I jointly look after a small woodland with some friends. It has been a huge learning curve finding out about a whole new area of knowledge and gaining new skills. As I reflected on what leads to a flourishing woodland, it turns out that mixed ecology is right at the heart of that: it creates resilience. This got me thinking about the Church as an ecosystem like a woodland.The environment is abundantA forest is an environment teeming with life in abundance, appropriate to the part of the world it is in – trees, shrubs, plants, fungi, birds, animals, insects, bugs, butterflies. A healthy, biodiverse woodland or forest flourishes with multiple layers and a diversity of species. There are ancient trees at the top of the canopy – like oaks or beech soaking in the light. There is a middle layer of hazel or hawthorn for example, and then shrubs, ferns and smaller plants that appear in different seasons. There are different mixes of trees in different parts of the forest. Diversity is importantDiversity is important because if you have a monoculture you risk losing everything if a disease or pest attacks. You don’t want just big trees – the diversity is of size as well as variety. The forest is interconnected and interdependent – one thing affects another, and, in many ways, they need one another. By imagining church as forest, I do not mean ‘a church’ – I am thinking about everything that is connected to Christ and communicates Christ. In that environment are denominations, festivals, bookshops, retreat centres, podcasts and their associated communities. At the top of the canopy might be a big city centre church, a cathedral, a church network, or a retreat centre. Then there are lots of mid-size trees, like congregations or youth networks. Finally, there are lots of small ones – people meeting in small groups, sharing meals in homes, a parent and toddler group, spiritual direction, or praying via a WhatsApp group. The wider environment of Church will flourish if it is diverse. When the environment is abundant, the seeds of the Gospel are in multiple places. Growth is not a technical or mechanical process of models that can be delivered. It is more likely to take place by paying attention to what’s going on and working with what’s there and trying to add diversity. And the more interdependent it is the better. To regenerate a forest, light is the keyLeadership is more like gardening or woodland management. God is at work regenerating in surprising places. What is critical is letting God’s light in – God is central. A denomination is part of the forest, a large congregation part of the ecology which can be great gifts seeding other things. But the forest is by no means simply big churches – that would be a poor environment. It’s tempting for big churches to think it’s all about them and sometimes other parts of the forest are invisible to them. But so much of church is meeting in small groups, in homes, in coffee shops, online in ways that are invisible.Two thirds of the Church ecosystem in the West does not even gather in congregations. People navigate church very differently from how they used to perhaps because of digital media. It is possible, for example, to have attended something big or middling for a season and then be in a small group and be resourced through a phone app, a festival and a community online gathered around a podcast. This is all part of the forest. Life teems in all sorts of places and especially at the edges between things, a key insight from permaculture. To regenerate a forest, light is always the key.
A church in Cambridgeshire has been recognised officially as one within the Church of England. Cambridgeshire deaf church in Cambridge, was recognised on November 1 in its own right in the Diocese of Ely. Reverend Jan Smith (see photo, left) was presented the official Bishops Mission Order signed by the Rt Reverend Dagmar Winter, Bishop of Huntingdon.. Jan will lead the church under the watchful eye of St Andrew, patron of mission.
THE Anglican Communion is helping to give a voice to vulnerable communities during the COP26 summit in Glasgow, the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Olivia Graham, has said.Bishop Graham (see photo), a member of the Church of England’s environment working group, has been at the summit this week, among the many Christian people and organisations lobbying and praying in Glasgow.“Leaders from all faiths are on the same page about climate chaos and environmental crises,” she said. “When we focus on something as big as this, our differences fall into perspective.“With tens of millions of members across 165 countries, the Anglican Communionbrings a global perspective to the conference that’s untainted by national interests. One of the many benefits of an Anglican presence here is giving voice to the plight of the small island states, which are already becoming slowly submerged by rising sea levels.”The Archbishop of Canterbury met President Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychelles — one of these small island states — on Monday. The Archbishop posted on Twitter a photo of the two men praying, and wrote: “It was an honour to meet with the President of Seychelles, who as well as leading one of the world’s smallest islands is also an Anglican priest. We spoke and prayed together about the climate crisis, and the Christian calling to work for justice and never give up hope.”The UN summit began on Monday and Tuesday with a segment focused on speeches by world leaders, some telling of their hopes and fears about the climate crisis and outlining the actions their countries will be taking.Bishop Graham said: “The pledges made in the first days of this conference are good, but we need to hold our leaders to account on delivery. There are terrible consequences for our planet if we fail. Looking ahead to the rest of the conference, I hope that climate finance will become front and centre in the discussions here in Glasgow, and pray that the voices of indigenous peoples are listened to during the negotiations.”Among announcements that have been made so far are a commitment by India to reaching net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2070, and to have half its electricity powered by renewables by the end of the decade.More than 100 countries signed a new commitment to halting, and reversing, deforestation by 2030, and committed more than £14 billion to doing this. There was also a new agreement to reduce methane emissions, which are one of the most potent greenhouse gases, caused by the mining of fossil fuels as well as some farming practices such as cattle-rearing.The early days of the summit were marked by huge queues. Although the president of COP, Alok Sharma, said that this would be “most inclusive COP ever”, many civil-society delegates were excluded from numerous parts of the negotiations.Glasgow residents also experienced disruption as police blocked off parts of the city centre when world leaders attended an evening reception with the Prince of Wales.Despite this, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Revd Mark Strange, said that Glasgow was taking it in its stride, and local people were helping lost visitors with the friendliness that the city was known for. “The Scottish Episcopal Church has been working alongside the Anglican Communion delegation,” he said, “and we’ve also spent time with the World Council of Churches delegation, ensuring direct communication between those inside the Blue Zone and those seeking to have a say from outside.“I have had the privilege of helping to present the Glasgow Multifaith Declaration and an interfaith vigil in the centre of the city. We are present, praying, worshipping, and sharing with many organisations and individuals. These have included buying sleeping bags for chilly overseas delegates, sharing worship in the cathedrals and churches of the city, marching with activists, and sharing our stories. Above all, we are here praying and encouraging.”He said that he was taking seriously efforts to help tackle climate change: “The SEC, and those of us in Glasgow for COP, are very aware that we’re not doing this for ourselves but for those who were unable to travel, and those whose lives and communities will suffer most from climate change: our partners across the Anglican Communion. The power of the Anglican Communion is that we share our values with people across the whole of the world, highlighting the needs of every person in every community.
