I am writing this post on our first full day in Bath. While surrounded by the beautiful stone that forms the basis of what seems like every building here, I am also struck by the centrality and prominence of the churches and especially the abbey in the city.
Abbey’s have a fascinating history in the life of the church. As the gospel was spread throughout Europe and the British Isles, they were centres of fellowship, learning, training, prayer and mission. They were the strongholds of the church as they sent people out to evangelize the nations. There is a saying that history repeats, and in the learning I have already taken from my time there is a definite move back towards this ‘abbey’ concept. As demographics change and as the proportion of populations that attend church drop, there is a recognised need in the Church of England to ensure centres of strength and development. In some dioceses these are called ‘resource churches’ others ‘hubs’ and the further north you go there is even the reinstatement of the term ‘monster’ denoting a large central church organization.
In Bath I have had the privilege of meeting with an old friend who is a curate under a vicar formed in Holy Trinity Brompton but who felt called to parish revitalisation rather than to new plant. There are a number of similarities between the challenges the team and church faces as they undertake that here as we face in Napier. Particularly, the mechanisms of the church are not designed to move swiftly in response to change and the resourcing and encouragement of new initiatives is not always forthcoming (or timely). There are a number of initiatives they have begun, however, that could prove fruitful. I have also been invited to attend a large youth function later this week with the Archbishop of Canterbury, which I am looking forward to.
Much of the first few days of my time in the UK has been shaped by getting kids into routine and giving them something exciting to do. In that respect it was very funny to meet the Spicer family as we wondered around LEGOLAND a few days ago. Given the busyness of modern life, I am not sure I am surprised that it took a trip to the other side of the world for two families that live a few houses a part in NZ to see each other.
I hope to update you again next week with tales from Cambridge and then York where I will be spending some time at St Hild’s college exploring their new training tracks and church planting streams of learning. The dean of the college spoke at a Clergy Conference several years ago and I hope to be able to bring some of the organizational learning back to NZ as we consider how best to serve the mission of the Anglican Church in the city and region.
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