General Assembly Moderators' Blog

Over 100 elders and some ministers from churches in Yorkshiretravelled to Moldgreen United Reformed Church on Saturday 28^th April for a day conference for elders. I convene a group in the Synod which has responsibility for elders development and this conference was planned to build on Elders Roadshows which had been organised over the past two years. Our aim was to enable elders to look ahead, think ‘outside the box’ and into the blue sky. We had called it Beyond Business ….. a global vision for elders. We began with a keynote address in which I was able to share some thoughts about the church, remembering that this is God’s church not ours and thinking about the things we know about our God. God as creator, the Son as redeemer and the Holy Spirit breathing life into creation. Made in God’s image we are called to also be creative and visionary.

This was followed by four workshops which gave participants the opportunity to discuss such situations as a church with no minister, no buildings but enthusiastic members, or one with no fixed paid ministry. Other workshops looked at the role of elders in the wider community and what might be needed to realise the visions we may have.

At the end of the day people were leaving saying that this had been a good, thought provoking and energising event. There is no doubt that elders are crucial in the life of our denomination as are members of leadership teams in LEP’s and there is also no doubt that the church as we know it must change in fundamental ways, reducing and aging membership and diminishing funds are testament to that but the faith we share will not die Christ did not die on the cross 2000 years ago for us to kill off all hope in the 21^st century.

 There were comments on the address

Time to share thoughts over a cup of coffee or tea

Discussion in groups

…… and in the end some commonly agreed pointers to the ways forward (some written up more clearly than others!)

I spent two days at the beginning of last week in Utrecht with the Protestant Church in the Netherlands– another church formed by the uniting of three denominations.

Three denominations

It is always interesting to talk to members of another denomination – to hear where our stories overlap, where they touch, where they differ.

TheProtestantChurchin theNetherlandsis much bigger than the United Reformed Church and better resourced because of the church tax which operates in theNetherlandsbut I heard of the context of aging and diminishing congregations, of financial pressures and the need to engage in mission.

I talked to people who were passionate about encouraging and enabling people in practical action and sharing the gospel.

In discussion with the manager for youth work I heard about how the government funds Religious Education teachers in schools where the parents ask for them but also about how the church is struggling to understand how to reach young people in these days of social media.

Talking with staff from the Kerk in Actie (Worldwide Support) we shared our concerns about the changes taking place with government social policies.

At the end of two days I have the impression of a church addressing many of the same problems and joys as we do. I had been welcomed by all the people I spoke to who gave freely of their time to share their thoughts and stories. I have pages of notes which will enable me to reflect on what I have learnt over the coming days and which will hopefully inform some of my thinking as I process the whole experience.

A quiet chapel in the middle of the building

Last Sunday I led worship for the Bernwood Group of churches. Four churches in Buckinghamshire, two with membership in single figures, so they had invited me because of my interest in small churches.

This was a group of churches where there is shared support as well as each having their own distinctive mission in their own communities. The shared support comes from a team which includes a half time stipendiary minister, a self-supporting minister, retired ministers and lay preachers to say nothing of committed elders. The distinctive mission includes the building in Twyford being used for a village Post Office with church members providing hospitality to customers. Banbury is heavily involved with the Anglican church, whose building they share, in running the building as a performance venue for ‘Live Arts’. The buildings at Marsh Gibbon and Brill are used within their communities for a variety of activities.

During worship we thought about how much can come from small things providing we rely on God for the plan and we remembered how, when Jesus appeared to his disciples in the story told in Luke chapter 24 verses 36 to 49 he had commanded them to proclaim ‘repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations’.

My sense here was that God was working his purpose out in these places through these Christian congregations.

Sharing a cup of coffee before lunch

But the welcome of the people at Marston United Reformed Church,Oxford was  certainly not lacking in light and warmth. There are good ecumenical links between this congregation and six other congregations through Churches Together in Marston and Northway. Further links with churches in other countries are also shared, a wooden carving from Kerala inIndiaand a wall plaque from the Waldensian church in Pinerolo were evidence of these. In welcoming people to the service the Church Secretary led everyone in a Zambian welcome – looking forward to a new link which the congregation is currently forging.

This being Easter we read the story from John’s gospel and reflected on some of the words which we find in the familiar passage. The urgency with which the women went to the tomb and the priority they gave to telling someone else the news – no long drawn out committees or Task Groups just some simple, decisive and life changing actions. The way they dealt with the unexpected again and again and the way this event turned them from being disciples into being evangelists. We reminded ourselves that they had had to ‘bend down’ to see into the grave and that maybe we too sometimes needed to put a bit more effort into looking for Jesus in unexpected places.

Transformation is at the heart of the Easter story and we can find examples of it all around us if only we look, transformation in the natural world, in the lives of people we know and in our own lives. That is the basis of the hope we hold out for the world. The first Easter Day offered transformation for all and the possibility that we can all, like Mary, say “I have seen the Lord”

On Sunday there were Easter eggs instead of biscuits to be shared over coffee – a symbol of the new possibilities which are there if only we have the confidence to capture them.

During the weekend of the 24^th and 25^th March I traveled to Braunton to join the congregation there for the final weekend of their full year of anniversary celebrations. This is a church with its roots deep in 1662 – they tell me they even know the name of the independent Church of England priest who was ejected. But this was not just a celebration of 350 years of Christian witness on the site still occupied by the church, it was also a 25^th anniversary of the coming together of the congregations of United Reformed Church and the Methodist Church in the town and now, I was told, ‘you cannot see the join’.

On the Saturday evening we shared in a meal and then moved into the sanctuary for a performance of ‘Impossible God’ the Passion play. This consisted of a moving series of meditations on the death and resurrection of Jesus reflecting the hopes and dreams, joys and fears of those who witnessed events which were beyond their understanding.

With a few changes .......

With a few changes of cloak or shawl or sash Mark Topping held us all for nearly two hours pausing in the middle only to share in the anniversary cake baked and decorated by one of the members. This was a truly memorable evening.

On Sunday morning I was leading worship and had been told it was to be a celebration of Freedom to Worship. It was good to have in the congregation Rt Rev Alan Winstanley, Assistant Bishop ofExeterdemonstrating how far we have all come since those days of the great ejection. The readings for the day included John Chapter 12 verses 20 – 33 which includes the words “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit” – this seemed like a passage which might have been specifically written for churches with histories like that of Braunton.

My usual journey from Doncaster to King’s Cross takes me through Stevenage, some of the East coast trains stop there, some don’t but I have certainly never got off the train there. The beginning of my visit to Thames North was a first – I left the train atStevenageto be met by Tony Ruffell, a minister in a Special Category post working in Herts and Beds Workplace Ministry with special responsibility for chaplaincy in the emergency services. What followed was a fascinating day meeting police and fire and rescue personnel as well as other chaplains and a member of the workplace chaplaincy Board.

An explanation of the work in the Control Room

We visited the Control Room for the Hertfordshire Police in Welwyn Garden City and a Custody Suite in Stevenage Police Station where we heard something about the responsibilities of keeping disturbed prisoners safe. It was good to hear how a recent survey revealed that 81% of this huge force were aware of the chaplaincy service – a real witness to God’s love in an often stressful environment.

We followed that with a visit to Baldock United Reformed Church where members were proud to show us their newly opened refurbished church.

They had laid new turf for the Moderator's visit!

The work had involved opening up the front of the church to make it more visible to passers by and refurbishing and extending the building to make it more useful and accessible to the local community – a good example of a church looking forward rather than backward, outward rather than inward.

 Saturday 10^th March

Writing my blog on the train!

We travelled toWatford to join members of Synod at their Spring meeting. It was lovely to be greeted by friends from past contacts and work in the denomination which once more reminded me how we are a small family in the United Reformed Church. We heard about the churches involvement with the Olympics and I spoke about my experiences as Moderator and reflected on the theme of Hidden Treasures. I also went to the Children’s Synod which was  running alongside the Synod meeting and the children asked questions to discover more about the role of the Moderator.

In the afternoon we were taken by Ashley Evans – minister atChristChurch, Newham to that borough. This is an area of multiple deprivation and we heard something about the struggles of day-to-day living there. We also heard of the work of the churches as they seek to respond to some of the needs. Ashley also took us to see the new shopping complex and the Olympic site.

The Olympic site from the Westfield Shopping Centre

The stark contrast between the sparkly shining buildings and the poverty of the run down streets of Newham only minutes apart emphasised some of the difficulties. The hope is that there will be a lasting legacy from the games and one which will each everyone in the area rather than the favoured few.

Sunday 11^th March

We travelled west to Hounslow where I led worship at Hounslow United Reformed Church – a relatively small multi-ethnic congregation. In conversation after the service I heard from one lady who had lived in the area for 40 years about how things had changed. 40 years ago it was safe and there was a feeling of community – in the last few months she had experienced a burglary perpetrated by her next door neighbour – it’s hard to feel safe she said. Another conversation with two of the congregation – one from Kenya and one from Angola– covered some of the contrasts in church attendance in Great Britain and those countries. I am sure these are only tiny illustrations of the range of experiences which churches must take account of as they seek to witness to God’s love in their communities.

We were collected from Hounslow and driven to Heston to join the Asian Christian Fellowship. A growing congregation drawing Asian people from a wide area and joined for this service by members of Heston United Reformed Church whose building both congregations share. The service was conducted in both Urdu and English with Urdu hymns being accompanied on harmonium and Indian drums and English hymns on the organ. This is a church attended by families – 3 generations in some cases – and the problem will soon be insufficient space for them to worship together in the current building. The service was followed by tea which consisted of delicious Asian savoury and sweet foods.

The experience of this single day serve to emphasis the variety which makes up the United Reformed Church – all faithful people worshipping and serving God but bringing to that worship and service their own particular experiences, expertise and knowledge. In doing that they are surely responding to the commission ‘to make disciples of all nations’.

 Monday 12^th March

Two projects to visit today. First we went to the Isle of Dogs – a fascinating a quite isolated community in the east end of London. To get there we travelled on the Docklands Light Railway past the wealth and opulence of CanaryWharf. Walking the few minutes from the station took us from multi-storey glass fronted office blocks and apartment blocks to little streets of houses, mainly social housing and certainly not wealthy. Island House is a United Reformed Church owned building in which there are a host of activities taking place, some renting space in the building, some directly the

In the children's play area

responsibility of the staff of Island House, all aimed at helping and supporting the local multi-ethnic community. There is an advice centre and the office for the co-ordinators of Sure-Start for the area. There are ESOL classes and healthy living related classes, there is a play group and a quiet chapel used by all faiths. The centre has been chosen to pilot a new scheme aimed at supporting families beginning when the women are pregnant through birth and beyond. This was truly Christian action in an area of great need.

Then it was back on the Docklands Light Railway to Bromley-by-Bow. The church here is small but the site on which it is set includes buildings housing a health centre and art workshops, a café and business start up advice. In this crowded area of London the rear of the church opens out onto a park, owned by the local authority but developed, used and maintained by the Bromley-by-Bow Centre.

A garden giving a peaceful space

There is a quiet and calm feel to this area by contrast with the busyness of the buildings. Here was another example of Christian action meeting a huge variety of needs of young and old, of able and disabled, of newcomers and established inhabitants of this diverse area.

I had been asked to preach at this service which was to be held year in my own church – Hall Gate United Reformed Church,Doncaster. About 30 people from a number of different churches joined together for a service, many of them leading parts from the order of service prepared this year by women from Malaysia. The theme for 2012 was ‘Let Justice Prevail’ and we thought about people who had shown courage and persistence in the face of injustice. We read from the book of the prophet Habakkuk who found that though God seemed not to be hearing his cries for justice was nevertheless convinced that God was his strength. We read about the account in Luke’s gospel of the woman who persisted in prayer and we reflected on how necessary it is to understand that despite indications to the contrary God has indeed got the ‘bigger picture’. But this is a God who also holds out hope to his disciples because he gives each one of us the strength to do amazing things in his service.

For me one of the most moving parts of the service was in the singing of the final hymn beginning ‘The day thou gavest’, in the second verse we find

 We thank thee that Thy Church unsleeping, while earth rolls onward into light, through all the world her watch is keeping, and rests not now by day or night.

 We had spent the previous hour using words written by Malaysian women, knowing that we were part of a circle of 35 hours of shared prayer surrounding the earth beginning in Tonga and ending in Western Samoa. Somehow the words from that familiar hymn had a special poignancy at that point in time.

…… the congregation were squashed into the church hall which was (I hope they won’t mind my saying) not the most salubrious of buildings though the welcome from the people was warm and it felt as though the ‘Dunkirk spirit’ was alive and well keeping this lively and creative congregation going through difficult times. Their church building had been declared unsafe and for some years they sought to erect a new building which would serve the community and be within their budget.

 That new building was opened in the middle of April last year and the congregation can be pleased that they met both their aims as they planned and fund raised and lived with the difficulties of a dilapidated hall as their only base. When the building was completed they had completed the work within budget no small feat in these times of rising prices. As for serving the community – at the end of the service the chairs were quickly cleared away, tables were erected and the room was set out for the lunch club on the following day. That, said the Church Secretary was the first use for the day, sometimes the area has three or four different uses in a single day.

 The positive stories fromMeersbrookParkinclude the fact that in the first 12 months the congregation has increased sufficiently for them to have to bring in extra chairs on a Sunday morning and they have just purchased some extra hymn books for this increased congregation. The use of the building and good links with those organizations which use it have brought children and parents to worship too.

 Throughout the years of disruption and change this is a congregation who have listened carefully for God’s guidance and the results are evident in this new phase in their lives in a new light and airy building equipped for the 21^st century.

– both Kirsty and I were present at Westminster Abbey for A Service of Reconciliation, Healing of Memories and Mutual Commitment for the Church of England and the United Reformed Church. The service arose from a joint report – Healing the Past, Building the Future – which came from a joint study group on God’s Reign and Our Unity which met over the period from 2007 to 2010. The feeling of members of the group was that in spite of the differences between the two churches there were large and significant areas of agreement and convergence. It was also the feeling of the group that there should be an occasion for a formal statement of mutual recognition and commitment. 2012 being the 350^th anniversary of the Great Ejectment and the 40^th anniversary of the founding of the United Reformed Church made a significant time for such a formal occasion.

 So it was that at 6.15pm on Tuesday 7^th February, about 800 members of the United Reformed Church and 500 members of the Anglican Church were gathered in Westminster Abbey.  It was of course a grand occasion. The two Archbishops were there in their robes, the two Moderators of General Assembly were there in their robes as were the Dean and other Abbey staff. The choir sang, the organ played and representatives from both denominations contributed to the service with reminders of the pain of those involved 350 years ago, and an Act of Penitence for our ongoing mistrust and dimness of hope. We heard stories of new and creative initiatives of the two denominations working closely together and we recommitted ourselves to continuing to journey together.

 As people left the Abbey at the end there were many comments about how good it had been to be there and how much it had been worth the journeys taken from all over the country.

 The one question which was repeated then and will hopefully continue to be repeated – what will it mean in our local situations and for the two denominations as they look to journey together in all sorts of ways into the future.

as far as the duties of Moderator of the General  Assembly is concerned. I have enjoyed Christmas with my family, leading worship in local churches in South Yorkshire and reconnecting with the congregation in my church inDoncaster

My programme over the last six months was very busy and it is important not to take on too much and make the job too big and too expensive for successors and for the denomination.  My one ‘official’ task this month was to visit a Missionand Care Group (the name Yorkshire gives to groups of churches formed for mutual support and sharing following the demise of District Councils) in Sheffield. I had been asked to speak about my experiences of the last 18 months. It was good to spend some time in thinking about the significant things and the stories which were valuable to share.  I called my talk ‘Of Popes and Presidents, of Seeds and Saplings’ because that felt as though it summed up the range of experiences each as important as the other and each a part of God’s wonderful world to which we must react.

Following my talk there was a time for those present from a number of churches to share their news and once again it was so good to hear positive stories, from a  church where they had had a reunion of adults who had once been toddlers in the toddler group and who still felt an affinity with the church, to growing and sustained work with young people and a new ecumenical initiative in the city centre looking at ways in which the churches can engage with the economic and commercial issues of the day. Once again the church and God’s word is alive and well and witnessing we are just not good at celebrating that fact!