Vicar's Blog - June

Welcome to June's Vicar update. I'm writing from one of my favourite places I love to hang out in - my local gym cafe! I've finally managed to clear a day for leadership thinking and planning after the busyness of the Lent-Easter-APCM marathon.

I love spending time around people who statistically (UK weekly church attendance is around 2-5%) have no connection with church life.  I remember being really challenged at a talk at New Wine on evangelism where they got us to take out our phones and have a look through the contact list and estimate how many friends or associates we regularly rub shoulders with are non-Christians. For me, sadly it was a very small percentage. It's sometimes the sad irony when someone becomes a Christian from a non-Christian background. Prior to that, all of their relationships are with non-Christians, but as they get more and more immersed in Church life and Christian discipleship/culture, I've observed that Christians can spend less and less time developing friendships with their non-Christian contacts - the very people that they could have an amazing opportunity to witness to! I understand the need for immersing oneself in the Christian community - it's something so Biblical and necessary in order to start to shaping a holy life, and change old habits for godly ones. I get it. I had to say goodbye to some friendships as a teenager that were just pulling me down the wrong path. However, we're called to be 'in the world, not of the world', and I think we all need encouraging to get a good balance of Christian fellowship and non-Christian friendship.  

Jesus' beautiful prayer for his disciples comes to mind from John 17:15-19: 

"My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified."

For me, 'being in the world' might be in the gym, the local cafe, cycle club on a Saturday morning or a club evening social. This morning I spent some time running with 'a' in his 40's on the treadmill chatting about our training, chatting to 'b' (50's) in the changing room (occasional tennis buddy) and 'c' (20's) about summer plans, to 'd' (60's) who's just interrupted me writing this to say he saw my orange bike helmet (and me attached) whizzing past him near the Cheese Rolling hill last Monday!

As a 'full time minister', I'm aiming to spend around a day a week trying to build some friendships with non-Christians whilst doing some of the hobby's I love.  One of my bug bears is when people ask me what my 'day' off is - with the underlying assumption that the Vicar should spend six days a week in a Christian bubble being 'busy', so they can somehow in 24 hours do all the other bits of life (family, friends, DIY, shopping, house, rest) whilst still managing contact with the 'outside' world so that my sermons make any practical sense to most of the congregation!  Behind the six-day assumption was the traditional thinking that since lots of 'committed Christians' work five days a week, in 'secular' employment, that they should work one day volunteering for church, leaving one day for 'sabbath'.  But think about it, the very place I should be spending time with is not in Church for my 'ministry' extra day! I don't even like that phrase 'extra ministry day'! It smells of a secular-sacred divide which is not Biblical, and I don't want anyone in church feeling 'pressure' to serve in a legalistic way to feel they are being a 'committed' church member!

What does this all mean for me? Well, I try to carve out Friday and Saturday to 'hang out' and have fun with those outside (and inside) church, to spend extra time with the Lord and family, to get the chores done and leave space for ministry 'mop up'. That's why I don't plan meetings generally during those two days!  What does this mean for you? Well for some of us it might mean less Church meetings (yes, I said it!) and more Samba or Pilates or Bridge or phone calls with family or time in the pub or cafe or space in the diary to be available for others outside the church.  For all of us it means praying that the Lord would help us make friendships with people who do not know the Lord, so that natural opportunities will arise for us to share our faith, invite them to Alpha or Church, and be a blessing to them.

Thank you for another great month Church! In May we had the continuation of the Bereavement journey course, our APCM and celebration of so many incredible ministries (and a turnaround in our finances this past year), Mission Sunday, Pentecost, Youth Spring retreat, and the Thursday Knitters raising another £1000 for the Foodbank - so much to be thankful to God for!

In June, we welcome the arrival of Jared and Gaz on staff (do thank and encourage them when you see them!), a leadership morning with 25 of us looking at our church Vision, Revd Jacqui Hyde (Churchdown/Innsworth Vicar) retiring and John McNeil (Methodist minister) moving on. Nigel Roe and Rosi White are stepping down from being at the helm of our Pastoral Care team after numerous years of faithful service. Please do chat to me if you (or someone you know) might be interested in having a conversation about helping to co-ordinate the team.

Enjoy the long days, hopefully a bit of breathing space, time with the Lord, and time hanging out with non-Christians this month! I look forward to sharing more stories of good conversations and God-opportunities with you over this next month. 

Revd John Monaghan