One of the goals of this internship is to experience and learn from expressions of Anabaptism in a 'post-Christendom' U.K. context. There have been times, though, when that goal has seemed to fade to the background. I've invested a lot of energy in the life of E1 Community Church and the Geoff Ashcroft Community and, valuable as those experiences have been, they haven't necessarily given much opportunity for conversations about Anabaptism or about faith a post-Christendom reality. I should emphasize again that I believe the commitments I've seen here in Stepney to serving the local community and fostering indigenous leadership within the context of a meaningful church experience are actually embodiments of Anabaptist values. But I suppose that the more explicit dialogues about Anabaptist faith in a post-Christendom context have been lacking.
Last week, however, I received a good dose of Anabaptism. On Wednesday I attended a four hour Anabaptist Network Steering Group meeting, ranging in subject matter from finances to a discussion about what sorts of boundaries and/or standards a group like this steering group should have. Because of the fluid, un-institutionalized nature of the Anabaptist Network, it hasn't always been easy to get a grasp on what the Network does and how it functions. So I found it very informative to sit in on this meeting and learn about some of the things they are doing and working through.
There are around ten or twelve people on the steering group, ranging in age from a couple just a few years older than myself to one or two who are nearing retirement. There is diversity in denominational backgrounds as well, including an Anglican, a Baptist, and someone involved with the Vineyard church. I don't actually think there were any other Mennonites there that evening, which is somewhat striking. I realized that, in the States, I would expect a group that called themselves Anabaptist to primarily consist of Mennonites. But that, as I'm learning, is the nature of the Anabaptist Network. It is not about converting individuals or churches to one particular denomination, but about enabling a wide array of people to discover more authentic and life-giving expressions of faith through Anabaptist values.
The Network is currently discussing the possibility of creating a network of churches. Up to this point, it has primarily been individuals who join the network and make use of its various resources. This would be a way of connecting entire church communities, in the hopes of providing more resources and support for congregations that might be exploring Anabaptist commitments and expressions of faith.
Now, to be honest, I think I've been a bit skeptical about what all this Anabaptist Networking actually does. Does the discovery of and/or commitment to Anabaptism actually make a difference in the life of an individual or congregation? As I listened to some of the conversations that evening, however, I found some of my skepticism being overcome. One man shared about a congregation he used to be a part of that has embraced Anabaptist values. Over the past few years, the church been visibly changed and transformed by those commitments. It has developed multi-voiced forms of worship, has built itself up around a hospitality model, and has committed itself to paths of peace-making. It was absolutely inspiring to hear about this church that, through studying and engaging with the story of the 16th century Anabaptists, had experienced such transformation.
Why am I so surprised? I myself have, throughout my years in the Mennonite church, been gifted by the Anabaptist values instilled in me by my church community. I do realize how rare it is, especially in our society, to have been raised with values of community, peacemaking, and lived discipleship. But I suppose I struggle to wholeheartedly believe in the transformative potential of those values, and that skepticism is a bit sobering. Why does it seem like pacifism and gathered community have become more of a habitual part of Mennonite identity, rather than dynamic, life-altering faith commitments? Have we heard the Anabaptist story too many times to find true transformation in its messages?
One thing I've been frustrated with here is the assumption people make that, because I'm a Mennonite, I'm somehow a more authentic or more 'true' Anabaptist. Actually, we Mennonites have a lot to learn from these Anglican, Baptist, Catholic Anabaptists who engage so seriously with Anabaptist values, and who work at incorporating those values into their daily life. One thing in particular  we could learn from is the ease with which mission often becomes incorporated into an Anabaptist-flavored faith. Mission is becoming a bit of a theme of my time here. I'm reminded again and again of how much I struggle to be more mission-minded, and have been consistently convicted to work at learning to share the gospel of Christ with those I meet.
At the steering group meeting, there were frequently comments thrown around about how the group could better share Anabaptism with different groups and individuals, and questions about what Anabaptists might bring to certain conversations and issues. I'm sure no one else in the room really noticed these passing comments, but I was struck by the assumption that, yes, people do want to hear about Anabaptism and we need to work at sharing that story. I know that in recent years, Mennonites have been challenged to think about what gifts they can bring to the wider Christian community, and I hope it is a challenge we take seriously. It is at least one way we can learn from our British Anabaptist brothers and sisters.
It is natural, I suppose, in the excitement of a new place, to develop criticisms and questions about my home context. I am glad to be in touch with things I want to learn from and take back to my own Mennonite experience in the States, but I also realize the importance of remaining aware of the gifts of that Mennonite experience and remembering the things I have to offer to folks in this context. Hopefully my time in the U.K. can continue to be a good balance of asking questions and challenging myself, while also gaining appreciation for the place that I'm coming from.

I just blogged fairly recently, but I feel like I've been attending so many different events recently and traveling quite a bit. Mostly for my own sake, I wanted to jot down some of the questions and reflections that I've had in the midst of all those activities. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll just wind up forgetting them all.

15 November- 'Getting going on going green' with Jo Rathborne at the London Mennonite Centre
                 -This was a good day long conference that helped stir up some of my passion for environmental concerns. Jo (member of Anabaptist Network steering group) deeply believes the church needs to be at the forefront (rather than trailing behind, as it has tended to) of creation care, combating global warming, etc.
                  -Jo presented various theological and scriptural reasons for striving for environmental justice. Many felt familiar, such as looking at the Sabbath laws, the biblical concept of Shalom, references to the created world in the Psalms and prophets, etc. One new one for me that I quite liked:
                                -Genesis 2:15 commands us to 'till and keep' the land. Evidently 'till' has its roots in service and in worship, and 'keep' has to do with protection. To serve, worship, and protect. A lovely vision of our relationship to the earth...
                    -The more practical side of the day came through Jo's presentation of a program called 'Eco-congregation.' It's basically a way to get churches going, from whatever place they're at, on living and acting in more environmentally responsible and sustainable ways. It was interesting and helpful to here some of the creative things churches have done.
              
Those were very brief notes. After the day, like I mentioned, I got really excited again about more explicitly connecting church and/or worship with environmentalism. I decided I wanted to talk more openly and freely with people in the church here about eating locally, being a vegetarian, being conscious of the resources we use, etc. But unfortunately, I haven't really done that. I realize I'm probably not giving this community enough credit, but I have to admit that I assume environmental concerns won't be at the top of the list with many of these folks who struggle to find work, with depression and addiction. I'm frustrated with myself, because I automatically put environmental stuff into a middle-class box. Not good, not good. I think it raises other questions about the kind of 'issues' we stick to with certain groups of people.

Jumping ahead to...
Urban Expressions Associate Day in Birmingham

This was the annual gathering of Urban Expressions teams, as well as anyone who is associated with the organization, which brought together quite a range. It was meant to be a place of sharing ideas, networking, and providing support for one another. It was pretty great to be in a room full of people who are all doing church in fairly radical and inspiring ways. The one guy is a Baptist minister who decided to leave his position in a decent sized congregation, move to Manchester, and get a job at Blockbuster while he gets to know the community and decides how God might be moving in that place.
                   -George Lings had a morning session on 'messy church.' Seems almost obvious that our churches are going to be messy, but unfortunately I think Lings is right in saying that we often try and avoid that. He moved from a large middle-class congregation to a tiny, inner city church, and was amazed at their ability to embrace their own messiness, at their transparency and vulnerability. One question he asked, which I have also found myself asking, is why it is those with 'problems' who seem to have an easier time being direct and honest and open, while those who have it more 'together' often put up facades and barriers? I know that I, too, have a really tough time letting down my guard in the way that so many of the people in this community have done with me. How can more conventional, wealthier congregations also allow some of that messiness and vulnerability in?
                      -One of the big questions during the day was about indigenous leadership, which is something Urban Expressions strives for. The ultimate goal of the church plants is to hand over the life and leadership of the church to those from within the inner-city community. E1 is trying to do that, and has been trying for the last several years. But many of these folks have very unstable lives and just don't seem able to take on leadership. Is it possible? Or do our leaders need to be the more educated, resourced, 'stable'?

Overall, a good day. A tiring day, as I remember, and lots of new faces.

Visit to Bristol Baptist College with Sian Murray Williams and Juliet Kilpin
                      -Sian is Stuart Murray Williams wife and is a 'tutor' (professor) at the college, which is more of a seminary in my terminology. The college works closely with a nearby Anglican college, and so the students gain both a high church and low church perspective.
                      -Sian lectured in the morning, alongside an Anglican prof, about believers baptism and infant baptism. I was surprised that many of the Anglican students were former Baptists and vice versa. Evidently denomination hopping, even between high and low church, isn't uncommon. Language of 'post-Christendom' was thrown around quite freely. In that setting, at least, it seemed to be an assumed contextual reality.
                        -I kept noticing students throughout the day, as I have noticed in other places, people that would say 'when I became a Christian.' I realized I'm not that accustomed to hearing that phrase so frequently. I guess it's another sign of this post-Christendom stuff.
                        -In the afternoon, Juliet Kilpin (Urban Expressions coordinator) guest lectured on urban mission. It was good for me to hear about UE and urban missions in that more formal context.  Challenges she raised:
                                    -why do Christians so often avoid living in and relating to the inner-city, when need is so incredibly prevelant in those places? Why do we send so many more missionaries to areas of the world that actually have higher percentages of Christians than do the inner-cities (at least the U.K. inner-cities)
                                    -the suburban church has much to learn from the urban church, because the urban church is often forced to deal with issues much earlier and much more quickly (addiction, depression, mental health, sexuality...)
                                    -Juliet and others with UE have found that there is much freedom for creativity and newness when developing church models in and for the inner-city
                                                -those models need to be contextual, not just imposed from other mainstream or conventional models
                                     -The world has been experiencing sharply increasing trends towards urbanization. The church needs to recognize this and adapt.

All this was convicting, but raised some questions for me:
                                   -Much of Franconia Conference is more suburban than urban (although there is exciting stuff happening in Philly). It is impossible for suburban churches to just up and become urban ones. They need to be attuned to their own contexts and realities. So how can I translate some of this urban missions stuff back into the suburban parts of Franconia?
                                   -I personally don't feel called to urban missions or inner-city living in the long term (at least not at the moment!), so again, how do I translate? What do I take away? I know there is great need in many areas, but Juliet's call to recognize the immediate and immense need of inner-city areas was convicting...

Juliet's lecture, as well as some conversations with Stuart Murray Williams, made me realize that I need to do some work with my relationship to mission and evangelism. I have tended to (and I know I'm not alone) be turned off by those terms. It is essential to our calling as Christians, though, and I need to re-define and reconcile myself to evangelism.

Two Anabaptist study groups: one in London, one in Bristol
                           -The two groups were quite different. The one here at Phil and Sarah's was quite small and has been meeting for a few years. The one in Bristol had about 16 people at it, even though it's only been meeting for about a year. Many in both groups had fairly marginal associations with Anabaptism. I don't think any of them were Mennonites. They all came from different churches and traditions, but found common ground in their connection with Anabaptism
                           -I won't say a lot about the two evenings, except to say how refreshing it was to be engaging Anabaptist values and beliefs in a setting where people were fairly new to the story and tradition.

Last, but not least...
A Saturday at Workshop here in London: Workshop is a study program closely tied to the Anabaptist Network, developed about 25 years ago by Noel Moules. It's a twelve weekend program, spread across the year, where anyone can come to study and engage with the biblical text and with theology. This past weekend was called 'scrolls and parchments' and was a study of the Hebrew scriptures.
                            -The whole concept of Workshop is something we need in the states. It can be so tough for lay people to do some good, deep biblical and theological studying. Workshop, in my brief experience, is both academic and accessible. There is a good balance between lecture and discussion. Most of the lecturers are actually drawn from amongst Workshop participants of years past, and most of them aren't full-time theologians or scholars.
                              -Some of the things studied and examined:
                                        -asking about the consistency and reliability of the Hebrew scriptures, both historically and theologically
                                        -learning some basic exegetical and hermeneutical skills
                                        -engaging with some of the big questions, like the slaughter of the Canaanites, the seemingly contrasting pictures of God in the text, etc.
                             -In the evening, a rabbi came to speak, and it was quite fun to pester her with all our questions. I learned some very helpful things about the Jewish faith.

I'm excited about potentially attending two other Workshop weekends while here in England. Noel Moules was such a delight to interact with, and he piqued my interest in the coming sessions. He also already hinted that he'd love it if I started something like Workshop in the states. I think he's quite a dreamer. :)


All right! Probably no one actually read that entire thing, but if you did, my apologies and congratulations! It will be helpful for me, I think, to look back over some of this. And I thought I might as well make it public in case anyone else was interested.