Sorry for the long blog free silence...we've been on holiday in wet Wales for afew weeks and now we are at Rippon College, Cuddesdon, just outside Oxford. We are here for a week while I get my head round all I have learnt and experienced so far in this sabbatical. My supervisor Rev'd Dr Emma Percy lives here ( her husband Martyn is the college principal) so it is good to be able to meet with her and talk everything through. We have known Emma and Martyn since way back when they were both Curates at St Andrews in Bedford.
I began this sabbatical thinking I would reflect on the challenges that all age worship brings in parish ministry and had planned to think about liturgy, music, movement etc but the more I read the more I realise that those elements ( important as they are) are only pieces of a much lager jigsaw puzzle.   Aware of the tensions that can exist between older church members and young children during worship I have spent a lot of time thinking about the ministry of welcome and how best we can encourage ( I refuse to say 'grow') an intergenerational community where people of all ages know each other, feel that they belong and that they all can play an equal part....and are able to worship together.  We've already had some valuable examples of how some of our older church members can befriend young families  - I am hoping we can find ways of encouraging more of this.  Thanks to the parents at St Pips who have been helping me for their comments and suggestions - I think the adopt a grandparent idea is brilliant and the tea parties - I hope we can talk more about these and other ideas  when I get back to the parishes.  It's been interesting to visit other churches - in UK and in Australia to see how they approach all age worship - one thing these visits have confirmed is that there definitely isn't a magic formula!
So, I still have lots to ponder as I wander..............


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