First, we should celebrate our Christmas present from the United Reformed Church (and the generosity of the Methodist Church), in that we have been successful in our application for a £30,000 grant towards the appointment of our Community and Family Worker. Our immediate focus will be on supporting our work with children and young people, working outwards from there. As I write we are in the process of completing our Application Pack, which will contain all kinds of information on our Church, our Fresh Horizons Vision, the role we want to fill, and our Job Description. Beyond this, we will work with the Methodist Circuit to agree a timetable for recruitment (where we advertise, for how long, and how we move to interviews.) I think it fair to say that whilst much will be going on in the background, some good things are worth waiting for.
The second part of our Fresh Horizon’s vision concerns how we make changes to our building in order to make us more hospitable. The immediate urgency is to improve access – whether you come to church with a push chair, stroller, walking stick – we are here for everyone. Beyond this is the quesion of how we make better use of our foyet. Whilst we still need to make progress on what we do (again I am writing ahead of Christmas so this may be out of date by the time your read it), we are at least working in the right direction.
Christmas, and the visit of the Wise Men, is for me about hospitality and welcome. If the family who welcomed Mary and Joseph had not shown hospitality the story would have turned out differently. If Joseph has not been such a good father, in accepting Mary, and protecting the family the same would be true. And if the Wise Men had been unable to discern false hospitality from the real thing, Jesus and his entire family would be dead. (Herod was not interested in paying homage to Jesus but protecting his own power.)
So what is my Christmas and New Year message to the good folk of Whittlesey? It is that hospitality is a matter of life and death. And hospitality not includes how we welcome people and help them find a home in our Church. It is about feeding people, physically and spiritually. And it is about protecting people from the ravages of a world that in certain places, is in turmoil. The Good News is that God is alive and kicking in that world – screaming, and alive, and kicking in fact – bringing light to dark places, through those who follow Him and his ways. It is plain to me that our Church is a place where people can find light and love, and a place where we can experience deep friendship and joy as we journey together, and a deep satisfaction in knowing that God has a plan for our church, our lives, and those we seek to help. In a sense, words are a blunt tool to try and communicate what if feels like to be here. You have to experience it. So come. All are welcome. Come and be refreshed. Come and let your perspective on life be changed by looking to a new horizon.
Why are we doing what we are doing, and how do we rebuild our local movement post-pandemic?
This article was compiled in September 2022, originally for a Churches Together group in one of the villages where I serve. Here, Churches Together were looking to re-establish itself post-pandemic but questioning how our local movement might find renewal. Why should people in churches be attracted to Churches Together?
When our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate their Passover meal, they begin by priming the youngest child to ask a question to the oldest adult present. This question is, ‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’ It is, arguably, one of the most important elements of the evening. It marks the beginning of the storytelling as the family recount God’s faithfulness in delivering His people from slavery and leading them to the promised land. It prevents the true meaning of Passover from being lost, and it reinforces the tradition.
The danger for us as Churches Together is that we assume that our congregations and even ourselves as leaders understand our purpose. And so, as we stand on the edge of something new (and it is clear already that God is doing a work among us – you can feel the fellowship, playfulness, and delight around the table), it is worth us stepping back and asking the question, ‘Why are we doing what we are doing?’ This is helpful because there are many good reasons that churches should work together. Some are scripturally based. Others surface from our practical experience of how God can do great things when Christians lay aside their differences and work together. But some are better than others.
The main reason for our questioning, ‘Why are we doing what we are doing?’ is to strengthen ourselves as we draw strength from the consensus that we hold. The second is to help us think realistically and strategically about how we grow ChurchesTogether, locally, as a movement. The word ‘movement’ is key. I put it to us all that our Churches Together groups are not so much a committee or an organization seeking to ensure that churches play together nicely (and if possible avoid clashing with each other’s events). We are a movement; a group of people who believe that churches through Christ change lives, and that this outworking of the gospel cannot be contained within our walls. As Jesus reminds us, you cannot fit new wine into old wineskins. Or, to use another gospel reference, we are going to need a bigger boat. Crucially, the more that we are able to support each other and work together, the more growth we will see in our churches.
Why do we do what we do?
Looking to scripture:
Whilst there is a scriptural warrant for Churches Together, I would suggest that this is not always the most helpful starting point because it is open to interpretation. It is however possible to investigate the context and background of Jesus’ words and penetrate the surface. In John 17:21, Jesus prays with the disciples that they, ‘may they all be one… that the world may believe that you sent me…’ What are we to make of this?
The word ‘One’ has been interpreted by some to mean ‘One Church’ (with the schism that has given rise to Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Methodist, Baptist, Reformed, Pentecostal etc being viewed as sinful). The vision here is that we should all be part of the One Holy Catholic Church (‘Catholic’ here meaning ‘universal’ or ‘all-embracing’ rather than Roman Catholic of course). However, this thinking is difficult because it infers that somewhere within our mix of denominations is the ‘one true church’ that Jesus would have us follow. So then, which one of us has it all right, and who is going to concede that they are wrong? As for me, I always think that if I find the perfect church, I am going to get out as soon as possible, lest I make it more unholy by being there in the first place. Therefore, whilst the idea of calling people to be One Church might appeal in the first instance, it highlights the division that exists, within seconds.
What then can we say? Well, perhaps the most insightful and least contested statement would be to recognise that Jesus here is not speaking to the Church, or anything like the Church as we know it. (Arguably, the origins of the Church as an institution are closer to the 4th Century when Christianity was adopted as the state religion of the Roman Empire). Rather, Jesus is speaking with passion to a band of disciples who need to stay together and support each other lest they be scattered by the conflict and persecution that is to come. The call to be ‘one’ is woven into a prayer that the Father would protect them, and that the Holy Spirit will be their advocate and help them discern the truth as they journey on.
If then there is a scriptural warrant for Churches Together, it is that we should help Christians support each other in their discipleship. Our task is to set the tone and provide spaces in which people can form mutually supportive relationships with each other. And our role as leaders is to model this ourselves and to point and celebrate where this is happening in others. Since Jesus comes declaring that the Kingdom is both here and coming (as opposed to the Church is here and coming), our task, surely, should be one of breaking down the barriers that prevent people from across different churches relate well to each other. There are significant gains to be had from people in one church supporting the work of another, and vice-versa. This said, there is some danger in people calling themselves Christians and yet not being anchored to one particular church. We would therefore be wise to encourage people belong to one particular church and to serve others from there. One of the best ways in which we might appreciate the contrasts of another tradition may well be to know our own well enough in the first place. There would appear to be no contradiction in making a spiritual home in one place and yet visiting the house of another to support them, and be supported by them.
Creating a Missiological Juggernaught rather than an Ecclesiological nightmare.
‘Ecclesiology’, in its crudest sense, is a term that refers to, among others, how we ‘do Church’. It is a heady mix of culture (‘the way we do things round here’ or ‘the way we do things when we are not consciously thinking about what we are doing’). It is influenced by a blend of the tradition in which we have been raised, our view of scripture, our experience, and our reason (God gave us a brain for reason), to refer to what is known as the Methodist Quaderilateral. Our Ecclesiology determines, among others:
Who leads? Minister, vicar, priest, or pastor?
Who has the (real) power and how this is balanced between leader and congregation?
When does worship take place? Morning, evening, or beteen when the cows need milking?
How do people worship? Do they cross, kneel, crouch, stand, sit, raise their hands, or swing incense?
In short, we would be unwise to mess with culture. We are all different. Whilst we can be refreshed by being exposed to a different tradition, it can also be a struggle, for deep reasons.
‘Mission’ is a term that is easier to describe. It is less to do with worship and more to do with how we serve. There are some interesting definitions:
Mission is about loving our neighbour.
Mission is about working out what God is doing and joining in.
Our mission as well as to serve others is to make disciples.
To make disciples, we need to evangelise (invite people to commit to Christ and take the first steps in their Christian journey).
Disciples are always connected in some way to a local church.
Speaking candidly, the Spirit moves differently in different contexts, and I have never seen any two Churches Together groups take the same form. I have seen quite a few iterations of Christians from different churches working together, local churches working together, and Churches Together. (They can vary significantly in their outworking and affiliations). Even so, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland seems a good starting place. Whilst some colleagues from other denominations are close behind me in terms of the number of churches they serve, our Methodist stationing system places us frequently across multiple congregations and therefore, working with multiple Churches Together groups.
Joint Worship
We should not give up on joint worship. However, we should concede that apart from where congregations from say two or three different local denominations have unite permanently, the quest for joint worship has always been difficult. This is because people are a product of their culture. For example, a morning joint service means that every church in our context apart from one must move its congregation. An afternoon service suggests that meeting for worship is an optional extra. Across the board, however, acts of worship that are in open spaces, and on high seasons and holidays, are supported by congregants. Perhaps this is because everyone sees the value in public witness, and this is something that we can do better together than alone.
The second starting point is often the much more fruitful one, because whilst individual Christians from local churches may well have hurt each other (sadly) to the point of struggling to co-exist in the same space, and whilst churches might differ theologically over key issues such as baptism and communion, any resistance to work together and alleviate the sufferings of others, is a total anathema to the gospel. It is inexcusable. Neither is there any room for protectionism as if one church should be wary about supporting another because they might ‘poach’ members – the answer to this is to be better at our invitation and evangelism. There are more than enough people in our villages, towns, and cities to fill all our churches.
Our country is experiencing an increase in the cost of living that we have not seen for decades. Our national conscience has been moved to the point of everyday people taking in Ukrainian refugees. There is now much focus on local churches providing warm spaces. Meanwhile, we as Church leaders are failing Jesus if we cannot, by cultivating supportive relationships between members of different churches, alleviate the suffering that some people are going to experience. To turn this argument on its head, why would we not do all we can to work together and do even more good? And why would we not do it when in the very act of serving others and being an instrument from the Lord, members of our congregations will discover life in all its fulness? (John 10:10)
I am not sure how I ended up writing an essay! This may well be a helpful document for other church leaders as we reflect. Whilst people have an inkling that working as part of Churches Together might be good, and plenty can see that Churches Together can provide an overarching and informative view of what the needs are in our context, I am not convinced that people have grasped the reasons as to why churches should work together. Its a classic, ‘We just do this because we have always done this’. Perhaps there might be an element of doing it because it is fun and we enjoy being together. However, I am not sure that we are doing it because in by being faithful in this way, we are showing our unity for the love of God, and we are demonstrating our love for our neighbour that is so much more powerful than words.
Some simple truths
Perhaps the points below might be helpful as a simple reminder to those who attend our churches about some of the core truths that lead us to work together, wherever possible:
We may worship differently but our core beliefs are the same, and we share the same calling; to make disciples and to show God’s love to the World.
God calls us to be one as Christians first (never mind our denominational affiliation), supporting each other as disciples. Through Churches Together we encourage people to be there for each other when the worst happens. Equally, we celebrate with our brothers and sisters when we experience the best that life has to offer.
As Church Leaders there is an obligation on us to model this ourselves; it is in and of itself, an act of witness to the presence and power of God across our churches.
There are more than enough people in many villages, towns, and cities, to fill our churches; it is the Lord who builds our local churches by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, whilst it might be tempting to preserve our own numbers and to limit our efforts to support our own congregations, it is in fact counterproductive. Our task is to simply help people find a church that is right for them. We care more about them than what church they eventually attend.
Churches Together provides a way of helping churches coordinate their efforts so that in their individual efforts they do not undermine what each other is doing.
Churches Together can take simple steps to permission give and remove the invisible barriers to mission that can so easily impede us; through sharing information about what churches are doing and what help is available to those who are in need; by celebrating and highlighting examples of where a member of one church finds fulfillment in supporting a mission project in another; of discerning what additional needs exist in the town and encouraging joint projects between churches, or a single project under the umbrella of Churches Together.
And yes, our united acts of worship, particularly those that are in public (in the form of gatherings for worship, and times of reflection and prayer) will provide a visible witness to a world and can therefore be the first steps in evangelism from which people can invite to find a home in a local church. However, the danger is that they will end-up being constrained to within the (literal) walls of the church, where newcomers will rarely venture, and they will cater for those who are committed to church unity rather than pressing the argument home amongst those who may well be asking the question, ‘What is the point of Churches Together?’
I can honestly say that it has been both one of the busiest and productive periods that I can remember in my ministry. From remembering the passing of our former Queen, Elizabeth 2nd, to overseeing roof repairs at Westgate New Church (specifically the bookshop), to collating and applying for grant funding towards our hoped for lay employee, it has been pretty non-stop.
Malcolm, our Church Secretary at Whittlesey, commented to me the other day that things were going well, apart from that we seemed to be buried in paperwork! I hope he does not mind me quoting him. He is right though, in that whilst we do need planning and paperwork in the life of the church, we must never lose sight of what ‘church’ is. It is about faith, and fellowship, and finding love and fulfilment in ways that we had never anticipated.
Paperwork has a structure – here the microscopic structure of paper: Micrograph of paper autofluorescing under ultraviolet illumination. The individual fibres in this sample are around 10 µm in diameter. By Richard Wheeler (Zephyris) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10688563
On the other hand, I am ok with paperwork so long as it gets us somewhere. One useful phrase I have picked up over the years is, ‘Prayerful planning prevents poor performance.’ If we are to move forward as a church then we need to understand each other, engage quickly over areas where we need to make decisions, hold lightly to what is ultimately not important, and plan for the future. And for this to happen, we need paperwork. I was so grateful to know that someone in the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church had prepared paperwork and prayers/suggestions in the event of the death of our sovereign. I have also been grateful for the paperwork where the costs of our building work at Westgate New Church were agreed, and contracts signed. As we search for a solution to some of the concerns about our entrance and how it could be remodelled to provide a more welcoming accessible space, I am grateful for the paperwork that runs two and fro from our surveyor, even though we are all concerned about the costs! I am also grateful for rotas in the life of the church. Without planning and paperwork, we don’t know what we are doing. Finally, I am glad that we have the ‘paperwork’ that is the gospels and epistles; fragments of the accounts, collected together on the life, death, and resurrections of Jesus, and of the conversations that took place between churches.
So paperwork is not always a bad thing. But Malcolm is right. Amidst of all of our planning, we need to remember that we still have a church to run, and reach out to newcomers. The paperwork should inspire us, excite us, push us forward. At tomorrow’s meeting we will therefore begin by agreeing some Christmas dates and talking through how we support our children and young people, in worship, right now. We will move on to talk about the progress we have made with our hopes to employ a lay employee and improve our building – but the paperwork in this is there to serve us, to keep us informed, to add clarity – if it does this then fine. If not, well lets just say that the paperwork is best used for something else!
26.7 miles per hour – to be precise. And that’s on the flat without ducking down on ‘the drops’ and carrying a rucksack. I am of course referring to my most recent bike ride from Peterborough or to be precise, Gunthorpe Road to Queen’s Street. The route took me north via Newborough, then right on to the Thorney Road (facing winds of 25mph, gusting at 30mph – I checked), then turning right to be wind-assisted for the second half, up past the Dog and Doublet and into the town. What a contrast.
Not me. Just me in my head. By Wikichops – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62320658
I am sure there are people who have gone faster. I once did a funeral for a man who managed to live a long life despite receiving a speeding ticket for travelling at 50mph on a bike through the Mersey Tunnel. I was so sceptical about this that I did check what was possible – and yes it is – but you rely on the hill rather than spinning legs to achieve those kinds of speeds. And of course, those who know my figure will know that I am more like a human cannonball than a dart – but this does have its advantages when it comes to preserving my momentum.
El Pollock / Queensway Road Tunnel, River Mersey / CC BY-SA 2.0, Wilipedia
Seriously though, for me, 27 miles per hour – faster than I have ever gone even
when travelling downhill – is fast enough. Goodness knows how people cope at higher speeds, especially when you don’t know the road (and more to the point, where the pot-holes are). Experience tells me that falling off even at half that speed hurts. At a few days over 50 (Ahhh, I year you say), I don’t bounce. However, in that moment my thoughts are not on slowing down, but just concentrating.
There is something in this; so often we have the potential in life to go faster but we need to balance this with keeping ourselves safe. Sometimes our fears are ill-founded and we need to stay alert, keep pedalling, and keep our hands off the brakes. At other times we need to take the risk seriously and slow down. Somewhere in between the two is what Jesus declares to be ‘Life in all its fullness’. Hold back and you will miss out on life. Push it too hard and we will end up flying through the air, and not in an angelic way. But in my view, more often than not we are more conservative and risk adverse than we need be. Life is meant to be lived to the full. Whilst we can find fulfilment in an arm-chair, it is not meant to be lived there, at least not in the spiritual sense. Even if mobility prevents us from leaving our homes easily, we can still ‘get out’, exposing ourselves to new experiences; reading a different author, watching a different TV programme, phoning up someone we have not talked to in ages, setting up a Facebook account (or any other form of social media). There is a whole world out there. God wants you to live in it, experience it, to feel the reward of the wind pushing you from behind, having faced everything it can muster up as you face it beforehand.
I am minded of the quote that came to mind last Sunday morning, “Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live”. For me there is more to life than just a pulse. So the next time you are tempted to tap the brakes just hold off for a second – one second – and ask whether there is more life to be had in this, or whether you really do want to slow down and miss out on a whole new experience. Sometimes our nervousness is unwarranted. Risk is everywhere. It’s how much risk we are prepared to tolerate that makes all the difference.
The Peterborough Circuit has a history in offering prayer ministry for healing and wholeness,, as do countless other churches and circuits. We might term this ‘Ministry in the Spirit’. In one sense, this feels like an odd statement to make given that the Holy Spirit is present every time we pray in Jesus name before Father. However, the phrase does of course point to a particular openess, approach, and expectation to God in those being prayed for and those who are suporting as they offer prayer. This policy (which remains under review) is driven by three considerations:
First, as we gather post-pandemic, the practice of inviting people to respond and request prayer, and come alongside other who will listen and support them in prayer, has the potential to deepen the sense of koinonia (spiritual fellowship, community, partnership) between people.
Second, the offer of prayer ministry is a testament in itself in that it projects the expectation that God has a work to do in people’s lives. Prayer ministry is an intensely evangelical act – evangelical in the sense that it encourages people to centre their lives around the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit and gives them the confidence to share their faith with others. As the latin summary of our Christian Tradition puts it, what we pray, reflects what we believe, and how we live (Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi).
Third, in order that people feel secure and to mitigate against hurt or harm, appropriate safeguards must be in place. These will relate to our ongoing experience of safeguarding issues, and the present context of the church, particualry in relation to God in Love Unites Us, our inclusivity towards members of the LGBT community, and the Methodist Church ban on conversion therapies.
The following is offered as an initial policy, to be held under constant review.
General Principles of Prayer Ministry
We believe God hears and answers prayer. We want to see that in our lives and in the lives of individuals who seek prayer ministry.
We will minister with God’s grace and mercy without judgement or prejudice.
We aim to provide a safe space for people to share their needs and concerns in confidence.
We will listen to the person. We will listen to God. We will assure people that God loves them. We will give people the confidence to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit.
We believe that prayers spoken in the name of Jesus have the power to free us from sin (which ensnares us), death, and all that oppresses.
We believe that from the point where someone steps forward to receive prayer, the Holy Spirit begins to bring or continue works of healing, restoration and hope.
Whilst we draw strength from the prevalence of exorcism and healing in the gospels, we also acknowledge the damage that can be done through unhelpful declarations, invocations, promises, and practices. Our focus is therefore not to rationalise what is happening but to simply help people encounter Jesus and have confidence in opening themselves up to the work of the Holy Spirit.
We uphold the Methodist Church’s Safeguarding teaching, particularly around physical abuse, emotional abuse, spiritual abuse, controlling behaviour, and coercive control.
We uphold the position of the Methodist Church against conversion therapies. Our approach, for those people who are questioning their sexuality or gender identity, is to support them on their journey but to emphasise those values that will enable loving and committed relationships.
Our personal discipleship and approach
The Team Leader in any setting will be any minister, or a fully-accredited Local Preacher or Worship Leader.
Any safeguarding concerns will be forwarded to the Team Leader and thereafter to the Circuit Safeguarding Officer.
We will maintain our own spiritual health through our daily prayers, reading of the scriptures, and worship. We will be support and be supported by a local church.
We will maintain privacy, unless we have obtained permission to share. Only in the event that we consider that the person’s own life or that of another is at risk, or if someone discloses that they have been abused, will be breach this.
Individuals from other Christian denominations may be invited to assist in prayer on a case by case basis at the discretion of the circuit superintendent. The principles of Safer Recruitment will apply.
We will pray with humility, sensitivity, gentleness, value and respect, and will always protect the dignity of those seeking care.
Someone coming for prayer will never be prayed for alone; they will be supported by a second person (even if they are watching and listening at a distance).
Whilst we do not require men to pray for men, or women to pray for women, we recognise that this may be helpful in certain situations and so will always ask the person whether they are happy with who is listening and praying. We will be sensitive in our discernment to offer this as conversations unfold.
After having prayed for others, we will seek assurances that all is well in ourselves, and we will pray for God’s protection and blessing over each other.
How we Pray – what does ‘good practice’ look like?
Welcome people. If unknown to you, introduce yourself and ask their name. Spend a few moments putting them at ease. Assure the person what they are sharing will be kept confidential. It may be more helpful for people to sit for prayer; if you can, offer this but sit beside them rather than stand above them.
“What do you want God to do for you today?” is a good starting question. Give people time to express why they are seeking prayer; listen well, don’t judge, and remember we here to offer prayer rather than advice or counselling. Keep folk focused on what they want God to do for them. Do reflect back what they have said, particularly if there are strong phrases that highlight how they feel. Make sure you have tissues to hand.
Never touch someone without asking permission. If you wish to lay lay a hand on a specific area (that they may have referred to), ask the person to put their hand there and you lay yours on top, if they would be comfortable with this.
Invite the Holy Spirit to come upon the person. Allow time for the Holy Spirit to minister. Encourage the person being prayed for to close their eyes and receive. Keep your eyes open, be watching, and listen for what God is saying. Speak thanks and blessing for what God is doing.
If you feel led to pray in tongues, please do so silently unless you have explained to the person what this is. An acceptable thing to say is, ‘Is it ok if I pray for you in a special prayer language – it helps when I do not know what to pray but I know I must pray something?’ Do not speak the tongue out loud but under your breath.
People will be moved powerfully by the Holy Spirit. Reassure than that this is normal and that they can trust God. Frequently, the Spirit enables the release of emotion, and the person can lament or be moved by joy: this can surprise us. Affirm what you see, assuring then that God can release pain and anger etc. If someone becomes very distressed or noisy, pray that they come to a point of calm. Act sooner rather than later. Seek help if needed.
Unhelpful declarations: Do not say ‘You are healed’ (the best testimony on healing comes from the person being prayed for). Just pray for healing. Rejoice with the person. Advise them to consult with their doctor and continue with medication etc. Avoid, “Do this or that and all will be well”, “You need more faith”, “It’s your fault you are not healed”.
Unhelpful invocations: Do not speak to the ‘demon within’ someone, yet alone attempt to deliver someone. Just because Jesus, the Son of God did it, that does not mean that you have the discernment to identify what is at work or the authority to deliver someone here. There is need for sensitivity and deep discernment in this area, and much harm and hurt can be caused if this is handled badly. Focus instead on the power of Christ to release us from oppression, and (should this relate), speak of ‘spiritual oppression’.
Unhelpful promises: ‘You will find a partner’, ‘You will get pregnant’ are obvious no-no’s.
Respecting boundaries: ‘I will keep a secret’, ‘Would you like to meet 1:1 later’ are an obvious breach of boundaries that potentially isolate you from other members of the team, and leave you vulnerable as well. Take care.
If you feel you or the person needs further support, ask for their permission to refer to the Prayer Team Leader.
By Giotto – http://www.scienceblogs.de/astrodicticum-simplex/2008/12/der-stern-von-bethlehem.php, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94612
I write during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and one of the priorities that began to surface as a result of our last MAP (Mission Action Plan) gathering was the shared sense of calling for the churches from across Whittlesey to support each other. One observation, particularly over the Christmas period – and this has been common elsewhere – is that whilst as churches we have rightly focused on northing our own congregations back into onsite worship, we have not had the time to regroup as Churches Together. This said, some essential Churches Together work across the region in terms of Foodbanks and mental health support groups have continued. At Whittlesey I am pleased to say that Churches Together are reconvening. My personal hope is that we may at the very least be able to share news about what we are offering in terms of worship, and share opportunities about how we can support each other in our mission. There are more than enough potential converts for all of the churches in Whittlesey, and certainly no room for protectionism.
The theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this week is ‘We have seen the star’. Personally, I have been delighted to see the theme of Epiphany continuing. All too often in Methodist circles, Epiphany is lost, buried under the (much loved) Covenant Service, and being covered under ‘Ordinary Seasons’ in our liturgical cycle. The readings that speak of Epiphany; God’s glory being revealed to us, us having a moment of realisation that we have encountered God or an understanding of how God is at work in our lives are present within our set readings, yet need drawing out.
The take-away for us as churches in Whittlesey for 2022, is that like the wise men (and wise women), we journey through the years seeking Jesus continually. In the biblical accounts. the wise ones are from a different culture and, no doubt, religion (most likely Zoroastrians from what is now Syria , Egypt or India – I’ll leave you to look that up). The are not kings – figures of power – but they are wise. The point is that God is revealed to the ‘outsiders’. We don’t really know if they knew one another when they started – but I cannot help but think they were representatives from other tribes or ‘nations’. However, by the end of the journey they must have known each other well. The point is that they journey together. And I can’t help that they must have had to support each other to survive, encounter Christ, and spread the news. And so should we as Churches Together.
Perhaps one thought is that at times we can be dismissive of meetings, and it can be disheartening when we leave a meeting thinking, ‘What did that result in?’, ‘What was the point?’ But not so here at Queen’s Street. We talked about this at our trustees meeting and felt that it was something that we could begin acting on, and whilst I have made the suggestion of a Churches Together Facebook Page, it is good to see that Churches Together is planning an AGM in February. It is heartening to know that we have had some part to play, in putting something into action. And we look forward to our next Church Gathering in February, where we draw everything together and are open about our dreams and visions for the future.
I find it relatively easy to forgive people who are sceptical of the Methodist Church, even when they are close to the point of undermining it. After all, the Church belongs to God, and not to us, and whilst congregations rise and fall, the work of God continues. God is big enough to handle the complaint, and we are big enough to listen, even if we become wound-up. Curiously, I find that this distrust of the Church is more apparent in those who are activists and pioneers in the life of the Church. This, I suspect, is for two reasons. Please therefore indulge me in what will be a long introduction to why I have faith in the Methodist Church, and in God for All . (You can, by the way, take my faith in Jesus as read). And also, please do not read this as my questioning our investment in pioneering, innovation and even enabling people who we know will agitate. I write also as a pioneer coach, or at least, someone who does my bit to help bridge the link between the experience of leaders on the margins, and the institution at the center.
First, as a leader I am well aware that there can be genuine problems with how the institution of the church feels at odds with immediate needs on the ground, and of how some our or policies and procedures can feel archaic and non-sensical. This is sometimes a fair point. The issue is not however that the policies are necessarily wrong. it is that they are framed with an approach and in a language that seems overly legalistic and archaic. If for example, I invite a group of Christians who are gathering as a congregation to see themselves as a church, I will often get a good response. However, if I were to suggest that they need a steward, a treasurer, a property secretary, a pastoral secretary, and a safeguarding officer (and the list could go on), they may well look at me in horror (apart from agreeing that safeguarding was the most important thing). However, if I say, ‘That’s an impressive jar of money that people have given so far – do you think someone should start a bank account’, or ‘It’s great to see so many people here, do we have anyone who can keep track of who people are and how we can contact them?’ the result, I guarantee you will be different. Sadly, we overlook all too easily that many of our regulations have been formed, by our reflecting on experience – and sometimes bad experience – in the white-hot hear of mission. Thus you might think that a requirement of fourteen days notice for a church council meeting to take place is unwieldy, until you find yourself in a new church that has become insular, cliquey, and planning things behind everyone’s backs. Or until you find a leader who because they have not considered safeguarding, ends up compromising themselves or wholly unprotected if something goes wrong.
The second reason why people may be sceptical is because – and this is my one and only objection to Fresh Expressions, as someone who is still an Advocate for the movement – we have baked-in to the call for people to develop new forms of church and mission the argument that the inherited church has failed. In other words, we are asking and releasing people to do new work – which, however we measure it, has been hugely successful, but then we ask them in the same breath to trust the inherited Church, the wider body that is in decline, to manage what is fragile and new. Unsurprisingly, people have reservations and Fresh Expressions becomes the victim of its own rhetoric. What people forget of course is that whilst the inherited Church has struggled to adapt, all of this new work has been funded through the generosity and time of people in the wider Church, who have given greatly. Arguably, if we were to measure the level of giving towards mission, we would find that inherited congregations have sacrificed a great deal. Rather than calling for ministers (for example) to serve them tea and biscuits until they die, they have accepted that whilst they miss their minister, and even need their minister, their minister needs to go where they are needed the most. Of course, I am not suggesting that this is always the case, but in what is approaching now twenty years of experience, I have seen a significant shift.
So having addressed two reasons why some innovators and pioneers might be sceptical of the Methodist Church, allow me to share why I have confidence in God For All. In the main, it is a judgement built on my experience on what the Church has got right, and it begins with Our Calling (now 20 years old, reaffirmed in 2018), something that remains a versatile tool for church reflection. It gave way to a process of change that I have lived through. Whilst the Church may be slow to react in certain instances, no one can question the Methodist Church’s ability to ask difficult questions, have the integrity to follow them through, and implement difficult decisions. We might not like the decisions I grant you, but please don’t present the image of a sloth like church that is unable to cross the road in time to avoid oncoming traffic.
Following Our Calling came the Conference Reports:
Where are we heading? (2003) Priorities for the Methodist Church (2004) – here we identified how, among other issues, people struggled with the capacity to speak of God, and to evangelise. Team Focus (2005), resulting in the restructuring of the Connexional Team. Reshaping for Mission (2006) which encouraged circuits to merge for mission. Fruitful Field (2011 onwards), representing a wholesale change in our understanding of ‘formation’ wherein previously we had focused a disproportional level of resourcing on ordination training, a the expense of other formational needs among lay people.
Methodism’s Hidden Harvest (2016) began to highlight some of the benefits of the Church’s partnership with Fresh Expressions, concluding,
31% of circuits have a fresh expression 37,000 people worship regularly in a Methodist Fresh Expression 24,000 of those attending have no prior experience of church 59% of fresh expressions are lay-led
Following this trend and after a period where the Church, nationally, set out with its Reimagine agenda (a shift that included that was much broader than fresh expressions, encouraging circuits and churches to reflect on their mission and develop new work, the Methodist Church then began a lengthy, grass roots consultation which led to God For All, the conference paper for which is available via the link below:
The thing that excites me about God for All as a progression of this is how:
• It has arisen from the wholesale consultation across the wider church, thanks to the early work of the Evangelism and Growth teams. • The Methodist Church has ‘put its money where its mouth is’. £22.7 million pounds over five years, including £1 million on encouraging personal evangelism, £6.6million for New Places for New People (new work), £8.6 million for working on the margins, in comparison to basic staffing costs of £2.7 million. • It is a strategy for growth that can be owned fully by the Methodist people and comes from the heart of the church. (I say this having experienced how Fresh Expressions rejuvenated the church, but was not as owned by the Methodist Church, at its grassroots, as much as it could be). This I feel is something that has emerged from the heart of the Methodist Church, of which Methodists can rightly be proud. Of course, I use the term ‘ownership’ and ‘pride’ in the best possible way. Ownership is not about us holding on to, and refusing to share something that is precious to us, it is about churches surviving because the self-govern, self-finance, and self-propagate, albeit in the context of Methodist subsidiarity. (And to that drawing from my ‘what’s healthy in mission perspective’ I would include self-theologising, in the sense that there is ample room within God for All for local churches to discern the shape of their mission. It is not one-size fits all approach. • It holds the church to account, asks, ‘And so What?’ and suggests a way forward. I believe that the structural changes are much like a new wineskin that God is for us. Now this is in place we need to grow a crop for the new wine. I view God For All as encouraging the variety and blend of people and resources that we need. Another important feature is that I think Methodism is ahead of the curve here in terms of mission. Whilst I can see synods in other denominations are being excited about the stories and good practice that are surfacing from Church at the Margins and/or pioneering contexts, God For All seems to be a much more coherent approach, where different variations in missional work are being woven together in one garment, and no longer is one act of mission taken as more valuable, or given more profile because it is more shiny than another. We need both The Methodist Way of Life, and Everyone an Evangelist for example. Without wanting to sound dismissive, beware any local church that thinks it can deflect difficult questions about their lack of growth – some of my own included (we can all do it) – by over-emphasising (as they fade into oblivion) the importance of spiritual growth alone. Considerable work has also been clearly done on how the different facets of God For All feed into each other. Until this point, I have for example seen dioceses in the Church of England develop say a 2020 vision to reach equity of fresh expressions versus inherited church staff and projects, but God for all seems to go deeper, broader. • It focuses on us encouraging adaptive (hard) rather than technical (easier) change. I am minded that in their report on Reshaping for Mission, the Strategy Research Team concluded (in my own words) that we were good on the ‘reshaping’, but poor on the ‘mission’ part. I see God For All as being something that can address this. • God for All faces up to the need for evangelism and growth, and refuses to dodge the fundamental issues by overemphasizing the importance of our ‘spiritual growth’ whilst ignoring our need to make new disciples. • The foundational tenets of centering our lives on God, prioritising evangelism, and developing transformational leadership (TL) resonates with me. I am excited by how centering our lives on God will be driven by The Methodist Way of Life. From my perspective, this is a resource that needs to be pushed at circuit level, rather than appearing as an option. Doubtless the pandemic has had a significant impact on the different means by which the message, and the commitment cards can be distributed. From my experience, this is an urgent area of review and we may need some even sharper directives from the connexion to accelerate this. • Linked to Transformational Leadership, if this is taken seriously (and it is a technical phrase that should not be banded about unless you mean what it implies) I find the concept of ‘individualised consideration’ as key, as well as helping teams discover their collective identity and the power that they do have. There is a strong links for pastors here in helping individuals connect their sense of self to a project and then to others within a group. Additionally, I think that the focus within TL on helping people think for themselves is empowering, as is an openness towards what is unexpected or remarkable. I can think of projects that have started in one direction but have had benefits in another. I am not sure whether we have focused as much as we could on how we understand ‘leadership’ in the church – perhaps an area of further work.
• The remaining elements excite me because: … they arise from our having reflected on our Methodist tradition and have theological depth. They are so clearly anchored people cannot refer to tradition as a way of resisting change. Church on the Margins for example, is exactly what John Wesley did. …they show a sophistication of thinking – the very fact that leaders are recognised separately from pioneers, evangelists or leaders is telling. …The focus on Digital Mission simply says to me that the Church is aware and alert to new mission fields, and engaging with this.
So there you have it. That is why I believe in God for All. Above all, and retuning to my opening comments about why people may be sceptical of the Church, we would do well to remember that we are called to follow Jesus, but to follow Jesus is to be part of the Church; the two go hand-in hand within the Missio Dei, Sure, we can talk about how ‘church’ can exist in different forms, and how churches can organise their own affairs (there is a surprising degree of latitude in our current policies, membership aside) but to lose faith in the Church, and its capacity to, just occasionally get things right, is really to lose faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Welcome folks. It has been a very heavy week for me – but for better reasons than sadly, the number of funerals that have come my way as per the last two weeks. This week and next week, as a product of my Ministerial Development Review, and with the support of the Circuit, I am attending a Bridge Builder’s course.
This organisation specialises in helping people manage conflict – and when I did the first course two years ago it transformed by perspective. It helped me take less on myself and gave me some very practical skills to respond in the best possible way when difference and tension collide within my own family, within me, and within churches. One of the lessons I learnt was that some forms of conflict are a natural part of the creative process. The art of moving forward seems to revolve around acknowledging feelings, and what we are passionate about – and noting through all of this the common ground that we can agree on. A good example of this have been some of the really helpful conversations that we have had about God in Love Unites Us. The issue of same sex relationships can be a polarising one, but I have been proud of how we have lived phrases such as. ‘We can think differently, but love the same’. Another, Wesleyan, principle is that we can ‘disagree well. The main thing during our conversations as a National Church has been that despite our differences, those who are part of the LGBT+ community have felt listened to and respected – as have those who struggle. As with any form of conflict, progress begins when we have the confidence and the forbearance to face our emotions and share how we feel. Meanwhile, scripture calls us to discern a way forward which accepts that we bear in mind the health of the body as a whole. I did not intend to speak on God in Live Unites Us as I set out to offer my weekly bulletin today, but it has naturally led in this direction, and to me reminding us all to pray for the Church and our forthcoming District synod, and to invite anyone who wants to share their thoughts on the report to contact our synod reps, or anyone in CLT. Thoughts shared in writing are of course the easiest place to start though.
This second part of the course – four days over two weeks, is on Building Resilience in Ministry, which feels somewhat ironic given that if all of us were not resilient in the first place, given everything we have experienced, we would have fallen by the wayside already, I will report a little more on this once the course is over, but so far I have been encouraged by a focus on the Psalms which has underlined for me that a cycle of how feeling disorientated (either by difficult events or as things seem chaotic before a new order of things is established) is very much part of the human condition. There are of course times of blessing. The reality is that rather than pushing back against the discomfort of disorientation, we step more to it in the knowledge that a sense of order will emerge. Linking this to the pandemic, there is a tendency to go back to the way things were before – which is now a distant land, and in reality, unobtainable. Instead, we need to sit with the discomfort, in that heady mix of celebrating the good things that we have put in place despite the pandemic whilst questioning how everything fits back together as we emerge into face to face worship. What will we drop? What will we continue? What will we adjust? It all feels uncomfortable but we have no option to go back; we must move forward. My thoughts and prayers are with every church in the circuit as we reflect. Be reassured as you hear me acknowledge how challenging this might feel. We will get there in the end. And we will be all the better for it, having been crafted into the kind of churches that God wants us to be, fit for our present age.
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A great idea which began as a joke on our Livestreamed morning prayers. during the warm-up, but then became serious. I was joking about how so many people admit that they link in with prayers as they get up in the morning, sometimes watching in bed, and still in their pajamas. (I am not one to judge as I am certainly not a morning person). I suggested that I should present prayers in my PJ’s and dressing gown in solidarity, and even suggested that we should have a ‘Pajama Sunday’ in the church, since we have plenty of other Sunday’s with a clear focus. Jokingly, I asked that if we did that, what would it stand for.
The response came back that we could remember that God accepts us for who we are, wherever we are, and whatever we are wearing. I think that this is profound. So what do you think? Is this something we should pursue? On the one hand it could feel quite gimmicky, and we would I am sure, have to say that people would have to wear their PJ’s on top of other clothes, but the point we would be making, just at the moment where we may want to welcome new people into the life of the church, or those who have been distant from us, could be powerful. Do let me know? I should say that I am aware of a church in Peterborough where this happened for real at a midnight communion service. I gather that folks simply showed their usual welcome. Good on them. Irrespective of whether we feel this is right to pursue, the point is a meaningful and timely one.
During my daily prayers I have been focusing on the All We Can theme, ‘Change begins with the Spirit’. At the beginning of the week we remembered Jesus turning the table in the temple. Today we remember the ten commandments.
My two reflections?
With respect to the former, we often think of the Holy Spirit in peaceful terms; the Spirit who brings comfort, counselling, serenity. The Spirit that is gentle, like a dove. But there are times when the Spirit is anything but gentle. What we see is dramatic. Disturbing even. We often think of birds as gentle, but my experience has been varied. I remember whilst I was on a camping holiday in Norway once, where I obviously came too close to a bird’s nest on the rugged island in which we were staying. Consequently, one of its parents I suspect, became agitated, swooped around me, and (I thought) was about to dive bomb me. I was already running at the time (hence my being in a very isolated location). All I can say is, it made me run a lot faster! Suffice to say, I think that it is worth us checking our understanding of how the Spirit is at work lest we construct for ourselves and unbalanced view of how we expect God to work in our midst. Granted, if we need the peace of God falling on us as gentle as a dove, God would supply it. But at the same time, sometimes we need the Spirit to shock us and re-center us as to God’s purpose. This is what happens when Jesus turns the table, and we see how serious He is about bringing religious reform of the structures and practices that rather than freeing people to experience God, are simply getting in the way.
Arctic Tern Divebombing, Source: Wikipedia
In respect of the Ten Commandments, I have often shared the story of how one of my churches, when I was a probationer, had the ten commandments on wooden plaques either side of the pulpit. It was a typical preaching house for those of you who are familiar with the layout. I must admit that whilst I valued the ten commandments, I hated these boards. For me they were perhaps the most unwelcoming sign to a newcomer. In ye olde English they conveyed a ‘Thou shalt not’ God of judgment. To compound things the antique wood, dust, and peel, projected a God, and a faith that was staid and irrelevant, unchanging, even resistant to the modern world. Meanwhile, the ‘Thou shalt not’ raised the question of what would happen if anyone disobeyed, and the spectre of an angry God, with a pointy finger, who would vapourise us if we broke the moral code. It is, I admit, a polarised view of the Ten Commandments, but I still felt that it could do more harm than good when taken out of context. There was no reminder that yes, whilst in the same chapter of Exodus 20, God describes himself as jealous, punishing children for the inequity of parents to the third and fourth generation, God also says that he also shows his steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who serve Him and keep His commandments; and this is before we even apply the teachings of Jesus who would help us to see how God is compassionate, how the law is to be interpreted in love, and how God longs to welcome the sinner. Thus, I rest my case. Moreover, we often overlook that the law is given not because God is a killjoy God, but because She longs for life to flourish. And in these most pressing of times, that lesson will surely be not lost on us. The very reason for the covid directions that are in place is to allow life to flourish. It is simply regretful that one consequence of this is how our contact with others has been severely reduced.
Andrew Martin/Pixabay
What are we to take from this? Well for me, we remember that there are times that the Spirit moves dramatically, even dare I say it, violently – violent in the sense of vigorous, extreme (to our eyes), barging into situations so that God can have Her way. Not though in the sense of intending to deliberately cause harm. Personally I praise God for this – but I am reminded of what a bad idea it would be to be on the wrong side of God if She chooses to act in this way. Second, we are reminded that if and when this happens, God’s purpose is to allow life to flourish. That may well be a tidy and challenging piece of theological reflection, but the real question is, how will this shape our response to God as our churches emerge from lockdown. What tables need to be turned in our churches? What barriers need to be torn down in order for the work of God to continue. And please do note, a barrier is not the same as a boundary. Boundaries are the structures that we put in place to ensure good order. That’s what the ten commandments are; boundaries, not barriers to life in all its fulness.
