Month: June 2012

Eden

When, in 2001, Deanery Youth Missioner Derek Spencer began researching youth work among the parishes in his Horsham area deanery, he found that nothing was on.

He invited young people connected with his 20 local, largely village churches to fortnightly meetings. One was held in a village hall, the other in a grammar school, both at different ends of the deanery to make the groups widely accessible.

With an emphasis on the social aspect of the Sunday evenings, the initial twelve members grew over a year to 35 Christians and non-Christians, who were keen to attend every week regardless of distance. As a result, the two groups amalgamated.

The best youth work is done in social events when the guards come down and they are relaxed,

Derek believes.

We built in a spiritual programme, but it was relaxed, not hard-line, a platform for their questions.

Further activities included a week's camping and a weekend away in a forest cottage, events still regarded as highlights.

'The best youth work is done in social events when the guards come down and they are relaxed'

Derek had also been visiting local schools, giving lessons and assemblies. The drama hall of the largest struck him as a potential venue for a service.

I spoke to the young people who were excited about using their school for God,

he says.

A meeting was held in Derek's own home – of those he had approached from among the adults of the deanery, including some parents – to pray and plan. A pilot service in 2003 led to Eden, a monthly, Sunday evening multimedia service, often employing zones (which people could dip in and out of), and with the freedom to grab coffee or coke at any time. While generally around 100, for special events such as a visit from Matt Redman, numbers can rise dramatically as young people and interested adults come from across the diocese.

In 2004, Derek was ordained in a unique training programme, a development in his personal journey, and this has enabled Eden to hold services of Holy Communion, often using material from the Iona Community. Derek's ordination to priest was held during an Eden service at the school.

Despite Eden's diocesan-wide appeal, Derek is concerned for the youth he began with, many of whom count Eden as their church and who were uninvolved with church previously.

'I don't want it to become just another church; I want to keep original and keep pushing the boundaries'

I want to make church for them,

he says. In 2005, Eden became a fortnightly service, alternating between a service and a 'talkzone' which takes the form of a public debate between local experts, followed by discussion groups and feedback. An extra service was held on Easter Day

to show that Eden is a church.

Derek foresees the ongoing youth groups amalgamating within Eden to become weekly cells and Eden itself happening weekly. In the meantime, it already has its own bank account and support from donations.

I don't want it to become just another church,

Derek says.

I want to keep original and keep pushing the boundaries.

What began with twelve local teenagers meeting in two different spots has grown into a fortnightly Eucharistic gathering held in a school, attended by around 100 young people and adults with a vision to grow into deeper fellowship.

Fresh expressions make strategic sense: The Terminus Café

This story illustrates the principles of Fresh expressions make strategic sense in the Guide.

The Terminus CaféIn 2000, a Methodist church on an estate in Sheffield went on to the streets with a questionnaire asking their neighbours what mattered to them and what the church could do to help.

The majority of people didn't recognise that the church could play a role and were surprised at the question,

recalls Joy Adams, a Methodist minister on the Low Edges estate.

The church discovered that the most pressing local needs were litter picking, a drop-in centre for the elderly and youth activities. It also realised that any response would need to come from all the local churches and so it formed an ecumenical prayer group.

At the same time, local shopkeepers were keen to lease their premises to the churches for community ventures. Recognising an opportunity, the churches set up The Terminus Café.

From the start we worked in partnership with the different agencies on the estate,

says Joy.

We said right at the beginning we are four churches working together to open a safe place and we are motivated by God's love.

'When you are open with people, they're open with you, we've found.'

When you are open with people, they're open with you, we've found.

As part of her training, Joy had been getting to know local families struggling with drug problems. Now with the café open it became

apparent that a charity shop was very necessary on a poor estate,

so a section of the café was made available for this.

The café is self-financing and opens three days a week, plus Tuesday evenings for young people only. Its Christian remit is made clear by a monthly service, 'Worship at the Terminus' at 4.30 on a Thursday afternoon. Bible study groups happen in series of four or five at varying times and venues to suit the differing needs of local residents. About nine people attend each time, not all of them the same on each course.

Café staff open and close the day with prayer, which is visible through the window. In 2004, as a result of witnessing this, visitors began to ask for prayer. A prayer board is now situated in a discreet part of the café and one-to-one prayer is available under strict guidelines.

Joy tells of a young man with special needs who volunteers at the café and regularly attends a Bible study. Having been bullied at school he found consolation in a Christian faith, but became less active as he got older. Visits to the café reawakened his faith.

She also tells of two recovering alcoholics who have both become Christians through attending the café, but still struggle with their addictions. One of them has described the café as 'somewhere you can go no matter how bad you feel and always be accepted'.

God is always reminding us of the word 'unconditional',

says Joy.

Fresh expressions make strategic sense: Legacy XS

This story illustrates the principles of Fresh expressions make strategic sense in the Guide.

Legacy XS - rampChurch of England Legacy XS youth centre in Benfleet, Essex, grew out of a small youth group meeting in a vicarage in 2001.

These youngsters were initially friends of the vicar's kids, though they also included a few from church families,

says leader of Legacy, Pete Hillman.

Through friendships numbers grew and

chatting about Jesus developed,

says Pete. A trip to Soul Survivor saw twelve members become Christians and a youth congregation, Legacy, was started, led by around half a dozen 'leaders' who saw themselves as members of the community first and leaders second.

The group moved from the vicarage to Pete's house and again to a church hall, a 1940s army hut.

It was growing in spiritual depth and identity and we were recognising there was a limit to our impact,

recalls Pete.

So we developed a vision for a drop-in centre in Benfleet.

When, on that year's trip to Soul Survivor, there happened to be a skate park, 'the two ideas came together'.

We were very aware of the local need for such a facility which local youngsters had been calling out for for years. So after discussions with the young people in the community we decided to press ahead with plans.

'I don't skateboard, but the young people, both Christians and non-Christians, say that they notice a difference when prayer is involved'

The hunt was on for a warehouse that could hold both services and a skateboarding arena. After several months with no success, Pete went to the local authority which granted a piece of council land for a peppercorn rent.

Since this land was in the neighbouring parish to Legacy's founding church, permission was also sought from the congregation there, and given.

Now the Legacy XS youth centre hosts both the Legacy Sunday congregation and a drop-in centre for all young people in the area for both schools work and fun. A café, a computer gaming room, a pool table and other activities make the centre attractive. Sunday worship attracts a congregation of up 80 young people, some of them as a result of attending Legacy XS in the week.

And skateboarding sometimes forms part of the worship.

Pete explains:

People ride during songs, or to drumming, or they use the ramps for prayer. One example would be where one group stood at the side of the ramps holding a piece of paper with a name on it, praying silently for that person, while others held names as they rode or skated the ramps. It's using something normally done for fun as a prayer.

Pete's favourite explanation for the thinking behind this manner of worship is in the words of 1920s Olympic runner, Eric Liddell, in the film Chariots of Fire.

He said, 'When I run I feel God's pleasure',

Pete says.

It's not a gimmick, it's landing tricks for God, the one from whom all blessings flow.

I don't skateboard, but the young people, both Christians and non-Christians, say that they notice a difference when prayer is involved.

Another important difference about Legacy XS is the number of males it attracts, something Pete and his team are keen to encourage rather than balance out.

We do lots geared up for the young men,

he says.

We took some to Snowdon where we carried stones covered in names up the mountain and built a cairn near the top. Luke Cooper (19) said afterwards that he was not good at praying because he was not good with words, but he had realised that he didn't need to be because carrying the stone for three hours had been the prayer.

A highly innovative youth church was partly born at a Christian festival.

Fresh expressions respond to spiritual openings in society: Tolland

This story illustrates the principles of Fresh expressions respond to spiritual openings in society in the Guide.

Tolland - Margaret ArmstrongIn 2001, the parish of Tolland, on the Brendon Hills, Somerset, was about to lose its church. The regular congregation at its monthly service of matins consisted of the two church wardens and their wives.

Then Margaret Armstrong arrived as part-time priest-in-charge of the five-parish benefice, of which Tolland is a member. She asked the church wardens if they were ready to try something new.

They said yes and got behind it,

Margaret says.

It was a real moving of the Holy Spirit.

Now the church is open for seven services a year and is attended by over half of Tolland's population of 40.

It is now an important part of community life,

says Margaret.

Is there a city or suburban parish that has more than half its population attending church?

'Despair has turned into enthusiasm and wanting to worship'

The seven services take place for festivals, including some more novel choices such as Clypping, a medieval custom of hugging the church discovered by Margaret when she read Seasonal Worship for the Countryside (published by SPCK). A pet service is also popular. Christmas can attract up to 120 people.

While Margaret leads services, it is the congregation which readies the church for each occasion, showing a care which includes making 'busy bags' for children and providing facilities for the pets at the pet service.

Tolland - ladsThe churchyard is managed for wildlife and is known in the village, through the parish magazine and by word of mouth, as a 'quiet space'. People come from further afield to see displays of seasonal flowers such as snowdrops and orchids, and to 'be quiet, look and listen,' says Margaret.

The impact of this revival of church life has spread into the village, which now holds an open gardens day to raise money for the building. The parish's contribution to the finances of the benefice is no longer in the red and, more importantly, Margaret believes, she is noticing 'an evolving spirituality' in her one-to-one conversations.

There is a growing community life as well as a revived church life,

Margaret observes.

It started with helping them to worship God and believe in the value in doing that. Despair has turned into enthusiasm and wanting to worship.

Fresh expressions respond to spiritual openings in society: B1

This story illustrates the principles of Fresh expressions respond to spiritual openings in society in the Guide.

B1 worshipB1, a church plant begun in 2000, is a network church, serving not a particular area but appealing across Birmingham through members' personal networks.

Meetings are held three Sundays a month in a central Birmingham pub, with the fourth free to enable members to spend time with friends and family who do not go to church.

The first stage was to surf our own networks,

explains leader, Geoff Lanham, a Church of England minister. In the first two years, 150 people attended extra events held by B1. Though enjoyable, it was recognised that these did not help to build community and so they ceased.

What has continued is a bi-monthly alternative worship event, Synergy, held first in a bar and now in B1's 'Breathe' facility, a 'spiritual space' for city workers and the residents of 10,000 new city centre flats.

Geoff believes that those who attend Synergy appreciate the non-directive approach of the event and the emphasis on symbols and interaction.

'We want to give people a taste of God's presence in an urban lifestyle'

Alongside its main services, B1 offers several groups and meetings for all kinds of interests. Small scale faith discussion groups attract seekers, including people of other faiths. A modified 'Essence' course has been run in the Zen room of a local spa.

One person has become a member of a midweek small group,

says Geoff.

Others we hope will come to be users of our city centre 'Breathe' sanctuary space for spiritual reflection.

'Illumine' is a spirituality course looking at different Christian traditions, while straightforward book and film groups often give rise to the discussion of spiritual issues.

These are good at providing environments where people can explore within a genuine welcome,

says Geoff.

We want to give people a taste of God's presence in an urban lifestyle.

B1 now has 50 adult members and some children. Seven of its members were previously unchurched.

Every year there is a mini exodus and every September some input,

Geoff says.

A more important figure is those who've belonged to us along the way, which is about 130. It's the transitional nature of emerging church in a city context. We're working with people while we have them and then we hand them on to the next stage of their journey. It's a kingdom mentality.

'The cross-cultural bit is the hard bit but it's exciting'

Because of its venues, B1 has been mistakenly described as a clubbers' church. Instead, what Geoff has found is that people of all ages now form its congregations.

The venues of B1 are significant ways to meet those who would not normally encounter church.

The cross-cultural bit is the hard bit but it's exciting,

Geoff adds.

Meeting in bars, cafés and pubs drew questions from those employed there and we see that God is at work among those who staff these places.

Geoff describes the church itself has having been on a journey as members seek to grow the church through their personal relationships.

One model we find helpful is thinking about sharing faith as a dialogue,

he says.

We value friends for who they are. This is partly why we moved away from events. We are trying to see faith sharing as discerning where God already is and living in a way which causes people to ask questions.

Heyford Chapel – update Jul11

Pioneer minister Ian Biscoe looks back on developments at Heyford Chapel since its launch in 2002 and looks forward to many new opportunities at the former US air base in Heyford Park – and further afield.

Since Heyford Chapel started eight years ago, it has become self-governing and a conventional district within a group of seven Anglican churches in the Cherwell Valley benefice. A lot of what we've been thinking of as a result is sustainability.

Initially we just had an informal leadership team within another parish. Then for a while we had a joint PCC with the parish church of St Mary's, Upper Heyford, and then – probably 18 months ago now – we were recognised as a conventional district. We have our own PCC, we contribute to the parish share for the whole benefice and we also contribute towards ministry expenses. We're basically looking at the self-governing, self-financing and self-propagating model.

At first we just put in small amounts to the parish share but we have increased it each year. The plan is that we continue to step it up so we are completely paying our own way.

As of April 2010, there are 76 adults on the electoral roll and about 80 children and young people involved in the 10-12 different groups associated with the Chapel's different congregations, all of them age specific. In all, we are getting about 200 or more people going through the different groups each week.

There are also a number of new groups which are very missional. The Eve Project, for vulnerable women, meets in a community centre. It has been running since September and the woman are now beginning to meet in smaller groups to look at the Christian faith. One of our churchwardens leads the Project, and we can see it developing into a fresh expression of church.

We have also got a youth minister now and he has started a pub church for young adults. That has got a very missional emphasis about building community and modelling a positive way of life. They meet in the local pub in the village every week, and they’re currently running it as a trial with a group of nine.

Our core church now has a Sunday gathering as well as a mid week contemporary service at 8pm on a Thursday. We didn't initially meet on a Sunday for quite a few years but a number of Zimbabweans have moved into this community and it seemed culturally appropriate to respond to their requests for a Sunday meeting. Alongside all of this there are also plans to build a lot of new housing here, redeveloping the site for a further 1000 new homes.

Formal structures are now in place to relate to the established church with two churchwardens, a PCC and so on. Each of our congregations has its own leadership team and helpers, and most also have representatives on the PCC. We have set up pastoral clusters, seven small groups which have a key person or couple of people as leaders and these act as the first point of contact for pastoral care. That small group system runs alongside the different congregations.

It's very exciting to see the way that God has called people to faith here and led mature Christians to come along and help with leadership. Looking to the future, I was initially trained as a Church Army evangelist before being ordained as a pioneer minister in 2007 so the emphasis moved from evangelism to developing church and now I'm considering what the third stage is going to be.

My wife Erika and I planted the church together. Now she is exploring ministry and looking at perhaps becoming a pioneer minister herself. I have got one year left on my current contract so, as it stands, I will be leaving in July 2011 but I'm currently discussing what might be next with the bishop and the deanery.

Discovery Days

In 2003, Church of England minister Penny Joyce moved to a growing new housing estate in Witney, Oxfordshire, to start a community project funded by the Diocese of Oxford. She spent the first three months of her new role, which followed a curacy, 'getting to know people', in particular local churches and the school.

At the end of those three months, she sent a newsletter to every house identifying herself as a community worker and inviting residents to a meeting with the local planner. Around 50 people from the 250 houses then established on the estate turned up. This residents' meeting continues to take place once every three months, attracting 50 to 80 people at a time to its community discussions around wine and cheese. It is particularly valued by newcomers to the estate, which has now grown to 960 houses.

The estate is home, Penny says, to 'a huge cross section of people'. Social housing, young families, home-based workers and early retirees all live together on what, in its early years, has been a building site as well as a place in which to build community. Through the community project, Discovery Days, headed by Penny, these different types of people are able to come together in their own groups at different social and Christian-themed events. Events are advertised on a monthly community newsletter written by Penny and delivered by volunteers.

She spent the first three months getting to know people

The need for various activities is exemplified by an encounter Penny had early on in her ministry to the estate. While out and about she bumped into a young mother walking, looking for someone to talk to. Following this, a mother and toddler group was set up which attracts around 40 women each week.

Other regular events run by Discovery Days are a mixture of social activities and those with a Christian flavour. Families meet for Sunday tea and Christian-based activities. Men meet for football. Readers meet in a book group. Home-based workers meet for lunch. Christians on the estate meet in one of two weekly small groups, Discovery 1 and 2, while a second kind of Discovery group happens for seekers. More generally interested residents of the estate may attend Breathe, a social evening with wine, chat, and the possibility of moving through a series of stations provoking reflection on a life issue.

Christians are present at all the different events and activities whether social or Christian-focused. Penny sees evangelism in terms of a line of 10 to 1 (the Engel scale), on which individuals may be at the Christian end or the disinterested end.

I place events along that line so that people can choose,

she says.

If you're journeying at 8 or 9 you won't want to come to straight into a church situation, but you might want to come to something which looks at the basics of Christianity. We journey spiritually with someone and don't expect them to travel from a nine to a one in one leap.

By listening to the needs of the different groups of people within the community, Discovery Days offers a chance for everyone to discover faith and friendship.

Threshold Church

In 1996 GP Pete Atkins and his wife, Kath, planted a new church called Threshold, with a vision to strengthen church in the villages of their home county, Lincolnshire.

Operating along the cell church format, Threshold grew and in 2006 separated into four separate congregations. Three were based in a different village and one in inner city Lincoln. There is a bi-monthly meeting of all four.

The congregations draw members from 15 local neighbourhoods and range in size from 20 to 100 members, who gather together in village halls and Lincoln YMCA.

But for Pete and Kath, this is not the end of ten years' work. They have given each congregation the challenge of multiplying further through prayer and planning. 

We are vision driven,

Pete says.

The vision has always been to establish church in the rural situation, with a focus on neighbourhood planting rather than network planting.

Pete believes that the success of Threshold lies in discovering and training new leaders.

The key thing is that by the grace of God we have managed to multiply leadership,

he says.

They have given each congregation the challenge of multiplying further through prayer and planning

Those who have perhaps led a cell have also been on a 'Mission-shaped leadership' training course [now developed into mission shaped ministry]. Leaders meet together bi-monthly and in between are supported by regular contact with the main leaders of Threshold. The Atkins' own role has moved to supporting the main leaders, who in turn support cell leaders.

All our developments are consistent with our original vision of seeing the kingdom of God re-established in the villages,

says Pete.

The leadership communicates this vision through preaching, through a slogan and by holding welcome evenings for newcomers to the villages.

Moments of multiplication, such as the division into four congregations, become opportunities to revisit the original purpose of the church.

By keeping in mind at every stage what they originally set out to do, the Atkins and the members of Threshold are achieving their aim of multiplying church.

Early Bird

When Victor Howlett began his curacy in 1997 in a market town in Wiltshire, he found that families were not coming to church.

Realising that it might take more than the four years of his training period to make existing church worship more family friendly, he decided to create a special service. On approaching the staff team he discovered a free half hour on Sunday mornings from 9am, after the 8 o'clock service and before choir practice, which he decided to call Early Bird.

Still unclear himself about what Early Bird would be, he invited a small team from the existing congregations to join him in visiting local children's groups with an invitation to church.

Posters were placed in shop windows for a monthly service, a method still used today.

Ten minutes before the first Early Bird service was due to begin, no one was in sight.

Then we heard the first buggy coming up the drive,

Victor says. That first half hour attracted 60 people, two thirds of whom were new to church.

It gradually developed into a service appropriate for 0-8 year-olds,

Victor says.

Always dads came rather than mums, which was unusual. They also automatically sat at the front!

By the time Victor left, a regular congregation of 40-50 was gathering once a month and continues to meet some years on.

The service is 'very unchurchy', with no candles, hymn books or robes. Songs of no more than two verses are sung from a book of six coloured sheets and announced according to colour. If one proves unpopular, it is replaced.

'Because it caters for children, the parents are pleased, but it also offers community.'

The service is 'always', Victor stresses, based on a Bible story.

If it goes well, we tell it again.

This spontaneity is important for success, Victor believes, something which sticking to a monthly rather than weekly programme encourages. Coffee is served afterwards and as people leave they are handed an invitation to the following month's service, which is always on the second Sunday since this never clashes with school holidays. Even if this Sunday falls on a festival such as Easter, it still happens. Children are texted or emailed between services to keep in touch.

It keeps working,

says Victor, who is now in his third parish and still repeating the Early Bird model, albeit under the name Jump Start Sunday. In the meantime, ten other Early Bird services have sprung up over the diocese (Bristol) and news of another in Berkshire and two in Wales has reached Victor, who occasionally gets

phone calls from the grapevine asking for advice.

Not all are called Early Bird, but all follow the original premise and emphasise that these services are church in themselves for the mostly fathers and children who attend, with some families choosing to come 'fully into the life of the church'.

We make a virtue of being early and design it for children and parents,

he says.

They know it's only half an hour and we describe it as 'the best way to start Sunday'. Because it caters for children, the parents are pleased, but it also offers community.

Fenland Community Church

Fenland Community Church - groupWhen Edward and Marilyn Kerr, with the support of Plumbline Ministries, planted Fenland Community Church in their Cambridgeshire town, they had no idea who they would meet.

Their new congregation of a small number of people who had moved from another church held an outreach week on a bus in the town centre. Among those who came were two women with learning disabilities in their thirties.

Drawn to this church community, the women also began attending a long-standing youth group led by the Kerrs. However, it was clear that this was not the best place for them.

We began to ask, what can we do for them?

Edward says.

At around the same time, two years into the plant, members began to leave. As the church collapsed, the number of learning disabled people showing an interest increased. They began meeting with the Kerrs, with the permission of their carers and residential home managers.

Up to 35 people, including carers, now meet three Sundays a month in a local scout hall, while the Kerrs open their home once a month for a prayer meeting. In addition, they take monthly meetings in six residential care homes where either a proportion or all of the residents take part, depending on the size of the home.

'Are we meeting their needs? If not, how can we?'

All this is very different from the Kerrs' original vision of evangelising their local community through events and a house church gathering.

We had to give way on a Fenland wide church with 'normal' people,

Edward says.

At first it was a struggle because we were just managing these people, not knowing what to do. We have had support from Causeway Prospects, and have adapted some of their material for our groups. However, much of our material for Sundays is 'home-grown'. It was about five years in that I realised, okay God, this is right, and we're not looking for 'normal' people now.

In fact, Edward and Marilyn, despite their struggle, have never said 'no' to the way Fenland Community Church has developed, their main concern being 'how'.

Even now we're still asking those questions,

Edward says.

Are we meeting their needs? If not, how can we? Within obvious limits no idea is excluded!

He tells the story of one man who has attended Fenland Community Church since its early days in 1996.

'Within obvious limits no idea is excluded!'

By nature he's quite diffident,

Edward says,

but he has blossomed over the years. He's now able to take responsibility for handing out percussion instruments and the flags we use in worship. He often volunteers to pray for people or to start the service. Every now and then he is prophetic, though sometimes he's a bit mumbly and we have to ask him to say it again!

Another young man with Downs Syndrome, who rarely talks and can sign only badly, is

wonderfully sensitive with flags, waving them over the congregation in a way that's very prophetic and moving.

What does the future hold? The Kerrs are fully committed to exploring ways of sharing Jesus with people with a learning disability, involving them in church life, using whatever works rather than whatever is traditional.