this to the Catholic renewing of baptismal vows. Writing in the Irish Messenger of the Sacred Heart, he quoted some of the words from the Methodist service, and suggested people listen to the broadcast. This year the service is being broadcast by RTE from the Methodist church in Newry, where the preacher will be the President of the Church, the Rev Dr Kenneth Wilson.
Tomorrow morning the Rev Dr Wilson will preach in Newry, Co Down, and Bessbrook, Co Armagh, and in the evening at Cookstown, Co Tyrone. On Tuesday he will address the Retired Ministers Fellowship, an association of those who have retired from the Methodist ministry. On December 31st he will conduct a Watchnight Service in Bray, Co Wicklow, where he is the minister in charge. On the afternoon of January 2nd, he will participate in the ecumenical celebration in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
On the same afternoon, at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Rev Thomas Kingston, chairman of the Dublin District, will represent the Rev Dr Wilson at an ecumenical festival of words and music, which will celebrate creation, redemption and hope.
Morning service from the RTE television studios tomorrow will be led by members of the Methodist churches in Clontarf, Sutton and Skerries, which comprise the Dublin North circuit. The address will be given by the Rev Dudley Levistone Cooney.