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Parish Away Day at Rydal
Saturday, 20th March 2004
Ephesians 1, 15-23 Matthew 28, 1161-20 Ephesians 4, 7, 11-16 |
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On a wet and extremely windy day in March, thirty members of the congregation, including the Parochial Church Council, travelled to Rydal Hall to spend a day together, seeking to find out what God wants for his Church in Grange. It was a follow-on to the Growing Healthy Churches exercise, and the day was led by the Revd Amiel Osmaston, Ministry Development Officer for the Diocese, who was introduced to the group by Canon Anthony Clegg.
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After a
warming and welcome cup of coffee, the Curate, Ruth Crossley, opened the
day with a short form of worship, which included a reflection from
Archbishop Oscar Romero. The day was split into three sessions: 1 - learning and growth 2 - listening and following 3 - ministering and serving as members explored what it meant to be disciples and ministers in today's church.
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| At lunchtime the opportunity was taken to
wander in the grounds of the Hall, and to walk down the lane to look at
Dora's field, where the daffodils were at their best. How
coincidental that it was the day after 260,000 primary schoolchildren
had recited Wordsworth's well-known poem (I wandered lonely as a cloud
...) to earn a place in the Guiness Book of Records, while at the same
time raising money for Marie Curie Cancercare!
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 It was 200 years since the poem was written while the poet was living at Rydal Mount, next door to the Diocesan Centre, Rydal Hall. |
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During the sessions, members worked in
pairs and shared together their innermost thoughts. In seeking to
love God and follow his way, what had we learnt and how had we grown and
changed -
We examined the different ways that God speaks to us, as individuals, and as a church, and what was it that 'got in the way' of his message, again as individuals and in church. How did the PCC seek God's will, and put that into practice? |
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In an exercise designed to help us discover our 'heart's
desire' in ministry, we were asked to write our own epitaph! What
would we most like people to say about us after our death, and what were
the things that gave us most enjoyment, satisfaction and fulfilment at
present? We were reminded that we were all called to use our lives in serving God and ministering to other people in his name. We were asked about our current areas of ministry and how closely these matched with the things we were most passionate about. Were there things we were doing that we could replace with others that would be more fulfilling, joyful, effective and fruitful? |
Finally, the question was asked: what did we want most - for ourselves, for our Church, and for the community, and the answers were incorporated into the final prayer session.
A happy, thought-provoking and stimulating day!
