Results of the Think Tank which was set up to reflect on the future of St. Wilfrid's Church.

The document may be downloaded as a pdf file  here

My dear friends,

I commend this Think Tank Report for your prayers, for reflection, for discussion and for action, in that order.

The Think Tank was set up to reflect on the future of St Wilfrid’s Church. It would have been easy to have my ideas and those of a few people put to the PCC but this would have meant that the future plans were the preserve of a few. If St Wilfrid’s Church is to survive, its worship, prayer, mission and service in the Gospel Of our Lord, Jesus Christ, must be owned and acted upon by the whole Church Community.

To do this, it was important to have fresh thinking and new ideas from a group that was not involved in the normal structures of the Church. Hence the Think Tank was set up and has operated independently of the Vicar, the Churchwardens and the PCC. It has been encouraged to think the unthinkable.

I had no idea what they would come up with and, like you, I was interviewed for my thoughts. Peter, Alison, Kirsty and Chris have done a magnificent job over the last nine months since the inception of the Think Tank. They are to be thanked for their hard work.

My prayer is that this report will be the springboard for a new chapter in the life of St Wilfrid’s. May the Holy Spirit lead us for the glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the growth of the Church and the extension of the Kingdom.

Every Blessing,

Father Andrew

SERMON FROM THE PARISH EUCHARIST 2 SEPTEMBER 2007 (Extract) Next week the Think Tank will present the long awaited findings to the Church Community of St Wilfrid’s within the Eucharist. There will be no sermon, creed or intercessions so their report can be enfolded in prayer and worship. The Report is not their ideas for the future of this Church. They are your ideas collected together and presented to the community and it will be up to you to take them further through the Parochial Church Council. You may decide to ignore the findings and do nothing. That will be your choice but this morning I want to say something about why this exercise of consultation was done and why we do need to act upon the findings. Less than 5% of the population of this country attends church on a Sunday and it is estimated that by 2060, given the continued statistical decline in church congregation that there will be no Anglican Church, no United Reform Church, no Methodist Church and no Roman Catholic Church. Look around you. There are few people here under the age of 40. Families are not part of church worshipping congregations like this. For the first time in 20 years of ministry I have had Baptisms booked, the families interviewed and as Ron, the Verger, will tell you, they did not turn up! Church funerals are becoming a rarity, we have 4 weddings booked for next year in this church. There is widespread ignorance of the Christian faith as television quiz shows like University Challenge to pub quizzes demonstrate. The Christian identity and footprint of this country is no longer there. The Bishop of London has said that within 10 years, London will be a Muslim city as Birmingham is now unless something is done. Bishop Lindsay has made it clear there will be no curate for this church; if there is to be one we will share a curate with Aldwick and North Bersted. Churches of 80 communicants or less are not now regarded as viable. Parochial Shares must be paid in full or there is now a question mark placed over the parish as to its future existence. The timing of the Think Tank’s report is fortuitous because the Bishop of Chichester has requested a three year plan for mission from each parish in the Diocese to be presented at Caritas 2008. It is based on a threefold outline ABC. The Think Tank’s report will provide the basis for that plan which the PCC will have to decide upon.