Like many churches in the country three of the Chapels I am working with are undergoing a time of great change. Realising that the more traditional ways of being are not attracting younger families/ people, and that their numbers are declining in real terms (I'll explain a bit more on that one later) they have bravely set out to do something new. It is almost that we are on a familiar crossroads and where the journey would normally have taken us left we have chosen to turn right.
This change in direction is gradual in some places and marked in others, some crossroads offer a gentle sweeping bend, whilst others are faced with a 90 degree turn! Interestingly it is those who have had to take a leap of faith and do something completely different who are more easily able to both admit and deal with the very real pain that this causes. Everything has changed, they have re-evaluated their mission and the only safe place to do that from is on their knees!
Change is almost always disorientating, even change that is both positive and welcome can bring with it confusion and fear. Take our newly thriving Messy Church for example, what began as an experiment just under two years ago is now a regular even attracting "congregations" of 50-60, these folk are of mixed ages, some with no church background at all. All credit to many of the older folk in the traditional congregation because they come along and make folk welcome. On Sunday we saw families having fun together, as I said in my last post one dad was so completely chilled that he lay on the floor and just soaked up the opportunity to relax!
Watching folk come into the building and be so utterly relaxed was an alleluia moment for me, but not so for Doreen, although she did not criticise him she spoke to be afterwards about her discomfort with the whole event. There were people everywhere, all doing different things, and the projected worship videos were almost too much for her to handle, (well ministers jumping around to Great Big God are a bit scary I'll give her that!). Her lament, "why don't they just come in the morning, to Sunday School?"
Well there is an answer to that; we don't have a Sunday School! We have not had a Sunday School for 4 years, it simply did not meet the needs of todays families, Messy Church does. In order to help folk like Doreen I have to make space for them to lament their loss. it is no good simply saying well that's how it is, so I'll stick a plaster over my hurt and carry on. For Doreen and many other like her this includes the loss of some of her own families involvement in church, her children who had been faithfully taken to Sunday School are nowhere to be seen, and there is a real element of mourning and lament in her words.
It would be easy to say that Sunday School was always wrong, that it was irrelevant and it put people off, sucessfully putting a wedge between whole generations and the church. Of course in some cases this is true, but I think there is a more subtle truth, and therefore a more dangerous one. So many people I meet have warm fuzzy memories of Sunday School, of picnics, events and outings. Far more often I meet people who rather than having a view of a scary God have a vision of a cuddly benign and frankly ineffectual God who is therefore irrelevant.
We have a huge task ahead of us as a Church a task that requires intentional listening to ourselves and to others. We must not simply paper/ plaster over our questions and problems, rather we must bring them out into the light where we will receive healing and direction from the God who meets us where we are and longs to take us on the journey of a life time, and beyond!
