02 July 2011
New President of the Methodist Conference says Church should be more welcoming
The new President of the Methodist Conference, Revd Lionel
Osborn, challenged the assumption that the Methodist Church was
welcoming in his inaugural address to the Methodist Conference. At
the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre today, Mr Osborn
emphasised the need for pastoral relationships in the church that
go beyond a 30 second chat at the door on the way out.
"The number of times I've heard people say "we're a welcoming
church" and the number of times I've wanted to ask "Who told you
that?" - for the aspiration and the reality may be two different
things," said Mr Osborn. "A relationship that does not have a
pastoral element to it is hardly worthy of the name."
He commended churches that organised welcoming teams to greet
newcomers and praised the new vicar of a neighbouring Anglican
church who had decided to open the doors every day. "Whilst I am
concerned about what is happening at the front door of the church
I'm equally concerned about what is happening at the back door:
those who slip away due to our pastoral neglect or remain but feel
disappointed or uncared for," he said, adding that churches can
build a bridge between themselves and the community in small as
well as great ways. Mr Osborn worked as a nursing orderly in
Norfolk before offering for the Methodist ministry. He trained at
Wesley College Bristol and has served in the Ripley (Derbyshire),
Bury (Lancashire), Bramhall (Cheshire) and North Shields and
Whitley Bay Circuits over 25 years. He has been Chair of the
Newcastle upon Tyne Methodist District for the past ten years. The
full text of President's address follows:
Pastoral Care as Disciples of Jesus
I must begin with three words of thanks. First and foremost to my
wife Charlotte for her unending love, understanding support and
wise counsel. Then to my P.A. Diane who has worked alongside me for
15 years. I am reminded of the story that David Watson used to tell
of the unappreciated secretary who decided to get her revenge on
her boss. He was to give an important lecture and as usual she
typed his notes without a word of thanks but when during his speech
he came to the bottom of the first page and read "we shall now
consider this matter under fifteen headings" he was alarmed to turn
over the page and find it blank except for the words: "You're on
your own now mate"! So Diane with much relief - thank you!
And then my thanks to Traidcraft based in the north-east who have
provided me with a cassock alb and to the Newcastle upon Tyne
District who have kindly given me a preaching scarf and Eucharistic
stole which I shall wear during my Presidential year. Someone said
to me at our recent Synod: "Its going to be a wonderful year for
our District while you're President" which I thought could be taken
in at least two ways but suffice to say I'm honoured to serve the
best District in Methodism as their Chair. Thank you for all your
love, encouragement and prayers.
There are many I know who would be as amazed as me that I'm
standing here today. My Sunday School teacher who sent me to stand
outside because she saw me as a disruptive influence in her class.
My mentor Raymond George who on noticing me reading the Sports
Argus during his lectures on liturgy spoke to me most severely as
only he could. My Father in God Donald English who remarked on one
occasion that the sooner I left Wesley College Bristol the better
it would be for all concerned. My own Father who told me that as I
never worked hard I'd never get anywhere! And my Mother who would
have cried and would have prayed today - not least for the Church!
And the various churches, Circuits and Districts in which I've
served are no doubt be thinking of the mysterious ways in which God
and the church moves!
So I thank the dear friend who wrote to me after my designation as
President, "Congratulations on your new job. This must be an
exciting time for you. You get to show a whole new group of people
how incompetent you are." He had it about right!
"Which lunatic should run the asylum?" These were Sir Humphrey
Appleby's less than promising words as he sought to manoeuvre the
appointment of a new leader in the well known television series -
Yes Prime Minister. Various candidates you remember were ruled out
for good bad or indifferent reasons until they eventually alighted
on Jim Hacker as a balance. He wasn't too far left or too far right
or too far anything really and when someone commented that there
have been less likely Prime Ministers they all agreed but couldn't
think of one!
Balance - But perhaps balance is not as pejorative a word as Sir
Humphrey would have us believe. Indeed along with the word
pragmatic they might be thought to sum up the ethos of Methodism
and I am honoured and proud if the Methodist Church believe that I
can offer it as President. So I am unashamedly:
Evangelical - For I believe that at the heart of Christian faith is
a profound relationship with God through Jesus Christ and I long
for people to discover that for themselves. I believe in the
centrality of the Cross and Resurrection and in the overriding
authority of Scripture but I don't find that that provides me with
answers to every question or that despite living in Newcastle every
moral or ethical decision is black and white. Indeed I have some
sympathy with John Robinson of Honest to God fame who towards the
end of his life said that he believed more and more about less and
less!
Sacramental - For the sacraments - and especially that of Holy
Communion - have become more and more important to me and a
continual means of grace. And yet it is a means and not an end and
I have to guard against a spirituality that becomes dry and
lifeless and a mere going through the motions.
Ecumenical - For I long and pray for the unity of the church in
visible form and want to encourage every initiative to bring it
nearer. It is for me about common sense as well as common grace.
Yet I am proud to be a Methodist and more excited than I have ever
been about what God is doing in the Methodist Church today and
whatever the shape of the church might look like in 20 or 30 years
time I believe we as Methodists will have an enormous amount to put
into the mix for the enrichment of the whole.
And having said all of that I thank God for those who do not carry
an evangelical, sacramental or ecumenical label, who may carry a
different label or no label at all but from whom I have learnt so
much .
So Balance for me is important both within these convictions
themselves and in holding them together as one. And yes of course
at its worst "balance" can simply be a euphemism for lazy thinking
or a desire to never cause offence. And I'm well aware that one
person's balance is another person's imbalance so to quote Raymond
George "I used to think that I was somewhere in the middle and then
discovered that everyone else had moved"! So I smile to myself when
apart from evangelical, sacramental and ecumenical I have also been
described as liberal, charismatic and radical, for it not only
depends on where you're coming from but where others are coming
from too. But at is best balance can be a strong word especially
when it seeks to embrace the best of every tradition and offers it
to make up what is lacking in every other.
So in one of his hymns we are invited by Richard Jones, a former
President of Conference, to "Bring your traditions' richest store,
your hymns and rites and cherished creeds; explore our visions,
pray for more, since God delights to meet fresh needs".
And this need for balance of course is also a part of our own
discipleship too. The "breathing in" of scripture, the "breathing
out" of prayer. Our receiving in worship, our giving in service (or
what Wesley called works of piety and works of mercy). Our
commitment to the church, to the world, to our families and friends
and to ourselves- it's not always an easy balance to maintain. And
within our Connexion and within each District, Circuit and local
church that balance is continually being worked out too. If we
spend our money here we can't spend it there. If we ask that person
to serve at one level they might need to lay down their work at
another. If we can't fill all our appointments who decides which
are the most significant? What does a balanced diet of worship look
like and how can we avoid upsetting everyone in equal measure? Such
interaction is indeed a balancing act and although it requires much
grace on every side it is worth pursuing.
So I affirm balance rightly understood and affirm it as essential
for what it means to be a Methodist Christian today. But in one
area of our Church's life I have become increasingly concerned that
we have become unbalanced. Which is why "Pastoral Care as Disciples
of Jesus" is a theme I hope to explore not just this afternoon but
throughout my Presidential Year and thus build on the report on the
Theology of Pastoral Care which is coming before Conference this
week. And it is of course the Pastoral Care we offer to each other
that is my chief concern. So let me begin with:
LANGUAGE
For am I the only person who cringes when I hear the word
"visitors" used when folk are welcomed at the beginning of worship?
It's no doubt an improvement on "strangers" which I also heard
recently but it still conveys a sense of transience with the
expectation that we may not see such a person again. Well as Jesus
didn't say "Blessed are those who expect nothing. They shall never
be disappointed!" Or think of the way in which directions are
sometimes given in the notices. "The crèche is in the Cromwell
Building." Fine - but where's that? "Toilets are in the narthex"
What? "Coffee is available afterwards, just follow the crowd". I
did that once and ended up in weight watchers! "If you would like
more information talk to the Church Stewards". Well, I might if I
knew who they were! You see subliminally we're giving out the
"churchy" message that because we know, everyone else is bound to
know too whereas in fact as I discovered only a few weeks ago a
lady who'd been coming to church for over 60 years had never stayed
for coffee because she'd been too embarrassed to ask where it was
and no one had every told her. So the number of times I've heard
people say "We're a welcoming church" and the number of times I've
wanted to ask "Who told you that?" for the aspiration and the
reality may be two quite different things.
There is a church I know well that always decorates its building
beautifully for Christmas. Last year they placed in the window of
the church a nativity scene made of reed. It was stunning. There
was only one problem - the figures were all facing inwards and a
black cloth obscured them from the view of the many people who
passed by. In spite of being in many ways one of the most welcoming
churches I've ever been to it seemed somehow to illustrate how
quite inadvertently we forget who its all for and who God is all
for.
And what of our use of the word "Door Steward"? In Psalm 84 the
Psalmist hints at the privilege of being a door-keeper in the house
of the Lord and indeed it is but it is surely more than opening a
door and handing out a book? So I'm always impressed by those
churches who have not so much door stewards as welcoming teams and
where people commit themselves to be trained for such an important
task and are available regularly so they can see who hasn't been
before and who is missing and are on hand after the service as well
as before. (And yes of course you can be over welcomed but I don't
often hear that complaint!)
And what of class leaders and pastoral visitors? It was one of the
geniuses of John Wesley to place disciples of Jesus in The
Methodist tradition in "classes" and I believe that Home or Cell
Groups are a worthy successor especially when within them there is
a balance of worship, learning, prayer and sharing, which are all
vital in our Church. Yet this should never make redundant the role
of the Pastoral Visitor. Rather I am convinced that they are one of
the most undervalued groups within the life of our church today.
They are an essential expression of our commitment that "all are
welcome in this place" and yet are rarely prayed for or
commissioned in our churches and are sometimes ill-prepared for
their role, and perhaps it is this that has led in some places to
membership tickets simply being handed around after the service
with the "Oh I know you're alright" comment! Well if only they did
really know.
And then we still too often speak of "Ministers in Other
Appointments" even though that phrase is no longer in our standing
orders. "Other appointments" as though they were nothing to do with
us. "Other appointments" as though there is a lesser form of
ministry for those who can't hack the real thing - namely what
we're used to. So I am anxious that those who work on our behalf in
Prisons, Hospitals, Schools or Work-places or as Pioneer Ministers
can pastorally sometimes feel very much on the edge of things and
even as though they didn't exist. And this can equally apply as
much to lay people as ministers of course so I remember someone
telling me how they had once worked for Scripture Union and had
then sensed God's call to train as a teacher. And how when they
were with Scripture Union everyone at church asked after them and
they were prayed for regularly but that when they became a teacher
it all suddenly stopped whereas as they said the reality was that
they needed prayer and pastoral care far more as a teacher in the
inner city than ever they did as a worker with Scripture
Union!
RELATIONSHIP
For whilst I am concerned about what is happening at the front door
of the church I'm equally concerned about what is happening at the
back door as it were - those who slip away due to our pastoral
neglect or those who remain but feel disappointed or uncared for
and I want to speak particularly to ministers now and include
myself. So I'm just old enough to remember the advice that was
given to me at college about never being found in your slippers
after 8.00am and never without your dog-collar by nine. And I
recall how each day was to be divided into three sections, mornings
in the study, afternoons visiting and evenings at meetings. And it
took me about half an hour in Circuit to realise just how
impractical that was - that ministry doesn't fit neatly into three
compartments even though the basic principle has something to
commend it. And now that emails seem to require an immediate
response at any time of day or night (although whether it has to be
that immediate is questionable and whether an email is the most
effective way of being pastoral is questionable too). And when
meetings take place in morning or afternoon just as much as evening
- developing a pattern of ministry becomes ever more difficult and
there is never enough time for everything.
But I'm aware that life and ministry has changed in other ways too
and that very often the career of a minister's spouse is as equally
as much a calling as that of the minister themselves and that that
has implications for child-care, educational needs and not least
time with the family. So I recall Donald English forcibly reminding
us that most of us took our marriage vows before our ordination
vows and that that should be the order of our priorities.
And furthermore I recognise that in many places more time and care
is given to Baptismal and Marriage Preparation and the needs of the
bereaved than previously and I applaud that.
And yet I remain concerned that Pastoral Care through visiting (or
even telephone calls) has in many places become a thing of the past
except when an emergency arises. For some it's a question of time.
For others it is low down on their list of priorities. Some frankly
regard it as unimportant or unnecessary making reference to the
fact that God had not called them to be domestic chaplains. But I
believe they are wrong and I think therefore their ministry is in
danger of becoming unbalanced.
So I reflect Theologically on the ministry of Jesus. For at the
very heart of the Gospel is the pastoral image of Jesus the Good
Shepherd which despite the fact that many of us have never seen a
shepherd at work and certainly not operating as in Jesus day, still
strongly resonates with us even though it is not without its
difficulties. And it is not of course merely an image, for Jesus
throughout his ministry demonstrates in words and actions what
knowing his sheep, calling his sheep, listening to his sheep,
loving his sheep, laying down his life for the sheep reaching out
to the lost sheep looks like as an indication of what God is like.
And it is this of course to which Peter is commissioned. So it is
not surprising that at the Presbyteral Ordination Services that
many of us will share in tomorrow the call to Peter to "tend my
sheep and feed my lambs" is echoed over and over again not least
when The President says to the newly ordained:- "Be shepherds to
the flock of Christ. As you exercise mercy, do not forget justice,
as you minister discipline do not forget mercy; that when Christ
the Chief Shepherd comes in glory he may count you among his
faithful servants".
It is this that forms the backdrop to all I want to say next for I
am not simply calling for a re-examination of the place of pastoral
care within our churches life and its ministry for its own sake but
as disciples - learners and followers - of Jesus.
Pastorally and theologically, and our treasured word: Connexion.
But what meaning does it have unless it is to do with being in
relationship, and a relationship that does not have a Pastoral
element to it is hardly worthy of the name? For as Martin Luther
reminded us "it is the personal pronouns that matter". A colleague
Chair told me of a time he was invited to lunch after worship by a
couple in the congregation and as he looked around the front room
noticed the picture of a young man on the mantelpiece and made
reference to it. The whole story came out. How their son had died
in his late teenage years and of how this had rocked although not
destroyed their faith and that they still found his death
distressing twenty years later and didn't always react well at
church as they put it. "Well I'm sure that successive ministers
have been supportive" said my colleague. "Well it's hard to know
really" they replied. "We've never seen one". And here is the
punch-line: "It's not the kind of thing you can talk about in 30
seconds at the church door is it?" And if you say "Well they should
have asked the minister to call" I ask "should they?" Or did they
make the excuse that so many kindly Methodists make about us that
we're too busy? I was saddened by this story as I am by the stories
of some of our Supernumerary ministers or their widows and the
elderly members of our churches who can't now come to worship yet
have so much to share and who so much value prayer with others but
never have the opportunity for either.
Pragmatically and that other "Methodist" word I mentioned earlier.
For I don't think some ministers recognise how much pastoral care
paves the way for so much else in ministry. I was visiting a
congregation recently who wanted to tell me how wonderful their new
Minister was. "Was it his preaching?" I asked "Or his conduct of
meetings?" They looked puzzled. "Oh no its nothing like that" they
said. It's just that we know he cares. He has visited many of us
already. He listens to us and prays with us. And although he's
introduced some new things into worship and has some ideas of how
the premises might be better used which we weren't sure about at
first we trust him because we know him and he knows us. And I spoke
to this minister afterwards and he said that this level of pastoral
care had been hard work but that it had paid dividends in so many
ways. It had informed his preaching, it had opened doors -
literally and metaphorically - it had encouraged those who were
working so hard for the Lord and the church, it had been more
fulfilling than he imagined - and that although such Pastoral Care
was important for its own sake it had in fact increased the size of
the congregation too. And as I heard this story it reminded me of
my recent visit to the Methodist Church in Estonia and hearing that
the churches that are growing there have only one thing in common -
good Pastoral Care!
Personally - So I recall how I came to faith and why I became a
Christian and although others preaching and prayer played a
significant part it was in the end people that mattered. The
minister who played with me for what seemed like hours when I was a
small child, The Tent Officer at a Christian camp who stayed with
me and listened when I was incredibly homesick instead of going for
a swim. The Crusader Leader who invited me to tea every Sunday
afternoon. These are the folk who I recall (and there have been
many others on my faith journey since) who in their Pastoral Care
showed me something of a God who cared so much for me and who laid
down his life for me that I could do no more then respond. And so
although it was never offered in such a way Pastoral Care became
for me a converting ordinance. So it is to this that I finally
turn.
INTENTION
For what is the purpose of the Pastoral Care we offer as a church?
Perhaps it is hospitality and welcome? Then if so it needs to be
thought through. What are the real needs of the community we serve
rather than what we imagine them to be? And what kind of welcome is
it when we hire our premises to community groups or organisations
but have no meaningful contact with them - except to complain when
they've left a window open or haven't paid their dues? One of the
smaller churches in my District was invited to hold their Christmas
Day service in a Residential Home across the road. Afterwards some
of the members reflected that although they had never been asked by
anyone who was wheelchair bound if they could come to worship, the
pews would clearly be a huge problem anyway. So for that reason
alone they removed them and rearranged the church and although it
looks a bit empty at the moment because they can only afford to buy
one chair per week they are getting there - and so incidentally are
a number of residents from across the road and others who have said
"that's the kind of church I want to belong to".
Or perhaps the intention is to build a bridge between the church
and the community? Well it can be done in small as well as great
ways. Across the road from where I live is a large and somewhat
forbidding Anglican church where until recently not only the door
of the church was locked but the gate to the door of the church was
locked as well! But the new vicar had other ideas and decided to
open the building each day much to the consternation of some of the
congregation! Within a few days a young lady who was seeking some
rest and quiet in her busy life, an older lady hoping she might
find someone to talk to about her desperate situation and a Muslim
who couldn't get to the Mosque came to pray in the church instead.
And when the Vicar wasn't there - which was usually the case - he
was amazed at how many candles had been lit and how many requests
for prayer had been made. And yet as a general rule we keep our
buildings resolutely locked and our fire-extinguishers at the ready
and thus fail to make the two ends of the bridge connect.
Or perhaps unashamedly our Pastoral Care has the desired outcome of
making disciples. Then we should persevere! For it is sometimes
supposed that mission in this narrow sense and pastoral care are
mutually exclusive. Not so. For as Anne Morisy helpfully comments:
"Mission as experienced (for example) through fresh expressions and
Mission Shaped Church is inclined to major on the message of good
news, of reassurance that our persistent futility and inability to
do good is not the final word because Jesus has made us right with
God. But there is also the pastoral task of "saving us from
ourselves" that is helping people to explore how to live when
informed by the pointers that Jesus gives from his life and
teaching. When people are bothered and bewildered mission and
pastoral care need to be closely interwoven because when they work
together it becomes possible not just to proclaim hope but to enact
hope.
Furthermore as Martyn Atkins reminds us in his book on Discipleship
our Methodist theology is rooted in the understanding that "You
can't do it on your own". He quotes Wesley: "A Methodist Society is
a company of men and women united in order to pray together, to
receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in
love, that they may help each other to work our their salvation"
and he comments: "Whatever being a disciple of Jesus means for
Methodists it includes other people to whom we belong".
Another of the smaller churches in my District had been
distributing invitation cards for their Christmas services for
years. They had had no response and were on the point of giving up
but last year was different. For a lady came to the church who had
never been before. She told me she had received these invitations
year by year and she was really grateful but had only plucked up
courage to come because her friend said she would come with her.
She spoke of how she had been in Newcastle and a member of the
Healing on The Streets team - seeing her looking troubled - asked
if she could pray for her and did. "She told me that God loved me
very much - I'd never heard that before". And then at the Carol
service where evangelistic booklets were available for anyone to
take based around the film "It's a wonderful life" guess what her
favourite film was! She didn't take a booklet - she read it in the
foyer there and then and has been coming to worship from time to
time since. Perseverance - Risk taking - Ways in for people to
Church and to Faith.
It is to do with intention. Someone once said I would make a great
Superintendent because I was super at intending to do things but
never quite got round to it! I know churches like that too! What's
your intention and where is its fulfilment?
So during this coming year I invite the people called Methodists to
reflect and to act if we have become unbalanced by our neglect of
Pastoral Care. Unbalanced in our welcome at the front door of the
church and in our watching at the back door. Unbalanced in not
seeing the potential for every conversation, visit, email, phone
call and letter to be a pastoral and grace-filled moment that
builds up and does not destroy. Unbalanced in supposing that
worship or mission can operate in watertight compartments and that
pastoral care is just an add-on for those who like or need that
kind of thing. And unbalanced if all this seems like just another
demand for over-worked people rather than as a response to grace
and at the very heart of what it means to be disciples of
Jesus.
In his first letter Peter very simply reminds us: "God cares for
you" and in generous response to such a God as this we are
commissioned with the same message and the same task.