Blog

It was my great privilege to be invited to support Steve Croft the Archbishop’s Missioner and Director of the Fresh Expressions, and the Archbishop by sharing the story of Moot at a Lambeth Partners Meeting. It was a greatly encouraging event to hear the interest in supporting and developing the whole mission-shaped-church/fresh expressions vision. People responded warmly to what we are trying to do with Moot. It was good to support Stevens presentation with Moot as a practical example of what is happening.

Steven Croft and Rowan Williams shared some of their vision and strategy – and it was great to hear how central ‘fresh expressions’ is to the vision of the Archbishop. There were lots of gems in both their presentations, and I was deeply moved to hear such passion for the sort of things that matter to people like me.

In the Archbishop’s presentation he talked about how church happens, and that it happens in varied situations. One quote was “where people meet and encounter Jesus Christ, this is church”. It is this insight – an incarnational and fluid understanding of church that is at the heart of the vision – and one that I know lots of people like me share and long to see develop. They both described what is going on in the country as a ‘kyos’ moment in the history of our Church and this country…… I couldn’t agree more. A theological integration of doing mission AND church as an inseperable moment.