Our Vision: to journey with God; to form, celebrate and deepen community, faith and discipleship
To be a Christ-led community for others.
Extracts from the various updates given at the Annual Meeting in April 2024. We hope they will help encourage people new and existing attendees and members. If you are interested in getting more involved in church life, speak to a steward or the Minister. You would be very welcome.
Foreword from the Minister
The month of September 2023 marked a new era both in my ministry and the life of the church here. Arriving at a new area and context meant that God was calling me for another kind of ministry. Indeed, that is how God works, his ways are not ours. As I forge ahead in this new trajectory I continue to depend firstly on God and secondly on the support of the Methodist community in this area.
Acknowledgement
As I settle in this area, I want to acknowledge the work that was done by the Revd Dan Balsdon, who has been with you for a period of five years. He did a wonderful job as he worked with you and also preparing the way for people like me to land safely. The five years are indeed a layer in the annuls of history for him and this church. Working through Covid and even post-Covid he remained steadfast in doing the work of God together with you.
The need to form synergies
One of the tenets of Methodism is the idea of priesthood of all believers. This is one of Wesley’s important ideas where he propounded that ministry would proceed well if the clergy and the laity are prepared to work together. Based on this idea, I therefore believe that together we work together each one availing their gifts or talent to promote the success of the church here and into the future.
In other words, friends I encourage us to be available for working together. No one of us will perform better on their own, instead, together we achieve more. Let us therefore bring together our expertise and experience so that we can build a better and welcoming church. You will realise that Jesus called people from various backgrounds. Among those he called as disciples were fishermen, doctors, accountants just to mention a few. These men became a great force in the spread of the gospel and the growth of Christendom.
Services
The church is a living organism and therefore it is seen by the services that are done by the church. In this regard the church at Bognor Regis is a hive of activity each day of the week. There are programs such as Well-Come point and others that are meant to cater for the various needs of the congregants and for those who come from the community. The climax of these services is the ministry of the word that is done every Sunday.
We thank the preachers and the ministers who continue to preach the relevant gospel to the people of God. Remember that people come to church to hear the word of God. The word is supported by the music that is played from our organists. This then makes our church a church of choice among the other churches that are in our town.
Church calendar
On arrival to the church in the United Kingdom I was met with the various church calendar events. Notable among them are the Advent series, covenant services, Lent series and others. I want to thank the support the church got from the membership with regards to these events. It is therefore important to note that these events form part of who we are. Recently we have just celebrated Easter and the resurrection story. Let these strengthen our faith and let us therefore remain steadfast in our faith.
Mission-oriented
Matthew 28 verses 18—20 clearly points out that we need to be outward looking in terms of taking the gospel to the next level. To start that process the society has a mission policy, a document that is meant to give us a projection into the future. As we sit here in this meeting, it’s also important to think about where we see ourselves in the next five years. Looking at the demography and the state of the buildings, how can we work on what we have now in order to affect the future. I envisage a situation where we should embark on strategies that will propel this church forward.
Lastly friends, Hebrews 10 verses 20—25 exhorts us that we should gather nearer to Christ always. We should encourage each other always. Yes, each one of us has got challenges that sometimes hinder us from being strong Christians. Let us continue to encourage one another in love and humility. We are each other’s keeper. May God be with us.
Revd Tongayi Matamba
Extract from the Senior Steward’s Report
Firstly, thank you’s:
To the Revd Tongayi Matamba, who has been with us for just six months and is settling into a whole new way of life with us. Thank you for your openness and eagerness to learn all our ways of doing things. Be assured of our prayers as we journey together through the highs and lows we will all face. We welcome you and Rudo to Bognor Regis. May God bless you in your service to God in this place.
To our various teams of volunteers who keep BRMC working – all of whom we could not function properly without:
- the team who make Sunday coffees and help at other social events
- our Communion Stewards
- our 9 Welcomers
- our 13 readers
- Worship Leaders
- our sound technicians
- our organists and other musicians who enhance our worship with their talented playing
- our team of stewards
My thanks to you all for your hard work and support. The stewards are due to meet in April to discuss church matters and how best we can serve BRMC.
Huge thanks to you all for your continued hard work and support. I pray you are blessed in all you do for God at BRMC.
And finally, thank you for the encouragement, love and support you all show me.
God’s blessings,
Deborah D
Extract from the Home Groups report
Our Home Groups meet fortnightly through most of the year with breaks at Christmas, the summer and Lent.
Our Wednesday meeting is using a study book called ‘Faith. Depending on God’, and the Thursday group is using ‘Meeting Jesus’. After prayer we have a Bible reading and then discuss it and what it means for us with the help of questions in our study book. We enjoy the fellowship that develops between us. During Lent this year, we have had weekly meetings in the Wesley room led by the Revd Tongayi Matamba.
We have room for a few more people and would be pleased to welcome anyone who would like to join us.
Tony B is still willing to lead a Wednesday group if there is a demand for an evening meeting.
Anita
Extract from the Centenary Group report
This group was appointed by Church Council at its meeting in January 2024. Group members are tasked with producing proposals for the Church Centenary Celebrations in April 2025. They have begun to set up a calendar of proposed events. It has been confirmed that the President of Conference, who leads the Methodist Church, will be attending our service on the 6 April, 2025 and it is hoped that as many as possible of our previous Ministers will also be able to attend this.
Further events being planned are for a musical evening, an exhibition of the history of the Church, an evening of poetry, an Open-Air Drama in the Sunken Gardens, Lego Church for children, a Centenary bake-off, and a shared service with Felpham and Westergate. The group are open to any additional ideas that members might like to have considered.
All proposals will be presented to Church Council in May, and then work will begin in earnest to ensure key people get dates in their diaries and bookings/logistics are all put in place to translate our plans into reality. All offers of help are greatly appreciated.
Hazel D
Well-Come Point and Warm Spaces
Well-come Point (W-CP) opened its doors in October 2017 and we still welcome a few folk each week who have come regularly since we opened. W-CP offers a warm welcome into a safe place, where you can have a (free) hot drink and biscuit and find someone to talk to or choose a quiet table if you wish. Then at 12.00 noon, we offer everyone a bowl of soup and a bread roll. Sainsbury’s donates dozens of bread rolls to Warm Spaces, every week.
Currently, each week we welcome about BRMC members and members of the community. Every week we offer table tennis, pool, a jigsaw puzzle, scrabble, playing cards and lots of conversation.
The most important thing about W-CP is how we have watched God heal people. We have seen those with little or no confidence change and grow; friendships have been made and are blossoming and it is certainly a place of love, where God is present every week, ministering to those who need Him. It really warms my heart seeing God at work in all the conversations that go on each week. We’ve seen one person become a member of BRMC, and some lovely friendships and connections are growing between our church and the community.
Huge thanks from me to all the volunteers who give up their time every week to W-CP and WS, taking their turn on the rota to come and serve us.
I hope you are blessed in your work every Friday.
Deborah D
Extract from the Pastoral Report
Pastoral Report 2023-2024
Our Pastoral team has been working hard to welcome new people and support our fellowship. We do our best to keep in contact with those unable to attend worship and we pray for them regularly as well as those we can meet on Sundays. Our team is small and this year we have been delighted to welcome Hilary as a new Pastoral Visitor.
We thank everyone for all the work they do to make this a loving and caring church.
Anita H
Methodist Church ‘World Mission Fund’ and ‘All We Can’
Both these funds help Methodists and others around the world. The World Mission Fund gives grants to partner churches, supports mission partners, supports nationals in mission appointments and helps special projects.
All We Can focuses more on practical help such as introducing new crops, bee keeping, a needed well, wheelchairs for disabled people and so on and advice or training for new ventures. They both work with local organisations in their communities to help them grow stronger and more resilient. In a dire emergency both funds will provide money.
Since last April we have given £555 to World Mission and £50 to All We Can through giving in the church. We have also given £100 to Christian Aid.
Extra money may have been sent directly by individuals. It would be lovely if everyone could add something to our annual totals – just 20p a week from everyone would soon add up, 50p would be even better!
Anita H