Change is inevitable. The new minister for Glasgow West, Pollokshaws and one who will be working closely with the Clydebank addiction recovery programme, has been announced. They bring such a wealth of gifts and graces to the table; I hope you will warmly welcome them.
We will soon leave the Circuit to travel south to the Scottish border – but not The Borders; nevertheless, you’ve persuaded us to remain in this country! This year has been a struggle at times, and I am looking forward to releasing the burden of ministry and finding time to flourish in whatever lies ahead.
You, within Strathclyde, and of course from 2025, ‘Scotland as a single circuit’ also seek to flourish in the months and years ahead. We both stand in uncharted waters, unsure on how to set the sails so we aren’t in the doldrums but can move forward at speed. As the waves lap against the bow, we wonder in which direction should we proceed.
May I offer something for the table in our discussion?
In our time looking through Genesis, we have noted the often-cited theme of women who are barren. I would struggle to contemplate what it must feel like to face that societal pressure to have children, to maintain that family line – for that was what was expected of the woman; or even if you were unable to have children – and you hear these verses today. How the former might have sought to isolate themselves away from the rest of the community, with the perceived shame and despair of being without-child. Jesus actively sought out such women, so that they could be re-introduced into that community. They need not feel marginalised but know of kin-ship, of a wider family, and love. That all were valued.
In our church of today, we may often feel that the traditional service format may be comfortable, an expectation even. We might enter, cast an eye out for who has already arrived, and then proceed towards the seat we have always taken. It doesn’t have our name on it, but…
I wonder if we might re-imagine the church as to be like a café or a pub, one we are unaccustomed to frequent. In Glasgow, upon entering we might choose a table away from others. Then again, this is Glasgow – people in that place see that in our relationships there is great benefit. They seek to strike up a conversation, to bring about a greater understanding of each other, and of life itself.
It was the poet William Blake, who is attributed to saying
“A good local pub has much in common with a church,
William Blake (attrib.)
except that a pub is warmer, and there’s more conversation”.
Not that I, as I prepare to depart, seek to encourage strict Methodists to go to the pub 😉, but let’s take a moment to reflect.
Where would Jesus be? In the ‘Hope and Anchor’? People are often seeking truth in our confused, often conflicting world. See how some politicians seek to meld fact and apparent pledges together. Can the church of today seek to offer comfort for all, not merely affluence?
If we consider one of the great messages from Christ: the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5): here, we find Jesus speaking with the crowds where they were, and encouraging all within that society to see that vital bond of love between them all. It wasn’t just the rich and powerful, but all humanity. Yes, it was political, it was subversive for the time, but its focus was about relationships. It wasn’t about a king-dom, but kin_dom – being as one.
Our addiction recovery work is about meeting people where they are. It is about listening first and foremost, hearing what they have to say, what their struggles feel like, trying to really understand the person in front of them. And then, then, to seek to meet their needs. It is not about trying to double guess what they need and provide that as a solution for them to take, or not.
In the passage of feeding the 5000, we read of a crowd following the wandering Jesus, seeking some form of help. The disciples had a preplanned solution: “go back to your villages and find food there”. Jesus challenges that.
He hears their cries, not for spiritual food, not for a blessing, not for healing – but in practical terms : food. He gets the disciples, who were keen to have a sit down alone with Jesus, to distribute the food to the masses.When people come to our churches, do we listen to their cries?, do we ask what they might be seeking?, or deliver a preplanned programme of support as we see it?
May I encourage yous to consider: not the churches financial bottom line; not the structure of the building; but people, the person in front of us, as one who are a focus of God’s love, and of ours. This can bring a transformative change.
I really enjoyed the dialogue