Remembering Who We Are Called to Be
Jackie & Martin Saxby - 11 November 2007
Why we Remember - Jackie
Today is an important day in the life of our nation, a day when we take time out to remember those who have given their lives for others. Those who have died or been injured so that we can live in freedom and peace. A day when we can honour those who have gone before us and made us the nation we are today.
Remembering is important, looking back at where we have come from, why we have taken that route and then looking to where we are heading. It is important to see what God has called us to be and to do and his faithfulness in guiding us along the way. In biblical times people told their children stories of where they came from, what God had done for them and what he had called them to be. They knew who they were and why they were there. They knew their history.
For all these reasons it is good for us from time to time to take time out to remember who we are as a church, what God has called us to do and what he has done for us and to honour those who have gone before us. It is good too to take stock, check if we are we still on the right path and then move forward.
- Martin
St. Matthew’s is a great church to be part of but the last couple of years we have gone through a period of uncertainty, indecision and drift – but that is all changing!
The decision about our relationship with St. Oswald’s has been made, the uncertainty is no longer with us – the time for drifting is past!
We stand at a significant moment in our history.
Now it is time to prepare for new beginnings as the Pastoral Scheme uniting the parishes of St. Matthew’s and St. Oswald’s has been legally signed by the bishop of Coventry and we become the new parish of St Matthew’s and St. Oswald’s on 1 January 2008.
One church, three worship centres (St. Matthew’s, Overslade and St. Oswald’s), four congregations (one each at Overslade and St. Oswald’s, two here at St. Matthew’s).
This morning we are going to remind ourselves where we have come from and then look to the future where God is leading us. As we think about the union with St. Oswald’s we’ll be thinking particularly about God’s purpose for us of Outreach – over the following two weeks we’ll be looking at the other purpose areas of our church, our worship, discipleship, community and service.
First Pauline will read a passage that is foundational to our vision as a church and the development of our mission statement. In both we spell out what “church” should look like and our priority of reaching out to the lost of our community.
Reading – Acts 2:42-27
Highlights of Our History – Jackie
When we joined St Matthew’s at the end of 1990 plans were well under way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of St Matthew’s. Throughout 1991 there were many events and celebrations. We sold commemorative mugs, T shirts, sweatshirts to mark our jubilee. Those who go to New Wine will have seen David Williams still wears his sweat shirt. A Victorian garden party/ fete in the Vicarage garden was a real highlight.
It was a year to remember and celebrate the life and witness of St Matthew’s, which was founded as a church plant from St Andrew’s. Many former members and staff came back to visit during the year and a lot of remembering and thanksgiving took place.
After a year of celebrations and remembering, a new vicar being installed and the prospect of the curate (Richard Cooke) moving on it was time to take stock. The PCC went away to seek God for the way forward, how we as a church should and could build on what had gone before. Out of that came “the call”.
Read bookmark one;
These weren’t new things; God was reminding us of what and who St Matthew’s is. If the life and witness of St Matthew’s was to grow and mature Martin couldn’t do it on his own so the newly formed leadership team began to work towards making this call from God a reality in the life of the church, and in the lives of each individual.
As time went on God began to hone and refine our thinking and strategy as a church. Some things we were better at than others or rather some things we found easier than others. God made it more simple for us and gave Martin the strap line “Living the Life , Sharing the Faith, Building the Body. If we live our life wholly devoted and obedient to God, share what God has done and is doing in our lives with our non Christian friends and family inviting them to join the family, we would then be building the body in numbers, and as we teach everyone to be wholly devoted to God we would be building the body in maturity. Then we would share what God has and is doing etc etc
Read bookmark two.
Alpha started and we started so see more people become Christians or return to their Christian faith, than we had in a long time, and a nurture programme was put into place.
In 1998 Martin had a sabbatical and we anticipated that following that we would move on to pastures new. Whilst we were away God spoke clearly to us and told us that we had no right to consider moving until he told us to! He renewed our love for the people of St Matthew’s reminded us what the church should look like which was the Acts 2 church. He refreshed our vision for what that would look like and we presented it to the church and invited everyone to join us on the adventure:
We were to be a church where people of all ages are welcomed, known and valued. A church that celebrates and weeps with each other though life’s ups and downs and holds one another hands as we walk with God.
A church that loves to worship God in spirit and truth, where different congregations and styles of worship are valued and people are able to worship consistently in an appropriate way.
It was at this point the 10.30am service became a wholly contemporary service and the 4.30pm service was set up for those who liked the more traditional style of worship.
A church that recognises that all people matter to God and therefore should matter to us. A church that takes risks to reach out to our non Christian friends and family and beyond. A church where people would come out of curiosity and find a passion for Jesus:
Following this the monthly seeker services started. More recently we have had the two community action work days, Christmas gift wrapping in town and many other initiatives through the years. The church has then put on non cringe making events to invite people to, including things like the carol service. A number of people from St Matthew’s stand outside St Andrew’s church Friday nights into Saturday morning serving coffee and chatting with clubbers as part of the Refresh initiative.
A church wholeheartedly committed to Christ. Where there is a hunger to learn from the bible and commit to prayer and tithe to the church. Where people have a distinct lifestyle driven by their Christian faith. A concern for justice the environment and the poor.
In 1999 the PCC decided to change the way we gave to mission and adopted Casa Re’OM as our main focus for overseas mission. Over 50% of the money we give away now goes to support the work out in Beira. A big advantage has been that we have been able to send groups of people out to the project so we can get our hands dirty and be more involved rather than just sending a cheque. The group out there at the moment are having a great and challenging time. If you haven’t gone on the web site and read the blogs I’d really encourage you to do so.
A number of people from St Matthew’s help at the Hope 4 soup kitchen and serve on the Hope 4, committee.
We became a fair trade church a couple of years ago. A justice group was set up to look at all the issues of fair trade justice, the environment and the poor.
I am proud to be part of a church that is following God in obedience and taking risks for him. Going back to the group who are in Beira at the moment. Two of them, that I know of, have taken unpaid leave to enable them to go. Others have taken leave from work which means less time to holiday with their families.
Two mums and a dad have left their families to follow God’s call on them to go, and their spouses have supported them and had to change their work patterns to look after the children with other support alongside. Others have gone despite real fears to overcome. When we saw them off at the airport they were excited at the adventure that God was leading them on. Fearful of what was ahead but confident of God’s faithfulness. If we have people like this in our church reliant on God and sure of his call and willing to be obedient we can do anything.
All these things and more are who we are, who God has called us to be. Since 1998 we have been aware that God wants us to fulfil our purpose as a church. As a church to fulfil the purpose he has for those we live among, work with, our friends and family. Also to those who we have been given responsibility for in the parish – those living in New Bilton are you willing to take a risk like those in Beira and follow in the next adventure that God has for us as a church?
Where We Are Going – Martin
Today we stand on the threshold of a new chapter in our history – the uniting of St. Matthew’s and St. Oswald’s.
And it is through God’s leading and because of our heart to serve the local community and our desire for growth that we are at this point.
We have for years considered how to grow the congregation and how to grow our ministry with young people. In recent years, through the 40 Days of Community campaign last year and the Revive week of Community Action last September, we have had our hearts enlarged and our vision has grown for serving our local community.
We originally saw union with St. Oswald’s as an opportunity to grow through the provision of a new building on the site of St. Oswald’s. That is still on our agenda.
But we have a bigger vision now – whether we eventually get the new building or not - we see God leading us to work more within the community of New Bilton. This in itself fulfils our vision of growth and service in the community.
In the long term we still have an architect beavering away and we hope for some new plans at the turn of the year – but with the various constraints of planners, consultations and finance any new building is still years off.
But our commitment to our new parish is now and in the immediate future. We have a great mission opportunity both to demonstrate and declare the love of Jesus.
There will be costs and challenges in our new situation:
- We will have to make some adjustments to our worship patterns, though not our main Sunday morning.
- With David leaving – staffing pressures – Associate Minister hopefully
- More opportunities = more finance
- Getting along in a marriage – any relationship has its difficulties
Together and with the help of God, we can overcome and respond to the challenges that face us.
The Practical Stuff
On the 1 January 2008 we will be part of a new parish called “St. Matthew’s and St. Oswald’s”.
We are in the process now of appointing a new PCC for the new parish and soon the members will be called upon to ratify this.
We shall be appointing 4 Churchwardens – 2 from each church but all having responsibility for the whole parish – this too will come to you for ratification in due course.
There will be a new Vicar – no don’t get your hope up – it will be me! But I will have to have a new institution in the new parish. That will be on Thursday 17 January at 7.30pm in St. Oswald’s – I do hope you will come and squeeze in to make it a packed and special occasion with the Bishop.
Before that, on Sunday 6 January we will be having a special morning service to celebrate the creation of the new parish. There will be services starting at 10.30am here, at Overslade and at St. Oswald’s.
Shortly after the beginning some will walk and some will ride on buses down to St. Oswald’s and outside we will gather – 300 + of us for a public act of worship and witness. A declaration of our commitment to one another and the community.
We have some special items planned for this service – please be sure to be with us – this will be an important day in our history, a day not to miss and that we will never forget. It will be one of those occasions people remember and of which in the future people will say “I was there!”
Our Vision and Mission
Our vision remains the same in these exciting and challenging times:
It is, for us to be a dynamic, vibrant and growing body of believers committed to fulfilling a common purpose. Creating a community of all ages that makes a difference in the lives of its members and the wider community of Rugby. A church that is distinctive and known for its passion for Jesus, for its compassion and concern for the wider community and for its contemporary worship and ethos.
Our longing is to be a church in Rugby where the worship is an intimate encounter with God, Spirit-filled, free and responsive to God’s presence among his people, honouring him. To be a people who are naturally supernatural, ministering to others in the power of the Holy Spirit, seeing people healed and made whole.
Our mission is a bold one – it is to take the raw material of people who do not even know Jesus, and from them to create a vibrant body of believers, living out Jesus’ call on his people on earth.
We have summarised it like this: Our mission is to reach out and turn unchurched people into a community of mature disciples who worship Jesus and serve others.
Call to Commitment
This is the church we are called to be – it is our motivation at St. Matthew’s and Overslade and will be our continuing motivation as we unite with St. Oswald’s.
As we remember where we have come from, it is good to ask ourselves, is this the vision we share, are we prepared to commit ourselves to this vision, to make sacrifices for Christ and the cause of his church in this place?
My hope and prayer as we move into new territory, is that everyone will share the vision and prepare for the new opportunities.
It’s where we have been headed now for a long time, it’s central to our purpose of Outreach – it reflects our past, and it holds the promise of our future.
I believe with all my heart that the local church is the hope of the world. St. Matthew’s with St. Oswald’s is the hope of New Bilton – God is calling us and together we can make a difference in people’s lives.
You have a part to play as a member of St. Matthew’s in God’s purposes for this family here. You have a part to play in making a difference in people’s lives. I want to invite each one of you to renew your commitment as we work together for the cause of God’s kingdom in this place.
If you want to pledge yourself afresh to this vision please would you stand with me now as I lead us in prayer!
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