Kidderminster East parish held a special celebration onSunday, to commission their Calling Young Disciples team and mark the end ofAdam Legges year as a Mission Enabler with them.
The Worship for All service was led by curate, Rachel Akers,with the bible reading dramatized by the Open the Book team and paperaeroplane prayers led by Adam. Bishop Graham was present to commission theparishs Calling Young Disciples team and his sermon featured the wholecongregation under a big net.
He said: Like Jesus disciples, we are all called to be fishersof people. Jesus asked Simon Peter to take a risk and lower his nets into thedeep. We can do the same by passing on the difference that the Christian faithhas made in our own lives. For the parish, Calling Young Disciples will be anincredible adventure. Over the past year, Adam has been helping to mend yournets so that you can throw them back out into the deep, reaching out to children and young people and helping them to experience what its like to be caught upin Gods net.
Team Rector, Hugh Burton, explained the impact having aMission Enabler for a year has had: Adam has been a real catalyst for helpingbring ideas to fruition. For example, we now have a parish-wide Messy Churchwhich wouldnt have happened without Adams help. Hes enabled us to worktogether across our churches and theres definitely been a shift in culture.Well get continued support from Adam, but the responsibility for takingforward our work with children and families now lies with our Calling YoungDisciples group.
Adam said: Its been a very good year and Ive enjoyed thevariety of working in both rural and urban contexts. I have a great deal ofrespect for all of the churches in Kidderminster East who aim to serve God andmake disciples of all ages. Its been humbling to be a part of the journey asthe churches have had an honest look at themselves to see what they can do toreach children and young people in a way thats sustainable and relevant totheir contexts. They have definitely got the skills and the desire to keepmoving forward, while continuing to listen to where the Holy Spirit is guidingthem.
Sam Thompson is a member of the new Calling Young Disciplesteam which was commissioned by Bishop Graham. He said: Ive found it reallyexciting to look at the different ways in which we might reach children andfamilies. Weve started with small steps, but I can definitely see the capacityfor the work to grow. At the same time, weve had new members join our youthclub and thats really felt like God supporting us and pushing us in thedirection He wants us to go!
