Mission listening

If mission begins with listening, then I have to take account of hearing people in Grimsby saying four things again and again. They think Christians teach unbelievable things from the beginning of the Bible, they think it is much harder to accept a God who allows awful things to happen than to accept the supernatural, and they think Christians are ‘holier than thou’. Of course, not everyone thinks these things. But almost all of the comments I note down fit into one of those four categories. What remains is for me to make proper use of this listening.

I did once have an abortive attempt to do this by offering a not-Alpha course which simply used the four categories, and we may try to do so again next Lent. The syllabus wouldn’t really be much different from exploring what we believe about the Bible, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the church:

You can’t believe in Adam and Eve or Noah’s ark can you?
If God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world?
Why don’t churches talk more about things like ghosts?
I live a good life: aren’t Christians simply hypocrites?

I did also once seek to construct a very traditional form of Evening Prayer which nevertheless aimed at speaking to those needs. Again, I may have another go at seeking this flavour for the alternative worship in the parish which we are just beginning to plan. The shape to the liturgy wasn’t anything other than Gathering, Word, Prayers and Dismissal:

Waiting in the darkness; welcoming the light.
Some people do not expect the church to
meet the spiritual realities of which they are aware;
yet the evening prayer of the church traditionally
begins with light breaking through the gathering darkness.

Attending to the scriptures; applying them to life.
Some people do not expect the church to
say things which are relevant and true;
yet the evening prayer of the church traditionally
has wrestling with the Bible at its centre.

Giving voice to Mary’s song; joining in Jesus prayer.
Some people do not expect the church to
help them with the stumbling block of suffering in the world;
yet the evening prayer of the church traditionally
calls out to God in Jesus’ suffering for justice and peace.

Receiving God’s blessing; going out in God’s strength.
Some people do not expect the church to
contain people who try to live as Jesus’ taught;
yet the evening prayer of the church traditionally
ends by sending us out to follow in his way.

The picture comes from the mini Flower Festival which was part of the Summer Fair at St Nicolas’, Great Coates last month. Some of the displays followed the liturgical colours, and green (which is used for the largest proportion of the year) was simply labelled as being about opportunities for growth.