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Bishops' call to 'come as you are' this Sunday

21 September 2009

 

Church isn’t just for the ‘suited and booted’, argue CofE bishops

 

‘Back to Church Sunday’ takes place this weekend, with thousands of people set to return to churches of all denominations following a personal invitation from a friend. Church of England bishops are embarking on a week-long drive to get their message of ‘open invitation’ across, prompting some bishops to speak out about the need for the Church to shed it’s ‘middle class’ image.

The Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, has spoken out about the need for the Church to be truly welcoming: “Even today I meet people who think you have to be highly educated or suited and booted to be a person who goes to church. That’s so frustrating. How did it come to this, that we have become known as just the Marks and Spencer option when in our heart of hearts we know that Jesus would just as likely be in the queue at Asda or Aldi?

“Jesus got us started with church simply. Like this: sitting us down in groups on the grass and telling simple stories. Not simplistic. But certainly not complicated. All his first disciples were down-to-earth people who wanted to know what life was all about.

“I wish I could take everyone round our churches in my area. Places of warmth and honesty. Sanctuaries of deep conversation, of tears and laughter. Not a hobby but a way of life.

“On Back to Church Sunday I’ll be at St Paul’s, Wokingham, welcoming new people to the church and proclaiming a very old and very welcome message, because we bishops can’t say it too much: ‘Church: it’s definitely not about how you look, what you do, how you sound, how well you sing. Just come as you are. Come with a friend. All are welcome. Churches are still where best friends are made. And where people can be just as they are.’”

The bishop’s comments follow the launch of an advert promoting Back to Church Sunday, available to local churches to pay for airing on their local commercial radio station. The 40-second advert features a variety of voices reading a rap-style poem that counsels listeners “You might have left for so many reasons, but am I wrong to sense that now’s the season, to stop, turn around, walk back? Don’t look to make no airs and graces. Faked up smiles and masked up faces. No need to make no innovation. Please accept this as your invitation.”

Bishop Stephen was joined by other bishops up and down England, reinforcing the message of invitation to all this weekend:

  • The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Revd Steven Croft, has published a YouTube invitation, urging people to ‘come as they are’ to church on Sunday, while the Bishop of Doncaster, the Rt Revd Cyril Ashton, and a team of fellow motor cyclists visited a whole host of destinations across South Yorkshire last Friday (18 September) including Doncaster and Rotherham Minsters, to spread the message. Bishop Steven comments: “We have to get past the idea that church is only for a certain kind of person: that you can only come to church in certain clothes or talk in a particular way. The Christian faith has good things for everyone and there are people of every background in our churches. The Church of England is learning to become again the church for the whole nation – poor and rich. We have to learn to speak the language of ordinary people. So everyone is welcome back to church this coming Sunday and any Sunday.”
  • The Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart, will be pedalling around the city and its suburbs this Friday (25 September) to lend his support to churches taking part in Back to Church Sunday. Bishop David will also ringing church bells during his tour to appeal to parishioners to come ‘back to church’.
  • Later today (21 September) a Nottinghamshire bishop, the Rt Revd Tony Porter, will be donning his biking leathers and setting off for Chetwynd Barracks with ex-GB team sidecar racer Tim Bradshaw, who is an officer in the Territorial Army and local clergyman and motorbike enthusiast, the Revd Anthony Giles. Chetwynd Barracks is home to a number of Army units including 49 (East) Brigade, the Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre (RTMC) and 170 (Infrastructure Support) Group Royal Engineers. Bishop Tony, the Bishop of Sherwood, and his fellow bikers will go on a tour of the barracks with Brigade Chaplain the Revd Steven Griffith, and have a chance to chat to soldiers about their work, and their faith, over a coffee.
  • And in Leicestershire, efforts are underway to find out what people think about church and the Christian faith, and what the Church could do to get more people to return. The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens, recently visited a supermarket in Mountsorrel, near Loughborough, to canvass shoppers on these themes and also visited a local café to speak to a group of people who have recently come back to church. The day was captured on video and is available on YouTube. Commenting on his time in Mountsorrel, Bishop Tim said, “It was a real joy to spend time in Mountsorrel. Many people seemed to be receptive to Jesus, but more hesitant about the church.  Over the years many have felt something pushed or pulled them away from church, or that it wasn’t always connecting with their lives.  Back to Church Sunday is a great opportunity to give us another go.”
  • Tomorrow (22 September), in and around Greater Manchester and Merseyside, a special 20ft by 30ft advertising poster will be driven through the streets of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Southport, Liverpool and Warrington, promoting Sunday’s event. The poster will be unveiled by the Bishop of Bolton, the Rt Revd Chris Edmondson, at Bolton parish church tomorrow afternoon.
  • The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill, will be heard on the airwaves of the Black Country, Shropshire and Staffordshire this week, as he makes a direct appeal to listeners to come ‘back to church’ through a specially-produced radio advert.
  • On Friday morning (25 September), the Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Revd Michael Langrish, will greet commuters at Exeter Central railway station with invites back to church, fair-trade chocolate bars, and copies of the Diocese of Exeter’s specially-commissioned magazine, ‘Devon Heaven’.
  • In Yorkshire tomorrow morning (22 September), the Bishop of Knaresborough, the Rt Revd James Bell, will join with members of St Peter’s Church in the centre of Harrogate to hand out invitations to passers by and chat to them about their perceptions of church.
  • Senior clergy from Essex will today (1pm, 21 September) join the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Revd John Gladwin, to spell out the warm welcome awaiting those returning to church this Sunday when they pose with giant letters declaring that everyone is ‘Welcome to Church’, at Margaretting, near Chelmsford.
  • And offshore, the Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Rt Revd Robert Paterson, boarded the footplate of the Isle of Man Railway’s historic loco, Hutchinson, to fire up the Back to Church Sunday Special to Port Erin a couple of weeks ago and launch this year’s event in the diocese.

Backing the initiative, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, says: “The Church’s responsibility to welcome all comers isn’t, of course, restricted to one Sunday in the year! But this Sunday in particular prompts us to do a better job of saying to people that we are truly glad to see newcomers and they always have a right to be part of the family.  I pray that this year's Back to Church Sunday will assure the whole population of this country that they are loved and valued by God - and by those who worship God.”

The Archbishop’s adviser on church growth, Canon Paul Bayes, discusses Back to Church Sunday and the theme of ‘come as you are’ on the latest Church of England podcast.

Up to 16,000 Church of England churches could be taking part in ‘Back to Church Sunday’ across each of the Church’s 44 dioceses, joining congregations from Churches Together in Scotland, the Church in Wales, Baptist, Methodist, United Reformed, Salvation Army and Elim Pentecostal churches nationwide, and Anglican churches in Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Canada. ‘Back to Church Sunday’ began in Manchester in 2004, spread to Wakefield Diocese in 2005, nine dioceses in 2006, 20 in 2007, and 38 in 2008, when an estimated 37,000 people came back.

Research by the Diocese of Lichfield after Back to Church Sunday in 2007 suggested that, six months after the event, between 12-15 per cent of ‘returners’ had become regular members. A further significant proportion were still in touch with their inviting churches, perhaps attending less frequently.