Rural Ministry Interview and Notes

 

Some random jottings

For / from a conversation on ‘Inspirational Breakfast with Michael Fanstone’

on Premier Christian Radio (Fri 30^th Jan 2026 - 7:30am ish to 8am)

a Rural Dean to talk about rural ministry through storms, literal and figurative

Audio: 

https://www.premier.plus/inspirational-breakfast-with-michael-fanstone/audio-series/clips/audio-items/the-storms-and-challenges-of-rural-churches

(You may have to create a free account to listen) 

C of E vocab: Rural Dean are called Area Deans in some diocese (not always rural)

Cf. Dean of the Cathedral

A deanery is the unit between a parish or benefice and the diocese

So our diocese of Chichester basically covers Sussex and is made up of 21 deaneries

Our deanery of Dallington – 12 clergy – 23 church buildings

 

Government definition by population destiny

Semi-rural

Rural

Deeply rural

Connected rural / isolated rural

A large town or city next door or not?

 

Storm

Road flooded and closed

Electricity went off very briefly

Church boiler room had to be bailed out

FB groups and WhatsApp groups pinging away about the driving conditions

My little car was fine – someone with a Landrover did kindly offer me a lift if I needed it

 

Townies

Excited by pheasants in the garden or spotting a deer

Peacock on the roof

 

A very beautiful place we’re privileged to live in

Kipling was right about Sussex!

Especially lovely in Summer – rather wet and muddy today

Quite often a stream running down the road

Pot holes!

 

Infrastructure a bit more fragile

 

Trees down

Power cuts – shower at church members houses

The Christmas Turkey in the garden as we wondered about how to cook it with no electricity

 

Water main burst the other day

Water sometimes interrupted or brown

 

Cost of living in rural areas 25% greater

Cars

No gas

No mains sewage

 

Farmers

Isolation

Financial pressures

If the farm has been in the family for generations, you don’t want to be the one to lose it 

https://fcn.org.uk/

 

People in rural areas are still people!

 

Jesus

Doesn’t spare us storms

With us through the storms

If we build our lives on Jesus and his word, our lives will stand through the storm

 

Often we can’t solve their problems – weep with those who weep

Pray!

 

Ministry everywhere has its challenges.

It would be easy to speak at great length about the challenges of rural ministry, some of them distinctive and some of them shared with other contexts.

What too of the opportunities?

 

Smaller churches

People know one another well and are good at looking out for one another

WhatsApp group – people share prayer needs and encouragements – feel more connected

Someone brought cake to church the other day to mark 2 years of her involvement in the church and to thank people for the welcome and kindness

Supporting one another e.g. in the face of difficult medical diagnoses

 

Small is beautiful!

Sometimes people are used to things being smaller in the countryside.

They love the village shop as it is – everyone accepts it is not and can’t be Tesco Extra.

Likewise your church is unlikely to become the cathedral or Holy Trinity, Brompton or St Helen’s, Bishopsgate or…

Are there ways that small can be okay, or even an advantage?

What could you do with ones or twos or in a small group?

 

Stable population

The real locals have three generations in the churchyard

Evangelism slower?

Cf. outer estates

A particular opportunity when people move house

 

Very grounded in a place

What will people travel for or not?

Co-operation between parishes?

 

People often have a hands-on, can-do attitude

Used to getting on with things and helping one another out

 

 More connected to our communities than in towns

The boundaries between church and village are more porous

People have a tremendous attachment to their parish church, even if they only come at Christmas (and Easter – Remembrance very well attended)

Sometimes it’s the same people keeping the church, the village hall and the pub going

 

Challenge of church buildings

The countryside has cleared out over the centuries

Don’t really need 3 church buildings for a population of 2000 in my three villages

Sometimes smaller older congregations

Financial pressures (asset rich, cash poor?)

 

More connected to creation and the seasons

Harvest!

Plough Sunday etc.

 

Vicar of Dibley understated!

Three lunches one Sunday – which was fine by me!  

 

Pet Service – rates of dog ownership! Very important to many

 

Tradition

 

Being there for people – to listen and pray

 

No silver bullet or secret programme

Friendly consistency

 

Intentionality offering Jesus

Ready to speak good news

Crossing that pain line to speak – not just being nice people

 

Also interviewed was Bob Goody, CEO of Rural Missions https://ruralmissions.org.uk/

He talked about showing up consistency, building trust etc.

Serve your community with Jesus’ name at the forefront

 

Our Rural Officer in East Sussex in the Diocese of Chichester is The Revd Canon Gary Cregeen - https://www.chichester.anglican.org/glitter_news/2021/06/24/new-rural-officer-appointed/

 

https://www.ruralministries.org.uk/

 

https://arthurrankcentre.org.uk/

Psalm 36vv5-10 notes

 The Lectionary suggests we concentrate on vv5-10 of this fascinating Psalm.

 

You’ll say, “O, Rector, can’t we have the whole Psalm, that would be so much better?”

And in a way I agree with you.

But actually I think there are more than enough ideas in vv5-10  for us to be going along with today.

We’ll be in danger of going over the 22 and half minute maximum regulation sermon length!

I’ve got ten pictures for you.

 

But if (you’re a reader) and you have the Psalm open in front of you, let’s just look at the context of our little section.

V1: “An orcacle… concerning the sinfulness of the wicked”

And you can see he comes back to them in vv11 and 12 in various ways:

The proud, the wicked again, and evildoers.

 

So this is a Psalm partly about bad people.

 

The overall message of the Psalm is to have nothing to do with wickedness or wrongdoing and these verses in the middle which we’re going to look at give us a happy positive alternative: the LORD God, his love, and goodness and kindness, as we’ll see.

You’re far better off sticking with the true and living God of the Bible and trusting him, being loyal to him, knowing him and seeking him.

 

So its nice for us to look at these verses today.

It’s worth us just remembering that this isn’t the whole story.

We know this is a broken world where lots of bad stuff happens.

And we’ll have to talk more about that another day.

But for today look at v5 with me will, you?

 

This is wonderful, marvellous stuff.

 

He’s talking to God:

 

(1)   Heavens / skies (v5)

 

God’s love v5, v7, v10

 

So God’s love is the major theme of this section

 

hesed, faithful covenant love

 

And its worth us just remembering that in Hebrew poems or songs like this they love to say similar things twice.

(Like we love poems that rhyme, they love ones that kind of repeat or vary or sort of riff off the same stuff again, maybe with a change)

(Parallelism – of different types)

(2)   Mountains (v6)

(3)   The deep (v6)

(4)   Humans and beasts (v6)

(5)   Priceless (v7)

(6)   High and low among people find refuge in the shadow of your wings (v7)

(7)   Feast in the abundance of your house (v8)

(9)   Fountain of life (v9)

(10) Light (v9)

 

Will you not take refuge under the wings of this God?

Will you not look to him?

Will you drink the water of life which he gives?

Will you not be refreshed and sustained by him?

Enjoy him and his good gifts?

Receive his love.

Look to his justice.

 I think we know how we ought to respond to these things don’t we?

 Thanks, praise, trust, loyalty.

 Running away from all wickedness.

Neither fearing or trusting the wicked.

 Hesed – covenant loyalty

Love him a little in return.

Or at least pray that our cold hearts might love him more.

 

Full all age sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVhF00cVlOw Reading from about 10:25; Sermon: 12:30

Christian Ministry in the C of E Reflection on an image of an Embryo

 

During the shared discernment process for selection for ordained ministry, candidates are invited to talk about an object or image which is meaningful to them.

I quite a verbal person, but I thought I’d have a go at something like this exercise with an image – though perhaps my reflection turns out to be more do with a concept or idea.

 

My mind first turned to Matthias Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece with its famous image of John the Baptist at the foot of the cross pointing to Jesus.

 

 

In fact I’m going to reflect on an embryo – which is arguably not unrelated to the altarpiece.

Both John and Jesus had miraculous births.

And the cross, though a death, is also a kind of birth pang.

It will lead to new life.

The tomb will be a womb.

And Mary the mother of Jesus is there.

If she is the mother of Christ and we are in Christ, is she in a way the mother of us all?

Jesus’ words to Mary and John at the cross might suggest a new family relationship.

 

 

The embryo is a fecund image.

It suggests the value of every individual human life, of all sorts, at every age and stage, and therefore also our desire to resource the church’s life in every place:

That as the Church of England we have a mission to the whole of society, not just to middle class suburbia.

That we don’t want to neglect our inner cities, our deprived coastal towns or our rural areas.

The embryo reminds us of Jesus’ particular concern for the last and the least, the weakest and the voiceless.

 

Everyone with whom we interact is a precious human being and a disciple or a potential disciple, not just a ministry unit to be formed or deployed.

 

Clergy in particular are tempted to neglect their own humanity and their discipleship for the sake of their role. 

 

We must become like little children to receive the kingdom of heaven.

Our life together, however brilliant it might be, must be grounded in humbly receiving from Jesus.

There will be lots for all of us, even the most senior, to learn!

 

This reminder of the preciousness of all life also relates to valuing all spiritual life across the theological traditions and across barriers of age, class, sex, race or sexuality.  

 

The image speaks of the miracle of new life.

We’re dependent on God to grant new life, and so all our ministry should be grounded in prayer.

We should be encouraged that God’s resources are infinite.

 

Often our resources of finance and personnel are stretched, but God loves to “give life to the dead and call into being things that were not” (Romans 4:17).

We sometimes need to bring faith and hope where parishes are discouraged and despairing.

 

This image places mystery and wonder at the heart of our life.

We are not primarily running Parish Church PLC but are engaged with the sacred and supernatural.

We are about something ministerial not merely managerial.

 

Perhaps a midwife might not be a bad metaphor for the Christian minister.

The embryo suggests nurturing something precious and fragile which has great potential.

That’s important when we think about new Christians and new vocations.  

It is so easy to snuff out an interest in the gospel or in Christian service – the very thing we know Jesus would not do.

We sometimes have to say hard things to people.

Sometimes we won’t share someone’s sense of calling.

Or we can’t provide the Vicar or Curate or Parish they’d like.

But we have to remember that we are dealing with people made in the image of God and loved by him, and sometimes with their very deep sense of self and their hopes tied up with their vocational journey.

 

I’ve been doing some work on the Church of England learning review into diocesan growth initiatives in rural areas.

And one of the interesting debates is whether one should invest in areas of greatest need or greatest potential.

Whilst we are in the resurrection business, and we don’t want to assume that any parish must be forever barren, there seems to be a strong case for adding resources where there is already life, even if its only embryonic.

 

Formation is the great word in ministry training at the moment - related to the embryo, especially when we remember its biblical basis in Galatians 4:19, where Paul says:

“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you”.

 

Christian formation is for all Christians and we ought to expect growth, both spiritual and numerical.  

 

This image suggests that there is ideally something natural and organic about Christian growth.

Just as school is important, so we must have programmes of teaching and learning.

But we must also have the family being together around the table.

That eucharistic life is actually infinitely more important than a course or a check-list. 

 

We want to have a pathway, an invitation, for everyone from first contact with a Christian through evangelism and discipleship to training and ministry, some of which will be at parish, deanery, or diocesan level or nationally.

A pathway, not a sausage machine. 

 

Paul tells Timothy to let his “progress be evident to all” (1 Timonthy 4:15)

The standard is progress not perfection.

None of us can ever say we are the perfect Christian or minister and so we should all always be looking to grow.   

 

We want to encourage a culture of growth for every disciple in the parish.

That every disciple should be a minister using their gifts.  

And a culture of growth amongst the clergy.

It should be normal to be reading a slightly stretching book, and a certain amount of risk should be encouraged.

 

We want to encourage lifelong learning so that it’s not possible to tell when the Vicar finished theological college by the date of the books on her shelf.

If a minister has done no Continuing Ministerial Education in living memory, and it would be good to think about how to make him eager to do some.

Something must appeal as potentially interesting or helpful, surely?  

 

As with the embryo, the goal is a degree of independence.

We will always remain an interdependent household of faith.

But we want Christians to look out for their own souls and for one another, and we want our curates to be ready to take on posts of responsibility and so on.

 

We want to encourage clergy to do those things that will make for their growth and well-being for themselves and together, and in many cases I think we know what that is.

I’ve blogged about this before.

 

In our diocese and networks we already have great resources of skills and experiences and it would be exciting to work with parishes and deaneries on using these to do more together.

 

The embryo suggests the necessary pain of being born, of leaving the womb and of growing in a more challenging environment.

We are not to remain in the safety of our inward-looking club.

Most of our curates won’t remain assistants for ever.

 

The image can also be a warning against infantilisation:

Against the training incumbent who doesn’t allow the curate to grow up.

Or against micro-management.

Against the clergyman who is a bottle keck on growth, who won’t release and empower the laity.

 

Lastly, the embryo suggests continuity and development.

That we seek be faithful to the apostles’ teaching and fruitful in new ways.

We are keepers of a tradition, but that tradition is also to be proclaimed afresh in each generation .

We are not to depart from the faith but neither are we to stand still.

We are both rooted in Christ and sent out by Christ as his representatives to proclaim him.

We keep the faith by sharing the faith.

Like good parents, we encourage both a sense of belonging and of individuality.

 

May God grant us life, growth, health and indeed multiplication of disciples and ministers.

Here endeth the sermon!

TV

It is arguably 100 years since the invention of TV and The Church Society is inviting theological reflection sparked by this.

https://www.churchsociety.org/resource/the-global-anglican-essay-prize-2026/

I don't think I have an essay in me, but perhaps I have a few jottings.

German comedian Henning Wehn speaks of the Parochialism of Facts. Every German child is taught that Friedrich Braun was the inventor of television.

The Traitors and its extraordinary popularity perhaps calls for some Faithful theological reflection. It was interesting to see this spill over into political discourse as Health Secretary Wes Streeting repeated his line that he is and always has been a Faithful.

Way back in the mists of time we read Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (Methuen, London, 1985) at theological college. It might be worth asking how that looks after all this time.

Paul Kingsnorth mentions TV in his Wendell Berry lecture along with some sources that would be worth following up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTlM-6nZNdE. He is interesting on the Latin origin of the word "focus", as the hearth or fire place (with its associated gods). Which of course feeds in to discussion of TV and focus. Once family viewing was a thing with one TV as the new hearth-light around which the family would gather of an evening. Then there may be a TV in every room. Now there is a devise in every hand too.

The transition from limited linear TV to online is of course also worthy of reflection.

American journalist Nicholas Carr's The Shallows: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember (2010) would be a book to consult. .

Peter Hitchens also has some comments about TV in The Abolition of Britain, if I remember correctly.

TV could also be situated in a broader biblical theology of creation and of making. TV and TV shows are works of sub-creation. The cultural mandate has resulted in this culture! TV is an aspect of technology and of humanity's dominion work , but it can easily have dominion over us. We have created the machine which can become a beast, even a serpent.


The Bible also has things to say of relevance to news, leisure, words and images.


We are to give our consideration to whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Like other media, TV is a mixed bag.


We might compare moral panic around TV to that over the printing press, the novel, the telephone or the internet.

Family Evangelism

 Today's Gospel (from John 1) raises the question of Christian witness to non-Christian family. This has its pros and cons. They know you. And they know you. This is not hit and run gospeling but you hope for an ongoing relationship. 

The gospel's account is not really one of deliberate strategy but of spontaneous enthusiasm: we have found; come and see! Perhaps there is a particular opportunity in the first days of conversion to bravely speak up. 

Is Britain broken?

 It seems to be a matter of great debate at the highest and popular levels whether or not Britain is broken. This threatens to be a dividing line in our politics. The shadow cabinet allegedly could not agree.  

 

But as ever, of course, we must distinguish. In what sense is Britain broken or not? For whom? In what ways?

 

For us, in leafy Sussex, life is mostly pretty good. Of course funds are limited. Retirement housing is a worry for this Vicar. And there are pot holes. There are all sorts of challenges and frustrations. Many things we would like, we do not have. And yet we are all in good health. The children’s state secondary school is officially good. It is certainly more than adequate most of the time, even if its not optimal.

 

But if you get ill with certain conditions and you can’t go private, you can probably expect to wait a year or more in some degree of pain and disability. For some issues (children’s mental health?) you could perhaps forget ever getting effective timely help.

 

I suspect in some parts of Britain for many people everything does pretty much feel broken. Nothing works. The state is unresponsive or unhelpful. The police and the GP aren’t on hand when actually needed.

 

Does it really matter whether or not we label Britain as broken?

 

Certainly some aspects of Britain are somewhat broken for some people.

 

Surely we must hope that Britain is not broken beyond repair.

 

So we can all agree there are things which need fixing.

 

A more sensible conversation is how we can go about the job, rather than debating how big the job is. Yes, we know it’s a big job and it’s going to cost us, but the sooner we have a plan and get started, the better.

Parish Magazine Item for February 2026

 

From The Rectory

 

I said last time that, in line with the Diocesan focus for the year, I would try at least to mention Matthew’s gospel here each month.

 

The Church of England has set Lectionary Bible Readings for each Sunday of the Year. The modern Common Worship liturgy (from 2000 onwards) uses the Revised Common Lectionary. Something like this is used by the Roman Catholic church and many other churches around the world. It has a three-year cycle (this is Year A) with a gospel given prominence each year (this year it is Matthew). So as I write I’ve already preached a couple of times from Matthew’s gospel this year. As usual, you can find those sermons on the Warbleton church website or indeed the whole service is on the church’s YouTube channel (@warbletonparishchurch849 or simply search for Warbleton Parish Church). Remember you can easily look up or listen to Matthew’s gospel online. I refer to parts of chapters two and three a bit further below.

 

I know I mentioned the wise men here a couple of months ago. And I must have preached on them countless times in Christmas and Epiphany sermons. But I do find they’ve somehow captured my imagination. I can’t quite shake them off. Maybe it’s the mystery around them. That journey. The danger. The T. S. Eliot poem. I’m not sure. Their example urges us to seek Christ in the Scriptures, whatever the cost, and to appreciate something of Jesus’ true significance. How much they really knew we cannot tell. Yet they gave Jesus gifts fit for a king. And perhaps, if the carol can be believed, they saw that a deity was nigh, but also the bitter perfume spoke of gathering gloom and of an impending death of great import. A Bible study on gold, frankincense and myrrh is instructive. The only passage where all three are actually named together is in Old Testament love poem The Song of Songs (that is, the best song ever), sometimes known as The Song of Solomon. The gifts are associated with the arrival of this great bridegroom king famed for his wisdom, the object of the bride’s love and longing.

 

The gospels tell us next to nothing about Jesus’ childhood and adolescence. Matthew goes straight from the wise men and the associated sojourn of the Holy Family in Egypt to the baptism of Christ. Scholars imagine Jesus was about 30 years old at this point which marked the beginning of his public ministry. Now John the Baptist fades from the scene and Jesus takes over. In three years’ time he will be crucified.

 

John’s baptism is a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And in Christian theology Jesus is the perfect God-Man. He has no sins of which he needs to repent. So why is he being baptised? The Baptist recognises something of this oddity. He at least says to Jesus it ought to be the other way round: “Jesus, you should be the one giving me a wash, not me you.” Baptism in the Bible can be a picture of death, of flood waters which overwhelm. Here is the shadow of the cross again. Jesus is standing in the place of sinners. He is the innocent one on whom our guilt will crash. The judgement of God will expend itself on him that grace and mercy, blessing and love might flow to us.

 

The baptism is also rich with Biblical associations. Water, God speaking and the Spirit hovering recall the creation narrative. Jesus is the New Adam who will bring in a New Creation. Like Noah, who is associated with a dove, Jesus will be the Saviour. The church is a kind of ark. There will be a fresh start for planet earth. Jesus is called God’s Son whom he loves, with whom the Father is well pleased. Later in the gospel these words are repeated with the instruction “listen to him”.

 

Seek Jesus. Listen to Jesus. These are great new year’s resolutions as relevant in February as in January. And if we haven’t managed this brilliantly well so far this year, Jesus is always ready to receive us back, to welcome us, embrace us and go with us on the Way.  

 

The Revd Marc Lloyd

Towards a pattern for clergy well being

 Clergy need to take responsibility, at least to some extent, and under and with Jesus, for their own well-being. 

Hopefully "the diocese" are supportive of you. But they won't turn up with a big pile of money and make you do what you ought to do. The Bishop cannot stand over you to make sure you pray or set the out of office email. If she tries to make you go to her study day, you will probably resent it! 

Likewise your best and right thinking parishioners, if they consider these things, will be all for them. These things will in fact benefit them if done wisely. No one wants an angry / tired / stressed / drained / resentful / worn out / hopeless / frazzled Vicar! 

It is hard for others to get what it is like for you and hard for them to know what would help you. 

You should pray for self-knowledge. And perhaps get some help. Talk to your spouse and someone else about what might work for you. 

Take your day off and your holidays. There is always some good work you could do on your day off. Don't! Or at least if you do, take some other time off. Ideally a full 24 hours. That is the rule and it is a wise one. Don't feel guilty about saying you will be on holiday (even if you can't afford to stay outside the parish) and don't come back from your holiday to do that funeral. Or at least not more than once a decade. 

You are meant to say Morning and Evening Prayer every day. Do this, or some other devotional practice, in a way that actually feeds your own soul too. There is little more important than each day remembering something of the gospel, saying thank you to Jesus and seeking his grace which is new every morning.  

And then find what will work for you. Perhaps some of the following: 

A quiet away day three times a year?

A planning and review afternoon each term?

A spiritual director or soul friend or group?

Reading? Perhaps have some things you want to read and some time marked out in the diary. 

Writing?

A retreat or conference or study week?

Walking the dog?

Going to the gym?

Hobbies?

Music?

Art?

Get away from your desk. Get out in creation. Breath. No one expects you to work 7am - 11pm six days a week. Allow yourself a little space.  

These things need not be self-indulgent. They are a way of serving God and others for the long haul.

Toil and suffering are normal. Sometimes there are emergencies or busy periods. But in the midst of all the challenges, seek to be a joyful human being, not just a sermon and Bible study machine, or the world's best administrator.