Vicar’s Blog May 25

There is a new thing happening

Last week I took some time to retreat with a few of my accountability group, as I am now in the south and they are in Yorkshire, we gathered in a B&B in Stratford-upon-Avon. We ate good food and introduced one of our friends to the Royal Shakespeare Company, going to a very bloody version of Titus Andronicus, prayed in the chapel at Holy Trinity Church, by the bible that Shakespeare read from at the same Church, and drank good coffee. However, what was the best part was checking in and sharing the highs and lows of ministry. Just for 48 hours but refreshing from Holy Week. However, I found Holy Week one of the best life-giving weeks of my ministry life! From home communions and faithful members of our Church family sharing worship and life, telling the Easter story at our Easter trail, the creativity of Maundy Thursday evening, and travelling to the cross together to the celebration and packed Church on Easter Sunday! It was joyful just as Stratford was joyful!

I sense a season of Joy building and flowing out. Over Easter, churches across the UK shared growing numbers coming, and that same week the bible society released this report!

https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/research/quiet-revival

We are seeing this here in Liskeard! I met with an 18-year-old recently who comes to our 9.15 and he said one morning he woke and thought “I want to try Church”. He loves the tradition and words, and quietness. Just as the report tells us! What I see that is happening here and across the UK is people’s hearts changing and wanting something new in their lives, and as the bible society says, a quiet revival. The best thing about a quiet one is that it gives space for us to do it differently, and I believe this is why it’s happening. As every church is different, if you go to Soar or our Sunday congregations, they are different, even going to 9.15 and 11 am is so different, and I believe this is why we seeing people’s hearts change and people connecting because the Church is doing a new thing.

In Isaiah 43:19 it says:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:19 NIV

I believe we are seeing this lived out in our Church family. Seeing Soar grow both men and women, seeing Blaze supper club double in numbers, more care homes wanting us to come and do services. Our 9.15 has grown by 25% recently. What is happening is a quiet revival, maybe…

So, what does this mean for us? Two key things I have been struck by recently.

Firstly, keep going even when things maybe be hard keep going as God is doing something with us all and using us in a community.

Then, secondly what might God be asking of us in doing something different or new, because as we do this, we are going to see more of this quiet revival.

Last year, a new worship song came out from Elevation Church, I invite you to pray these lyrics over our Church and your walk with Jesus and see what he may be saying.

There is revival right here and now

There is a fresh wind and I can hear the sound

Something truly wonderful is happening

There is a difference inside of me

More than a feeling, this is a prophecy

Something really powerful is happening (singing)

… Darkness bow down to the day

Mountains get up out my way

Breaking out of yesterday

I got a new thing coming

… Tell this giant in my face

You’re not greater than my faith

Best believe me when I say

I got a new thing coming (singing, hey)

I got a new thing coming (I got a new thing)

I got a new thing coming

… There’s an anointing to destroy the yoke

So tell every stronghold you gotta let me go

Something really powerful is happening

There is a freedom that I have never known

Out of the shadows into the overflow

Something really powerful is happening (oh it’s happening)

… Darkness bow down to the day

Mountains get up out my way

Breaking out of yesterday (I got a new thing)

I got a new thing coming

… So, tell this giant in my face

You’re not greater than my faith

Best believe me when I say

I got a new thing coming (I got a new thing)

(Prophesy a new thing) I got a new thing coming

I got a new thing coming

… I can see a cloud heavy with rain

And it looks like revival, it’s headed our way

Oh, I can see a cloud heavy with rain

And it looks like salvation is headed our way

… I can hear a sound, the abundance of rain

And it sounds like freedom and it’s headed our way

I can hear a sound, the abundance of rain

And it sounds like provision is headed our way

… Oh, I can see a cloud, heavy with rain

And it looks like healing is headed our way

Oh, I can see a cloud, and it’s heavy with rain

And it looks like joy, and it’s headed our way

… It’s headed our way (prophesy)

It’s headed our way (it’s headed our way)

It’s headed our way (it’s coming, it’s coming)

It’s headed our way (oh, it’s coming, it’s coming)

It’s headed our way (oh, it’s headed our way)

It’s headed our way (it’s headed our way)

It’s headed our way

… Darkness bow down to the day

Mountains get up out my way

Breaking out of yesterday

(I got a new thing) I got a new thing coming

… Tell this giant in my face

You’re not greater than my faith

Best believe me when I say

I got a new thing coming (I got a new thing)

I got a new thing coming (Something to great)

I got a new thing coming (I got a new thing coming)

… I got that new mind

New heart, fresh faith

I got that new wine, now word

I got a new thing coming

… I got that new mind

New heart, fresh faith

I got that new wine, now word

(Come on, and step into it) I got a new thing coming

… I got that new mind

New heart, fresh faith

I got that new wine, now word

I got a new thing coming

… I got that new mind

New heart, fresh faith

I got that new wine, now word

I got a new thing coming

… I got a new thing coming

(I got a new thing) I got a new thing coming

(Prophesy) I got a new thing coming

(I got a new thing) I got a new thing coming

I got a new thing coming

… Oh, I can see a cloud, heavy with rain

And it looks like revival is headed our way

I can see a cloud, heavy with rain

And it looks like salvation is headed our way

… I can hear a sound, the abundance of rain

And it sounds like freedom (freedom), and it’s headed our way

I can hear a sound, the abundance of rain

And it sounds like provision is headed our way

… It’s headed our way (it’s headed our way)

It’s headed our way (it’s headed our way)

It’s headed our way (headed our way)

It’s headed our way (it’s headed our way)

It’s headed our way (headed our way)

… ‘Cause I can see a cloud, heavy with rain

And it sounds like freedom, and it’s headed our way

I can see a cloud, heavy with rain

And it looks like Jesus He’s headed our way

Songwriters: Steven Furtick / Dominique Jones / Joshua Holiday

For those who love to check a worship video, here is a link to the song.

https://youtu.be/JRRbGCyr2Ac?si=s8trUlp9q7W4MZjq

God bless

Rev Mark

Apcm and Vision for next year

This month, two blogs! We celebrated our APCM and we elected our new pcc See our elected PCC here:

Mick Chandler

Ian Thompson

Lynette Rule

David Leswell

Tony Piper

Jo Wiltshire

Mark Allen

Janet Martin

Greg Winders

Liam Crabtree

Niall Dunne

We celebrated all that had happened over the last year, and the things we need to put in place. Following our theme of my Easter message we have a hope to share and the following is what I shared with those at APCM; my hopes for the year ahead and my commission to our pcc for the year ahead. Please read and pray and think how you can be part of shaping and forming our culture that is centred on the hope of Jesus and His people he has called us to serve.

Apcm Vision for the Next Year

This evening, we started with these words from Isaiah 61:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

These are powerful words that I believe, and hope will shape our year ahead. We shall be asking our PCC three important questions in the next 12 months:

How are these decisions impacting people, not projects
How might this connect to our wider community?
How is this community being the Church?

Over the next 12 months, as we respond to the parish profile and what you asked for, not only for your vicar but as a benefice and Church, and growing worship communities. I believe you have asked for three key things, which again, as a PCC, we shall keep coming back to:

Firstly, we grow and support each other as a wider Benefice, resourcing, serving and equipping each other. We know this is already happening in your pastoral visiting, safeguarding and family work, and supported in worship. One of the key things we set up is a Benefice leadership team a place to share together, find support, and serve together.

Secondly, It’s not all about Sunday. We celebrate how we gather in worship on a Sunday, but also, we celebrate our worship community that meets in the week. SOAR men is the Church, they sing, look at scripture, and pray together, as I told the leaders, they are doing a legal church of England service. Soar women grow, Wednesday communion is Church, the vision of Blaze supper club is that it will become a worship community. For some, they will come on a Sunday. Chatting to one of the SOAR lads on Sunday, who said “St Martins is my Church, I want to be here even if I am not living in Liskeard anymore, I can’t keep away”. Our vision has to be to celebrate our differences. That is what excites me about our vision and the Church is that we are also so different. The services at 9.15am, 11am and 6pm on Sunday are each different and meet in a different way of worship. Soar Men and Women are different and meet differently, and going into our care homes is different. Going into our Schools is different. So, a challenge for the PCC and us as a Church body is not thinking if we start these new things they will start to come on Sunday, but to celebrate the different, but know we are united as one, however we are meeting and where we are meeting. Why? Because we are one body and one Church. I came here because of the difference and willingness to be different and celebrate the different. So that is what we going to be doing.

Thirdly, and finally, and fresh from practicing the way my headline and spoiler for this Sunday’s final sermon. Our focus is on discipleship. This must be our focus in whatever worship community we might be in, and Jesus modelled these three important elements of Discipleship:

Worship in the bigger community, be part of it. What is your worship community, your Church? The bigger community you are part of.
The group: who are the group of people you are doing life with? Who are those people you walk with sharing in the highs and lows of life and in following Jesus together, sharing food and life.
The few who you are walking alongside. Who are you accountable to? Who can speak praise and challenge to you?

This is what Jesus modelled, and if we are going to grow and focus on discipleship in this next year we need to know where you are as an individual and how are connecting in these three ways. Whatever your role and whatever your community we all need to have these in place at a certain level. When we have these in place this enables us to do what God is asking of us. If you want a headline of what we are called to do in our vision it is simply:

People, not projects.

We celebrate the projects and groups we do. The reason it’s called a ‘hall project’ is that the Hall is about people. So that is my challenge to myself as leader, as chair of our PCC, as a disciple of Christ called to Liskeard is that we are called to serve people. Why? Because we are the people of God as we heard from those words from Isaiah we are called to go and proclaim the good news to the broken-hearted.

Are you in?

God Bless

Mark

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