The context is vital for a relevant church.

When I lived in 'Skeggy' (Skegness) our home was on the edge of a classic council estate. My chapel ‘Seathorne Methodist Church’ served its local area which was mainly the council estate. Many of the members lived there. The large Sunday school and youth club was drawn from the estate.This was the chapel's context. Yet in spite of that it could sometimes find ways of being exclusive. My mum and dad ran the Friday night youth club. In those days a sort of unspoken requirement was if you came to youth club you went to worship. Amazingly many of the young people did attend on a Sunday evening and would end up at our house later. Sad to say just a few folk didn't like the fact the youngsters would occasionally talk during the service. As my mum was in the choir it might mean as the choir walked in a youngster would shout 'hello Mrs Goodhand'. In the end a fuss was made and the then minister was told 'either they go or we do'. Well he gave in and the young people stopped coming to worship. I write this because in moving into retirement I have been struck again about what might be considered the most important factor in being Christ’s community, local church, denomination or the wider context?

I grew up very much within church life. It meant that the local chapel community was central, not that I spent time reflecting on it at the time, it was just how it was. Weekly worship, Sunday school, youth club and special events would mean social life evolved mostly around the local church. With parents who were local preachers it also meant I went to other chapels in the wider grouping of churches known as the Methodist circuit. Being part of a Methodist Youth Club (MAYC) I also went to Methodist district events ( Methodist district are made up of circuits), and finally they all made up the the whole British Methodist Church known as the Connexion. This was important because it gave for many that sense of belonging to something much larger and potentially prevented people becoming parochial. For many however the local chapel was everything and it was always a minority who participated in circuit, district or connexional events. As Methodist churches have declined in numbers  so those involved in the wider church has diminished.

For many people it was through the prism of the local church that the wider church was seen and experienced. So if the local is narrow in its outlook don't be surprised if that influences the wider view. It can take experiences of other local churches and other christian traditions to potentially broaden an individuals view. Going away to university and then training for ministry saw involvement with Anglicans, URC, Roman Catholics, Pentecostalists, Orthodox and as the years have passed even wider still. Being a Methodist Minister, involved ecumenically wherever possible, the tension between local and the wider church was a daily lived experience. But now I'm out of all that I have begun to ponder afresh 'Is denomination or the local church the most important thing or is it something else?'

In some quarters of the church people were so desperate to get back into their buildings during covid that it seemed to me they lost the plot. Others were grateful for a break from maintaining the buildings and local church life which may have lost any sense of joy.

When Jill and I were in America some years ago visiting friends I picked up a booklet ‘John Wesley’s Little Instruction Book’. On one page headed - 'God has no boundaries' it records John Wesley writing..

“I Love the rules and ceremonies of the Church. But I see, well-pleased, that our great Lord can work without them.”

If our faith is so tied to our buildings and for most the local, then I think we have lost the plot. The early Christian communities were about people. I wonder if we will ever learn to sit more lightly with our buildings and hold more firmly to one another in Love?

In having moved house we find ourselves part of a local church community which just happens to be Church of England. I am under no illusion that this tradition of the Church is not without its own issues and challenges. What is important is whether in the local setting this is a community where I can feel I belong and worship while not losing a sense of the wider church.

I will inevitably always be a Methodist, 'its in my DNA',  but not to the point that I have to go to a Methodist church. I do of course remain a Methodist minister and there are some things expected even though I am retired. This says so much about a wider church being an institution. Having moved I made my way to the presbyteral synod. In my early days of ministry it was called the ministerial session of synod. It's a time when presbyters/ministers active and 'retired'/supernumerary  gather to do some business and reaffirm their calling. Over the years these gatherings have become emaciated as very little real business is carried out. What takes place is generally a rubber stamping exercise. 

If you don't wish to go you have to ask for  a dispensation from your chair of district. Of course it begs the question as raised by many to me 'What would they do to you if you just don't go?' 

When my dad was dying I told my then chair out of politeness I wouldn't be there and why. I wasn't asking for permission I shouldn't have needed to. The response was they would grant me a dispensation. A total lack of pastoral sensitivity and a sign that the bureaucratic machinery grinds ever onwards to oblivion. 

Having moved I am in a different district. So I thought I'll go for the morning session as its happening locally though I could have gone on line.  Out of politeness I let the chair know I would be there but would leave at lunch time as we had grandparent duties in the afternoon. To both my amusement and irritation I was informed I would have a 'partial' dispensation. I nearly did not go.  Some people were online. Many had been given a dispensation. Many clearly had not asked for one because as their names were read out there was silence, so the chair then improvised and gave them a dispensation. What a farce.

There was  a time when such a gathering would be vibrant, with annoying speeches, great singing, meeting up with friends from around the district and much more. Instead it has increasingly become a  gathering devoid of colour and life. It was a relief to leave at lunch time. This is sad because I can remember a time when it was not like that, or am I looking through rose tinted glasses? But taking a register now feels so outdated and yes what would happen if you don't turn up? This is of course part of the wider church context.

In worshipping now within another denomination I am aware it too has its challenges. I read the tweets and articles coming out of the C of E.  I find myself reminded that my own Methodist denomination was ahead on women's ordination by at least twenty years, and now ahead on same sex marriage. There are still parishes that do not not accept women's ministry, how sad is that? There is even talk of having Bishops for those clergy and churches who don't approve of prayers of blessing for same sex relationships. Meanwhile Methodists continue not to face up to too many buildings because no one wants to close theirs, while some Anglicans are fighting the battle of 'save the parish'. 

A recent report in the church times indicated that the decline pre-covid has continued, a major worry must be the impact on children, young people and families not being present. This too is the wider church context.

Oh the politics of it all. 

So I am back to re-reading material from the Iona Community. What strikes me afresh is the need to make community in the manner of Jesus. That a way must be discovered for Christians to come together to serve the world and that will mean the local context is critical to being the church. 

In stepping back from being part of the machinery which sustains an institution I am convinced more than ever that the local context is critical. The local church community will only be a part of that because it's the wider context which is more important. Some questions to be asked and knowledge to be gained. 

• What is the nature of the community within which the local church is set? 
• How does the local church engage with that community? 
• To what extent does the local church reflect the wider community? 
• How is the local church being prophetic? 

Having had the joy and challenge of leading an LEP (Local Ecumenical Partnership) I do wonder what has happened to the ecumenical movement. You couldn't blame anyone for not wanting to create one these days as the denominational demands make it a real headache. You just want to be an inclusive christian community in a locality, yet the demands to go to each denominations local/area meetings places a burden on lay people as well as ministers. You have to decide whose safeguarding procedures you're going to follow. What will be your financial year? And of course each denomination will expect to a greater or lesser extent that you will contribute to its financial needs. All of this is set against a  backcloth of declining congregations so churches have less time or resources for working together. In my view this is ironic. It's precisely because of the declining situation we need to pool resources. Only then can we focus not on maintenance but serving the wider community and enabling people to encounter God. 

For me going forward there is the need to sit more lightly with denomination and local church. I hope that where we worship generally week by week will sustain us in a Christian lifestyle. So a key question becomes ' Is it a Christ centred community capable of holding together wide theological views where you can be at home?’  It won't be perfect no church ever is. But if it is to be a servant church then it needs to know its context and to discern how best to serve. That context will be constantly changing. One thing I have learnt time and time again is that churches do not adapt or change quickly. Rather they prefer to play it safe especially if they are financially viable. Trouble with that is its not particularly a Christ like characteristic. As the old joke goes 

‘How many Methodists does it take to change a light bulb?  

“Change!!!!”