Acting
Archdeacon of Hastings - Archdeacon’s Visitation – Charge to Churchwardens 2023
(Psalm
47)
Matthew
16:13-20
Ephesians
4:1-16
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My wife told me this address should be
entitled “Some Things I’ve Been Meaning To Say”.
But it isn’t!
You could say it is about “body building”, a
subject on which I’m sure you can see I am an expert!
I want to begin by thanking you for all that
you do in the life of the church and for your willingness to serve for this
next year as churchwardens.
I’m going to try to resist the temptation to
preach a very long sermon to you, but you never know!
There is much that could be said about your
important office.
And I have some notices to give you, so that’s
something to look forward to!
(I’ve printed out a page of A4 which you might
like to photograph or look at or take if you don’t catch all the dates).
But first I want to reflect with you briefly
on something from our two readings.
And also to remind you of the official
description of the role of the churchwardens, although how we put this in to
practice might vary considerably from place to place.
Jesus said: “I will build my church
and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
I hope you find that an encouraging verse!
Jesus himself will build his church.
It’s not exactly a promise about your parish
church or mine.
Or even about the dear old Church of England.
But is it not an enormous comfort to know that
Jesus will build his church?
HE - WILL
do it.
Being a Vicar or a church warden can sometimes
be a lonely calling.
We can be conscious of heavy responsibilities.
And sometimes we feel the weight of the world
on our shoulders.
We soon learn that we can’t please all the
people all the time.
We would never say this, but we can almost
begin to imagine that the Kingdom of God depends solely on us.
But with us or without us, Jesus means to
build his church.
It is, in the end, his church, not
ours.
It is his kingdom – not my empires –
that really matters.
Christian ministry in Britain today is
sometimes slow and hard.
In some parts of the world, the gospel is
spreading like wildfire, but in some parts of our land the flame sometimes
burns low or splutters.
Some of us will feel we’re struggling to keep
the flame alive.
The church is sometimes ignored or ridiculed.
We might not face outright persecution, as
some of our brothers and sisters around the world do, but we sometimes don’t
see the enthusiastic response for which we pray.
It can be hard for us to adjust to what in
some ways is a post-Christendom context in England.
We seem to many more marginal and irrelevant
or even wrong or wicked than perhaps we care to admit.
But we should remember, as our Psalm had it,
that God remains on the throne of the universe.
Jesus has ascended to his heavenly throne in
triumph.
Church growth is his business, not just ours,
and the Lord of the church knows what he’s doing.
Jesus would say to us, as he did to his
disciples: “Do not fear, little flock!”
“Be of good courage! I have overcome the
world!”
“I am with you always. I will never leave you
or forsake you.”
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me, therefore go and disciple the nations”
“Rejoice that your names are written in
heaven!”
Some seed will still fall on the path and be
plucked up by Satan, or on stoney ground, or be chocked by weeds, but the seed
of the gospel is good and powerful.
The Sower will have a mighty harvest.
The Word of God will produce a crop, 30, 60 or
100 times what was sown.
Jesus’ mustard seed will grow and become the
largest tree in the garden in which the birds of the air will come and nest.
The yeast of the gospel will work its way
through the whole batch.
The earth will be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea.
The rock that was not cut out by human hands will become a
huge mountain and fill the whole earth.
The stone the builders rejected is the
capstone.
Jesus will build his church.
And he invites us to join in with his building
project.
Ephesians 4 also speaks of the
building up of the church, not now as a building, but as the body of Christ.
You’ll notice that the job of the Vicar, the
Pastor-Teacher, is not to do everything.
He or she is not to be a one-person band who
singlehandedly visits and evangelises and pastors everyone, on top of doing all
the admin and fundraising and co-ordinating the building project and...
No, rather, the minister is to prepare God’s
people for works of service.
There are a variety of different gifts and
roles in the church, but what we’re seeking is an every-member ministry, where
each part of the body is valued and plays its part:
Where all serve and grow together.
Everyone is needed!
The building of the church is the business of
the whole body, not only of the big toe and the elbow, as it were.
And you as church wardens can play a vital
role in that:
Perhaps in spotting others who could be
encouraged to serve.
Certainly, I hope, in encouraging your
clergy.
You can all be a force for building up, for
encouraging, for seeking the health and flourishing of the whole body.
When I worked for the Christian Union movement
in Universities, we used to have a mantra:
“Encourage the good wherever you see it!”
Sometimes one had to look pretty hard.
I’m not sure I was ever quite reduced to
saying to anyone, “Oh, I like your shirt”, but sometimes it came pretty close.
There is so much to be said for being
positive, for saying thank you, for showing appreciation.
Leaders sometimes have to say tough, unwelcome
things.
There could be a time for a challenging
question from a church warden.
But let it be in the context of love and
support.
Let your clergy and your volunteers know that
you are on their side and grateful to God for them.
I come now to the notices and
resources I’ve mentioned on the sheet.
Could I just ask you to satisfy my curiosity,
by the way, and raise your hand, please, if you are serving as a church warden
for the first time?
You can find on the diocesan website a useful
23-page PDF guide on “Being a church warden”.
But let me remind you again of the official role
description: “Canon E1: Of Churchwardens
4. The
churchwardens when admitted are officers of the bishop.
They
shall discharge such duties as are by law and custom assigned to them;
they
shall be foremost in representing the laity and in co-operating with the
incumbent;
they
shall use their best endeavours by example and precept to encourage the
parishioners in the practice of true religion and to promote unity and peace
among them.
They
shall also maintain order and decency in the church and churchyard, especially
during the time of divine service.
5. In
the churchwardens is vested the property in the plate, ornaments, and other
movable goods of the church, and they shall keep an inventory thereof which
they shall revise from time to time as occasion may require.
On going
out of office they shall duly deliver to their successors any goods of the
church remaining in their hands together with the said inventory, which shall
be checked by their successors.”
I’m praying for you that you might indeed work
well with your clergy and be a blessing to one another.
That you might co-operate really well with the
minister and with others.
There are always niggles and issues.
And people can often be grumpy and gossipy.
But you have an opportunity to seek to be
really exemplary:
To pray for grace to be a godly example,
promoting unity and peace “so that the body of Christ may be built up until we
all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
You can make this great building project of
Jesus’ your own goal and ambition.
We can all seek to play our own small part in
building his church, in seeking the health of the body.
If you’d like to think a bit more about how
you can support your clergy, there’s a useful document on the Church of England
website for local congregations under the section on the Covenant For The
Care And Well-Being Of Clergy.
Search “Clergy covenant” and you’ll get it, I
think.
There’s going to be some training offered
for churchwardens by the proper Archdeacons, which I understand has been
very much appreciated in previous years.
These sessions are both going to be via Zoom on
12th September at 6:30pm.
And on 20th September at 3pm.
(The same session repeated twice).
There’s
also going to be a Church Buildings Update Evening in this Archdeaconry on
8th November, and at other times in other parts of the diocese.
We
encourage you to support Ride and Stride and the Sussex Historic
Churches Trust, which can be a useful source of help with repairing our church
buildings.
The
Ride and Stride event is on the 9th September.
You
can find details of that online.
As I hope you know, this year we’re having a Diocesan
Year of the Old Testament.
It’s not too late to join in with that, not
least in our online reading group in Genesis and Exodus.
We’re thinking about the life of Abraham on
Wednesday so let me know if you’d like to join us.
Next year will be our Year of the New
Testament.
In 2025 we’ll have a Year of Faith.
We celebrate the anniversary of The Council of
Nicaea in 325.
And 950 years since the establishing of the
Cathedral at Chichester.
Your rural dean, the staff at Church House,
Hove, and the Archdeacons are here to support you in your vital work.
We pray especially for Archdeacon Edward for
the happy day of his return:
that he will come back on the 1st
August very much Ministerially Developed by his lovely leave and ready to solve
all your problems!
In all seriousness, I can stay around as long
as necessary afterwards so please do grab me if there’s anything you’d like to
say or ask.
May God bless you in your role.
And may your churches be built on the solid
foundation of Jesus Christ and his Word.
May the whole body work together in healthy
unity and peace, growing up into maturity in Christ, as each part does its
work.
And so to God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit be all honour and power and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
* * * NOTICE SHEET * * *
Acting Archdeacon of Hastings - Archdeacon’s
Visitation – Charge to Churchwardens 2023
(Psalm 47)
Matthew
16:13-20
Ephesians
4:1-16
Thank you! We’ll be praying for you.
You can find on the diocesan website a useful 23-page PDF guide on
“Being a church warden” and other information for churchwardens - https://www.chichester.anglican.org/information-for-churchwardens/
https://www.churchofengland.org/about/leadership-and-governance/legal-services/canons-church-england/canons-website-edition
- “Canon E1: Of Churchwardens
4. The churchwardens when
admitted are officers of the bishop. They shall discharge such duties as are by
law and custom assigned to them; they shall be foremost in representing the
laity and in co-operating with the incumbent; they shall use their best
endeavours by example and precept to encourage the parishioners in the practice
of true religion and to promote unity and peace among them. They shall also
maintain order and decency in the church and churchyard, especially during the
time of divine service.
5. In the churchwardens is vested
the property in the plate, ornaments, and other movable goods of the church,
and they shall keep an inventory thereof which they shall revise from time to
time as occasion may require. On going out of office they shall duly deliver to
their successors any goods of the church remaining in their hands together with
the said inventory, which shall be checked by their successors.”
The Covenant For The Care And Well-Being Of Clergy - https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/clergy-resources/national-clergy-hr/supporting-clergy-health-and-wellbeing/covenant#na
Training for churchwardens via Zoom on 12th September
at 6:30pm and on 20th September at 3pm.
Church Buildings Update Evening in this Archdeaconry on
8th November, and at other times in
other parts of the diocese. (Time and venue TBC)
Ride
and Stride and the Sussex Historic Churches Trust - 9th September
- https://ridestride.org/counties/sussex/
Year of the Old Testament - it’s not too late to join in with
that, not least in our online reading group in Genesis and Exodus –
marc_lloyd@hotmail.com
Next year will be our Year of the New Testament.
In 2025 we’ll have a Year of Faith.
We celebrate the anniversary of The Council of Nicaea in 325.
And 950 years since the establishing of the Cathedral at Chichester.
Your rural dean, the staff at Church House, Hove, and the archdeacons
are here to support you in your vital work.
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