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THE MODERATOR'S ADDRESS
"Which Way?" – Sense of Direction, sense of purpose
This is the written text on which the address was based, not a transcript of what was actually said.
A few months ago I was asked to choose which translation of the Bible I should like to receive as a memento of my year as Moderator, and I was happy to do so. It goes without saying that I shall treasure that Bible as a reminder of the awesome privilege of serving the church in this way. But many months ago I had provided myself with another type of publication in preparation for my year of office. It was a brand new full colour, state of the art, Ordnance Survey road atlas to enable me to find my way around the country on my various visits. I don't know whether it will be of any concern to you, but you have elected a Moderator with absolutely no sense of direction! I am the daughter of a mother who unfailingly turned the wrong way out of almost every door she passed through - and she either forgot to invite the sense of direction fairy to my christening or she asked one who lost her way and arrived too late! For me, every solo journey is an adventure, every threatened detour a source of rising panic and every successful return an occasion for astonished gratitude. Not even my nearest and dearest know how often I have to stop and consult the map on my lone journeys, before turning round and retracing several miles to the correct road...
The compass
It is probably for this very personal reason that I have chosen a compass as the symbol for this address. Its origins lost in history, the magnetic compass is thought to have been used by Hannibal on his journey from Italy back to Carthage in 203 B.C. and certainly seems to have been in regular use since the time of the Norse seamen in the llth century A.D. Since then it has guided travellers on land and sea, enabled exploration and the charting of maps and set the lost once more on their way. Always finding magnetic North, the compass is simple in principle but unfailing in its accuracy. It has created certainty out of doubt and has opened up the unknown to all who have made proper use of it. Magnetic North varies from place to place and year to year, but it is always located by the searching needle of the compass - the constant from which all other points are measured.
The Cross
For me, the North/South, East/West arms of the compass provide a picture metaphor for the Cross of Jesus Christ - the constant from which we take our bearings as Christians in an uncertain world, either as individuals or as a Church. Just as the compass reading affirms or corrects our physical journeyings, so the Cross of Christ keeps us travelling in the direction God wants us to go.
The direction
Our Bible studies for this Assembly are gathered under the heading 'The way of the Lord'. The floral display illustrates Jesus's 'I am the Way' from John 14 and this address is entitled "Which way?", with a subtitle 'Sense of direction, sense of purpose' because it seems to me that this is a time when our denomination would do well to stand back and take an objective look at its own direction and purpose - one year on from our 25th birthday celebrations and a very divisive sexuality debate. "To make his people one" We are a church born of an exciting vision of reconciliation and unity. Our Basis of Union says that the URC 'sees its formation and growth as part of what God is doing to make his people one'. We are a church which was born to die - whose birth was supposed to set the ecumenical movement rolling, to be the first step towards the fulfilment of the dream of God's people 'bound together in perfect unity' after centuries of division. Although an outsider might have seen little difference between an English Presbyterian church and a Congregational one such differences as existed were held dear and our conception and birth were not accomplished easily. There were several miscarriages along the way and a gestation period of nine years before the final delivery. But on 5th October 1972, the United Reformed Church formally came into being.
'A people on the march'
In his book 'Setting up Signs' the Revd Arthur Macarthur, one of the architects of the union and a former General Assembly Moderator, described our birth as an event which was 'to send us out to the future with eyes forward, a people on the march, with not a look behind'. A further union with some of the Churches of Christ in 1981 confirmed us as a church with a continuing ecumenical commitment. Now around half of our URCs are in some form of partnership with churches of other denominations and we are involved in ecumenical councils and discussions at every level in Britain, Ireland, mainland Europe and the world.
We are a small denomination, but we have earned the respect of the other churches and a credibility beyond our stature by the very fact of our unity - of having succeeded in bringing together and holding together people of strong convictions from three different church traditions. Our original architects wisely gave us a flexibility which protects freedom of conscience while keeping us focussed always on the ultimate goal of unity and reconciliation. Our continuing credibility as a catalyst for the visible unity of the wider church relies on our being united and strong - being unable in all conscience to advocate to others that which we do not demonstrate in our own lives. 'The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in all the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body.' Colossians 3 verse 15.
Where Arthur Macarthur's vision of a 'people on the march with not a look behind' has been taken to heart the United Reformed Church has flourished. Membership rolls have been kept realistically pruned, numbers have kept up, community outreach has taken place, spiritual growth has matched numerical strength and churches have been able to 'sing to God with thanksgiving' in their hearts because of all his rich blessings. Where churches did not catch the vision, where they clung on to old denominational ties and past tradition, generally such growth and stability did not occur and, sadly, our numbers have plummeted in the past 26 years. All mainstream churches have suffered a decline in numbers over this same period, but here we seem to enjoy a leadership we could do well without. We are declining faster than anyone else!
'With not a look behind?'
As a lay preacher I have become very familiar with two comments offered by churches in the exchange of information prior to a service - and I should guess they might strike a chord with some of you here. One is the apologetic "We are a small elderly congregation, I am afraid" and the other is "There may not be any children in church on Sunday morning". Let us take a look at each of these statements.
'We are a small elderly congregation'. This statement is offered usually as if that church were somehow out of line – but of course small is the norm for much of the URC. Around half of our churches have a membership of under 50 people, and a high proportion of our membership is in the older age range. That in itself is not a problem. The Church generally would be in a bad way if it were not for the energy, skills, commitment and life experience of our elderly members. We only have to look at the average District Council, Synod or General Assembly to confirm the contribution our older members make to the life of the church. Let us not apologise. Let us celebrate the wisdom of age and the gifts older people bring to the life of the church. Let us give thanks for the pastoral care so many church groups, and in particular women's groups, provide for people at a time in their lives when it is so badly needed. Our country's population is ageing - so let us recognise a very real need to open up the gospel of Christ to people who may be old in years but young in the faith - a mission of evangelism to the elderly, perhaps?
'There may not be any children in church on Sunday morning' - a serious problem for many of our churches, with rosy memories of Sunday School Anniversaries of former years contrasting with the mere handfuls of youngsters who attend now on a regular basis. As a denomination we place a high priority on our work with children and young people and have put many resources into it. At Mission Council in October 1996, our Anglican theological reflector, the Revd Flora Winfield, commented on the number of times questions of work with children and young people came up on the agenda under a variety of guises. In her report she noted that 'Discussions about work with children and young people and about training those who work with them prompted outbursts of energy and sometimes passion from Mission Council suggesting that although some members might think that denominations do not matter to young people, young people clearly matter to the denomination.’ And this is echoed in the cry from so many churches.
'If only we could attract some/more children, what a difference it would make!'
And yet, open any page of the national Year Book at random and you will surely be struck by the significant, sometimes huge. disparity between the statistics given under Children (being the children associated with the life of the church in terms of uniformed organisations and other groups using the church premises) and the much smaller number under 'Children in worship'. Currently, the figures are 30,000 children in worship as opposed to nearly 100,000 children on our premises - just slightly more than our total adult membership. These figures would matter less if the spiritual needs of these children were being catered for in some other way - if they were worshipping in other churches, or if they were being opened up to Christian values at school, mid-week clubs or in the home. But we know that the reality is more likely to be that they are encountering Christ at no point in their lives - and that is not just a tragedy for the Church. It is a tragedy for the nation at a time when so many false gods and spurious attractions are being offered to our young people. The growing drug culture, for instance, needs to be handled by young people with an inner strength and sense of self-worth which is offered by a knowledge of the love of Jesus Christ.
We are ready!
A mission to children and young people is one of the most pressing needs of our society today - and our denomination is tooled up and ready: As part of our national Youth and Children's Work structures we have a Children's Advocate, a Pilots' Development Officer, our excellent resource centre at Yardley Hastings, a Youth and Children's Work Training Officer in every province, and networks of people with expertise all across the church willing to offer training, resources and ideas to help local churches to reach out to children, using today's language for today's children.
Are you willing?
But at the local church level are our churches really addressing the issue of children in the church. Do we know why we want to have children and young people worshipping with us - or even if we want them. Is it just that children are somehow part of the package and it doesn't feel right without them? Are we still thinking of children in terms of the 'church of the future' instead of as full participants in the church of today - a question raised by Flora Winfield when she went on to ask Mission Council what the energy and passion relating to Youth and Children's work said to the church about the denomination's fears for its future. Are we addressing the subject as a matter of survival or a matter of mission? Have we realistically accepted the changing social structures which offer so many other ways for children to spend their Sundays? The breakdown in family life which makes it difficult for children to worship regularly even if they wanted to? Have we addressed the real problem, which is that we have lost the children's parents from church and without parental support today's children are unlikely to find their way into a church which offers very little which is familiar to them. Used to freedom, the latest technology and a hands-on approach to learning how can we expect them to come and sit quietly while people talk in a language they don't understand about concepts they have no experience of - in buildings which can appear gloomy and forbidding? And yet there is a crying need for some kind of imaginative outreach to children which brings the gospel stories alive for them and challenges them to a lifetime of commitment in Christ's service.
The real picture?
So, an ageing membership of small churches with few children and, by implication a gap in the 20-40 age range. Is this the URC today? Well, of course it isn't. Each Assembly Moderator finishes his or her year of office breathless with excitement about all the wonderful things which are going on in the name of the church. Strong healthy fellowships of all sizes which are full of life, witnessing to the community through the lives and activities of their members of all ages. The pages of Reform are full of the bustling energy of the denomination - innovative projects run by our Church Related Community Workers across the country which offer hope and direction to people on the edges of society -inner-city ministries keeping alive a Christian presence in areas of deepest need - rural ministries defeating impossible geography to ensure that Christ's sheep, at least, are fed. Pop-ins and drop-ins, Traidcraft shops, Commitment for Life, physical, spiritual, Biblical, artistic and practical - it’s all happening in the URC! And we only have to mention FURY to remind ourselves of the part played by young people in the life of our church and the importance we attach to it. And I could take you to a church I know rather well which has an amazing number of young adults and thirty-somethings, together with a vast and growing army of babies and young children, largely a legacy of the heyday of a very successful Junior Choir of the seventies and early eighties and the friendships, marriages and commitment which arose from it. I imagine you can all fill in your own particularly uplifting story.
A challenge to mission
But for more of our churches than is comfortable the picture is one of genteel decline - probably no worse than in other denominations, but we cannot afford much more shrinkage. We need to grow - a fact which has been recognised and pointed out to us with gentleness and tact by our partners in the Council for World Mission (CWM). In his remarkable pastoral letter (published as Appendix 4 in our Book of Reports) Dr Preman Niles, General Secretary of CWM acknowledges the past with gratitude - the generous contributions the URC has made to supporting our sisters and brothers in CWM. But then he continues 'The Executive Committee noted that over the years the membership of the United Reformed Church has declined by almost 50%. It needs to pay greater attention to its mission at home.' To this end, CWM is suggesting that we put less of our money into mission abroad and concentrate more energy and resources in mission here at home We have been graciously offered a hint and an opportunity. Let us grasp both with enthusiasm as we seek further ways to explore the missionary possibilities of our lives and situations - in an age whose response to the Millennium is an indication of how far our national life has swung from the magnetic North of the Cross and the Way of Christ. The way ahead It is true that we are a church which was born to die; that our formation was but one step along the way towards a visibly united Church. We hope to prepare for another such step late in this Assembly. Our ecumenical commitment is unwavering. But it seems that our death is not required just yet and so while we are waiting for God to lead us further on our journey, it would be good to use the opportunity we have been offered by our partners in CWM - to refocus our missionary purpose, to rediscover the joy and excitement of the gospel and to transmit it to a world which seems to regard Jesus Christ as at best an irrelevance and at worst a mindless expletive. Let us use the councils of our church to share the good stories with each other, to encourage tired churches with the strength and enthusiasm of the active ones. Let us continues to develop the sharing of resources within the denomination in ways which best enable outreach. Let us use the next few years to help the whole church and not just parts of it to be the Church of Christ in the town centre, the quiet suburb, the small village - offering hope and a sense of purpose to a materialistic society which promises so much and delivers so little - a society filled with children and families torn apart by broken relationships, rootless young people with no future, adults stressed by overwork or underemployment, lonely, frightened old people.
Let us commit ourselves to growing towards visible unity, rather than fading gently into it. Could we perhaps unlock some of the passion we often seem to find only when we disagree with something? Can we learn anything from the total commitment of the football fan? In other words, can we make ourselves real and relevant to a world approaching the Third Millennium of Christian witness? And if we can similarly activate the sleepier of our ecumenical neighbours, so much the better. Then we really would be a people on the march, witnessing to the reconciling love of a God who bids all things together in perfect unity - His world and His Church finally at one in purpose and direction, working together to build the kingdom here on earth
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