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Moseley Chimes
May 2008
At the recent Diocesan Synod held on 15th March, The Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart told churches they must be prepared to transform their patterns of life and take higher levels of risk in order to change and develop.
In his Presidential Address Bishop David said,
“I have looked, listened, prayed, hinted and am now declaring! We are now preparing for an even greater challenge, ‘Transforming Church’, for growth and development. More important than central direction is the willingness of local Christians in their parishes to participate in what God is doing. This will mean transformation of our deeply held patterns of familiar life, which may involve a higher level of risk than we are used to. I believe that everyone in Birmingham and the region, some one and a half million people, should have the opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ and make their minds up about him. This ambition will mean a mighty movement of prayer and action in collaboration with all Christians.”
Bishop David also spoke about the many visits he had made in Lent where he had seen businesses, schools, hospitals, lunch clubs, politicians, community projects, prayer initiatives and churches that were all conveying the Good News of Jesus Christ.
The Diocesan Synod on Saturday also discussed Presence and Engagement, the churches strategy for Christian witness in an inter-faith context. Presence and Engagement is about researching the church for its presence among and its engagement with people and communities from another religious background. It began with a report to General synod in 2005. Presence and Engagement is different from and complementary to interfaith work, which is good and should continue as it has more to do with the identity and mission of the church. It is about appropriate Christian confidence and witness in a multi-faith context. For most people this will be both in the neighbourhood where they live and in the places where they work. Good Christian witness is based on relationships and other people will view Christianity based on the way we conduct ourselves, our ethical behaviour as well as our spiritual disciplines.
Both ‘Transforming Church’ and ‘Presence and Engagement’ will give fresh challenges to our parishes so please listen out for further information and initiatives to come from our Bishop and continue to pray for him as he prays for us.