Word from one of our ministers 

Dear Friends,

Christ is risen! That feels strange to say because as I write this letter we are approaching the third Sunday of Lent, but as you read it will be Easter Day or thereabouts. So, Christ is Risen, and I can hear your rousing response – “He is risen indeed. Alleluia!”
 
At Easter we do not simply remember a past event; we receive again the living promise of God: that love is stronger than death, hope is stronger than fear, and that the risen Jesus goes ahead of us into our tomorrow. Wherever you are reading this from, may the peace of the Lord fill your home and steady your heart.

In the Gospels the Easter news meets people in all sorts of places: a garden at dawn, a locked room, a road where hearts are heavy and hopes are confused. That is good news for us too, because it means there is no place in our lives that is ‘out of bounds’ for the risen Christ. He comes to those who rejoice and to those who struggle; he speaks peace where we are anxious; he calls us by name when we feel unseen.
 
Easter speaks of new life - not as a vague optimism, but as God’s real work among ordinary people. New life looks like forgiveness that becomes possible again, courage to start over, gentleness where we have hardened, and a fresh desire to pray. It also looks like a church renewed: listening more deeply, welcoming more widely, and learning again how to love our neighbours as ourselves.

For some, new life will feel immediate and bright; for others it may arrive slowly, like spring in a cold year. If you are carrying grief, disappointment, or weariness, Easter does not ask you to pretend. It tells the truth: there was a cross, there was a tomb—and God was still at work. The resurrection assures us that even when we cannot yet see the way forward, God can make a way; even when we cannot yet feel joy, God can hold us; even when we are unsure what we believe, Christ remains faithful.

But Easter is never only for us; it sends us out. The first witnesses of the resurrection were entrusted with a message and a task: “Go and tell.” In the same way, the risen Christ calls us into mission - to share good news in words that are truthful and kind, and in actions that are practical and brave. In our community that may mean no8cing the lonely, making space for the searching, standing alongside those under pressure, and serving with the compassion of Jesus.

Mission is not reserved for a few confident people; it is the shared calling of the whole church. Sometimes it looks like organised projects and public witness; sometimes it looks like quiet faithfulness: a visit, a meal, an apology, a listening ear, a lift offered, a prayer whispered at the kitchen sink. When we live this way, we become - by grace - signposts of the kingdom of God, and our neighbours catch glimpses of what God is like.
 
This year, the 250th anniversary year of Methodism’s presence in Horsham, I invite us to let Easter shape our daily discipleship through The Methodist Way of Life – a simple pattern of living the gospel together. It is not another  programme to complete, but a way of life - a way of responding to Jesus with our whole lives.

John Wesley often spoke of God’s grace going before us, meeting us, and carrying us onward. The Methodist Way of Life helps us pay attention to that grace and respond in the rhythms of everyday life - so that our faith becomes not only something we hold, but a life we practise. It draws us into what Methodists have long called ‘holiness’: not cold perfection, but hearts warmed by love for God and neighbour. 
 
The Methodist way of life speaks of:

•  Worship: We gather and we scatter in the name of the risen Lord, offering God our praise and receiving grace for the week ahead.
• Learning and caring: We grow as disciples through study of Scripture, prayer, conversation, and mutual support - making room for questions as well as convictions.
• Service: We follow Jesus by loving our neighbour in practical ways, especially where people are overlooked or burdened.
• Evangelism: We share faith naturally and respectfully inviting others to encounter Jesus and to find a home in the family of our church.

 
These practices are how resurrection takes root among us: worship that lifts our eyes, learning that renews our minds, care that binds up the broken, service that blesses the community, and evangelism that joyfully points beyond ourselves to Christ. New life grows when we keep showing up - making time for God, making room for one another, and making ourselves available to be sent.

The Church keeps celebrating Easter for fifty days, right through to Pentecost, strengthen our fellowship, to widen our compassion and to give us courage to speak of our faith in ways that are both meaningful and relatable. If you are reading this and you haven’t been to church for a while, please hear this gentle invitation: you are welcome, you are missed, and there is a place for you among us.

As we move through the Easter season, could you choose one small, faithful step in each area of the Methodist way of Life?

•  Worship: commit to being present on Sundays where you can and come expecting God to meet you.
•  Learning and caring: join a homegroup or a study group, or simply arrange to read the bible with a friend and crucially talk about it, and about your faith. So we can grow spiritually.
•  Service: Come and do something at church, or in the wider community, offer an hour to something that is going on in one of our buildings, check in on someone who you haven’t seen for a while, someone who may be struggling, or offer your support to an appeal.
•  Evangelism: Can I challenge each of us to pray for one person by name, and when the time is right, go visit, have a conversation, and maybe even invite them to come to a service or other church event. So that we can grow numerically. And when in church stay with the person and help them feel “at home”.

 
My prayer is that this Easter the Holy Spirit will breathe fresh life into us, and through us into our church and neighbourhood. May we be a people of resurrection: quick to repent, ready to forgive, eager to serve, and unafraid to
speak of the hope we have in the resurrected Jesus who is ever present with us.
 
I wish you all a very happy and blessed Easter,
 
Yours,
Tony