The Plan and Lectionary

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as we embark upon this new Connexional year of ministry and mission together.

I write to you with deep thanksgiving for the ways in which God has sustained our shared life in faith. As we step forward into this year, we are blessed to be serving under the Presidential Theme for 2025–26: “Our Story, Our Song.” This theme calls us to a profound reflection on our identity in Christ—asking, Who are we as God’s people, and what song do we sing in God’s world?

As we explore our story – “Know Our Story” – let us embrace as individual congregations in the Birmingham Circuit, our identity and unique story—stories of faithfulness, resilience, justice-seeking, community, and worship. We are invited to consider afresh what shapes our story: Is our story shaped, rooted and authenticated in Christ? Are we a Church waiting to die, hanging on for the graveyard—as the President posed—or are we a Church willing to “die in order to live” (i.e., lay down old ways, embrace transformation)?

Sing Our Song!

Let us sing a new song – a “song of wonder and praise” which is not merely liturgical, but a daily melody of mercy, grace, and liberation. This year, let our worship, our service, and our justice-driven outreach become a great community choir—re-learning, rehearsing, and re-performing the ancient songs of liberation and salvation woven through Scripture and our own experiences.

As we live Out the Theme in Our Circuit, siblings, let us intentionally listen to the stories of those on the margins in Birmingham—young people, newcomers, those living in poverty or isolation, rough sleepers and those struggling with mental health issues. Let our worship resound with songs of hope, inclusion, and renewal. Let us be courageous in mission—adapting new forms of outreach and hospitality that express our story of faith to our neighbourhoods and communities. I urge and encourage you my friends, to engage with the Circuit Mission Action Plan (MAP), and use it as a tool to enhance your mission as individual churches. If you need help, we are more than happy to help.

It is our hope and vision that this coming Connexional year will help us all to discover not only our own individual vocational calling, but also our collective and shared song as the Body of Christ in Birmingham. May we be shaped and transformed by the Spirit into a congregation where hope is embodied, justice is pursued, and every voice raises the song of God’s transforming love!

Let us approach this year with expectant hearts, ready to ask the hard questions, embrace renewal, and sing boldly together.

At the end of our Connexional year, we bade farewell to Angie who is now stationed at Queens Foundation. Thank you, Angie for all that you did in the Circuit. God be with you in your new appointment.

Methodist church Birmingham and Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury districts have been merged into a new district called the West Midlands starting from the 1st of September 2025. Our new circuit number is now 3/2.

As we begin this new year, we welcome Revd Joseph Ribeiro and family. We hope they will enjoy working with us in this great Circuit.

With grace and hope,

Cleopas – Superintendent Minister, Birmingham Circuit