
A Welcome from the Chair of District - The Revd Julian Pursehouse

It was a privilege to be appointed by the Methodist Conference to serve as Chair in this district from September 2014. East Anglia is a particularly idyllic part of the British Isles and an area where you can be constantly reminded of the beauty of God's creation.
The East Anglia district is geographically vast and culturally diverse, stretching from the North Norfolk coast to the leafy suburbs of Cambridge and from the flat expanse of the Fens to the bustle of Felixstowe docks! I trust that within this rainbow community you will find a warmth of welcome, an optimism in God's grace and a passion for the Gospel!
January Light

See here for more about the January Light mission initiative.
Coronavirus
Information about The Methodist Church Coronavirus guidance and resources can be found by clicking here.
Glenda Tooke from the Norfolk Broads Circuit has kindly prepared three quizzes to exercise our brains during Lockdown and to raise funds for the James Paget Hospital. Please click on the following links to access the quizzes:
Glenda has also prepared a Christmas Carol Anagram Puzzle
A useful guide on how to set up a traditional phone line for group calls and recorded messages/devotions/services has been put together by Stuart Wilkinson, a member of St Ives Methodist Church. Click here.
Below is a pastoral letter from The Revd Julian Pursehous, Chair of The East Anglia District
February 2021
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
As I turn to write this letter for a new month; I am conscious that we are on the cusp of entering the season of Lent – a penitential season of prayerful preparation that leads to the momentous events of Holy Week and the glory of Easter. Janet Morley, in her wonderful publication ‘The Heart’s Time’, suggests that the season of Lent is an apt time to engage in the work of the ‘heart’. We deliberately step aside from ordinary time and enter an intentional season in which to give focused attention to our journey with God. Through prayer, reflection, and spiritual discipline we invite focused thought upon what really matters in the life of faith and as we do so we are further challenged to relinquish the things of no import and indeed the things that encumber our progress in the life of faith. This seasonal turning aside; offering space for prayer, repentance, and new resolve; is not dissimilar to the turning aside of Moses in Exodus chapter 3 to give attention to the lit bush that is not consumed. It requires us to be surprised by the blessings of the present moment and in a moment of awe to find ourselves addressed, called, and redirected by the living God. Part of this calling for the prophet Moses is to become newly attentive to the pain and misery of an oppressed people – a people who are his own kith and kin – a community that he is wedded to through the covenant promises of God.