The Vicar's Annual Report to the Parish

Searching for a resurrection I have never thought it particularly helpful to use a Vicar’s Report as a post-mortem on the previous year’s performance. Some of that analysis has already been made in the Annual PCC Report and the Financial Statements. However, it is important to acknowledge that we have been going through a period of change and transition in which we have looked both at the past and towards the future. It is in this context, that our Vision Statement has been launched. Obviously we are still going through the process of consultation, but hopefully in the next few months, we will have something more concrete and tangible to show as a result of your input. The bad news is constant change is here to stay! I have been much exercised by a challenging statement in a book I am reading which bluntly says “Church has always been potentially just one generation away from extinction”. Whilst that has always been true, it comes with renewed force in the 21st century with the massive turning away by the younger generation from institutional religion. The statistics make depressing reading with a 23% drop in the Church of England attendance figures in the last two decades of the twentieth century. If the church is to survive and thrive, it must adapt to meet and confront the challenge of an alien culture. First of all, we need to demonstrate that Christianity is not simply a competing brand on the supermarket shelf of faith, but offers a world picture that is both truthful and relevant. As has often been remarked we now live in a society that appears to have abandoned any notion that there is one over-arching truth. So often people will say, “you have your belief and I have mine, and as long as you are sincere and don’t frighten the animals that’s ok”. The consequence of this, of course, is that religion becomes part of a private individualistic thought world that has little to do with the global issues of poverty, war, injustice, power, the ecology and climate change. To use a phrase of the late Bishop Leslie Newbiggin Christians need to re-establish “the Gospel as public truth” instead of cuddling it as a private hot water bottle. Of course, the task of recovering this ground is far beyond the ability of one local church, but we can make a beginning by not selling out to politically correct relativism. In other words, we should not lose confidence in the power and grace of the Gospel to transform lives and situations. We are called to offer Christ as our hope to the St Nicholas, Great Ashby and the Old Town areas of Stevenage every bit as much as supporting missionary work in Uganda or the Philippines. If we fail to be a missionary church, then we are doomed to die. We cannot rely as previous generations did on the Christian capital of the past to draw people to faith. That capital is nearly exhausted. So our structures as well as our worship and teaching need to be gospel-shaped. Secondly, we face the challenge of creating a community in a society that is increasingly fragmented and broken. Recently, I visited a colleague who lives in a gated estate in one of the more favoured parts of Hertfordshire. Despite the security measures, the burglar alarms, the recording of car number plates, the ubiquitous cameras, that community has this year suffered four break-ins and a murder. We cannot protect ourselves with our wealth. For wealth almost inevitably creates divisions and jealousies that are corrosive of relationships – you only have to watch the Forsyte Saga to realise this. As a church, we need to develop a community of care and love which values the weak and the vulnerable. To do this demands time, effort and sacrifice. We need to get to know one another better, to learn to pray together, share with each other, but in such a way that does not exclude newcomers or shut out those who have different educational or cultural backgrounds. This can be achieved in a variety of ways: by working together for common tasks as we did in the very successful Christmas Bazaar, forming house groups, prayer breakfasts and fellowship meals, visiting the housebound and elderly, providing facilities for children, mothers and families and those who live alone. Thirdly, despite, or perhaps because of, the consumerism of our society, there is a hunger for spiritual authenticity. Many people are looking for depth in their lives; they want something to give then meaning, direction and help when things go wrong. Sadly, many have turned away from the traditional sources of spiritual nurture provided by the church because it does not resonate with their needs; hence, the attraction of Eastern religions and New- age cults. We need to be able to persuade seekers that there is a vast wealth of spiritual resources to be found in the Christian faith. What is more we need to recover for ourselves a sense of reverence, awe and mystery in our worship and our prayer, without losing the joy and spontaneity that we have recently rediscovered. Quiet days, meditative prayer, the recovery of personal spiritual discipline are some of the means by which this can be accomplished. Finally, there is the challenge of resourcing our vision. Whilst a hundred years ago, it was perfectly acceptable for people to enter a relatively cold and stark church building, to encounter an unchanging formal liturgy and hymnal, that cuts very little ice with most of our present generation. Of course, there will be always be those whose preference is for those forms of worship that speak to them of long established securities. Such services can be a great comfort and help on occasion and I don’t dismiss them. However, I do not believe that is the way forward for the church as a whole in a missionary context. Our call is to reach out to those who at present are outside it. We need to engage with our society without losing our soul. So churches need to be places where people not only discover the tradition of faith, but also see it expressed in terms that are contemporary and relevant. Doing this requires resources of imagination, creativity and money. Our buildings, worship and teaching need to speak not only of the eternal God but also of a living Christ who is our contemporary. An urgent task for us is to adapt creatively, yet sensitively our buildings to enhance and enable our mission. We need additional meeting space, a disabled toilet and office accommodation as well as a raft of repairs and refurbishment to our fine medieval church. Such things never come cheap and I am acutely aware of our present financial plight. However if we wait for a more favourable financial climate our buildings and morale will eventually crumble about us. We must start acting soon. (Latest accounts on page 5). A vision needs commitment and sacrifice, not others’ but ours. I still believe in the church despite its flaws and failings. I still believe in the power of the gospel to transform lives despite the increasingly hostile environment in which it has to be communicated. I believe my calling is to assist in new birth and not to preside decently over our funeral rites. Are you willing to walk the path with me? Don Dowling, April 2002

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