O Beauty, so ancient and so new! Late have we loved you, though you were always with us. Call still to our heart, burst still on our deafness and scatter even yet our blindness. Still let our hearts pant for you, still let our soul hunger for you and touch us even yet with the gift of your peace. Amen. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Holy God of the morning: still our minds. Holy God of creation: create through us new life and vitality today. Holy God of whispering gentle breeze: come to us in sighs too deep for words. Holy God of crashing thunder: break into our lives and into our complacency. Holy God of sun and warmth: encourage us to reach out with love. Holy God of the evening: fill the fading light of this day with your awesome presence that we might worship you, honour you, glorify you, bless you, praise and adore you as we take our rest. Amen. Loraine Mellor, President, British Methodist Conference 2017/2018

The Methodist Council, the body which undertakes work on behalf of the Methodist Conference, met at High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesdon, on 16 and 17 October 2017.