Summer is drawing to a close and we are about to enter the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’; my favourite time of the year. Partly because I still associate it with the beginning of a new academic year and the opportunity to make a fresh start but also because I love this time of transition, when we haven’t lost the occasional sunshine of summer but begin to experience the crisp colder mornings and the rich Autumnal leaves.
For us as a church community we might also think of this as a time of transition. During the summer we bade farewell to Fr Stephen for the months of August and September as he takes the initial part of his sabbatical. On the first Sunday after his departure I had to swear in Diana Finning as our new churchwarden. As I did so I reflected on the fact that all at once a lot of people were changing roles: Diana was taking on the mantle of churchwarden and whilst she would normally be sworn in by the archdeacon, in his absence and in the absence of the Vicar I was given this role.
During Father Stephen’s sabbatical a lot of us are taking on different roles; his authority and leadership is delegated not just to one person but to four people; Andrew and Diana as Churchwardens between them have administrative control (so they will chair the forthcoming PCC meeting for example) and Fr Jim and I are given pastoral and liturgical responsibility.
Of course vicars are always exercising leadership on behalf of someone else- their local rector or bishops; they are his or her vicarious representatives’ (which is where the word vicar’ comes from). They are also standing in for Christ- at the altar and in exercising pastoral care; they are shepherds of the flock and there all sorts of images and warnings in the bible to shepherds who don’t feed their sheep, don’t care for their flock. One only has to read some of the dire warnings in the prophecy of Ezekiel to realise what an enormous task this is. It is a vocation which clergy can only live out with the support of the churches they serve. So thank you to all those who have taken seriously Father Stephen’s suggestion that Father Jim and I need to be fed- both practically and metaphorically.
A community that is alert to one another’s needs is in a strong position to take on board the need for change. In a Christian community as new people join us, as familiar faces leave and as we each experience all the joys, sorrows, pleasures and disappointments of human life, we are all accommodating one another’s changes- in role and status and in our Christian journey. This can be hard and requires humility and patience. But change isn’t something that simply happens privately to individuals within the congregation. We are an apostolic’ church and this means we are sent- sent to proclaim the word of God and to be His presence in the world. The church’s task is to discover, in every age and culture, what it means to be sent. And this can cause difficulty and confusion. Not least because an element of being sent is that we find ourselves, metaphorically at least, in new territory. We are always in the business of having to adapt and change in the light of a new cultural context so as to discover how the Christian gospel relates to new times.
On one level this is a deeply inspiring enterprise as our understanding of the gospel is enlarged as we see how it relates to different people and cultures. Similarly as we take on new roles we might discover new depths and resources within ourselves that we never knew we had. Church growth is never just about a congregation growing in numbers, it is also about growing in our understanding of Christ’s power to heal and liberate.
John Taylor, in his book The Go-Between God writes of the need to listen to those who exist outside the church and how this may enrich our understanding of the gospel:
” if I persevere in listening openness I shall begin to see more of that other man’s real world, as a final bestowal, I shall be given access to the dark places of that stranger’s world- the things that really make him ashamed or anxious or despairing. And then, at last, I shall see the Saviour and Lord of that world, my Lord Jesus, and yet not as have known him. I shall understand how perfectly he matches all the needs and all the aspirations and all the insights of that other world- He who is the unique Lord and Saviour of all possible worlds.”
These are some of the things that might be at the back of our minds as we consider the future for St John’s, especially in the light of the Area Dean’s report written about in last month’s parish magazine. Our very real need to grow as a church isn’t simply about growing in numbers and financial resources, it is about creating an environment in which we each feel able to participate in whatever way God calls us and so receive the abundant life that Christ gives. On a very practical level one of the ways that we may encourage one another to participate is through strengthening our pastoral relationships. To this end we are seeking to create pastoral groups each containing about 20 people who meet socially a few times a year and whose members keep an eye out for one another more generally. This is a project which is still in its infancy but you may find yourself being invited to join one of these groups, or you be in one of the three groups which has already been established. This is an important project because it will help us to ensure that this church is a place where people can begin to feel at home and be part of the Christian family.
As we know ourselves loved by the God who is unchanging and steadfast and as we commit to our growth as a church let us pray that our harvest may be rich and that we might enjoy a season of mellow fruitfulness.
With my love and prayers,
Mother Sarah
Mother Sarah writes
Sarah Eynstone