FAITH IN ACTION

Rev Dr Scott J SShackleton

Head: Faith Action Staff -Ministries & Mission Support

One of my favourite hymns which I sang as a youngster at St Francis in the East Church, Bridgeton, Glasgow was ‘Come let us remember, the joys of the town’. I liked it because it was very Glasgow, a Scottish melody which gave thanks for a city/ town environment in that ‘dear green place’. It could, like many of the old hymns, have been sung in a pub in country style – perhaps one day it will be sung in the Grand Ole Opry (Govan, Glasgow, naturally). God is found everywhere, even in the ordinary. I hope you enjoy our articles.

Dave Kendall

Chief Officer: Office of the Assembly Trustees

As a denomination the Church of Scotland is at a critical crossroads and significant change is required.

Plans for change at all levels received a ringing endorsement at the General Assembly in 2019 and we have continued to build on this throughout a turbulent three years, with affirmation of the next steps confirmed at GA 2022. The life of the Church of Scotland is so organic that change can only be effective if it is coordinated across the local, the regional and the national. Each of these must do their part if the adjustments are to be successful.

This coordinated change is unprecedented and as these changes become a reality they are seen as exciting for some and difficult for others. We need to be kind to and supportive of each other on the journey.

Over the next seven years we will be committing more than £250m to local ministry and a further £25m to establishing new Church communities whilst actively addressing the challenges that face us.

We know that there is work to do and that now is truly the time to do this work to position the Church for the future.

Find out more about these changes, our mission and our priorities in our General Assembly Report on the Church of Scotland website.

Lesley Hamilton-Messer

Team Leader: New Ways of Being Church

Mission Development: A time for new things

The Mission Development Team within Faith Action is a relatively new entity, aligning ourselves to better respond to new challenges and opportunities.

Within the team are Development Workers and Development Assistants in the area of mission; children and families; young people and young adults; and worship, all working to support congregations primarily within the presbyteries of the Church of Scotland. Some examples of our current work include:

• The ACORN initiative, helping people to share faith naturally and confidently. Over 600 people have attended sessions and at least 120 have gone on to form or join ACORN groups.

• Aburgeoning new Pioneering Scotland network, with 220 members already, exploring new ways of being Church. We are also following up on the 400 new worshipping communities developing in our denomination.

• Adaptations to the facilitated Future Focus programme to help congregations focus on the Five Marks of Mission, and the development of new resources to help them explore their engagement with younger generations.

• 80-100 people have registered each week for our first series of ReNew webinars for those engaged in ministry with children and families or young people, with a second series planned for the autumn.

• Work on producing a new Hymnary supplement for this generation, and the continued provision of Weekly Worship resources throughout the year.

We want to support, listen, share and inspire, so please get in touch and let’s perceive together what God is doing.

If you would like to know more, email me: lhamilton-messer@churchofscotland.org.uk

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”

Steve Aisthorpe

Mission Development Worker (Pioneering)

Something is stirring: Pioneering and Fresh Expressions

Who would have imagined that Christian community and discipleship would find expression through yoga classes? But that is the case with Maranatha Yoga. Based in the Presbytery of England, it is engaging with people in Scotland and England – and being a Christian witness within the wider yoga world.

Across Scotland people are experimenting with Forest Church. Many people can describe transcendent moments in nature, when they feel deeply connected to something bigger than themselves. Forest Church is a way to explore that connection with other people. It has roots in ancient traditions, times when sacred places and practices were mainly outdoors, but it also draws on research highlighting the benefits of being in nature. And you don’t need a forest: a group in Shetland meets to explore faith together on the beach.

More than 20 churches in Scotland are running Renew Wellbeing cafés. These are ‘quiet shared spaces where it’s OK not to be OK’. As well as optional activities (jigsaws, craft activities, a quiz) and a warm welcome, there is a prayer space and participants are encouraged to join times of reflection and prayer.

These are a tiny sample of a growing wave of innovative mission and emerging Christian communities. ‘Pioneering’ and ‘fresh expressions’ have become a kind of shorthand for ways of sharing the love of Christ with people beyond the scope of existing church organisations and the growing Christian communities that connect with people in particular contexts.

Those particular contexts might be a geographical place (e.g. a new housing development), or an interest group (e.g. people associated with a sport or hobby), or a social network (e.g. young families, people facing the same challenges or connected by their commitment to a specific cause).

This is a movement rooted in local action, as people engage in creative mission endeavours. Small teams of people, all kinds of people – young and old, ordained and non-ordained, are praying, listening to their communities, experimenting, discerning what God is doing, introducing people to Jesus, and fostering new communities of faith.

In 2019 the General Assembly stated an ambition to see at least 100 ‘new worshipping communities’ – and it’s happening. In this year’s annual statistics, 400 congregations indicated that they are involved in a ‘new worshipping community’.

To find out more, email me: saisthorpe@churchofscotland.org.uk or call me on 07966 286617.

John Finch

Ministries Support Officer, Priority Areas

Sometimes it feels like there is a new initiative kicking off every five minutes in the wider church world, and every so often you encounter something that is truly valuable. I’d like to tell you about one that I have encountered. For the last five years it has been my pleasure to be involved in running Learning Community, a programme that is a combination of structured learning and journeying together with peers.

In short, we focus on the three Ts:

Transformation! As a denomination we need processes that help us change. Staying the same and doing the same things is not working for us. We need new habits and rhythms that bring us into contact with more people and help us to be useful and life-enhancing to those people, and most importantly, that help us identify how to partner with what God is already doing in their lives. Learning Community helps us identify areas to change, think about how to change them, and keep us accountable for acting on that change.

Teams! So often we invite people to take part in things as individuals, which means that even if we provide an amazing experience, and they have an epiphany, they will only experience it as an individual. So when they get back to their church and their people, they have to try and communicate that epiphany in cold blood; the fire goes out and nothing happens. Learning Community gives people a shared experience, helping them to apply their learning and epiphany moments to their context as a team. We provide a structure and facilitated space to think about how best to apply that learning or principle together, making change far more likely.

Teaching! The journey is broken down into four helpful pieces which build on one another: discipleship, leadership, mission and movement. Each piece is based on the work of Mike Breen, who has written extensively on missional community; unpacking the themes and those teaching segments are usually what help to trigger moments of revelation – something you hear matches your lived experience, and gives an insight into what could be.

I love this work, I’ve seen, first hand, the value of this process. Effective and lasting change needs to be supported, and that is what Learning Community does.

If you would like to know more, email me: jfinch@churchofscotland.org.uk

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