June 2011
None of us cope particularly well with change The last time I visited Alnmouth Friary (a place I only visit once every 12 months) to find that in my absence the Brothers had had the audacity to reorder their chapel. I remember how indignant I felt and how out of sorts these changes made me feel. But by the end of the week I could see why the changes had been made and how they improved the worship space.
We like to think that our church will grow, and to survive it has to, but are we ready and able to cope with the change that this will cause?
I have been reading the account in the gospels of the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and empowered the disciples. Following this Peter spoke to the crowds, explaining who Jesus was, why he had come, what he had done and what the people must now do to put the situation right. The result was that the church that day grew by some 3,000.
Just imagine if our parish church grew by 3000 people! Wouldn't it be wonderful? Or would it?
It would mean major changes to what we do.
To start with we might have to knock down our existing building and construct a church that could accommodate our new congregation - that might go against the grain with some!
It is, I grant you, unlikely that our church will grow overnight by such numbers, but what ever level of growth we see it will bring about some change and that will be disruptive and unsettling. The church has never been stationary, if it is not moving forward then it is in decline, so change has always been there as part of our Christian culture.
Just standing by the door and welcoming in new people to our existing services is never going to bring about long term growth. Jesus warned us about putting new wine in old wineskins. We need to be constantly reviewing and adapting our church life to ensure that it is in tune with the current generation. That doesn't mean that we change the gospel message or the mission priority, but it does mean that we need to be relevant and we need to speak to people in their own language.
The reason that the church grew by 3000 following the Holy Spirit's visit to the disciples was because not only did the disciples speak to the people in a language they understood, but what they said was relevant to their situation.
This is why the church must learn to engage more with the wider community, so that it knows what is on the heart of the people then it can respond in ways that are practical but borne out of a time of prayerful reflection.
I am sure that this approach will bring about eventual long term growth and inevitable change, the two are inseparable, but we are not here to maintain the past but to embrace the future.
Your priest and friend
Fr Christopher