03.03.2014
Reengagement with Scripture and Prayer Key to Renewal – Bishop of London Tells Dublin and Glendalough Gatherings
“The journey may be difficult but there is great hope,” was the message from the Bishop of London to the clergy and laity of Dublin and Glendalough. The Rt Revd Richard Chartres addressed the clergy of the dioceses in the Church of Ireland College of Education and the laity in St Catherine’s Church, Thomas Street. His inspirational presentation outlined the voyage taken by the Diocese of London from a fractured community in decline to one which is united in pursuit of its goal.
Bishop Chartres highlighted the huge change that had taken place in the Diocese of London over the last 20 years. Parishes there were decimated in the 1960s and 1970s when the Church was deeply divided and confused by the cultural revolution. Many churches in the high street were deserted and sold off and by the 1990s, the Bishop said, “we were an exaggerated example of the decline of the Church of England”. The Diocese of London had a deficit of £1 million every year and each year they had to sell something else to balance the books.
Gradually communities began to grow in the desert. But he said: “There is no renewal with paperwork and planning. Renewal comes through reacquaintance with scripture and prayer”.
MISSION ACTION PLANNING AND STRUCTURAL AND FINANCIAL REFORM
Their efforts began with the suggestion that every single parish should have a mission action plan. “This should involve looking prayerfully at the patch we are trying to serve and looking at our resources and identifying a response – something we could do as a community,” he explained.
A clear direction expressed in simple terms is required. But it is also important to be opportunistic while being informed by the direction of travel. He said there also had to be an emphasis on fun.
While mission action planning began in the parishes a parallel development took place in the diocese. The Bishop pointed out that the Church can absorb lay talent through a multitude of committees. They learnt that people wanted to be equipped as ambassadors of Jesus Christ where they worked and lived. “So alongside mission action planning went a vast bonfire of committees, boards and synods… a whole tier of synodical governance … the Board of Mission, the Board of Ministry, which I chaired so I knew how useless it was. And no one has ever come to me and said ‘if only we had had a Board of Mission, we would have done some mission,” Bishop Chartres stated. The remaining structures were answerable to three tests, he said: speed, simplicity and trust.
Reform of finance was also crucial, he said, pointing out that their old system punished growth by making parishes that increased their membership pay more. It also encouraged parishes to “squirrel away” what they had. They now send everyone a bill stating ‘this is what your ministry costs’ and asking them to try to meet these costs. They are urged to use any extra money in a mission minded way. “The deficit had convinced the lay people that the church was a shambles. Since we started eight years ago, hardly anything has given more confidence. People can feel they are part of a Church which is going somewhere,” he explained.
The foundation of St Mellitus College in 2007 had also contributed to the change in fortunes of the diocese. The Bishop said they had created an institution which teaches theology that springs from prayer and stood for generous orthodoxy. He said the prayerful unity of the college meant that everyone, whatever their churchmanship, was represented and their identity respected. This also contributed to a greater sense of trust and respect for different strands of Anglicanism in the diocese.
BUILDING ON WHAT WE HAVE – TOGETHER
Once mission action planning had begun and structures and finances had been reformed, it was time to face the reality of the situation. The next step the Diocese of London took was to start a collaborative approach. “One of the things that enfeebled us was that we were all living in independent silos. Good work was being done in the silos but there was a lot of duplication, reinventing the wheel. So we tried to give a collaborative approach to build on what we have together,” the Bishop explained.
Their first effort was called London Bridges and it “sank without a trace”. London Challenge came next and was more successful, achieving its goals. It focused on talking each other up and praising each others gifts “encouraging one another and looking over the wall to the next community”. Through this a measure of confidence grew. Electoral roles and revenues increased.
CONFIDENT, COMPASSIONATE, CREATIVE
Then came Capital Vision 2020 and Dubliner, Debbie Clinton, who has facilitated thousands of conversations in the Diocese of London. From these conversations she distilled three words which have become recognised throughout the diocese – Confident, Compassionate and Creative.
Confident – in speaking and living the Gospel. Compassionate – in serving communities with the love of God. Creative – in reaching new people and places with the Good News. The three themes shape Capital Vision 2020.
The Bishop said this is a time of extraordinary change with fast growing Christian communities, particularly in China. But there is renewal throughout the world.
“I think this could be our moment as a Christian community. The political narrative is struggling to find plausible reasons for hope. When I was growing up things were getting better and better and better but it is getting difficult to give this as part of the picture going forward. In these circumstances the hope that is in Jesus Christ is enormous… Christian identity has a deeper now. And without being distracted from the now we can have a deeper now and sense of our own responsibility and we can hold out the hope of a better good life… A better good life consists of a life of rich relationships and the more we go beyond ourselves the more our spiritual beauty is revealed. So I’m full of hope but its been quite a journey,” Bishop Chartres concluded.
Bishop Chartres’ full presentation in St Catherine’s can be listened to online by clicking here.
From Anecdote to Evidence – The Church of England’s Church Growth Research Programme 2011–13 can be viewed by clicking here.
Photo captions:
Top – Andrew McNeile of the Diocesan Growth Forum; the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres; Scott Hayes of Ecclesiastical; and Geoffrey Perrin of the Diocesan Growth Forum are pictured in St Catherine’s Church, Thomas Street, where the Bishop addressed lay members of Dublin and Glendalough on developments in the Diocese of London.
Middle – The Rt Revd Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London (left) addressed the clergy of Dublin and Glendalough in the Church of Ireland College of Education.
Bottom – The large crowd of lay people of Dublin and Glendalough begin to
take their seats in St Catherine’s, Thomas St, to hear what the Bishop
of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, has to say about developments
in his diocese.