Worldwide Community!

With an estimated number of adherents that ranges between 1.5 billion and 2.1 billion, split into around 34,000 separate denominations, Christianity is the world's largest religion. The Christian share of the world's population has stood at around 33 per cent for the last hundred years. This masks a major shift in the demographics of Christianity; large increases in the developing world have been accompanied by substantial declines in the developed world, mainly Europe and North America.

"Living Fire" is the title of the Methodist Prayer handbook 2008-2009. It is arranged as a monthly cycle and offers the opportunity to pray with Christians from all around the world, from the countries of Africa to South America, the USA to India, Malaysia, Australia and back to Europe. Each day also focuses our prayers on areas of our own country, England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The last day of the month invites us to pray with the World Council of Churches.

The handbook includes a daily lectionary with suggested Bible passages for personal devotions, together with a Psalm and a hymn to read (or sung!). It is a resource that is shared by Christians all around Britain and the world. For many, September is the start of a new Church year. To know that we belong to a worldwide church is a great encouragement and to realise that we are being prayed for, as well as being able to pray with others, stimulates our faith.

"The voice of prayer is never silent

nor dies the strain of praise away"

(HP 648)

The Methodist Church is one of the largest Christian churches serving Great Britain, with nearly 300,000 members and regular contact with over 800,000 people. It has about 5,800 churches totalling a worldwide membership of 70 million. It's activities, both alone and with ecumenical and secular partners, are based on four aims known as Our Calling:

• To increase awareness of God's presence and to celebrate God's love.
• To help people to grow and learn as Christians through mutual support and care.
• To be a good neighbour to people in need and to challenge injustice.
• To make more followers of Jesus Christ.

Whether our tradition is Methodist, United Reformed, or just Christian, this presents us with a real challenge for the new Church year. In our smaller Churches, where there are limited resources, we may have to focus on just one thing and aim to do it really well. In our larger communities there is more potential but again it is important that we don't overstretch ourselves so that we don't do anything well. Our thinking, decisions and actions need to be focused. To do this, both as Christian communities and as individual believers, we must thank God for the opportunities around us, the resources we have been given and pray for his guidance in the decisions we make. Above all, remember, that our loving God is beside us and goes with us into the future whatever that may bring.

Wherever you journey from here today,

Whoever you meet on the road of life,

Whatever your dreams and hope might bring,

Whenever you pause to catch your breath,

Remember you journey with a loving God,

In whose heart you will always remain.

And may the blessing of God be with us all.

Amen