July 2012 - Page 5 of 6 - FX ARCHIVE...

The UP dimension of church: Heyford Chapel

This story illustrates the principles of The UP dimension of church in the Guide.

When an Alpha course on a north Oxfordshire housing estate came to an end during 2003, the 24 members wanted to carry on with their Thursday evening meetings, led by pioneer minister to the estate, Ian Biscoe.

Ian began to explain to the new Christian community – residents on an estate formed out of a former US air base – ‘what church means’, including communion.

The first time we talked about communion, I put out the chalice, patten, bread and wine,

Ian recalls. The community had been used to the Alpha tradition of eating together each week and rounding off with After Eights. Ian added a plate of After Eights to the display to demonstrate how communion would be a development of the sharing they had already experienced.

Everyone just sat and looked at the stuff on the table,

Ian recalls. The ensuing discussion showed that the significance of the display had not been lost on the new church community, but also that there was a strong feeling of unworthiness.

On a later occasion, the community was planning a celebratory meal. One member, a New Age seeker, suggested passing round bread and wine. Since Ian, a Church Army officer, is not ordained, he discussed the possibility with the ordained minister with whom he shares responsibility for the estate. They decided to turn the meal into an agape supper, which Ian describes as

a biblical re-enactment rather than communion.

Communion was a development of the sharing they had already experienced

I am very careful not to do what I’m not licensed to do within the Anglican church,

Ian explains.

So in the agapes I pointed out that we were exploring together what Christ meant.

On a later date, a clip of the Last Supper from the film Jesus of Nazareth was shown, after which bread and wine was passed, without liturgy, round a circle.

Both events were

hugely powerful,

Ian says.

They were clearly something very very important for people.

This ‘long period of time exploring together’ developed into a monthly service of communion which continues to be experimental. The ordained minister comes to preside, taking the service in a variety of Christian traditions – for example, fully robed, using Ignatian meditation, or in the Brethren style of approaching the table when ready.

This variety is important, Ian says, because of the mix of people within this new worshipping community (which meet in a former military chapel). Some of the 40-plus members have no church background, others a Church of England or Roman Catholic background, others a free church experience.

By developing its understanding of the significance of communion, this pioneering church is finding a way to become a sacramental community without a full-time ordained minister.

St Thomas the Apostle, Groombridge

St Thomas the Apostle, Groombridge – an Anglican church on the Sussex/Kent border – would describe itself as 'a Eucharistic parish', says minister Tony Fiddian-Green.

Communion services take place twice every Sunday. Four or five times a year a 'café Eucharist' replaces the main morning service, and Tony is also involved in a Eucharist with the church school.

Tony prepares the children for this termly event with three preceding classes, during which they trace the practice of Eucharistic fellowship back to the Exodus, through to the Upper Room in Acts and on to the parish.

Every time we do it we recapture the stories, and they do remember,

he says of the children.

At each service the children are involved with the prayers, readings, candles, banners, drama and music and the offertory, which includes a basket of cracker biscuits or matzo bread, chosen because of the biblical references to 'thin' bread.

'We have a celebration of the Lord's resurrection every time we practice the Eucharist. We get together, remember Jesus, and break bread.'

However, not all the school children are confirmed.

Having a school Eucharist would be bewildering for pupils who learn about it and then can't receive,

Tony says. So while those are who are confirmed receive, children who are not leave with the gift of a portion of blessed bread and a carton of juice.

This is an idea inspired by the Orthodox tradition where believers receive communion rarely, and after much personal preparation, but may leave a service with blessed bread on ordinary occasions.

Then there is the Café Eucharist to which the normal congregation is encouraged to invite their neighbours.

It's a fellowship breakfast really, with the breaking of bread in the middle,

explains Tony.

Non-churchgoers come to these services, held in the church hall, as well as the usual congregation of up to 100, which means that as many as 130 people can be present.

Tables for eight are laid with cloths and flowers for a simple breakfast of croissants and rolls. The service includes a two or three minute talk and the consecration of the elements with the words of institution. The bread and wine are passed round the tables from person to person.

Those who come often say they didn't know church could be like this,

Tony says.

We have a celebration of the Lord's resurrection every time we practice the Eucharist. We get together, remember Jesus, and break bread.

The UP dimension of church: Come and Go

This story illustrates the principles of The UP dimension of church in the Guide.

Coming and going throughout a church service is not common practice in the western tradition. But in January 2006, a church in north London created a Sunday morning schedule which allows people to stay for as long or as short a time as they like.

Services start at eight o’clock in the morning and conclude at one o’clock, in half-hour blocks, an alternative to the previous practice of three traditional services. Members of the congregation may enter or leave at any time, but the half-hour segments make for planned opportunities to change.

While some people stay for five minutes, others stay for the whole five hours, experiencing the differing approaches to worship throughout the morning.

Sunday begins with a more formal style of worship and moves to a more contemporary style, with time in between for conversation and prayer.

Every half hour has a different style and approach

The Come & Go programme is designed so that you will get a fairly well-balanced spiritual diet if you stay for about one and a half hours,

explains vicar, Rob Harrison. Every half hour has a different style and approach. Each Sunday, a single theme runs through the morning’s worship, but each section explores that theme in a different way.

Eating together is central to each section, following the practice of the early church where eating together was commonplace.

This new pattern of worship is effective on two levels.

On one level it gives the previously separate congregations more of a sense of belonging to one another,

says Rob.

The overlapping of worshippers among the different sections adds to this sense of continuity.

On a second level, the pattern provides more opportunities for individuals to feel part of a community within St John’s. This particularly happens over breakfast and lunch, and in the planned discussion sections in both the mid and late morning phases.

Communion happens three times: in the first hour with a Book of Common Prayer service, in the middle of the morning with a Common Worship service, and as ‘an informal meal rather than a formal liturgical act’ at noon. Children’s groups happen in the middle of the morning in the church hall, returning for the mid-morning Family Communion. The late morning sections are planned as ‘All Age’ worship.

We want to make it possible for as many people as possible who want to worship God, to do so,

says Rob, whose registered congregation has grown by 15 per cent since Come & Go was introduced.

We deliberately shaped the new pattern so that if people came at much the same time as before, they would get much the same experience.

Come & Go features in Encounters on the Edge, issue 35.

Come and Go

Robert Harrison, vicar of St John's Hillingdon, and teams of people from the church have spent over a year planning for an innovative way of doing Sunday mornings. Here he answers questions local people might ask about how it works.

What is 'Come & Go' worship?

It is exactly what it says: come when you can and go when you like. Our worship starts at 8am and continues all the way through to lunch at 12.30pm. You can arrive at any time in between, and leave whenever you wish.

Will I interrupt people if I arrive at the wrong time?

No. If you arrive in a quiet bit, it would help if you come in quietly, of course. But we are quite used to people arriving and leaving all through the morning.

Will people think I'm rude if I go half way through something?

Again, if you leave at a quiet moment, no-one will mind if you leave quietly. There is a planned opportunity to leave every half hour (at the end of each section), but you are welcome to leave at any stage.

Is there a minimum amount of time I will be expected to stay?

It is quite common for people to worship for one half hour section and then leave. But if you can only stay for five minutes, we will be pleased that you joined our worship, and believe God will too.

Occasionally, people stay for the full five hours. Those who have, have enjoyed the experience.

If I stay for a long time, will the worship start repeating itself?

Every half hour has a different style and approach. Each Sunday, a single theme runs through the morning's worship, but each section explores that theme in a different way.

You will get to look at the same aspect of Christian life and faith from many different perspectives.

I am used to worshipping in other Church of England churches. Will I get the kind of 'service' I am used to?

If you come from 8.00am to 9.00am, you will worship in a traditional, 'Book of Common Prayer – 1662' format.

If you come from 10.00am to 11.00am, you will find the worship similar to other services based on 'Common Worship – 2000'.

The worship from 11.30am to 12.30pm is contemporary, relaxed and interactive, while keeping within the guidelines of the Church of England.

Will I get a whole service every half hour?

That depends on what you mean by a 'whole service'. You will get a complete act of worship, but you will not get all of the ingredients that are commonly found in a Church of England service. The Come & Go program is designed so that you will get a fairly well-balanced spiritual diet if you stay for about one and half hours.

What style of worship will I find at St John's?

We do not believe that there is a 'right' way of worshipping God. (Jacob heaped up a pile of stones and poured oil on them; Moses roasted a sheep and ate it with his family and neighbours. King David wrote spiritual songs, and sacrificed bulls on a neighbour's farm; King Solomon did the same in a magnificent Temple. Jesus read the scriptures and discussed their meaning in a purpose-built synagogue; St Peter gathered Christians for regular communal meals in people's homes, and St Paul encouraged them to sing together and tell one another about God).

We purposefully offer a wide variety of worship styles so you can worship God in a way that suits your needs.

As a general rule, our Sundays begin with formal and traditional worship. As the morning progresses the style and content gradually become more informal and contemporary.

Are breakfast, coffee and lunch part of the worship, or gaps in the worship?

They are very much part of the worship. The very first worship gatherings of the Christian church took place over communal meals (not least of these were Jesus' Last Supper and his first meetings with his disciples after the Resurrection).

At St John's we have a strong emphasis on being a community of Christians. There are few things better for a community than eating together.

Do I have to pay?

In every half hour section there is an opportunity to make a financial offering. Making a significant offering from our income has been a vital part of Christian and Jewish worship all the way back to Abraham.

In the meal-centred sections, you will be invited to make a contribution towards your food. Any surplus money, after the costs have been met, will go into the general offering.

As St John's is a charity, we can claim tax back from the government if tax payers fill in a very simple form to register their gift.

Where did the Come & Go idea come from?

We live in an age of extended shop opening, flexible working hours and 24/7 entertainment. There are only a few things in our lives that require us to arrive at a particular time and stay until it is finished, unless we have booked in advance.

We want to make it possible for as many people as possible who want to worship God, to do so.

Does Come & Go worship make a lot of extra work for the church leaders?

No. Because each half hour section is self-contained, it has been possible to include a wider spectrum of church members in leading our worship. As a result, the clergy are now doing slightly less on a Sunday morning than they used to. They are also regularly able to take part in leading the children's worship.

Even the vicar is free to come & go when he is not directly involved in leading the worship.

How much planning goes into each Sunday morning?

All the people who leading the half-hour sections on any given Sunday meet together about ten days beforehand.

They discuss the Bible readings for that Sunday and decide on a relevant theme arising from those readings.

They then talk through how each of them will explore that Bible passage & theme in the section(s) they are leading.

Finally they agree on a 'conversation topic' which is used three or four times during the morning when worshippers have an opportunity to talk among themselves.

They then go home and continue their own prayer and preparation.

What happens in each of the half hour sections?

8.00am Morning Prayer: the traditional 'Prayer Book' service of 'Matins', slightly shortened, with prayers, Bible readings and ancient Psalms & Canticles (there is no singing at this time in the morning).

8.30am Traditional Communion: the Communion part of the Holy Communion service in the 'Book of Common Prayer – 1662', along with a short sermon.

9.00am Breakfast & Conversation: a continental breakfast, preceded by a traditional prayer of thanksgiving. Sometimes we chat about the theme for the day, sometimes we just chat.

9.30am Songs of Praise: a selection of well loved hymns & songs, interspersed with a short Bible reading, a 'thought for the day', and time for prayer.

10.00am Understanding our Faith: a reading from the Bible, followed by a 'sermon' applying the theme of the reading to life and faith in the 21st century. Then a song and some prayers to give you time to respond to God.

10.30am Family Communion: a contemporary Anglican celebration of Holy Communion that links Jesus' Last Supper & his first meetings with his disciples after the Resurrection to the challenges and opportunities of our lives today.

11.00am Refreshments & Activities: after the communal announcements and a prayer of commitment to God, we disperse to a wide variety of activities, from coffee and chat, to presentations about different aspects of church and local community life. There is also an opportunity to talk and pray, in private, about particular concerns.

11.30am Praise & Worship: contemporary worship songs (with the occasional golden oldie) mixed with time to pray and a short reading from the Bible.

12noon Exploring Faith Together: a Bible story retold rather than read, a discussion instead of a sermon, and the bread & wine of communion shared together as an informal meal rather than a formal liturgical act.

12.30pm Food & Friendship: a simple ploughman's-style lunch with plenty of time to chat and relax together, beginning with some revitalised mealtime prayers.

How do children fit in?

It is particularly useful for families to be free to come and go according to their needs. There are a number of different ways that children can take part in our worship.

There is a special area for toddlers and the adults they bring with them, which is equipped with soft and quiet toys. Those with toddlers do not have to sit in this area, but may if they wish.

Between 9.30am and 11.00am there is a parallel program of worship for children in school 'key stages' 1, 2 & 3. This happens in the Church Hall.

The children leave the church building together at about 9.40am and return to join in the Family Communion at about 10.45am. If you are arriving or leaving between these times, you will need to bring your children to, or collect them from, the church hall.

If you would like your children to stay with you in church, we have activity packs suitable for children in different age groups (any of our 'Welcomers' will happily give you one).

On the first Sunday of every month the 10.00 to 11.00 sections are particularly designed for all the family. There is no parallel 'Junior Church' on these Sundays.

Between 11.30am and 12.30pm there are activities and involvement for children within the worship in the Church.

What were the influences for the Come & Go idea?

The activity that most typifies our current British culture is shopping. Shops work on the simple principle of having an opening time and a closing time. Shoppers are free to come and go at any time in between.

Almost everyone in this country has a television. We are all familiar with the idea of looking through a varied programme schedule and choosing what interests us.

The Orthodox Christians of eastern Europe have been coming and going in their worship for hundreds of years.

How have the worshipping patterns of people changed?

Overall, attendance has grown. Occasional worshippers are coming more often. New worshippers can now fit Sunday worship into their busy lives. Regular worshippers with another commitment can fit worship around other obligations.

Beyond that, the 'Come when you can & Go when you like' message has made St John's appear much more welcoming.

Before, people had to come to church on our terms. Now, they can come on their own terms. We hope that, in time, we will all become more familiar with God's terms.

How did the existing congregation cope with the change?

Understandably, people were anxious at first.

This is one step in a long journey of growth and development. Come & Go is part of an ongoing process of mission planning.

We consulted very widely over a period of six months. We gradually unveiled the new pattern, giving people opportunities to ask questions. We deliberately shaped the new pattern so that if people came at much the same time as before, they would get much the same experience.

Now that people have had time to settle into the new pattern, they enjoy the freedom and the focus that it offers.

We were, in effect, already open from 8.00am to 1.00pm, but the only options were to arrive at 8.00, 9.45 or 11.30. In reality, a considerable number of people regularly arrived late for services; those people now feel much more comfortable about their part in the church community.

It took us about a year to take the whole thing through from initial idea to introduction. Looking back, the amount of work that went into developing and refining our plans was well worthwhile.

Focus Service: Sheffield Church – update Jul12

Focus, a church for adults with learning disabilities, began in 2000 as an informal ecumenical project through the collaboration of a number of churches in south Sheffield. In April 2012, it became the first BMO in the Diocese of Sheffield and the first ecumenical BMO in the Church of England.

The Diocese of Sheffield reports,

The Bishop's Mission Order is important for Focus as it seeks to develop a more stable foundation and ensure that the wisdom of the wider church is on hand to help secure this church for the longer-term. It also sends an important message that Focus is not merely an outreach project or an occasional service but a church in its own right.

While integration of adults with learning disabilities into existing churches can sometimes work well, the profound nature of Focus' members' disabilities means that any existing church welcoming them would have to radically change the way they do church in order to engage effectively with them. To avoid a 'veneer of acceptance' or a 'tendency to tokenism' that can sometimes occur in existing churches, Focus have chosen to model equal valuing of this much-undervalued and under-resourced marginalised group within our society by developing a church where learning disability is normal and members can have some say in how their church is run.

Through the BMO the Bishop of Sheffield recognises Focus as a new member of the Anglican family in the Diocese of Sheffield, finding ways to connect across churches for mutual benefit will be key. This BMO is especially noteworthy as it is the first ecumenical BMO in the Church of England, recognising the fact that Focus is supported and recognised by the Yorkshire Baptist Association and Meadowhead Christian Fellowship in addition to the Anglican Diocese of Sheffield. Representatives of all three organisations signed the BMO.

Focus currently uses the Anglican church of St Paul's Norton Lees as their regular venue but they are a deanery-wide network church and attract members from all over Sheffield. They meet fortnightly on Sundays at 7pm and there is also a Focus Group Fellowship meeting every Monday evening.

Baptist minister David Middleton is Focus' founder and leader. Captain Keith Blinston, an Anglican Church Army Officer, is Focus' assistant leader.

Focus Service: Sheffield Church is first ecumenical BMO

The Diocese of Sheffield reports,

The Bishop's Mission Order is important for Focus as it seeks to develop a more stable foundation and ensure that the wisdom of the wider church is on hand to help secure this church for the longer-term. It also sends an important message that Focus is not merely an outreach project or an occasional service but a church in its own right.

While integration of adults with learning disabilities into existing churches can sometimes work well, the profound nature of Focus' members' disabilities means that any existing church welcoming them would have to radically change the way they do church in order to engage effectively with them. To avoid a 'veneer of acceptance' or a 'tendency to tokenism' that can sometimes occur in existing churches, Focus have chosen to model equal valuing of this much-undervalued and under-resourced marginalised group within our society by developing a church where learning disability is normal and members can have some say in how their church is run.

Through the BMO the Bishop of Sheffield recognises Focus as a new member of the Anglican family in the Diocese of Sheffield, finding ways to connect across churches for mutual benefit will be key. This BMO is especially noteworthy as it is the first ecumenical BMO in the Church of England, recognising the fact that Focus is supported and recognised by the Yorkshire Baptist Association and Meadowhead Christian Fellowship in addition to the Anglican Diocese of Sheffield. Representatives of all three organisations signed the BMO.

Focus currently uses the Anglican church of St Paul's Norton Lees as their regular venue but they are a deanery-wide network church and attract members from all over Sheffield. They meet fortnightly on Sundays at 7pm and there is also a Focus Group Fellowship meeting every Monday evening.

Baptist minister David Middleton is Focus' founder and leader. Captain Keith Blinston, an Anglican Church Army Officer, is Focus' assistant leader.

(Reform) Faith in action: fresh expressions in the URC

Linda Rayner explores why United Reformed Churches sometimes struggle with the term fresh expressions, in an article published in Reform magazine in July 2012.

Churches sometimes struggle with the term fresh expressions – but I'm simply looking to chart things being done with the intention of forming a new type of church community.

I am often asked to go and talk to congregations and elders about mission opportunities and one of the first messages they hear is that mission doesn't necessarily mean bringing people into church; instead it centres on taking mission out to where people are. As a result of that we then start talking about fresh expressions of church which are established mainly for those who are not yet members of any church at all. I am also Training and Development Officer for North West Synod and it's amazing how much the two roles dovetail. On top of that, I am studying at Northern College, so there is quite a lot to fit into a working week!

One of my tasks is to map URC congregations working to establish new ways of being church. This is as much about relationship building as it is about information gathering and I'm delighted that the networks now know about my role and are much more familiar with what it means.

The mapping results so far have included some surprises. I'm not seeing a specific geographical pattern for instance but there are many pockets of activity up and down the country and I have come across a lot of churches involved in fresh expressions ecumenical partnerships.

Some people, when describing something like café services, may say, 'It's not a 'proper' fresh expression because we have been doing it for years.' I know that churches sometimes struggle with using the term fresh expressions but I'm simply looking to chart things being done in a new way, a way that has the intention of forming a new type of church community.

Fresh Expressions' thinking is not in the bloodstream everywhere in the URC but it's not in every Anglican or Methodist Church either. I don't think the URC has any specific challenges compared to the other denominations in this regard. Our congregational nature means there can be all sorts of exciting things going on but the wider URC church community is not always aware of them. The irony is that people outside the church can often grasp the idea of what it means to be a fresh expression far more quickly than those inside the church; they're also quick to ask questions or make it clear they're not interested! I see that in my leisure time too. I'm a fan of modern jive and there are people who – as soon as they know I work for the church – simply disappear and I never get another dance with them. Then there are those who want to know more and more about my work. In other words, meeting people where they are and not trying to force the issue.

Eastern Synod has appointed a new Pioneer Minister, Rev Tim Yau. They have employed Tim to look at developing church in and around Ipswich waterfront and on a local housing estate. He has been observing what is already going on there as part of his listening for mission to become part of the community. I'm really looking forward to seeing what develops there.

A highlight of my work so far has come from URC-focused 'vision days' which are designed to highlight fresh expressions and the concept of going out in mission rather than bringing people in. 62 people attended the day at Bramhall, Cheshire, and the plan is to produce tailor made resources and arrange further Vision Days for our churches because the material is turning out to be very enlightening for those within the URC.

Look out for me at General Assembly where there will be a Fresh Expressions stand in the venue foyer and a Special Interest Meeting when it is hoped that the leader of the Fresh Expressions' national team, Bishop Graham Cray, will be part of a speaking panel. I will be encouraging people to keep on doing what they see is working; they shouldn't feel that they have got to change it. On the other hand, if there are ways to get the Gospel message out to people in a different way, then give it a try because – even if you give it 12 months and then find it's not right in your context – you won't regret it. If you sit there and don't try at all, you will never know.

Linda Rayner is URC Coordinator for Fresh Expressions.

(CEN) Different churches for different cultures?

In what is seen as the 'coming of age' book for fresh expressions, Rev Dr Michael Moynagh examines the theology and methodology of fresh expressions and church planting. In Church for Every Context: An Introduction to Theology and Practice, Michael explores many of the key issues surrounding the movement – including the legitimacy of culture-specific churches. Here he draws on his findings to ask, 'Do we need different churches for different cultures?'

Archbishop Rowan Williams has made fresh expressions of church one of his top priorities. These new and different forms of church are shaped to fit the people they serve. Often they are focused on a specific group – individuals of a similar age, or who share an interest or come from the same background.

The idea is that churches within a specific culture can better serve that culture. But this makes many people nervous. How do culture-specific churches, they ask, square with St Paul’s vision of church bringing different people together? Instead of church tearing down ethnic and other social barriers, don’t different churches for different groups cement these divides?

This is one of the most common arguments against fresh expressions of church. It is also the argument that many people find most convincing. So how should we respond? Let's take a look at three views:

1. Some agree with Donald McGavran, the church growth specialist, who over half a century ago formulated the homogeneous unit principle.

McGavran famously declared that people

like to become Christians without crossing racial, linguistic, or class barriers.

Donald McGavran, Understanding Church Growth, 1980

Human beings are born into thousands of different social groupings. They are helped to become Christians if they are discipled within the group they already belong to.

But this view is out of fashion among mission theologians, who point to the effects of religious segregation in apartheid South Africa and strife-torn Northern Ireland, for example. Different churches for different cultures can heighten rather than reduce social conflict.

2. Lesslie Newbigin – in a 1977 article – thought that homogeneous congregations could be a necessary first step in mission, but should not be the last one.

Where the context requires separate congregations, separation must never be final. Regional and national structures should draw the different gatherings together. Culturally-based congregations are regrettable and should be bridged wherever possible.

Yet was Newbigin right to be so downbeat? As Peter Wagner asked in Church Growth and the Whole Gospel (1981), in the coming kingdom will Peter still be a Jew? Will the eunuch still be an Ethiopian? Will Cornelius still be a Gentile? Or will group identity be wiped out?

3. A third view is contained in For the Parish (2010), a vehement attack on fresh expressions.

Andrew Davison and Alison Milbank speak for many when they call for the creation of heterogeneous congregations.

They argue that culturally-mixed churches are part of the very nature of church. In its earliest days, the church was perhaps the only place in the Roman Empire where slaves mixed equally with the freeborn, men with women, the old with the young, the educated with the uneducated and the poor with the rich.

A local church can have different interest groups, such as a sewing circle or a young parents group. But these groups must meet together in a worshipping community that reflects the social diversity of its locality. Only then will today's church be consistent with its New Testament foundations.

Yet this overlooks the social dynamics at work in the local church. Like any group, a congregation will be diverse to a significant extent. Delve beneath the surface, however, and you will find that certain cultural traits draw the congregation together. They may include common values, such as a liberal or conservative theology, similar educational background, a shared cultural preference – for traditional liturgy for example – or common residence, such as, 'We come from this side of the village'. These commonalities give the congregation its identity, and identity by definition includes some people and excludes others. Some people will identify with the congregation and join it, but others won't.

The local church has tacitly accepted this for many years. In an Anglican church where I ministered, people claimed that – as late as the 1950s – the gentry came to church in the morning and working class people in the evening. The only time they met together was at the annual Harvest Supper, which apparently was a nightmare! Davison and Milbank romanticize the social diversity of the traditional congregation.

Focused and connected

Fortunately, we don't have to choose between these three views. There is a fourth. Focused-and-connected church happens when churches serve a specific culture but also connect up. Both are equally important. Homogeneity and heterogeneity can be held together, for instance:

a local church might give birth to several culturally different congregations (perhaps 'missional communities'). The congregations would cluster together from time to time.

culturally distinct churches might join with other churches in their locality to collaborate on mission and discipleship.

churches from different backgrounds might come together in activities organised by a national network sharing a common spiritual tradition.

This focused-and-connected view differs from McGavran's by giving homogeneity and heterogeneity equal weight. It differs from Newbigin's by being more positive about homogeneous churches. And it's different from that of Davison and Milbank by allowing individual churches to be homogeneous rather than limiting homogeneity to groups within a church.

A biblical rationale

With focused-and-connected church, a culturally-specific congregation can draw people into more mixed gatherings. A feature of networks is that one group often leads to another. Perhaps someone is drawn into a church for young adults, and is then invited to a pilgrimage or Christian conference containing a range of age groups. If the person had not been attracted by the homogeneity of the age-based church, they would not have ended up in the more heterogeneous event.

Creation

This approach to church has strong biblical roots. In a 1977 article, Old Testament scholar Bernard Anderson argued that the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 describes God's intention that the whole world should be peopled from the sons of Noah. The people are one because they have a common origin. This unity was to be combined with their 'scattering' (9.19) through the multiplication of different language groups. God's will for creation is unity and diversity.

The Babel story in 11.1-9 describes how, contrary to God's will, human beings fear diversity and strive for a unity that minimizes difference. They build a tower to make a name for themselves and to avoid being scattered (verse 4b). But God refuses to let his will be thwarted. Twice, in verses 8 and 9, he insists on scattering them.

God confuses their language in verses 7 and 9 not because diversity is a bad thing – different languages are clearly a good thing in Chapter 10 – but because in their sinfulness human beings are resisting the call to diversify. The people's offence was to prioritize unity over diversity. Their punishment was to experience the thing they feared – the divisiveness of difference represented by confused languages.

God's intention – that humans both belong to specific cultural groups and be united – is not to be thwarted. Unity is to be combined with difference. Unity is not to be at the expense of cultural diversity, nor is diversity to prevent unity. Focused-and-connected churches express this ideal.

Election

Focused-and-connected churches echo the dynamics of election, through which God chooses the particular to reach the universal. Abraham's descendants are to be the recipients of God's blessing in order that 'all peoples on earth' will be blessed (Genesis 12.2). These descendants are brought out of slavery as God's 'treasured possession' so that, as a nation of priests (Exodus 19.5–6), they can perform a ministerial function among the other nations. God chooses a specific entity, Israel, so that other social entities can benefit.

In The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (1989), Newbigin points out that election assumes inter-dependence. Israel depended on the Lord for blessing and other nations depended on Israel to share in that blessing. The Bible consistently sees human life in terms of mutual relationships. Dependence of one on another is not just part of the journey toward salvation, but is intrinsic to salvation itself.

Culture-specific churches follow this pattern of election. Having received the gospel from one culture, recipients use their social connections to carry the gospel to a different culture. Someone who comes to faith through church in a leisure centre, for example, might start church in a workplace. Salvation is transmitted through the relationships between cultures.

The New Testament church

The Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinthian and Ephesian churches combined house-based homogeneous gatherings, called church, with larger, probably town-wide assemblies (also called church), which drew these gatherings together.

In Jerusalem, for instance, the first Christians met together as one group in the temple courts while also breaking bread in their homes (Acts 2.46). In Paul's churches, believers met in separate house gatherings, which periodically met together as a single group.

In the concluding section of Romans, probably written in Corinth, Paul sends greeting from Gaius, whose hospitality 'the whole church here' enjoyed (Romans 16.23). New Testament scholar Robert Banks comments,

In the Greek Old Testament this expression consistently refers to an assembly of all Israel; thus it must be the totality of Christians in Corinth which is in view.

First-century cities were much like today. Distinct ethnic and income groups lived in different areas. So a house church that drew in members of the family and their networks would reflect a specific culture. These culturally focused churches then met together as 'the whole church' (1 Corinthians 14.23) from time to time. It was in these larger gatherings especially that social barriers were to be knocked down.

The new creation

Focused-and-connected churches anticipate the new creation. The one multitude of saints in Revelation 7.9 is drawn from a huge variety of cultures. Revelation 21.3 speaks of God dwelling with his 'peoples'. There is no one people of God chosen from among the nations. All peoples are now united in God, but still maintaining their individual identities.

Later, in verses 24 and 26, Revelation describes the nations (plural) bringing their accomplishments into the new city (singular). Unity and cultural diversity are again combined.

This future was anticipated at Pentecost. The Spirit enabled those present to understand the apostles not by obliterating language differences, but by hearing in their own languages (Acts 2.5–12). Unity of hearing was combined with diversity of speech. Those who responded were drawn into a single community, God's one family. Unity became possible alongside cultural variety. The church began to live out the new creation.

Serving specific cultures opens the church's doors

In established churches, existing members set the terms of church life – when it meets, where, in what style and so on. These terms inevitably reflect the interests of those who already belong. When the church emerges among people outside, however, the character of the church can be shaped by the newcomers.

The more culturally specific the church, the more it can respond to the needs of the people it serves, such as meeting at a time that fits in with shift work or in a convenient place. Serving specific cultures opens the church's doors. It helps the church both to attract and hold people. The Spirit can then convert individuals to the pursuit of heterogeneity.

In On the Verge (2011), Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson remark:

If we persist with the current status quo, we are in effect asking the nonbeliever to do all the cross-cultural work in coming to church! Remember, we are the sent ones, not them.

Based at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, Michael Moynagh is Director of Theological Research for Fresh Expressions.

Church for Every Context: An Introduction to Theology and Practice is published by SCM Press on 1 July 2012, priced £25.

Graham Cray comments on Quiet Days

Graham Cray comments on Quiet Days in an article published in the CEN on 1st July 2012.

Professor Eddie Gibbs of Fuller Theological Seminary once took a sabbatical from his work as an academic to be the Associate Rector of a parish in Beverley Hills where the congregation were primarily high powered business executives. He had to rethink all his mission strategies because what these people needed, to find Christ, was symbolism and silence. Steve Tilley's imaginative use of his home shows that this is just as relevant to other groups.

The central challenge for mission in Britain today is to make disciples, rather than just increase the number of church attenders. The chief obstacles the church faces in this task are the seductiveness of consumerism and the sheer pressure and stress of contemporary life. The opportunity to stop and to be still opens up the possibility of re-evaluating personal priorities, seeing beyond the superficiality of the consumer lifestyle and hearing the call of Christ. St Paul wrote,

But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard?

Romans 10.14

Today, perhaps the only way they might hear, is when we offer the sort of hospitality that makes it possible to pause.

L’Arche and fresh expressions: learning together (Hugh Nelson)

Hugh Nelson explores how L'Arche and fresh expressions are learning together.

The life and energy associated with the fresh expressions movement may well be the most exciting thing going on in British churches at the moment. But it's not the first time that a changing cultural landscape has been the seed bed for new ways of living the Christian faith.

Fifty years ago, in the midst of all the changes of the 1960s, a generation of young Christians wanted to find new ways to follow Jesus. From them grew a range of Christian communities, many of them founded within the Catholic church, but all of them with a desire to be engaged with those on the margins of society, to be deeply ecumenical and to make faith the foundation of daily life – communities like Taizé, Chemin Neuf, Sant Egidio, and Pax Christi.

Each of these groups was founded with a specific vocation, but they all share the call to live as intentional communities, in which members commit themselves to sharing their life and faith day to day, not just for an hour on Sunday.

Amongst these communities is L'Arche, now an international network of 130 communities in which people with and without learning disabilities live and work together. Founded by Jean Vanier – and the home for many years to theologian and writer Henri Nouwen – L'Arche communities seek to live as a sign of hope in a world which has too easily neglected and rejected those labelled as suffering from a learning disability. L'Arche communities are places in which what is shared is more important than our differences, in which our deficiencies and difficulties are a source of healing and transformation rather than shame and embarrassment and in which God is sought in the day to day messiness of life – not in a separation of sacred and secular.

There are 10 L'Arche communities in the UK hidden away in our towns and cities, each of them a simple witness to the kingdom of God. The communities are made up of between 20 and 100 people, who are seeking to deepen their faith together, build friendships and experience the transformation that God longs to share with his people.

As a provider of professional care services to people with learning disabilities, L'Arche has a particular call to stand in the difficult place between the world of faith and the world of statutory services, a place which is more and more complex to occupy at the moment. Meeting the clear targets and regulations of local authorities and Inspection services while remaining faithful to the founding values of L'Arche requires careful reflection and thought. This is just one area in which, in the 45 years since L'Arche began, it has learnt about Christian community living and I believe there is therefore a fruitful conversation to be had between the fresh expressions movement and L'Arche.

As well as learning how to live with hope as Christians in a secular world, L'Arche has had to engage in questions about its relationship to the local church. It has:

developed liturgy and worship resources that are creative and which work for people for whom words may be difficult;

grappled with issues relating to authority, conflict, money and time;

benefitted from the wisdom of theologians and church leaders, including Rowan Williams and David Ford;

developed practical ways to support those in demanding roles who live and work alongside people with learning disabilities;

learnt how to welcome diversity of belief, ability, personality and background and it is currently learning about how to remain true to its founding vision as Jean Vanier – who began L'Arche and is now in his 80s – steps back from leadership.

The world that fresh expressions is stepping into is exciting, daring and Spirit inspired. It's a world that L'Arche inhabits as well. Let's get the conversation going.