Methodist Special Sundays
Methodist Special Sundays are listed in the left-hand side
menu.
Please note that these materials are prepared annually by members
of the Connexional Team. Previous content is retained for reference
until new material has been prepared. Please contact Rev Adrian
Burdon (Convenor, Worship and Liturgy Resources Group) if
you have any further enquiries relating to this schedule or the
preparation of Special Sunday materials generally.
The ideal material to help plan Special Sundays in churches is
found on these web pages. Further resources, especially for
choosing hymns, can be found at www.singingthefaithplus.org.uk.
There are 13 sections on Methodist Special Sundays listed in the
left-hand menu
See also Ecumenical Special
Sundays
Some Special Sundays have fixed dates agreed by the Methodist
Church or ecumenically.
Click here to
view the diary. Church councils may decide when to mark other
special Sundays.
Additional resources for Special Sundays and many
other occasions can be found in the book 'Open with God' by
Christine Odell (Inspire, 2004), this is now available from her for
£5 + postage (multiples copies charged at rate). Christine can
be contacted at 50 Hallcroft Road, Retford, Nottinghamshire DN22
7LP or on 01772 715134, or christinesheasby@yahoo.co.uk
Special Sundays: introduction
notes
Churches planning special occasions in worship will find this
material invaluable. Methodist Church councils, local preachers and
worship leaders might wish to make use of some or all of the
material at various points during the year. Individuals may want to
use some of this material for personal prayer also.
The list of Special Sundays included here is not exclusive. Don't
forget local festivals - such as Choir Sunday, and so
on.
Help for churches
It might be useful to plan the special occasions in your church's
worship over the next 12 months. At its next planning meeting, the
church council might helpfully decide which special Sundays are to
be built into your church calendar during. There are lots of
suggestions on these web pages. Allocate each one a date.
Straight after the autumn church council, make sure that a copy of
the relevant material is available to the key person in your
church. Ask them to advertise the Special Sunday in the
congregation. As soon as the circuit plan is published, contact the
person appointed to lead worship on any of your chosen Special
Sundays. Ensure they have access to the relevant material. Make it
clear that the Special Sunday theme does not need to take over the
whole service.
When planning services, remember that the weekly lectionary
normally takes pride of place. The Special Sunday theme may be
woven into the sermon; but its main use is to inform the prayers of
the congregation.
What else can you encourage in the week before or the week after a
Special Sunday?
- Encourage a house-group, or a church committee, to look at the
relevant Special Sunday material and discuss the issues
raised.
- Set up an opportunity for special giving.
- Dig deeper into any one of the issues raised, linking up with
people in your locality who are committed to the same cause.
- Find out who cares about these issues in other churches in your
neighbourhood or in your circuit, and talk to them to see if there
are things you can do together.
Access to this material
Not everyone who needs to see this material will be able to look
it up on this website. They may appreciate you downloading the
material and printing it out. Please offer this service to your
church council secretary, your minister and local preachers in your
congregation.
Feedback & copyright
If you have any comments about this Special Sundays material,
please contact
Rev
Adrian Burdon
Leeds Methodist Mission
Oxford Place Centre
Leeds
LS1 3AX
Methodist churches and others in linked ecumenical projects are
free to use this Special Sundays material for their own use. Any
other organisations or individuals wishing to reproduce the
material must contact the Methodist Church for permission. The
material is copyright and cannot be used commercially without
permission.
© Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes