Over the years I have taken part in various training programmes or attended lectures put on by many different churches and organisations including the Diocese of Southwark. During the pandemic I have taken part in several very enjoyable online events. No rushing about to get myself a ridiculously early meal before dashing out, no map reading or getting lost, no uncomfortable seats in draughty old halls and, best of all, no waiting for trains on London stations late at night!! Instead, I can sit in my favourite chair in comfort and warmth, snacking if I choose to yet still enjoying listening and watching fascinating and clever people talking about a variety of thought-provoking subjects.
One such occasion was in early November 2021 – the Croydon Area Lay Conference. Usually held at St. Bede’s School it is always a full day event with worship, interesting and often eminent speakers, a vast choice of workshops led by well-known people and a chance to meet friends from other churches as well as new folk during the workshops, breaks and (sometimes cooked) lunch. However, thanks to Covid, this year it was online and I enjoyed it just as much.
There was a lot to take from the day, so this tiny “snapshot” is only part of what remained with me from the day, words that had touched my soul many years ago and set me on a path to find out more about the God I love and who carved out the path I trod to make me who I am today and it affirmed beliefs I hold dear about being a Christian in today’s world.
Entitled “Inside Out” the aim of the conference was to be unafraid of having an “upside down ministry” i.e. for us to go where God wants to be, being aware of our own limitations but still ministering out of them. God wants us to find the place he needs us to be in and to love it, to live for it! It may not be the place we want to be in or think we can help in, but if it is where God wants us to be we must stay there and He will equip us. It may not be a very visible or conventional role as it’s more likely to be in a demanding situation or with people we are unused to being around (or as they put it – the losers, the weirdos and the misfits), where we become “invisible” and God can work through us without us getting in the way. God will “have our backs” (again, their words). We were encouraged to be unafraid of seeking silence, “busyness is overrated, availability to God isn’t” (quote). It is then we can become aware of God’s nudges.
In the morning the author Andrew Graystone gave his spellbinding address. Believing that we need to “travel light” and that our “luggage separates us” from people whilst our “qualifications can put people off” he told us about one of his own experiences. He woke up one morning in 2019 to the horrific news about the deaths of 51 Muslims and injury to 49 others in 2 mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand at the hands of a gunman. Feeling the need to do something he eventually settled on simply standing outside his local Mosque (he is a Christian) holding aloft a placard saying “You are my friends. I will keep watch while you pray”. The story is simple. Many worshippers saw him and pretty much ignored him as they hurried by on their way in to pray, but most want to speak to him or shake his hand on the way out. Apparently the Imam had seen him on the way in and talked about his simple act of unity in his sermon. One person took a photograph of him standing outside with his placard and within a few days it had gone viral. He was, as he put it, “an ordinary-looking bloke, wearing a flat cap and a jumper, doing something a bit transgressive”. A great example of “Inside Out Faith”.
There were numerous workshops but the two I opted for were “Mending Circle”. This was a gentle time of (literally) mending something whilst listening to and contributing to a gentle discussion “an antidote to a time of chaos”, a time to enjoy slowing down, doing just one thing. For the men who don’t want to sew there is the “Men in Sheds” movement. The second workshop was called “Everyday Faith” or “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of”. This was around our roles away from church – what we do, what we love about it, the challenges and opportunities it brings. What we need for it and how we can be prayed for in this role as God is interested in the everyday too. Something, maybe, that can be highlighted in churches by interviewing members of the congregation, writing about their various roles and interests for the parish magazine for example, or placing these “outside” situations and roles on the intercession list etc.
Before giving us all his blessing, Bishop Jonathan’s final address spoke candidly about how churches should be praying for and empowering people to “go out” and minister in the world. As Lay people can be where the Clergy cannot be he said that they shouldn’t be using all their energy just on the insides of churches.
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Find out more about exploring Lay Ministries at southwark.anglican.org/layministries.
