The Very Rev Albert Bogle considers a proposed charter for a ‘hybrid’ Church.

I’M not sure I like the term ‘hybrid Church’. Hybrid describes that which is neither one nor the other. When it comes to church being described as ‘neither one nor the other’ in my mind I get a bit nervous thinking of the risen Christ delivering his scathing judgement of the church at Laodicea. His judgement was that because they had altered their identity they had become ‘lukewarm’.

Whatever worship becomes in the Church of Scotland as we look forward to finding ways to be authentically real online and on-site, let us never aspire to offer to God lukewarm hearts and lukewarm worship.

Anyway it is not my intention here to redefine the term or offer an alternative, suffice to say that the term ‘Hybrid’ in this article refers to the mode of delivery and tools of communication the church uses to share in worship and express the good news of forgiveness of sins, rather than a theological description of the Church as the ‘Body of Christ’.

Dr Pete Phillips of the Centre for Digital Theology at Durham University is also the advisor to the staff and creatives at Premier Radio regarding their digital theological content. Pete also worked closely with the team at Sanctuary First in preparations for the conferences we offered on Digital Church during the lockdown last year.

He has given me a preview of the Hybrid Church Charter, which he and his colleagues at Premier have worked on, which was to be launched at the National Prayer Breakfast in Westminster in June.

Here is a Charter that I believe we in the Church of Scotland could look at and adapt and refine to help us begin to taken onboard the many lessons we have all learned over the past 15 months.

The Hybrid Church Charter is a set of principles to help us grow a healthy hybrid church. It helps ensure equality and accessibility to church regardless of how people choose to participate.

As a Hybrid Charter Church we will seek to:

• Provide ways to digitally access church services both in real time and on demand. We will also provide opportunities for those present digitally to contribute, lead and serve as equals.

• Enable digital participation at church meetings, events and conferences.

• Ensure that the Church both onsite and online provides safe places to explore faith and engage through effective safeguarding procedures.

• Enable digital participation in church governance, allowing those present digitally to contribute and vote in the same way as those attending on site.

• Encourage small groups to enable digital participation.

• Engage in digital outreach, providing evangelism and discipleship opportunities to those that connect online.

• Commit to treating the digital space as an equally valid place for worship, fellowship, prayer, evangelism, discipleship and teaching.

• Ensure that those who are digitally disenfranchised, be it through resources, ability or choice are able to access all aspects of church without needing to be online.

“ Whatever worship becomes in the Church of Scotland as we look forward to finding ways to be authentically real online and on-site, let us never aspire to offer to God lukewarm hearts and lukewarm worship.”

• Invest in digital ministry as funds allow so that this Charter’s aims can be achieved.

• Empower those with creative, digital and spiritual gifts to become leaders in the church’s digital ministry.

Many congregations returning into the new session of church life after the summer will be apprehensive about how to move forward with their new online ministry .

This Charter I hope will begin to give them a route map that will enable them to see the importance of developing and maintaining what as of the moment is known as ‘Hybrid Church’ I think the words of the Apostle Paul to the Church in Colossae might just be an encouragement to all of us. “ Whatever you do work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)