God at work in the Birmingham Methodist District

Rev Novette Headley

Chair – Birmingham Methodist District. February 2023

I arrived in Birmingham in the summer of 2022 to catch the tail-end of the amazing Commonwealth Games. The common sense-of-purpose and achievement was evident as volunteers guided people into the various venues in the city centre to see, not only athletes but also dance artists, musicians and theatre companies tell their stories in a celebratory kaleidoscope of cultures. We, the audience, rarely see the hive of activity and stresses that go on behind the scenes and which produce these events, but we get to enjoy the fruits of all that labour. It gave me a sense of anticipation and hope for all that lay ahead as I take up the post of Chair of the Birmingham Methodist District.

The Birmingham District is a part of the Methodist Connexion which is constantly evolving to minister to the people within and outside of the church. The Birmingham District is located in a part of the country that has always received new people coming amongst us, and we have therefore benefited from the rich resources of people who bring their faith commitment, skills, artistry and entrepreneurship. Two of the growing church communities in the Methodist Church are our world-heritage fellowship groups such as the Zimbabwe Fellowship, and the Chinese Church. We have more recently been glad to welcome Hong Kong Christians joining our churches, and maintain a world-wide perspective through our District link with the Kadoma District of the Zimbabwe Methodist Church. We are especially keen to hear the voice of our young people from every group, and to live out the gospel of God’s love in our communities, with their help. We encourage local churches to think and work inter-generationally – not simply to provide space for young people to meet and operate by themselves – but that they be involved in everything, from church leadership and decision-making to mission, to worship, inter-generationally and interactively. Enthusiastic efforts are being made amongst the churches to become Eco-Churches and Eco-Circuits working to become carbon neutral. Over this winter period several churches have been offering ‘warm spaces’ in their communities.

The God For All strategy has been the focus of the Methodist Church in Britain over the past few years. This strategy consists of a number of strands such as Evangelism and Growth, Transformational Leadership, creating New Places for New People to meet God, Church at the Margins and Rural Hope. At the same time as developing these new ways of reaching people with the gospel of Christ, the church is nurturing the spirituality of its people through A Methodist Way of Life – a practice of accountable prayer-life in community and for personal prayer.   Social Justice has always been a strong missional motivator in the Methodist Church – based on the words of St. James, we seek to demonstrate our faith through our actions, and inspired by the prophet Micah we seek to “do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6 8). Therefore the Walking With Micah principals for social justice are being encouraged across the Methodist Church. Those principals include: learning from our Wesleyan heritage when social injustice was challenged in the past, listening to those who suffer from social injustice today, look at scripture and discern what we believe God says about justice and righteousness, and then to speak up and act to challenge incidents of injustice in our community and world.

This just a snippet of the work going on in the Birmingham District. I am blessed to have a tremendous team of dedicated workers and volunteers who choose to serve God with their skills and expertise. God is at work – the harvest is plentiful, people are ready to be touched by God’s Spirit of love, and we want more people to join us in sharing that love in prayerful action.

The Birmingham District of the Methodist Church stretches from the Tamworth & Lichfield Circuit in the north, through Birmingham, Blackheath & Halesowen that border the black country, through Coventry, Warwick, Worcester and as far south as Hereford.  It consists of approximately 170 churches and almost 7000 members.  The staff are made up of lay and ordained ministers – local preachers, lay pastors, youth, children and family workers, mission advisors, safeguarding officers, administrators, hospital, hospice, retail and university chaplains, deacons, presbyters and hundreds of local church volunteers.  Our churches are located in urban, suburban and rural communities, many of which work in partnership with community organizations, schools, ecumenical bodies, and others to ground the gospel of Jesus Christ in acts of kindness and care.

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