Month: August 2015

Pioneer mission: a peddling of religion? (David Muir)

David MuirDavid Muir asks whether pioneer mission is just a peddling of religion.

When it comes to the mission of God in our world, there is no point in just going through the motions. Either we do it from the heart, from deep inside our spirits, or we might as well stay home and watch TV – because the Enemy will find us out. OK, nonetheless the grace of God still sometimes works through even our most shallow of efforts, but then that same grace sometimes works without our efforts altogether.

What fires us up? In generations gone by, and still in some places today, it was literally the fire – and the brimstone – stored up for all who did not come to that point of acknowledging Christ as Saviour and Lord. Whose heart could not be moved by the awful prospect that those who today form part of our daily (even intimate) life might suffer in eternal and unimaginable pain? Mission was sheer compassion, not wanting anyone to suffer any such fate.

I still believe in hell. But I am probably not alone in being a whole lot less sure that anyone who has not been signed, sealed and delivered into the life of the church will end up there. It is then an easy slide into seeing the spiritual life as the icing on the cake of humanity. And suddenly even pioneer mission becomes a promotion of the glorious icing, a selling of a great enhancement to your life – or, as St Paul put it, a peddling of religion.

What I'm missing is the grief, that good grief that tears the heart over the state of those who do not find Christ. The best I can think to do is pray for those I know who do not yet have a faith, seeking a vision for who they could be if only they put their lives into the hands of their Creator and Redeemer – and hope that a gulf opens up in my heart and mind between that and who they are at present, that will truly grieve my soul. Or does anyone out there know how to enter into the 'good grief' another way? I fear that all my best efforts will be too shallow without it.

Dreamers who do (Jonny Baker)

Jonny BakerJonny Baker looks for the dreamers who do.

I am really looking forward to being at the Break Out Pioneer Gathering in September. I confess I missed it last year because my life was in chaos getting ready to start our brand new CMS pioneer training course. And, as ever with these things, I was chasing my tail.

But, 12 months down the line, we have had a fantastic first year with pioneers, learning loads about how to support them and develop training that is really equipping them for practical pioneer ministry in a variety of contexts. I have personally been challenged and inspired myself in all sorts of ways; it's been a mutual learning.

One of the many things that has been exciting with our community of students – and something about which I hadn't expected to find quite such an emphasis – is the amount we have talked about imagination and I would say prophetic imagination. This has been so strong that I have started to think what we might have on our hands is a community of prophets.

In saying that, I am hesitant to use the word prophet as – depending on the circles you move in – it can have some ‘baggage’ and would you take anyone seriously who said they were a prophet?! But at CMS we have been really thinking hard about Jesus the prophet and prophetic mission – in fact this whole notion is stirring us up quite considerably.

We need people who operate out of a prophetic imagination to call us into an alternative future

At a time when there is so much challenge and change in the church and culture, we most definitely need people who see and call us to live differently, who operate out of a prophetic imagination to call us into an alternative future. So, as a speaker at Break Out, expect me to be musing on imagination and prophets. And try not to think too hard about what tends to happen to prophets.

John Taylor calls mission 'an adventure of the imagination', which I absolutely love as everything that exists that is new must have been imagined first. It seems such an underrated gift. One of the phrases I came across recently for those who bring newness in this way was 'Dreamers who do', which I love as well. And if I'm going to talk about this, I guess I'd better have some poems, movies, ritual, music and photography to connect beyond just the rational or logical parts of our souls and minds and hearts.

There have been a couple of pieces of research recently into the experience of pioneers and pioneers in training. One from the Church of England’s Ministry Division and one by Beth Keith on behalf of Fresh Expressions. Both are excellent and sobering at the same time. Beth's was conducted through a series of small group gatherings of pioneers round the country. The information has then been collated into a series of themes raising a number of points and offering some recommendations.

So I'll also try and connect into some of those challenges and themes – though in many ways I suspect they are telling us what we already know! But it's nice to have some research to confirm your hunches. See you in September?

Timing is everything for fresh expressions (Ben Norton)

Ben NortonBen Norton discusses why timing is everything for fresh expressions of church.

For me, to be called to live as a pioneer means to live without any form of certainty: 'there are no guarantees'. This, I believe, will have an impact on the sorts of communities we see emerging under the leadership of pioneer ministers. 

These are new Christian communities that don't focus on micro details of seeking answers such as: 'How can we make sure we are always going to exist in this way?', but rather communities that ask questions such as: 'Where are we travelling next on this journey?' and 'What will we look like as we grow?'

I am now heading to the end of five-and-a-half years as an Ordained Pioneer Minister in training, and the next step is going to be some sort of deployment. What this next role will look like is very undefined at the moment, but it brings with it many different thoughts and feelings – both for me personally and for the communities which have been formed during my time in this part of the world.

I have one quote that has stayed in my mind more than any other when it comes to thinking about pioneering ministry, and that comes from Vincent Donovan when he states: 'to enable people, if they wish it, to learn about and understand the basic Christian message, the Good News, to baptise those who then ask for baptism, to bring them up to their first Eucharist – and then to GO! It was for these new Christians to work out their own life as church.' Although the context is very different, the essence remains that these new communities need to be given the space, within inherited structures, to be able to stretch their wings.

New communities need to be given the space, within inherited structures, to be able to stretch their wings

Many people have asked what will make the new communities identifiable as Anglican, Methodist or URC? This is a great and right question to ask from an inherited viewpoint, but if one was to give an answer it would unravel the question being asked in the first place. 

For example, when a football manager buys in new players for his team, those new recruits wear the club shirts. They also adopt the ethos and heritage of the club, but the way they play may be nothing like anyone at that club has ever seen before. Therefore for someone to ask before a ball has ever been kicked, 'What makes them part of our team?' would be to reject their identity before it could be formed.

Timing is everything when it comes to fresh expressions of church – whether that is considering a BMO, the leader moving on or how the vision is going to be worked out. I am just glad that it is God holding the timepiece and not me!

Home from home: new pioneer hub (Andy Freeman)

Andy FreemanAndy Freeman shares his hopes for the new CMS pioneer hub.

I have just started a new job. In some ways it's daunting because the role is for just nine hours a week, but it's also very exciting and I'm so glad to be part of it.

So what is this daunting and exciting prospect? In a nutshell, I will be working with CMS to develop a pioneer hub for the south of England. The hub is a new development, funded by the South Central Regional Training Partnership – that's Anglican, Methodist, URC and other churches in the Oxford, Guildford, Portsmouth, Winchester and Salisbury dioceses/areas. The idea is to create a specific hub to support pioneers in the region, in connection with existing resources and training.

In the past 12 months, CMS – alongside other training providers in the area – has been developing specific training and support for pioneers. Over the next three years, these are the sorts of things we hope to see happen in the region:

  • a supportive network of pioneers.

  • an annual gathering of some sort.

  • a network of mentors/coaches available to pioneers.

  • the development of good practice and policy for pioneers in dioceses and districts.

  • collaboration between training providers so that pioneers get best training possible.

  • specific practitioner sessions at CMS, starting in September 2011.

My hope is that the pioneer hub will become a place of network and support to pioneers in the south of England

For these five dioceses to contribute to a resource dedicated to pioneers is wonderful. As a pioneer ordinand in training myself, I know how tough things can be, and how important it is to have focused support and training. My hope is that the pioneer hub will become a place of network and support to pioneers in the region, a place of training that directly helps pioneers and a place of connection to anyone pioneering in the region.

The pioneer hub is there for you whether you're a lay or ordained pioneer, whether you're in training or whether you're simply getting on with things. If you're a pioneer, I'd love to hear from you and shape this hub around your needs. Feel free to drop me a line at andy.freeman@cms-uk.org.

‘Fringe’ expressions in global cities? (Andrew Jones)

Andrew JonesAndrew Jones explains why he's starting fringe expressions in global cities.

In recent weeks I have been in three of the world's largest cities – Hong Kong, Beijing and London.

While there I met with friends who are working in Tokyo and Seoul. Over the next year I hope to visit a dozen more of these ridiculously large, sprawling, intimidating metroplexes. Some of the most exciting models of doing church and ministry differently (and sometimes more effectively) are happening in these places.

Here are some thoughts I've had so far about the associated challenges:

Countryside. To reach the cities we also need to reach the countryside. Beijing's population has swelled by a further six million people recently to reach 19 million, mainly due to the number of workers arriving from rural areas. These workers leave their families behind and many of them only return once a year, usually during the New Moon Festival. If we apply all our resources to the cities and forget the countryside, we might see families devastated in the process.

Institutions. It is not fair to say that incarnational and organic models of church are opposed to institutions because many of them are starting institutions of a different form. Instead of starting a church institution, they start a kingdom-principle-oriented social enterprise or micro-business and then allow spiritual community to form around it. These structures allow greater financial sustainability as well as fluidity for the communities to function as church, even if they cannot gather as such.

Monastic. Urban monastic models of church, and their modern-day counterparts that look less like monasteries but function the same way, are increasingly effective in the urban environments of global cities.

Rich and poor. Reaching cities means working with both rich and poor at the same time. The poor need resources, empowerment and justice and the rich have resources, power and justice to dispense. Bringing them together is essential and it is in these moments that the church becomes church. A missional focus allows both groups to work together.

These fringe expressions of church will go where no fresh expressions or missional communities or emerging churches have gone before

Many of the 50 holistic fresh expressions of church that we want to help young leaders start and develop over the next year will be in global cities.

We will do this by partnering with leading mission organisations and denominations. Our aim is that the new church/mission structures will act as role models for church planting in the toughest parts of the world. As well as being highly effective fresh expressions of church and mission, these new communities will bring a lasting, holistic impact. Through:

  • social enterprise and micro-business they will move their ministries towards long-term sustainability.

  • social justice ventures they will touch the needy in their cities in measurable ways – ie, a spiritual, social, financial and environmental impact.

  • social media streaming they will contagiously share their story to leverage their experience and compel others to follow their examples.

Sneaky, huh?

These 50 new communities will be fresh expressions of church but, also, because they will intentionally position themselves to impact those on the fringe, we will call them 'fringe expressions.'

By fringe, I mean the cultural fringe (alternative, non-churched, victimised), the economic fringe (poor, needy, vulnerable), the geographic fringe (church-unfriendly areas and countries) and the spiritual fringe (NOT your father's old-time religion) where traditional church efforts make little progress.

Or, in other words, they will go where no fresh expressions or missional communities or emerging churches have gone before.

Threatened by a missional community? (Stuart Goddard)

Stuart GoddardStuart Goddard asks why people might be threatened by a missional community.

Reconnect is a missional community in Poole and Paul Bradbury leads it as Pioneer Minister for Poole Town Centre and Hamworthy East. As the Rector of Hamworthy I am sometimes asked if I see this work as a 'threat' in some way.

The short answer is, 'No, I don't', but it is an important question.

The work that Paul is doing comes from a vision for a pioneer minister that was in place before I took up my post. It was put to me during my interview by the then Bishop of Sherborne as two questions: 'What do you think of this big idea?' and 'Would you feel threatened if someone was appointed to work independently on your patch?'

The original big idea boiled down to a suggestion for a bit of school chaplaincy, a bit of UPA mission in Hamworthy West and a bit connected with a pioneer role in the regeneration area. In the end, the big idea changed shape and became two posts. This could have got messy and vague.

One of the reasons why it went well is that senior staff – an area bishop and an archdeacon – and the deanery clergy through the deanery plan, were working on the vision very early on. They were therefore trying to appoint new clergy who would share and develop the vision with them. This integrated forward planning replaced any sense of threat with a feeling that I was part of a bigger team who were involved in innovative mission, both within the parish, especially in the Urban Priority Area, and in the regeneration area.

The commitment from everyone to make mission-focused appointments anchored the shifting nature of the multi-layered and protracted discussions.

Once in post I started to roll up to meetings that were exploring the idea of appointing a pioneer minister to work solely in the regeneration area. Canon Nigel LLoyd, our then area dean, chaired these. They also involved:

  • the three clergy whose parishes the regeneration area wholly or partially overlapped;

  • one other whose parish had the use of a house in the area, which was seen as a potential base or meeting place;

  • Archdeacon Alistair McGowan, now Bishop of Ludlow, who happened to be steering the Bishop's Mission Order concept through General Synod;

  • a businessman with Christian Vision who had project management skills and experience of being part of a successful church plant in a new estate.

The work can grow with an informed mutual respect for our different ways of building church as we interact with the varied communities in this part of Poole

These meetings established that an appointment was do-able with financial support but only secured for three years. Paul was appointed and the make up of the group changed – to include Paul (obviously) and a new area dean, Jean de Garis. Nigel LLoyd remained on board because of his longstanding experience of the project.

The team was highly democratic and representational, but a move to set up a charity to secure future funding caused us to realise that we were short of people with both the time and the business background to do this. The result was that the four local parish clergy dropped out and others (they happened to be clergy too) were recruited from the wider diocese. The new team shared the vision and filled out the much needed expertise in business management.

I didn't find it easy to walk away from the last meeting knowing we were no longer on board. I didn't feel it was threatening exactly – except to my strong belief that parish clergy needed to have voice to keep things grounded – but actually it was exactly the right thing to do. The philosophy was in place, Paul was in place. But for Paul to give time to developing the missional communities, we had to let the business know-how team get on with it.

The re-formed team set up Poole Missional Communities as a limited company that they then sought to have registered as a charity. This hasn't been as straightforward as was hoped.

As the new phase kicks in, I've been re-recruited to join the charity as a trustee. Having had a small share in the responsibility for appointing Paul and many opportunities to go on supporting him, it certainly feels good to be involved in the project more formally. It means the work can grow with an informed mutual respect for our different ways of building church as we interact with the varied communities in this part of Poole.

On (not) being ordained (Andy Campbell)

Andy CampbellAndy Campbell on (not) being ordained.

I first felt a gentle nudge towards Christian leadership in my late teens. This was quite a surprise to me at the time, as I was barely a Christian and not yet a member of a recognised church community.

In my mid twenties, while on a six month mission trip to South America, I experienced a number of subtle (and some pretty emphatically unsubtle) pointers that seemed to come from God and convinced me of a call to full-time Christian ministry.

When I came back to the UK, almost everyone I spoke to about this sense of call considered that it was to the priesthood that I should go. I was never 100% sure – but then, who in their right mind would be? So I made enquiries and discovered that I should speak to someone with the odd sounding title of Diocesan Director of Ordinands (DDO). I spent a year or so chatting to this lovely man, all the while feeling neither of us quite understood what the other was going on about. I found a job as a pastoral assistant (a sort of ecclesiastical go-fer), and spent a year seeing if the vicar thing might fit. I enjoyed my year, but the DDO and I mutually concluded that neither the church nor I were ready for each other.

So I entered a period of youth work, initially for a national organisation (but half time working for an Anglican church), and then for an Anglican church, and then an Anglican deanery (group of churches). Every time I moved jobs, I explored options outside of the CofE, but each time the only door that seemed to be open was within its gates, and so I remained a coincidental, if conscientious, Anglican.

While working for the deanery, I again felt a significant tug towards ordained ministry. The Church of England had produced a pretty radical and exciting document called Mission-shaped Church that argued for an acceptance and resourcing of broader models of church community and mission. Some of the things they said resonated with areas of mission and community life that I had felt instinctively drawn towards for some time.

I have made the decision to not get ordained – for now it feels like the disadvantages outweigh the advantages

Mission-shaped Church spawned a movement of some significance within the CofE, including the creation of Ordained Pioneer Ministers (OPM). That seemed to fit my sense of spiritual identity and calling, so off I popped to see another DDO.

After what seemed like an eternity, including some time of semi-voluntary work as a pioneer type person for a church, the DDO agreed that I should go forward to the next stage in the discernment process – the Bishops' Advisory Panel (or BAP). This is an intensive weekend, where your every movement is monitored by a sinister team of people. That description may not be entirely accurate. Anyway, against advice I made it clear that any calling I felt was to be an OPM, not a more traditional priest. To my significant surprise, they recommended me for training. They actually seemed quite fond of me.

So I started at a theological college, and have spent the last three years reading for a degree in Contextual Theology. During this time I have also been working as a pioneer type for the same church in East London.

During this time of study and work, and especially the final year, the wrestling with the call to ordained ministry has, if anything, intensified. For mostly utterly forgivable reasons, the institutional structures of the church have struggled to keep up with the theory of the new forms of church. Old habits die hard. Actually, many of those old habits don't need to die – they are still appropriate for a good number of people. Old habits have a tendency to not give new habits all the room they need to flourish.

And so, as my peers were finding curacies and getting ready to start the next stage of their ministry, I wasn't.

There were not many pioneer curacies around, and those that did exist had an awful lot of other stuff to do as well, stuff that I just don't feel called to do, that others can do with significantly more sincerity, authenticity and passion. The sense was that the pioneering element was usually an add-on to the 'actual' job.

I have really tried hard to play the game with integrity. Some have seen my increasing sense of the kind of ministry I feel called to as a stubborn refusal to do 'what everyone else had to do'. But the thought of spending 3-4 years doing a job that brought me little life began to suffocate me. There is a degree of salesmanship in any church ministry, and I just don't believe in the product enough to sell it convincingly.

I know the product works for some; I have seen this evidence with my own eyes. I even have friends for whom it is the only product that helps them. I want them to thrive, and so I want them to have ready access to that product. I'm just not the man to maintain it for them. I have another, similar yet different, model to sell. I believe in it, it works for me, and I have seen it work for others. The problem is that the church is just not ready to have the range of products necessary for my sales technique to work.

And so I have made the decision to not get ordained. For now. Most people I have told are supportive of my decision, some have expressed concern or doubt. I'm trusting God will lead me here. Ordained ministry is still a possibility, but for now it feels like the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. We shall see.

Being a community for the community (Mark Berry)

Mark BerryMark Berry discusses being a community for the community.

Building relationships with different organisations, associated groups and denominational structures can be a challenge at the best of times – whether you are working within a traditional or fresh expression of church.

At safespace, general relationships with our own diocese have been difficult though, thankfully, we have good relations with the bishop, the rural dean and some of the newer staff. We also constantly seek dialogue in order to develop communication, but it isn't easy. We are currently talking with the diocese about mission as community/cultural transformation – not just increasing the size of congregations – and helping shape a conversation about rhythm and rule, connecting spirituality and mission.

One of our main challenges has been centred on finding a workable common language and evaluation criteria. With CMS, these things come more naturally because of the shape and values of the organisation itself. CMS has been a big part of the foundation story of safespace and of the ongoing exploration. It has acted as a sounding board, a critical friend and a resource for mission thinking for us. I suppose the best tool we have for building relationships is generosity; supporting projects and initiatives with which we do not always feel totally comfortable or connected. There also has to be a willingness on our part to try to put aside our own 'baggage' to listen to what is happening elsewhere.

A new development for us is to welcome Abbot Stuart Burns as our monastic visitor. We have begun to explore the possibility of an urban 'Abbey' as a community house, a hub for mission, a studio for creative spirituality and ongoing prayer, a home of radical hospitality and as a resource for mission in Telford and the Lichfield Diocese. As we move forward, exploring new-monasticism and particularly looking at an 'Abbey', we felt we needed to:

  • Hear and learn from the wisdom of the traditional monastic communities and heritage;

  • Get beyond the romanticism and simple practises to deeper understand the values and rhythms of community life and spirituality;

  • Engage with as much connectivity and wisdom as possible if we are not going to either just be 'the latest gimmick' or be constantly reinventing the wheel.

Evaluation cannot be quantitative so it must be qualitative and, most importantly, narrative – telling and sharing stories rather than ticking boxes or filling in numbers

Stuart is also a man of great love and we all need to be surrounded by love and parenting as we make mistakes and do stupid things! We also recognise a language in the values of the monastic communities which feels more apposite and natural to us and is beginning to be helpful in developing wider relationships.

Some people have referred to safespace as a glorified house group. I have no real problem with that as it stands, but the question is, what is the 'glorified' bit? For us we would say it is a deeper reality of communion and mission. We are not simply a Bible study, prayer or small group which is intended to support the existence of a larger group, nor a subdivision of a church; we are a vocational and intentional community of mission.

Our whole focus is on deepening our relationship with each other, with God and with Telford (warts and all). Yes, we do a lot more than your average home group, but it's not all about 'doing' – we are a community which exists for the community.

Interestingly, Willow Creek discussed some of these themes in their 'reveal' report and in some of their resultant re-strategising and developing Table Communities which were:

…designed to be the catalyst for all that God is seeking to do in neighbourhoods and beyond. The Table became the vehicle for doing church in the community rather than bringing the community into a church building … it was a radical concept because in our society sharing a meal has become a lost art … part of the table experience is about intentionally creating an environment – a sacred space.

They identify seven shifts in small group ministry, from:

  1. A program to an environment

  2. Having meetings to building community

  3. Small groups as a church system that delivers church programs to groups practising a lifestyle

  4. Content to process

  5. An optional ministry to an essential practise of the church

  6. Training leaders to training groups

  7. An institutional approach to an incarnational approach

Walter Brueggemann writes that:

Ministry cannot be about maintenance, but it is about gathering, about embrace, about welcoming home all sorts of and conditions of people; home is a place for mother tongue, of basic soul food, of old stories told and treasured, of being at ease, known by name, belonging without qualifying for membership.

So when we do gather we seek to have a very real sense of intimacy, a radical hospitality and a deepening and broadening spirituality – all of which helps to re-focus away from simply gathering to us, to serving and transforming the place in which God has put us.

Our thinking on leadership and evaluation in, and for, mission has shifted as we have journeyed together. Leadership becomes a community activity, where all are involved and everyone's gifts are vital, and evaluation cannot be quantitative so it must be qualitative and, most importantly, narrative – telling and sharing stories rather than ticking boxes or filling in numbers.

Get away to the country? (Sally Gaze)

Sally GazeSally Gaze is getting away to the country.

Lots of people have a very set idea as to what life, or ministry, in the countryside is like – usually people who have never lived or ministered here! Sometimes their image owes more to The Archers than reality, but the fact is that rural contexts are very diverse and the countryside is changing very quickly indeed.

A conference I'm involved in at the beginning of May will explore discipleship in these contexts. Those booking for making and growing disciples in the countryside were asked to let us know a little more about their own settings and the variety is amazing. One minister's parish covers 350 miles and includes ten distinct communities: four islands, five villages accessible by road and one by sea on the mainland. In a classic understatement he says, 'The traditional parish model cannot provide a model of ministry that enables mission and innovation to be developed.'

It's also interesting that there are recognisable differences in what people think of as a rural setting. A lot of places that describe themselves as rural would not be seen as such by others in more remote areas; there are real regional differences being played out against the same backdrop. Many of the 'rural' areas surrounding the London belt for instance would not be seen as such by many working in far flung areas of England, Scotland or Wales. That's fine; we wouldn't say one 'urban' context is exactly the same as another simply because it's urban. The same is true of the countryside.

Rural contexts are very diverse and the countryside is changing very quickly indeed

In a major cultural shift in recent years, many people – whose families have lived and worked in the same rural area for generations – can no longer afford to live there. Instead others move in from the towns; some settle well, but others have a very different approach to life and the area they inhabit. This means there can be several 'villages' within a village as the very different communities live side by side but appear to have very little else in common. The challenge as we minister in these situations is to share the good news of God's love with all of the people in the area, whether they are long-time residents or newcomers.

Some ministers, seeing the unity of the church as being vital to mission, are concerned that the development of fresh expressions of church is something that will lead to further segregation, but I believe diversity is good for unity. It is as we listen to people – and honour their different needs and preferences – that we communicate the love of God.

Rejoicing in the changing landscape (Eunice Attwood)

Eunice AttwoodEunice Attwood rejoices in the changing landscape.

Travelling around the British Methodist Connexion as Vice-President this year has been an absolute privilege and I am deeply heartened by what I have seen. I sense a new openness to the Spirit of God emerging and have witnessed several teams of lay and ordained people who are passionate about sharing the story of God, engaging their faith in new and exciting ways.

In every District I have met people who are putting their faith into action, being salt and light in their communities. I love the Message translation of Matthew 5.13-16: 'Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.'

For me, the 'God-flavours' and 'God-colours in the world' are the signs of God's kingdom and rule, justice, peace, truth, love, mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation, grace and compassion. Many fresh expressions embody these characteristics – creating an environment where people are accepted, where the truth of someone's life can be shared and held. This is both life-giving and life-affirming.

We all know it is possible to have great ideas and good projects, but the essential ingredient is for God's people to be transformed and renewed by the Spirit of God.

I thank God for all those who are committed to engaging in new ways with people for whom traditional church is something they simply cannot connect with.

I have heard on numerous occasions that Connexion, Districts and Circuits are only willing to resource churches and projects where vision and mission are at the centre

I also rejoice in the changing landscape of our church where we are truly celebrating fresh expressions alongside traditional expressions of church. My prayer is that we continue to be open to God, enabling the Methodist church as a whole to be an instrument of God's kingdom here on earth.

Many of our structures have changed and are seeking to be changed to enable a more flexible, responsive, environment. We are blessed with leaders at all levels of church life who are deeply committed to new ways of working that enable the story of God to flourish amongst us and I have heard on numerous occasions that Connexion, Districts and Circuits are only willing to resource churches and projects where vision and mission are at the centre. As people of God, we need to continue that commitment to discerning ways of opening the doors and windows of some of our churches that the wind of the Spirit may blow in.