Faith in the Fields

The Bus of Blessings team at the Southern Agricultural Show

29/08/2024

Faith in the fields

Isle of Man Methodists have been sharing their faith at the Southern Agricultural Show which attracts 20,000 people each summer.

The following report comes from Jen Casson:

It is my third year being involved with taking the Bus of Blessing to the Agricultural Shows and I have to say every year that I do is a real privilege. Each year my heart is warmed more and more by how open and receptive to spirituality the people on this island are. This year we had a special guest join us at the Southern Show who was from Connexion called Michael. He is a part of the Communications team for the Methodist Church. He came over to observe how we get involved with the agricultural shows and to write a story about it. He even made a few videos whilst he was here too! So do please look out for these appearing on the Methodist Church website in due course.

This year we decided to follow a theme of The Lord is my Shepherd as it seemed quite fitting to where we were going! So, the activities we offered all fitted in with this. We had a Prayer Loaghtan, a Sheep related quiz and our very popular Feed the Flock game. We also had some prayer squares kindly provided by the wonderful knitters in St Johns and a mixture of different faith related booklets along with the Methodist Way of Lifebadges / beer mats! The activities provided a starting place for us to engage with people at the shows. This then enabled us to have deeper conversations based on the responses received. The feed the flock target game also provided some light entertainment for all ages!

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who had a role in helping at either of the shows. It is only possible for us to attend these events with your help, so I am so grateful to every one of you for giving us your time. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to share the Good News of Jesus with our island community. Many wonderful conversations were had with folks over the course of the two shows. Some of those conversations were from people who were asking some searching questions and seemed to be seeking. I hope and pray that the seeds that might have been planted during the shows will grow and develop over the coming months and that people may reach out to explore that further. The wide age range of people who attended the stands over the course of the two shows was also very positive. There is that lovely saying 'out of the mouths of babes.' There is a lot of wisdom that we can learn from our young people, and they inspired me with some of the beautiful prayers they shared on the Prayer Loaghtan.

I sense that God is truly moving on this island currently, but he is challenging us to maybe consider looking at new ways to interact and engage with people who are currently seeking. He calls us to live in community with one another, but this can take many different forms. So, I am looking forward to the challenges of the coming year and to see how God inspires us all to reach out to people in our communities to grow his kingdom here on this island.

Looking forward to the next shows in 2025.
Blessings
Jen x

Thenews article below has appeared on the national Methodist website. To read more, follow the link below to the main Methodist Church website (or copy the URL into a new tab in your Web browser)

https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/our-stories/outstanding-in-their-field/?utm_source=Methodist%20Church%20House&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=14635534_Methodist%20News%2029%2F08%2F24&dm_i=BVI,8POUM,45B6TD,1070RB,1