I have recently obtained two (very Anglican) books, both of which I commend to you all. Both books are supplied with a study framework, and both could serve as a basis for study and action in our church. They cover different ground, but both are clear about the need for each local church to actively discuss the new shape it must have if it is to be 'church' at all.
The first book, which got a mention in the May magazine, is the General Synod report: Mission-Shaped Church. In the introduction, Archbishop Rowan Williams says: "There are many ways in which the reality of 'church' can exist... The challenge is not to force everything into the familiar mould: but neither is it to tear up the rule book and start from scratch. We are going to have to live with variety; the challenge is how to work with that variety so that everyone grows together in faith and in eagerness to learn about and spread the Good News." The chairman of the working group (a bishop) says: "the existing parochial system alone is no longer able fully to deliver its underlying missionary purpose.... our diverse consumer culture will never be reached by one standard form of church.... The changing nature of our missionary context requires a new inculturation of the gospel within our society... Inculturation is central ... because it provides a principled basis for the costly crossing of cultural barriers and the planting of the church in a changed social context. Church has to be planted, not cloned. At the same time, any principle based on Christ's incarnation is inherently counter-cultural, in that it aims at faithful Christian discipleship within the new context, rather than cultural conformity."
The second, Shapes of the Church to come, is by the Bishop of Rochester, who says: "This book is about what the church is to be and the jobs it has to do in a quickly changing world and in cultures that delight in being 'postmodern' and 'post-Christian'." In the introduction, the Archbishop of York says: "the church's future can only lie in a courageous openness: in encounter... In his consideration of the shapes of tomorrow's church (note, not the shape), he recognises the inevitability and the propriety of a degree of diversity and plurality in the global ecclesiastical market place... It is the whole church, at every level, that - under God - must share in shaping its future... The aim is always to build up the unity in truth of all Christians, regardless of their denominational allegiance."
So, on the authority of our two Archbishops, two bishops, and a General Synod Report (you see what I mean about this being very Anglican), we are called to reflect on being the church. Not on being the Church of England, or indeed of being, or copying, any other church, but on being 'the church' for the place where we are. In our case 'the place where we are' is, geographically, the mid-Western part of Switzerland (especially, but not only, Bern, Neuchâtel and Thun); and, specifically, for those who need the Good News in English, and for their families who may need us to use French, German, and Swiss German as well. We are here as Anglicans (whatever our own background may be), because historically that is how God has chosen to bring his Good News to English speakers in this area, but we are not here to be Anglicans, but "to build up the unity in truth of all Christians, regardless of their denominational allegiance."
This summer, while you are relaxing (and I hope we can all make some relaxation a priority so that we can be restored for God's service), please use some of the time to let your mind wander creatively. What should St Ursula's look like if it is to be a fit vehicle to bring God's Good News to our 'neighbours'? How should we use our building? What kinds of worship should we be offering? What sort of services should we provide for our community? What people do we need, and what training do they need, to lead the worship and to fulfil the ministry to which God is calling us? What part is God calling you to play in this?
To keep you up to date: by the time you read this, the financial crisis, that occupied so much of our attention a month ago, will almost certainly be all but over. Let us thank God: for those of you who have responded already; for those who will still respond; and for the likelihood of a grant towards Sam's ministry here. This means that we can continue with some of the things we have budgeted for, like replacing the Songs and Hymns of Fellowship hymnbooks. However, it does not mean we are going to stop the programme we initiated to meet the financial crisis. The Church Council has decided unanimously that the crisis was a God-given prompt to get our finances on a sounder footing, allowing us to restart the 'New Beginnings' programme to equip our buildings for God's work in this century. I hope you can see how that ties in with the stimulus to our thinking coming from the archbishops and bishops in England. Please pray that we will receive the money we need to be effective in our ministry, and that we will use it as God directs us.
Yours in Christ,
Richard Pamplin