How to Pilgrimage in a time of Pandemic

Today at 3.00 pm. Register for a zoom invite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-pilgrimage-in-a-time-of-pandemic-tickets-109203239830.

For centuries pilgrimages have awakened seekers from all walks of life. ‘Solvitur ambulando’ is a Latin phrase meaning it is solved by walking. Join us for a workshop to hear from some serial pilgrims about their discoveries, insights and encounters on ancient Christian paths. In these difficult days of lockdown panellists Richard Frazer, Beth Jusino and Ian Smith will share how they have adapted to these unusual circumstances and share ideas for how to awaken seekers locally through a passion for walking.

Richard Frazer has been minister at Greyfriars Kirk, (Church of Scotland) www.greyfriarskirk.com since 2003. During that time, he has founded the Grassmarket Community Project www.grassmarket.org that supports some of the city’s most vulnerable adults and has also established the Greyfriars Charteris Centre, www.charteriscentre.com a place for wellbeing, social enterprise and building community, which has strong links to Edinburgh University. At Greyfriars, there is a ministry team dedicated to creating an inclusive and affirming community for those of faith and others exploring their spirituality through worship, reflective space and other volunteering opportunities. Richard has a passion for pilgrimage walking and has recently published a book, Travels with a Stick, about his journey on the Camino de Santiago. minister@greyfriarskirk.com

Beth Jusino is an editor, writer, and unlikely pilgrim who lives in Seattle, Washington. In the past 5 years, she’s spent more than 100 days on various parts of the Way of St James, and is an active member and volunteer newsletter editor for the American Pilgrims on the Camino. Her award-winning memoir about her pilgrimage from Le Puy, France, to Finisterre, Spain, is Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino de Santiago. You can find her stories, essays, and Camino photos at www.caminotimestwo.com or on Instagram and Twitter @bethjusino.

Ian Smith is a writer and serial pilgrim. His non-fiction books include “The Good Parish Management Guide” (Canterbury Press) and “Stepping out” (Redleg Publications) written with his wife, Alison Gelder. His latest novel is “Redemption Song” and poetry collection, “The Woodland Suite” (both Redleg Publications). Ian has been involved in walking and organising pilgrimages since 1983 and has (with his wife) walked a number of Camino routes as well as many Cross-carrying pilgrimages to Walsingham and Iona. Longer walks include a pilgrimage from Walsingham to Santiago in 2010 and London to Rome via Lourdes in 2017. He is currently planning a pilgrimage from London to Istanbul, mainly following the Rhine and Danube rivers. Ian lives with his wife in central London.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U2 - Walk On.

Rev Dr Sam Wells to examine renewal in the Church during Chalmers Lectures

Rev Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London and inspirational founder of the HeartEdge movement, will deliver the 2019 Chalmers Lectures this autumn. Entitled ‘A Future that’s Bigger than the Past’, the six lectures will focus on the theology and methods of HeartEdge as a vision for renewal in the Church.

Launched at St Martin-in-the-Fields in 2017, HeartEdge is a membership-based organisation, an ecumenical network of partners and a movement for renewal.

The name HeartEdge reflects the group’s purpose - for those working at the heart of commerce, culture and community, with those at the margins and on the edge.

Through joining the network, churches are supported in finding their stories, share resources and connect with others developing their church and community.

Dr Wells said he was looking forward to visiting Greyfriars Kirk and discussing the future direction of the church.

“What kind of church do we need to become if we are to face the challenges and take the opportunities of the years ahead?” he asked.

“I’m going to be looking at what it means to see culture, commerce and compassion as out-workings of congregational life, and sources of growth for the church in faithfulness as well as numbers.

“The lectures are called ‘A Future Bigger than the Past’ because I want listeners to rediscover a sense that this is a great time to be the Church and God is sending us everything we need to do the work of the Holy Spirit.”

A Future that’s Bigger than the Past

The six Chalmers Lectures being delivered by Dr Wells throughout the autumn at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh from 6pm-8pm are:

• For Such a Time as This: Locating the UK Church in a global and gospel story – Tuesday 17 September
• Investing in the Kingdom: Taking money beyond the benefactor and the steward – Wednesday 18 September
• Minding God’s Business: Realigning commerce and Church – Thursday 19 September
• Entertaining Angels Unawares: How God renews the Church through the stones that the builders reject – Tuesday 1 October
• Let All the People Praise Thee: How the Church may be part of a cultural renaissance – Wednesday 2 October
• On Earth as it is in Heaven: Towards a vision for the renewal of congregational life – Thursday 3 October

The final three lectures in the series will be heard during the HeartEdge Annual Conference.

Coinciding with the lectures, Dr Wells will publish a book where each lecture will be covered in separate chapters.

The book will be released on Monday 30 September and is available to pre-order now through Canterbury Press and CLC Bookshop.

HeartEdge Annual Conference in Edinburgh

Noting that the HeartEdge conference will overlap with the October Chalmers lectures, Dr Wells said: “I’m especially thrilled that the invitation to explore the theology and significance of HeartEdge has coincided with the second annual HeartEdge conference in Edinburgh.

“It feels like in the evenings we’ll be proposing the theory and during the days we’ll be exploring the practice. What a wonderful model of Church.”

The conference offers a practical, two-day intensive of ideas, theology and connecting, which is being jointly hosted this year by St Cuthbert’s Parish Church and St John’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh.

It includes workshops on enterprise and commerce, launching cultural projects, developing congregations and sustaining community response, plus time to make connections and find encouragements.

Alongside Dr Wells, contributors will include Rt Rev Colin Sinclair, Rev Rosie Addis, David Bradwell, Very Rev Dr Derek Browning, I.D. Campbell, Rev Peter Sutton, Rev Scott Rennie, Rev Fiona Smith, amongst many more.

“How do we reach out with compassion to those on the edges of faith and life, and what do we learn from them when we get alongside them?” asks Very Rev Dr Derek Browning.

“What does our faith and our experience of life challenge us to explore and to share?

“How do we take our faith and put it into practice so that it might make a difference for good?

“HeartEdge asks all of these questions, and suggests, in context, some of the possible answers.”

You’re invited.

The Chalmers Lectures at Greyfriars Kirk are open to the public, free to attend and will be held each evening between Tuesday 17 September-Thursday 19 September and Tuesday 1 October-Thursday 3 October at 6-8pm.

For those who are unable to attend in person, the lectures will also be live-streamed through the Church of Scotland website and available in audio format.

For access to the full programme of events at the HeartEdge conference, book your place here.

A one-day ticket starts from £40 and a two-day ticket starts from £80.

Your ticket includes lunch and refreshments across the course of the day.

For more information, please get in touch with Rev Jonathan Evens, HeartEdge organiser and Associate Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, by email or by telephoning: 020 7766 1127.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bevvy Sisters with The Soundhouse Choir - Get One Life.

HeartEdge Churches & Commerce event

 

 

HeartEdge's Churches & Commerce event was a day to explore the benefits of commercial activities for churches (including social enterprise).

Many churches struggle to cover the costs of their buildings and the ministry needed in their area. Finding other sources of income in addition to congregational giving can help significantly and can also extend the church’s engagement in God’s mission. ‘Churches & Commerce’ was for anyone interested in making churches sustainable in their mission.

This event at St Martin in the Bull Ring enabled participants to hear from people for whom commercial activities, including social enterprises, are making a real difference, not only to their church finances but also to their wider mission.

Allyson Hargreaves told the story of St Martin-in-the-Fields in regard to commerce. Within her telling of our story, Allyson highlighted support structures at different stages of development and issues regarding the balancing of commerce and mission. Richard Frazer, Minister at Greyfriars Kirk, shared his thoughts on approaches to a theology for entrepreneurs and Richard Higginson, Director of Faith in Business, shared results of research with 50 UK Christian entrepreneurs from a variety of business sectors.

Representatives of Anthony Collins Solicitors, Cinnamon Network, Grassmarket Community Project (recently named Social Enterprise of the Year in Scotland), Jericho Foundation, Mindful Business Services, NexGen Marketing Ltd, Salt Business Network, and The Bridge at Waterloo shared insights and expertise in relation to: Digital Futures, Legal Structures, Marketing, Outsourcing, Partnership projects, Scaling up, Values and Wood recycling. 

Delegates had travelled from as far afield as Aberdeen and Chatham for what proved to be a day full of ideas, inspiration and information. Find out more about HeartEdge at https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/life-st-martins/mission/heartedge/.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eric Bibb - Don't Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down.

HeartEdge: Churches & Commerce event

HeartEdge is a growing ecumenical network which supports churches in blending their mission around four key areas:

• Congregation – inclusive approaches to liturgy, worship and day-to-day communal life
• Community – models of outreach serving local need and addressing social justice
• Culture – art, music and ideas to re-imagine the Christian narrative for the present moment
• Commerce – commercial activities that generate finance, creatively extending and enhancing mission and ministry through social enterprise

HeartEdge has organised a day on Churches & Commerce at St Martin in the Bull Ring (Edgbaston St, Birmingham B5 5BB)  on Wednesday 7 March to explore the benefits of commercial activities for churches (including social enterprise).

Contributors include:

• Allyson Hargreaves (Executive Director, St Martin-in-the-Fields), Revd Dr Richard Frazer (Minister, Greyfriars Kirk) and Dr Richard Higginson (Director, Faith in Business)
• Anthony Collins Solicitors, Grassmarket Community Project and others

Refreshments 10am. Programme 10.30am. Finish 3.30pm

The programme includes sessions on: Christian Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial Theology; and Structuring Missional Commerce. Additionally, there will be a panel discussion with entrepreneurs and small group input sessions led by specialists (on specific aspects of commercial activity e.g. structures, marketing etc or particular commercial opportunities e.g. social enterprise, training programmes etc).

The programme also includes time for networking and connecting, plus lunch and refreshments.

Cost: £10 for HeartEdge members, £20 for all others.

To book: contact Jonathan Evens – 02077661127 or jonathan.evens@smitf.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gungor - Dry Bones.

HeartEdge update - events & articles

HeartEdge, the growing ecumenical network of churches initiated by St Martin-in-the-Fields, is attracting increasing interest as we take our introductory event around Great Britain.

Our West Midlands regional event was held at St Martin in the Bullring on 11 October with 60+ participants. Feedback included: ‘Each element gave me food for thought and made me reflect and inspired.’ ‘A thought provoking, inspiring day.’ ‘Very well paced, well structured.’

Our South West Regional event was held at St Michael’s Church Centre Stoke Gifford on 8 November with 70+ participants. Feedback included: ‘This day was a great investment and blessing.’ ‘My mind is spinning with challenge, brilliant!’ ‘Firestarter.’ ‘A wonderful day and thought-provoking, poignant, going back to my church to see if it’s possible to join HeartEdge.’

Here is some of the twitter comment on our South West event:

• IC and @NewRootsOnline in Bristol for @HeartEdge_ started with great cakes so looks promising
• The singular benefactor model can “shrink the imagination of the congregation...” We’re doing #heartedge in #Bristol #WestCountry
• “The Benefactor model and the Stewardship model have things going for them - but neither are working...”
• Commercial and cultural activity as alternative to benefactor and stewardship. The story of Vivaldi - composer, violinist, priest and entrepreneur... “Use the weight of the world to grow our mission, not shrink!”
• Every enterprise is a social enterprise because each enterprise has to decide where to invest it’s profits - dividends to investors or social concern
• “”Everything I do is small - and that’s OK...” @bee_rachael on keeping things simple and clear. “The Spirit is bigger than me... it’s a little bit of faithfulness...
• We call our Asset Based Community Development day Redcliffe Treasures Day...” 
• @naomibmiller from #Bristol #Cathedral “All kind of partners are important. Key thing is to know your eccentricity and find the right fit. #Church has a key role nurturing community partnerships... invite people in to take part!” 
• "New connections made. Insights from Sam Wells, both inspiring and liberating - a clarion call to a new confidence in sharing Fullness of Joy with our world .....!"

Our next event is at GreyFriars Kirk in Edinburgh on Tuesday 21 November. 'At the Heart. On the Edge.' is a day hosted by Revd Dr Richard Frazer, Minister of Greyfriars Kirk, and Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which includes theology, ideas, solutions and support, with a programme developed jointly by Greyfriars Kirk and St Martin’s.

The event will explore mission and ministry in relation to:

• Congregation – Liturgy and worship for day-to-day communal life – gathered and local
• Commerce – Starting and sustaining distinctive enterprise to generate finance for your church
• Compassion – Growing participation and volunteering to address social need locally
• Culture – Using art, music and performance to reimagine the Christian narrative in your context

Rt Revd Dr Derek Browning, Moderator, General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has said:

'Every now and again a venture comes along that captures the imagination, and speaks to some of the needs of our day. ‘At the Heart, On the Edge’ is one such venture.

How do we reach out with compassion to those on the edges of faith and life, and what do we learn from them when we get alongside them? What does our faith and our experience of life challenge us to explore and to share? How do we take our faith and put it into practice so that it might make a difference for good? Pope Francis has said that this work is not merely for institutions and leaders, it is for all of us, a move from ‘organised religion’, to ‘organising religion.’

“Along this path, popular movements play an essential role, not only by making demands and lodging protests, but even more basically by being creative. You are social poets; creators of work, builders of housing, producers of food, above all for people left behind by the world market…The future of humanity does not lie in the hands of great leaders, the great powers and the elites. It is fundamentally in the hands of peoples and their ability to organise. It is in their hands, which can guide with humility and conviction this process of change. I am with you.”

I am delighted not only to support this event but also to encourage as many as possible to attend. Here we might find another model to enable the authentic action and voice of Jesus to be seen and heard through our network of parishes, groups and organisations across the country.'

The following day I will be speaking on HeartEdge at a seminar organised by Churches Together in Southgate, Oakwood and Cockfosters - Wednesday 22nd November 8pm at Southgate Methodist Church. In my talk I will draw on examples from my own ministry and case studies from HeartEdge members to highlight work being carried out by churches in their communities to inspire work in Southgate, Oakwood and Cockfosters. 

This seminar is an opportunity to ask 'what are the needs of our community, in our part of north London? How can we work together as churches to address issues of poverty, loneliness and exclusion? All who are interested in the role of churches in the community and anyone with ideas on how churches can support our community are most welcome to join us.'

At Greenbelt I contributed to a session entitled 'Cathedrals and commerce: The challenge facing large churches'. This was in The Exchange, a new venue for 2017 that provided the opportunity over the weekend to think together about enterprise for the common good. I was part of a panel chaired by Cliff Mills which explored the reality that large churches are getting involved in enterprise activity to stay open and asked how we can find the right way through commerce and cathedrals. I talked about these questions in relation to HeartEdge, together with The Very Revd John Witcombe, Dean of Coventry Cathedral, Alison Inglis-Jones from the Trussell Trust, and Jonny Gordon-Farleigh from Stir to Action.

Stir to Action have kindly published a post about HeartEdge on their blog. In this post I say that:

'In common with Stir to Action’s Unlocking the Next Economy initiative, HeartEdge is interested in finding new ways for churches to engage with their local communities while also creating revenues to help them survive. That’s because St Martin-in-the-Fields, which has initiated HeartEdge (a growing ecumenical network of churches and other organisations in the UK and beyond), has developed a model for its ministry that sees diverse congregations involved in commerce, culture and compassionate community activities.'

Recently in the Baptist Times, Andy Goodliff explained why Bell Vue Baptist Church in Southend has joined HeartEdge. Andy says:

'HeartEdge asks what are the obvious and hidden assets we have as churches, and how might they be used in ministries of culture, commerce and compassion that shape the church’s life and mission, so that they do not become just things we do, but become part of we are.

Many churches are engaged in compassion ministries - foodbanks, night shelters - but few of us are really taking seriously the opportunities to do mission through culture and through commerce. And our compassion ministries tend to be the kind where we do things for people, rather than seeing them as gift to us.

This word gift is important. Instead of seeing the deficits in our church life, the vision of HeartEdge challenges you to see the assets, those often unrecognised or not fully appreciated gifts, which can become something more in the kingdom of God.'

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ricky Ross - Bethlehem's Gate.

HeartEdge August Mailer

The latest HeartEdge Mailer has been published. This month: History Projects and new discipleship resources, connecting with carers and supporting refugees, plus Brené Brown, Stanley Hauerwas, Luke Bretherton, and cycle-based social enterprise - plus Sam Wells on Beveridge and the appreciation of assets.

Our passion is growing kingdom communities via four C’s - congregations, culture, commercial activity and acts of compassion. Find out more at the following HeartEdge events:  

• 25 - 28 August - Greenbelt: Jonathan Evens and HeartEdge will be at Greenbelt over the Bank Holiday taking part with David Alcock in Exchange ideas - come along and if you’re around over the weekend do introduce yourself and learn more about HeartEdge. Also look out for HeartEdge friend Revd Dr Alastair McKay who will facilitate three ‘Inspired to Follow’ sessions with Ayla Lepine an art historian and ordinand on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
• 11 October West Midlands, Birmingham, St Martin in the Bull ring. 10am - 3pm. HeartEdge Day Gathering 10am - 3pm - with Sam Wells and guests - click here to book 
• 8 November Bristol St Michaels Centre. HeartEdge Day Gathering - 10am - 3pm - with Sam Wells and guests - click here to book in
• 21 November Edinburgh - Greyfriars Church. HeartEdge day - 10am - 3pm with Sam Wells and guests - click to book in.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Belle and Sebastian - We Were Beautiful.

Greyfriars Kirk

I had an inspiring HeartEdge visit to Greyfriars Kirk last Wednesday to meet the Minister Revd. Dr. Richard E Frazer and the Associate Minister Revd. Lezley Stewart. 

Greyfriars is a worshipping congregation of the Church of Scotland in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town where a church has stood since 1620. The Kirk seeks to be a welcoming, inclusive community and to respond to local needs in a variety of ways. Worship takes place during the week as well as on Sundays in English and Gaelic.

The Kirk is a major venue for the arts, a tourist destination and through the Grassmarket Community Project supports many vulnerable citizens. Greyfriars community outreach takes many forms but is primarily focused around their centre in the Kirkhouse on Candlemaker Row. The project is now managed by Grassmarket Community Project Ltd. - a partnership between Greyfriars Kirk and Grassmarket Mission.

Throughout the week the Grassmarket Community Project offers a variety of workshops aimed at developing people’s self worth, social networks and skills.

Craft, art and community are all central themes in their work. Participants have the opportunity to join in with GRoW wood workshop, the Plough to Plate cookery and gardening program, the Grassroots Textiles workshop, Greyfriars Herb Garden or one of their many arts and education activities.

Although primarily aimed at individuals facing deep social exclusion, the Grassmarket Community Project encourages members of the local community to join in and work side by side with participants from all walks of life.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ricky Ross - Trouble Came Looking.