The Guide contains how-to-do-it advice on starting, developing and sustaining fresh expressions of church based on shared experiences.
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Most cannot read. Many cannot sing. Some cannot move. Some cannot speak. Some cannot see.
All have fun, are involved and respond. All worship. All watch. Some wave flags. Some wander around.
Some try to sing. Some make strange noises. Some are silent, apparently passive. Some behaviour and contributions are "inappropriate" as labels go. Our expectancy is high; our expectations low.
We run a church that predominantly focuses on the needs of people with a learning disability, their carers and friends.
I wonder what the 'normal' church could learn from our community. If a mumbled, disjointed, semi-incoherent prayer is deemed to be acceptable for our folk, why can it not be acceptable in other churches? Why do we place expectations on mainstream church attendees to conform to a set of unwritten and sometimes unattainable behavioural guidelines?
If the use of straightforward language is acceptable in our setting, why do we often move to the opposite extreme in other settings? If it is acceptable to have low expectations but high expectancy with our folk, is it not acceptable for mainstream churches? If it is acceptable to have the very low level of pressure with our folk, is it not acceptable for others? If our worship, which seems so chaotic, is acceptable, why is worship sometimes so formal and non-involved?
It is too easy to say that it is acceptable for our folk, as they are, well – you know – because they're not the same as us. But if our approach is acceptable to God, then it has to be acceptable to God for everyone. I am not advocating a "dumbing down", but a widening of the options.
We have little expectation of the "right" way to worship, to pray, or to behave. There is little self-consciousness; apparently little competition. Each person is able to participate at their level without fear of censure. We believe that this could be a pattern for church life, rather than an oddity.
Edward and Marilyn Kerr are involved in Fenland Community Church. You can read about Fenland Community Church on this Share page. If you are interested in what they do, or feel you can contribute in some way, they would love to hear from you: info@fcc.uk.net.
I've been noticing the way language and attitudes have been changing over the last few years with regards to mission. A good deal of it seems positive, with the movement away from bullet point evangelism tactics towards journeying with people. The distinction between de-churched and non-churched backgrounds has been helpful, but I wonder whether the next step is to move past de-churched and non-churched language and begin thinking of people, simply, as human.
Your exposure to 'church' doesn't necessarily have much bearing on your openness to God, or even your ability to live out Christian/spiritual concepts. Even if it does, discipleship for each person will be different and any real engagement with an individual will require a friendship to be formed, not a shove along the Engel Scale (which, of course, is hopelessly out of date). Any one of us is able to commune meaningfully with the living and eternal Creator, from the shallowest atheist to the deepest, most profound thinking holy man. Any of us can have a life changing, long term impact on another, if only we give them the time, energy, love and respect they deserve.
This may seem a naïve concept, but I truly believe in it. And I believe that there is strong resistance against it. Treating people with the respect and attention they deserve takes time, mutual sharing and energy. But we like our networks, our conferences, our ideas. And sometimes we like our private/work life divide, and the silence of our own homes.
So who is wise? So who is your example?
Loving people is often called for, but to do it requires us all to have fewer, more meaningful relationships. Attend fewer conferences and more local barbecues; have less acquaintances and more authentic friends. Allow ourselves to be changed by those we're supposed to be discipling.
Laurence Keith is the team co-ordinator for Church Army's research unit, The Sheffield Centre. He twits here for the team.
When our grown up sons come home, we always have a takeaway. It's shorthand for a lot of things – this is still your home, you're special, I am still part of this family, being together is worth celebrating.
Jesus told Peter to 'feed my sheep'. He fed the multitudes; he was known to the disciples he met on the road to Emmaus in the breaking of the bread. On the night before he died, he had supper with his friends and said 'do this, in remembrance of me'. And when he met with his friends on the beach after his resurrection, he fed them.
When I became a Christian, I didn't take communion because I wasn't confirmed. Week after week, I longed to receive but had to hold back.
During a very rare communion service in a young offenders institution, one of the 'lads' asked what was happening. Then he jumped up, muttered 'I want some of that!' and joined the queue. The next week he asked to be baptised.
I asked a group of three boys under the age of seven why they wanted to take communion. They heard the priest say, week in week out, 'Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread' – and then weren't given any bread. They deeply desired to be part of the body.
At the recent pioneer minister conference at Ridley Hall, it was stated that a fresh expression should be working towards regular communion services because this was a mark of 'being church'.
Many of us were left with questions.
Should the Eucharist be seen as a target? Where does lay leadership fit in? Does the Eucharist create a Christ-centred community? Or is a Christ-centred community, by definition, Eucharistic? What does a fresh expression of the Eucharist look like? And if we're not church – what are we?
Pam Smith is currently priest in charge of i-church, an online community founded by the Diocese of Oxford. Previously she was a Reader (Licensed Lay Minister) in the Coventry Diocese and worked as a lay prison chaplain. Pam has just completed the one year Mission Shaped Ministry course.
Last week, 70 practitioners involved in ministries to spiritual seekers and the New Spiritualities gathered from different streams – Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, alternative worship and charismatic – some say it was the largest gathering in the world for this type of ministry, let alone the UK. The ancient Biblical texts tell us that when God's people are unified there shall be a blessing given; here at this conference there was a unity of heart, mind and spirit and the blessing of God was tangible for all present.
Hosted by Church Army and Journey into Wholeness, delegates gathered in Sheffield to hear insights from professor John Drane, Olive Drane and Ole Skjerbaek Madsen from Denmark who are key players in supporting and equipping new forms of ministry and mission to spiritual seekers.
Various workshops were run over Saturday to support, encourage and develop delegates working in this arena. These included: use of Tarot cards / the Jesus Deck / Wicca / how as Christians we can understand things like aura reading, chakras, Reiki, etc / use of Christian meditation with spiritual seekers / angels / use of prayer for healing / personal faith sharing and communication with people in the New Spiritualities / the spirituality of Glastonbury (the place more than the festival) and how we can engage with that, and dream interpretation.
Some conclusions from this conference include:
Importance of networking together, to encourage and inspire each other and work as 'one' for New Spiritualities and its people.Colin Brice is the founder of Eden People, Guildford, which offers training and outworking of creative mission in various contexts, from music festivals to psychic fairs. To find out more, visit www.matrixtrust.com/edenpeople or email edenpeople@matrixtrust.com.
