Session 3 was a choice of workshops exploring fresh expressions in and around the Wigan area. There was a choice of prayer cells, messy church and transforming Wigan. I already have some knowledge of messy church and cells so I chose transforming Wigan.
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| Behold my rubbish Photoshop skills! |
The initiative has been set up by the CofE as Wigan lies in the centre of the country and at the point where Manchester, Blackburn and Liverpool dioceses all come together. It is a scheme supported ecumenically in the area, especially by the Methodist circuit.
The vision of Rev. Tim is that within 7 years 10% of people living in Wigan will identify as practising Christians. It is a lofty goal but one that after hearing his plan could work. The first and most important point he made was that it won't work if we focus solely on churches. We need to get out into the wider world if we want to have an impact. Such is his belief in this that the HQ of the initiative is in the local investment centre rather than a church in order to show the difference clearly.
A qoute during the presentation which struck me was:
Its not just moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an additional pause and reset,or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities. - Kristin Armstrong.
Its not about making large sweeping changes, just shifting our field of vision to see how we can attract people to Christ. When you do that the first thing you realise is Church as we know it isn't working. Some churches are experiencing growth through experimentation with services but the vast majority are struggling as they keep on the same, comfortable worn path as they always have. Their congregation growing older and the focus firmly set on maintaining the status quo. Church as a whole needs new blood and new ideas if it is to survive. We need to take the faith and love of God our congregations have and turn it into something new and exciting!
Two apt things to demonstrate this were used by Rev. Tim. The first is this saying:
Old men will dream dreams, young men will have visions.
We should listen to the younger members of a congregation and not dismiss their ideas offhand. Very meaningful to myself as I am one of those young people! He also showed this image:
In it you can see either an old lady looking grumpy or beautiful young woman looking off into the distance. We need to change the Church so it is no longer looking back with regret but is instead looking forward with renewed vigour!
We are currently in the Kuhn's cycle at step 5 - the paradigm shift. The model has proven flawed and its time to change it.
So how to go about this change? In Wigan the 5 shifts they are looking to achieve are:
1.
Deeper discipleship - help people find out about Jesus and what being a Christian is all about.
2.
Creating 1 church in Wigan. Its Christian not Anglican, Methodist, Catholic etc. Not dissolving those preexisting styles but working together in any new expressions that are developed.
3.
Working in unity not uniformity, not all trying to do the same thing separately
4.
Taking Christianity back to its roots as a movement. In Mark's gospel one of the favoured words is immediately. Do things now don't waste time sitting and contemplating forever!
5.
Creating Team Wigan. All the different denominations and churches sharing ideas and strategies for improvement
6.
Ultimately the aim is to create a bigger church which will make a bigger difference in the area, rather than having isolated pockets of church.
I think these are well thought out, obtainable changes. They allow the old to continue whilst allowing the new to flourish. I am not so naïve as to think it will be easy sailing. I can forsee challenges to the ideas amongst congregations. Some churches struggle to agree on things when they are part of the same benefice of 2, and that's within the same denomination! There may also be old feuds between places that can be hard to shift. Also Churches may see the 1 church idea as threatening rather than enlightening. It will take a lot of experimentation and explanation to get the ideas across. Potentially talking one on one with each PCC to show they're not under attack.
So that is their vision laid out, in my next post I'll talk about how they are achieving and planning on acheiving it.
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