Arise 2022
ARISE!
WHO’S RISING UP?
“The work before us is rebuilding,” says Dave Ducker, father of three and minister of St Philip’s Church which he runs with his wife Sarah. He speaks about the dual responsibilities of church leadership and fatherhood, which are very different but have “definite overlaps’’. Dave “sees church as family” and hopes that how he raises his children “is not a million miles from how he tries to love and serve the church.” In both roles Dave tries to bring to the fore the principle of accompaniment, as he prefers getting alongside people in order to lead.
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ways to be more visible and When he first heard about a positive presence in their Arise last year, Dave thought communities.” that the organisers were “a group of brave dreamers”, Looking to 2022, Dave sees but had some reservations this year as one of transition. about the scale of the project. “We live in a “I probably had watershed time. questions about During the It was amazing how much pandemic, all of to see Arise we could do”, life - including Dave reflected. finding creative worship - was However, since ways to serve the disrupted and then he has as a church, our community in seen the fruits community is word and deed of Arise. “It was now picking amazing to see up the pieces how many other people got of some of the things that involved… finding creative we lost, or that have been ways to serve the community displaced.” His prayer is that in word and deed, whether more people will get to know that is giving out Easter eggs Jesus and know God is with or cards or finding other them this year.
