Church-planting is here to stay. It has proved itself to be a mission tool that works. In a sense it is nothing new. It is what missionaries were doing throughout the 19th century and what Columba and Aidan were doing during days when Celtic and Roman Christians were vying for dominance. What is unusual is that it is taking place in the context of what might be described as a Christian territorial system. That means it is taking place in consequence of a considered decision by a ruler to accept the Christian Gospel and expect his subjects to do likewise.
We can think of it in terms of other national organisations. The NHS is one obvious example. Health care is provided throughout the country in as comprehensive and uniform a manner as possible. Post-code lottery is avoided. The service is available to all who need it. The post office with its many sub-postmasters and post-mistresses does the same. The tag ‘A Church near You’ suggests that the Church of England is an agency catering for the whole population.
High Street chain-stores illustrate another aspect of the matter. M and S offers a brand. So does ASDA. Branding is a significant factor in marketing. A brand name like ‘Dyson’ gives us confidence in a product. The name of the brand has become part of our everyday vocabulary. So far there has been no sign of such a brand catching on with the general public and the established Church. We do not think ‘Anglican’ when we hear Christianity being discussed.
Of course, to say that church-planting is a mission tool that works tells less than half the story. An increase in numbers tells us something but more significant is the authenticity of the product being marketed. It is possible to imagine a decrease in numbers as a better indicator of what is being achieved (Matthew 22.14). Sometimes the message is not welcomed. Popular response is not the only valid criterion. Nor is a replication of the planter’s identity and assumptions. ‘O! what men dare do! what men may do! what men daily do, not knowing what they do!’
What is happening is that an emphasis is shifting. It used to be the case that a parish church – without any explicit terminology – was a haven of traditional Christian faith in English society. It was also a haven of diversity. We are now encouraged to see a larger grouping replacing that haven. It is the deanery or the diocese that is becoming the active unit. The traditional parochial/territorial system continues but a process is taking place that promises to result in the Church of England becoming something different. It involves the recognition of a new brand. Church-plants have some affinity with chain-stores; backed by the national Church, they are the same wherever they appear. All high streets look the same – or used to. A natural community with all its diversity becomes something else when newcomers become suddenly dominant.
‘Nothing is real until it is local,’ said G.K. Chesterton. The strength of the C of E has been in its parishes as community ventures encompassing local loyalties. Alongside that a new version is appearing that is built on something other than local community response. We can but wait to see what a vigorous tweak to the parochial system accomplishes and at what price. We may find we are looking at something more than a tweak.
AN ENGLISHMAN IN EUROPE
In the eighth century one of Charlemagne’s notable supporters was Alcuin. Educated at York, he joined Charlemagne at Aachen the cathedral city noted for its round church at the heart of the cathedral complex, and contributed scholarly works that fuelled the Carolingian renaissance. Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day, 800 and 30 German kings were later crowned in Aachen. Alcuin became a close friend of Charlemagne’s sister. He has a place in the Common Worship calendar on 20 May.
EALING TEAM
Steve Poynter leads the team at St Mary’s, Ealing, and a diverse team it is. Wai Meng Chow is an SSM associate vicar. After university and qualifying as an accountant, he worked in Hong Kong and now works in the City for an investment bank. Alex Volossevich is also an associate vicar. His parents were Russian; they came to the UK after WW2. Brought up in the Eastern Orthodox Church, he was married in a Roman Catholic cathedral and moved from engineering into management and acquired a degree in theology. Jean Barclay, the church administrator, comes from Friskney, Lincolnshire, which, I am told, is the most extensive parish in the England. The 1866 St Mary’s church was designed by S.S. Teulon, who let himself go on the drawing-board. The result has been called a Byzantine shrine.
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