FREEDOM IN COMMUNITY & 10 WAYS TO WORSHIP

May God Almighty bless you
and make you fruitful
and increase your numbers
until you become a community of peoples.

Genesis 28:3

THOUGHTS FROM THE PLAIN OF RUNNYMEDE

Standing on the plain of Runnymede, UK it occurred to me that we should consider having a Magna Carta of Fresh Expressions, a “great paper” that would further us along in Toronto.

The Magna Carta signed almost 800 years ago established early on in English history that "freedom is found under the rule of law."

I thought of this not because we are in any sense being oppressed by unjust rulers – not in the least.

Rather, our FX Magna Carta in Toronto could encourage FX and church planters, lay or ordained, to feel they had “freedom under the rule of law” to proceed to emulate and adapt here in Toronto the creative ways proven to reach non-churched (and open de-churched) peoples in the UK.

Such regulations, in whatever form is deemed appropriate, would also provide our Bishops with the assurance that their concerns and the unity of the communion would be kept while the gospel is creatively advanced for the glory of God and the spreading of His Kingdom.

Certain Canonical regulations must be set in place to encourage, protect and further innovative church planting and Fresh Expressions of church if they are to prosper.

With Toronto canons temporarily suspended, this is the perfect time to draft whatever is needed.

What should that include? Based on my FX Pilgrimage, at the very least…

PLANTING ACROSS OR BEYOND PARISH BOUNDARIES

We will need the dynamic equivalent of Bishop Mission Orders for our situation. http://www.sharetheguide.org/section5/bmo. Given Episcopal support and blessing, BMOs allow FXs and church plants to be launched across parish boundaries. Everywhere in the UK people underlined this need.

GRACE TO THE PLANTERS

Our nourishment of growing FX and church plants must be “gradual”. Many of our notions of church planting are borrowed from the United States where remnants of Christendom have survived better than in Canada. There it is a common expectation that a church plant will be financially self-sustaining within its first five years. Yet it takes on average four years for a person to go from first exposure to Christ to a genuine heart felt commitment of faith. It will take some time well beyond that before those same people tithe. If that is the case, we need carefully to consider how long a diocese should be subsidizing a fresh work. Five years may not be enough in our context. Grace given the planters in the form of time to achieve self-sustainability would give them more time to nourish their people gradually toward Christian maturity.

LITURGICAL FREEDOM IN COMMUNITY

Reaching new non-churched communities will require adapting Anglican principles of liturgy incarnationally ("locally adapted"). As George Lings put it, the book “Patterns of Worship” says it all. There are patterns that mark Christian and Anglican worship: scripture, prayer to God, the father, Son and Holy Spirit, connection with the rest of the church, etc. Innovative Fresh Expressions such as Messy Church, Goth Eucharist, the New Monasticism and so on have flourished because they could create orthodox worship in response to the specific needs of the people they seek to reach. Some freedom in this regard exercised in community, that is, with our Bishops involvement and blessing will be essential both to reach these people and to remain faithful to the apostles.

ADEQUATE SUPPORT, MENTORING AND COACHING

How this will be done in community without over-stretching our structures will depend on our offering (nay) even insisting that the diocese provides and the FX and church planters receive adequate training, support, mentoring and coaching. Effective supportive links will need to be forged between planters, FX practitioners, on the one hand and diocesan officials and Bishops on the other, both extending the right hand of fellowship to the other. Such advisory groups could include the FX or church planter, a representative of the Bishop, a teaching professional, and also someone with experience in the specific kind of FX being planted even if it is someone from another denomination.

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As an example of FREEEDOM IN COMMUNITY...

How did each FX do “worship/meeting?” (a sampling of what I saw or was told)

CHRIST CHURCH CENTRAL (“evangelical/missional” church plant) Sun. 4:30 pm
(Average Service Attendance = ASA 200) Sundays 4:30-6:15
Gamma Teams set up
1/2 hour gathering
A Song
Intro
A Song
Intro and testimony
A Song
Notices
A said Psalm
A song
Two Scripture Readings (lay led)
Sermon – 20-25 minutes careful exposition
A song
Gamma Teams clean up
[Some Off to the pub – or Int’l students fellowship]

In October a second service starting: 4:30 PM and 6:30 PM

ST JOHN’S EALING, CAFÉ CHURCH – target: street people – “soup kitchen” crowd

(ASA 30) At church lobby Sunday evening 5:45-6:45 pm
[Note Deborah attended this]

Gather snacks coffee and tea
Some singing with a band
A time of sharing – anything good happen this week
A song
A talk – with short discussion at table on one beatitude
Eat

SANCTUS1 (Network-Focussed Community for urban Manchester - meeting in a café)
(ASA 30) Wednesdays 7:30-9:30 PM

Gather at café for conversation (ad hoc) (15 min)
Lighting of three-wick-ed candle with invocation of Trinity & silence. (5 min)
Reminder of content from last week (15 min)
Discussion of topic in groups of 3 or more (35 min)
Plenary discussion (35 min)
Summary by leader (5 min)
Responsorial Prayer & Dismissal (5 min)

chat on the way out

[Some Off to the pub]

THE NET HUDDERSFIELD – Network Focussed Community

(ASA 35) Sunday 10:30 pm- ? (as told to me by Nick Haigh)

Typical Evangelical / Charismatic order
Lots of Singing
Testimony / notices
A preach (40 minutes)
Eucharist ever other week

Sunday 6:30 pm (ASA 35)

No singing
Nooma Video and discussion
Or reflective songs
Food (in that sense “Eucharistic”)

MESSY CHURCH (for families)

(ASA in Portsmouth 60) Thursdays 3:30-6 pm

3:30-4 pm gather – games available but no agenda
4:00-5 pm - 10 craft stations
5:00-5:15 worship
5:15- 6 pm meal together

4ALL – Southrepps - multigenerational

(ASA 40) also with midweek cells and celebration
Sunday 4:30 - 6:15 pm
(Trunch Benefice 10 traditional churches worship in morning)

Three songs (mostly choruses) most sung twice
Intro
2 Songs
Interview of guest (me)
Song
Message – this week outside sitting on the grass church lawn highly interactive with all ages
Song
Offering
Song & Dismissal
A simple meal

TAS VALLEY BENEFICE (6 traditional churches with a 7th building)

Saxlingham (Sun. 9:30 am ASA 40-45)
& Newton Flotman (Sun 11 am, ASA 20-25) –

(1 hour ASB service each - somewhat similar to Canadian BAS Eucharist)

Jesus And Me (JAM Youth Cell) (ASA20)

Mondays 7-8:30 pm
Welcome (20 min), Word (40 min), Worship (15 min), Witness (15 min)

Adult Cells 7:30 Tuesday, Wed., Thurs, & Fri. also day times (below Tues 7:45 pm)

Welcome (20 min), Word (40 min), Worship (20 min), Witness (10 min)
Two hours max (ASA 12 max)

FOUNTAIN OF LIFE (hub church with life boat small groups)
(ASA 200) Form 1 10 am to 12 noon

Intro and Confession
Singing 20 minutes
A Testimony or story
Prayer + notices
Note: Mid service Coffee Break!
A song
Prayer & Intercession
Lessons
Message
Prayer Ministry

Evenings 6:30-8:30
Singing
Message
Prayer Ministry

NEW WINE ON TYNE 10:30 for 10:45 AM
(ASA 45) Sundays 10:30 for 10:45 AM- 12:30 PM ASA 45

One song to start
ASB starts then three songs
Scripture
Sermon
ASB communion resumes
1 song to close

(ASA 55) Sundays 6:30 or indeterminate to 8:30 pm time after for discussion / ministry

Praise, prayer, soaking in the spirit, word, ministry

NORTHUMBRIAN COMMUNITY (New Monasticism)
I didn’t make it there but was close by and am trying their daily offices through July
http://www.northumbriacommunity.org/PraytheOffice/index.html

Quiet reflective silence, Morning and Evening Prayer include scripture readings, meditations and open “conversational” prayer for requests. Also mid-day prayers and compline.