FAITH IN ACTION

Rev Dr Scott J SShackleton Head: Faith Action Staff -Ministries & Mission Support

One of the oldest blessings we use in the Church is known as the Aaronic Blessing:“The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace”. This is particularly special, I think, when, as a Minister, one has the honour of carrying a newly-christened baby around the church as the congregation sings its blessing upon the bairn. May the sun in the sky shine on you all this summer month and may God’s countenance give you peace.

Rev Rosie Frew Convener: Faith Nurture Forum

Lord, we know your heart rejoices, In each work divine, You did ears and hands and voices, For your praise design; Craftsman’s art and music’s measure, For your pleasure all combine.

Music plays a big part in worship – whether traditional or modern, organist or praise band, for meditation or accompaniment. The Psalmist exhorts us to Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn– shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Martin Luther wrote, ‘Music is one of the fairest and most glorious gifts of God. Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.’

Jim Marshall, organist at Melrose Church for 56 years, died very suddenly in early April. He was playing at our Sunday service just two days before. His life was devoted to the church and the community and to music. Music sets the tone for the many different facets of worship – it echoes the joy of the newlyweds walking up the aisle; it evokes memories and brings comfort at a funeral service; it helps the congregation ‘raise the roof’ in songs of praise; it brings peace as we gather in the presence of God.

Thank God for the musicians in your midst. Thank and encourage them too!

Suzi Farrant Young People and Young Adults Development Worker Intergenerational Church

In my lifetime, the number of children and young people participating in the life of the Church of Scotland has been declining, some 73% since 1984.

Such a rapid reduction suggests that our current methods are not engaging today’s children and young people. The Radical Action Plan, agreed by the 2019 General Assembly, outlined a need to focus on under-40s to stem the pace of decline and the work of the Faith Action Programme is being approached with this as a priority.

Focusing on under-40s is not just about tinkering at the edges, hiring a youth worker or adding another programme to try and attract more people into our buildings; it is about reshaping the whole culture of our Church. For me, being intergenerational is part of the core of what it is to be Church, it is in our DNA so to speak, so by separating all Church activities according to age we have made Church into something that God did not design it to be. Christine Ross, co-author of ‘Intergenerational Christian Formation’, defines Intergenerational Church as one that “intentionally brings the generations together in mutual serving, sharing or learning within their core activities, in order to live out being the body of Christ to each other and the greater community”.

But what does that look like?

To explore this, we recently ran an Intergenerational Church webinar series. The first webinar outlined some of the theology behind this approach to being Church. It suggested four key principles:

• Church should primarily be about doing rather than learning

• The Church should primarily be intergenerational not agesegregated

• Relationships are important in themselves – not tools for influence

• Relationships should not be one way but be characterised by mutual sharing

The second webinar featured a panel openly and honestly sharing stories of their journey towards Intergenerational Church. The third and final webinar explored the scriptures for further insights. Recordings of these webinars with questions for discussion can be found on the Church of Scotland’s Youtube channel, just search for the Intergenerational Church webinars.

We are writing a book on the subject, to be published next year, exploring the theology and practice of Intergenerational Church.

If you have questions, thoughts or stories to share or would like a conversation to explore things further, please get in touch, I’d love to hear from you at sfarrant@ churchofscotland.org.uk

Phill Mellstrom Worship Development Worker

Worship underpins all that we do

What do we mean by this?

Our gathered worship and personal faithformation should foster meaningful connections between ritual and life, Christian living and culture, and should enliven us and empower us to engage in whole-life worship (‘discipleship’).

Our worship and the words we pray, sing and say together all paint our picture of God, they reinforce and shape our theology – which shapes our world view and in turn our ways of being, behaving and practising. We can readily recognise when we assent or disagree with teaching and preaching, but in the same way that ‘we are what we eat’, we could say that ‘we are what we pray’, ‘sing’ or ‘say’. What picture of God are we intentionally or unintentionally cultivating in our worship through the language of our prayers, our hymns and songs, and in our rituals, and how is this helping people to form and reform a faith and worship life that underpins all that they do?

Worshippers should be equipped to experience worship that is fit for context and ‘contemporary’. Think about recent shifts within culture, the things that have deeply imprinted on society: from local experience, to national politics, international movements and global pandemics. How does all of this affect us as human beings? How does our worship help us to explore healthy rhythms of life that allow us to pray, lament, seek justice, and be peacemakers in our communities?

How might our worship unlock and open up the possibility of encountering God and experiencing life in all its fulness?

As we continue to ask these questions together, we can explore meaningful ways to develop worship that seeks God’s realm here and now. Isn’t that at the heart of our desire to be a Church that seeks to inspire the people of Scotland and beyond with the Good News of Jesus Christ through enthusiastic worshipping, witnessing, nurturing and serving communities?

Hannah Sanderson Congregational Learning Development Worker

Innovation

In March we were thrilled to welcome Rev Lorenzo Lebrija, Director of TryTank, to speak to us about developing cultures of innovation. TryTank is an experimental laboratory for Church growth and innovation for the Episcopal Church, USA. As the name suggests, TryTank encourages trying – not just thinking about things. Since our workshops with Lorenzo we have already heard of plans for a new drugs recovery programme hosted in a community garden; a zerowaste station raising funds for a “Trees for Life” project; and the vision for a fresh expression in a children’s soft play centre.

“ TryTank is an experimental laboratory for Church growth and innovation for the Episcopal Church, USA.”

What might a culture of innovation feel like? Lorenzo says:“Be open, have fun, if you are not having a good time you will not come up with good ideas to try. I’m serious – if you are not laughing then just STOP and come back to it tomorrow.”

“Failure is an important part. If we fail we are not going to break this thing called Church – so go and try with abandon.”

“Ask yourself, are we being as bold as we can be, are we a little bit scared?”

“Feel the excitement, the energy and the emotion – that’s the Holy Spirit in this.”

Please join us on this creative journey by searching ‘ChurchesInnov8’ on Facebook or contact hsanderson@ churchofscotland.org.uk for more information and don’t forget to ask about the Order of the Llama!

Rev Dr Rory MacLeod Minister of Strath & Sleat

For our Gaelic readers

Cha bu chòir dha obrachadh, ach obraichidh agus, nuair a dh’obraicheas e, ’s e sealladh math a th’ ann. Tha mi a’ toirt iomradh air an Eaglais, a tha a’ tional ri chèile daoine bho àitichean diofraichte, dòighean-beatha eadar-dhealaichte, às iomadh dùthaich agus ginealach.

Is e co-chomann na h-Eaglaise fianais làidir de rèite an Tighearna, an taca ri saoghal anns a bheil iomadh seòrsa de sgaradh airson adhbharan bho eachdraidh gu fasan. Gus còmhnaidh còmhla ri chèile ann co-sheirm, tha agam ri bhith foighidneach agus fialaidh. Chan eil e furasta idir; ’s e sin a tha a’ ciallachadh a bhith a’ leantainn Ìosa.

For further information visit: www.churchofscotland.org.uk