The Church is for Everyone

Editorial for Magazine

Once again, many thanks to everyone for the warm welcome in these early weeks of settling into the Benefice. Frances and I are delighted to be here and have already made many friends. I would like to dedicate my first editorial of the magazine to teasing out the question of young people in the life of the Church.

In ten years of ministry I have often heard congregational members speak of young people as the 'Church of tomorrow'. Some of this is borne from a justified anxiety about the top heavy age profile of those sitting in the pews. In other instances I have of caught clergy speaking of 'the youth' as if they were a mathematical problem to be solved, “If only we could get more 'youth' in!” These kinds of sentiments are based on a genuine concern but they betray a flaw in thinking. 'The youth' or 'young people' are not just to be invited to be the Church of tomorrow but should seen as part of the Church of today. This subtle difference in philosophy is the only way in involving young people in the congregational life and deepening their faith.

Jesus said that there was a cost involved in discipleship. (Matthew 16.24) And for many Christians in Britain the cost may be that the need to adapt and to change. I do not underestimate that for some people change is painful and uncomfortable. This is not about a wholesale jettisoning of the Gospel or changing things beyond recognition. Most of the time it is about making common sense changes so that Christian worship is accessible to everyone. In this way we are like the good scribe who brings out of storeroom things old and things new. (Matthew 13.52)

In someways the Jewish tradition does this better than us because when Moses wrote down the service for Passover Meal he made sure that integral to the script was a child asking “What does this ritual mean?” (Exodus 12.26) Many of us involved in the life of a congregation might like to ask ourselves how we would answer that question.

Finally, I believe that in the 21st Century a church that grows is one which is relational. We so easily forget that 'communion' means friendship. I even think that the word 'church' like the word 'God' can be off-putting and conjure up all sorts of unhelpful images. I try and speak more of the church as the 'faith family', 'worshipping community' or 'the Body'. Likewise you will find me speaking more of 'Father' or 'Abba' because this is what Jesus did. I really hope that whatever stage you are on your faith journey you can feel a sense of belonging with the faith families that make up our seaside benefice.
With every good wish
Daniel French
vicar