Like most conferences, the interesting bits happen between the sessions and I was particularly interested to meet someone from Liverpool who had already read this blog. The wonders of the internet!
The first key note speaker was Ann Morisy who has been giving us a series of session which addressed issues relating to mission and the Church. She described the way that the Church functions in three domains: the foundational, the explicit and the vocational.The explicit domain relates to the visible church and the way that this expression is managed. Although she was clear that this is an aspect of church which she loves, she also questioned the amount of time and resource that we give to it.
The foundational domain relates to the basic experience of human beings on the very edge of faith. This is where we relate to those who have no eplicit theology or belief and may encounter the divine but struggle to articulate the experience. The role of the church in this domain is not to impose its own understanding but to acompany and encourage those who are feeling the first stirings of an understanding that there is something other... In this domain, she suggested, chaplains have traditionally walked...
She discussed the concept of "church centres" where churches make their fascilities open to the community as a resource. She suggested that this "gift" has not always been helpful since there is often no attempt to build relationships or create meaning. To counter this she suggested that we explore the concept of "community chaplains" - trained volunteers who would spend time making links and befriending the groups who use "church centres". This seems a good idea. I did ask and no-one had produced any training, so this idea would need quite a bit of work... It's not a bad one though and may be worth looking at in MK. We have a variety of "community centre" churches which generate frustration, disapointment and can be a drain on resources. It strikes me that the concept of Community Chaplains could turn these places into potential community hubs...
The third domain is the vocational. This is the aspect of our life where individuals experience the discomfort of "should I? could I?" in response to need and possibility. Ann wasn't sure this had anything to do with Local Ministry but I suspect it does - local churches should be places where disciples are nurtured and groups of people challenge each other to have a go...
She also talked about communal anxiety, power, status and control - and so on... She's a great speaker and gave everyone a great deal to think about...
Beyond the talks this conference has given me an opportunity to ask some questions and find out what's going on around the CofE. It's a mixed picture... One of the questions I've been keen to ask has been about "commisioning" services for local ministry teams. There seem to be a huge variety of patterns and few commonalities. Even the names used vary dramatically! From an MK point of view, I increasingly think that we will have to create our own...
In the evening I was asked to talk about Water Eaton. It was interesting to get some feedback from proper experts which both confirmed some of my thoughts and raised some important questions.
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