From The Editor

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THE start of a new calendar year brings the promise of a new start – and a raft of resolutions.

By the end of the month, many of those good intentions will have fallen by the wayside. Sometimes this can be because they were not realistic or required a regular committed effort to complete.

As the world continues to feel a little uncertain as we move forward, perhaps the trick lies in adopting a business-like approach to resolutions. Instead of reaching for the stars – I’ll double the number of days I walk/run/swim/cycle to ‘I’ll try to do x’ once a week.

Sometimes encouraging people to give or do more is counterproductive – and then the burden can fall on those who are already regular volunteers who then become tired and overworked.

But asking for realistic goals for help and support could be more effective. I am not talking about asking for money or an audit of talents, but rather that folks be asked to consider their personal gifts and offer a little of their time by making personal pledges. It could range from the simple: ‘I will tell one person how much I enjoyed a service/church event/Guild (or even Life and Work) this week’ to ‘I will volunteer one hour of my time to x in service at Church’.

Those who are skilled at this work will be able to lead by example: it is easy for some people to tell a crowd of friends and family all about their Church and how they should pop along to join in, but for others it can be more difficult – and this often feels like a mark of Presbyterianism, to be reticent about faith.

„As we reform and reshape, there are opportunities to be grasped amid the difficulties and how people share and engage is one of those opportunities.“

As we reform and reshape, there are opportunities to be grasped amid the difficulties and how people share and engage is one of those opportunities, but rather than an appeal to engage with an initiative or special event, simple encouragement to share with gentle reachable goals will play its part in building our church anew, with simple (but effective) communication at its very heart.

For how did those early followers of Christ learn about him and his work? His life and work would have been confined to the 12 disciples and his closest friends and family were it not for the power of the simplest form of communication – word of mouth.

As the new calendar year beckons, let the gift of positive and enduring communication be at the heart of all work in the deep challenge of the months ahead. ¤

Lynne McNeil Editor