{"id":1038,"date":"2017-04-03T18:57:04","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T17:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2017-04-03T18:57:46","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T17:57:46","slug":"ministers-letter-april-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-april-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister&#8217;s Letter &#8211; April 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><em><b>How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: \u201cHow beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!\u201d (Romans 10: 14-15 NIVUK)<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dear friends,<\/p>\n<p>I want you to think about this question before reading on: what can we do to help our church to grow?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an important question: one which is being increasingly asked as we witness the decline of the Church in \u201cthe West\u201d. Numbers attending Sunday worship continues to decrease, and in general, people are less interested in religious belief.<\/p>\n<p>Considering this, how do we answer the above question?<\/p>\n<p>There are several different options before us: this is partly why 2017 is a year of reflection for us. We are giving ourselves the time and space to better understand our context, parish and culture, and allow these things to shape our ministry and mission.<\/p>\n<p>What we do and how we minister is important; but these things alone will not help our church to grow. Lasting church growth comes from one thing alone: believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.<\/p>\n<p>How do people find out about Jesus Christ, the love of God, and all this means for us? Only if we tell them! That was Paul\u2019s encouragement to the church in Rome, and it\u2019s still his encouragement to us today.<\/p>\n<p>If we truly desire to see our congregation grow, then we must be prepared to tell people about what God offers them through Jesus Christ. Only that will make a lasting impact on someone\u2019s life, and make a lasting impact on our congregation.<\/p>\n<p>May God bless you,<\/p>\n<p>Stuart<\/p>\n<p>Rev, Stuart Love<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8z2vw-gK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2075,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-january-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":1038,"position":0},"title":"Minister&#8217;s Letter &#8211; January 2019","author":"Stuart Love","date":"6 January 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.(1st Corinthians 10:31 NIVUK) The question, \u201cwhy?\u201d is an important one. It is often one of the most basic questions a person can ask. Children will ask things like, \u201cwhy is the sky\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Minister's Letters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Minister's Letters","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/ministers-letters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2245,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-june-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":1038,"position":1},"title":"Minister&#8217;s Letter &#8211; June 2019","author":"admin","date":"10 June 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.\u2019 But he replied, \u2018Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.\u2019\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Minister's Letters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Minister's Letters","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/ministers-letters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2549,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-january-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":1038,"position":2},"title":"Minister&#8217;s Letter &#8211; January 2020","author":"Stuart Love","date":"2 January 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"9\u201cHave I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.\u201d (Joshua 1 NIVUK) This is our verse for 2020. Each year of ministry at Clincarthill, I have tried to prayerfully discern\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Minister's Letters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Minister's Letters","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/ministers-letters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/letter_wide-114373157624ef432f57452b56c2eb19289fd314.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3228,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/holyweek2021-good-friday-reflection-8-jesus-is-buried\/","url_meta":{"origin":1038,"position":3},"title":"#HolyWeek2021 &#8211; Good Friday Reflection 8: Jesus is Buried","author":"Stuart Love","date":"2 April 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"We reach the conclusion of our Good Friday reflections. We continue in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 23, as Jesus is taken down from the cross, and is buried: 50Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51who had not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Reflections&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Reflections","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/reflections\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Image-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Image-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Image-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Image-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Image-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1992,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-october-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":1038,"position":4},"title":"Minister&#8217;s Letter &#8211; October 2018","author":"admin","date":"13 October 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people\u2019s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ\u2019s ambassadors,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Minister's Letters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Minister's Letters","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/ministers-letters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3190,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/holyweek2021-holy-monday-jesus-overturns-the-tables\/","url_meta":{"origin":1038,"position":5},"title":"#HolyWeek2021 &#8211; Holy Monday: Jesus Overturns the Tables","author":"Stuart Love","date":"29 March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to the Clincarthill Parish Church Holy Week Reflections. My name is Ruth. Today is Holy Monday, and we reflect on the theme of \u201cJesus Overturns the Tables in the Temple\u201d. We read about this in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 21: 12Jesus entered the temple courts and drove\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Reflections&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Reflections","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/reflections\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/JesusCleansesTemple.jpg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/JesusCleansesTemple.jpg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/JesusCleansesTemple.jpg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/JesusCleansesTemple.jpg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/JesusCleansesTemple.jpg?fit=1200%2C849&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1038"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1040,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions\/1040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}