Preacher: Canon Graham
Date: 03/05/2020
John 10.1-10
Jesus says “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
There should be no excuse for any of us in recognising this fabulous piece of scripture! Indeed, it frames for us our Diocesan LIFE vision, where the qualities of Leadership, Imagination, Faith and Engagement are focussed through the lens of all that we do as Christians together.
For me a pastoral man at heart, the image of the Good Shepherd provides the benchmark in terms of my dealing with all of the above. As any Farmer will tell you one of the essentials for being successful is that you need to be resourceful. However one is acutely aware that there can be no short cuts.
Yesterday we listened to a lovely story relayed by my daughter in fits of laughter, where through the lens of imagination my son in law attempted to convince my Grandson of the following. Jack my eldest grandson wants to become Spider man. In his bedroom yesterday he discovered a fairly large spider. His father suggested that he wait in the bedroom very quietly until the Spider comes to bite him, that way the spider will be able to turn him into Spiderman. Jack waited patiently for half an hour (a rare thing for a four year old) of course the spider didn’t come anywhere near. However; Jack was really upset that the spider wouldn’t make him into spider man!
Whatever our Imagination there can be no short cuts, Jesus says…” I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit and certainly not Spiderman”
John goes onto use Jesus’ words to illustrate the way in which the shepherd enters via the gate and becomes the gatekeeper. The role of the shepherd is to know his sheep and the sheep get to know the voice of their shepherd.
This language is rich in pastoral imagery and plays into my lap as someone who has been heavily involved in the farming world both before ordination and since as a Rural officer in the Diocese of Hereford and the Isle of Wight. This picture of shepherding provides us with the backdrop not only for our Diocesan vision, but perhaps our own personal vision of how our aspirations for our church might be. The words of our diocesan vision fill me with encouragement and hope, even more so in our current climate. Indeed I am excited for this parish and all that is being done.
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
These last few weeks have provided all of us with an opportunity to reflect on the church that we are in, and the church that we want to take forward. Our Diocese and Deanery for some considerable time has been reflecting on how we go forward and what resources do we engage and deploy in terms of providing a focus for our ministry. That poignant question “what do we think the church will look like in ten years’ time”?
These questions gather momentum around the four key areas of Leadership, Imagination, Faith and Engagement. As priest and friend to this parish I have the enormous privilege of being granted the role of Leader through my license as the ‘Vicar of Cirencester’. I thank God every day for providing me with the opportunity of working here alongside you. But of course it is not all about me, neither should it be, it has to be about We, all of us together!
In the role of leader I also become gatekeeper as I seek to nurture, encourage and enable others to share in this role of leadership. Within the fold there are others who have expertise, enthusiasm, vision and many skills that I don’t possess. The privilege I and we have of being able to work with and alongside those of our colleagues both lay and ordained who in turn have enabled ‘us’ to become the Vicar that Cirencester needs.
It has been, and continues to be enormously humbling as we collaborate together in sharing our skills set in the four key areas of Leadership, Imagination, Faith and Engagement. At the end of the day I am under no illusion that my name is fixed to the gate and as gatekeeper the ‘buck’ as they describe it sometimes, stops with me. That’s what comes with taking up responsibility, earning respect and I hope operating with integrity. I have been enabled to do this because of the fantastic team of people both lay and ordained who are working here in Cirencester across our three churches. I thank you, each and every one of you for your massive and valued contribution.
As we work together collaboratively we see the various skills sets we possess amongst one another, and within the context of our three congregations, we work out into God’s world as we engage with his mission. My task as ‘gatekeeper’ is to encourage, enthuse and challenge as we all pass back and forth through the gate to the fold; sometimes ministering to each other on the inside, whilst also taking those opportunities to minister to others outside who are not yet in the fold.
This is hugely exciting and none the less in these interesting times. As we engage with the work of the church we have needed to adapt, we have needed to use our imagination, and we have needed to be faithful to the Gospel and to ourselves as we with confidence we step into areas where we have not trod before.
Rosemary spoke earlier in the week about the way in which this enforced time has enabled her and others like her to embrace new technology, and of course there will be other areas as well.
As we reflect together, looking forward immensely to that time when we can gather safely, my hunch is that we won’t want to go back to how we were, but to look forward with real enthusiasm to what we can be, as we continue to be His church in this place.
Through the lens of our LIFE vision, what skills of leadership will you bring back to this sheepfold, let your imagination run wild as you envision new ways of being church post CVD. How can we better enrich and nurture our understanding of faith, and most importantly how are we going to engage with the world around us post CVD?
Jesus said, “I have come that you may life and have it abundantly!” John 10.10