Church roadshow shares good news
Published on 16 April 2024 7 minutes read
News of good things happening in the Kirk – and advice on how to make them happen – will be shared as a new series of roadshows reaches Glasgow and Edinburgh in May.
Led by Rev Neil Glover, convener of the Church of Scotland's Seeds for Growth fund, and Rev Tommy MacNeil, convener of the Faith Action Programme Leadership Team (FAPLT), these will take place at Langside Parish Church in Glasgow on Wednesday 8th May, and Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh on Thursday 9th May.
A similar roadshow has already taken place in Aberdeen, with future events planned for each of Scotland's new presbytery areas in the next year.
These events will allow Mr Glover and Mr MacNeil to talk about the roles of Seeds for Growth and FAPLT, but also learn about what is happening in local presbytery areas and share positive news about what is happening within the Church.
Sharing good things
"We want to tell a story about the Church of Scotland that is hopeful and is about people coming together and encouraging each other," Mr Glover said.
"In Aberdeen, people told us all sorts of stories about where genuinely good things were happening, such as where church attendance had grown."
Sharing these positive experiences meant those who attended left the roadshow re-energised and positive about the future.
"That was definitely the response we got," Mr Glover said.
"People told us how encouraged they were and it was what they needed to hear. Tommy and I were also really encouraged by what we heard."
The positive impact was confirmed by Rev Joan Thorne, an Ordained Local Minister at Dyce and New Machar Parish Churches in Aberdeen.
She said: "I came into the session feeling quite despondent and tired but left feeling uplifted and hopeful about our future."
However, the roadshows also provide space for people to share their concerns about the Church and Mr Glover feels it is important to address those feelings.
"People are feeling sore, they are feeling the loss of numbers, they are feeling the loss of buildings, and they need to be able to give voice to that expression," he said.
"I think it is important that the more difficult stories are acknowledged. When you do that, it enables you to look forward more hopefully."
Rev Sue Edwards of Foveran Parish Church agrees, commenting: "I found it very refreshing. I liked being able to say freely what made you sad or angry about the church situation in your congregation, community and generally."
A positive focus
However, the main focus of the roadshows is on looking ahead at how the Kirk can rebuild and grow.
FAPLT can help through training and supporting members of the congregation to deliver missional activity and new forms of worship, and developing new worshipping communities, while Seeds for Growth has seen its available funding increase from £650,000 to £1.5 million in the current year, with four levels of grant available from £1,000 as a one-off grant up to £100,000 per year for three years with the possibility of reapplying for a further two years.
"With Seeds for Growth, we are really about the growth of the Church and we really want to encourage applications," Mr Glover said.
"We hope that, as people come out of the Presbytery Mission Planning process, we will get more applications and see this as a fresh start and a chance to do new things
"We have had a lot of interest from churches working to develop some already strong faith-based work with young people. There are projects that want to use gardens as a way of connecting with outdoor worship and we've had one group wanting to use a repair shed as a basis for a worshipping community.
"Some of the most exciting applications we have had are from former New Charge Developments. They were developed about 20 to 30 years ago and now these newer churches are coming to us wanting to plant new churches themselves, so it is a good example of how seeds planted three decades ago are now bearing fruit."
He and Mr MacNeil, along with their colleague Hannah Sanderson, who now works as part of the Seeds for Growth team, having previously been part of the Faith Action Team, and David Williams, the Grants Manager, are looking forward to hearing about initiatives which will bear future fruit for the Church.
"We are really excited about coming out and meeting people," Mr Glover said said.
"We really want to engage with local people and hear about what is going on in their area and learning how we can partner with you to realise your vision of the future."
A priesthood of believers
As convener of FAPLT, Rev Tommy MacNeil is keen to engage with and listen to the wider Church.
"There is such an awareness that we're living in the midst of challenging and painful days, and it's important we make space to journey through such difficulties," he said.
"In January we met as a FAPLT Team for a Big Picture Vision Day in Glasgow. The focus was to look to a better and brighter future for our church. It quickly became apparent that we're not there yet in terms of looking forward, that we need to hit the pause button and take some time to lament and to grieve.
"We were still journeying out of Covid when Presbytery Restructuring and Mission Planning came on the agenda. It wasn't advisable on any level to tackle these issues all at once, but decreasing finances and ministry numbers gave us no choice. Given that this was strongly expressed during our VIsion Day we decided that part of our Presbytery Roadshows needed to be given to listen to the pain and hurt that's out there, that in sharing this, we might know and experience the grace and comfort of God. We need to receive healing and strength before we can take steps moving forward."
Mr MacNeil's ambition is to turn the church upside down and instead of people looking to the centre for ideas, vision or resources, he wants to engage with the new presbyteries and ministers, elders and congregations through FAPLT to listen to what they sense God is saying and doing where they are. In doing so, Mr MacNeil believes the Church will rediscover one of its core reformation principles, the priesthood of all believers.
He elaborated: "We don't have all the answers as FAPLT, and we don't believe one person or group of people in the church have them, but if we listen for what God is saying and we listen to one another, then together we can shift the focus from managing decline, which has been the mindset for the last 10-15 years, to one where have a renewed sense of vision, purpose, and hope for moving forward.
"Whilst we have faced profound challenges and are still walking out the difficulties associated with that, we believe Christ will be faithful to His promise to build His church.
"Whilst Christ can do that however He chooses and even in a sovereign way, we believe the Bible teaches us that God loves to work in partnership with His people to achieve His purposes on the earth. So we're issuing a call to everyone in our church, that having given time to share our sense of hurt, pain, and even confusion that if we make the right choice in seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness first, that not only will we know God's grace and healing, but He'll lead us to a new day for His purposes for the Church of Scotland, which in turn will impact in a positive way the nation of Scotland."
- The Glasgow roadshow will take place at Wednesday 8th May in Langside Parish Church, 167 Ledard Road, beginning at 2pm afternoon worship and workshops led by Rev Neil Glover and Rev Tommy MacNeil. This session is open to presbytery members and local leaders of congregational life.
Following a break for dinner at 5pm, with the option of a light meal at Langside's Finn's Place wellbeing project, the event will continue at 7pm with an evening of worship, prayer and praise to which all are welcome.
To register for the event and hot supper please email: events@presbyteryofglasgow.org.uk
- The Edinburgh event will run on Thursday 9th May from 7pm to 8.30pm in Palmerston Place Church, 10 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh, EH12 5AA. The meeting is open to all, but places can be booked in advance by emailing: EdinburghWestLothian@churchofscotland.org.uk