What will the ‘new normal’ look like for the Church? ...
Dear Friends,
This is a question being asked, as we look to the future in a world that has been dominated by Covid-19 for more than a year. Some people want church life to ‘get back to normal’ as fast as possible - whether that’s services in the buildings, or social events up-close-and-personal. Other people have found they rather like Sundays without services in draughty places, and they prefer to worship online. While the Government has produced a ‘roadmap for recovery’ from the pandemic, and the Church of England nationally regularly adapts the updates given to Ministers, Wardens and others who’re responsible for Risk Assessments, how do we work out what we want our church to be like in the coming months and years? And, even more importantly, how do we work out what sort of church God wants us to be now?
It is the desire to find answers to both these questions that lies behind Leicester Diocese’s Shaped by God Together process. In a recent letter to Clergy, Lay Ministers, Deanery Synod Reps and PCC members Bishop Martyn writes: “During recent months over 200 lay people and clergy from across the diocese have joined in initial Conversations to explore a wide range of possibilities for how we shape our future ministry, diocesan finances and care of church buildings. … The work on exploring possibilities for our future ministry has enabled us to develop three possible options, or ministry models. There is much work still to be done on these models, and no decisions have yet been made. I am very keen that everyone in the diocese has an opportunity for their voice and perspective to inform the decision that we will make later in the process.” On May 4th there will be a Shaped by God Together Evening for the Framland Deanery, and in the light of what is presented we are being asked to consider the possibilities - and to provide feedback - before the end of June.
While many things about the future shape of the church remain uncertain, what has become clear is that we cannot go back to exactly how things were pre-pandemic. Covid-19 has changed our world and society, and none of us is the same now as we were a year ago. In all that lies ahead, we need to co-operate with God’s Holy Spirit in what is always a continuous process of reshaping the Church, so that we are fit for God’s purposes in today’s changing world. Whenever you and I say in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come”, may we be open to what the Lord of the Church wants His Church to be and do, in living and working for the coming of His Kingdom.
Wishing you every blessing in Jesus Christ, the Crucified, Risen and Ascended Lord,
John Barr, Rector
Dear Friends,
This is a question being asked, as we look to the future in a world that has been dominated by Covid-19 for more than a year. Some people want church life to ‘get back to normal’ as fast as possible - whether that’s services in the buildings, or social events up-close-and-personal. Other people have found they rather like Sundays without services in draughty places, and they prefer to worship online. While the Government has produced a ‘roadmap for recovery’ from the pandemic, and the Church of England nationally regularly adapts the updates given to Ministers, Wardens and others who’re responsible for Risk Assessments, how do we work out what we want our church to be like in the coming months and years? And, even more importantly, how do we work out what sort of church God wants us to be now?
It is the desire to find answers to both these questions that lies behind Leicester Diocese’s Shaped by God Together process. In a recent letter to Clergy, Lay Ministers, Deanery Synod Reps and PCC members Bishop Martyn writes: “During recent months over 200 lay people and clergy from across the diocese have joined in initial Conversations to explore a wide range of possibilities for how we shape our future ministry, diocesan finances and care of church buildings. … The work on exploring possibilities for our future ministry has enabled us to develop three possible options, or ministry models. There is much work still to be done on these models, and no decisions have yet been made. I am very keen that everyone in the diocese has an opportunity for their voice and perspective to inform the decision that we will make later in the process.” On May 4th there will be a Shaped by God Together Evening for the Framland Deanery, and in the light of what is presented we are being asked to consider the possibilities - and to provide feedback - before the end of June.
While many things about the future shape of the church remain uncertain, what has become clear is that we cannot go back to exactly how things were pre-pandemic. Covid-19 has changed our world and society, and none of us is the same now as we were a year ago. In all that lies ahead, we need to co-operate with God’s Holy Spirit in what is always a continuous process of reshaping the Church, so that we are fit for God’s purposes in today’s changing world. Whenever you and I say in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come”, may we be open to what the Lord of the Church wants His Church to be and do, in living and working for the coming of His Kingdom.
Wishing you every blessing in Jesus Christ, the Crucified, Risen and Ascended Lord,
John Barr, Rector