How can we best prepare to make the most of the Parish Weekend?
From here ...
The idea is that Mpower will become an "umbrella" term for the activities that we do that seek to let the Holy Spirit Empower us
to reach out into the community in practical ways in order to work further towards the fulfilment of the Parish Vision. So what does this mean in practice ...?
Sunday Nights ...
It is clear that a regular Sunday evening will continue to struggle - but it is hoped that the advent of the Parish Centre will enable
Sunday evening worship to begin again. Mpower will not be meeting on a Sunday night , but ...We will actively encourage each other to go to places
where we will be encouraged "to be fed in order to feed others" - for example, St Mary's Longfleet or The Gathering Place. The fundamental aim of Mpower
is to "Empower people to outpour God's Grace" - to be a resource to the Church. We cannot give from resources we do not have so we are encouraging people
to ensure they seek out the resources they need - but not for their own benefit but to pass on.
"The Chair Team"
Mpower will meet in Church at 10am on the first Saturday of each month to pray for and coordinate future activities - the aim is that this will overlap with "The Chair Team" outreach outside of Church which begins at 10.30am. This will
also aim to encourage the people doing the Coffee mornings.
The Parish Weekend
The aim is that on the Saturday afternoon of the Parish Weekend, we will go out in teams to do some practical social action (eg litter picking, garden tidying, minor decorating etc) and that this will
be coordinated and led through the Home Groups. Ideas and possible "targets" for activities will be sought from House Group members, but also from Social services and other local contacts.
There will need to be team leaders for each activity.
Youngies
We want to get a renewed emphasis on involvement from the younger generation in Mpower activities, especially Sat mornings. That is, if they get up in time.
Help Chain
Using the momentum from the Parish Weekend and the growth of Saturday mornings, the aim is to set up a Help Chain to offer practical help to those who come to The Chair Team, or via card invitations
that will be produced. Coordinators and volunteers will need to be found and signed up!
And Finally ...
It is easy to suggest that these changes represent some kind of "failure" in Mpower, but the truth is far from it. We believe God is showing us how we can be a Church which is at the centre of our community
as a well, somewhere people are attracted to by the active and passionate love of the Church community. We are more focussed on what we should be doing and now have a better idea of how to do it!
Tim Storey
January 2009
Click here to see some of the Mpower Events happening soon ...
How we got to this point ...
Mpower in 2008 ...
In the latter months of 2008, a group of people have been meeting at the Scout Hut on a Sunday evening in response to a need to “Go Deeper” with God in our Church life, in our personal lives and, in particular, how we reach out into our community to see the fulfilment of our Parish Vision of seeing every road in Blandford baptised in the love of God. This group has formed as a result of a number of things: the “Fan The Flames” initiative in the early summer, the events and teaching of New Wine and, from me, a renewed sense of direction that came from my time on Sabbatical. Whilst there has been a clear, long-term, direction from the start, namely seeking to worship and minister in the Spirit, in order to be equipped for our task as a Church, there has been a need to articulate and understand this more fully - and on Sunday 5th October, a dozen or so of us set about trying to do this. Our thinking was helped by a talk given at New Wine by Jay Pathak, relating to Jesus and Peter walking on water and how this related to taking the opportunities which God presents to us. We sought to do three things:
See what God had said to us through this teaching.
See how this connected with our Mission and Vision Statements.
See how both of these could shape what happens on a Sunday evening.
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Walking On Water
Peter did what was humanly impossible through the power that Jesus gave him at an inconvenient time of fear. He saw (perhaps impulsively) the opportunity that God was giving him and took a risk (John Wimber said that “Faith is spelt R-I-S-K”) , overcoming his fear by fixing his eyes on Jesus. “Failure” is a matter of perspective: Peter may have begun to sink as he took his eyes off of Jesus, but achieved enormous things compared to the other 11 disciples, who did not take the risk at all. Our conclusions were:
God calls us to take risks and not worry about failure – only about obedience.
We all-too-easily forget what God is capable of doing!
There are opportunities God gives us – and often the best ones are at inconvenient moments.
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Discovering, Nurturing and Baptising
The discussions were focussed on entirely outwardly-focussed thinking: about how we can relate to our community and take the Gospel out into it in practical ways. They spoke of creating the spaces where these opportunities can take place by engaging with the community – which fits with many of the ideas of a “Centred” Church which Andy Bowerman spoke of at the 2007 Weekend Away. The ways this might happen included the following:
