The Lord is adding to our number those whom he is calling. Words taken from the baptism service, as we receive new members into Christ’s body, the Church, here on earth. To suggest the Church is dying, as the media would have us believe, is simply not true. For those of us who are participative members of the Church, we know at HPC that baptisms take place on a regular basis, with adults and children joining the Christian community. Some of these become participative members and attend regularly, others associate members, and come occasionally.

For the committed Christian, regular worship that sustains life is one of the most important aspects of the Christian pattern of life, but the decisions we make in how we use our time on earth is equally compelling. It’ at the funeral service, in one of the prayers of intercession, that we remember not only the person who has died, but also reflect on our own mortality, and the time that is left to us here on earth. For the committed Christian, our goal in life is to serve God and to reach our potential in his sight. This leads us to reflect on what it is that God of wanting from us, or perhaps what it is that God has given us, in order to contribute towards the kingdom of God here on earth?

I know many people who work in the secular world with a strong sense of vocation to be a Christian presence in the work place. Some are teachers, others medics, one person manages a new deal programme for the government – all working in different fields, but with the same Christian objective – to serve God.

God also needs men and women to serve him as accredited ministers in the church, with a variety of ministries and contexts: bishop, priest, deacon, lay minister, employed or self sustaining. Today there remains large numbers of men and women coming forward to offer themselves for some form of accredited ministry, and whilst large numbers of priests are retiring, and finances within the Church remain very tight, God remains faithful to his people, and the Church continues to serve the nation.

During the last few months, as I have begun to journey with the community, I have had some moving and profound conversations with a number of individuals about their own Christian journey and how they experience and serve God. It would seem a natural progression, to bring those people and others, together, to share the journey of faith, and to corporately reflect and explore what God is saying to them, and where he might be leading them. The Vocations Group will meet at the Vicarage, 8pm, on Monday 22 September. Perhaps some of you might like to join us?