REV Alison Richardson led the service at Crediton Methodist Church on Sunday, October 24, when her theme was "God is Love".

The call to worship was "Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind and love your neighbour as yourself".

The family challenge was to show an image of a heart made up from something broken. This proved difficult and only three people submitted an entry.

The first was made up of pieces of blue glass which had been collected whilst beachcombing. The second was made up from crumpled up pieces of tissue paper. The third, submitted by Alison herself, was a collage of photos of people in India Alison knew herself.

They were Dalit people – Dalit means broken or crushed. These are people who do not fit into the caste system and who previously were known as "untouchables".

In the reading from Matthew the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by asking Him about divorce.

Jesus was teaching about marriage and divorce and about serving God totally with all our being. Jesus advises not to marry if you wished to serve God so that there were no distractions to service.

Alison said society has changed and some Christian organisations, including the Methodist Church, now accept divorced people who wish to remarry.

The reading spoke of eunuchs and Alison said she did not know why God creates people differently. However, she did know that every human being is born in God’s image and is loved and valued by Him.

The Methodist Church has always been progressively ahead in accepting practices alongside changes in society, showing that God is for the present time as well as for the future.

The Methodist Church challenged unfair practices and introduced a very methodical way of reaching people and teaching the good news of Christ, reaching the poor, sick, needy and marginalised.

After 12 years of debate, at its Conference this year, the Methodist Church voted to confirm provisional resolutions on same sex marriage being carried out on Methodist premises or by Methodist office holders.

This decision was arrived at after very prayerful consideration and a fair debate by Conference. The decision is now left with individual churches and members of Crediton Methodist Church will be given the chance to vote in January 2022.

Alison spoke of a fictional TV programme where someone had been imprisoned for being homosexual.

She asked where do we stand on gender identity? Can we honestly say we love our neighbour as ourself without being judgmental?

Can we love each other and respect their differences? God loves each and every one of us.

Jesus defended the marginalised and deplored the way they were treated and said we should love one another. It was love that took Jesus to the cross.

Alison said we must defend and support the marginalised now. Could it be that He is asking even more of us now? Are we being offered even more of God’s grace to live before Him in a new way?

It is by His grace we can all be transformed into the children of God and empowered to live in holiness and truth.

"Love one another as He has loved you".

Worship on the Web continues for those who cannot physically get to Church. You can watch the service at a later date by going onto: www.creditonmethodist.org.uk .

Bronwyn Nott