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Mission-shaped Children: moving towards a child-centred church by Margaret Withers Publisher: Church House Publishing £7.99
Just how did Jesus get those first disciples to cast their nets down on the other side of the boat, after they had caught nothing the night before? This was the question I was left with after reading this excellent book. In many ways the content is predictable. Based on a report to the General Synod of the Church of England about mission it has all the latest buzz-words: ‘new expressions of church’ and ‘mixed economy churches’. It has short pithy examples from real life contexts although few are more than a couple of sentences or paragraphs in length.
There’s no doubt that Margaret Withers has trawled the whole country to find ‘can do it’ examples of the many ways in which children are the church. Ways that include everyday of the week and every possible style of worship: situations in which quality not quantity is demonstrated as the vital ingredient for success. However, I was still chilled by the story of the churchwarden who ‘wanted it stopped’ (children being church, that is), because it was not to his liking, didn’t meet his definition and was ‘taking people away from Midnight Mass’. All too familiar I’m afraid. The can’t do it people of the can’t do it church.
So how do you think Jesus got them to do it, take the risk for the fish I mean? Each chapter of the book ends with the sort of questions traditional discussion groups enjoy. You might want to try them too. But just what does stop us seeing the possibilities, agreeing that church can be any shape at all, or taking the risk to at least try it? In the words of the Easter Angels ‘Please leave the tomb: it is empty’.
Janet Lees |
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