Pastoral Letter
Dear Friends,
As we begin a new year in the Anglesey Group of parishes we look forward with a degree of optimism for the future. We have a number of thriving activities taking place across the parishes. Amongst these are coffee mornings in Bottisham (Queen's Court every Wednesday morning), Lode (Social Club every Wednesday morning) and Quy (Village Hall every Tuesday morning). We also have launched 'C by C', an atmospheric candlelit service with Taize chants, on the 1st Wednesday of each month at Holy Trinity Church Bottisham. We have also launched our toddler's activity, 'Messy Mondays', which takes place in Holy Trinity Church every Monday afternoon, and we have also started RE:NEW.
RE:NEW is a venture which is going from strength to strength - maybe because it is offering a radical new way of being 'Church'. The main principles behind it are these:-
It takes place in school halls on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. These venues are warm, clean, flexible and child friendly - they also have good carparking and toilet facilities.
RE:NEW is a truly ecumenical venture, being planned and organised jointly with a team from Lode Chapel.
Refreshments and newspapers are available when people arrive, and there is always plenty of time to chat together - this helps to make RE:NEW a relaxed and friendly place to come to on a Sunday morning.
This atmosphere extends to the activities that take place at RE:NEW - there is a real sense of fun, and no-one is asked to do anything they are not comfortable with. The emphasis is on participating in a shared experience, rather being told what to do or what to believe.
We are finding that as people come along and enjoy being part of RE:NEW, they are able to personally discover God for themselves - how much He loves them and seeks to be a part of their lives.
This 'hands on' process of discovery is quite unlike the traditional experience of church, but we nonetheless feel it is an authentic way for people to explore the contemporary relevance of the Christian faith.
Although the theme of the event is introduced at the beginning and summed up at the end, the flexible space enables a variety of activities to take place at the same time, and there is a 'choice'about what to join in with. The experience is aimed to be one that people are able to reflect upon in the days and weeks that follow.
The emphasis is very much on adults and children discovering God together, and RE:NEW aims to provide a valuable opportunity for families to enjoy some quality time together.
I think you can tell by looking at those principles that RE:NEW is indeed radically different in the way that it sets out to be 'Church'. Whilst some people who are more used to 'traditional' church might struggle to understand the concept, it is clearly working, with between 50 and 80 people coming to each event.
You will see that Simon Goddard of Lode Chapel is also writing about RE:NEW this month - the reason being that January 2009 marks a significant milestone in the venture. Although the Lode Chapel team who started 'Sunday Club'in Bottisham a couple of years ago have been involved with 'RE:NEW'in Swaffham Bulbeck since it started in May 2008, the two events will now have a joint planning team and are being relaunched as 'RE:NEW Bottisham'and 'RE:NEW Bulbeck'.
Our hope and prayer is that both ventures will see themselves as one movement dedicated to reaching out to the young families of our five villages with the love of God. Ultimately RE:NEW may well become a new 'church' which takes its place alongside the other churches in sharing the good news of the kingdom of God.
But RE:NEW isn't just a new kind of Church, it's a place to belong, to feel at home, to feel loved and valued. So why don't you give RE:NEW a try? You will find a warm welcome on the 2nd Sunday of the month at Swaffham Bulbeck Primary School and the 4th Sunday at Bottisham Primary School - both start at 10.30am. Come and join us.
Pauline and I wish you every blessing for 2009.