"Yesterday, we snuck out to a local café on “Flower Street”.  Entering through the two heavily guarded entrances, we stepped into a beautiful garden, full of vines and sunflowers, tables and cushions around the sides.  It was a very lovely vibe, and you could almost forget the barbed wire on the surrounding walls.  We all sat in the sunlight reading our books, watching the other groups of Internationals enjoying the sunlight.  Inside, the café was beautifully and tastefully decorated, with vibrant reds and paintings hanging from the walls.  I confess I have felt incredibly starved of “culture” lately; anything vaguely cultural is rarely open to women, and it is one of the things I miss most.  Just having the opportunity to gaze at the art for awhile, I felt enlivened.  In the evening, we went to our favourite restaurant, the Korean one.  Run by Christians, we can relax once inside, taking off our headscarves.  They make delicious Teriyaki Tofu onsite, but what I love best of all is the Korean tea.  Served in octagonal glass teacups, upon octagonal glass saucers, the translucent liquid and its gentle taste, is a piece of art.

"Prior to the bombings, I had a few victories of my own.  Firstly, I taught my first glass, a group of 15 younger girls.  This Semester, we are doing arts, and exploring the idea that “Art is Everywhere”.  Our first class was all about lines.  Having been warned that the kids tend to copy, rather than come up with anything original, I talked to them about Christopher Columbus: how he had set off to find Asia, but instead found America.  How explorer’s aren’t scared off making mistakes and going places no-one’s ever been before.  Story certainly seems a culturally appropriate way of teaching; for they were all absorbed.  But, when it came to drawing, they forgot about drawing lines and started drawing stuff.  So I read out the riot act:  the two rules, one – to draw upon the paper, two – to draw lines.  In groups they worked together, and one group began really having fun with different lines, layering the different colours and being fearless.  The next week, we did rubbings, and it was a roaring success, going around the Skatepark – inside and out – and delighting in textures.  But, the thing that stood the most out was observing the girl’s unhappiness when grouped apart from their friends.  Of course, this is normal in classrooms, but what bothered me was how the more educated girls were unprepared to work together with the poorer girls, even to the extent of ostracising them from the group.  I still don’t know how best to tackle this as an educator, so any advice would go down a treat.  That evening, we were driving back and, on the road, I saw some of my girls, begging amidst the traffic.  When they saw us, they hid – despite our waving – I supposed they felt ashamed.  That made me feel sad.

"Aside from classes, I had a very enjoyable conversation with two of the female Afghan staff members.  One of them works for us fulltime, and is an inspired Educator.  The other is the only woman studying Engineering at Kabul University.  I feel really grateful for my “Eastern” background – my Sri Lankan experience puts me somewhere between these young women and the Western staff-and it was interesting to talk."
 
Hiranya

St John's Hillingdon (near Heathrow airport) has operated Rolling Worship for 4 1/2 year now.  This article is copied from their website.

It's fascinating to see how much they have in common with us (though until we began Rolling Worship we had no links at all).  Like us, they are wrestling with "a fallible institution with a frustratingly inflexible building."   And there are parallels between the team they send out fortnightly to run something at a local garden centre, and our involvement with the Boot Sale Project.

If you can see other parallels or things to learn, do leave a comment!


Back in January 2007, our ancient parish church officially laid to rest existing Sunday service structures and adopted a new identity. "Come when you can, Go when you like" has been our strapline ever since. 



It seemed many people looking to the church were prevented from seeing Jesus, hindered by unnecessary obstacles. Embarrassment about arriving late from football practice; ‘churchy’ behaviour; juggling church with family commitments... Actually, these were issues for 'insiders' too. Desiring to relate ‘sacred’ to ‘secular’, to connect Sundays to ‘the rest of life’, our culture had already shifted to being more ‘user-friendly’.



Changing the ‘packaging’ literally incorporated flexibility so newcomers can engage at their own pace. Three congregations: the early morning (traditional), mid-morning (middle of the road) and late morning ('alternative'), now overlap more, via breakfast, coffee and lunch. Ten consecutive half-hour slots allow for varying degrees of participation. More than thirty people take turns leading from the front, via teams, one of which meets each week to prepare. Themes and readings are presented in different ways to suit different congregations over the course of each Sunday.



We believe that we cannot love one another by just staring at the back of each others' heads. Real 'church' happens in the engagements between people, over planning, and in the many opportunities to interact on Sunday and beyond. What goes on ‘at the front’ aims to facilitate this. Liturgical liberties are taken; for visitors used to church, comings and goings might seem unsettling and chaotic. But others speak gladly (and with relief) about finding relevance and 'reality' in the relaxed atmosphere. We laugh a lot.



Church, the theory goes, is not here to keep church going, but to equip us as Christians to work with God in the world. The question is often asked, would God prefer more hymn-singing and ‘feelgood’, or want us to go away and engage in loving our families and others? When we encourage people NOT come every week, we are not always taken seriously, but a fortnightly gathering has been happening in the local garden centre on Sunday mornings for a few years now, sharing with people who prefer 'neutral' territory.



'Open Church', all week, has 'no strings'. Various groups use our medieval building on weekdays, with no pressure to be part of church. We recognise that God is involved whenever people come together. 



We’re a diverse lot. We continue to evolve, and struggle to stay ‘fresh’ in the practicalities of being a fallible institution with a frustratingly inflexible building. Numbers have remained fairly constant, in a relatively mobile demographic, despite a largely elderly membership. Giving people much more choice in how and when they worship, has brought a significant increase in active participation and sense of belonging.

It seems perverse to post sermons in advance of preaching them, but here for your feedback is what I plan to say on Sunday.  Last time I did this I met a whole family who had been brought along because a church member read the sermon I was going to give and decided that they needed to hear it!  Maybe you'll do the same.  But please - don't look at it and decide you don't need to come to church!!  In any case, it's only Tuesday and I never keep to the script of my sermons, so by the time it's preached it might be different.

Too good to be true?              Acts 12.1-17

I want to say three things this morning.  First:  following Jesus will ruin your life.  Second: this story is so good it seems too good to be true.  And third: we have a mobile religion.

OK, here goes.

1.  Following Jesus will ruin your life. 

Peter’s done everything right. As we saw two weeks ago he’s been making himself available as Jesus did.  As we saw last week, he was given the keys of who’s in and who’s out of God’s people and he’s used them well to open the door to those of every ethnic group and culture.  He’s been preaching bravely about Jesus and encouraging the church.  If anyone deserved life to go well, it would be Peter.  And yet in this passage he gets thrown into gaol.  His mate James has just been killed.  The very next morning he’s going to be brought out and given a show trial, and it doesn’t look good for Peter.

I think we all instinctively feel that life shouldn’t work like that.  People should get what they deserve.  Good guys shouldn’t die young.  We accept there’s likely to be suffering for us, but we feel like because we’ve led a good Christian life we’ll get less suffering than we would have got if we hadn’t been leading a good Christian life.  But I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that.  It’s following Jesus that ruined Peter’s life.  Ever since he heard Jesus say “come, follow me” his nice respectable life with a fishing business has been torn apart.

Do you know the story of the Princess and the Goblin?  It was written in the mid-19th century by Gearge MacDonald.  It tells the story of Irene, who’s eight years old.  Her fairy grandmother gives her a ring with a thread tied to it, but the thread is so fine that it can only be felt – not seen.  “Now listen,” says the grandmother, “if you ever find yourself in any danger, take off the ring and lay your forefinger upon the thread, and follow the thread wherever it leads you.”

“O, how delightful!  It will lead me to you, grandmother, I know!”

“Yes, but it may seem to lead you a very roundabout way indeed.”

A few days later goblins get into the house.  Well, it’s a fairy tale, isn’t it?  Irene hears them snarling on the landing, but she follows the thread and it takes her out of her window towards the goblins’ cave.  Inside the cave, the thread leads her up to a great heap of stones – a dead end.  The thought struck her – she could follow the thread backwards and out of the cave, but as soon as she tried to feel it backwards, it vanished from her touch.  Irene burst into tears, but realised that the only way to follow the thread was to break down the wall of stones.  She begins tearing it down, stone by stone, and soon her fingers are bleeding.  They made children’s stories tough in the nineteenth century.

Suddenly, she hears a voice.  It’s her friend Curdie, who’s been trapped in the goblins’ cave!  “What brings you here?” he asks.  “My grandmother sent me” says Irene, “and I’m beginning to see why.” 

Curdie starts to climb out of the cave, but Irene is still moving away from the cave mouth, into the cave.  Curdie objects “that’s not the way out”.  “I know,” says Irene, “but this is the way my thread goes, and I must follow it.”  And of course the thread does prove trustworthy, because her grandmother is trustworthy.

Jesus says “come, follow me.  I’m going to take you on a journey, and some of that journey will be to places you don’t want to go.  Just trust me and keep following, not turning back, not giving up, keeping going whatever injustices or disappointments happen to you.  I’m going to take you places that will make you say ’Why in the world are you taking me THERE?’  and even there, I want you to trust me.”

I have decided to follow Jesus – no turning back, no turning back.

Jesus wasn’t asking Peter to do anything he hadn’t done himself.  When he called Peter to follow, he had already given up his heavenly throne and trusted his Father as he came down to earth.  And he followed the thread all the way to the garden where he sweat blood in his anguish and all the way to the cross where it looked like a dead end and all the way to death under the judgement of God for sin.  Don’t turn back.  Jesus followed his thread all the way to the cross so you can follow your thread all the way to his arms.

2.  This story is so good it seems too good to be true.

God sends an angel to set Peter free.  There he is in the window behind me.  But the angel has a tough job.  Opening the doors is easy, getting Peter mobilised is difficult.  First of all he has to strike him, verse 7 – the word used implies considerable force, it’s not just a quick touch.  And then the angel has to remind him to put his clothes on, verse 8.  And then Peter still doesn’t believe it’s real, verse 9!  It’s just too good to be true.

And the rest of the church aren’t ready to believe it either.  They’re all praying for his release when he knocks on the door.  Rhoda comes to the door, sees it’s Peter, but doesn’t let him in!  The other disciples think either she’s crazy or it’s Peter’s ghost, which is poor theology but understandable because the truth was too good to be true!  They only finally open the door when they get fed up of the knocking!

And we’re pretty suspicious of Happy Endings too.  In a book called King’s Cross - to which I'm indebted for an awful lot of the content of this sermon, by the way - Tim Keller points out that Stephen Spielberg was refused an Oscar until he’s make a film that didn’t have a happy ending – and yet it’s the ones with happy endings that are most popular in the box office.  “Escapist”, say the critics.  But what if we have a longing for a story that’s a real escape?

JRR Tolkien puts it like this: “The joy of a happy ending... is not essentially “escapist”... It does not deny the existence ... of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat... giving a glimpse of joy, joy beyond the wall of the world.”

It’s not easy to believe all this, is it?  It sounds like a free lunch!  In the Princess and the Goblin, Curdie thanks Irene for rescuing him but says he doesn’t believe in her invisible thread or her invisible grandmother.  This bothers Irene, and she says so to her grandmother when she next appears.  “People must believe what they can,” says the grandmother, “and those who can believe more must not be too hard on those that are able to believe less”.   Show him enough grace, and maybe he’ll gradually come to believe in it.  

Here’s the good news: for those who, like Jesus, follow the thread all the way to the cross, the tomb is empty and there’s the unbelievably happy ending of resurrection.  For those who, like Peter, follow the thread all the way to a prison cell, there’s the unbelievably happy ending of release.  For those who, like the early church, kept on and on praying for Peter when prayer was hopeless and Herod’s penalty was sure, there’s the unbelievably happy ending of answered prayer.  Now, I know that sometimes – as for James in this passage – we have to die before we see the unbelievably happy ending.  I realise that.  But that doesn’t mean it’s not good news, even for James on the other side of death.  This is the pattern of the Christian life: cross then resurrection, obedience then joy.  Follow that thread.  And for some people here today, it might be that today is the day you choose to put your finger on that thread and start following - through taking up your cross, all the way to resurrection and life with God for ever and ever.  There'll be two people up under the Peter window after the sermon, and they'd love to pray with you.

3.  We have a mobile religion.

It’s easy to read the end of verse 17 as if it’s an unimportant detail.  “Peter went to another place”.   But this is massive.  It means that Christianity is no longer going to be centred on Jerusalem.

Have you ever thought that all the other great world religions are still headquartered where they began?  Islam is centred on Arabia, Hinduism is centred on India, Mormonism is centred on Utah, and so on.  But Christianity’s centre is always moving.  Jerusalem then Rome- then North Africa when Rome fell – then the barbarians overran the Christian world and the torch passed to the Celts in the north and what we call Turkey in the east – then Rome again, and Wittenberg and Geneva and London, and North America in the twentieth century, and now the centre of the Christian world has moved south to Africa, Latin America and Asia.  Why is this?  It’s because being on the move is part of Christianity, it never rests on past shrines it always seeks for the next step on the journey.  It’s not a safe religion with a safe, static God.  It’s always following the thread.  No turning back, no turning back.

May God bless your journey this week.  Next week, Fiona Selden – our Reader in training – is going to tell us about faith.  I’ll see you then.

We're enormously proud of Hiranya.  I remember baptising her five years ago; for a year she led our children's work; she's an accomplished poet; she was a big formative influence on many of our young people; and we always knew, when she was working as an accountant, that she'd end up doing something more adventurous.  Well, after a degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies, she is indeed doing something more adventurous - she's working as an accountant!  But she's doing it in Kabul in Afghanistan. as finance director for Skateistan, Kabul's premier (and only) skate-park.

Click here for a link to a you-tube video.  And click here for a report from espn. 

Hiranya writes:  "As we had landed, I had an incredible emotional reaction to the beauty of Afghanistan, the rugged, sparse mountains.  My heart was in my mouth.  I have never had a similar reaction, except for Sri Lanka (for obvious reasons).  And I felt, in my heart, that this is where I’m meant to be.  Maybe this sounds like wishy-washy hippy speak to some of you, but I can only speak from my own experience.  As we drove through the streets of Kabul, my excitement mounted...  Something in my heart is at peace, despite the external chaos of things...

"The next day, we went to the Skate Park and I was shown around.  ... I found a place to meditate in the girl’s locker room, so it was good to begin my practice as I mean to go on.  Then, in the afternoon, I skateboarded for the first time.  It is like flying, and I loved it, loved persevering and practising the basics over and over.  I can’t wait to keep going at it.  The climbing wall is a bit lacking in holds (as most of these are held up in customs somewhere) but should be good in due course. ...

"This morning, I was woken to the sound of bombings.  I thought to myself, ok, well this is Kabul; what do you expect, and was determined to sleep at least until 6am.  I was really irritated at the planes flying overhead keeping me awake.  And resolutely, went back to sleep.  At 7am I got up.  We have a Nepali journalist living with us, so he informed us that it was the British Council and (at that time) there were 3 civilian causalities.  ... I’m in Kabul; I wasn't expecting Disneyland.  But still, it is probably a great teacher as far as living in the present moment goes.

"One of my German colleagues had a great quote: “Suicide bombings: the best alarm clock in Kabul.”

"Sitting on the porch, watching the army planes fly by – very lowly I might add – I also watched the butterflies, the kites and the birds.  It occurred to me that all these things fly, yet some are silent, and other more ugly things, have to make a big noise. 

"So, that’s where it is so far.  I feel very at home.  Afghanistan is like a seductive lover: she lures me in.  And I know she will break my heart, but I am falling in love, and imagine I will keep coming back to her, despite knowing she will hurt me again.  There’s something about this place that gets you; je ne sais quoi!"

And this week the Vice-President of Afghanistan visted the Skatepark today. Hiranya says "There was lots of security; searched twice on my way into work."   Personally, I think that's pretty cool.  I asked for permission to write about it on the church blog because there can't be many churches in Essex with members working on projects visited by Vice-presidents.

Launching Pastoral Communities

 

Chelmsford South Deanery: An Integrated Deanery Vision and Plan for Deployment of Ministry, July 2011

 

A Deanery Vision Group met from mid-2009 to mid-2010, looking at the context of decreased numbers of stipendiary clergy, the tasks delegated to the deanery, the biblical basis for collaborative ministry, and the way various other deaneries and dioceses are facing the present moment[1].  The deanery standing committee affirmed the convictions of the Vision Group, and sent them out to all PCCs for discussion; at the deanery synod held on 7 October 2010 they were affirmed by an overwhelming majority.  Each PCC produced a “mini-profile” about their churches, and on the basis of this decided in early 2011 which other parishes to ally with[2]; we “launched” our pastoral communities at a further synod in June 2011.   Finally, the deanery standing/pastoral committee unanimously accepted this vision on July 18 2011.

In order to become a reality, this document

- needs the agreement of Widford PCC, Great Baddow PCC, and the Chelmer Crouch Group and all its constituent PCCs

- needs the cooperation of patrons and bishops wherever decisions need to be taken with regard to appointments – we are very aware that they will act with a wider perspective, and we have no desire to tie their hands

- needs the approval, at each point where pastoral reorganisation is suggested, of area and diocesan mission and pastoral committees

- needs the free cooperation of the clergy.  We are very clear that, even if it is embraced by the bodies listed above, no clergyperson can be compelled to follow this proposed scheme – nor would we wish it to be entered into reluctantly.

It should therefore not be seen as “the final plan”, but as our contribution to the process of planning deployment.  

 

1.  A Vision for Every Member

It is clear to us that Chelmsford South deanery is going to lose 1.5 stipendiary (paid) priests in the next 5 years, (in addition to the 1.5 stipendiaries lost since mid-2009), leaving a total of 10.5 stipendiaries in 2016, and a further 2.5 stipendiaries by 2020, leaving 8.  We believe this “loss” is actually a great opportunity to help us to develop the leaders (lay and ordained) that God desires for us: leaders working together and looking to God for power to equip every member to serve South Chelmsford and to tell of God’s love.  

We believe that God gives his people the gifts they need.  Our eyes and hearts have particularly been drawn to Ephesians 4; we believe that God will provide the ministry gifts of

- Visionary Leaders,

- Prophets to speak truth to power,

- Evangelists to spread the good news,

- Pastors to care and include all, and

- Teachers to make sure young and old alike develop into the likeness of Christ. 

Our synod in spring 2010 showed what a range of gifted individuals we already value within the deanery, including readers, pastoral assistants and evangelists, but also those recognised by our local churches and commissioned to minister under supervision.  Our “deanery roadshow” is rolling out across the deanery with the aim of encouraging vocation in the broadest sense possible.

Every member needs to be empowered to live in his or her community, family, social groups and workplace as a full-time Christian, serving his or her community and telling of God’s love.    

Every member also needs to be part of an intimate Christian group, whether a formal group or a set of friends.  Smaller parish churches already constitute this intimate group.

 

2.  A Vision for Pastoral Communities

From now on, every member will also be part of a larger group in which the fullness of the ministry gifts listed above are put into practice.   We call this larger group a pastoral community. 

A pastoral community is a dynamic grouping of smaller communities; it is served by a collaborative team of ministers, paid and voluntary, clergy and lay, licensed and unlicensed, whose focus is to equip every member to serve South Chelmsford and tell of God’s love.  Its legal status is not the overriding factor, but its fitness for purpose.   It is the effective unit for mission and ministry[3].    We are very supportive of pastoral communities working closely with ecumenical partners.    Between now and 2020, several of the pastoral communities may have more stipendiaries than this section envisages; but the aim is to reduce to this level gradually by 2020.  In a pastoral community consisting of more than one parish, no one church and no one incumbent, be they stipendiary or self-supporting, is preeminent (though presumably a chairperson for pastoral community meetings will be appointed); all incumbents – paid or unpaid –have the same status and rights.

A)  The Chelmer Crouch Group presently comprises the following seven parishes: Bicknacre with Woodham Ferrers, Boreham, Danbury, East Hanningfield, Little Baddow, Sandon, and South Woodham Ferrers.  It was established as a Group Ministry in the 1990s and has a constitution (“the green book”); clergy licensed to the parishes in the group have a specified role in all the other parishes of the group, and appointments are made with reference to the whole group.  The mini-profiles make it clear that all the features of a viable pastoral community identified in this document are present.

The group covers 34,201 people; the active membership is 570 approx[4].

At present, there are 3.5 stipendiary clergy, 1 house-for-duty clergyperson (an incumbent), 2 SSM clergy (of whom one is an incumbent and one an associate), 2 readers, a team of authorised preachers and a part-time professional children’s worker in the pastoral community.  (Note that Curates and retired ministers are not included in these figures). 

In 2016, this pastoral community would be served by 3 stipendiary clergy.  Of these, two would have a pastoral and eucharistic role, one to cover the north and one, working more closely than at present with ecumenical partners, to cover the south (South Woodham Ferrers, Woodham Ferrers and Bicknacre).  It is important that the southern stipendiary be a suitable training incumbent.  East Hanningfield would have a self-supporting minister as at present.  There would be a house-for-duty post in the north and, in time, we envisage a title curate living at Bicknacre.

The third stipendiary would be a group missioner, paid by the whole group, based in South Woodham Ferrers and with the task of building a team that will plant a new congregation there, but also with group-wide missional responsibilities.  This person would also be ordained.  This would be a medium-term post, ceasing before 2020, by which time one or more new congregations would be embedded.  The terms of reference of the missioner are of great importance, and we would seek the guidance of experts in this field.

B)  The Reservoir Pastoral Community comprises the following five parishes: Downham, Ramsden Bellhouse, South Hanningfield, Stock, and West Hanningfield.  It was established as a “pastoral unit” in the late 1980s, with Ramsden Bellhouse a late entry for complicated legal reasons, and the parishes have not wished to change groupings in the present process.  There is some joint activity in schools work, but the two incumbents and five PCCs will need to find their own way of making this pastoral community work.   The mini-profiles make it clear that all the features of a viable pastoral community identified in this document are present.

The pastoral community covers 7,362 people; the active membership is 290 approx.

At present, there are 1.5 stipendiary clergy, 1 SSM clergy and 1 reader in this pastoral community.  (Note that Curates and retired ministers are not included in these figures). 

We recommend that the diocese “budgets” for 1.5 stipendiaries in this pastoral community in 2016; this number would reduce to 1 by 2020.

 C)  We would love a Moulsham, Galleywood and Widford Pastoral Community to be formed.    This would be a new creation, and would definitely need a catchier name!   It would comprise the following four parishes: Galleywood, Moulsham St Luke, Moulsham St John, Widford.

At the moment, Widford PCC is exploring several options; this is one of them.  The other three parishes are already committed to this project.
This enlarged pastoral community would cover 33,200 people; the active membership would be 550 approx.

At present, there are four stipendiary clergy, 2 readers, 1 pastoral assistant, 1 evangelist, 1 part-time professional youthworker and 1 professional administrator serving this potential pastoral community.  (Note that Curates and retired ministers are not included in these figures).  

 We would recommend that the diocese “budgets” for 3 stipendiaries in this pastoral community in 2016; this number could stay at 3 or be reduced to 2 by 2020.

 

D)  The Great Baddow Team comprises St Mary’s, St Paul’s and Meadgate churches.  It is a full team ministry, with a formal constitution which is due for review by the next Area Bishop.   All the features of a viable pastoral community identified in this document are already present.

The pastoral community covers 18,000 people; the active membership is 520 approx.[5]

At present there are three stipendiary clergy, one SSM priest, two readers, 1 professional youthworker, 2 professional administrators and a team of authorized preachers; two priests on diocesan staff are licensed to the team nominally for 5% of their time but are not part of the stipendiary establishment. 

We would recommend that the diocese “budgets” for 3 stipendiaries in this pastoral community in 2016; this number could reamin, or be reduced to 2 by 2020.  In addition, it is crucial that this pastoral community takes an active role (including but not confined to substantial stipendiary person hours) in working with and supporting other nearby parish(es) – conversations are ongoing about the exact way this should be done.

 

The following table shows the number of stipendiaries at a glance:

 

pastoral community                         summer 2009             summer 2011                   2016                      2020

 

A): Chelmer-Crouch                      3.5 + 1 house for duty   3.5 + 1 hfd                              3 + 1 hfd             2 + 1 hfd

34,201 people; active membership 570

 

B): Reservoir                                   2                                         1.5                                          1.5                          1

7,362 people; active membership 290

 

C): Moulsham/W’ford/G’wood      5                                          4                                           3                              3 or 2

33,200 people; active membership 550

 

D): Great Baddow                           3                                          3                                    3 supporting others    3 or 2

18,000 people; active membership 520

 

Total                                          13.5 + 1 house for duty        12+ 1 house for duty         10.5+ 1 hfd             8 + 1 hfd

 

However, we feel strongly that this table does not summarise the most important parts of this vision, which concern such matters as gifts, collaboration, purpose and the need for a “parson” in each church.

 

3.  A Vision for Sovereign Parishes

When it comes to determining the borders of the pastoral communities, we did not believe that the standing committee should be leaning over a map with a ruler, in the manner of the Great Powers partitioning Africa.  Pastoral communities are not a replacement for parishes, they are simply a tool to help parishes help each other.  So we have ensured that every parish (PCC) has made its own decision about which parishes to be grouped with.  It is for PCCs to decide what councils and mechanisms are formed to coordinate decision making within each pastoral community.

In pastoral communities, parishes are retained as at present, and agree to cooperate and share ministry as appropriate.  In many cases, no formal reorganisation or change in parish share is necessary.   Some congregations/parishes will not have “their own priest”; they will each need their own “parson”.  This person need not necessarily be paid, or even ordained, but will be the public “face” of the church to the locality and the focus of ministry, under the supervision of their incumbent(s). 

We would ask that deanery clergy freely choose to include responsibilities to the pastoral community in their role descriptions.  Where possible, we would hope that Readers and other accredited ministers would work in a flexible way to meet needs.

 

4.  A Vision for the Deanery Itself

In the context of God’s desire to shower us with blessing; in the context of full-time Christians, pastoral communities and sovereign parishes; and in the context of God’s love for a world that he calls us to serve and tell of his love, we are clear about the function of the deanery itself.  We express it in twenty words:

“We look to God for power

to equip every member

to serve South Chelmsford

and to tell of God’s love.”

We are only too glad for our synods, roadshows and subgroups to be scrutinised with this vision in mind to see if we are living up to God’s call.

Andy Griffiths, Rural Dean

Christine Horton, Lay Chair

[1] The work done by the diocese of Exeter particularly informed our theological thinking on pastoral communities (called mission communities in Exeter) – see the multiple reports, leaflets and documents about “moving on in mission and ministry” (MOIMM) at www.exeter.anglican.org.

[2] Widford is in an exceptional position in this respect, and is the only parish not to have committed itself to a pastoral community as yet.

[3] Exeter diocese identifies the following features of a viable pastoral community:

·                regular public worship

·                leadership and envisioning

·                collaborative ministry

·                teaching, preaching, training, nurture, growth, and lifelong learning for Jesus’ adult disciples

·                teaching, training, nurture and growth for children and young people who are disciples of Jesus

·                evangelism in the community as a clear priority

·                involvement in and service to the local community, with a particular care expressed for the poor, after the example of Jesus Christ

·                effective pastoral care available to all in the community who need it

·                being partners in mission with other groups / churches inside & outside the Diocese

·                the provision of appropriate and realistically sustainable buildings

·                the necessary administration to support this work

Along with the list of ministry gifts mentioned in section 1 above, these form a useful “check-list” to see if a parish or group of parishes is already working as a viable pastoral community, or whether it needs additional support from other parishes.

[4] This includes a midweek fresh expression of church

[5] (with a larger proportion of under-16s than the other pastoral communities in the deanery).

On Sunday we spoke about God's lack of ethnic favouritism, and it was clear from a number of conversations afterwards that racism in mid-Essex is something that concerns you, the congregation.  If there are ways we can actually do something positive in this area, do leave a comment below.

Thank you to the 65 people who gave us written feedback, and to those who came to our consultation about evening services last Sunday night.  It was a thoughtful, worshipful, mission-minded, cooperative conversation and it helped the evening service team come to clear conclusions.

Our hearts were particularly drawn to Acts 2.42-47, where building up a worshipping, learning community is the key to numerical growth.  Like Jonah in the fish, we are called to learn to worship; then an “outward” focus will come to the fore as we are sent out.

So from September till February the pattern of our evening services will be as follows:

1st Sunday of the month: A shared agape meal.  There will be an informal communion, and we will learn from the Bible together over the meal.

2nd  and 5th Sundays of the month: A series of special events ranging from healing services and events for the bereaved or the engaged-to-be-married to “messy church,” discussions on contemporary themes and musical events.

3rd Sunday of the month: A traditional Holy Communion, with organ music and a thoughtful sermon.

4th Sunday of the month: a shared tea, followed by a Songs of Praise service featuring the St Michael’s choir – members of the community share their stories and choose hymns that are significant to them.  (Note: the exception to this is October, when we will be joining with Galleywood Methodist Church)

We’ll be making a thoroughgoing review of all our worship in the autumn, and that will recommend a way ahead from March.

Thank you to all those who came to the consultation yesterday about the evening service.  Here, in no particular order, are the comments you made:

We need to be careful we do not lose the peace of the evening service – honouring those who have been faithful to it over the years.

We mustn’t do too much of what people are frightened of.

God is calling us to get together and build friendships.

Younger people might be looking for something more lively and unpredictable.

The early church experienced miraculous signs and wonders – are we open to the Spirit?

We should help people.

Where are the families?

Where are the men?

Where are the youth?

There’s scope for services with a special focus

Community building takes humbleness and a willingness to make friendships

Whatever is decided, it needs to be clearly communicated – perhaps with paid adverts. 

We need to tell people clearly what we’re going to do, and then deliver what we’ve said.

Maybe something slightly more formal than at present?

The evening service can’t be seen in isolation – what are we doing in the evening that is distinct from Rolling Worship?

The evening service mustn’t be an “also-ran”

We must have an outward focus

Whatever happens in the evening service, it’s got to be things that we’ll talk about outside the church building.


The evening service team meets tomorrow to make its decisions about the service's future direction.

From the diocese of Exeter:
"Lay people are the body of Christ on earth, and what they do is Christ’s ministry to the world. The role of professional clergy now is to support and enable lay people to be the church more deeply, more fully."

I don't often post sermons here.  Let's be honest, I don't often have proper sermon scripts that I can post!  And I certainly don't usually post sermons in advance.  But here's what I plan to say on Sunday 5th June at 10.30.  If you have friends, family of neighbours that you feel would benefit from hearing this sermon, do please invite them along.  I haven't found a way to include the artwork on this slides on this site - sorry about that.   Andy.

A sermon on 2 Samuel 22.20

1.  God brought me

That’s a long reading, and I’m only going to be preaching on one verse slide 1: it’s verse 20 -God brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

The whole long reading is David’s reflection on his life.   slide 2 We’re not sure whether he wrote it in old age or middle age, but it’s been put in the Bible at pretty much the end of the David story, and it’s been given to us at the end of a series in Rolling Worship on David, so let’s look back at what God did for David. “God brought me”, he says.

slide 3 God brought him from being a shepherd to slide 4 being a court musician to slide 5 being a soldier and great military hero to slide 6 being an outlaw on the run earning a living from a protection racket – come to our evening services over the next three weeks if you want to know more about David’s Robin Hood period.  And he brought him from being an outlaw to slide 7 being a king – the king, God’s great king – and at the end of 2 Samuel he’s still king but slide 8 he’s old and his kingdom has fallen apart a bit and he’s lost his energy and he’s cold at night and the courtiers have to pack servant girls into bed with him just to raise his dangerously low body temperature.  But from David the young shepherd to David the elderly king, God brought him.  slide 9

Now I have something to say to the older members of the congregation, and a different thing to say to the younger members, and I need to distinguish between those two groups.  So, please stand.

If you made a grunting noise as you stood up, you are the older generation.  Just so that you know.  Right, everyone sit down.

Older generation, know that God brought you.  In every wedding, we pray this prayer: may you reach old age together, and in the company of friends.  For some of you, that prayer has come true in full.  For others of you, God has brought you through the heartache of bereavement or separation, or on a path of singleness that he honours in full even when the world system sometimes considers it second best.  He’s brought you.   He’s brought you through joy, he’s brought you through sorrow, slide 10 and you may think this is a self-important thing for me to say but I reckon he’s brought you right here, right now, so that you can hear this message this morning.

Younger generation: he brought you here, too, and right now you are maybe at the beginning of a long obedience in the same direction.  He’s brought you so far, and in the words of the baptism service “he promises to lead you safely through life and bring you home to heaven.”


2.  God brought me out into a spacious place

And where’s he brought you? slide 11 God brought me out into a spacious place.  My life used to be narrower, more confined than it is now, says David.  In part that’s literally true (when he was an outlaw he used to live in a cave).  But I guess he really means it as picture language.  My life was narrow and selfish and cramped and mean and rushed, says David.  I cared only for myself and my family, I was under pressure , I had tunnel vision for my own and my immediate friends’ interests, I just kept my head down.  slide 12  And now, finally, he says, God has raised my eyes and given me space and time to breath deep and see the big picture.

And for us, the model is David’s descendent Jesus: never in a hurry, never hurrying others.  Did you know that the only person Jesus ever hurried is Judas, when he said “what you have to do, do it quickly”?  Those of us not planning to betray Jesus to the authorities can take our time.  And the more time you spend with Jesus, the more his spaciousness rubs off on you: he’s always generous, always including, always open to others, always secure in who he is, always drawing circles to draw people in even if they try to draw a circle to keep him out.  He never has anything to prove, and in his company you never have anything to prove either.    There’s nothing narrow about Jesus.  There’s a wideness in Jesus like the wideness of the sea, an old hymn says.  For the love of God is broader than the scope of human mind, and the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind.  We make his love too narrow by false limits of our own ... If our love were but more simple we should take him at his word and our lives would be all gladness in the joy of Christ our Lord.

 
3.  He rescued me.

slide 13 He rescued me.  David’s life has been a series of rescues – slide 14 God rescued him from Goliath, and from Saul, and from various enemy armies, and from sin, and from despair, and from deep depression, especially after the death of his son. 

Older generation, if we passed round the microphone this morning you could tell the stories of how God has rescued you.  Rescue from that affair you nearly had, rescue from the power of alcohol when you were self-medicating with it, rescue from financial mismanagement, rescue from choosing the wrong partner, rescue from knife-crime, rescue from holding grudges.  Jesus is into rescuing people.  Even his name – Jesus – means “God to the rescue”.  He’s like the search and rescue pilot risking his life to winch you to safety.  Except that he didn’t just risk his life, he gave his life to rescue you.

And here’s the biggest rescue of all, whatever age you are: Jesus can rescue you from a narrow mean life today and from death in the future.  He can rescue you today, right here, right now, for a spacious, generous life before death and then a life of joy beyond death forever and ever and ever.  So at the end of this sermon slide 15 I’m going to pray this prayer:

Father, I’m in the wrong and I need  to be rescued
I trust in Jesus, who died for me and rose again, as my rescuer
Send your Spirit to live in me so that I live for you as Lord.  Amen.

If you pray that prayer or one like it for the first time today it will change your life.  It will probably make your life a lot more difficult, actually!  There’s a cost to be paid, because most of the world ISN’T living with Jesus as king and your friends and family may not like your new more spacious life.  But you won’t regret it.  It will be the start of a whole new journey.


4.  He rescued me because he delighted in me  

So here’s the last quarter of our verse: slide 16 he rescued me because he delighted in me.  Now, let’s be honest: David doesn’t always get this right.  I’ve been reading the Psalms of David for 25 years and I can tell you this: he’s often a self-righteous, arrogant prat.  Even in this chapter he starts on about how it’s because of his righteousness and it’s because he has clean hands, and you want to shake him and say “come on David, have you not read your own story?  You’re a self-obsessed misogynistic violent murderous adulterer, not to mention a rotten dad.  God’s rescues cannot possibly be because of your performance!”

But at least in this verse, David gets it right.  He rescued me because he delighted in me.  That’s it100%.  slide 17  And that’s the heart of the Christian message.  You are much worse than you think you are, your hands are far dirtier than you recognise, you aren’t right with God through your performance – but you are more loved than you ever dared hope.  slide 18

He doesn’t just forgive you...
He doesn’t just love you...
He doesn’t just like you...
He delights in you.

Every time he sees you, he can’t help smiling.  He danced for joy at your birth, he’s got happy memories of your first steps, your first day at school, your first date, your first week of retirement.  And I’m telling you, slide 19  if you pray this prayer of following Jesus, his joy will explode like popping candy across the universe.  Now, I’m going to ak you to do something scary.  If you’re going to pray this prayer for the first time, I’m going to ask you to stand.  You don’t have to, but I think it would help you, because all the people around you will be able to support you and welcome you and will you on.  Thank you.   I’m going to pray it one line at a time – and whether you’re sitting or standing, echo it in your own heart if you want to make it your own.

Father, I’m in the wrong and I need  to be rescued
I trust in Jesus, who died for me and rose again, as my rescuer
Send your Spirit to live in me so that I live for you as Lord.  Amen.