Easter Pastoral Letter
A very happy
Easter to you all as we celebrate once again God’s raising Jesus from death and
His gift of new life for all through and in His Son Jesus Christ! I
hope this great fact of history and His risen presence today will continue to
inspire you as joyfully you take up your cross to follow Him wherever He calls.
I trust that
you have signed up – as the weekly Notice Sheet invites you! – to receive All
Saints’ emails, so you can receive a copy of the Annual Report. There will be
paper copies in the church in time for the AGM after the 10am service on 26th
April. That report is a formal document which this letter complements: please read
both - especially if you can’t make the AGM!
I would
like, first, to thank all of you who contribute to the life of the church with
your time, talent and your money: we can only survive – sadly not the case in
many rural areas - if our members commit to both responsibly and sacrificially
from their personal wealth since we receive no external funding. Whether or not
we shall be able to continue as an active Anglican church in Brenchley will
depend very largely on the same kind of commitment from new members. I was
asked by someone ‘if it was worth renewing the heating in the church as so few
people go?’ My reply was that over 100 adults attend on average each week but
that that figure increases to 150 for an average month. So I think that we are
still very much ‘in business’; long may it continue!
I would like to thank too all who have pledged
towards that new much needed heating system. Under the leadership of Mike
Carson and Andrew Capel we have found a very effective solution that is
currently being considered by the diocese. We still need some £20,000 for the
project; but if this can be raised it would make the church building a warmer
and more welcoming one. Yet some still question the need for this. Well, one
simple answer is that the great majority of people under the age of 40 have
little or no knowledge of Christianity and would never go near a church – ‘too
old, cold, and out-of-touch’! (In New Testament times, and for a long time
after, church members did not have such buildings but instead met to worship
and to encourage one another in each others’ houses, the richer ones with
bigger houses taking the lead. These days our Home Study Groups continue this
excellent, encouraging practice so vital to the local church’s life and
wellbeing. And they are fun!)
Making the
church a warmer and more welcoming place is of course an important part of
making entry and participation by non-members an easier thing. We always need
to be asking ourselves how we can do so in order to fulfil our joint
responsibility to introduce our ‘neighbour’ to Jesus and to the building where
His people meet to encourage one another in their faith. While Home Groups are a great source of
learning and encouragement for church members, we do need to think about the
diet of services we offer and the ‘packaging’ of the Gospel: it is a precious
possession but one to be shared.
One of the
findings from the Questionnaire we produced was a healthy desire both to have
more ‘up front’ participation in our services and to do so in ways that might
more readily engage those with no church background. I think it is right to
maintain our Book of Common Prayer services and their times but the PCC and I
have agreed to trial a new 10a.m. non-communion service on the third Sunday of
the month from this coming June for a period of six months.
I hope that
members of the congregation will seek me out to offer themselves and their
gifts for this experiment. Those who enjoy drama, play musical instruments, or who
are happy to be interviewed about their life and faith will be a great
encouragement to us all. This is not to be another Cafe Church style service
but is one to encourage participation and engagement in new ways. All traditions and styles - no matter how
old, how new, or how personally comforting – can all too easily become ends in
themselves and therefore obstacles to sharing the Gospel rather than vehicles
for it. I do ask that you would all give this your prayers and support as we
seek to grow here.
As another part of our outreach to
non-Christians I shall be running ‘Agnostics Anonymous’ evenings - hopefully in
The Bull’s conservatory - in the autumn. These evenings are intended as
discussions for those interested in discovering more about the Christian answer
to some of life’s most profound and pressing questions. More about these evenings
in a few months time. Finally, may I encourage you all to make use of the weekly Bible Study Notes accompanying the sermons and, if you possibly can, to join a Home Group or the Pilgrim Course. Also, the first Monday of the month Prayer Meeting at 8.30pm in the New Room welcomes all who can spare 45 minutes to pray together for the various needs of our church, village, and beyond. Thank you for all your support and prayers for our ministry together here
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