Methodists in the Vale are getting ready to formally welcome a new minister this weekend.
A service for the Revd Patricia Mukorombindo will take place this Sunday, January 11 at 4pm at Evesham Methodist Church in Bridge Street.
Revd Patricia, originally from Zimbabwe, trained at The Queen’s Foundation, an ecumenical theological college in Birmingham, and has served for the last ten years in the Midlands.
She was ordained as presbyter (minister) in the Methodist Church in 2015.
Leading the service will be the South Worcestershire Superintendent Revd Elizabeth Harris, and the preacher will be the chair of the West Midlands District, Revd Novette Headley.
Ecumenical guests from the other Evesham churches and local community leaders have been invited.
Revd Patricia Mukorombindo, new Methodist minister for south Worcestershire. s
Revd Patricia said: “Joining South Worcestershire Methodist Circuit at this moment is a true privilege.
“I hope to nurture a ministry rooted in justice, inclusion, and love, where every voice is valued and every person can find welcome and hope.”
During the service, Evesham Methodist Church will also be officially recognised as a Church of Sanctuary – the first in Worcestershire to receive the national award.
This will be presented by Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal, former president of the Methodist Church, founder of the UK sanctuary movement which began in Sheffield more than twenty years ago.
The initiative forms a network of welcoming spaces such as schools, universities and libraries that provide a welcome to strangers and care for those in need in the wider community.
Evesham Vale Welcome Refugees, which conducts activities at the church is an active member of the movement, as are other ‘welcome’ groups around Worcestershire.
“We hope Evesham Methodist becoming a Church of Sanctuary will encourage other Worcestershire churches to seek the Award, and spread its themes of security and hospitality for all in need across our county,” added Revd Patricia.
The new minister will also have responsibility for two Worcester Churches – Bromyard Road and Ombersley Road, and churches in the South Worcestershire Methodist Circuit.
For more information about the sanctuary movement see www.cityofsanctuary.org
