Maggie has been blogging excellent about the Archbishops being in Cambridge. There has been a lot of good stuff so if you have not read it you should have a look. This post in particular shows how privileged we are in having our Archbishops.
This is a copy of an email I sent out on various networks a few months ago as a response to some encouragement from those praying with me.
It seems the right time now to post this in a more public setting:
I have been challenged over the last few months by two ordained people who have been mentoring me.
These two people have been listening and praying with me for a little while.
Their challenge and question – to start to research a new pioneering community now, and why am I waiting?While doing this worried me – they have suggested I send out an email such as this and see what happens … so here goes!
I believe there are a few people, and the number will be small, who live, or soon will live, in Medway and share a common vision.
These people long, maybe are even too scared to dream, of church being a place which really connects with people outside, but also with them.
They dream of a church where differences are celebrated and add to the communities flavour.
They are not worried so much about what people believe, but more concerned about how people believe: how they live out faith, how they are Christ-like.
They don’t care so much about worship style, but interested in something that’s authentic and enables them to connect with God where they are emotionally and spiritually.
They really do believe Christianity is a journey, and that we can all exist at different points on the road, or even off it, with no fear of condemnation.
A community where it does not matter how they look, sound or by what they believe.
They want to see a community that loves and has people at its heart rather than a program that must be delivered.
They believe a community should be one that meets throughout the week to enjoy relationship with each other and with God, and is not restricted to any one day or meeting.
They are willing to pay the cost and experience the pain that comes with developing relationships.
They want to see this as a place where people belong because they are connected and on the journey, not a place where they can only belong if they turn up at a particular time, day and place.
They want to see a community that really believes in mission, that not only welcomes in strangers, but expects and allows the community to change due to what that new person brings with them.
They believe church is about participation and engagement of the majority, rather than being consumerist and led by a few specialists.
They are tired of being told the same stuff and want to discover together how to live Christian spirituality in their world!
They long for their experience of church to inform their experience of the world and vice versa.This journey will be tough.
Not many will want to share it.
But a few will.
I am not looking for something better than we have.
I am looking for something equally valuable.
Something to add to the mixed economy of church.
But I’m putting this out there as I would really love to meet people that share this vision.
In particular…I am praying for 2 or 4 other people who share the vision as a start so that we can pray.So … if you have something to add to this, please get in touch.
maybe you could pass this to various people who may have an interest?
Amusingly the road to the church holding the meeting this morning was closed.
The name of th road was Church Lane.
I needed to take a two mile detour to get to the church as the short 400 metre straight road was no longer accessible to me. It was all dug up!
There’s a message there I thought!
Today has been a day of good meetings where I have been able to chat with people I admire and respect and tussle over some theological type issues.
This morning I met for a long overdue coffee with Mark and it was good to simply chat over issues that are interesting to both of us. I don’t get this opportunity very often, but to analyse, think and wonder over key issues such as ecclesiology in a safe environment is always good – so thanks Mark!
After coffee we both made our way to the Gillingham Hope08 meeting. Recently some people from local churches used a simple questionnaire to ask people what they thought and enjoyed about living in Gillingham. People were also asked for their views on how the church could help the community. I was surprised by the answers. People want more clubs for young people and children, and drop in coffee shops for themselves. I was surprised by this as the churches already run loads of these, and it became clear that we are not very good at advertising what we do so that people can make use of them. So, to start with, Hope here is going to need to be about getting the info about what we are providing out to those that may wish to make use of the clubs and drop ins.
As part of Big Hope on Easter Saturday (Easter Eve) I have volunteered to pull together a stations of the resurrection art installation at St Marks Church. I’ve wanted to have a go at something like this for a while and I need a challenge! At the moment I think I have 8 of the 12 stations covered with people producing a cartoon, writing a song, painting, using computers and so on. I think the variety is going to be quite impressive. I’ll keep you posted, but if you think you’d like to be involved and take on a station either on your own or with a group of friends why not give me shout! Whatever … please pray for those involved as this is a first for all of us!
After the Hope meeting I met up with Den in a great coffee shop in Cranbrook. This was another time of chatting over some great stuff and sharing ideas and dreams. Thanks for the time Den.
I came away from my day full of hope, inspiration, enthusiasm and love.
I thank God for those lives that have touched and inspired me today.
I was with Harvest again this Sunday and the questions have been developing in my mind. I had the privilege on Sunday afternoon to spend some time with Kerry and Eunice, the leaders of Harvest, and ask them stuff based on my observations.
One thing I have been particularly struck by is that Harvest is incredibly diverse. It does not just say it is inclusive and diverse, it actually acts out that inclusivity with an amazingly diverse group of people.
Within Harvest over the last few weeks I have chatted with conservative evangelicals, liberals and anglo-catholics who all seem to be able to co-exist and travel together on this journey called Harvest.
It’s good to see a church which practices what it preaches. It speaks of acceptance and the importance of relationships. Because Harvest takes this seriously being on placement here has actually been a bit of a nightmare as there are no real structures.
Harvest consists of cells who are committed to traveling together with each other and God. There is no statement of faith to subscribe to, no one ‘flavour’ of doctrine and no set way imposed or encouraged by the leadership.
I do have some issues and questions with this. I have questions around where do we draw a line with our inclusivity. How do we maintain with integrity a Christian identity and outlook if we are being inclusive of everything? If we draw a line, what criteria do we use to hekp us to know were to draw that line? In cells how do we ensure and maintin some form of quality control if the lead given is a light touch? The desire to be inclusive can result in being exclusive as people observe and believe they see nothing of the authenticity for which they are searching and so pass on.
Is an inclusive community, which sounds great in theory, really seen as quite bland and nondescript. Do we think its colourful when all that others see is an undefined greyness.
These are questions that have come to me on my drive home, and ae the questions I wish I knew beofre and could have asked Kerry and Eunice …. ah well, next time!
I’ve mentioned before that this term I am not attending lectures and instead I am on placement at Harvest in Margate. I’e just returned from my latest evening visit to Harvest where I had a meal with Maggie, Harold and Lizzie (which was very kind of them) before visiting the cell conveniently held in the house next door.
Harvest calls itself a new Anglican church and is 10 years old this year. Harvest is an Anglican cell church plant. There is central meeting on a Sunday held in one of the university buildings but the main body of the church meets in cells throughout the week.
This is an interesting placement. Harvest seems to mean many things to many different people. I am trying to discover what evangelism looks like in this setting as well as what the ‘theology of the holy spirit’ is for people of Harvest. There does not seem to be one uniform answer to either of these questions.
I am not sure what I think of Harvest yet. It is difficult to get a feel for something that is diverse both theologically and geographically. Visiting Harvest means going to Margate all day on Sunday to meet people or visit cells – so this is going to be quite a slow process. I am aware that it is not my style of church as I do not feel entirely comfortable here and have become aware that I am struggling with the lack of symbolism in the life of Harvest (this struggle has come as a a bit of a surprise to me). What Harvest do is excellent for the people who are part of Harvest, but it is not me.
There are exciting things to see here though. Tonight people were engaging with the bible in a real way, not allowing themselves to be content with pat easy answers that I have experienced in my past dabbling into cells or home groups.. Most impressive for me, though, is the ability to belong to Harvest without the need to all believe the same. There is a very inclusive outlook here which brings questions of how this is sustained and held in tension as inevitably people will be disagreeing with each other on some key issues.
I’m looking forard to hearing more and questioning more over these next few weeks.
Jonny points to a very good article from Richard Sudworth of Church Mission Society writing on the ABC of Sharia. This is one of the best articles I have seen written on this whole incident.
Today I have been thinking a lot about Archbishop Rowan and praying for him personally and his ministry.
It has been shocking to see some people (who really should know better) publicly calling for his resignation and trying to dis-credit him in any and every way. Sadly, some 5/6 years on these individuals who were unhappy at Rowan’s appointment back then, can’t seem to even begin to acknowledge that Archbishop Rowan is God’s choice for leader. Certainly the way they have been condemning him over the last few days is a confusing part of Christianity that I wish to distance myself from, but also fail to understand.
If you have only read in the papers, or seen on the TV, what Rowan said then please please please go to his website here so that you can read his actual words. You may find it leaves you thinking very differently on the whole situation.
Today, Lord, be with your servant Rowan.
Uphold him, sustain him, guide him.
Give him the wisdom to continue to know where and when to lead
and the strength to stand in the face of hurt which inevitable goes with the territory!
Lord, protect him, his family, and all he cares for.
Thankyou for the grace and compassion that he exhibits in this role
which, quite frankly, if we are brutally honest, we are grateful that you never called any of us to!
Amen
The blog has been quiet as it has been a busy few days.
On Monday morning we met to talk more about Hope 08 in Gillingham. Plans are going well and people are catching the vision that it can be about about small individual acts of transformation.
On Monday evening I met the core team of Harvest, where I will be on placement for the ext few weeks. It was a good group of people, good food and good discussion without avoiding difficult issues. I’m joining them again on Sunday for worship and then hope to be interviewing and chatting with a view people and learning mor of what they think about the Holy Spirit and evangelism in their setting.
On Tuesday I made the short trip to Westminster to join in the first meeting of the learning network for Fresh Expressions from a catholic and contemplative tradition. It was good to meet up with these people and I hope this is going to be a real support where we can share stories and ask questions in the future.
On Wednesday I caught up with Lyndsay from Chislehurst YFC. It was just great to hear of her plans and I look forward to seeing them become a reality. During the evening I attended the Diocesan Advisory Council for Mission in Borough Green. It’s a privilege, too, to meet up with these people who are sold out on mission.
As I drove home after the meeting I reflected on the various worlds that I have the privilege to sit in. Catholic/contemplative one day, Pentecotsal/Charismatic another, Evangelical on still other occasions and so on … and so on.
Personally I think it is great to be able to meet with so many different groups because as do I think I experience different aspects of God in different ways as I listen and learn from those I am with. It is already interesting for me personally to notice that I do not seem to fit entirely in any of these camps. Try as I might I can’t seem to put a protective box label around me. I can and do enjoy and relate to certain aspects from each tradition, and I believe it is possible to learn from all traditions in an attempt to be authentic in worship, mission and lifestyle.
It’s this ‘holding in a healthy tension’ that the Anglican church has been quite good at in the past.
I had the pleasure of leading worship at St. Mary Magdalene in Gillingham this morning.
The service was more structured and more liturgical than what I am used to, but the structure seemed to allow God to work in a way that I was not expecting. It was a refreshing experience.
It’s always quite nerve wracking leading worship in a new place. Today this was made more nervy as this service required me to borrow some robes (thanks Ernie!) and for the first time I led a service ‘robed’. This felt like quite an odd experience, although not as odd or as uncomfortable as I had thought it would be.
For the last few years while training, robing has been a bit of an issue for me. As I have been ministering for quite a while I feel quite strongly about identifying with those that I am working with, rather than giving myself a title and dressing differently to imply some form of superiority. There is, however, something about hiding ourselves to allow people to worship.
A while ago in discussion with Suzanne, the priest of St Mary’s, she spoke of symbolically ‘putting on God’ as she robed. I held this in my mind as I robed up this morning. As I was praying about putting on the armour of God and preparing myself for worship while placing the robes on it proved to be quite a powerful experience.
It was an interesting experience which has left me with yet more things to mull over.
For now, however, its great to be able to tick off a SEITE task …. only another 14 assignments to go!
The Shiny Headed Prophet 