Dear Friends,
As you read this, our Schools will be breaking up for Easter, and I will have done a number of Easter services, yet we still have two weeks of Lent to go! How do you come into to these final few weeks of lent? Has it been a calm and reflective season, or has it been loud and busy? This year, the Church of England Easter focus has been coming into the hope of Jesus. It is a key word as we look at the Easter message, it is a story and an invitation of hope.
What brings you hope?
What is your Hope for Easter?
Last week my wife and I binge-watched Adolescence on Netflix, it tells the story of a young girl being killed by her classmate- a young male. In looking at the toxic masculinity culture our young people are living in, and the dark culture we live in, we found it heartbreaking, and it brings us so much fear in bringing three children up as teenagers in the next 10 years. Yet there is hope. Hope that culture can change, hope that our young people can change, the hope of Jesus. In the mess of our culture, there is also so much hope.
Stats are showing that most under 25s are spiritual and are seeking to know that there is more to life. Recently, I heard a stat from Alpha who have seen a 300% increase in people doing Alpha, and most are under 30. Why? Because they want to know the hope of Jesus! They want to know that there is more to life. The cross reminds us that we are forgiven, the empty tomb reminds us that Jesus beat death and came back to us with a promise of hope and eternal life and lives in us today.
Over these next few weeks, we have different opportunities to celebrate this hope of Jesus. In these time of waiting and celebration I have two challenges for you.
- How are you going to live out and celebrate the hope of Jesus?
- How might you share this hope with someone who might be struggling and needs to hear this hope?
I look forward to celebrating with you over Holy Week; from Easter parties, Maundy Thursday shared meal, Good Friday service and walk of witness to the joy of Easter Sunday morning. This year we start early at 6.30 am for communion, singing and praying together in castle park as we pray blessing and joy over the town. May Easter be a season of joy and hope. Jesus said these words:
“He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:46-47, 49 NIV
God bless
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
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