The Revd Daniel Corlett, Mission Hub Lead at Alcester Minster Rural Mission hub, gives four quick reflections on our recent rural church conference.
There’s Much Hope for the Future
The conference filled me with much hope for the future of the rural church in our diocese. We had a large hall packed with people who are seeking God for their villages and communities and who are already doing so many brilliant things.
Rural Ministry is Precious Art on a Fridge Door
Not only in our rapid-fire session, but time and again from the floor, we heard of innovative, often simple and small, things that people are doing to connect with their local community, and to give them an opportunity to meet with Jesus. Ven Sally Gaze inspired us with some of the strategic rural projects undertaken in St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Diocese, but we were heartened by the learning she shared, which is to dream small and to know that we are “God’s fridge”. We all enjoyed the quip from the floor: “what, cold?” But her point was that we are not to compare ourselves with big church. She likened the rural church to the children’s artwork that gets stuck to a family fridge, which may not be the expensive kind of art that gets framed and hung on the wall but is even more precious to God. Seeing it this way gives us permission to let go of some expectations and be a different kind of church.
Slow Down and Listen with God
Revd Jo Allen helped us to think about how we engage in ‘missional listening’ – slowing down to pay attention both to the need of our communities, and to what God is saying. She de-mystified the role of the prophetic by leading us through an exercise to help capture something of God’s heart for our neighbourhoods.
A Growing Confidence
I was struck by the shift that seems to have taken place in the two years since the last conference – a greater boldness and confidence - even while we acknowledge a perhaps worsening underlying picture of the present reality. Many attendees were excited to take away at least one idea from the conference to try locally or share with their church.
Going forward and how to get involved
To keep up to date with our Rural Mission activities you can sign up for the newsletter using the form at the bottom of the Rural Mission Hub homepage and you may wish to attend our Ideas Exchange, a breakfast which happens 3 times a year.
Archdeacon Missioner, the Ven. Barry Dugmore says:
It’s great to recognise, celebrate and rejoice that creativity and missional imagination is both evident and freshly emergent across our rural churches. What was so encouraging on the day is the energy, wisdom, and the warm stories we heard which served to encourage us and help those praying about next steps in their own communities.
Small is significant in the Kingdom of God in offering the good news of Jesus in our villages. Our rural church families have much to inspire our wider missional activity in our towns and urban parishes.