Frodsham Methodist Church
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • What We Believe
    • Safeguarding
    • Inclusivity
    • Pastoral Letters
    • Music
    • History
    • Venue Hire
    • Find
    • Contact
  • Get Involved
    • New Here?
    • Reflections
    • News & Notices
    • Magazine
    • Prayer
    • Facilities Bookings (LOGIN)
  • Worship
    • Worship Guide
    • Sunday Holy Communion
    • 3rd Sunday
    • Sunday Morning Worship
    • Sunday Evening Worship
    • Monday Prayer Group
    • Monday Lectionary Group
    • Mid-Week Praise Services
  • Fellowship
    • Ukranian Drop In / Safe Space
    • Book Group
    • Church Walks
    • Small Groups
    • Ladies Group
    • Coffee and Chat
    • Men's Club
  • Young Families
    • Fusion 12
    • Messy Mice
    • Toddler Group
  • Community
    • About Frodsham
    • Charity & Giving
    • Fair Trade
    • Anti-Human Trafficking
    • Churches Together
    • Links

The Annunciation

6/3/2012

 
Picture
The Annunciation, the event recorded in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel when an angel appeared to Mary and told her that she was to give birth to a son and that she was to call him Jesus, is celebrated by many Christians on 25 March, a full nine months before Christmas day. 

It is one of the most frequent occurrences in mediaeval and renaissance Christian art and features in the work of artists such as Botticelli, da Vinci and Caravaggio as well as in the décor of many church buildings.

The African American painter Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) is now little remembered, his most enduring legacy perhaps being Sand Dunes at Sunset which was the first painting by an African American artist to enter the permanent collection of the White House which happened during the Clinton administration. 

His father was a minister in the African Methodist Church and Tanner became known for his paintings on religious themes. His The Annunciation painted in 1898 exudes the intensity and warmth of a sudden religious experience and is arguably one of the most striking paintings of the last century or so on this subject.

It is often said that Methodism was habitually squeamish when it came to discussing the role of Mary, perhaps because it was thought a little too high church for some tastes! 

But in the interests of ecumenism, we have a lot to learn from Mary—especially as we look to the Annunciation—in terms of discipleship and following Christ. Christian discipleship is the process by which followers grow in the Lord Jesus and are equipped by the Holy Spirit to become more Christ-like. And as Acts puts it, discipleship is a continuing process and day by day the Lord adds to the ‘number those who are being saved’.

We learn from Luke that Mary responds to the angel by saying ‘Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word’. John Wesley notes that Mary’s humble faith, consent and expectation might well have been the time of her conceiving. Mary was invited to say ‘yes’ to the Lord in a most extraordinary way and of course we do not all experience such phenomena as that depicted by Tanner. But this same challenge is made to us in those unique moments in life when we are conscious of being invited to say ‘yes’ to God’s will in something important; perhaps life changing, perhaps every day.

As the Methodist Covenant prayer puts it we are provoked to say ‘I am no longer my own but yours. Put me to what you will…I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours.’

A challenge to us all indeed, but visited with the Holy Spirit and overshadowed by God’s power, we are strengthened to walk with Mary the joyful path of obedience and to say ‘yes’ to God’s calling.    Amen. 

Matthew


Comments are closed.

    Pastoral Letters

    Written by the Minister & Members
    ​

    RSS Feed


    ​Archives

    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    April 2011

©2020 Frodsham Methodist Church
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • What We Believe
    • Safeguarding
    • Inclusivity
    • Pastoral Letters
    • Music
    • History
    • Venue Hire
    • Find
    • Contact
  • Get Involved
    • New Here?
    • Reflections
    • News & Notices
    • Magazine
    • Prayer
    • Facilities Bookings (LOGIN)
  • Worship
    • Worship Guide
    • Sunday Holy Communion
    • 3rd Sunday
    • Sunday Morning Worship
    • Sunday Evening Worship
    • Monday Prayer Group
    • Monday Lectionary Group
    • Mid-Week Praise Services
  • Fellowship
    • Ukranian Drop In / Safe Space
    • Book Group
    • Church Walks
    • Small Groups
    • Ladies Group
    • Coffee and Chat
    • Men's Club
  • Young Families
    • Fusion 12
    • Messy Mice
    • Toddler Group
  • Community
    • About Frodsham
    • Charity & Giving
    • Fair Trade
    • Anti-Human Trafficking
    • Churches Together
    • Links