Together on the Journey: A Weekly Blog from Fr. Andrew Sheldon
Last Sunday we celebrated our 180th anniversary as St George’s on-the-Hill. In my sermon, I noted that we have the privilege of looking back over our history only because 180 years ago people looked forward. And we also have the privilege of looking in at who we are and what we have accomplished because 180 years ago a group of people looked out and around at the community and built a building and a ministry to meet the needs of that community. In other words, our forebears had an understanding of their identity and their mission; to be a church that looks forward and outwards in service to God’s mission in the world. Which brings me to another indicator of a healthy church.
Members can clearly articulate the ministry and values of the church, and neighbors in the surrounding area have at least a passing awareness of/familiarity with the church’s identity and impact on the community.
As such, a healthy church is one in which members have a clear sense of identity. This identity has at its heart some core beliefs. The first is that the mission is God’s mission. Our story starts with “In the beginning, God . . .” It is God who is active in the world and it is not so much that the Church of God has a mission in the world, as that the God of mission has a church in the world. The mission is God’s and the ministries that we engage in are in service to that mission. Another core belief has to do with orientation: if we are indeed participating in God’s mission in the world then our orientation is outwards. We are a people who look out and around, identifying the needs of our community and creating ministries and opportunities to have those needs met. The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, put it another way. He wrote that the church is unique because it is the one institution that exists solely for the benefit of those who are not its members. And so, forward and outward.
Now, this is not to suggest we don’t look back and celebrate. Or that we don’t look in at the needs of adherents and address them as well. But it seems to me that looking back and in comes naturally, and that the challenge for our church is to develop habits of looking forward and outward.
When we do orient ourselves this way, the second part of the above indicator would suggest that people in our community will be aware of St George’s impact. How do you think people would finish the sentence, ‘St George’s on-the-Hill is the church that . . .’ How would they fill in the blank? “The old church on the hill”? “The church with a cemetery and school attached”? Or perhaps even, “I have no idea”! If we are clear about our identity and our orientation, then our neighbours will finish that statement with examples of ministries and programmes that address their needs. It could very well be: “the church that opens their doors numerous times a week and through various forms of worship offers opportunity for people to come close to God”. It could be: “the church that welcomed me, a stranger, and made room for me in their life together”. It could be: “the church that nurtures my children’s spirituality through the chaplaincy services offered to the children of Kingsway College School”. It could be: “the church that addresses food insecurity through various food drives and a community garden”. And it could be so much more. So, as we look to another 180 years, let us look forward and outwards, my friends!
Andrew +