Because all the parishes were in the old Walmsley Deanery some of us already know each other a bit and have been used to doing some things together. A Mission Community is not about central control and making everything the same – that is not a Community! It is about feeling supported, being Christian, doing the work of God in our area.

Our diocese has its vision for there to be a worshipping, growing, transformative Christian presence at the heart of every community; a Mission Community is there to help make that a reality, and for congregations and parishes not to feel they are left out or unsupported. Think a garden where lots of different plants can grow, in harmony, not in competition; think of gardeners who share a common concern for the whole garden area to be tended and flourishing; think of a joyful balance between some central support and local individuality. Not everything grows immediately, and slow-growers often last longer and become the strongest. In a garden not everything we plant necessarily grows, and in a Mission Community we will try some things and they will flourish and other things and they won’t. God’s grace is sufficient and over all.

Communication and prayer are the spinal cord of all this, to change the metaphor; we will try and organise the right gatherings, for questions, for information, for decisions, for prayer, but please get in touch with any questions you have; we may not (yet) have the answers, but all questions are helpful.

In this Easter season of Resurrection, we pray that we will be communities of mission who share one message; there are challenges, some will be harder than others, but the risen Jesus is with us, whether the weeping Mary, the doubting Thomas, the impetuous Peter, the puzzled Cleopas.

My prayer is that in all our areas there will be a worshipping growing and transformative Christian presence, and we can rejoice with and for each other. May our lives model grace, mercy and peace as we go about our gospel tasks.

Thank you

Peter Reiss (Turton Moorland Team Rector and North Bolton Mission Community Leader)