BuildingBridges

2005-11-03T12:10:00.000Z

NOT ‘SURVIVING’ BUT LIVING ... IN BRADFORD

“As Christians in a multi-faith, Muslim majority context, we Christians are a minority. But we are not ‘surviving’ we are living!”

These were the words of the Rev Arun John, who heads up the Bradford Inner Ring Group, an ecumenical church consortium exploring fresh possibilities of engagement in the inner city. He was speaking at the 2005 Future Church Conference today at the High Leigh conference centre in Hertfordshire.

In this challenging new situation for a church used to being the majority, Christians need to re-learn Gospel humility, to build “the church for others” and to be a living sign of hope in the lives they lead, said Arun.

He talked about how Christians in Britain can learn from Asian Christian spirituality in witnessing to Christ through building bridges of hope towards their neighbours.

Arun John has been working in Bradford for a year now, though he had contacts in the area for a number of years. He was previously working in South Africa. He is a priest of the Church of North India.

Arun’s role is being supported by the Church Mission Society. The Bradford Inner Ring Group has been linked to Building Bridges of Hope for several years.

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2005-11-03T11:20:00.000Z

THE PURPOSEFUL, BUT NON-DRIVEN, LIFE

“Jesus was never ‘driven’, he was led”, declared Roy Searle of the Northumbria Community at the 2005 Future Church conference. He said that he hoped for a fresh emphasis on community, character and commitment – as a critique of, and act of resistance to, the “drivenness” of modern, consumer life.

In identifying signs and examples of a ‘new monasticism’ which is also missional, Searle (who this year is president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain) said:

• Advertising is not part of our DNA. Anonymity may not be everyone’s gift, but there is a grace for some in waiting for God to motivate and call people.

• We need the spirit of generosity – giving away what is not ours to own and control.

• God moves especially on the margins, rather than the mainstream.

• We need spirituality in the Johannine tradition of ‘come and see’. Invitation not recruitment, Emmaus rather than the Damascus Road, is the norm.

• Authenticity and transparency matter more than attempts to be ‘relevant’ that are often 30 years out of date.

• A church-without-walls arises from a mission of wandering and visiting. Spirituality is ‘wandering for the love of Christ’ and seeing serendipity as gift.

• Seek Jesus not on holy hills but on the streets.

• Contemplation, holiness, charismatic, Pentecostal, ecumenical and social justice traditions need to inform our theology and action.

• Culture has disabled people. “I can’t dance.” Yes you can. Creativity awakens humanity and gives us our life back. Ordinariness is special.

• Liturgy needs to be consciously connected with everyday life.

• Partnerships can be varied, with the liminal as well as with the traditional (in both church and non-church terms).

[Picture: A 'very young' version of Roy Searle with the Historical Music Group]

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2005-11-03T10:14:00.000Z

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2005-11-02T14:12:00.000Z

WHY DO PEOPLE STAY?

Whereas some historic churches are finding it difficult to adapt their institutions to the rapid change of modern British life, Sanctus1 in Manchester says that what holds people together in its ‘fresh expression’ of church is an emphasis on relationships rather than structures. It is rooted in traditional Christian faith, but in a bold and experimental way. Its values are community, inclusivity, creativity and sacred space. These are the things which generate energy and dynamism, says Manchester city centre missioner Ben Edson, who is supported by the Church Amy and the local Anglican diocese.

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2005-11-02T10:04:00.000Z

LARGEST EVER FUTURE CHURCH CONFERENCE GATHERS

Nearly one hundred Christians from across Britain and Ireland have been gathering today in Hertfordshire to look at the future of the church in these islands – and to find out how the concern to develop ‘fresh expressions’ of Christian community can be sustained by every-day spirituality.

The ‘Future Church’ conference is the fourth in an annual series organised by Building Bridges of Hope. BBH is an ecumenical project supported by the Churches’ Commission on Mission, part of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

With nearly 100 people attending, it is the largest FC event so far.

BBH brings together a range of innovative church projects, old and new, from a wide variety of Christian traditions – evangelical, Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal and Free Church.

The aim is to share ideas about how Christian witness can be developed in communities where many have lost touch with the Christian faith, or have little understanding of it.

A major feature of Building Bridges of Hope is its pioneering work in the area of ‘mission accompaniment’ – the idea that a skilled and concerned outsider bringing a wide range of experience can help a church or group of churches to develop and implement their vision for the future.

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2005-11-02T00:08:00.000Z

SANCTUS1 CONNECTS WITH THE DE-CHURCHED

Participants at the Future Church conference meeting in Hertfordshire have been hearing about (and experiencing the worship style of) Sanctus1 - an alternative Christian community based in the city centre of Manchester. The venture has been supported by ‘traditional’ churches, but it has its own distinctive life and culture, aimed particularly at connecting with the ‘de-churched’ – those who have rejected or fallen away from Christian faith, sometimes after a negative experience of the inherited church. Sanctus1, which also shares its resources more widely through a creative website, aims to provide a variety of spaces for open discussion, socialising and alternative forms of worship. Having started several years ago with just a handful, Sanctus1 currently involves some 50-60 people and 20 associates.

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2005-09-03T10:59:00.000Z

BUILDING BRIDGES EVENT TO EXPLORE MISSION SPIRITUALITY

The fourth Building Bridges of Hope ‘Future Church’ conference will take place at the High Leigh conference centre in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, on 2-3 November 2005. It’s theme is “Spirituality: Sustaining A Mission-Shaped Church”. The idea is to bring together church leaders and mission enablers concerned with renewing Britain and Ireland’s churches from the grassroots. Living examples of effective Christian engagement, drawing both on new and inherited patterns of church life, will come from those involved in BBH projects and their accompaniers. There will also be a range of speakers from the Northumberland Community (Celtic), the Salvation Army, Douai Abbey (Catholic), Sanctus1 (alternative church group), and the third order Franciscans (Anglican). Full details are on the CTBI website (*.PDF format). There are spaces for up to 100 people.

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2005-08-31T10:55:00.000Z

BACK ON MESSAGE

Apologies for the haitus with this blog. This has partly been due to technical problems, which we have now resolved, and partly due to the fact that people involved with Building Bridges of Hope have been too preoccupied with building the bridges to blog about it. Good in one way, but not helpful to you, dear reader!

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2005-07-02T23:32:00.000Z

**NOTE TO READERS**

Yup, we know. There's a big gap on the page. Sorry about that. Various attempts to fix it have failed. So it in now in the hands of those good folks at Blogger. I'm sure the 'normal look' will be resumed shortly. And you've got to admit, this situation adds a twist of poignancy to those oh-so-common words, "watch this space"! SB.

2005-06-24T05:29:00.000Z

[74.1] FROM DRUMCHAPEL IN GLASGOW

Carolyn Smith writes in Reform, the URC magazine, as part of their 'Catch the Vision' process:

"Come with me to Drumchapel – a post-war housing scheme on Glasgow’s edge; a place where, in rich Britain, people live with poverty. Poor housing, bad health, unemployment, low educational attainment, substance abuse and domestic violence all conspire to undermine people’s self-worth and hope for the future.

"It’s not the most comfortable place to be (the minister doesn’t live there by her own uncomfortable choice). But for all the difficulties put in people’s way of fulfilling their potential, there is creativity and purpose and, for many, a sense of pride in being from this part of Glasgow. Today it’s a re-generation area: housing is being demolished and replaced and ... the churches are changing too!

"Six congregations of four denominations, and a family/community project, are covenanted together in a grass-roots-inspired partnership. What is striking, apart from the extraordinary enthusiasm and commitment of those involved, is that the Partnership has strengthened not only relationships between the churches but also relationships between church and community. We’re discovering that ecumenism and mission are related – they work best when done together! Not only that, but we are experiencing the beginnings of what I hope will become an increasing emphasis on lay leadership (for example, the Partnership’s representative Lay Team is a clergy-free zone!).

"Truly, the potential is huge. Local people are finding a voice and renewed purpose. We’re on a journey – we don’t know all the paths we’ll take; we don’t know what the Partnership will look like next year never mind in 10 years time but we’re trying to be ‘a Spirit-blown people’, travelling hopefully, in the company of Jesus Christ – and it’s great! Our witness is becoming the stronger for it – and people are noticing." [More here]

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2005-05-31T11:22:00.000Z

[73.1] ASSESSING EMERGING ENERGIES

A fine piece of writing from Alan Roxbrogh on the phenomenon of emerging church. Alan is on the staff of the Missional Leadership Institute. Thanks to Dan Walters for this tip-off.

Emergent Church (q.v.) is producing rich, creative experimentation. It is seeking to recover from the Tradition the riches of spiritual disciplines and liturgy. The levels of creativity in these areas are prodigious. The turn toward an understanding of reason as more than rationalistic propositions has created wonderful engagements with Scripture and the use of the arts as expressions of creativity and celebration. These new forms of worship and spirituality emphasizing ancient practices and more aesthetic, earthbound forms of worship are wonderful gifts to the church and are, in some places, attracting large crowds of younger generations in search of some connection with God.

But sometimes one wonders where the focus of and energy of all this creativity is moving. Sometimes it feels like an end in itself – the aesthetic becomes not just the medium but also the message. Questions lurk about where God actually fits into it all and whether it’s as postmodern as it claims to be, but only a different form of modernity’s enthrallment with the self.

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2005-04-29T10:40:00.000Z

[72.1] EVANGELISING CONTEMPORARY SPIRITUALITIES

The Group for Evangelisation of Churches Together in England seeks to provide help to local church councils on how to engage with contemporary spiritualities. To do this it worked with Rob Frost, the director of Share Jesus International, to run a tour in February 2004 in 13 cities across England , Scotland and Wales .

The support for this and the interest and in the contributions made at the meetings has convinced the Group that many local church leaders wish to engage effectively with contemporary spirituality but do not have the confidence or know-how to do so.

Based on the experience of the tour and the research work of Nick Spencer in the Diocese of Coventry, the Group is now preparing a workbook of eight chapters designed to provide a basic theological framework for engaging with contemporary spirituality, as well as insights into surveys of the spirituality of the general public, stories of the work in this area undertaken by some churches and their leaders, discussion points for groups, suggestions for local churches and home work for participants so that those using the book can take practical steps themselves to open up discussions.

The workbook will be published in May 2005 entitled 'Equipping Your Church in a Spiritual Age (A practical guide)'. This will be around the same time as a publication on the same subject by Church House Publishing in its 'explorations series', entitled 'Evangelising in a Spiritual Age.' The two will be complementary; the CHP publication is aimed at thinking priests and diocesan officers, the GfE workbook at members of local church councils. Nick Spencer’s research, 'Beyond The Fringe' will also be published at this time by Cliff College.

Contents
* Equipping Your Church in a Spiritual Age will cover the following subjects:
* Introduction for the group leader: how to use this book
* Spiritualities in the world round about us
* Rites of passage (including Holy Communion)
* Times and seasons
* How to develop our church to be a spiritual focus of the community
* Wholeness and healing
* Going out to the community
* Being with people of alternative spiritualities
* Sacred Britain
* Putting it into action

Each chapter will have
* Introduction (theological and analysis of the thinking of contemporary society)
* Illustrations (stories of what is actually being done by churches)
* Discussion (questions to raise issues)
* How this relates to our church
* Homework reflecting on how the chapter affects the individual, and what s/he might do as a result of the meeting and/or as a preparation for the next meeting.

The authors of sections 1 & 2 are Steve Hollinghurst and Rob Frost with adult education material by Janice Price.

In addition there will be a web site with further information and ideas on engaging evangelistically with contemporary spirituality. Cards will also be available, aimed at those who acknowledged themselves to be interested in spirituality with the title ‘Spiritual Reflections’: the main themes will be the purpose of life; sacred creation; fortune telling; stars, magic; spiritual thirst; and journeys. These will be published in conjunction with the Christian Enquiry Agency.

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2005-02-19T19:51:00.000Z

[71.1] MAJOR NEW MISSION INITIATIVE LAUNCHED

Ekklesia, UK, today:
Churches in Britain are gearing up to renew inherited structures and embolden ‘fresh expressions of church’ through a major new initiative and training course launched this week. A certificate and diploma in ‘mission accompaniment’ has been pioneered by Cliff College in association with the ecumenical Churches’ Commission on Mission (CCOM).

The course is validated through the University of Manchester and its originators say that it will help to shake up church life in the UK.

The Diploma in Mission Accompaniment (DMA), which allows people with full-time occupations to study part-time, is aimed at all those who want to use their listening and consulting skills to help local churches and Christian organisations engage more effectively in witness and action within their communities. [For general enquiries about the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment write to Peter Phillips; for application forms to the principal's secretary.]

The Cliff College DMA has been developed out of the Building Bridges of Hope programme established over the past ten years by the Churches’ Commission on Mission, part of the official ecumenical body, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.

“Mission accompaniment is a new way of thinking about activating and supporting churches as they seek to become more effective channels for the Gospel,” says Churches’ Commission general secretary Simon Barrow.

“To be an accompanier in mission is to be someone rooted in prayer and theological vision,” Barrow adds. “But it also to possess an eclectic range of skills, including listening, consulting, coaching, mentoring and signposting to the right resources. It’s about long-term commitment rather than quick fixes.”

Cliff College is a world-renowned Methodist training institution with its roots in the Wesleyan holiness tradition. It has a proven track record of providing practical and academic courses in the areas of Christian mission and evangelism, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The Rev Dr Peter Phillips, Cliff’s dean of students and New Testament tutor, has expressed “much enthusiasm and anticipation” about the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment, which will enable evangelicals, those in the ecumenical mainstream and Catholics to work together.

There is also an intention of engaging with ‘new churches’ and ‘new expressions of church’, such as those considered in the recent headline making Church of England report, Mission Shaped Church.

“Building Bridges of Hope, which is accompanying churches at local, regional and national level as they pioneer in mission, shows that Christians of very different backgrounds can work creatively together,” says BBH director Terry Tennens, a Baptist minister.

“Those involved in delivering the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment will initially be from Methodist, Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Reformed and Mennonite-related traditions”, he explained. “It is open to all those who want to discover how to animate the Gospel afresh in a changing world, and who are prepared to put some real backbone into it.

The Diploma in Mission Accompaniment begins in September 2005 and is recruiting students now. It will be highlighted at the forthcoming Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Assembly, which takes place in Swanwick from 21-25 February.

Also to be launched at the CTBI Assembly is a new Grove Booklet on ‘Mission Accompaniment’, written by the Philip Walker, who is the founder of Healthy Church UK, an ordained Elim Pentecostal minister, and the Natural Church Development partner for Britain and Ireland. Priced £2.75, it can be obtained post-free through sales@grovebooks.co.uk.

Building Bridges of Hope, which bases its work on the most extensive research survey of local mission initiatives ever carried out across Britain and Ireland, stresses that the Diploma in Mission Accompaniment is “not a tool of one approach or package.” Rather, it is designed to be an open resource for all the churches.

BBH is also looking at partnership opportunities with learning institutions in Scotland, Ireland and Wales to encourage and develop mission accompaniment as a methodology. It co-sponsored a recent London conference on mission consultancy, and it has worked with the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (a body set up by the Bishops of England and Wales) as well as with evangelical, Anglican and Free Church bodies.

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2005-02-18T19:40:00.000Z

[70.2] NEW 'MISSION ACCOMPANIMENT' BOOKLET PUBLISHED

Building Bridges of Hope is delighted to anounce the publication of a ew resource booklet, Mission Accompaniment, written by Philip Walker (Grove Booklets, £2.75, ISSN 1367-0840). The booklet is available post-free from the Grove office on 01223 464748, or email sales@grovebooks.co.uk. It will be lauched at the forthcoming Assembly of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, at Swanwick, Derbyshire, on Wednesday 23 February 2005.

The booklet is an ideal introduction to the subject, and goes well together with the new Diploma in Mission Accompaniment developed by Cliff College and Building Bridges of Hope / CCOM / CTBI. It begins in September 2005.

Mission accompaniment is a practical way of encouraging churches in effective mission through the accompnaiment of someone who is invited in not as an expert but as a fellow-traveller. It is rooted in prayer, listening, theological vision, a varied range of skills, and long-term commitment to change and witness.

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2005-02-18T19:25:00.000Z

[70.1] BUILDING BRIDGES RECRUITS DYNAMIC NEW CHAIR

The Building Bridges of Hope development group, which coordinates and oversees the activity of the mission project across England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, has a dynamic new chair. He is the Rev Dr Philip Walker, an Elim Pentecostal minister, who is also the founder of Healthy Church UK. Philip, who has served on the development group for a number of years, is also the UK and Ireland partner of Natural Church Development (NCD). He has been Executive Director of the British Church Growth Association since 1999.

Philip Walker served as an Elim minister in York and is committed to ecumenical mission cooperation and is an active member of the Group for Evangelization of Churches Together in England -- whose new website he has put together.

Philip succeds the Rev Roger Whitehead of GfE, currently (until March 2005) also moderator of the CTBI Churches' Commission on Mission. Roger has done extraordinary work for BBH, and was a founding figure in the project. He will be much missed.

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2005-02-17T07:17:00.000Z

[69.1] BUILDING BRIDGES IN THE NEWS

Building Bridges of Hope, the ecumenical mission initiatives project, been in the news this week -- because of its parent body CTBI's association with Christian Aid, and their new initiative to launch a financial appeal specifically geared for the ‘new churches’ – independent and networked evangelical, charismatic and pentecostal congregations.

The reports on Google news, on Ekklesia and on Christian Today point out that although "Churches Together n Britain and Ireland has had no direct involvement in the Christian Aid initiative... CTBI’s Churches’ Commission on Mission has been working with new and ‘emergent’ churches for some years as part of its Building Bridges of Hope missionary congregation project."

The full story is here. The ‘Act Justly’ appeal (which takes its title from a phrase coined by the ancient Hebrew prophet, Micah) will be launched at Christ Church and Upton Chapel, London, on Friday 18 March.

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2005-02-16T06:07:00.000Z

[68.1] BBH AT THE CHURCHES TOGETHER ASSEMBLY

Building Bridges of Hope, represented by Terry Tennens, Roger Whitehead and Philip Walker (among others) will have a major presence at the forthcoming Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Assembly, which takes place in Swanwick, Derbyshire, from 21-25 February 2005.

In addition to launching a new Grove Booklet on Mission Accompaniment (ISSN 1367-0840) and two new videos, BBH will be promoting the new Diploma in Mission Accompaniment in association with Cliff College and running a seminar on the topic.

Terry Tennens says: "Building Bridges of Hope (BBH) has addressed the subject of how we transition churches from maintenance towards mission engagement in 21st century Britain and Ireland. Distinctively using 'ecumenical mission accompaniers', the skilful outsider journeys alongside listening, asking questions and signposting - from local churches, regional associations, and national denominations.

He continues: "Could mission accompaniment benefit your church or organization? Come along to this seminar and find out."

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2005-02-14T07:00:00.000Z

[67.1] BBH VIDEOS IN THE PIPELINE

We have had a bit of difficulty, mainly due to staff shortages, in getting the new Building Bridges of Hope videos into circulation. These are called Leadership Stories and Developing Shared Leadership. They come with study leaflets.

Some copies have been mailed out, but we are sorry if yours has been delayed. Copies of these presentations -- packed with examples and advice from churches engeged in prcatical Christian mission -- will be available at the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Assembly, which takes place at Swanwick from 21-25 February 2005.

Watch this weblog for further news.

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2005-02-12T06:47:00.000Z

[66.1] MISSION CONSULTANTS GATHER

A slightly belated report on an important (and, as far as we know, pioneering) gathering of people involved in mission consultancy in these islands. The conference was established jointly by Building Bridges of Hope, the Churches' Commission on Mission of Churches Together in ritain and Ireland, Cliff College, and the Group for Evangelization of Churches Together in England.

The speakers included Martyn Atkins, principal of Cliff College, who helped us to explore the blockages to consultancy within the churches. These include its technocratic, 'expert-led' image (which is not how most consultants want to be seen) and anxiety about Christian identity and mission within local churches.

Anne Topping, Methodist Connexional training coordinator, then led a challenging, hands-on workshop about different learning styles and how they can help make consultancy effective for both consultant and consultor.

The conference reflector and facilitator was Simon Barrow, secretary of the Churches' Commission on Mission. He helped us to draw together some key lessons and future possibilities. These will be shared within the network, and on this and other wesites. If you want to join the circle of encouragement, please write to us at the email address in the link below.

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2005-02-06T06:31:00.000Z

[65.1] LEARNING TO BE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CHURCHES

Terry Tennens, who is the Building Bridges of Hope consultant and director in Britain and Ireland, assesses the value of the annual Future Church conferences that BBH runs. Here he describes what they have achieved.

As we said before (see previous post), each year BBH has invited four representatives from the BBH pilot projects across Britain and Ireland. Also, their BBH accompanier attends. In addition, the national officers concerned with ecumenical mission have been invited, along with regional and local church leaders and interested lay people.

We find that delegates who think they have no voice in the national churches suddenly discover they are of great value in the learning process of being Church in the 21st century.

The significance of differences when held with respect and grace bears fruitful possibilities. For example, an exchange visit from Irish Methodists and Catholic young people to Scottish Presbyterians and Catholics will assist directly in the reconciliation journey for each group.

Small, fragile churches and groups of Christians who, ecumenically, are venturing in uncharted territory find confidence to consider that the community centre they lead maybe be 'church' with the blessing of the church leaders.

Listening to local stories of Christians in different parts of the four nations displaying an entrepreneurial spirit can be infectious. The Bradford Inner Ring Group has encouraged others to explore new patterns of collaborative mission together in new flexible frameworks.

The national pays attention to listen to the local in a tangible way. BBH has often been credited as “CTBI coming alongside the local.” We hope this is true, and important for all of us.

Mission theological reflection by delegates amidst the demanding activity is vital. Fresh perspective, renewed spiritual ardour and mutual support are the result.

Future Church is a catalytic environment - a no strings attached space where people accompany each other and delegates arrange mutual visits to learn and discover.

We keep a video diary and this becomes a study aid, soon available from the last two conferences.

People discover the ordinariness and yet spiritual resonance that mission accompaniment offers, not as a mechanistic solution, but as a pilgrimage God-ward together, with insights shared on the journey.

Plus the refinement and development of the skill of accompaniment (and the need to unlearn as well as to learn how to be church in the 21st century) provides hope, tools and companionship.
Why not join us in 2005? Find out by writing to the email address in the link below.

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2005-01-29T07:27:00.000Z

[64.1] GETTING TOGETHER TO EXPLORE FUTURE CHURCH

Terry Tennens, who is the Building Bridges of Hope consultant and director in Britain and Ireland, assesses the working of the annual Future Church conferences that BBH runs. Here he describes what they are all about and how they work

Each year we have invited four representatives from the BBH pilot projects across Britain and Ireland. Also, their BBH accompanier attends. In addition, the national officers concerned with ecumenical mission have been invited, along with regional and local church leaders and interested lay people.

On average we have seen 75 people attend each year, with relatively little advertising and promotion in the Christian media. The conference lasts over two days, usually from lunch to lunch held on a Wednesday to Thursday, either in October or November at High Leigh Conference Centre.

We appoint Conference reflectors, to accompany the gathering as an outside reflector assisting delegates in action-reflection. Speakers have ranged from specialists in mission, leadership to pioneering practitioners – and the BBH pilot projects themselves who share their story of faithfulness, innovation and the benefit of accompaniment.

The form of conference includes worship, keynote address, question and answer sessions, inter-active dispersed small groups and plenary. An important distinguishing mark is a unique gathering of Welsh, Scottish, Irish and English Christians from a variety of Christian traditions who might not usually encounter such polarities.

BBH has provided a bridge for mutual gain so that we can all benefit from learning together. In the Future Church conferences it seeks to practise what it preaches. If you need more information, please email us at the address in the link below.

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2005-01-22T06:14:00.000Z

[63.1] WELSH ECUMENICAL BODY BUILDS MORE BRIDGES

The major ecumenical body for the churches in Wales, CYTUN (‘together’ in Welsh) has agreed to become a Building Bridges of Hope pilot as it seeks to move forward the collaboration of its denominational members.

CYTUN – inaugurated 1990 – is the creation of the Anglican, Free and Roman Catholic Churches in Wales. Its purpose is to enable them to deepen their communion with Christ and with one another and to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by common witness and service in the world.

CYTUN will focus on four of the seven BBH indicators: Focusing vision, building local partnerships, developing shared (in this case, national) leadership, and becoming a learning community (in this case, organisation).

The aims and priorities identified for the period of accompaniment through to mid 2006 are:

* To enable CYTÛN to provide a context for Church Leaders in Wales to relate to each other more effectively.

* To adapt to the requirements of the Churches and Denominations for a change to the ‘ecumenical architecture’ of the four nations from 2006.

* To ensure that the covenanted churches of Wales (formerly known as ENFYS) maintain their distinctive relationship and that the added value of covenanting is sustained within the wider family of CYTUN.

* To clarify the particular role of the Free Churches alongside their commitment to the aims and objects of CYTUN.

The group principally involved in monitoring the process and its outcomes will be the General Secretary of CYTUN, Y Llywyddiaeth, the CYTUN Council, national church leaders and general ssecretaries, and key personnel in the Welsh Covenant and the Free Church Council.

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2005-01-10T05:56:00.000Z

[62.1] BOOKS FOR A CHANGE

The latest news on the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland mission book series, developed in association with Building Bridges of Hope, is as follows:

Already published:
Jeanne Hinton, Changing churches: building bridges for local mission (CTBI 2002).
Jeanne Hinton and Peter Price, Changing communities: church from the grassroots (CTBI 2003)

Due in the near future:
Stuart Murray, Changing mission: learning from newer churches (CTBI 2005).
Philip Knights, Changing evangelisation: learning from the Catholic experience (CTBI 2005/6).

Further likely titles:
Simon Barrow and Terry Tennens, Changing people: learning mission accompaniment (CTBI 2006).
Simon Barrow and Terry Tennens, Changing places: re-learning mission shaped church (CTBI 2007)

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2004-12-24T16:34:00.000Z

***CHRISTMASTIDE AND NEW YEAR GREETINGS***

See you in 2005...

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2004-12-06T08:39:00.000Z

[61.1] A BAPTIST RESPONSE TO CATHOLICS ON EVANGELISM

The Revd Terry Tennens, a Baptist minister, coordinates the work of Building Bridges of Hope in Britain and Ireland. Here he reflects on the highlights and issues emerging from the recent Catholic consultation on evangelisation, organised jointly with BBH. He writes in a personal capacity, rather than as an employee of CTBI:

As in other Church traditions, there are those adherents who see Sunday worship as a coin slot machine, ‘pay your dues’ so you don’t have to think about it for the rest of the week – ‘faith absenteeism’ Monday to Saturday. This seems to be prevalent in the Catholic Church too, although now people choose to belong.

The presentations from the Episcopal areas were stimulating:

* Paddy Monaghan from Archdiocese of Dublin giving his personal story -- the faith journey, together with collaboration in ‘power to change’ evangelisation shared by Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. He also offered a challenge about ‘over sacramentalisation’ and spelt out his preference for relational networks.

* Andrew Brookes' analysis of church-going statistics in Scotland, the decline by 19% over the last decade and lack of ordinands, highlighting the challenge ahead.

* Keith Barltrop’s picture of the landscape of the Catholic church in England and Wales and how CASE will resource and accompany the parishes.

Three other presentations stood out:

* Bobby Siddhu sharing her struggle and learning of presence and witness in Soho Square was refreshing

* Veronica Murphy and Nicky Stevens describing the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) showed the joined-up thinking of the process and connecting points of discipleship. That’s crucial for all Church traditions.

* A parish priest with a twinkle in his eye sharing the story of Base Ecclesial Communities in his ministry resonated with the cell church movement in the Protestant churches.

Questions I am left with?

* Good to meet: I was heartily encouraged that delegates felt encouraged! Which then suggested how much of a spiritual desert is it for them among their churches? Surely, there are wells of nourishment and empowerment for the journey? Speaking with one delegate, she described how high the walls are in the Catholic Church that protect us, but also prohibit us ‘going out’

* Signs of the Spirit: To be among a group of followers of Christ enthused and discerning to hear to call of God into evangelisation was edifying. To hear of the imaginative ways the new religious communities are engaging in faith sharing was instructive; for example, on the theme of ‘church as threshold and household’, listening to someone praying about a partnership with estate agents, since when people move they are most open to exploring new things... Wow!

* Bridges to build: Sharing in Christian worship is always a matter of the heart. It was renewing, releasing and empowering to be at prayer together but saddening to see the inability to commune around the Lord’s Table. Yet, I was heartened by a gracious brother who embraced me during the Mass, with equal sadness that from his perspective.

* What next - The Accompanied Journey: Gosh! So many wonderful believers, sisters and brothers I encountered, what a joy and privilege to be a part of this gathering.
The evidence of having the skilful outsider, Simon Barrow, a member of the Church of England, reflect, question, affirm, and highlight what God is upto in the Catholic tradition – evangelisation is the priority of our times states Pope John Paul II.

* Amen! The rediscovery of the Emmaus road, the value of the one who journeys alongside as we learn to share faith with confidence, respect, integrity and faithfulness in 21st century Britain and Ireland.

Can we find accompaniers at a parish level to aid us into evangelisation?

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2004-12-02T21:05:00.000Z

[60.1] LIFE IS FOR LIVING

The Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation has recently established a website for enquirers about Christianity, especially young people. It is called Life4Seekers, and explains itself thus:

"Life4seekers is for those people who want to improve their life and find a new sense of fulfilment, a fresh energy and joy of living. If you are searching for happiness, a sense of purpose and new direction in life, life4seekers is the right site to explore."

Contents include:

Our place in this world - Find out where we came from, why we are who we are, and who we look up to.

Also, what is the meaning of life?

A place for God in our world - Find out if God exists, and what he is like. Could Jesus be a role model for you?

Lifestyle and values - Join us in a celebration of life. Catholics enjoy all the things in life that everyone else does - and then some!

Our Club and Community - Explore what it means to belong and be part of a new family of advisors and friends.

Spirituality & Prayer - Get in touch with your spiritual side and check out our prayer pages.

Channelling - Begin to discover new and authentic channels of supernatural life.

The idea is to present a faithful interpretation of Catholic Christianity for those whose worlds of thought and culture are 'unchurchy', and also, perhaps, to deal with some of the misinterpretations which Catholics face - about the sacraments, their devotion to Mary, and so on.

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2004-11-29T06:32:00.000Z

[59.1] CATHOLICS CONSULT ON EVANGELISATION

On 23-24 November 2004 the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE) held a joint consultation with Building Bridges of Hope at All Saints pastoral Centre, London Colney.

CASE was set up recently by the Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales as successor to the Catholic Missionary Society. It aims to be a galvanising resource for congregations, religious, diocese and movements - old and ew- within the Church.

The theme of the gathering was Changing Evagelisation, which is also the title of a book commissioned from Fr Philip Knights of CASE by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). It will be published in 2005.

Nearly 50 people from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales came together to share stories, ideas, good prcatice and future possibilities. CASE will use the material in its own strategising, and in further conersations about the renewal and sharing of faith within and beyond the Catholic community.

Presenters icluded Mgr Keith Barltrop, the Director of CASE. Simon Barrow of the CTBI Churches' Commission on Mission acted as a 'reflector' to the consultation, helping those present to discern key themes and issues.

This models the method developed within BBH of 'mission accompaniment'. A report will follow.

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2004-10-22T15:04:00.000Z

[58.1] FUTURE CHURCH CONVENES

More than 60 people from across Britain and Ireland gathered at High Leigh conference centre ear Broxbourne to take part in Building Bridges of Hope's latest 'Future Church' conference. The theme was 'sharing faith and values' - something that many BBH-related churches have said is a clear priority, but which many find difficult in practice?

Offering a series of 'postcards from the edge' (stories of emergent and transformative church), Stuart Murray-Williams commented that effective evangelism requires repentance at its heart. In a society where Christian language, the Christian story and Christian institutions can no longer be taken for granted, our practice has to be imaginative and people-centred. It also has to acknowledge past mistakes without wallowing.

And Anne Richards offered a setof biblical questions which, she said, faced both those inside and outside the church. Those who speak Gospel words need to listen to what those they converse with are really saying. We must not put words in people's mouths and erect barriers that may not be the true obstacles.

The questions are: 'Where are you?' (from Genesis). 'Who do you say that I am?' (from the Jesus). And, 'Who are you looking for?' (from the Risen Christ - new words in a new life, spoken by someone who had been silenced by death.)

After a short break through to 4 November, Building Bridges will be sharing a range of stories, examples, ideas and experiences from the conference.

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2004-10-19T07:23:00.000Z

[57.1] BBH AT SOUTH OXFORD BAPTIST CHURCH

Background

South Oxford Baptist Church was established 65 years ago on a residential estate at the edge of the city. We are a small congregation, numbering about 30 members, and have experienced a decline in numbers over recent years. The congregation encompasses a broad range of ages, with ‘over 65’s’ forming the largest group. The proximity of members to the church is similarly varied, with some, mainly the older members, living within walking distance of the church building, whilst the majority live several miles away (including the nearby town of Didcot, some 12-15 miles away).

We have been involved with BBH as a pilot project since April this year [2004]. A group of six has met with our Accompanier on four occasions (in May, June, July and September).
Our particular hopes for the period of accompaniment have been:

· identifying and expressing a collective vision for the church.

· exploring new ways of engaging with the local neighbourhood, including those groups who currently use the church premises at different times of the week.

What have we discovered?

Early on in our journey, the group felt that whereas the church had originally been planted with a view to mission in the locality, the profile of both the church and the neighbourhood had changed over the years. As a result, the church no longer had a clear sense of purpose. Several of the more recent members do not live in the local area, and several people had come and gone, often because of they have come to Oxford to work or study at the university, which by nature is a community which people “pass through.”

We sense that South Oxford Baptist Church has also become a place where people “pass through.” Whilst this has enriched the church’s life at different times, it has also created an unsettled atmosphere that makes it more difficult for the church to recognise and own a vision for the future.

A decline in numbers underlies the ‘coming and going,’ and we are also aware that having fewer families with young children than in the past has had a negative impact on the church’s life. Despite these limitations, there are certain key values that we would be keen to hold onto, particularly:

· being a caring and friendly place where people can learn about God in creative and accessible ways, and where together we can explore what it means to be disciples of Jesus in the places we find ourselves.

· Being a place where people of all ages and backgrounds feel welcome.

Our aim to be a ‘place of welcome’ has been an issue for which our time of accompaniment has been particularly helpful. Searching questions from our accompanier have provoked us to ask challenging questions of ourselves:

Are we really as welcoming as we would like to think, both with each other and with newcomers to the church?
How well do we know each other?
Do we understand ‘welcoming others’ as primarily reactive (i.e. welcoming people who turn up on the doorstep on a Sunday morning) or should we explore the notion of ‘welcome’ as something we need to be more proactive about (i.e. enabling others to experience our welcome even if they were not actively seeking us).
What are we welcoming people to? – the life of this church?
Or should we understand ‘welcome’ as ‘welcoming people to the Gospel, and the meaning of Christian discipleship?’

· Being a church that responds to needs at a local, national and international level.

So far, we have focused on how we engage with the neighbourhood around us. Since fewer church members now lived in the locality, we felt it important to get a stronger sense of its profile and facilities, something we did by looking at local area statistics and walking around the area. We discovered an area of great social and cultural variety, which lacked a focal point such as community centre for meetings and activities.

Our plans for the future include discerning how our values might be articulated in a statement of vision, and considering how the various gifts found in the church might be used in an ‘outward-looking’ way that offers genuine service to the community.

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2004-10-18T21:39:00.000Z

[56.1] POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE

The 2004-5 BBH Future Church Conference meets at High Leigh on Wedsnesday and Thursday of this week, preceded tomorrow by the Building Bridges of Hope project's four nations coordinating group. Once again it will be an extraordinary cross-section (some 65 in number) of people from different Christian traditions across Britain and Ireland.

BBH consultant Terry Tennens, whose contract has been extended by the ecumenical Churches' Commission on Mission to March 2006, says: "This promises to be an exciting event. There has eer been a more challenging time for Christian mission and ministry."

Material from the conference will be streamed on to this weblog.

The theme of the gathering is 'sharing faith and values in a post-Christendom setting'. Among the speakers are Stuart Murray-Williams of the Anabaptist Network, Helen Cameron (Salvation Army) and Anne Richards, mission theology adviser to the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England (Unit on Mission and Public Affairs).

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2004-10-17T17:35:00.000Z

[55.1] NEW BBH VIDEOS ON THE WAY

Developing Shared Leadership I and II – videos (November 2004) £8.99 each or £14.99 for the set.

Exclusive footage from the 2003-4 ‘Future Church Conference’ of Building Bridges of Hope, the leading ecumenical project for missional church. BBH explores the practicalities of mission accompaniment today. In the first video (55 minutes) eight church initiatives across Britain and Ireland share their insights.

The second video (89 minutes) looks at the ‘how and why’ of empowering church leadership with vision and values.

Containing a group study leaflet, these videos are hands-on rather than ‘made for TV’.

More information about availability shortly.

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2004-09-27T21:26:00.000Z

[54.1] ACCREDITING MISSION ACCOMPANIMENT

BBH consultant Terry Tennens, a Baptist minister, has been meeting with representatives of Cliff College today to discuss details of a proposed two-year part-time Diploma in Mission Accompaniment to be run from September 2005. Also present was Churches' Commission on Mission Secretary Simon Barrow and John Cole from the Church of England.

BBH is also involved in discussion with institutions in Scotland, Wales and Ireland about accompanier training. This is seen as one of the main 'outcomes' from the current phase of BBH work, fostering and contributing to wider collaboration among those helping to equip churches at grassroots level.

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2004-09-21T09:09:00.000Z

[53.1] LOOKING BACK, PLANNING FORWARD

People sometimes ask for some background information and history on the development of Building Bridges of Hope. This article gies a flavour of how it all came into being. It first appeared in the International Review of Mission, vol. XCII No. 364, 2003 (World Council Council of Churches). It originated as a workshop at the Breklum WCC consultation on mission in secular and postmodern contexts.

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2004-09-18T17:49:00.000Z

[52.1] GETTING THE CHURCH TO BE A REAL BODY

An article from Healthy Church magazine.

'On one point the boomingly positive vicar was adamant: “What we need is something practical, not more theories.” That was what stuck with me as I prepared to meet a network of regional church leaders. They had invited me to present Building Bridges of Hope (BBH), an ecumenical project aiming to help inherited and emergent churches to realise their missionary vocation more fully.

'What the group especially wanted to hear about was the ‘seven learning indicators’ for mission-shaped church which BBH has discovered through years of action-research. These concern the capacity to focus vision, build local partnerships, share faith and values, nourish daily life with prayer and worship, develop shared leadership, become ‘learning communities’, and (crucially) receive external accompaniment.

'Fair enough, I thought. I believe in this stuff. I know it can ‘work’. Yet I still felt distinctly uneasy. What worries me about many aspirational Christian leaders, I guess, is the apparent ease with which they slip into the language and assumptions of ‘technocratic success’ – the belief that if only we can find the right techniques and press the right switches things will get better. Even prayer and worship are recast by this ideology, so that God becomes the über-arranger of our destiny, rather than the Sovereign disturber of our peace.' More here.

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2004-09-17T11:54:00.000Z

[51.1] CATHOLICS TO REFLECT ON EVANGELISATION

Roman Catholics from across Britain and Ireland will gather at All Saints Pastoral Centre near St Albans in the autumn to share stories of Catholic initiatives in evangelisation.

The event, which is by invitation, takes place on 23-24 November 2004. It is organised by the new Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, in association with Building Bridges of Hope.

"We intend to gather a range of people, each of whom has significant insight into evangelisation today", says Fr Philip Knights. "This will be an opportunity to share our stories, identify good practice and discern the contemporary shape of Catholic mission in Britain and Ireland. It will also help CASE present the 'means and methods' of evangelisation to the Catholic community and to our ecumenical partners."

CASE is at 114 West Heath Road, London NW3 7TX.

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2004-09-16T11:48:00.000Z

[50.1] MISSION-SHAPED CHURCH RESOURCES

Joanna Cox, the Church of England's National Adviser in Lay Discipleship and Shared Ministry, writes:

'The report produced earlier this year on "mission-shaped church" continues to generate a lot of interest, among the denominations and in para-church organisations, as well as Anglican dioceses. The report sold out, and CHP have had to do a reprint.

'Nigel Rooms from Southwell Diocese and a colleague have produced a study guide - which includes some exercises that are more imaginative than the 'discussion questions' included in the report (for example, a suggested visit to an unfamiliar context, with reflection).

He adds: "Mark Brown (our Canon Missioner) and I have written a study guide to Mission-shaped church with the aim of engaging with it locally... It wouldn't take too much 'tweaking' to adjust the content for another diocese or context. We haven't road-tested it, but are launching next week as these things tend to have a fairly short shelf life and we wanted to get it out there. If anyone is interested they could contact me at nigel.rooms@southwell.anglican.org " '

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2004-09-13T06:46:00.000Z

[49.1] IN-SERVICE MISSION TRAINING

* How did we end up doing mission this way?
* Business (or) partners? Everybody talks about it but what actually does 'partnership' mean?
* Are inter-church and development aid really 'mission'?
* What difference does it make being a Christian in another culture?

In-Service Mission Studies is a short two-part intensive course instigated by the Churches' Commission on Mission at the suggestion of its member bodies and designed for employees of British and Irish churches and mission agencies.

It is an introductory course informing and stimulating mission thinking and raising awareness among those who are promoting mission, relating cross-culturally, or facing global mission issues in their daily work without the benefit of either missiological (or theological) training or relevant practical overseas experience.

The course is held at the United College of the Ascension in Selly Oak, Birmingham and facilitated by the rich inter-cultural resources of this unique mission community, sponsored by the Anglican mission agency USPG and the Methodist Church. UCA is ecumenically-minded in its openness to work with people of diverse theological views and evangelically-focused in its commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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2004-09-12T13:58:00.000Z

[48.1] NEW BOOK ON FREE CHURCH WORSHIP

'Gathering: Spirituality and Theology in Free Church Worship', by Christopher Ellis, is published on 15 September 2004 by SCM Press:

"Gathering is a work of liturgical theology in which the faith of the Christian community is explored through a study of its worship. The book is significant in doing this from a Free Church perspective. Most ecumenical work on worship has been greatly influenced by those traditions which use written liturgical texts and who give a normative place to the Eucharist.

"Free Church worship however needs to be studied on its own terms if its ecumenical contribution is to be fully appreciated. Conversely evangelical attention to worship has tended to be pragmatic rather than theological and has not used the insights of liturgical study to understand worship as a key place of spiritual formation or expression. Using a study of Baptist worship, Gathering explores the spirituality implicit in a worship tradition which to date has received little theological or historical attention."

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2004-09-11T13:51:00.000Z

[47.1] MISSION THEOLOGY IN ACTION

Another component of the work of the Churches' Commission on Mission, which runs in parallel with Building Bridges of Hope, is the Mission Theological Advisory Group. This is an ecumenical partnership sposnored jointly by CCOM and the Church of England.

MTAG has its own new weblog, called inter-mission. It says this about its current work:

1. In MTAG here has been a tradition of producing lengthy reports. This time we are challenged to produce a series of booklets and hands-on resources.

2. We were given the brief of fresh approaches to 'missionary apologetics'. We have actually spent most of our time getting back into the 'Gospel and popular culture' interaction, with an awareness of its religious, political and cultural resonances.

4. Our focal idea is now to produce materials on the senses - smell, sight, touch, sound, taste and intuition/thought - in the context of the body. Bodily existence is a common human experience across time and culture, and in terms of the Gospel it is offered transformation through the death and risen life of Jesus.

5. This approach enables us to be practical, narrative and experimental - rather than theoretical, propositional and dogmatic. It also enables us to share, at least in part, a 'common language' with those outside the Christian household: that doesn't rely on dodgy epistemic assumptions.

6. We don't want to be individualistic either. We want to look at the senses as media for persons-in-relation (a biblical perspective) and to be conscious of the relations between the body and the body politic - as well as what difference connecting these to the Body of Christ makes.

7. That, I hope, gives you a general idea. It’s one interpretation, and the group are good at seeing things differently - in a creative way!

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2004-09-07T01:29:00.000Z

[46.1] NEW WEBLOGS ADDED

We've started to add some more weblogs to our permalinks - on themes relevant to BBH: alternative worship, theology, church and society and so on. More suggestions welcome. See the right hand side of this web page, near to the bottom.

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2004-09-06T22:38:00.000Z

[45.1] 2004 FUTURE CHURCH CONFERENCE

20-21 October 2004
High Leigh Conference Centre
Hoddesdon Herts EN11 8SG, UK

POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE
THEME: “Sharing Christian Faith & Values in a Post-Christendom Context”
with Dr Stuart Murray-Williams
Conference Accompaniers: Dr Helen Cameron, Dr Anne Richards

* How do we share Christian faith in a post-Christian climate?
* How do we share faith respectfully and with integrity?
* How do we share faith with people of different and no faith?

The Conference is inter-active with speakers, accompanier reflections, question time and some buzz groups. An inter-generational, multi-cultural and UK and Irish input.

Further details here. Bookings still being taken.

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2004-09-04T11:20:00.000Z

[44.1] BUILDING BRIDGES BACK AGAIN

It started with technical problems, then life just got busy. But BB is back in business and will be updated weekly from now on - more often when there's a lot happening. Watch out for a new Building Bridges of Hope video package, due soon...

Notice also that we now have an Atom-powered XML site feed (so that this blog can be syndicated across the web).

What we most need now are more people to volunteer links, stories and comments.

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2004-06-10T10:40:00.000Z

[43.1] WELSH CHURCH DEVELOPMENTS

The BBH Wales Development Group recently met to listen to the story of the Welsh Church, Holywell, Flintshire.

Members of the group listened with fascination how this small congregation of two merged churches - Welsh Presbyterians and Methodists - have a fresh vision for the future. Inspite of being small in number and an older age profile of congregation, the group listened to the following initiatives which Welsh Church, Holywell is at the heart of:

* Credit Union Shop in the precinct of Holywell
* A cross-church (ecumenical) Sunday school
* A fairtrade forum for Flintshire
* Plans to redevelop a redundant chapel as a major Community resource
* Involvement with the Welsh medium primary school
* Develop bi-lingual worship services
* A 'community ministry' offered collaboratively by the Methodist minister and Welsh Presbyterian minister

A remarkable story of a church grappling with rapid social change, membership decline, questions of identity about language, faith and yet willing to dream a fresh vision for the future, which they know may well mean seeing valued traditions and customs pass, in order to evolve for a new future as a Welsh Christian community.

Nia Higginbotham, the BBH accompanier to Welsh Church, commented "more than ever do denomination resources need to be released where the energy is on the ground (local mission)".

Welsh Church, Holywell illustrates the challenge to change to innovate and be engaged socially so that Christian faith engages with life issues. Although Christian communities gain their identity around buildings, more than ever do we need to recover the biblical imperative that we are an ecclesia, God's people. Finally, that structures and patterns of denominational life increasingly need to focus on releasing and empowering the local church for mission - and investing where there is vision and energy.

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2004-02-20T08:59:00.000Z

BuildingBridges has been experiencing technical difficulties. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible. Meanwhile, please consult our links and archives!

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2004-01-29T07:03:00.000Z

[42.1] FUTURE SHAPES OF CHURCH CONFERENCE

The Revd Terry Tennens, coordinator of BBH, recently spoke at an important Cliff College conference exploring the future shape of the Church.

130 delegates had gathered, largely Methodist, with a scattering of Anglicans, Baptists and Reformed (URC) Christians. The Revd Dr Martyn Akins, Director of Postgraduate Studies at Cliff College spoke about the future shape consisting of the following:

*The future will see a variety of Shapes with permission by denominations to explore
*Increasingly a horizontal hierarchy of governance with increased participation and ownership, with a different laity and clergy
*A church with a servant heart, not simply offering a service
*People more than property
*Faithful risk-taking.

Peter Phillips, Dean of Studies at Cliff, led a session on the physical shapes of the church, with an illustrated talk on actual shapes of church buildings. Exploring the from the synagogue of first century Jerusalem to household churches to basilica to Canterbury cathedral.

Peter explored recent shapes from megachurches, to cell church to seeker church. He suggested the hallmarks of a future church will be:

*Community shaped
*Use of both historic buildings and new community orientated buildings
*With the re-emergence of the Household church

The Revd George Lings, Director of the Sheffield Centre (Church Army), spoke of the value changes over the next fifty years. He led us in a tour that included:

*A shift from uniformity to diversity, ranges of sizes, models and philosophies, to venues and days of meetings
*Developing a living coporate spirituality with the Trinity as the model of a loving community
*As Christians become the exiled community in Britain and Ireland, so the church offers an attractive alternative society
*From territorial based shapes to people networks, so doing church from where they sleep to how they live
*Apostolic mission, from everywhere to everywhere which will mean cross-cultural skills and Christians will be crucial
*Church life and growth will be both attractive and messy
*The redundant churches will be allowed to die and central denominations downsizing, challenges of lay presidency at communion will arise and fresh Christian expressions of community emerge.

Nick Spencer from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity spoke about a piece of research of current beliefs in Britain called "Beyond Belief" which he conducted in late 2002. (See www.licc.org.uk)

He highlighted the barriers to belief, these were broadly put in categories:

>Cultural barriers: a healthy hatred of insitutions and consumerist spiritualities
>Personal barriers: gueralla morality, so try a pin down what they do believe, goodness in no longer the domain of religion and the god of tolerance which becomes intolerant
>Intellectual barriers: from the Bible, to science, to suffering, multi-faith questions "well who is right?"

Nick also suggested that bridges to belief do exist with

*The desire to believe
*A sense of the numinous
*Immortality of the soul

But this will be tempered by a pick'n'mix culture.

The churches focus on engageing with myth busting, action-orientated discipleship, providing oasis, sacred space and a recovery of confidence in being the church for the world with a clear message.

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2004-01-21T09:21:00.000Z

[41.1] WELSH CHURCH, HOLYWELL IN FLINTSHIRE

The Welsh Church, Holywell, Flintshire (otherwise known as a united Welsh Presbyterian and Methodist Church in North East Wales) are a BBH pilot exploring with their accompanier, Nia Higginbotham, how to develop a new future for their ministry and mission.

Their minister, the Rev Jennie Hurd, Kathleen Hughes and Roberta Owen were at the Future Church Conference in November 2003.

Roberta writes of what has been gained in being part of BBH Conference:

1. The need to "see ourselves as others see us". The Church is a local, publicly visible sign of what its members understand being "truly human" is. The local church should therefore have an effect on the world around it, and not exist just for its own sake! It must be welcoming and keep its language and teaching simple.

2. The need for new kinds of leadership. The church should be nurturing relational and collaborative forms of leadership. The only authority is God. Clergy and lay leaders should be "servant-enablers". The imperative is to seek the "hidden treasures", that is, the gifts possessed by the congregation and to seek out peoples dreams.

3. The need to accept that values are more important than beliefs. We share basic values of love, respect, justice with Christians and non-Christians. The church should often be "scary, mmessy and risky". We should welcome conflict, because by resolving it respectfully we grow.

4. The need to see the wider significance of communion, not only as a sacrament, but the symbol of active, sharing relationships with each other and the world. It is the symbol of the very mystery of a God whose being is love and who reaches out with that love to us. We are ONE but we express ourselves in diverse ways - and need to respect and cherish this diversity rooted in our different history, language and cultures.

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2004-01-20T07:19:00.000Z

[40.1] WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

BBH is very much about the unity of the church in mission. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began on Sunday 18 January 2004. See CTBI's WPCU page for full details, including notes and prayers updated daily.

Also listen to Premier Radio (in London, or online).... Bede Gerrard has recorded for us a Thought for the Day to go out Monday to Friday, 19 to 23 January (played three times daily) and was interviewed last Friday.

Judith Maizel-Long (CTBI) and John Coles (Church of England) are on Cindy Kent's show around 16.15 today. Bishop Angaelos will be on the Breakfast Show on Wednesday at 09.45.

Resources have gone well - CTBI has sold out of 50,000 prayer cards and is doing a reprint.

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2004-01-16T06:27:00.000Z

[40.1] POPPING IN FOR HELP

Donald Elliott, who played a pioneering role in the formation of BBH back in the early 90s, and guided it through until his retirement in 2000, writes:

"Trinity United Reformed Church in Camden, London, is wanting some help with understanding and interpreting the local scene as manifested in, for example, Camden Lock Market (gear, gothic, Tarot, etc.) We think there must be a sociologist/theologian who could help us. Any advice?"

Drop us a line at the email link below if you can offer something on this. We suggested Bishop Graham Cray and the PostMission people as a starting point...

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2004-01-15T06:32:00.000Z

[39.1] NEW REPORT ON MISSION-SHAPED CHURCHES

In February the Church of England will publish its new report on church planting and other new church initiatives. Mission Shaped Church (CHP, 2004) has been edited by Dr Anne Richards, mission theology adviser to the Archbishops' Council.

“Society in Britain has changed dramatically in the last 30 years, especially in terms of our understanding of community and how we relate to one another. One of the responses of the Church has been to plant new churches and create 'fresh expressions' of church; churches that relate to our changing context. This detailed, practical and well-researched book:

* gives an overview of recent developments in church planting
* describes varied and exciting 'fresh expressions' of church
* offers practical help and advice
* looks candidly at where lessons can be learned
* proposes a framework and methodology for good, effective church planting
* includes recommendations to make possible the visions of a vibrant future Church

“Each chapter has a set of questions and challenges to help local parish churches engage with the issues. With a foreward by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, Mission-Shaped Church is a crucial tool for all who care about God's mission today. It is a follow-up to the earlier report, Breaking New Ground.”

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2004-01-14T06:41:00.000Z

[38.1] CONNECTED COMMUNITY LEARNING

A new addition to this log is Connected Community Learning, an exciting e-learning and e-reflection initiative pioneered by Peter Nicholls. It is concerned with promoting the discipleship of the whole people of God, rather than just a clericalised minority; and it takes as its agenda the radically changing climate of post-modern Britain: a place where old assumptions about what people know of Christianity and how they will respond are increasingly being confounded.

"The vision for this venture is something akin to an upside-down church. Much of the thinking behind this site and its sister eLearning site www.e-quip.org.uk comes out of debate in the church in recent decades, trying to affirm every-member ministry, the priesthood of all believers, the ministry of the whole people of God and other expressions of the same concept. It has also been stimulated by reading and study about cell church.

"There are legitimate questions about whether or not a North American or South Korean cell church model can work without adaptation in other cultures. But the concept of a church where all the central life of the church - people, plant, activity - exists to resource the people of God to live Christianly in the world has very much to commend it. This is somewhat different to models of church in which the laity are involved in the central life of the church by being licensed to preach, or to assist with the pastoral work.

"This does not mean that no activity should happen in the centre, or that the church should not gather. A balanced church will have the right mix of up - in - out activity (‘up’ in worship, ‘in’ in nurture and building a caring community, ‘out’ in social responsibility and evangelism). But all is targeted on seeing God's kingdom come, day by day, both in the church and in the world. As the priest said to dismiss the congregation at the end of the service we attended in France recently, 'Bonne semaine' (have a good week)."

CCL draws inspiration from a range of sources, including the writings of pioneer Catholic missionary Vincent Donovan in his classic text 'Christianity Rediscovered: The Gospel From The Maasai'.

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2004-01-13T11:22:00.000Z

[37.1] URC SEEKS FRESH MISSION VISION

The United Reformed Church (URC) in the UK is considering selling off some of its churches, writes Rebecca Beard of CWM News. It is also looking at cutting back its administrative structures to release funds for mission.

The URC is declining in size by three per cent each year and its rising costs are being met by fewer and older people, a study has shown. In an article in the January edition of the URC Reform magazine, the Catch the Vision steering group which is drawing up the church's draft mission statement said the situation cannot continue.

"We cannot go on doing all that we do now because unless giving increases considerably, we cannot afford it," they said. "Some things which we hold precious and dear will have to be sacrificed."

"Hard choices" over shutting buildings, communities and programmes will have to be made, they said, emphasising that the whole church will be involved in decision-making.
Church members are agreed that the URC is top-heavy with councils and administration but are undecided how to change it to release funds "to where mission is done". "In many cases those places will be local churches. In other instances, the mission of the church is best advanced by regional or national focuses."

URC people involved in Building Bridges of Hope, an ecumenical venture looking at how to transition inherited church structures to meet the challenges of a changing environment, include Lou Ashworth (a local mission enabler) and General Secretary David Cornick.

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2004-01-12T15:26:00.000Z

[36.1] SHARING GOOD NEWS, RESOLVING CONFLICT

The Metanoia Book Service in North London (attached to the Mennonite Centre) has a book sale running in December and January 2004. Well worth checking out. The latest Spring catalogue selection is here (you need PDF to read it).

Particularly noteworthy for those involved with Building Bridges of Hope are Ron Sider's new title 'Doing Evangelism Jesus' Way: How Christians Demonstrate The Good News' (Evangel 2003) and John Paul Lederach's 'The Little Book of Conflict Transformation' (Good Books, 2003). Lederach is internally known for his breakthrough thinking on conflict at all levels, from the personal to the communal and corporate. In this title he summarises why 'conflict transformation' is a better way of thinking and acting than 'conflict resolution' or 'management'.

On 24 January Vic Theissen of LMC is running a day course on anger management, incidentally. It is worth booking as soon as possible if you are interested.

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2004-01-11T01:47:00.000Z

[35.1] NEW WAY OF BEING CHURCH

Among those BBH seeks to collaborate with is the New Way team (Jeanne Hinton, Bishop Peter Price et al). New Way of Being Church is a network of people dedicated to four vital principles:

1. Building community in an age of individualism -- small communities in which people can nurture each other towards personal growth and new life.

2. That church is a community of people committed to the well-being of society -- small communities of people who can bring transformation to the life of their neighbourhood and workplace.

3. Bringing God's new order of justice, love and peace for all which values those undervalued by society and builds trust among people; which empowers those disabled by the power structures of society; which enriches those impoverished by the Market.

4. Using the Bible as a toll for understanding the reality of daily life; the Bible as a source of 3000 years wisdom from the past; the Bible which, when the context in which it has been written is laid alongside the issues of today, offers vital insights.

There's much more on their website, and in Jeanne and Peter's ground-breaking book Changing Communities: Church From The Grassroots (CTBI, 2003). See New Way Publications.

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2004-01-10T01:59:00.000Z

[34.1] LIVING ON THE EDGE

The Church Army website has background material on the exciting developments in Newtown CYTUN (the Welsh word for 'together', and the designation of the Welsh ecumenical body), which is part of the BBH pilots' network. A key figure in this work is Matt Kruczek. He says: "It's as if we are now in the Wednesday of Holy Week and, though we have heard the promise of the resurrection, we still have our `Good Friday' to endure. There will be suffering and turbulence. This is what God is calling us to bear. Here, we are in for a long haul." You can read more here.

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2004-01-09T02:03:00.000Z

[33.1] BBH IN HOPE VALLEY

The BBH consultant, the Rev Terry Tennens, has been speaking this week at Cliff College, where there has been a conference looking at new patterns of church life. He has also been meeting staff. Cliff College has been training people for evangelism and Christian service since 1883, it is part of the Methodist Church, and welcomes as well students from a wide range of denominations and backgrounds. Most students come from Britain and Ireland with many coming from partner churches overseas. Cliff is situated, quite appropriately, in Hope Valley. It is located on the main Manchester to Chesterfield road, between Calver and Baslow -- a most beautiful part of Britain, central to the Peak District National Park, by the river Derwent and close to Curbar and Froggatt Edges.

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2004-01-08T06:50:00.000Z

[32.1] CTBI ENDORSES BUILDING BRIDGES

At their final meeting of 2003, the Church Representatives of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (which links together the major Christian denominations in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales) warmly endorsed the pioneering work being done by Building Bridges of Hope in supporting new, locally-based mission initiatives for the twenty-first century.

In his presentation the Revd Terry Tennens, the CCOM consultant for Building Bridges of Hope, noted the strong endorsement BBH had received for the methodology of personal mission accompaniment to local, regional and national churches, and explained how the 23 pilot projects throughout Britain and Ireland were testing the previously researched BBH 'learning indicators' for effective mission.

He reported on the enthusiasm of the recent 'Future Church' conference, when those involved in accompaniment through BBH had met with Church leaders to explore practical ways of implementing shared leadership - one of the indicators. This was not a defeated Church, but one full of vision and hope, he said.

Terry informed the meeting of BBH's plans through to 2006. Outcomes are being disseminated through a series of books, through direct links between Church leaders and pilots, through ecumenical and denominational conferences, through this weblog and through a proposed scheme for multiplying and accrediting mission accompaniers beyond the life of BBH. A formal report will also be produced.

The work was endorsed by a number of members of the CTBI Church Representatives' Meeting who had been involved with it, and the role United Reformed Church General Secretary David Cornick had played as accompanier to the Baptist Union of Great Britain was especially highlighted.

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2004-01-07T11:48:00.000Z

[31.1] BBH ON THE MOVE

The return of BuildingBridges after the Christmas break (ah yes, happy New Year to you all!) has been hampered by a number of technical difficulties with the computer network at CTBI. Normal service is now resumed. In part this has been occasioned by the office move that took place in December. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and the Churches' Commission on Mission (the parent bodies of Building Bridges of Hope). We are now located at Bastille Court, 2 Paris Garden, London SE1 8ND; tel. +44 (0)20 7654 7254. Email and web addresses remain unchanged. Map details are here.

Reflecting on the move Dr David Goodbourn, CTBI’s General Secretary said: ‘Occupying premises with Christian Aid has enriched the life of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. Our move will enable Christian Aid to reorder and expand their office space. This is an opportunity for CTBI to create new ways of working.’

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2003-12-24T10:37:00.000Z

[30.1] CHRISTMAS GREETINGS...

... too all BuildingBridges readers. The site will be updated again after the Christmas break, and will be operative regularly once more from 7 January 2004.

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2003-12-16T13:21:00.000Z

[29.1] MISSION & THE KINGDOM

Books recommended by Evangelism.Net, including Changing Churches by Jeanne Hinton, based on the last phase of BBH work. See also their full list of resources and literature from across the spectrum of church trdaitions and theological viewpoints.

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2003-12-16T13:11:00.000Z

[28.1] A LIVING LABORATORY

From the International Review of Mission, vol. XCII No. 364, 2003 (World Council Council of Churches)

"What we are developing though Building Bridges of Hope is part of a ‘living laboratory’ of missional churches. We are engaged first and foremost not in a programme or a package, but in a process and a project. BBH is exploratory rather than prescriptive. It is a zone of experimentation, of research and development rooted in our common commitment to the transformative experience of the risen Christ in our midst. The ‘inherited’ churches have created space for it within one of their ecumenical instruments, but it is not their property. It is seeking to develop a devolved life from the grassroots up."

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2003-12-13T03:32:00.000Z

[27.1] FORTHCOMING FROM GROVE

Many readers of BuildingBridges will be aware of Grove Books. In the good old tradition of the tract (the literary genre, not the religious spool), they offer bite-sized chunks of thinking about mission, liturgy, evangelism, ethics -- and other preoccupations of the contemporary church. Their overall orientation is that of evangelical Christianity, but in an open, engaged and dialogic way. The same goes for their Anglican provenance. The evangelism series is worth checking out. Grove add:

"Forthcoming subjects planned for the Evangelism Series are 'A Good Laugh', 'Developing a Strategy for Evangelism', and 'Hospitality'. Other subjects being considered include 'How to Develop a Strategy for Evangelism', 'Dance Culture and Worship', 'Rural Evangelism', 'Alternative Celtic Mission', 'Funerals for the Unchurched', 'Shaping the Church for the 21st Century', and 'Building Bridges of Hope'."

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2003-12-12T02:40:00.000Z

[26.1] SALVATION ARMY BUILDS BRIDGES

Some time ago the Salvation Army reported the previous stage of Building Bridges of Hope. It's a good summary for those who are interested in the background story of the project.

They concluded as follows:

"If, as Colonel Phil Needham suggests, The Salvation Army is a ‘community in mission’ then we must surely welcome these developments and seek to be part of the next stage of the process. Those involved in leadership will have noticed that the questions asked by the observers on their ‘snapshot’ visits bear a remarkable similarity to the Corps Review Document. So, to some extent we are already creating (or recreating!) a mission focus. However, we cannot be complacent. We still have much to learn from the BBH project. Perhaps each division could identify a pilot corps which would follow the BBH pattern. This would involve an observer (not necessarily DHQ-based) and communication with other pilot corps and churches. The progress of these corps would be monitored and evaluated over the next three or four years and the findings shared with the wider Army.

"The creation of mission-focused corps is surely the aim of The Salvation Army as it seeks to fulfil its God-given task in the 21st century. Whatever the Army’s [formal] response to BBH we cannot afford to ignore its comprehensive and challenging research which gives vital pointers to the way ahead."

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2003-12-11T06:16:00.000Z

[25.1] THE ALBAN INSTITUTE -- RESOURCES FOR CONGREGATIONS

Based in the US, the Alban Institute is:

* An ecumenical, interfaith organization founded in 1974, which supports congregations through consulting services, research, book publishing, and educational seminars
* Practical, perceptive and experienced in working with congregations
* Grounded in research and the real life realities of congregations and their leaders
* Continually learning from—and sharing learnings with—thousands of congregations and denominational bodies
* Dedicated to pursuing new knowledge in the fields of sociology, human relations, and organizational development, and disseminating original research through books, educational seminars, and consulting and training services
* The work of Alban is supported by Funding and Membership revenue and sale of programs, services and publications

Simon Barrow of Building Bridges of Hope has visited the Alban Institute twice over the past few years and used their materials for more than 15 years. We recommend their resources, research and expertise.

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2003-12-10T04:08:00.000Z

[24.1] SPIRITUALITY IN EVERY DAY LIFE

The important reserach by Professor David Hay and Dr Kate Hunt, 'The Spirituality of People Who Don't Go To Church' is available as a free download courtesy of the CCOM website, and the authors. It was completed at the University of Nottingham and has proved invaluable for the thinking and action of many involved in Building Bridges of Hope in England Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

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2003-12-09T03:40:00.000Z

[23.1] CHURCH FOR BEGINNERS

Chris Webb, who is involved with BBH Wales (and works for the Church in Wales Council for Mission and Ministry) writes:

“David Hay, a researcher at Nottingham University, published work he has done interviewing people who didn’t go to church, about their spirituality. It was revealing and moving to see quite how rich and deep their spiritual lives were in every case, and how often they connected their spirituality with church, especially the experience of being in our buildings. But one theme emerged again and again: the church community is designed for insiders, and is both hard to relate to and hard to break into -- and there’s not much incentive to do either. As one woman expressed it, “They should do church for beginners, for people like me.”

From the article Renewing Renewal.

The Church in Wales highlighted BBH recently.

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2003-12-08T03:27:00.000Z

[22.1] DISCOVERING ENCOUNTERS ON THE EDGE

Encounters on the Edge is the title of an important project being run by George Lings unders the auspices of the Church Army. Its links page features BBH among others. George contributed to the 2002 Future Church Conference of CTBI/CCOM.

In its own words, Encounters on the Edge aims to…

* challenge whether 'better evangelism and spiritual' renewal is the whole answer in our changing mission climate.
* publish the stories of hope from the edge that are beginning to infiltrate the Church’s centre.
* communicate in a post-modern way that is immediate, understandable and experiential.

There are invaluable links to George Lings' research and findings on the site.

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2003-12-07T02:53:00.000Z

[21.1] CONFERENCE OF RELIGIOUS IN IRELAND

The Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI) is an organisation which serves the leadership of religious congregations in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. It encourages and facilitates leaders, and their members, to fulfil the Gospel mission in an ever changing world.

The Pastoral Commission recently reported on Building Bridges of Hope. "The aim of [BBH] is to find ways in which local communities of believers can become congrega-tions for mission—i.e. become active witnesses to the Christian message in their lives and in their local environments, rather than passive recipients of the ministry of their pastors. It is interesting that similar patterns emerge across a wide range of ’churches’ - from those of the historic traditions including Roman Catholic, to newer pentecostal-syle communities."

The vision of CORI is one of service, modelled on the life and mission of Jesus. Aware of the hunger for GOD in our society, we seek to be a prophetic voice in proclaiming Good News for our time.

CORI enables leaders and their members:-

• To work for harmony in their relations with God, self, our brothers and sisters and the whole of creation;
• To foster ongoing reflection on the changing role and form of religious life;
• To respond with compassion to concerns around justice, brokenness, reconciliation and inclusion;
• To develop a spirituality for our times;
• To promote human dignity in our multicultural society.

CORI seeks to face the challenge of its mission with realism, hope and trust in God.

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2003-12-06T03:05:00.000Z

[20.1] EUROPEAN BRIDGES

Building Bridges of Hope has, over the years, established a number of links throughout the continent of Europe. Indeed, its origins were with missionary congregational research initiated in Germany and supported through the World Council of Churches. This led to consultations among church mission enablers in Britain and Ireland, and eventually to this shared project as a way forward in our four nations. (See John Roxborogh's helpful summary of Gerhardt Linn, Hear What The Spirit Says To The Churches: Towards Missionary Congregations in Europe (WCC, 1994). John is a missiologist in New Zealand.

The mutual interest and support continues, for example in Norway. On 29 November 2003 the magazine of Den Norsk Kirke published a short piece about BBH.

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2003-12-05T02:43:00.000Z

[19.1] IRISH METHODISTS' GLOBAL VISION

Desmond Bain from the Methodist Church in Ireland has been involved in Building Bridges of Hope for some time. He describes it as "a programme enabling congregations to seek to tip the balance from maintenance towards mission." Earlier this year the Methodists in Ireland (MMSI) held a Global Vision 2003 event. BBH was featured as one of the impressive range of seminars on offer. The conference was held at Wallace High School, Lisburn.

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2003-12-04T10:04:00.000Z

[18.1] GOD IN THE HIGH STREET

From Dr Helen Cameron, who was a 'reflector' at the 2003 Future Church Conference. She is a visiting professor at the LSE and a member of the Salvation Army:

‘Glory to God in the High St and on earth, peace and goodwill to all people.’

I used to think of this as a cheesy wayside pulpit displayed at Christmas time but now it has come alive through meeting a BBH pilot team with their companion over lunch at the conference. An ecumenical team of eight trustees has bought and refurbished a redundant chapel on their High Street and turned it into a place of welcome for the whole community.

Our conversation flowed in a number of directions: liturgy, incarnation, evangelism and finished with them asking me what they could read about their attempts to communicate the gospel in through ‘secular’ actions. As a teacher I pride myself on not failing with this sort of request but I was stumped for an immediate answer so I thought, I’ll put some of my reflections on the discussion on the web log and see if it will trigger ideas from others on reading that will meet this situation.

The motivation of this group arose from their shared Christian belief but they expressed anxieties that running a café, an after school club and a facility that other agencies could use to contact the community was ‘not Christian enough’. Other BBH projects had a liturgy, where was theirs?

Liturgy is often described as ‘the work of the people of God’ a good description of this project. Liturgy involves movement, words and symbols that are designed to convey grace to the participant. We identified the way in which customers were greeted personally by name, the way in which food was presented and served, help with taking a tray to a table, making eye contact, shaking hands…these could all be graceful encounters in a world that often makes people feel lonely and anonymous.

For most Christian traditions, the Eucharist is a symbol of Christ feeding his people – a deeply meaningful symbol for those accustomed to it. I speculated that in our secular society, the retail transaction is a key symbol. It represents the power of the individual to interact with society on their own terms, to make choices and to create their identity through what they consume. This group were taking a symbol that people were willing to access and adding onto it layers of Christian meaning…being called by name, being served because you are worthy, being accepted for who you are.

This for me carried strong echoes of the incarnation: the word becoming flesh and dwelling among us so that in as much as we serve those on our High Street we serve Christ himself.

The conversation moved on to evangelism – the trustees came from different denominations and so brought different understandings of the purpose and methods of evangelism. Rather like the grain that goes to make the broken bread, they had had to die to their own understandings of evangelism and learn from those they served, the ways in which they were willing to be engaged. They had become aware of a gulf between their much loved liturgy of a Sunday and the ability of those they served on a Monday to engage with it.

How could they create a bridge without losing the respect of those they served and making them feel they only valued them as a means of restocking the pews? The companion felt there was a gap between the relationships built in the High Street Centre and something like Alpha or Emmaus. How best to bridge that gap was the topic left on the table. The Centre had recently been refurbished and a quiet room added – maybe there was a staring point…

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2003-12-03T02:20:00.000Z

[17.1] BBH IS CATHOLIC NEWS

This BBH report is from Independent Catholic News. ICN is the first daily Catholic on-line news service in the UK. The site is run by Catholic journalists based in London, England. There are also more than a dozen regular contributors around the world.

"We set up on a voluntary basis in May 2000 in response to Tertio Millennio Adveniente, which called for lay people to play a more active role in the work of the Church. As journalists, we felt this project was one way we could make a contribution. Our aim is to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community. We also have a Saint of the Day, Sunday Reflection, Listings Section, Archives and Links pages."

If you would like daily news updates e-mailed directly to your mailbox, contact: subs@indcatholicnews.com

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2003-12-02T02:15:00.000Z

[16.1] POST-CHRISTIAN BRITAIN?

The perceptive Scottish writer, critic and historian William Dalrymple (whose latest book is White Mughals) has recently written an interesting piece on the contradictions of religious life in modern Britain. Some of his data seems to have been drawn from Callum Brown's challenging book, The Death of Christian Britain, but his judgements are more measured. Not that they constitute grounds for complacency among firstline British church leaders, some of whom seem not to have recognized that the kind of faith that persists amidst the secularity of public life is not a likely antechamber for the return of historic Christianity. If we wish to stand still, or even move forward, we have a lot of change to negotiate, and a re-energization of hope. This too is what Building Bridges of Hope is about.

Of the situation we are in Dalrymple observes:

"It is usually assumed that Christianity in Britain was in decline from the mid-19th century on. In fact, church attendance figures reached an all-time high at the end of the 19th century, and dramatically revived again in the 1950s: this was the period, for example, when Billy Graham, the American evangelist, was able to draw crowds of more than 2 million to his open air services.

"The decline has taken place, at a quite startling rate, only since the mid-1960s. As late as the 1950s, nearly half the adult population went to church on a Sunday. By the 1990s the figure was down to 10%. During the 1960s, the decline was initially limited to the Anglican church, and both Roman Catholic and Jewish attendance figures held up well. But even there, decline set in towards the end of the 1970s and accelerated fast, so that by the late 1980s Catholicism and Judaism found themselves haemorrhaging faithful as Protestants had 20 years earlier.

"Today the decline is at its most severe in urban areas, and most severe of all in London: fewer than 3% of Londoners now attend church on Sundays. This is clearly a major change in the landscape, but it does not represent a universal decline. For while organised religion is ceasing to play a major role in the life of the white majority, there is no comparable decline in the religious life of Britain's ethnic minorities. Today in London, white Christians are already outnumbered by black ones. Black Pentecostal churches are flourishing and 51% of regular London churchgoers are now non-white.

"Likewise, the number of mosque-going Muslims is fast catching up with the number of church-going Christians, and Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras are also flourishing. Nor is there any obvious drop-off in the faith of second- or third-generation British Indians. The outlook remains uncertain, especially as regards mainstream white Christianity, but reports of the death of religion in these islands are premature."

See the full piece (‘God in Peckham Rye') here.

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2003-12-01T00:02:00.000Z

[15.1] WORKING FOR RECONCILIATION

From St Gall’s Church, Parish of Carnalea, Diocese of Down & Dromore in the Church of Ireland:

"A key element of the mission of the church is the building of bridges of understanding and trust in our community today. To that end within the life of St Gall’s four people are presently serving as “Parish Bridge Builders”. They head up our involvement in a range of projects run within the diocese under the “Think Again” initiative and laise with the Rev Charlie Leeke, the reconciliation officer.

"Breaking down barriers that divide our community here in Northern Ireland can be the toughest of our callings as the church of Christ. Bold and imaginative ways have to be found to help people address the prejudices that we all hold by virtue of our culture. What is our understanding of those of a different community than our own? Often, if we are honest, it is limited and sometimes negative."

BBH is working with "Think Again" to help create new paths forward.

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2003-11-30T00:46:00.000Z

[14.1] FAITH IN ACTION WILL INSPIRE

From a review of the first BBH book, Changing Churches (CTBI, 2002), from Brian Newsom:

"We normally think of changing churches as referring to those people who move from congregation to congregation looking for the perfect church, where they can feel happy and fulfilled. And of course they never find it. This book is about churches that are responding to changes in society and seeking to meet the needs of the people in their locality.

"This is amply demonstrated in the heart-warming story of the development of the ecumenical Forthspring Inter-Community Group (named after the local river Forth) in the strife-torn, Springfield Road area of West Belfast, where the Protestant and Catholic communities meet.

"In Leyland, the Catholic church of St Mary’s became the catalyst for a coming together of ten different churches from the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and URC denominations. This has resulted in the town becoming more open to God, and a spreading pool of goodwill generally.

"There are also stories of churches arising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of urban deprivation, like that of the Furnival pub in north east Sheffield which has become an ecumenical, multi-cultural, Christian community. Café 2000 is another, similar initiative which has blossomed in the wilderness of the Marsh Farm estate in Luton. Here a body of dedicated volunteers offer spiritual, practical and psychological help to people living on the edge of society.

"In Glasgow the Late Late Service is run by an ecumenical Christian community with strong links to the mainstream churches, to minister to young adults who find traditional forms of church service out-moded, or even incomprehensible.

"This book should be read by all Christians who have a concern for reaching out to the un-churched in their immediate vicinity; for there are examples of faith in action which will inspire you all."

The full article is here. From Anglican Renewal Ministries Wales (AdnewYddiad Eglwyswyr Cymru)

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2003-11-29T03:27:00.000Z

[13.1] BRADFORD SETS THE PACE

One of the most challenging of the 'pilots' related to BBH in England is the Bradford Inner Ring Group, which exists "to support the Christian communities of Bradford in their common discipleship of Jesus and to encourage them to be good neighbours in their differing contexts." Working together across confessional boundaries, the major churches in the centre of Bradford (Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, URC and West Yorkshire Council of Caribbean churches as well as the Salvation Army and the Society of Friends) are seeking to transcend their normal 'denominational' structures and ways of working so that they can invest in common mission in a multi-cultural and inter-faith context. The project is described here. Current priorities are: relations with other faiths; evangelism; buildings; young people/children; training and education; and support of families.

The notion of 'church action zones' is very positive -- a new way of forging ecumenical cooperation which puts the needs and character of the neighbourhood / city at the top of the agenda. It also creates opportunities for structured working with agency partners. In Bradford's case that includes the Church Mission Society and the Shaftesbury Society. The Building Bridges of Hope accompanier is Professor James O'Connell.

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2003-11-28T02:41:00.000Z

[12.1] INTRODUCING 'WORKSHOP'

One of the speakers at the 2003 Future Church Conference was Noel Moules, who coordinates an innovative training initiative simply called 'Workshop'. Supported by the Anvil Trust, Workshop is open and ecumenical, but it is also works with partners in the Anabaptist Network and uses the resources of the excellent Metanoia Book Service.

This is how they describe themselves:

"In an atmosphere of friendship, you will meet people from a wide variety of backgrounds, and a broad range of experiences. Some have church leadership responsibility, while others are just beginning to discover faith for themselves; but all aspire to know God and be used by God, or to work through doubts and questions. Few are able to attend full-time theological training, all want the stimulus to think and to learn; many find more than they ever hoped for or expected.

"Workshop exists solely to run training courses which are designed to serve both local churches and individuals in their exploration and experimentation with truth. Its specific aim is to equip participants for the ongoing challenges of church life and secular society. To this end Workshop brings together a quality of teaching resources that it is often difficult to provide in a local setting, making them available at six regional centres.

"On Workshop we are able to structure the material in the most creative and relevant way possible. The course is not primarily academic, (though a nationally recognised qualification may be gained), but neither is it superficial. By building on experience it has developed a quality, depth, range and diversity in its subject matter which is very extensive within a timescale that is realistic."

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2003-11-27T09:34:00.000Z

[11.1] ENCOURAGEMENT FOR 'FUTURE CHURCH'

We are grateful to Paul Johnston and Jackie Price for the following article from Churches Together in Harpenden:

To keep you all in touch with developments in the UK church, two representatives of Churches Together in Harpenden recently attended a conference on Future Church Leadership and Mission for the 21st Century. The conference was organised by the Churches' Commission on Mission (a branch of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland) and was held at High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesdon.

Paul Johnston (co-ordinator of local Alpha initiatives) and Jackie Price (CTH Secretary and co-ordinator of the Youth Evangelist project) went along, partly to share what is happening here in Harpenden, but also to learn what is going on in other parts of the country, and to gain insights into how the current church 'scene' is changing.

Probably the most inspiring aspect for us was hearing about the many collaborative inter-church mission projects which are happening up and down the country, and the ways in which God is working to draw different churches together to make a real difference to the communities in which they're situated.

In Edenbridge, Kent, churches have collaborated to run an outreach cafe called "Bridges'. They employ a full-time manager, the rest of the staff being volunteers, and the aim is to provide not only physical refreshment but also a listening ear and friendship.

In a socially challenged area of Dublin, the churches have built a community centre which is used by various groups, but especially as a youth centre, staffed jointly by the local churches. These include Methodist, Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland.

In Cardonald, Glasgow, the Churches Together group embraces a community divided by class differences and sectarianism. Here, the churches have been instrumental in helping Protestant and Catholic communities work together, and those on the council estate (an Urban Priority Area) to work with those who live in a comparatively wealthy suburb.

In Bradford, the majority of churches within the inner ring road have agreed to functionally work as one on the following priorities: evangelism, best use of buildings, relationships with other faiths, supporting Christian families, education and training, and youth.

The leaders of two churches (one Anglican, one independent evangelical) undergoing the transition to Cell Churches discussed their vision and progress in what subsequently provoked a very lively debate which continued over the dinner table.

One very inspiring speaker from Sheffield [Dr Malcolm Grundy of MODEM] spoke about vision and values for leaders, and we were continually reminded of the need to affirm one another since our faith is relational.

We left greatly inspired and excited by the ways in which God is working throughout the UK and beyond, and challenged to 'dream big dreams'. as one speaker put it. Many people there had certainly done this.

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2003-11-26T09:19:00.000Z

[10.1] BBH LEARNING INDICATORS

As many reading this will know, the basis for BBH's current 'action-research' pilots throughout Britain and Ireland is the seven key factors we identified from the previous stage of work -- the 'learning indicators' derived from a cross-section of local Christian communities engaged effectively in the mission of God in contemporary society. It's good to be reminded of them from time-to-time. They are as follows:

1. FOCUSING VISION. The importance of local churches articulating their specific calling through integrated strategies for community engaging, mature spiritual life, enabling leadership and appropriate structure.

2. BUILDING LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS. The significance of seeking and forming partnerships of action with those who share similar concerns in the wider community, both inside and outside the church.

3. SHARING FAITH AND VALUES. A commitment to exploring respectful and creative ways to share values, aspirations and faith in and beyond church circles in relation to the Gospel story.

4. NOURISHING DAILY LIVING. The critical need for believers old and new to relate biblical faith to personal life, work and culture in society today through worship, prayer and reflection.

5. DEVELOPING SHARED LEADERSHIP. The importance of forming in context clergy-lay (and other forms of) team leadership, animated by one another and linked both to church learning institutions and to genuine community participation.

6. BECOMING COMMUNITIES OF LEARNING. Churches at every level need to become places where the lessons about how to be ‘bridge-builders’ with others can be developed, consolidated and extended.

7. WILLINGNESS TO BE ACCOMPANIED.The value of welcoming systematic accompaniment and evaluation in non-directive ways from beyond the local – and the networking of stories and experience in order to be able to look at each other with fresh eyes.

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2003-11-25T13:56:00.000Z

[6.1] EVANGELISM RESOURCES

Evangelism.Net describes itself as a webspace: "to offer suggestions and ideas to UK Christians and churches to encourage and enable their evangelistic thinking and action, and to help evangelism get done. The site covers different sources, representing a breadth of Christian approach and tradition. This site is maintained by the Church of England's Division of Mission and Public Affairs. If a site or resource is featured here, it does not mean it is approved or recommended by the Church of England or the Archbishops' Council – it simply means that the site or resource exists, and you may or may not be interested in it. Different resources will be valued differently by different people."

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2003-11-24T09:37:00.000Z

[9.1] BBH 'PILOT' LINKS AND RELATED

Lou Ashworth has written in to give the URL of the South West District Methodist site. She's being accompanied as a mission enabler both for the Methodists and the URC.

Jackie Price has written an article about the Future Church Conference 2003 for the quarterly newsletter of Churches Together in Harpenden. See also the article 'At Your Word, Lord' -- on an exciting evangelization initiative in the local Roman Catholic parish.

Here at BuildingBridges we are seeking to revise the permanent links (on the right) as we go along -- and to include a section specifically dedicated to the BBH 'pilots'.

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2003-11-23T09:41:00.000Z

[8.1] CUTTING EDGE

A comment from Dr David Goodbourn, General Secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, following the 2003 Future Church Conference: "Thanks to BBH, we have seen the difference it can make when Churches at the cutting edge accompany one another in thinking through their work."

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2003-11-22T04:15:00.000Z

[7.2] EMERGING CHURCH WEBSITE LAUNCHED

Church Mission Society writes:

"One of the most encouraging and exciting developments over recent years has been the significant rise in the number of new expressions and experiments of christian communities more commonly referred to as 'the emerging church'. Discovering what exactly is happening however is no easy task.

"The web site Emerging Church, launched last month, to help develop a forum for stories and an opportunity for people to enter into debate on the issues surrounding these new ways of being church.

"CMS have been one of a group of agencies and organisations involved in this site which contains stories, reflections, discussion boards, blogs and links.

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2003-11-21T14:04:00.000Z

[6.2] PRODIGAL PROJECT

From the PP website, established by Mike Riddell, a New Zealand writer and speaker from a new church background who is now a Catholic, and a speaker at Greenbelt and other high-profile events, as well as a former Third Way columnist.

"Written by and for those who love God but struggle to belong to the church, comes a book which breathes excitement and hope. Why, the authors ask, are Christians across the Western world leaving the church in such alarming numbers? Could it be that God is using discontent to nudge us towards change?

"The Prodigal Project argues passionately that we need to revitalise our worship, our spirituality and our theology if the church is to remain faithful in the third millennium. Mike Riddell, Mike Pierson and Cathy Kirkpatrick have discovered in 'alternative worship' a movement which is culturally relevant, creative and community-based. Here mystery encounters multi-media, the radical is infused with the old and familiar, the traditional and contemporary are combined.

"The ideas and resources contained in the Project explode into spectacular life when viewed on the accompanying CDROM, which contains music, video, animations and extras. This is much more than a book; it is a beginning."

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2003-11-20T12:43:00.000Z

[5.2] WHAT'S ALL THIS 'PILOTING' ABOUT?

Building Bridges of Hope is an ecumenically resourced project bringing together a wide range of initiatives (around 23 at the moment) concerned to chart new paths for the churches in their service and witness to communities throughout Britain and Ireland. These 'pilots' (or 'church action zones') are about:

A. TESTING IDEAS. Aiming to make use of the seven ‘BBH learning indicators’ of healthy, outwardly-engaged churches -- and how these can be developed, modified and applied in greater depth, in different settings, and in different ways.

B. SUPPORTING INITIATIVE. Aiming to assist the development of a network of support for ground-up initiatives -- a 'living laboratory'.

C. CHALLENGING INSTITUTIONS. Aiming to discover ways in which the resources, structures and agencies of ‘the institutional churches' (denominationally and ecumenically) can be helped to better enable, rather than to block, mission arising from the ground-up.

D. BREAKING BARRIERS. Aiming to demonstrate creative(‘pioneering’, ‘emergent’, ‘developmental’) ways forward in community bridge-building and Christian mission for local, regional and national churches. In some cases that means renewing our inherited ways of 'being church'. In other cases it involves experimenting more radically. We see these as complementary and overlapping ways of proceeding.

The major tool that BBH has at its disposal to achieve these aims is long-term accompaniment, the provision of 'critical friends' who can help the BBH pilots to negotiate change and development more successfully. So you could also say that we are testing practical accompaniment as a specific way of re-energising the mission of the Christian community.

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2003-11-19T10:43:00.000Z

[5.1] RESOURCES FOR CHANGE

The BBH-related book by Jeanne Hinton and Peter B. Price, Changing Communities: Church From The Grassroots, has been reviewed by Canon Bruce Saunders in a recent issue of The Bridge. This HTML version may be a bit tricky to read. But there is also a link to the *pdf version, for which you will need Adobe Acrobat. It's also mentioned in the Church of Ireland Gazette. Jeanne and Peter document wisdom about the practicalities of small Christian community gleaned through the New Way of Being Church network. See also the account of earlier Building Bridges of Hope congregations and projects (1996-2000), Changing Churches.

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2003-11-18T09:52:00.000Z

[4.2] BBH PRESENTED TO BRITISH & IRISH CHURCH LEADERS

This evening the Rev Terry Tennens, consultant and coordinator of Building Bridges of Hope, will present an update on the project to the Church Representatives Meeting (CRM) of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. CTBI is an official ecumenical body linking together the major Christian denominations in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. CRM's role is to oversee the coordination of cooperation among the churches and to act as a forum for collaboration. BBH is one of its priority programmes, along with the WCC Decade to Overcome Violence.

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2003-11-18T09:27:00.000Z

[4.1] PHILIP KNIGHTS - ON THE CASE

Apologies to the Rev Dr Philip Knights, who works for the new Catholic Agency to Support Evangelization (CASE), a body working under the authorisation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales. Philip was also a speaker at the Future Church 2003 event (see 2.1 below) and should have been mentioned in the CTBI Press Release. At least this unfortunate oversight gets him a special, additional plug! We will aslo be reproducing excerpts from his contribution at the end of the conference soon.

CASE , by the way, is still CMS at the moment. The full transition - or should we say, transformation - takes place in the Autumn.

Philip has been involved in a major research project leading to the publication of the report 'Evangelization in England and Wales'. He is also in discussion with CTBI about a contribution to the current Mission Series of books. He also teaches at the Mill Hill Missionary Institute in London - specifically a course on 'The Theological Foundations of Mission, Justice and Peace.'

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2003-11-17T16:17:00.000Z

[3.1] EMAIL ADDRESS FOR THIS WEBLOG

The email address for this weblog, which is still under construction, is not the one that was advertised at the Future Church Conference in High Leigh last week. For technical reasons it has had to be changed to:

buildingbridgesofhope@NOSPAMTAyahoo.co.uk

Please delete NOSPAMTA before sending your message if you're copying this into your browser. (This precaution is to foil bulk mailers trawling logs to add email addresses to their databases). But you don't have to do that... the email is set up under 'contacts' (above, right) and is in the 'comment' line at the end of every email. Easy, huh?

So please do drop us a line if you want to add to - or comment on - this site.

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2003-11-16T16:00:00.000Z

[2.1] MISSION WILL CREATE TOMORROW'S CHURCH

CTBI issued the following news release on behalf of Building Bridges of Hope today:

the Rev Terry Tennens, coordinator of CTBI’s Building Bridges of Hope (BBH) project, after a major gathering of church leaders and enablers in Hertfordshire this weekend.

“There is much publicity about disagreement within the churches at the moment,” he continued, “but this event shows how Christians of widely differing traditions can recognise the impact of Jesus Christ on each others’ lives when they get their priorities right.”

The theme of the Future Church 2003 conference was ‘developing shared leadership for a C21st church.’ It attracted representatives of a wide range of Christian denominations from England, Scotland Ireland and Wales – “a number from backgrounds well beyond the range of the existing ecumenical family,” observed CTBI General Secretary Dr David Goodbourn.

“The BBH project involves 24 ‘pilot’ missionary initiatives and a network of over a thousand people seeking to discover the pattern of tomorrow’s church,” says Mr Simon Barrow, Secretary of the CTBI Churches’ Commission on Mission, which sponsors Building Bridges of Hope. “Its aim is to show what a big difference long-term, experienced accompaniment – the regular presence of a trained ‘critical friend’ – can make on local churches.”

This is the second of a series of Future Church gatherings to explore the impact of everything from the use of ‘cell’ and ‘house church’ models within the traditionally parochial Anglican system right through to the re-modelling of leadership in a Roman Catholic deanery and inter-church community initiatives in Northumbria and Scotland.

“What’s really significant is that we can bring together people from backgrounds as varied as ‘new church’ and Catholic,” says the Rev Terry Tennens. “No other project I know of can do that.”

“We are not trying to drag people into church buildings, we are looking for the fingerprints of Jesus across the community so that we can ‘do church’ there,” added the Rev David Beales from Colchester.

Speakers as Future Church 2003 included Archdeacon Malcolm Grundy (Church of England), Dr Helen Cameron (Salvationist), Dr Stuart Murray-Williams (Anabaptist Network) and Ms Lou Ashworth (Methodist /United Reformed Church). The Sion Community, a lay Catholic movement committed to evangelism and renewal, led worship.

“If you want to discover what ecumenism will look like in twenty years time, start here,” said CCOM’s Simon Barrow.

A DVD/video from the 2003 gathering will be available in the New Year.

The next Future Church conference takes place from 20-21 October 2004 and will explore ‘Sharing faith and values in a post-Christendom context.’

CONTACTS:

Simon Barrow (CTBI Mission Secretary) – 07939 139882
Terry Tennens (Building Bridges of Hope) – 07974 231445
Anne van Staveren (CTBI Media Officer) – 07939 139882

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2003-11-12T11:13:00.000Z

[1.1] UNDER CONSTRUCTION - TO BE LAUNCHED ON MONDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2003

For the first week this site will have a banner advert. We intend to get rid of it as soon as possible, though.

The more enduring material here will also be indexed on the main BBH site.

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