Rev
Harvey Richardson
is now Superintendent Minister in the Croydon
Circuit.
Towards the New London District
Letter from the previous District Chairman
My dear Friends
Moving On
It's a great privilege for me to be able to send this message to the churches of the District, albeit for the last time as District Chair since I am soon (at the end of August) to move to the Croydon Circuit, as the superintendent minister.
Changes & Challenges
My time as District Chair over the past six years has seen remarkable changes and huge challenges for all of us within the life of the Church.
A Loving God?
It seems to me that by far the greatest challenge we have had to face - and still face with increasing intensity - is the growing onslaught upon our faith, questioning the very credibility or even the possibility of putting one's faith in a loving God. There are huge pressures which seem to be mounting by the minute, bringing into question the very essence of whether or not human beings can believe in God anymore.
Who can we blame?
It is quite astonishing to think that in the past few years there has been the excruciating horror of 9/11, the outbreak of war in Iraq, the appalling devastation of famine and civil war in the Dafur region of the Sudan, the pandemic proportions of HIV/AIDS, the unimaginable suffering from the Tsunami (and now a further earthquake in the same region), the huge issue of the pollution of the earth and its resources, and so much else. Were we surprised to find a commentator in The Times, immediately after the Tsunami had struck, writing: "Who is there left to blame, now that we don't believe in God anymore?"
Fireman?
As I reflect on all this, the thing that seems to trouble me the most is the fact that during my years in office as District Chair these issues of monumental significance, with their huge implications for our understanding of faith in God, have been dwarfed and side-lined by petty squabbles, disagreements and arguments within the life of the Church. I believe it is no exaggeration to say that I have felt as though I have been acting as a fire-fighter, spending most of my energy trying to put out fires within our Church family life across the District - whether they be structural, personal or moral!
Why should this be? I wonder if it could it be that wrestling with our own internal petty problems and in-fighting saves us from having to face up to the terrors of all that is raging around us and threatening to overwhelm us. Could it really be true that we 21st century men and women really do have a tendency to "fiddle (with our own sense of importance and our obsession with our own power) while Rome burns"?
What if. . . ?
What if our concerns for stemming the tide of decline in the Church are nothing other than a fear of losing our influence and presence in the community?
What if our obsession with all things ecumenical is an
unwillingness to face up to the challenges of spiritualities and faith-systems
outside of Christianity, not least
Islam? What if all our worries about
the London Regional District and the South-East District are really nothing
more than a massive psychological fear of change?
What if our struggles with sexuality in the Church are little more than a reflection of our own sense of inadequacy as sexual persons?
Into the world
In these remaining months before leaving the role of Chair, I would like to suggest that the Gospel of Christ compels us into the world with all its terrors, contradictions and challenges, its earthquakes, threats and opportunities, just as St Paul hints in 2 Corinthians 5:14 when he explains that "the love of Christ constrains us, because we are convinced that one has died for all."
It seems to me that the only way we, as the believing community, can faithfully bear witness to the presence of God in today's world is by entering fully into it, and not allowing ourselves to be distracted by small matters which so easily become like huge phantoms. We are called to feel for the world we inhabit, by entering into "Making Poverty History" and following as closely as possible the G8 Summit in prayer and commitment, as well as giving generously to aid efforts, etc.
Bonhoeffer's 60th
I am writing these words just after Easter, close to the 60th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's death. His words still ring true: "To be a Christian does not mean to be religious in a particular way, to make something of oneself (a sinner, a penitent, or a saint) on the basis of some method or other, but to be a person - not a type of person, but the person that Christ creates in us. It is not the religious act that makes the Christian, but participation in the sufferings of God in the secular life." (Letters and Papers from Prison, 18 July 1944.)
Live in Christ
The Gospel of the Resurrection became the Good News of Easter only because all the pain, ugliness and terror of the world were confronted head-on on Good Friday. If we persist in avoiding the real issues of life and death in today's world - fiddling while Rome burns - it will be hardly surprising if people lose track of God. Let us seek to be true participators in Christ, and become known as those who confront the world without fear and with love.
"You rock of strength and power and certitude,
You rock higher than all the waters of chaos,
You shelter safer than all threats,
You dwelling place in all generations,
You who goes before us and is rear guard after
us,
We hide ourselves in you.
Let us follow your Easter way,
That
the world shrivelled in deathliness
May turn to joy and to newness.
We gladly claim, Christ is Risen
And the congregation answers `He is risen indeed! ' Amen"
(Quoted from Walter Brueggemann "Inscribing the Text",
p.175 "On 9/11:
One Year Later")
With Christian greetings to you all,
Harvey Richardson
Spring 2005
Copyright (c) Rev. M. Williams