After Sunday is about a way of being the church in and for the world. One of the main challenges for Christians in this age is to help the world to recognise the activity of God in our midst.
Christians don't take God into the world. They discover God actively working there for good through all sorts of people and situations whether Christian or not. God challenges us all to join in with his mission of love to the world.
People of faith recognise that call to partnership and that forms the basis for their faith in action. What does this mean for us in our daily lives? How should we respond to God's call? What does God want us to do at work and in the world and what risks are we expected to take? How do we discern and engage with his purposes? What are the implications for how we relate one to another? After Sunday aims to explore these questions in an open and engaging way.
After Sunday is a project supported by the Diocese of Durham Mission Fund to encourage Christians, at whatever point they are at in their faith journey, to strengthen the connection between their faith and their daily work and life. For more information, click here.
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The Staple Singers - When Will We Be Paid.
Showing posts with label diocese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diocese. Show all posts
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Monday, 21 January 2008
Justice & Social Responsibility
Last Friday I met up with Phil Butcher, Director of the Commission for Justice & Social Responsibility in the Diocese of Brentwood. The Commission aims to promote and coordinate work in the areas of Justice & Peace; One World; Marriage & Family Life; and Pastoral Care, providing help, guidance and advice to Parishes and individuals. They work to encourage and facilitate the formation of CJSR groups in every Parish and build a network of specialist teams both within the Diocese and other agencies.
Given the tentative nature of the discussions at Saturday's There's something going on conference about the need for a central Social Responsibility post in the Diocese of Chelmsford, it seems as though the Diocese of Brentwood is light years ahead in terms of its approach to social responsibility. In the Diocese of Chelmsford we need to take the bull by the horns and put some resource into providing support for the excellent and varied social responsibility work that is happening in areas, deaneries and parishes.
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The Staple Singers - When Will We Be Paid?
Given the tentative nature of the discussions at Saturday's There's something going on conference about the need for a central Social Responsibility post in the Diocese of Chelmsford, it seems as though the Diocese of Brentwood is light years ahead in terms of its approach to social responsibility. In the Diocese of Chelmsford we need to take the bull by the horns and put some resource into providing support for the excellent and varied social responsibility work that is happening in areas, deaneries and parishes.
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The Staple Singers - When Will We Be Paid?
Friday, 13 July 2007
Christians in the Workplace
Ever wondered whether your work matters to God? Ever wondered why you spend 60-70% of your waking life at work? Ever wondered what your work is for? Ever wanted to make connections between your faith and your work but have never heard work discussed seriously in your Church?If you have thought any of these things, then the Christians in the Workplace resource pack is for you. It is full of ideas, information, stories, resources and study materials that will help you (and your parish or workplace) explore these and many other questions about being a Christian in the workplace.
The resource pack takes a broad non-prescriptive view of what being a Christian at work can mean by exploring ethics, mission, spirituality, transformation, values and witness among others issues and approaches.
The Christians in the Workplace Resource Pack includes leader's notes and resources, course outlines, photocopiable handouts for participants and a CD-Rom containing all the course material. The pack costs £10 and is available from:
The Diocesan Resource Centre
Diocesan Office
53 New Street
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 1AT
Tel: 01245 294405
Email: jjones@chelmsford.anglican.org
Sunday, 8 July 2007
Fox's Farewell Tour
For the last eight years Michael Fox, the retiring Archdeacon of West Ham, has chaired the Diocesan Environmental Group. As part of his long farewell as he moves into retirement, he is going to a church in each of the Deaneries in the Barking Area (plus some others around the Diocese) showing the ex-Vice-President of the United States, Al Gore’s, remarkable film entitled An Inconvenient Truth. It is actually an Oscar-winning film, in spite of being basically a lecture that Al Gore has given around the world for many years.
If it sounds dull, come and see it. You are in for a shock. It explains and explores the results of the climate change we are personally undergoing. The film is 90 minutes long and Michael will spend just half an hour talking about, and answering questions on, why we as Christians should have any particular concerns about environmental issues.
In this Deanery, Michael will be at St Andrew's (The Drive, Ilford) at 7.30pm on Wednesday 1st August.
If it sounds dull, come and see it. You are in for a shock. It explains and explores the results of the climate change we are personally undergoing. The film is 90 minutes long and Michael will spend just half an hour talking about, and answering questions on, why we as Christians should have any particular concerns about environmental issues.
In this Deanery, Michael will be at St Andrew's (The Drive, Ilford) at 7.30pm on Wednesday 1st August.
Friday, 29 June 2007
Every person is a special kind of artist
A few months ago I had the chance to interview David Hawkins, the Bishop of Barking, about his artistic practice and interests. That interview is being published in two different versions in the July editions of Art & Christianity and The Month. Bishop David had some fascinating observations to make and to give you a taster here is an extract from the interview:
"I think there is a big need to re-engage with the Arts. The Church has had a lengthy and happy marriage with the Arts in the past but this has eroded in recent times. A good example of what can be done is The Last Supper murals I commissioned for the Chapel of St George’s Crypt in Leeds. This is an example of taking ‘high’ art into a project that was for homeless people. We were juxtaposing art with those who are excluded in Leeds society. Steve Simpson, the artist, painted The Last Supper in the round such that the paintings of the Apostles would be on the wall next to contemporary worshippers. He worked from photos of some of the homeless people so there was a sense of the present day inhabitants of the Crypt being points of reference for the Apostles. This is taking art into a public space and enabling daily interaction from those using the space. It was also part of creative writing workshops that encouraged creativity in those using the Crypt.
I agree with Rowan Williams that the Church needs more artists and “that artists are not special people but every person is a special kind of artist.” I think that there is great scope in the Church encouraging creative expression in everyone as this is a way of helping us to be fully human. Where appropriate that flowering of artistic expression can be expressed in Church as, for example, an outflow of worship. We are fellow-creators with God and need to remember that he is creator as well as redeemer."
Steve Simpson's Last Supper murals can be viewed at the St George's Crypt website while information about the public artwork created by Bishop David and two colleagues in Leeds can be found at the Mene Mene website.
"I think there is a big need to re-engage with the Arts. The Church has had a lengthy and happy marriage with the Arts in the past but this has eroded in recent times. A good example of what can be done is The Last Supper murals I commissioned for the Chapel of St George’s Crypt in Leeds. This is an example of taking ‘high’ art into a project that was for homeless people. We were juxtaposing art with those who are excluded in Leeds society. Steve Simpson, the artist, painted The Last Supper in the round such that the paintings of the Apostles would be on the wall next to contemporary worshippers. He worked from photos of some of the homeless people so there was a sense of the present day inhabitants of the Crypt being points of reference for the Apostles. This is taking art into a public space and enabling daily interaction from those using the space. It was also part of creative writing workshops that encouraged creativity in those using the Crypt.
I agree with Rowan Williams that the Church needs more artists and “that artists are not special people but every person is a special kind of artist.” I think that there is great scope in the Church encouraging creative expression in everyone as this is a way of helping us to be fully human. Where appropriate that flowering of artistic expression can be expressed in Church as, for example, an outflow of worship. We are fellow-creators with God and need to remember that he is creator as well as redeemer."
Steve Simpson's Last Supper murals can be viewed at the St George's Crypt website while information about the public artwork created by Bishop David and two colleagues in Leeds can be found at the Mene Mene website.
Monday, 18 June 2007
A 'new look' ecumenism
A group of us from St John's Seven Kings joined about 20,000 other Christians at the Global Day of Prayer event in Upton Park on Pentecost Sunday. Highlights from the event can now be viewed by clicking here.
Leaving aside the cold weather on the day and the signalling problems on the District Line, I thought the GDOP was an excellent occasion. Well organised and genuinely inclusive of different traditions, I thought it was a moving occasion which was a real stimulus to prayer. I found the section relating to the slave trade particularly moving and appreciated the section involving prayers in many languages as a real reflection of what Pentecost means.
The Bishop of Barking, who chaired the Event Steering Group, was thrilled by the wide range of Christian traditions represented at the event. He said, “One of my main interests in chairing the steering committee for the London Global Day of Prayer was around encouraging a new expression of ecumenism… It was exciting and very productive to work with such a dynamic group of mixed ethnicity and denomination - the leaders of many of our black majority churches collaborated across the whole range of church life from Roman Catholic to Independent churches.”
He continued, “This broad-based collaboration worked well for the Global Day of Prayer - we all worked hard to ensure the West Ham event was representative of a wide variety of worship and prayer styles - and it may provide a model for achieving much more together in the future – not least a united and influential engagement with the 2012 Olympics and much else besides. “I see this as a hopeful ‘new look’ ecumenism, which seems to be reaching parts that our traditional ecumenical instruments have often failed to reach.”
Leaving aside the cold weather on the day and the signalling problems on the District Line, I thought the GDOP was an excellent occasion. Well organised and genuinely inclusive of different traditions, I thought it was a moving occasion which was a real stimulus to prayer. I found the section relating to the slave trade particularly moving and appreciated the section involving prayers in many languages as a real reflection of what Pentecost means.
The Bishop of Barking, who chaired the Event Steering Group, was thrilled by the wide range of Christian traditions represented at the event. He said, “One of my main interests in chairing the steering committee for the London Global Day of Prayer was around encouraging a new expression of ecumenism… It was exciting and very productive to work with such a dynamic group of mixed ethnicity and denomination - the leaders of many of our black majority churches collaborated across the whole range of church life from Roman Catholic to Independent churches.”
He continued, “This broad-based collaboration worked well for the Global Day of Prayer - we all worked hard to ensure the West Ham event was representative of a wide variety of worship and prayer styles - and it may provide a model for achieving much more together in the future – not least a united and influential engagement with the 2012 Olympics and much else besides. “I see this as a hopeful ‘new look’ ecumenism, which seems to be reaching parts that our traditional ecumenical instruments have often failed to reach.”
Friday, 15 June 2007
Enough is Enough!
One of the people that has been a real inspiration and support to many of us in the Diocese of Chelmsford (and beyond) is the current Archdeacon of West Ham, Michael Fox.
Michael is shortly to retire and, as part of his farewell tour of the Diocese, spoke at last Tuesday's Deanery Synod for Redbridge. What he had to say is well worth wider circulation but, before we get to that, his Farewell Service will be held at St Margaret's Barking, the church were he grew up and where his name is carved into a pew (something he did as a child, not an Archdeacon!). This service will be held on Wednesday 4th July at 7.30pm.
Michael told us that the biggest change he had seen over his 40 years of ministry in the Diocese was the global population explosion with its consequent rise in exploitation of the world's resources. He challenged us to think how we could live more equitably in future (contractual convergence being one possible solution) and to think what it will be like to live in a world without resources, like oil, that we currently take for granted.
While in the West we have shifted, he thinks, from denial on issues of climate change. So far we have only shifted to panic mode and are not yet at the point of collectively saying what lifestyle changes we need to make to make a difference. He reminded us of John V. Taylor's book, Enough is Enough, which kickstarted the simple lifestyle movement 20 years ago. That message has still to be fully taken on board; as have the messages of the Church of England report Sharing God's Planet, which in his opinion is still the best short summary of the issues.
Among the reasons why the Church is not further on in its thinking and response to these issues is the fracture between those wanting to find security in a dramatically changing world through a doctrinaire, simplistic faith and those seeking a more profound study of the Bible that reads it against culture, history, context and not as a one-dimensional rule book.
But the picture is, by no means, mainly negative. Much of what happens at the grassroots of church life is actually a real challenge to the public perceptions of what Church is about. Many congregations are genuinely seeking to engage with their local communities in ways that are not confrontational or judgemental. This has been helped by the migration of Christians from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, among others, into our cities; which is revitalising the Church of England in the city.
The presence of people of other faiths and the growth of interest in spirituality are also a positive challenge to us, as Christians, to take our own faith seriously. God, he concluded, has had a remarkable resurgence in the last 20 years; how well equipped are we to be signs of what the Christian spiritual tradition can bring to these issues and to our world?
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