CWM European Region Assembly Review
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Introduction to Day 1: Hope in hard times On the first full day of the Regional Assembly we focused on the theme of “Hope in hard times.” We heard from our keynote speaker Stuart MurrayWilliams about biblical ideas of “shalom” and “kin-dom,” the CWM General Secretary Collin Cowan explained how CWM was developing and equipping missional congregations. An international perspective was brought to us by Rifat Kassis, Director of Defence of Children International-Palestine and a local perspective from Simon Loveitt on the community development work being undertaken in Sheffield. Taken together the resources speak of how God’s people can be hopeful even in the most trying and difficult of times.
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What are we hoping for? There are a few things you should know about me as I bring the keynote presentations, I am convinced that: • the ongoing transition from Christendom to post-Christendom is one of the major cultural shifts impacting the church in Europe, albeit in quite different ways in different nations. • this transition has huge consequences for how the church understands and practises mission – and for its own internal structures, priorities and practices. • church planting is one of the ways in which the church can adapt and adjust to this new environment – as long as this is contextual and creative. • we can learn much from the marginalised Anabaptist tradition, which 500 years ago rejected the idea of Christendom and which some historians regard as a classic example of a missional church movement. The theme of hope is a potent and timely one in a global context that seems rather devoid of hope and in a church context filled with anxiety about the future, at least in Europe. In this first session we will explore some biblical and theological themes that undergird our hope. As CWM is a mission organisation, I will start with what I assume will be a familiar theme – missio Dei – and explore the subject of hope from this perspective.
Missio Dei I regard the emphasis on missio Dei during the second half of the 20th century as a sign of hope and an indication that the church in Europe was just starting to grapple with the realities of postChristendom. For many centuries the Christian community in Europe operated with a defective and highly distorted understanding of mission.
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Minority Christian communities, such as the Anabaptists, questioned or rejected this approach. These historic minority perspectives, which once provoked persecution, are now widely accepted, even if the implications are still being worked through. The recovery of missio Dei, initially in academic circles but increasingly at a more popular level, and the ubiquity of the term ‘missional’, have underscored this. These are hopeful signs. They amount to a reorientation and recalibration of the Christian community and an understanding of mission that precludes narrow, individualised, disembodied or institutional strategies and hopes. Participating in God’s mission can lead us to become involved in a wide range of activities: evangelism, working for justice, care for creation, political activism, education, church planting, reconciling enemies, cultural renewal, healing minds and bodies, offering hope and imagination.
• We can be unhealthily fixated on our own organisation, resources and congregations – on their survival or capacity to influence society.
But we need more than a checklist of activities. We need what Walter Brueggemann calls ‘prophetic imagination’ if we are to sustain hope and have a compelling vision to commend to a jaded culture.
• But the kingdom of God is not to be equated with the church. The church is a sign of the kingdom – a foretaste, a sacrament, a provisional representation, a pale foreshadowing of the eschatological reality to which it witnesses.
Brueggemann suggests that to sustain such ‘prophetic imagination’ we need to value the ministry of poets, who can offer fresh perspectives and counter the dulling influence of what he calls a ‘prose-flattened world.’
• The church is an agent of the kingdom – an instrument of the kingdom, in possession of the ‘keys’ of the kingdom, as it imperfectly but persistently proclaims and demonstrates the coming of the kingdom.
The Kingdom of God
• But missio Dei is not limited to the vision, resources and activities of the church.
If missio Dei provides a theological basis for our hope, so too does the New Testament theme of the kingdom of God, so central to the ministry of Jesus. Each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are praying for the coming of this kingdom, the fulfilment of missio Dei. This is a prayer of unrelenting hope. However, the term ‘kingdom’ is problematic in contemporary culture, redolent of hierarchy, domination, institution and demarcated territory. How is our understanding of missio Dei enriched by the concept of the kingdom of God, and how does this sustain hope?
This has several practical implications: • It alerts us to the humbling reality that the church is not always at the forefront of the mission of God, but may be well off the pace. God’s kingdom advances sometimes in spite of the church, beyond the church and towards the church. • It delivers pioneers from the ridiculous assumption that they bring God with them into communities, neighbourhoods or networks and frees them to discover what God has been doing there before they arrived and get involved in this.
• It warns us to expect the unexpected, especially if we read the Bible with eyes open to the many occasions when God’s purposes advanced through outsiders, those on the margins and other unlikely people, such as Jethro, Rahab, Cyrus, Mary, Cornelius and others. • It invites us to explore fruitful partnerships with agencies, communities, organisations and individuals who may not acknowledge Jesus as Lord but exhibit ‘kingdom values’ in their relationships, activities and concern for social transformation. • If we embrace the idea of an upside-down kingdom, this encourages us to forsake the perspective that we need large churches to exercise public influence, well-connected church leaders to gain the attention of policy-makers, or glossy advertising campaigns to attract people to church programmes and events. We might instead prioritise grass-roots initiatives and ministry on the margins of society.
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D. Hope So, ‘what are we hoping for?’ Contemporary western societies are not awash with hope. • The culture of modernity that was shaped by the Enlightenment was very optimistic about future prospects in ways that we now find naïve and difficult to imagine. Expectations were high that rationalism, scientific discoveries, technological advances and political initiatives would make the twentieth century a golden age of peace and prosperity. • In stark contrast, the years leading up to the dawn of the twenty-first century were marked by distrust of technology, disengagement from politics, scepticism and deep anxiety as post-modernity dismantled the certainties of modernity and inculcated a mood of increasing pessimism. • But neither optimism nor pessimism should be equated with hope. A community that takes its bearings from missio Dei and anticipates ‘the restoration of all things’ and the earth filled with the knowledge of God need not swing wildly between optimism and pessimism. Hope is related to God’s ultimate purposes for humanity and the cosmos (eschatology in theological terms) rather than short-term expectations. Our hope is rooted in the resurrection. Lesslie Newbigin responded to questions asking if he was optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the church in India by saying, ‘I believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and therefore the question does not arise.’ This has implications for the Christian community and its witness in Europe – a declining minority community that used to be a majority. Neither pessimism nor optimism are helpful responses. • Pessimism and discouragement are powerful temptations for an ex-majority community facing uncertainty in the face of declining numbers and influence. • Optimistic predictions of revival and seizing on any indications of renewed growth are understandable but unhelpful reactions.
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Many commentators today, including Walter Brueggemann, have suggested that there is an analogy between our context and that of the Jewish exiles in Babylon in the 6th century BCE, to whom Jeremiah wrote a remarkable letter. Are we experiencing a period of exile, which requires us to think, act and hope in new ways? Are we asking, like the exiles in Psalm 137, ‘how can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?’ Are we in danger of swinging, like the exiles, between despair and unrealistic expectations? Jeremiah 29 contains the prophet’s counsel to them: • Don’t believe the false prophets who promise things will soon return to normal or that your circumstances will quickly change for the better. • Don’t give up, become passive, or succumb to resentment and bitterness (like the exiles in Psalm 137). • Learn to live in Babylon, put down roots, and settle down for the long haul, forming and sustaining resilient communities. • Have realistic expectations – sowing and planting rather than an immediate harvest, some growth is feasible. • Trust God for a future that you can no longer pretend to control. • There is a hope-filled future for you if you are patient and faithful. But the most challenging aspect of Jeremiah’s letter was his insistence that the welfare of the exiles was inextricably linked with the welfare of the city in which they now lived: ‘seek the welfare of the city...in its welfare you will find your welfare.’ A minority community can become fixated on its own prospects and fail to empathise or engage with the loss of hope in the wider society. A kingdom perspective, a missio Dei perspective, challenges this. A vision like that of the new Glasgow stretches our imagination and enlarges our hearts (see “A New Glasgow” in “Alternative Worship” ed Jonny Baker and Doug Gay SPCK, 2003).
Actually, the word is ‘shalom’ – seek ‘shalom’ for the city of Babylon, your enemies. This is an almost untranslatable word. It means peace, prosperity, justice, wholeness, integration, community, joy, liberation, well-being, salvation, etc. We have the benefit of hindsight as we look back at the exile in Babylon. We know that it was a time of great theological creativity for the Jewish exiles. We cannot yet look back on this period of the western church’s exile, but our hope is in the God whom Jeremiah served and in his good purposes for us, all humanity and the entire cosmos. In light of this, we are invited to move beyond optimism and pessimism to faith and hope, to recommit ourselves to missio Dei, and to continue to pray for God’s kingdom to come.
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CWM Presentation Collin Cowan Enabling Missional Congregations The Council for World Mission General Secretary, Rev Dr Collin Cowan, joined the European Regional Assembly for the duration and led the Assembly in a presentation of CWM’s global programme and mutual accompaniment strategy.
CWM’s Strategic Opportunity
CWM is a worldwide partnership of 31 churches in mission whose objective is: “to spread the knowledge of Christ throughout the world, that is to say, to further the work of Christian mission throughout the world”.
• 21.5 million Christians in forty countries
Setting the Context: A Groaning Creation • Social and economic unrest, disillusionment and hopelessness • Environmental degradation • The church’s relevance is at stake
CWM is well placed to live out hope and develop life affirming communities throughout its global membership:
• Over fifty thousand local congregations • 31 partner churches • Partners committed to the same mission of discernment and engagement CWM’s strategy can be understood with the following diagram:
CWM’s Principles: • Relentlessly pursue justice • Listen with respect • Facilitate mutual hospitality and a welcoming spirit • Creatively use available resources for God’s mission • Speak truth in Love • Live in community with all God’s creation • Ensure relationships of integrity
CWM’s Vision:
• Mutual accountability
“Fullness of life through Christ for all creation”
• Affirm each person’s humanity
CWM’s Mission: “Called to partnership in Christ to mutually challenge, encourage and equip churches to share in God’s mission” This means: interpreting God’s mission within the context of a groaning creation where people hurt and hope; engaging God’s mission in partnership with others; building capacity for God’s mission.
Programme areas This mission and strategy is lived out through programmes delivered both globally and regionally. In the European Region, this is realised through programmes addressing the development of: • Missional congregations, through member church accompaniment and the ongoing relationship with Fresh Expressions, opportunities for mission education • Missional leaders, including an active youth programme, theological roundtables and training workshops and resources. Globally within CWM there are four programme areas: Mission Enabling supports member churches through their Mission Support Programme, coordinates team visits and has developed the language behind life-affirming communities. The programme area lives out the agenda of mutual accompaniment and accountability.
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Empowerment and Training offers member churches support and resources in a capacity development programme. Particularly addressing education, women’s representation and youth participation. Justice and Witness stands with member churches in their struggles against unjust systems or circumstances. Its particular focus has been on environmental justice in the pacific, inclusive communities for people with disabilities and to developing resources on human trafficking advocacy work across the regions. This programme area drives the agenda of solidarity and prophetic witness.
Solidarity & Prophetic Witness
Reflect & Research Enable member bodies to develop missional congregations
Research and Reflect has been working with regions and member churches to deliver theological consultations, aimed at enhancing the theological formation of future church leaders. It is also concerned in capturing and sharing the stories of mission partners and the publication of the CWM prayer handbook.
Deepen Partnership
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Hopeful Perspectives: Kairos Palestine The Regional Assembly was honoured to welcome Rifat Kassis, co-author of the Kairos Palestine document and Director of Defence for Children International, Palestine (DCI). Rifat Kassis came to the Assembly shortly after the Israeli offensive in Gaza had come to an end. His presentation offered an overview of the reality of life for Palestinian Christians which put this offensive in its historical and political context. The latest offensive had left over 2000 Gazans dead, 500 of which were children. It had displaced 110,000 refugees and destroyed 18,000 homes. Kassis raised the question: “What sort of future awaits Gaza after this literal bombardment of suffering? Their home has been a prison for years, and it is a prison still. And what sort of hope can Palestinians possibly derive from the so-called “peace process” if Israel is allowed to get away, over and over again, with mass murder?” To many it seems that the prospects for peace are shrinking; the reality on the ground grows harsher and darker. In the face of such conditions, Kairos Palestine could issue a cry of despair – but it doesn’t. Its voice raises, instead, a song of hope. Kairos Palestine: There are three elements that are crucial to understanding the Palestinian Christians’ faith, identity, and presence in their contemporary context: hope; tolerance and acceptance; and love and resistance.
Theology of Hope Most Palestinian Christians believe that they descend from the first Christians, belonging to the first church. The circumstances they have undergone for the last 2000 years could be considered a kind of perpetual war. These continual hardships have generated many challenges, yet they have also yielded a theology that could be described as a “survival theology”: drawn from hope, it is a theology that longs for life. Christians understood their presence as an integral part of Christ’s mission and its continuation; they kept their hope alive, waiting with steadfastness and faith for
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the second coming of their Saviour. This, in short, is the conviction shared by the remaining Christians in Palestine. What matters is that Palestinian Christians have a mission assigned by God, to wait and witness for him, regardless of the size of our population. (Acts 1:7-8)
Theology of Coexistence and Acceptance Christians in Palestine, although they are Arabs from the same ethnic group as Muslims, have lived as a religious minority for the past 1000 years; joining this context were many outsiders who either came in search of a haven or as invaders. They have been challenged by how to maintain a dignified presence and keep their identity without losing or eroding it? How to reach out to others on the one hand and protect their rights as Christians and as Palestinians on the other? Over time, these underlying questions have integrated another element into their theology: a coexistence theology: a theology based on love, freedom, understanding, reconciliation among themselves and with others, accepting and respecting pluralism. Coexistence and pluralism are never simple, especially when you live in such a rich, diverse society – and when you live in a context of military occupation and oppression. But coexistence becomes a command and reconciliation a duty. (Romans 15:5-7).
Theology of Love and Resistance The presence of Christians in Palestine today cannot be taken for granted. Today, their role and their continuity is at stake in Palestine due to the Israeli military occupation of their land; it is at stake in the entire region, too, due to various emerging powers that are less tolerant of other religions and ideologies. Christians must hold their ground in the face of such difficulties, not withdrawing or losing their vision. This is a key part of what Kairos Palestine tried to say in its document “A Moment of Truth”: that we must adopt a loving stance in response to others’ presence, but a stance that – even through love – is baptized with resistance and struggle. We must
remember that our faith equips us to overcome the injustices we suffer and the conflicts we undergo. Resistance does not preclude love, nor love resistance. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Through these three theological elements, we can better understand the dynamic role of Christians in Palestine and their important contributions to society throughout history. Faith, hope, and love are the magic words that have perpetuated their existence and strengthened their presence. Needless to say, the Palestinian Christian reality is not an easy one. It is a presence based on hope, but hope in action; a presence that consists not of merely waiting, but of dynamism and struggle. Our choice is to refuse the easy road of withdrawal and isolation; our commitment is to live openly, love truthfully, resist with dignity, and keep our presence vibrant and engaged.
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“In this time, I ask you to turn your eyes to Palestine, think of your Palestinian Christian brothers an d sisters who suffer under a foreign military occupation and remem ber that their lives and their presen ce – physical, cultural, spiritual – is at stake. We ask, too, that you walk alo ngside us in our peaceful struggle aga inst oppression, joining your voices an d speaking up before your governme nts in support of our rights and equalit y.
With your h elp we can final and solidarity, ly live in pea ce with justice: th people asp e peace that all ire to and d eserve, the peace that in Bethlehem was announced , prevail agai the peace that will n.”
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The Manor Introduction Simon Loveitt is a Church Related Community Work Minister with the United Reformed Church. Shortly before the Regional Assembly in October 2014, Simon moved to Sheffield to take up the role as the CRCW for the Manor Estate. Before taking the post in Sheffield, Simon had been a CRCW minister over the past 25 years in inner-city Bradford, Middlesbrough and Manchester. The ministry of Church Related Community Work is unique within the U.K. context – a parallel ministry working alongside ministers of word and sacrament, called, trained and engaging in a local community for up to ten years in one neighbourhood. The first CRCW post was in Bradford in 1981, and currently there are about 14 CRCW’s in post, based across England and Wales. The Changes A CRCW Seeks To Bring About: (i) Church as an agent of social change; (ii) The awareness of the Gospel as it illuminates everyday conflicts and struggles; (iii) Listening to the community, listening for God in and through the community; (iv) Tackle the causes of prejudice and discrimination; (v) The sharing of power with the powerless in local communities; (vi) Church-Related Community Work is one way for the church to share in God’s mission.
The Manor Estate Simon currently works for the Manor Church & Community Project, which is located a couple of miles South East of Sheffield City Centre. The Manor is a large, sprawling estate, with approximately 21,000 people living on the estates of Fairleigh, Manor Park and Lower Manor. He primarily works with two churches – St. Swithun’s in Fairleigh & William Temple in Manor Park. The Manor Church and Community Project is an
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ecumenical project - Methodist, Anglican and United Reformed Church - working on the Manor & Castle electoral ward in SE Sheffield, a community ranked in the top 1% of the Government's indices of deprivation. The Office of National Statistics places The Manor Estate between 76th and 350th on this list. It scores very highly on Income, Employment, Health and Education deprivation statistics, as it does for crime. The church has been engaged with its community for many years. Its focus has been family and children’s work, with play sessions for parent and toddlers and a youth club once a week for local young people. It also provides a well-attended weekly lunch club and plays a significant role in the local food bank. It is also looking to transform William Temple Church into a resource for the community. Simon is preparing to engage in work across areas such as: • Financial Inclusion, • Health, • Education, • Employment & Crime Simon continues to explore the nature of the work needed in the area. He has plans to be involved with and develop Credit Unions and to address issues with housing on the Manor Estate, where there are 13 social housing landlords and new building developments planned for 2015. The Manor Church and Community Project is an example of local churches coming together, listening to the community and engaging in social action and transformation. Join us in praying for Simon’s ongoing work and the people of the Manor Estate.
Introduction to Day 2: God’s Hopeful People Stuart Murray-Williams built on the foundations for hope that were previously explored to consider the challenges we face as God’s people from both our church and culture. The young people attending the Assembly provoked participants to consider identity and our place in God’s purposes through the question “Who do you say I am?” We heard stories from the Trussell Trust and The Edge Youth Project in Bradford of how God’s people can work together to bring hope to local communities.
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What are we worrying about? Introduction The previous presentation focused on the biblical and theological foundations of Christian hope. If we are truly captivated by the promise of the kingdom of God that Jesus brought, it is tempting to answer this session title question with a single word ‘nothing’! But we are anxious as we look at developments in our culture and struggles in our churches and mission agencies. And it is important that we look honestly and rigorously at the things that make us anxious – naming them before God and before one another. So in this presentation we will ponder some of the challenges our culture and our churches face – but we will do so without forgetting the foundations for hope that we spoke of previously.
Worries in Our Culture Consider the following headlines: (a) Environment (b) Politics (c) Economics (d) Technology (e) Health (f) Society (g) Morality (h) Conflict Identify as many anxieties in these areas as you can in the next 10 minutes. Before we move on, you are invited to simply hold these quietly before God, acknowledging our fears and anxieties, expressing our hope in God, reminding ourselves of the promise of ‘shalom’, and committing ourselves to faithful action rather than fearful resignation.
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But let’s also recognise how many reasons there are to be anxious in a society that has lost faith in God and has no grounds to be hopeful. And let’s be sensitive to the level of anxiety and disquiet that is very apparent throughout our culture. There is plenty of evidence for this: • A society that lacks hope is characterised by complaining, grumbling, and finding fault. This is evident in day-to-day encounters and conversations: listen to the tone of queues in supermarkets and at bus stops. • It is apparent in the pervasive ‘blame culture’ that goes well beyond requiring people to take responsibility and hunts for scapegoats whenever anything goes wrong. • It characterises many of our neighbourhoods with many afraid to go out, afraid to answer the door, afraid of strangers, afraid to get involved with others, resulting in great loneliness. • It reveals itself in passivity, scepticism and reluctance to join campaigning organisations, political parties, pressure groups, or even to vote in a system widely viewed as discredited. • It dominates the news media, which not only presents a skewed view of the world in its unrelenting coverage of ‘bad news’ stories but hunts for critics of constructive initiatives in order to reveal flaws. Watch the news this week with that in mind!
Worries in Our Churches The Christian community in western societies is shrinking. Congregations are ageing and declining in number. Many have closed and many more will close in the next few years. Five major denominations are facing virtual extinction by the end of the 2030s. We are struggling to retain our own children, let alone reach others. We are not finding it easy to adjust to the realities of a post-Christendom context. Look at the transitions on the footnote below: marginality, minority, loss of privilege, loss of control. And we are not sure
how to move from institution to movement or from maintenance to mission. This is a challenging era! Other sectors of society are growing. The Muslim community is increasing through higher rates of childbirth and through conversions. Atheists and secularists are more belligerent than before – their numbers are growing but religion has not died out as quickly as they predicted back in the 1960s. The churches no longer have the influence or credibility they once did. Evangelism is difficult today. Our story is becoming unknown, but many people think they know enough not to want to hear any more about it. There is a deep suspicion of proselytism and a reluctance to listen to representatives of an institution widely regarded as reactionary, corrupt and compromised by a very dubious historical legacy. One of the pressing concerns about church life at present is how we nurture and sustain disciples. How do we nurture and sustain disciples in a social context that not only offers no support for faith but promotes and advocates very different values, ambitions and practices? Of course, we can also point to signs of hope in our churches: • Many churches are growing and new churches are being planted – not enough yet to offset closures, but signs of fresh life and vision. • Thousands of fresh expressions of church are emerging – the jury is still out on whether these will be effective and enduring, but something is afoot. • Reverse mission is bringing hundreds of passionate missionaries to Europe – if they can learn cross-cultural mission skills, they can offer much to jaded European Christians. • Evangelism in some contexts is just starting to get easier as cultural memories fade and there is interest in an unknown story.
• New partnerships between churches and other agencies, voluntary and statutory, are emerging in a culture of cuts and austerity. • Some churches are recognising that singing songs and listening passively to sermons does not do enough to nurture disciples and are becoming more intentional about discipling. • And many churches have embarked on the journey of becoming authentically missional, embracing a missio Dei perspective and equipping their members for this. Some of the post-Christendom transitions may be opportunities as well as challenges: • A marginal church has an opportunity to return to its roots in the story of a God who so often breaks in from the margins and works through the little people. During the Christendom era we lost sign of this persistent theme in the Bible; maybe we can recover this and find fresh insights from our Scriptures once we remove the blinkers of power and social dominance. • A minority church has an opportunity of recovering its prophetic calling. In the Christendom era we had so much invested in the status quo it was hard to be prophetic or to keep our eyes fixed on the coming kingdom of God. The institutional church and a supposedly Christian society together comprised most people’s expectation of God’s kingdom. But in post-Christendom maybe our vision can expand and we can find once more our prophetic voice. • A pilgrim church has an opportunity to escape from stagnation and rediscover the motif of journey and growing in faith and discipleship. The Christendom church was established, stable, rock-like – not bad qualities – but not very mobile or flexible. And our status as sojourners or aliens in post-Christendom may help us develop counter-cultural reflexes on many issues where we have compromised and colluded. • A church without privileges has an opportunity to understand how the powerless feel and to
pursue justice for all rather than self-interest. The Christendom legacy is responsible for Christians today still hankering after past dominance and desperately clinging on to privileges that are unjust in a plural society. But the early church grew and thrived in a plural environment: maybe this is a healthier environment for faith. • A witnessing church has an opportunity to relearn how to tell its story and invite others to follow the Lord we follow. In Christendom everyone was familiar with our story and somehow we lost its revolutionary power. Today many know nothing of the story, so we will need to become story-tellers and to live out the implications of our story in a society that is deeply suspicious of words alone. As we rise to this challenge we too will be renewed by our fresh encounter with the Jesus story.
Conclusion This has not been an easy session. There are many reasons to be anxious in our culture and in our churches. But there are also many good news stories, signs of hope, in-breakings of God’s kingdom. A healthy church or mission agency will hold these in tension, not flinching from the tough realities and serious challenges, but celebrating every breakthrough and setting everything in the context of the biblical hope that is founded on the resurrection of Jesus and looks forward to his return.
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A marginal church ha s an opportunity to return to its roots in the story of a God who so often breaks in from the margins and works through the little people. During the Ch ristendom era we lost sign of thi s persistent theme in the Bible; ma ybe we can recover this and find fresh insights from our Scr iptures once we remove the blinkers of power and social domi nance.
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Post-Christendom Post-Christendom is the culture that emerges as the Christian faith loses coherence within a society that has been definitively shaped by the Christian story and as the institutions that have been developed to express Christian convictions decline in influence. Post-Christendom includes the following transitions: • From the centre to the margins: in Christendom the Christian story and the churches were central, but in postChristendom these are marginal. • From majority to minority: in Christendom Christians comprised the (often overwhelming) majority, but in postChristendom we are a minority. • From settlers to sojourners: in Christendom Christians felt at home in a culture shaped by their story, but in post-Christendom we are aliens, exiles and pilgrims in a culture where we no longer feel at home. • From privilege to plurality: in Christendom Christians enjoyed many privileges, but in post-Christendom we are one community among many in a plural society. • From control to witness: in Christendom churches could exert control over society, but in post-Christendom we exercise influence only through witnessing to our story and its implications. • From maintenance to mission: in Christendom the emphasis was on maintaining a supposedly Christian status quo, but in post-Christendom it is on mission within a contested environment. • From institution to movement: in Christendom churches operated mainly in institutional mode, but in postChristendom we must become again a Christian movement.
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Youth Pre-Assembly Presentation “who do you say I am?” Prior to the Regional Assembly, a group of 7 of the young people that would attend the Assembly met together to do workshops on conference participation and confidence building, spend time in fellowship and develop a programme to deliver at the Regional Assembly in October. Following a period of reflection and ideas-sharing, a central theme of identity was apparent that captured the diverse range of challenges laid out by the representatives in attendance. That theme was reflected in Jesus’ own words: “Who do you Say I am?” (Luke 9: 20) By grounding the theme in the words of Jesus we are able to recognise that hope which unites the theme of the Regional Assembly, “Living in Hope”, with the challenges that face young people in the 21st Century. As well as presenting a film which asked a range of people to talk about who they are; facilitating small group discussions and roundtable activities; the assembly heard from two young people, Greer-Aylece Robinson and Moses Tutesigensi, who shared their testimony of their development as people of faith and their questions over who they are in themselves and with God. Having received this powerful testimony the attended Assembly was asked to consider who they are, confronting their assumptions of the roles that young people play in their churches and communities. The many layers of one’s identity was represented by a cake, decorated with the words: “who do you say I am?” which was shared by the whole Assembly. The stories and fellowship presented by the young people were inspirational and reinforced the Assembly theme of living in hope. Churches should be proud to count these young people among them.
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Hopeful Perspectives – The Trussell Trust Today the Trussell Trust is most well known throughout the UK for its network of food banks which provide a three day emergency package of basic food for those in desperate need. But that is not how the Trussell Trust began... Paddy and Carol Henderson met baby Boris, a street baby living in a Central railway station in Bulgaria along with his teenage mother. As part of a UN feeding programme Paddy and Carol supported Boris and his mother through the harsh winter. It was then that they decided they must do something to help the street children escape their desperate situation and so The Trussell Trust was established in 1997. The Trust’s initial Bulgaria projects focused on improving conditions for children sleeping at the Central Railway Station in Bulgaria. But this soon expanded to work in the UK. In 2000 Paddy was challenged by a desperate mother in Salisbury saying “my children are going to bed hungry tonight – what are you going to do about it.” Investigating statistics Paddy discovered the hidden poverty in the UK, which showed significant numbers of people faced short term hunger in emergency situations. So Paddy started the Salisbury foodbank from his back garden
providing three days emergency food to people in need. In 2004 the UK foodbank network was launched. The CWM European Regional Assembly was delighted to welcome David McAuley, The Trussell Trust Chief Executive who shared the story of the Trusts beginnings, development and current work. 13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK. Whether due to redundancy or receiving an unexpected bill on a low income, the Trussell Trust fed 913,139 people through the foodbank network in 2013-14 of whom 330,205 were children. The Trussell trust currently partners and supports churches and communities opening new foodbanks throughout the UK. Currently there are 420 foodbanks with two new outlets being opened every week. The Trussell Trust and its network of food banks are bringing hope to many vulnerable people’s lives. Taking its inspiration and motivation from the gospel and example of Jesus who cares for the excluded and pushed out, The Trussell Trust is an example of “living in hope” in hard times.
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Regional Assembly Review: The Edge The Edge Project, which is part of the mission of Holme Christian Community, Bradford, was set up to help prevent young people from falling “over the edge” into alcohol, drugs, solvent abuse, crime and general anti-social behaviour, and to help encourage them to lead a more positive lifestyle. The vision for The Edge is to help young people understand that they are valued members of the community and provide the necessary support to help them find their place and purpose. The Edge is led by Adam Woodhouse who is also an Elder in the church, four youth workers and over fifteen volunteers. Adam brought to the Assembly two of the young volunteers from The Edge. Declan and Coran were aged 21 and 18 and shared their stories of life on the estate and their involvement with The Edge and what Adam and his team had done for them.
s story:
Coran Oxley shares hi
old. d I am eighteen years “I am Coran Oxley an d out of an in d, llie bu s wa I When I was thirteen t of and getting kicked ou trouble with the police ng road. All wro the on y bo t los school. I was a Edge started to attend The this changed when I ther mo my for ng carer Project. I became a you d many an sis ero scl le ltip who suffers from mu r n became a voluntee other disabilities, I the at The Edge. ngsters on portunities at the you The Project throws op the Bradford g nin e for me was win the estate. The first on tribution. con ve siti po a g kin for ma Young Citizen award g in rin pea ap to d ner of this lea Being the overall win and being the io rad al loc on r, pe the Telegraph newspa llion pound red ribbon on a 7.3 mi V.I.P. guest to cut the to help out da plan a trip to Ugan building. I also got to for my place g isin dra fun of lot do a orphanages. I had to preciate the ap me de ener which ma and it was an eye op things I have in life. Edge a Gap scheme at The I am now currently on am doing I as nt llia bri is ich wh doing 37 hours a week ething and trying to give som something with my life them I wouldn’t for t sn’ wa it If t. jec back to The Edge Pro ouraged me ff supported me, enc be where I am. The sta l. tia ten I have a lot of po and showed me that r hopes and never give up on you Anything is possible, to be chasing old or ng you too dreams, you are never your goals.”
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The Edge is another example of churches coming together to bring hope to a local community. Declan and Coran are role models to younger people on the estate and with the leadership of Adam, the staff and volunteers at The Edge they continue to make a real difference to other peoples lives.
Introduction to Day 3: Living in Hope! On the final day, Assembly relocated to Victoria Central Methodist Hall in Sheffield and heard a final presentation from Stuart Murray-Williams which explored how to live hopefully when “hope full cupboards” look bare! Chris Baillee from A Rocha - a Christian organisation committed to working to sustain the environment – reflected on how we can co-operate in caring for and sustaining God’s creation.
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How can we live hopefully? Introduction In the first two presentations: • We talked about three biblical and theological foundations for our hope as followers of Jesus: mission is not a programme of the church but our participation in God’s mission; the fulfilment of that mission will be the establishing of ‘shalom’ throughout the cosmos – all things restored and reconciled; this is the coming of God’s kingdom that Jesus proclaimed and for which we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. • We talked about the importance of ‘prophetic imagination’ so that we live towards God’s promised future. We are neither pessimists nor optimists but are confident, on the basis of the resurrection of Jesus, that our hope is justified and secure. • We acknowledged that our hope can be threatened by anxieties about the prospects of the church and the challenges facing our societies. We need to name and face these, recognising that our current experience has some resonances with the Old Testament exile period and that we are still learning to ‘sing the Lord’s song in a strange land.’ During the Assembly there have also been encouraging stories of hope, in this presentation we will share more of these. We should not under-estimate the power of stories to shape communities, sustain faith and inspire hope. The stories I bring all in different ways challenge the ‘business as usual’ mentality and pose the hopeful question: ‘what if?’
Fresh Thinking in a Violent World The Anabaptist tradition has rejected the assumption that in a violent world the only way to achieve justice is through violent means. This is sometimes known as the myth of redemptive violence and permeates our culture, especially in our cinemas. But it offers little hope of an end to the cycles of violence that characterise human history. Christians from the Anabaptist tradition and others are picking away at this dreadful myth. It will not 20 ||CWM CWMEuropean EuropeanRegional RegionalAssembly Assembly2015 2015
disappear quickly or easily, but if the ultimate goal of God’s mission is ‘shalom’, a commitment to peace is utterly realistic and means we are living, as the theologian Stanley Hauerwas has said, ‘with the grain of the universe.’ Offering hope means questioning assumptions and getting people thinking. In 1984 John Stoner, an American pastor, made what he described as a ‘modest proposal for peace.’ He suggested: ‘Let the Christians of the world agree that they will not kill each other.’ This seemingly innocuous proposal has all kinds of ramifications and provides a creative starting point for conversations around issues of nationalism, violence and the global Christian community. ‘What if’ is a question a prophetic minority poses. The Christian community can no longer assert its views from the perspective of a moral majority, peppering these with ‘oughts’ and ‘shoulds’. We do not have the social standing, spiritual authority or credibility to claim this status. Nor will such pronouncements be received with enthusiasm or make any significant impact on policy makers or public opinion. Furthermore, most pronouncements of this kind tend to be dull, worthy and predictable, rather than creative, provocative and imaginative. If we want to contribute effectively to public debates on important issues, we need to do so as a prophetic minority, ask unexpected questions and offer intriguing and hopeful alternatives.
Conclusion Living hopefully may not be heroic or startling. One of the simple but precious gifts the Christian community can offer is stability. A society that lacks hope is constantly tinkering, rebuilding, rebranding, and upgrading. It is characterised by impatience, short-termism, built-in obsolescence, and the demand for instant gratification. Projects, programmes and initiatives follow each other in rapid succession, abandoned before they can take effect properly, resulting in instability, anxiety and wasted resources. No wonder there is so much scepticism and
disengagement. And the Christian community is not immune to this, as churches hop from one strategy to another, as church members move from church to church, and as funders withdraw support if results are not achieved quickly. But a hopeful community can embody stability. It can stay in particular places and journey with communities for years and decades as initiatives come and go. In my experience, Christians in poor urban neighbourhoods more often demonstrate this stability than those in more affluent and mobile areas. Recently, I heard of a young couple who had moved into a poor urban neighbourhood with a commitment to be there for at least the next thirty years. And an Anglican friend describes the vocation of his urban congregation as ‘outlasting, out-praying and, if necessary, out-suffering’ all who hinder or oppose the advance of God’s mission in their community. Many small urban churches provide a simple but powerful testimony to hope simply by still being there. Another gift a hopeful community can offer is gratitude. In a culture of grumbling and complaining, it may simply be living with gratitude and contentment. We do not close our eyes to the evil around us and within us, nor do we cease to rage against injustice, but we choose to redress the balance in a complaining culture by being grateful. We are grateful for every creative initiative, every expression of generosity, every act of kindness, every bold experiment that anticipates the shalomfilled future God has promised and points hopefully towards this.
An Australian Story
Two Anabaptist Stories
Two of our most basic human needs are protection and provision. I have told stories that offer hope in a violent world, but we also need stories that offer hope in a world of poverty and indebtedness. Let me share one from Australia.
Previously I mentioned that I find inspiration in the Anabaptist tradition – a tradition that has many challenging stories.
The capacity of the Christian community to release resources and use these creatively to bring hope was evident in Fremantle, Australia, a few years ago. In 2003 several churches in the town were challenged by the ‘jubilee’ vision in Leviticus 25 and decided to explore ways to practise this. Initially, they did the kinds of things churches often do – distributing Christmas hampers to families in need. They raised $40,000AUD and gave away 10 tons of food to 500 families. The following Easter they went further. The 16 churches in the town raised enough money to pay off the utility bills (gas, electricity and water) of any residents threatened with having their services cut off and the rent arrears of any residents threatened with eviction. Working with the utility companies and the local housing authority, they identified those in need and donated over $120,000AUD to release the debts of all those affected. Nobody expected this action to prevent recipients getting into debt again, although it offered them an opportunity to make a fresh start, but it represented a glimpse of God’s in-breaking kingdom and the practical application of a radical but neglected principle of biblical economics. Jubilee was intended to restore hope.
The most famous Anabaptist story is that of Dirk Willems, a young man in Asperen in the Netherlands in the second half of the sixteenth century. Dirk, who belonged to a proscribed Anabaptist community, was arrested and imprisoned in 1569 to await trial and execution. Somehow, he escaped and ran for his life across the fields and onto a frozen canal, but the alarm was raised and he was pursued by a prison guard. As he stepped onto the ice, perhaps rather thin after time in prison, the ice held as Dirk ran across, but the better fed guard felt the ice crack and he slipped into the freezing water. This was Dirk’s opportunity to make good his escape, but instead he turned back and rescued the guard, pulling him to the shore. Others had by now arrived and Dirk was promptly re-arrested and confined in a more secure prison. He was subsequently burned at the stake for heresy. Anabaptists and others have reflected deeply on this story, asking various questions. Why did Dirk turn back? Was he right to do this, or should he have escaped? What would I have done in this situation? What is clear is that Dirk’s choice was a reflex action. There was no time to sit down and weigh up the options, debate the ethical issues involved, consult his pastor or wait for a sermon on the subject. His act of mercy was instinctive. We do not know whether he later regretted it or was at peace with his decision, but his reflex action was to rescue his pursuer, to save his life at the cost of his own. Reflecting on this story poses another question. Who or what had shaped Dirk’s reflexes? We know little about Dirk’s underground community in Asperen, but the Anabaptist tradition has placed huge emphasis on the Sermon on the Mount and especially Jesus’ teaching about love of enemies. It is likely that Dirk had internalised this to such an extent that his reflex action on the ice was to turn back and save his enemy. Reflexes are nurtured in communities that consistently teach and model distinctive virtues and values.
A much more recent, but equally poignant, story on which Anabaptists and others have been reflecting is the response of the Amish community to the shooting of several young girls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania in October 2006 by a lone gunman who then killed himself. The world’s media expressed shock, not only at the tragedy itself, but at the speed with which the community expressed forgiveness for the perpetrator. Some were offended, judging that this must be superficial, but moved on before discovering that members of the community visited the gunman’s distraught mother, attended her son’s funeral and shared with her some of the money raised in response to this tragedy. This story raises similar questions to that of Dirk Willems. Why did the Amish community so quickly, reflexively, express forgiveness despite their deep grief? Was this the right response? What would I have done in this situation? And the deeper question again: what shaped their reflexes so that they responded in this way? This community, like Dirk’s, meditated often on the Sermon on the Mount, nurtured reflexes of loving their enemies and deeply imbibed the commitment to forgiveness at the heart of the Lord’s Prayer. Not all stories from the Anabaptist tradition are as impressive or disturbing as these, for the Anabaptist community is as flawed as any other. And other traditions have their own stories that need to be heard and pondered. Stories shape communities and form us as disciples. And stories like these encourage us to think of discipleship as re-reflexing and to ask, not what we say we believe, or how we think we should live, but what kind of people are we? How do we respond under pressure, when we have no time to think things through? Not what rules does our community teach, but what kind of reflexes is our community nurturing in us? And they are stories of hope that forgiveness and enemy-loving can be stronger than hatred.
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Hopeful Perspectives – A Rocha International A Rocha is an international Christian organisation which, inspired by God’s love, engages in scientific research, environmental education and community-based conservation projects which together leave a legacy of hope.
Five main areas of A Rocha internationals work includes:
The CWM European Regional Assembly was pleased to welcome Revd Chris Bailee who alongside his pastoral ministry in Bridgewater United Reformed Church is also A Rocha UK Conservation Manager in the South West of England.
• Education
A Rocha works in numerous countries around the world. In all its work A Rocha affirm these five commitments: Christian – understanding a biblical faith in God whom made the world, loves it and trusts it to humanities care. Conservation – carrying out research for conservation and restoration of the world and running educational programmes for all ages. Community – through A Rocha’s commitment to God, each other and creation to build good relationships within A Rocha and local communities Cross-cultural – drawing on the insights and skills of people from different cultures Co-operation – working in partnership with organisations and individuals who share A Rocha’s concern for a sustainable world.
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• Research and monitoring • Community Conservation
• Advocacy • Campaigning A Rocha in the UK also has a range of activities supporting individuals, churches and communities in caring for their local environments. “Ecocongregations” is a resource available to local churches to support them in caring for their local environment. Throughout the UK there are examples of A Rocha Projects and Partner in Action Projects which are concerned to create and maintain the local environment in partnership with the local community. For further information see: A Rocha International www.arocha.org A Rocha UK www.arocha.org.uk
Collection of worship resources from the CWM European Regional Assembly Worship was an essential element of the CWM European Regional Assembly and was led sensitively and creatively by Revd Mike Walsh and his wife Revd Kate Gray. Both Mike and Kate are ministers in the United Reformed Church, Mike serving as a Pioneer Minister in Salford Manchester and Kate serving as minister to the Dandelion Community in Wythenshawe. We are grateful to Mike and Kate for generously being willing to share these worship resources.
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hopes Prayer “God of
and dreams”
d dreams God of hopes an ce, ur divine presen aware yo to in e m co we ay we always be m u, yo e se ot nn ca we gh and thou d by you. we are surrounde be with you. You invite us to ht, and comfort. ce be joy, and lig en es pr May your wonder. ay we feel your easures of life m In the simple pl r, te music and laugh in the sounds of new, friends old and of ny pa m in the co ne, wi d an d ea br in the taste of g us. be known amon , times this week us in the testing But also be with litude, in silence and so securities, in d an rs fea r in ou oice. ch d an in challenge gether, So, we gather to ns, lts and limitatio fau r ou of e Awar failures, st pa r ou g gin , acknowled to hold us back for all we allow se or m re g lin fee r hopes. from fulfilling ou newing love, forgiving and re We ask for your new life. pe, new peace, giving us new ho ce. So this week, e in your presen be aware we ar may we always d thank you. May we bless an d adore you. an e ais pr May we each other, g with you, and in be s. May we enjoy presence of Jesu e spirit and the in the name, th Amen.
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Activity “Mak ing room for hope….” Equipment: Bo ttles of liquid bubble solutio n As people of ho pe, participatin g in hopeful co and churches we need to co mmunities nstantly be m our lives, min aking room in istries and ch urches for ho and flourish. pe to fly, grow Think about th e things that hold you and back. What ar your church e the things th at hinder hope hold in your ch from taking urch and your life? You might wan t to share two or th people around you, sharing as ree things with the much or as lit are comfortabl tle as you e sharing. Now taking th e bottle of liq uid bubble so use it as a sig lution, we will n and action of letting go of we think we kn all those thin ow, all those gs things which till all is left is hold our hope, our trust in God. Th us back, play – it is a bo is is serious ld thing to do – to lean into an act of cons hope and as ciousness to na m struggles, frust e rations, jadedn and let go of barriers, ess and cynici sm. Hope is calling …share as yo u are able with you and then those around imagine the bu bbles are the being burst, ch barriers – allenges over co me and overw burdens and responsibilitie helming s moved from … our shoulders Let us make ro om in our spiri t, until all that is left is hope.
nd Prayer one ha ebble in the other – p a e k ta in please f dough hunk o r. and a c e th y toge and lets pra e shape are of th e dough in w a e m nd th Beco e rock a feel of th s. nd your ha
Notice no w your ow n hea Does hope make us so rt … soft, hard, ft, tender, bolder, stro Notice in yo nger? ur heart th e aspects hard resist of tendern ance, posi ess, tive streng th. Observe a nd becom e aware o f th em. Say thank you to Go d for your and invite heart in ha the Spirit rd times to point o hopes hea ut areas w ling balm here can be po ured. Thank you for hope in hard time hard time s. hope in s. Amen.
Prayer “What is the colour of hope?” n.
You are invited to pray using your imaginatio Spirit enable us to see and to sense with our imagination… Give us a picture of what creation looks like when creation is set free (pause). Thank you. May we live as though this is so. Give us a picture of freedom for your people around the world. (pause). Thank you. May we live as though this is so.
Give us a picture of our own bodies as healed and free (pause). Thank you. May we live as though this is so. of hope Give us a picture of the colour and shade from your rainbow. (pause). shade Thank you. May we weave this colour and and these pictures you have given to us into our lives from these prayers. May we observe them around us. May we actively see the colour of hope and paint it into our own lives today – e. in clothing, food, art, conversation and silenc Creative Spirit thank you. Amen.
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Sermon A sermon preached at the CWM European Regional Assembly by Revd Wayne Hawkins, Regional Secretary. There are some stories in the Bible that seem to sum up what it is all about – it being the story of people like you and me as we encounter the good news of God’s unconditional love. The story of Zacchaeus is one of those stories. It is one of those stories that is told time and time again; included and illustrated in countless collections of Bible stories – a well-loved children’s story. But the gospel writer didn’t write the story of Zacchaeus for children, he wrote the story because it sums up the peculiar mystery of what happens around Jesus of Nazareth. He wrote this story because what happened in Jericho that day was happening in his church community fifty years later when he was putting this gospel together and because it continues to happen in God’s world today. In September at a CWM workshop we heard the story of The Ark, Crawcrook in South Tyneside. A small and dwindling congregation decided that after years of struggling they were now simply too tired to carry on, so they decided that they would close. The minister and neighbouring churches had a vision not to disappear but to re-imagine what the church could look like. After a time of envisioning, praying and discerning – and no doubt uncertainty and angst - The Ark was born. Liz Kent and Tracey Hume shared the story of The Ark as a play centre for toddlers and how over the past months they had built community and slowly were beginning to see the coming to birth of a new church – it doesn’t look like yours or mine – but it has all the hallmarks of church. People are coming to faith; growing in discipleship; discovering the Bible, being a welcoming and hospitable community especially to children and people with special needs. Liz, Tracey and God’s people at Crawcrook are living in hope and planting sycamore trees so that others might see Jesus. 26 | CWM European Regional Assembly 2015
Margaret Dyrburgh was a missionary with the Presbyterian Board of Missions – one of the successor bodies of CWM. She became principal at a girls school in Singapore, but was interred in a Sumatran concentration camp in the Second World War. Here she organised worship, organised poetry classes and the first ever vocal orchestra, for which she is still remembered. She was an inspiration to the girls in her Singapore school and to the other internees, she died from dysentery in April 1945. Margaret Dryburgh was living in hope – when everything else breathed death – planting sycamore trees so that others might see Jesus. And we have heard and know of many other examples. We heard about The Edge working with young people in Bradford to provide a safe place, advice and support. We discovered the Trussell Trust with over 420 food banks helping over 900,000 struggling families in the UK. We could speak about Nijkleaster in Jorwert where the church is seeking to re-imagine itself as a new spiritual community. Rafit Kassis told us of the Kairos proposals for a lasting solution in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. We heard about the Manor Project here in Sheffield and how the churches there seek to make a difference to people’s lives. We just watched the story of Zac’s place and how lives are being changed by the power of the gospel as people live out the gospels message of hope. In Swansea, Jorwert, in Bradford, in Ramalah, in Sheffield people are living in hope – even when others give up – planting sycamore trees so that others might see Jesus. You see Zacchaeus was one of those people Jesus loved to be around, one of those people Jesus enjoyed spending time with. Eating meals with tax collectors; touching lepers; including women and children in his circle of friends; sitting with prostitutes and spending time with those who are pushed out; so it should come as no surprise when Jesus stops beneath this particular sycamore tree. Zacchaeus was filthy rich, he wasn’t any old tax collector he was the tax collectors tax collector. By cosying up to the Roman occupiers, Zacchaeus won the franchise to collect taxes throughout the locality; he ensured that he got his share and a little
more on top and when he was called to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Standards in Public Life he found the committee was on his side too. As a consequence Zacchaeus was filthy rich and despised. On the day that the preacher from Nazareth came to town Zacchaeus looked for the best seat, but the street was so full he couldn’t get a glimpse. Whenever you had heard this story you will have been told that Zacchaeus was a very little man, but the original Greek can be read in different ways – so perhaps Zacchaeus was six feet tall and Jesus four foot, who knows? The important things is that Zacchaeus is drawn to Jesus, perhaps out of curiosity or because he had heard a rumour that Jesus didn’t mind eating with tax collectors. Zacchaeus had to see the preacher from Nazareth, so forgetting his dignity and determined to see more than the backs of his neighbours, he scurried up the sycamore tree. Without the sycamore tree Zacchaeus would not get a glimpse of Jesus. So what is it that Zacchaeus sees? Without the sycamore tree Zacchaeus would not have discovered Jesus cares about people, including filthy rich tax collectors. Without the sycamore tree Zacchaeus would not have found the radical and expansive nature of God’s limitless love. Without the sycamore tree Zacchaeus would not have discovered that God’s love is big enough and strong enough to meet us wherever we are and to not let go of us. Without the sycamore tree we would not have this story and this window on who God is. We discover in this story that in the same way we declare God is love so we can say God is mission. If mission is the self-giving of God to the whole creation, then mission is not a second thought but is an eternal first step towards creation. This means that mission reaches into the very heart of who God is and that God as Trinity is the exact opposite of a community that exists only for itself. From eternity the divine nature is positioned looked outwards – living in hope towards all creation. And so it is that the church does not have a mission and God does not have a mission. The church is mission in its very being, just as God is mission. So all this business of planting sycamore trees so
that others can climb and see Jesus – this is what the church is for. The church has no other function than to speak and to demonstrate; to display and point so that others can find Jesus and discover his amazing love for them. We can all think back over our own lives and name those who have pointed towards Jesus for us. A Sunday school teacher; a family member; a friend; a church leader – someone who planted a sycamore tree which you scrambled up and caught a glimpse of Jesus. God invites us to be about this work of planting, tending, growing sycamore trees so others can climb to see Jesus. It is a planting that takes many different forms – it is an act of living in hope that takes many different shapes – an act of kindness towards someone in need; a food parcel from the foodbank; sharing the good news with someone desperately sad. These things may seem small and insignificant – chance encounters; hurried conversations; fleeting moments – but we know better than to despise small things. The bible is full of small things: • A little boy with a deadly aim and a pebble • A handful of grain and oil to feed a family
acceptable and so question whether to include the story of the prodigal son or the woman caught in the act of adultery, because they make Jesus seem like a bad judge of character. And the story of Zacchaeus is another example, making scholar’s question whether Zacchaeus’ offer to pay back his riches is a later addition to the story. The point is the good news Jesus brings is controversial, because it upsets the balance and challenges the way things are round here. So we might think about our own places and ask who are the ones that are excluded and pushed out? Who are the small ones that are overlooked and crowded out? We have heard about them this week – young people looking for a brighter future; Palestinians and Israeli’s longing for lasting peace; food bank clients not looking for a hand-out but a hand-up. My former minister used to volunteer with a Christian charity in Coventry that works with sex workers in the city. Many of these men and women have been trafficked and none chosen to be in their situation. My minister asked the church one Sunday morning how they would feel if she invited these good people round to the manse for a meal, but
having done so discovered the meal table was too small. Would it be alright to use the communion table to sit round together and share a meal? I found her illustration powerful then and still today, because it strikes me that that is what the table is for. That is the purpose of the table – to bring together the pushed out, the vulnerable and excluded. Around the table we re-member and bring together that which is cut off, pushed out, weak and excluded. Around this table where we pray believing, where we proclaim knowing and where we practice holding we say that the world doesn’t have to be this way. That we can live in hope for a better world, where the hungry are fed, the homeless find shelter, the sick find well-being. So we dare to live in hope despite the odds, knowing that God who gives himself is at work before us and invites us to keep up and join in. So let us plant and tend, water and grow sycamore trees so that as we live in hope others will get a glimpse of Jesus.
• A foreign widow related to the messiah. • A child with a small lunch box to feed a crowd • A baby born in a stable to save a world. When Jesus stops at the bottom of the sycamore tree and invites himself to tea we discover a different response to Jesus’ radical message. The gospel writer is reminding us that there are times when the good news is not welcome and will be resisted. The crowd was amazed and grumbled, “doesn’t this man know who he is?” Yes Jesus does know who he is and that is the point. Like the crowd on that day, so Christians throughout the ages have struggled with the vastness of God’s love and how to reflect that love as they live in hope. The story of Acts and the rest of the New Testament could be understood as the church wrestling with questions of who and who not to include. In Acts we read of the church struggling with how and whether to include gentiles who come to faith. And those who put the gospel together against that background, struggle to make the church look
Conclusion
re to be We are reminded in scriptu s and so we nce sta um circ all in ul thankf express our to g din clu con pause before to everyone thanks and appreciation M European who participated in the CW particularly are We . Regional Assembly usly ero gen o wh se tho to l gratefu Review. bly em Ass this contributed to with these As we began we conclude e: hop words of blessing and
Romans 15 :13 “May God, th e source of ho pe, fill you with all joy and pe ace by means of yo ur faith in hi m, so that your hope w ill continue to grow by the power of the Holy Sp irit.”
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CWM Europe Regional Assembly Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Victoria Station Rd Sheffield South Yorkshire S4 7YE Tel: +44 (0) 114 276 8822 www.cwmission.org www.cwmeurope.org