The wondering chaplain...

Members of st Chads with help from our local dads group have...

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:33:05 +0100

Members of st Chads with help from our local dads group have been sorting out our church garden.

This is more than a gardening project. Sustaining the earth is a mark of mission, and working with dads provides the church with outreach opportunities that ordinarily wouldn’t exist…

That’s our intention, plus we want the garden to be an attractive place where people feel free to sit and for children to play happily and safely in.

Bums on seats....

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:17:40 +0100

So I was listening to our arch deacon last night proposing a new type of leadership in our church which is very exciting.

Yet as I wake this morning something worries me about what he said. Essentially he talked about “sacking” the leader if in essence the church hadn’t grown. By growth we are talking more people in church.

This raises a question for me - what is salvation? Is it not more than bums on seats? Is it more than this, deeper, far wider and more liberating? Is it to do with employment, decent housing, sustaining the earth, defending the refugee, isn’t it equally about Justice? Would we sack a leader for not doing anything about injustice?

The problem with the numbers gain is that it focuses in on dragging people in, not sending the church out. For those of us interested in fresh expressions of church we are keen for the church to be sent out, and planting new models of church that meet differing needs. So the punters may never come in but grow in new forms of church, or indeed other churches.

We can only do two things. Love God and our neighbour. Then we will see society change and heaven coming to earth, but it may not mean they all start coming to church at the same time, the same way or in the same place.

Easily my favourite visit… yum sausage sarnie…

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:15:36 +0100

Easily my favourite visit… yum sausage sarnie…

Christmas Cards update

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:55:15 +0000

So we met in Emma’s cafe over a full english and sorted the Christmas cards before praying. I’ve got to say that Emma’s cafe rocks and Emma & Anne are complete legends!

So then we got delivering. Now we could either have seen this just as delivering cards through letter boxes, or we could see it as an opportunity to…

talk…

listen…

connect…

with our local businesses…

And we did just that. The conversations were great, the getting to know people wonderful and people seemed genuine in their enthusiasm for a chaplain to the industrial estate.

The highlight were great conversations with 2k tools, Quality Office Supplies, RSL, and ODIN engineering who asked us to pray for them during a crucial pitch for a contract…

Wonderful to connect with people who had real business needs, as well as some searching questions.

So that’s the update from the last blog, and we’re out again this Thursday so prayers would be welcomed.

Christmas Cards...

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:38:40 +0000

Quick blog now to say that the team are all meeting at Emma’s Cafe for breakfast and our team meeting, which will be most enjoyable. However, the main order of the day is delivering Christmas cards to each business.

I don’t think we’ve ever done this before so althought it’s only a Christmas card and an invite to a carol service, it’s actually more than that. Maybe these cards and the presence of us giving these out will be symbolic of the ever increasing light of Christ in this place…

Light in the darkness! Anyway I’ll update you after!

Here’s to a full english!

Good times...

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 21:27:00 +0000

It’s been a few weeks since I last blogged as the wondering chaplain but that’s not to say that there has been no activity. In fact quite the reverse and one of the reasons for not blogging is wondering where to start.

We continue to pray for two businesses of a week, which is great and the local church of which I am part seems to be getting behind the whole project of reaching out to the businesses in our estate (although I’ve heard a few cynical voices in this time too).

It seems though that just starting something fresh, something that reaches out, something that actually “does” has encouraged not only me, not just our local churches but also the wider church and for me, if nothing else, if this just galvanises the local church into action then it will be a job well done…

… but there is as it happens some really cool things happening with the businesses. Here is a snapshot…

Emma’s Cafe – really enjoying their full English breakfast most Thursday mornings and I’m really enjoying getting to know them. I just hope they don’t think I’m trying to “convert” them because I am not. I do, however, hope to share the love of Jesus in word and deed, and am excited about being able to offer them some slabs and lay them. I think they were dead pleased and encouraged that a local church would want to help them in whatever they needed…

GWI – Emma from the cafe introduced me to these people, and I’ve got a meeting with them in the next few weeks where I will be able to share our vision of supporting local businesses in any capacity possible be it practically, offering a chaplaincy service and prayer.

Tarmac – Colin here is a Christian. He’s great. On waiting for him I met Norman in the cafe, and cut a long story short Norman and I shared stories. He asked me to pray for him, and said I could come back anytime. I hope to get to the point where I can just go in once a month at a set time and if people need a chat then they know where I am, if not I’ll sit in the canteen and read my book!

Other Christians – One of the things I felt God say was to find other followers of Jesus on the industrial estate and see what I can do to connect them with each other. Well, I was gob smacked when I met Colin, but now I know about 5 or 6 Christians and I’m waiting to get to the point where we can meet together and share some vision.

The team – Of course none of this is possible without a team of people from St Chad’s and St Philips who are very encouraging. We’re keen to build relationships with a cluster of 20 companies specifically and use seasons like Christmas to reach out to the whole industrial estate. So this Thursday we’re having our regular monthly meeting in Emma’s cafe before delivering Christmas cards and invites to carol services…

God knows if our approach is right or best, but our heart is, and we trust God. I’m convinced God wants His Church to play their part in helping these businesses transform, not just sprititually but also socially and economically.

I promise to blog more regularly. In the mean time do pray for Central Flower Sales and Excetera our two businesses of the week.

Serving and Supporting...

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:23:00 +0000

This is a quick post, but I wanted to write a note about how grateful I am to God for the support we’re receiving in this venture as we look to reach out and serve the businesses in the parish.

1) A great lunch with Paul Simmonds of “Workcare” who got me into all of this in the first place. Wonderful to get a perspective and encouragement from somebody external. And superb to hear how other parishes are interested in this whole area…

2) A great phone call with Colin, who works at one of the companies on the estate. He is a Christian and was encouraged by the work we are doing, how we can support him as he seeks to be “light in the darkness” and I’m looking forward to meeting him for a coffee next week…

3) I meet with a bunch of grannies, and a few of us younger folk every Wednesday. Some of them in particular have been very supportive and encouraging with this venture. All of them whether they know it or not have encouraged me and enabled me to “go”. You don’t have to talk about “the work” but just being part of loving community inspires you to get out of the four walls and get on with it.

4) We have a “team meeting” on Friday to pray, see what we can do Christmas wise etc with the businesses. Again, wonderful to know “you’re not alone”…

We all need support whether we’re doing a church activity, running a department or a business, caring for a relative or whatever the task maybe.

Who is supporting you?

And who could you support?

As I write I’m reminded of the words of Jesus - “I came not to be served but to serve”… As I seek to serve the businesses in the parish, I’m reminded of some great people who are trying to follow the example of Jesus as they support me in this work…

God knows I couldn’t do it without them, or Him for that matter…

Grace and Peace.

Business of the Week: Lifestyle Express

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 21:59:55 +0000

This weeks business of the week to pray for (and shop from!) is Lifestyle Express on Ringwood Highway, Potters Green. It’s a fairly new business and I’m not sure what they need prayer for, or how we may serve them but needless to say I’ll pop in and say hi and see if I can find something out…

Or maybe you can?

We’re having some great responses from some of the businesses we’ve been in touch with. Great to make contact with the local companies, genuine suprise from them (in a good way) that a church would take an interest in the business community and a real willingness to share somethings they need some prayer for.

My hope is that in the future, we will move from asking for things to pray for, to becoming an answer to prayer and seeing how we may serve them.

Oh and looking forward to meeting Colin, a fellow Christian who works for one of the companies on the estate…

Emma’s cafe - business of the week we will be praying...

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 21:15:40 +0100

Emma’s cafe - business of the week we will be praying for. Will pop in and say hi and see what their needs are and introduce ourselves…

… and looking forward to prayer walking around the industrial estate tomorrow with the church. Hoping this may inspire others not just to this “mission field” but into others within our parishes/city…

… and because without prayer we’ll get no where..

The Wondering Chaplain...

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 21:06:00 +0100

I had this crazy idea along with a friend of mine called Paul to be a chaplain to the businesses in the local area, particularly on the industrial estates. I mean hospitals and prisons and places like that have chaplains don’t they. They have people who they can talk to when they’re in the mire and it helps to talk doesn’t it?

But businesses generally don’t.

For sure they have HR and occupational health and they may have some sort of policy about equality and diversity or something like that..

.. but what if you can’t talk to these people because it’s too personal, or too “political” or what if your the MD and you just can’t talk about these things because it is way too sensitive..

..it’s my hope that they may find a listening ear in this so called wondering chaplain.

They call this a ministry through “wandering” i.e. wandering around the estate and seeing who you meet. I’m going to do this every Thursday morning, but I’m not going to just “wander”, I’m going to “wonder” too…

… to think “out loud” and to help others ask questions of life be it personal, work or social life…

… and I want to wonder out loud but not individually but with other people over a coffee, to get to know them, and for them to get to know me.. to become a listening friendly and wise ear but more than that…

… maybe a friend too…

I am convinced that Christ loves those businesses, and those people who work there. I’m looking forward to meeting them so I can share this love.

I just hope they don’t think I’m out to drag them into church because that isn’t the point, but I do hope to lead the church out to them. For I am convinced that if the two can meet we will learn much about life, much about community and much about God.