Two weeks ago Joyce Humphries came to help us explore and voice our thoughts and feelings about St. Luke’s and our future ministry, so that everyone’s voice could be heard at the PCC residential.  And now, having been away and considered very carefully and prayerfully all your comments, we as a PCC have been able to see a positive and exciting way forward.  What I share with you this morning is the direction the PCC and I would like to move, but it is not a done deal – there is still time for further comments from everyone here, and there is much fine detail to be worked out.  So, after this mornings sermon, during the next month, please let us know if you agree with the vision we have caught hold of or not.  Because it is important to hear everyone’s feelings about the future God is leading us to.

The first thing we did at the PCC residential was to get back to basics with a Bible study of the early church, identifying the features of that church and comparing it to the church today.  We then looked at the statistics for our parish (how many people live here, what is the social make up, and the statistics for our church).  We concluded that:

• We worship in a beautiful but large and difficult to maintain church building

• We are struggling to pay the bills – both day to day running costs and repairs that need addressing

• We are a small parish of less than 2000 soul’s, most of whom are white, working to middleclass with a majority of the parish middle aged or older

We then went into two groups and had a detailed discussion of all the comments made by the congregation about our Joys, Sorrows and Future.  The thing that came out very clearly in the joys of St. Luke’s was our strong sense of family and friendship.  And this is a real strength and joy in our life together.  Also mentioned in the joys was worship and mission.  The church building was mentioned in a positive way by 3 people, but the overwhelming majority put the church family as the greatest joy.

When looking at the things that give us a sense of sorrow 18 people made comments about the closure of the building.  This should not surprise us really; it is a beautiful building, and one that many people have poured much of themselves into over the years.  But alongside that cause of sorrow was the fear of the dispersal of the church family; as our gathered life together is so important to us and is a source of great joy, this is not surprising.

In terms of vision for the future the following priorities were clearly stated:  To move to a different building locally; to make sure we can stay together as a family; to begin a new ministry to include community services in order to sustain church and mission and outreach.

Then, having looked at where we are as a church, we began to look at where we are going.  Again we worked in two groups, and both groups came up with similar visions.  We thought about 3 different aspects of our life as a church: Place, People and Worship and Mission.

Regarding Place, group 1 said: We must look – sooner or later – to becoming a joint Parish with St. Matthew’s; We know we have to leave the church building; with the church closing it was noted again about the sense of family being important and our need to enable this to continue as much as possible within the process of change and beyond.  Group 2 said: there is a need for a new venue for church; moving towards combining the parishes and therefore widening the boundaries. 

Regarding People group 1 said: we need to identify the worshipping needs of individuals and address them – so a questionnaire would need to be carried out at some point to help with this.  Group 2 felt that:  If church was re-established in the same locality the majority would come together; but if re-established in another church or parish we may lose some.

Regarding worship and mission, group 1 said: We shouldn’t just re-plant what we do now in another place and at the same time as we currently do; we should instead take this opportunity to create a variety of worship throughout the parish (meaning the new parish of St. Matthew with St. Luke), on different days including worship in the parish church, schools and house groups.  We should run Christian Basics courses and Christian development courses; engage with young people in new ways and engage with diocesan opportunities.  Group 2 said: A different venue will help with mission, although exactly what and where can’t be fully predicted at the moment; It was also noted that our church has an ever diminishing number of people who cover all the jobs that need to be done; they carry a large burden, and we are grateful for all that this small group do for us week by week to keep the church building open for worship, but they are feeling spent.

I was very encouraged by all that we had achieved during the morning; both groups had come up with similar suggestions for the future, and a vision for where God is leading us was taking shape; although I was, and am, aware of all the challenges and sadnesses that need to be faced.

In terms of moving forward with all these priorities there is much to be done, and it would be wrong of us to rush headlong into them.  The first step in how to achieve these objectives is for all of you to hear what we discussed, hence the subject matter of this sermon.  (And a copy of all that I have said today will be available for you to take home after the service, it will also be posted on the benefice website, and anyone who is not here this morning and is on the Electoral Roll will receive a copy in the post.)  You may have questions arising in your mind about all that I have said, and there may be points you want clarified.  Please do not hesitate in asking either myself or a member of the PCC; similarly we need to hear your views, both positive and negative – we can’t read your mind, so please make them known to us.

The next step after that is to formally decide what to do about the church building.  From the “Joys, Sorrows and Future” exercise, and from the planning of priorities at the PCC residential, it would seem that although it would be extremely painful, the most obvious thing to do with the building to ensure we can enter a new and enlivened ministry in this area, is to declare the building “no longer needed for public worship”.  The PCC is aiming to formally discuss and vote on such a resolution at its meeting in December, and if it is passed the process of the petition would take about a year.  So we have about a month to think and pray about the future shape and ministry of this church before the PCC meets in December.  Then we can begin to work out the fine detail of achieving our future goals.

So, there is much to consider in the weeks to come, and once we have decided what to do with this building we can then put flesh on all the priorities that have been identified.  It is for us a time of challenge, a time of pain and a time of excitement, as we catch hold of the God given opportunities before us.  We will need throughout it all, God’s grace and the strength and support of one another; but I believe that as a family, under the direction of God, a new chapter in the life of this parish can begin.

Creation date : 24/11/2007 - 22:38
Last update : 24/11/2007 - 22:38
Category : Sermon's
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