Being open to change

The Moderator explains why the Church has to be prepared to change.

AMAZING things can happen when people of goodwill and faith work together in the name of Jesus.

Early last month the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and myself travelled to the Republic of South Sudan, the youngest country in the world. We had been invited by the South Sudanese government to come on a pilgrimage of peace to this tender shoot of a country of almost 11 million people. Sadly, through ongoing conflict and war many hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives.

Curiously this young country claims 60% of its population as Christian, many of whom are Presbyterian.

What was incredible about this visit was the fact that this is the first time three leaders from our traditions have visited together and worked together in a pilgrimage of peace – meeting with political leaders, church leaders and having the opportunity to share hope and Christ’s love with a large number of ordinary people on the ground. Please pray that this visit might stimulate unity and peace and bring healing to the deep wounds of many.

At a local level in Scotland, Linda and I have witnessed many good news stories as we have been on our travels – good news stories with the same underlying principle that amazing things can happen when people of good will and faith work together in the name of Jesus.

In the Church, we are facing an unprecedented challenge – the challenge of how to connect with our communities and bring into those communities that message of hope that Jesus can transform lives.

Now, I don’t want to name names of people and congregations, but here is a flavour of what we have seen:

• Churches that are carefully listening to their communities and assessing the deep needs that exist around them.

• Churches that are not afraid to think outside of the box and see their buildings that ought to be places of sanctuary every day of the week if need be as facilities are used and made available for food projects, warm places, helping people in recovery, places where refugees can meet and the list goes on. Places where relationships can be established and, in the process, faith shared.

• Churches that are willing to transform their sanctuaries, and here I have to use a name – St George’s Tron in Glasgow. A city centre church that has used its imagination in a practical and prayerful way to daily reach out to the city centre, at the same time, working with other Christian organisations to make a difference. If we are to have any hope of engaging with modern Scotland we have to be prepared to change, change quickly and dream dreams that will bring about effective engagement with our communities. Faith. Working together. Our members releasing funds from their reserves. Modernising and transforming our buildings. Being open to change even when we are not comfortable doing so. Putting Jesus, the Gospel and Prayer at the heart of who we are. Growing the Church! ¤

“If we are to have any hope of engaging with modern Scotland we have to be prepared to change, change quickly and dream dreams that will bring about effective engagement with our communities.

The Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields is Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2022/23.