Same Old, Same Old… (August 2019)

By Rev Paul Graham

“School’s out for summer” sang Alice Cooper back in 1972 (and innumerable times since) and there is still that feeling that the month of August brings a bit more relaxation, rest and freedom from the regularity of life.  In church, as in life, things settle down a bit, congregations look different as visitors come and regulars go on holiday and many ministers are absent from pulpits for a Sunday or two, returning with sticks of rock, straw donkeys and reddish skin tones (or drenched clothes in search of a familiar and comfortable bed).

This is the perfect moment to re-evaluate and prepare for the giddy rush through the Autumn season, with the fruity expectation of harvest, the sombre silence of Remembrance and the light of Christmas yet to come.  We can kick back for a moment, reflecting on the work that we have done since last September (if we dare to remember back that far) and celebrating the joys as well as remembering the sadnesses along the way.

For each activity in the church, apart from the Sunday services, August is a fallow month.  That doesn’t mean that things aren’t going on behind the scenes: preparing programmes, making arrangements, and booking any speakers.  Much of which may have gone on way before the end of July, enabling the leaders of these groups a true, and well-deserved, rest.

Come September, we find ourselves welcoming a new set of schedules, diary dates to be attended to and commitments to fulfil.  We might even find ourselves trying one of these groups out for the first time; I’m sure many of them would welcome new members.

And yet there is another side to the coin.  Taking a break in August also gives time to reflect on important questions about these groups.  One essential question is “do we restart in September?”  For the vast majority of the groups, this is an academic, almost rhetorical, question.  The answer is unequivocally positive as the need for the group is there, all things are in place for it to run and its place in the church calendar is assured, if not assumed.

However, there is a question that we need to make sure that we’re also answering: “Does it serve the purpose that God has intended for it?”  This is a tricky question, because we run the risk of getting this answer wrong, with possibly terrible consequences.  We might suddenly feel guilty that the group that we’ve faithfully been running isn’t “Christian” enough to be viable or justifiable.  (By the way, I’m not sure how you’d define the appropriate level of “Christian” in that context, so please don’t misunderstand me.)

What lies behind this question is a refocussing on why we run the groups in this church, as in any church.  Sometimes it’s easy to make decisions on whether to run a group based on its relative success, or the availability of leaders, or its longevity.  And while there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with any of these, they shouldn’t be our primary goal for running a group or activity in church.  We need to see everything we do in the context of the Kingdom of God, being made present on earth as it is in heaven.

This means that a group that brings people into the surroundings of the church, to show that Christianity is a welcoming faith, that works for the well-being of all as we see them as made in the image of God could very much be part of the purpose that God has for this church.  Not every group has to have a “God slot” or an altar call in every session.  We can find fellowship in craft activities as well as communion, witness among parents as much as from the pulpit.

The risk is that we continue doing things just because we always have or would feel guilty if we were the ones to call a halt.  However, if we’ve lost sight of the Godly purpose, then we might need to re-evaluate and, if needs be, have the courage to say enough is enough.  I’m not suggesting for one moment that we’ve become universally myopic and we should close all our groups; this is an encouragement and an affirmation as well as a pause for considering how we fit into the bigger picture of God’s plan.

We face this very issue with our Friday Clubs; for years they’ve been run by a succession of leaders and helpers; working at times on the progression of attendees growing up to be the ones in charge.   While this has been brilliant and has encouraged many children to grow into the adults they now are, we are at a crossroads.  We decided last year to go from three groups to two, based on the leaders of the youngest group wanting well-earned rests and a shortage of children.  We now have a problem with the oldest group lacking young people and the middle group lacking leaders.

Not only are we struggling for leaders, though, but we’re also struggling for purpose.  What is the purpose of these groups, aside from giving the parents an hour’s respite on a Friday evening?  How do these clubs fit in to God’s purpose for this church?  Or should we be doing something differently?

I don’t propose to have any answers to these questions, but I am keen to seek wisdom from those who think they might have an inkling.  Please take time to pray for these groups; pray for the children who have been part of these clubs over the years and for the leaders who have faithfully given up their valuable Fridays to enjoy (and endure) them.  Pray that a way will be made clear as to what we should do; ideally with a few “hows” and “whens” added (which might still be Friday evenings, business as usual).  And if you think that you might also be part of the answer to these prayers, please make that known.  I don’t believe that God is asking us to abandon these children and young people; I do believe that he is asking for those who want to do something to step forward.