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

Mum's the Word

A successful Family Eucharist this morning has given us all great optimism for the future of our church. On their first Sunday the new choir of Salcombe CofE Primary school led the music while children led prayers and gave readings. The church was a buzz with babies, wandering toddlers and lots of local folk happy to be with us. The service was geared towards a family friendly version of the Eucharist using Common Worship Order 1. To their credit the church community rallied around the new format and everything ran really smoothly.

The basic premise I used for simplifying the litugy was trim down some of the Anglican verbosity that remains in our liturgy and to stick to have two readings and three hymns. Out went the Collect of Purity, most of the pentintential rite, the Nicene Creed, the prayer of humble access, and Agnus Dei. I love all these bits I extracted and especially love the creed. But our liturgies are often so wordy that it easy for the modern (or post-modern) ear to feel that you are drowning in a sea of words.

Time and time again research in the Emerging Church cultures have found that my generation (Gen X) are much more visual than textual. A picture is a thousand words! This means that the many of our prayers and litanies have to be trimmed down. Long collects are no good and very involved interecessions will not impact. For too long Anglican rites appear like those confusing overly complicated menus which always start an episode of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. Every dish has been thrown in for good measure and the restuarant staff cannot deliver. We dont need to use everything at once. It is overwhelming. What we need is for a noble simplicity where the signs and symbols speak for themselves.

Today, I decided to have a Eucharist as the family service. This could have backfired since the Eucharist is a complicated service on the face of it. But in the end, it remains the central act of Christian worship. It is heavy in signs and symbols coupled with a mysterious tranformation of the bread and wine which further more transforms us. The Eucharist is both mysterious and "touchy feely". In this way, done with a noble simplicity, it can offer all generations something.

However, having said that the next problem is allowing children to receive Holy Communion. I am not sure what the policy is here? In the Diocese of Aberdeen we were allowed to initiate children at primary school age. Later on, in their teenage they would then be confirmed. This struck me as an excellent policy since it included children into the fullness of the liturgy at an age when they are likely to come.

Aberdeen Church Roof Blown Off

This is a bit of old news and I shall try and a get an accompanying picture soon. On Feb 1st the fifty year old copper roof of St Clements Church in Aberdeen was violently ripped off by strong gale. Looking like a piece of crumpled paper it was discarded by the wind onto Mastrick Drive. How in this densly populated housing estate no one was killed is a miracle in itself. This humble congregation has struggled financially for years and have always wondered what the future lay for their building? Now they will get a new roof and much more from their insurance company. One of the senior clergymen viewing the spot is reported to have exlcaimed, "There is a God!"