How Village Churches Thrive - in place of a review

 

How Village Churches Thrive: A Practical Guide

Ruth Green and Mark Betson (ed.s)

London: Church House Publishing, 2022 (ISBN: 9781781402191 pb, 186pp)

 

(In place of a review and some favourite bits / observations. God willing, a briefer “proper” review to follow for The Global Anglican theological journal or Church Society blog in due course)

 

Probably every village vicar should look at this potentially excellently useful book. You might not agree with everything or find it all helpful, but it might only demand an afternoon of your time. Even if you are not persuaded that good hand lotion is a missional priority nor that “foraging for God” (whatever that is) should be encouraged, there is gold here. There will likely be things you want to discuss with your church wardens or PCC. Much will be in the category of useful reminder. You might think, “we do that, we tried that, we could do that, I can’t see that working in our context”. But more  than likely there will be something to think about afresh and a new idea. A communications review might be in order, for example. A few times I thought, yes, I could pretty easily raise my game in this area. There are so many things to think about in ministry, this book might offer a different perspective especially on things that might matter to newcomers or those who might come. It is strong, for example, on seeking to consult the wider community and engaging in partnerships. I thought our welcome to walkers was brilliant, but maybe we could also offer a first aid kit, puncture kit and mobile phone charging.

 

How Village Churches Thrive talks about some essentials. Readers may want more on the great essentials: Jesus, the gospel, God and the Bible. But this is seeking to be a practical guide. Some suggestions for further reading are given but to some extent you will need to bring your own theology and prayer, but there is an exciting journey here! For my money a more sustained treatment of the desired destination (what we mean by “church” and “thrive”) might have added value, but there is something for everyone in the C of E here.

 

The book could suggest an overwhelming amount of activity. The main thing, of course, is to continue to sow the Word of God and look to the Spirit to produce a crop of thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. There will be some helpful next practical steps here too, especially if you can encourage a team to take on a project.

 

This attractive full-colour illustrated book has a foreword from comedian Hugh Dennis, is introduced by Robert Atwell, the lead C of E bishop for rural affairs, and has an afterword from the Archbishop of York. Ten chapters developed by a variety of authors cover subjects such as extending a warm welcome; making the most of life events, buildings, churchyard, festivals; welcoming children, the lonely and the isolated; and communicating effectively. Each identifies three key things you will learn (just ignore these and press on if you feel patronised!) and suggests resources. A task group could easily be asked to consider one chapter and make recommendations to the PCC or Standing Committee.

 

The book argues that whilst rural churches face enormous challenges, they also have great potential to blossom afresh given the right conditions and nurture. Rather than chasing numerical growth, we should see it as the fruit of a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ. Small rural churches should not be made to feel like failed larger churches. This book seeks to celebrate and share wisdom from a variety of contexts and traditions, including a number of case studies and stories, some of them wonderful. It offers itself as a menu of things to dip in to and try. We can’t always do everything and we would be right to focus, and to work with others where we can. Small changes might make a big difference. Churches must be at the heart of their communities and have confidence in the life changing gospel. In some rural communities, the C of E is the only denomination left, so life is more ecumenical than in some town churches.

 

As an experienced rural Rector and Rural Dean in a largely rural rural deanery, I felt that the authors largely got it. The work is right to observe that there is rural and rural: rural and deep or isolated rural. Many people like to think they live in a village. We called my home suburb “the village”. Some villages are more like dormitory towns or extensions of cities. The government definition of a small school (fewer than 210 pupils) is twice the size of our local schools, one of which recently closed due to dwindling numbers. Our village is classified as the most isolated in Sussex. Whilst I have been here, numerous pubs have shut. The churches keep going. I thought Bishop Robert was quite optimistic to pin growth on the quality of leadership as survival is often an enormous triumph. Leaders need not only grit but should indeed pray for grace to persevere with joy. We must be more willing to adapt and to adopt a spirit of entrepreneurism and experiment, but we should be in no doubt that our core business is the worship of the Triune God, not running the pop-up Post Office.

 

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More than half of the C of E’s church buildings could be classified as rural. More than 90% of these are listed. Maintaining and using the building is often enormously difficult as well as a great opportunity.

 

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3% of the adult UK population have never used the internet. 18% do not have internet access at home. (p153)

 

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Living alone and having poor social connections is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Loneliness increases your risk of [presumably premature!] death by 29%. Lonely people are more likely to suffer from dementia, heart disease and depression. 43% of 17 to 25 year olds say they have problems with loneliness. 50% of disabled people feel lonely on any given day. (p152, contains further citations)

 

Older people living in care homes are twice as likely to feel lonely as those who live in the community

 

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How Village Churches Thrive often tells us to be plain, simple, every day, short, accessible etc. Fair enough. But we are trying to introduce people to God and there might be something special and mysterious. In fact, that might be why it's worth coming!

 

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How Village Churches Thrive: I think Pimms 'n' Hymns is an event we could all get behind. At least for the Pimms part. With an alternative for those for whom alcohol is an issue. Perhaps with a more creative name than I can think up. https://www.facebook.com/malloyd/posts/pfbid02g7xd7UUkNb6EcrUsFLFZ4H1ntXAE1VtEiEafxELmg9GcDc2K9JheS5nngUAdgustl

 

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"In your parish church you can literally meet your forebears" (p100). I think they probably mean that you can *metaphorically* meet your forebears, unless they mean sometimes your dad is there with you or they have a slightly strange definition of *meet*.

 

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Nearly half of the Grade I listed buildings in the country belong to the C of E, many more that the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic Houses combined. (p98f)

 

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Although there may be a certain amount of death, it is estimated that some churchyards contain over a thousand species of life. They say there are thought to be 10,000 burials in an old churchyard, which seems a lot to me.

 

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How Village Churches Thrive is right and makes a good point that you want to be really warm and also provide clear information about process when people contact you. You know that, but you have to remember to do it! I think I may sometimes have got too quickly to "do you both have valid UK passports?" with wedding couples!

 

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Key C of E Mission Message (?!): "Never underestimate the power of sparkling toilets! Think flowers and hand lotion, as well as nice handwash." (p22)  

 

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Church welcome. cf. how would you invite and welcome someone to your home for the first time? A useful thought experiment