Now that we’re free to sing in church again, we are hearing a lot of the word ‘sustainable’. It is a word that has haunted us since the 1964 Paul report as rural England completed its headlong transformation into urban England in the wake of the industrial revolution. The Church was pushed into catch-up mode. A process of preserving the parochial system by amalgamating first tiny parishes (particularly those with immense church buildings) and then medium parishes proceeded apace.
So, like it or not, sustainability has become a keyword. It’s worth spending a moment on its implications. Like the word ‘empire’, the choice of the word determines the nature of the debate. It brings with it underlying premisses. It includes and excludes. Once we have agreed to talk about sustainability, we have committed ourselves to institutional considerations. We are talking about membership, ownership, rights, responsibilities, officers, governance, revenue and outgoings. We are of course in a world far removed from what we find in the New Testament. That is inevitable but there is not just one possible outcome.
If we ask ourselves whether the Church of England is sustainable, we are thinking about decline institutionally. If we ask whether the kingdom of God is sustainable, we are contemplating another kind of jigsaw altogether. In one case we have static structures and bureaucratic procedures. In the other case we have fluid patterns that are far less manageable but possibly more innovative.
When the new country over the water was pushing west, preachers amongst the meat-men who lived in the saddle were improvisers. They did what they could as they could. Episcopalians came along behind. They brought settled patterns into being. Like doctors, lawyers and bankers, preachers hung up their saddles. They settled down and occupied their niche places in society as ordered communities came into being.
To be sustainable may seem to require a centralised bureaucracy. This assumption, if not examined, may lead us astray.
TO THE TOP OF THE SPIRE
A year ago people turned up to cheer as Sam Leach, Vicar of St Mag’s (aka St Mary Magdalene’s) church, Torquay overcame his fear of heights to climb to the top of his church spire (165 feet above ground) to raise funds for community outreach. St Mag’s describes itself as a charismatic open evangelical church in the heart of Torquay. It has a packed programme and aims to be user-friendly in its choice of language.
AMA ENTERPRISE
St Mary’s, Stoke Bishop, Bristol is one of the partner churches making up the Avonside Mission Area. They are intent on making the Gospel known via shared interest groups – golf, ladies (and gentlemen) who lunch, jazz fans, whatever. St Michael’s produces an exceptional quarterly magazine ‘Messenger’ going to 3,000 homes in the parish. Jema Ball is Vicar of St Mary’s and she leads a strong ministry team, including Megan Clows, attached to the parish under the ministerial experience scheme. I was heartened to see Jema’s contribution to the magazine commending the hymn ‘Praise my soul the King of heaven’ which I mentioned a few days ago as a private prayer.
TWO LIFEBOATS
Pip and Jim’s church, Ilfracombe, Devon is close to the lifeboat station. Two church members are offering to show visitors round the station with its two lifeboats. There is a vacancy at present as far as an incumbent is concerned. St Philip and St James’ church together with two others make up the Combe to Combe benefice.
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