Pioneer
Curates Blog!
I was asked recently – what is a Pioneer Curate and what is Fresh
Expressions – two very good questions! So, I thought I would aim to try and
clarify this through my blog!
Sooooooo, in a nut shell:
The background:
The Church of England is looking to ordain missionaries to England
and the Western world. They are doing this as the Western world is largely
seeing decreasing numbers attending their traditional church services on Sunday
mornings.
Fresh Expressions … Of Church?
The term Fresh Expressions of Church was coined in the 2004 church
report: Mission Shaped Church. It stands for ways of ‘doing and being church’ that
reach out to those who are not and will not be attending church in the near
future. It means doing church in a fresh way. (Not implying that other ways are
stale) It’s hope is to remove barriers for the many who have come to struggle
even beginning to comprehend what we do on a Sunday morning let alone engage
with it. It is different from a missionary outreach as it aims to become a
‘mature’ expression of church with baptisms, communion and all the other things
that make a mature church. *
Pioneer Curate/Vicar/Minister
A Pioneer … is someone ordained by their denomination (this is an
ecumenical movement) to seek out ways of planting Fresh Expressions of Church.
There is clearly a spectrum of Pioneers, some of which are more focussed on
working with church as it stands and doing more traditional mission, to those
who want to go and do crazy whacky things, and some of whom are happy doing
both …
This is where I come in: I am of the breed that loves church the
way it is but sees the potential for it existing in many different shapes. My
particular interest is in planting churches in theatres – which I have talked
about before, will talk about more and enjoy doing every Tuesday night!
This is why my chosen path of training was to embrace the offer of
doing 50% pioneer training and 50% inherited ministry – I love them both and am
very excited and seeing both being blessed by God.
NB:
As Bishop Peter wisely pointed out recently, that all
Priests/Vicars/Curates are going to need to be pioneers in certain elements in
the future. It is equally true that most Pioneers will also need to have some
element of embracing and understanding more traditional ministry. How that
works out in the detail is being wrestled with even as I type!
As many of you have also become aware, as term has begun, an
exciting proposition has been put to St Mark’s to work with another church in
the city centre. Hennie has been asked to become Priest-in-charge of this
potential new parish taking a small amount of her time to care for this
fledgling venture.
The hope is that there would also be a pioneering element to this
work and that part of my training will include getting involved in this city
centre ministry. The detail of this has yet to be fully processed but we have
been told that if this project goes through St Mark’s would also have another
curate this coming June.
So, as you can see, there are exciting things a foot in the Church
of England and God is doing great things to see people come to know him and
join his Church. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated in this time.
Yours in Him,
Revd. Jonathan Phillips
* There is a lot of debate on this but a very good summary can be
found on the Fresh Expressions of Church website!
