our structure
Structure of the circuit and the Methodist Church
The Circuit
The Circuit is the basic structural unit of the Methodist Church, and the King's Lynn Circuit, is comprised of 10 churches in and around King's Lynn.
The purpose of the Circuit is to use effectively the pooled resources of the member churches. These include ministers & deacons, preachers, properties and finance.
The circuit acts as the focal point for the fellowship of the local churches, looking after aspects of pastoral care, training and evangelism.
The ten churches of the King's Lynn Methodist circuit are:
The Local Churches
The local churches, made up of the people rather than buildings, exist to proclaim and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our communities. We aim to do this through worship, fellowship, pastoral care, mission and service.
The responsibility for ensuring that this happens rests with the minister and, most importantly, the church council. On a day to day basis, running of the church's business is done by the church stewards, who are appointed annually by the church council.
In turn, there is delegation of some particular duties those church members who are able to serve in a particular way and also to various committees, such as property stewards, event committees, etc.
Because the church is ultimately governed by it's members, membership of the church carries a degree of responsibility and commitment.
"All those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and accept the obligation to serve him in the life of the Church and the world are welcome as members of the Methodist Church."
Methodist Deed of Union, 1932
The District
In turn the King's Lynn circuit belongs to the East Anglia District , which covers Norfolk, Suffolk and most of Cambridgeshire. For each of the 33 UK Districts of the Methodist Church there is a Chair of District, in our case Rev Graham Thompson. His job is to lead the ministers and lay people in the work of preaching and worship, evangelism, pastoral care, teaching and administration.
Training and Development
The Connexion
The connexion is the whole Methodist Church as linked together between circuits and districts and derives from the system of inter-connectedness which John Wesley established between the early Methodist Societies.
The Conference
The Methodist Conference is the governing body of the Methodist Church. It convenes once a year in June, and is attended by office holders and representatives of churches, circuits and districts. At conference the national policies and initiatives of the church are decided through debate.
Each year, new ministers and deacons are ordained during conference. A president (who is always a minister) and vice-president (who is a lay person or deacon) of conference are elected each year to oversee the business of conference, and they also represent the connexion in various capacities during their year of office.
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