Vicar's Letter - September/October 2004 - Changing Times

As the ferry gently moved up the Tyne to North Shields, the new and doubtless expensive housing developments overlooking the harbour came into sight; a little further along, we passed the old dry docks, dry no longer with their lock gates hanging off their mountings or gone altogether.

Side by side, we saw two approaches to the march of time: on the one hand, managed changed and on the other decline and dereliction.  The fact of the matter, sad as it may be, is that the world no longer needs the network of docks and wharfs that lined that part of the Tyne estuary.  The Council and others, therefore, took the decision to find new uses for the land that fitted with the appetites of the late twentieth century – housing – some rooms with a view.  Just up river is the picture of decay that would have greeted those arriving at the port had they not acted.

Very few institutions in Britain are immune from the rapid changes that beset North Shields.  This is more than just the cycle of fashion.  Technological advance and shifts in society’s outlook have rendered redundant much of what even a couple of generations ago looked eternal.

The Church, no less than any other, is facing this challenge as she tries to move from the inheritance of centuries to faithful service of Christ’s Gospel in this modern age.  We, too, have got to manage our change if we are not to find ourselves an equivalent to those dry docks along the Tyne.

Any number of factors have to be taken into account: the opportunities and perils of the media explosion, changing attitudes and perspectives in society and the developing legal framework in which we have to operate.

Quite a lot has been made in the media about the impact of the new charity legislation on private education.  Even now, public schools up and down the land are looking for ways to make available their facilities to the state sector and the community around in an attempt to justify the claim of “public benefit”, which is to be necessary to retain charitable status.

Less well reported has been the Government’s change of mind regarding churches and other religious organisations.  At the moment, religious pursuits are generally considered automatically to be charitable; but pressure has been brought to bear on ministers and this is probably no longer to be the case.

What exactly this will mean for us at this church is not clear, since we are not a registered charity (though the Friends of Saint Matthew’s is).  None-the-less, it is clear that we shall need to be able to demonstrate that our existence is of public benefit.  Being of public benefit and demonstrating that one is of public benefit are two rather different things.

One possible response to this new context is described in Thom Braun’s satirical novel Kingdom.com.  In his story, hardnosed businesspeople and PR consultants usurp the Church of England and turn it into a network of theme parks and commercial franchises.  There is an interesting twist in the tail that is rather pleasing to those of us who think it was just a little closer to the truth than the soap opera style of the narrative might convey.

There is, however, one thing in the story that is instructive.  Change has to be managed, whatever direction you choose.  Just sitting and watching the ravages of the world around us battering our Church will result only in decay.

The diocese of Newcastle is attempting to address this challenge.  On the rare occasions we are consulted, we offer our own contributions to this process, most notably in our submission to the Deanery Review (now on the website).  However, this is all a matter of structures; the real development needs to be achieved on the ground in the parishes and other manifestations of the Church at work in the world.

The congregations at S Matthew’s have been working steadily on these questions, particularly in PCC meetings.  There is a long way still to go, but a picture is emerging of where we would like to be heading.

The consolidation of the CHAT Shop, the work of the Nearly New Shop and some development of the Hall are at the principal strands of that future, crowned by the great liturgical traditions, which we believe will stand the test of time once the confusions of the present day settle.

A plan, however, is just a piece of paper; the real work comes in its implementation …

Home page: http://stmatthewsnewcastle.org.uk/