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	Letter to a Living Church
Circuit Future	Mission Areas	Earlier Letters

Sheep and Goats

(based on Matthew 25: 31-46)

[Editor’s note: The following words were written by Rev. Philip Berry for one
particular church but perhaps the messages apply to your church too.]

Sleepless nights

I have not been sleeping well lately. So the nights have given me a few extra hours for thinking about what I wanted to say in my sermon. I was faced with speaking about the Last Judgement and it filled me with horror and dread. I thought I would swap it for something else. They won’t mind at church, I thought, if the Last Judgement gets delayed. But my sleepy thoughts wouldn’t allow it.

This state of affairs, I expect, was partly fuelled by watching the episodes of Downton Abbey, which my wife and I had recorded and recently watched in stages whenever we had our tea. The story is of an aristocratic family and their servants whose way of life is challenged at the beginning of the 20th century, and then fundamentally changed through the experiences, turmoil and upheavals of the Great War. A way of life with its manners, customs and class divisions, with its benevolence on the one hand and accepting subservience on the other - well it was a way of life that most people had presumed would just continue for ever and ever. Sometimes the situation in the church is not that far removed.

Indeed the real cause of my lack of sleep was my anxiety and concern for our church. We have some good times here; often there is a real buzz and the commitment, dedication and talents of everyone are remarkable. But only someone blind to the age profile of our congregation could fail to ask how long our way of life here is sustainable. I always thought of myself as young. But just about the first question I got when I took over in September as Minister of Mow Cop was: How many grandchildren have you got? As is frequently said, we are all getting older.

The Last Judgement in Matthew 25

I want to talk about our future. While I am concerned, I have to say I am not disheartened. No-one was more surprised than I to find in Jesus’ allegory of the Last Judgement a real source of hope and direction. Sometime soon the word of judgement on our church here will come. God will either say: we are approaching the final chapters and this church will close. Or he will say, I have not finished yet and I will renew my people.

Please don’t think that the Last Judgement is simply about picking up your admission ticket to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus had far more pressing things on his mind when he introduced the subject.

The bit about the Last Judgement comes near the end of the Gospel. Jesus knows the crucifixion is just round the corner and he is preparing the disciples for the fact that the way of life they have known with him is going to change suddenly and drastically. This and what follows will be the critical moment in their lives, so Jesus paints this vivid picture to challenge, encourage and prepare his disciples.

Very often judgement is something we bring on ourselves by the way we act and live. Jesus acted in a way that frightened the living daylights out of the political and religious authorities. So judgement was given: Crucify him. But, ironically, a Roman soldier will speak a different judgement - God’s - at the cross: truly this man was the Son of God. It is what led this Roman soldier to this remarkable conclusion that must now inspire Jesus’ disciples.

Well, in his picture of the Last Judgement the Son of man (Jesus) comes in his glory and sits on his throne. All the nations gather in front of him and he divides them into the sheep and the goats. Matthew has a kind of strange take on the crucifixion. It’s the moment not so much of Jesus’ humiliation but when he is glorified. He did not come to live a privileged Downton Abbey kind of existence, but to identify with the poor, the outcast, the little people, the least, the rejected. From the outside it looked an appalling humiliation. But from the inside, well this is where Jesus identified with the outcast in the name of the Father like nowhere else. And for Matthew there’s more than a touch of glory there.

But what Jesus is interested in is: can my followers see that?

Sheep and Goats

Well, the Son of Man divides them into the sheep and the goats. In Jesus’ day the shepherd would let the sheep and the goats graze together under his watchful eye. Then, before it got dark, he would divide them into the two groups. The goats were more sensitive to the cold and they needed to huddle together for warmth in the fold. The sheep could stay outside.

The big question is whether we end up as sheep or goats. Now you may have a particularly soft spot for goats, and you may not care much for sheep, but in Biblical times sheep were worth a lot more than goats. If you were a goat you didn’t quite cut it. We may choose to be goats. We may decide to gather together in a holy huddle, keep warm for as long as we can. Remain comfortable for as long as it lasts while the world continues its inexorable change all around us. Or we can be sheep who actually believe the Good Shepherd is calling us not just to be beside still waters but to be back on a new path.

A new path for our Church

And it’s a new path I would like to see us focus on. This is a path for sheep, not goats. I am speaking today on the last Sunday of the year - the Christian year, that is. A new year begins next week with Advent Sunday. This year has to count. We have tried to encourage people to come to church. Back to Church Sunday was fruitful at first but has become less so. The latest Alpha Course at church attracted no-one new from outside and had to be cancelled due to lack of interest. Maybe God is saying something to us there.

A special week

In my sleepless nights the thought came to me that we might have a week in May or June when we would invite people to come along on one night in the week. And we would do exactly the same thing for each of 5 or 6 nights. So no-one could say: I’m sorry, but I’m busy on Tuesday. People would come on the night that suited them best. We would have a meal and we would talk about and share what faith means in a changing climate. We would invite along ourselves, but also those who are wavering in their faith, doubting, uncertain, but who value their connection with the church and who are not yet prepared to throw out the baby with the bath water: who still think there might be something in this thing we call God.

Such a week would neither be the beginning nor the end. It would need planning; it would need prayer; and it would take an awful lot of sheep to make it work. And we would have to think through how it would change us and how we would embrace and welcome new people, and new ways. [That Downton Abbey programme must have had more effect on me than I thought!]

Making the year count

We would need to use this new year. IN ADVENT, the time leading up to Christmas, we celebrate, we enjoy our faith, enjoy one another, revel in the good news that God has come to us in Christ.
It’s a time when we demand something of each other:

O come all ye faithful!

It’s a time when we expect something of God:

O come, o come, Immanuel and ransom captive Israel

Traditionally Advent has been a time of prayer. Let’s make it that. Not just at church, but personally. Pray for one another, the church stewards, the choir, those who are ill, the housebound, young families. Pray for the activities that go on during the week. Pray that Christ may be born anew in each one of us.

Then FROM JANUARY we need to plan. What will we do in those 6 days in June precisely? And how will we follow it up? Who will we visit? Who will we pray for? Where is God leading us? We can’t just leave it to a couple of flyers and a line in the Church Notices.

Maybe a few house groups will get started, some in the day, some at night. People will open their homes. Maybe there will be an unexpected stirring, something that we hadn’t anticipated and planned for.

DURING LENT AND EASTER we shall need to recapture and think through afresh that vision we have of the Christian Gospel - of a Christ who identifies with even the least of us. Jesus staked his life on nothing less than the character of God. It affected the way he saw the world, saw people, saw the future. And it changed some lives completely upside down. Do not underestimate the power of the Christian vision. Nor the presence of the Risen Lord.

Then PRIOR TO THOSE 6 DAYS IN MAY OR JUNE we may need to begin putting our plans into practice - open our homes to neighbours and friends, visit those whom we have prayed for, write letters, open up conversations over a cup of coffee, put ourselves in uncomfortable positions. Tell people we have this special week coming up and no matter where they stand in terms of their faith we would love them to come and share with us.

The Purpose

This is not simply about putting bums on seats. It is about becoming a movement, in which we too stake our lives, our futures, on the character of God. And there will be a significant role for every one of us.

We can choose the more comfortable option of being a goat. You can tell goats because they enjoy 'butting':

But I am too old.
But I am too tired
But it’s the wrong time.
But I have something else to do
But I am going to leave this to someone else.

That is why Jesus encouraged those who wondered whether they had anything to offer, to believe that it was precisely in their lives that he could be found. And that when they reached out he would be there:

When I was hungry, you gave me food; when thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger you took me into your home; when naked you clothed me; when I was ill you came to help; when in prison you visited me... Anything you did for one of my brothers here, however insignificant, you did for me.

We stand or fall on whether we stake our lives and futures on the character of God. Jesus saw him as the Good Shepherd. There is no disgrace in choosing to be a sheep. The judgement, at the end of the day, on us, on our church, may neither be the one we expect or fear, nor the one that society with its trends and atheistic leanings would expect either. Whether it’s for Jesus at the cross or for our church tomorrow, it is God’s judgement that counts.

So what are you and I going to be this next year? Sheep or goats?

Philip,
(Sunday, 20th November, 2011)

Texans Visit Mow Cop

Mow Cop Methodist Church was recently visited by fellow Methodists from Chapelwood, Houston, Texas, USA, who were invited to take the service. The American visitors were over here on a 10 day Methodist pilgrimage and stopped off at Mow Cop to learn of the part this significant site took in Methodist Heritage.

Worship began at 10:30am, with Pastor Bob Johnson preaching on the passage covering the story of David and Goliath. Peter Johns, a native Brit, provided the music, which included hymns familiar to both parties. Each member of the party received a gift of a cross made by Mary, Mow Cop’s most senior member and a good time was had by all. Following the service, the visitors were given a tour of the church and a brief history of Primitive Methodism by Rev. Stephen Hatcher, director of Englesea Brook Chapel and Museum, after which a buffet lunch was enjoyed by the congregation and guests.

Vicki Shone

(See background information on Primitive Methodism at Mow Cop)

The Future of Mow Cop, Biddulph & Congleton Circuit
Context for 'Letters to a Living Church'

Review of Circuit's Future
27^th March 2010

On 27th March, members of all the churches in Mow Cop, Biddulph and Congleton Circuit were invited to attend a day-long Circuit Meeting to review the future of our Circuit and its churches. The Circuit Leadership Team met following that meeting and expressed their appreciation at the response by the Circuit to that important event. The attendance of over 100, representing all our Churches, was attentive to the presentation and much positive discussion ensued.

At the following Circuit Meeting, on June 24th 2010 (see report in next column), the Leadership Team went on to propose that, with effect from September 2011, we reduce the number of Ministers in the Circuit from four to three. Too many Church Councils have reported serious financial concerns and the reality is that while we would like to have four we simply cannot afford it.

Inevitably this will have all kinds of knock-on effects. We cannot run everything the way we have in the past. And why should we? This is going to be an interesting time as we think and pray through where we think God is leading us. There is no blueprint to be imposed from on high, but there is an onus on all of us to listen carefully to the promptings of the Spirit.

> Does your church have good
congregations?
This is no time to rest on your laurels.

> Do you have money in the bank?
Remember, it is for the work of God’s
kingdom.

> Do you have fine buildings?
They will be of limited use unless we
actively engage in mission.

We have encouraged some churches who are geographically close to each other to think things through together. But there is no church in the Circuit that is exempt. We will all have major adjustments to make.

Some will think: ‘they are just interested in closing places down'. 'Some will close; others will survive', those people will say. That is the wrong way to look at it.

Changing Ministers,
Losing Churches
24^th June 2010

A number of important decisions were made at the Mow Cop, Biddulph and Congleton Circuit Review Meeting. We agreed that:

* As Biddulph Park (sadly) seek a transfer to the Burslem Mission Circuit, that they would go with our blessing.

* From September 2011 the complement of Ministers in the Circuit as it stands today would be reduced from four to three. This is largely as a result of financial pressures that have emerged as significant in the last year.

* Rev. John Fisher would be invited to remain in the Circuit for a period of up to another three years from September 2011.

* Congleton Edge would close with a final service on October 17^th, 2010.

* Avril Waghorn would be appointed Mission-Area Project Co-ordinator.

* We would make a warm response to the request of the Middlewich Circuit to join us (one minister and four churches). We expected this would be from September 2011. It was agreed that a fuller proposal would be made to both Meetings of both Circuits in September 2010.

* Pastoral Oversight for from Sep. 2010 until Aug. 2011 would be:

Philip Berry – Trinity, Congleton Edge, Davenport, Brookhouse Green, Biddulph Park

Pam Butler – Wellspring, Lower Withington, Cloud, Key Green, Rood Lane

John Fisher – Biddulph, New Road, Hill Top, Lask Edge, Brown Lees

Jane Harris – Harriseahead, Bosley, Mow Cop, Special Project

The reality is that we want the mission of Christ amongst the Methodist people of this Circuit to continue and thrive. And we have to find the best ways to make that happen.

And to do that we are going to need prayer – lots of it. We need everyone on board too, not just a few. If we lose anyone in this process we shall be diminished and impoverished. Some people will say ‘they are too stubborn; they will never change’. Maybe God will spring more than a few surprises.

Circuit Merger Agreed

A paper regarding the merger of the Middlewich Circuit and the Mow Cop, Biddulph & Congleton Circuit, was accepted unanimously. Points were noted to discuss with Middlewich. Midddlewich subsequently agreed unanimously to the proposals. Thus, the merger could go ahead.

On June 15th 2011, at a joint meeting of circuits, final, detailed decisions were made, e.g. appointment of Circuit officers.

On September 4th 2011, we held a Circuit Service to celebrate the new Circuit. The preacher was Ruth Pickles, Vice President of Methodist Conference.

The new Circuit is called
The Dane and Trent Methodist Circuit

Mission Areas within our Circuit

By September 2011, Mow Cop, Biddulph and Congleton Circuit was forced to lose a Minister. Trying to maintain everything as it had been would be impossible and so the Circuit is trying to be as creative as possible. We need to have all our churches moving forward with a clear sense of mission, faith and purpose. Very often we have resources, experiences and occasions that we can share with one another. So all churches are agreed to work together in 'Mission Areas' which are composed of neighbouring churches, to see what they can do together. In some cases this may lead to churches uniting completely.

Prior to the merger with Middlewich Circuit, the Mission Areas were defined to be:
Congleton: Trinity, Wellspring, Rood Lane & Brookhouse Green
Biddulph: Biddulph, Brown Lees, Harriseahead & Mow Cop
Cloudside: Bosley, Cloud & Key Green
Biddulph Moor: Hill Top, New Road & Lask Edge
Holmes Chapel: Lower Withington & Davenport

We are encouraging both individual churches and mission areas to work out their programmes of mission for the next three years. The Circuit Leadership Team has recommended the following guidelines:

That we pray, and act faithfully to the Gospel of Christ

That,in order to avoid making our worship and mission ineffective, we reduce the number of congregations by closing some and amalgamating others

That we ask all churches to develop a clear understanding of their role and mission, and where possible to work together.

That where there are long-standing resentments, fears and other blocks to mission, we look for reconciliation, forgiveness and grace.

That we look for people from a variety of churches who can offer a few hours a week to work voluntarily by assisting Ministers in their pastoral work.

That we make creative use of ‘Local Arrangements’ and look to develop the use of Worship Leaders who can both assist in services where there is a preacher and lead ‘Local Arrangements’.

Footnote 1) Brown Lees agreed to close from 31.8.2011. From then onwards, churchgoers have been invited to attend Biddulph Methodist Church.

Footnote 2) Churches in the Holmes Chapel Mission Area may combine with the Middlewich Circuit to form a single Mission Area, following the Circuit merger in September 2011