Liturgy back online

One of the websites that's been missing as a result of the Christchurch earthquake has been the internationally popular Liturgy site, run by Anglican Bosco Peters. As a result of being offline, a lot of his fans have assumed he'd gone for good and have departed themselves.

After a few spasmodic tweets, sent from an internet cafe, or the like, Bosco and Liturgy are now back online again.



And as perky, informative and occasionally hilarious as ever...

So what is Fresh Expressions?

Fresh Expressions as a concept has been around for a while now, (and came out of the Mission Shaped Church thinking in the UK) but in the last few months it has made an impact amongst Anglicans - and some Presbyterians and others - in New Zealand, particularly in the light of the visit of Graham Cray. I don't think it's the first time Fresh Expressions has appeared on the radar here, but I haven't got anything to hand to back that idea up, and there are elements of Fresh Expressions that are similar to Messy Church, another British import, which has been functioning in NZ for quite some time in various forms.

Anyway for those who are still catching up on what Fresh Expressions is, and who would like to read a bit of good thinking about it, check out Mark Johnston's recent blog post on the subject: What is Fresh Expressions and what might we learn from it?

Daring to be....as a minister of God

Paul Fromont has an interesting post (29.10.10) in which he quotes at reasonable length from a reflection by the Anglican writer, Monica Furlong (1930-2003). In this reflection she responds to the statement:“I want priests who dare to be…” Some of what she says will strike a chord, some may upset, some may concern ministers deeply. Here's the start of the reflection....

“[Priest’s, ministers, pastors] are in for a growing loneliness, of being misunderstood. I suggest that this will only be endurable if they expect this, understand the reasons for it, and do not cast too many envious glances over their shoulders at the circumstances of their predecessors.

I am clear about what I want from the clergy. I want them to be people who can, by their own happiness and contentment challenge my ideas about status, success and money and so teach me how to live more independently of such drugs.

I want them to be people who can dare, as I do not dare, and as few of my contemporaries dare to refuse to work flat out and to refuse to work more strenuously than me.

Read more here...

Wake-up call in mission

Engagement 21 - A Wake-up Call to the 21st Century Church in Mission, by Bishop Richard Randerson

Engagement 21 challenges the Church to radically review its mission strategy if it seeks to gain traction in today’s world. A mission-focused theology, a deeper understanding of modern society and more effective skills in ministry are central to the task. Based on a survey of 96 clergy and laity in New Zealand and Australia, Engagement 21 reports a widespread grass-roots desire for change. But it also documents 126 creative ministry projects that are signs of a new mission paradigm. Designed for individual or group reading, the book is priced to facilitate local study and mission planning.

Topics include:
• Statistics of church participation rates 1945-2006
• Results of the mission survey with 16 graphs documenting the extent of theological and ministry training, perceptions of parish ministries, chaplaincies and lay vocation, and attitudes re the need for new models of ministry and less institutional focus
• A three-part Biblical study on mission based on the redemption of all Creation
• 126 innovative ministry projects that span the range from spirituality, worship and theological education to community outreach, social justice and environmental stewardship
• Foreword by Bishop Philip Richardson.
Bishop Tom writes:
I warmly commend Bishop Richard Randerson’s book - “Engagement 21”, which is a newly published research work looking at our mission in the community across the country. A number of projects from this diocese feature but taken as a whole it is a comprehensive review of where we are at and is a resource we will all benefit from.

Available either: resource@wn.ang.org.nz or telephone 0800 833 477, or direct from the author: randersonjr@paradise.net.nz – 064 4 976 6050, or from Epworth Books. [These are all New Zealand telephone numbers.]
Prices vary slightly depending on where you order it from.

Challenge of Change (and an apology!)

Just by way of apology: things have been a bit quiet on this blog lately due to a number of other calls on my time at the National Mission Office. Nil desperandum! The blog is not forgotten, and just to prove it, here's a review of a book for you.

The Challenge of Change: a practical guide to shaping change and changing the shape of the church, by Philip Potter.
The following review comes from Amazon.co.uk and is by P E Berry:
I'm an Anglican Vicar with over 15 years of experience in three different parishes/teams and I have to say that Phil Potter's book is probably one of the most important and influential I've read in the whole of that time. Thoroughly grounded on Phil's experience over many years, it is not triumphant about achievements (as so many tend to be) but, rather, incredibly honest and realistic, both about his early days at St. Mark's, Haydock and how he guided this church along the often painful road of change. It's well grounded in a Biblical understanding of what it means to be God's people and also extremely practical in applying those all-important foundational principles on which to help build a healthy approach to change. This book has really 'spoken' into my current situation, so much so that I've bought it for the staff team and will be using it as a basis for a PCC vision day. I don't think I exaggerate when I tell people that it has transformed my ministry. Highly recommended.
(The book comes from an Anglican perspective but can be applied well beyond that. There are challenging exercises at the end of each chapter.)
Published by the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) 2009

Bishop Cray and Fresh Expressions

Bishop Cray, Director of Fresh Expressions/Frontier Ministry, UK, will be in Christchurch during the week of 6-11 July (Nelson and Dunedin dioceses may also be involved in this) and is the key speaker at the Wellington Anglican Diocesan Clergy Conference from July 13-16 in Masterton.

There is also the possibility of two opportunities to spend time with Bishop Cray in:
1. A small meeting with those who can attend at the Anglican Center, 18 Eccelston Hill, Thorndon, Wellington on Friday afternoon from 2.30pm -5pm (max) and/or

2. The Wellington Diocesan Ministry Day being held for those who do not fall into the category of Wellington Clergy (although they are also welcome to attend!) on Saturday July 17 at St Paul’s Church, Paraparaumu from 9.30am to 4pm

For more information, email Tony Gerritsen at gerritsen@inspire.net.nz

Dave Tomlinson in New Zealand

Dave Tomlinson comes to Wellington
(these details come from a joint newsletter put out by Presbyterian Youth Ministry and World Vision).

World Vision have brought Dave Tomlinson, an Anglican priest in London, over to New Zealand for a fleeting visit. Dave will give two keynote talks on "re-emerging church" on Thursday 10 September, 9 - 12:30 pm @ St John's in the City, Wellington. Door charge $10.

Who is he?
Dave wrote The Post-evangelical, founded "Holy Joes" church in a pub, and has recently published the excellent book, Re-enchanting Christianity, which follows on from The Post-evangelical in that it explores ways of being faithful to the Gospel/Bible for those who may be post-church or wondering about their faith. Bible, prayer, mission, theology, church, community, are some of the areas explored. Now he is the vicar of St Luke's in North London, an Anglican parish church that seeks to combine tradition with contemporary culture. He is married to Pat, and has three children and three grandchildren. Dave's website has more information about his work and ministry.

Re-emerging Church?

Mark Pierson, from World Vision, uses the term "re-emerging church", which he prefers to "emerging church" because it better reflects a desire to see existing churches resourced to re-discover their place in the culture, rather than feel that something new is going to come along and take them over. Dave has done this at St Luke's Anglican in London and his new book reflects this practice.

Dave's two keynote talks:

Church without borders
In a fractured and fragmented world where many starve for relationships and belonging, how can we build more open and inclusive communities? How can we create churches that people want to come to? How can we connect effectively with churchless spirituality?

Identity and change in an age of uncertainty
How do we listen and respond to what is happening in the world, whilst continuing to listen, and remain faithful, to our tradition? What do we let go of, and what do we hold on to? And how can our traditions and rituals be reconfigured and re-spirited to meet new needs?

Tom Brackett has begun an interesting process in relation to Brian McLaren's preentation to the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. The original address in on video here, but Tom has helpfully laid it out in a very readable format.

What he proposes to do is video brief interviews with people who have engaged with McLaren's presentation, as they answer follow-up questions to McLaren's claims about the American Episcopalian Church. He's looking for both 'I dream of a church where...' statements as well as practical 'next steps' comments. The aim is to offer a sense of vision to new leaders in the Episcopalian Church.

McLaren states that this is 'The Episcopal Moment' - a moment of opportunity and possibility, precisely because of the challenges. He then lists four advantages that denomination has, and four disadvantages, and ends with five elements that are required for movement forward:
1. a 'bring them in' spirit
2. a 'let's experiment' spirit
3. a 'we're beginning again' spirit
4. a 'transcend and include' spirit
5. the Holy Spirit!

Each of these elements is explained in more detail on Brackett's blog. Whether your church is Episcopalian or something else, what is said here is well-worth thinking about: do we want to bring them in? Are we prepared to experiment? Have we a sense of renewal? Are we prepared to overcome things that hold us back, and accept people who aren't what we think they should be? Have we 'room' for the Holy Spirit? (Not such a silly question!)

Barbara Brown Taylor

An interesting quote from Barbara Brown Taylor, in her book, Leaving Church, after she finds that life in a rural parish is just as 'busy' as life in the inner city - interesting, as this same 'busyness' is a prime factor in ministers burning out. (page 75, HarperSanFrancisco paperback edition, 2007)

I had moved to the country in order to lie down in more blessed fields, to live closer to the Divine Presence that had held me all my life, but I had once again become so busy caring for the household of God that I neglected the One who had called me there. If I still had plenty of energy for the work, that was because feeding others was still my food. As long as I fed them, I did not feel my hunger pain.

And one other quote, about her visit to Ireland:
Later I would find the Celtic theology...in which God's 'big book' of creation is revered alongside God's 'little book' of sacred scripture. I would also find Christian mystics such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Julian of Norwich, who found heaven on earth in union with the Divine. 'I have had no other masters than the beeches and the oaks,' Bernard wrote in the twelfth century, while Julian recognised the love of God in a hazel nut in her hand. Hildegard of Bingen coined the word viriditas ('green power') to describe the divine power of creation, while Francis of Assisi composed love songs to Brother Sun and Sister Moon.
'You never enjoy the world aright till the sea itself floweth in your veins,' wrote the seventeenth-century Anglican priest, Thomas Traherne, 'till you are clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars; and perceive yourself to be the sole heir of the whole world, and more than so, because men are in it who are every one sole heirs as well as you.' Since I had received Christian education that taught me to view creation as both fallen and inert, I was happy to discover these dissenting opinions, but they only confirmed what I already knew to be true. I did not live on the earth but in it, in communion with all that gave me life.

(Page 81-82)

More on leaving Church here.

Innovative Church online

Mark Brown is Chief Executive Officer of the Bible Society in New Zealand and an Anglican Priest. In January 2007 he planted an Anglican Church in the virtual world of Second Life which now offers several services a week and has grown to more than 500 members.
You have to ask: why would people want to attend a church service in a virtual world? Mark's response is: The rallying cry of the Digital Revolution is:
Just for me, wherever I am, however I want it, whenever I want it.
This revolution has come about through the extraordinary growth of the internet. In just a short period of time the internet has grown to around 23.01 billion pages with some 1.3 billion people using it. It's predicted that in 2008 more information will be created on the Web than in all previous years combined. The computer is no longer a specialist tool but is now very much a part of our every day environment.

Jonathan Carson, International President for the research company Nielsen Online, notes, ‘The Internet is no longer a niche technology - it is mass media and an utterly integral part of modern life. Almost no aspect of life remains untouched by online media.'

Internet based applications now play a part in major advances in science, business, environmental care, transport logistics, government and education to name a few.

You can read a (long) post on the topic by Mark here. While this particular post focuses on the Anglican Church, everything that is said is relevant to other denominations as well.

Mark's personal blog is called: brownblog.

Colin Greene

“…I firmly believe God is raising up a new generation of prophets and visionaries who are what I call ‘brokers of a new reality’. In other words they really want to know what is going on in our world on all kinds of levels, politically, economically, spiritually and culturally. They want to know what are the contours of the cultural space we presently inhabit and they want to be able to celebrate what is good about that process of rapid globalization, as well as critique what is dangerous and reckless about it. As an Anglican I want the Anglican church in the West to stop re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and accept that the Christendom ship is now sinking very quickly and will soon be gone below the waves of rapid fundamental change and innovation. The Anglican Church requires a new missional imagination and to do that it must re-engage with the biblical narrative in such a way that it can discover new ways of being church among the cultural refugee’s and spiritual seekers of our generation…”

Colin Greene, author of Metavista: Bible, Church and Mission in an Age of Imagination (Faith in an Emerging Culture Series)

Alan Hirsch calls this book: Well written, theologically stimulating, meticulously researched, and will no doubt be an authoritative text in its genre. But the best thing about Metavista is that it is simply great missiology in the Newbigin tradition.

Give up those extra tax dollars

New Zealand's Government tax cuts came into effect October 1st. Most people will see it as a few more dollars in their pocket. Some will be a bit wiser and bank the extra. Even though for many it's not a lot of money per week, the $12 to $28 a week individuals save on their tax bill can make a real difference - especially for those who can get along without it.

A simple suggestion has come from the Anglican Social Justice Committee: - give those extra dollars up!

By giving them up to those who do need it, and to those working to make a real difference, you can take an active part in changing our nation and our world into more of the kind of place we, and our children, might like.

The Give It Up! site has the look of a newspaper about, but there are plenty of links to check out, and plenty of ideas of ways to put that extra cash to good use. (Furthermore, the more you give away the more the Inland Revenue will give you back next year - it's one big merry-go-round!)