30 October 2024
The Family Project from the very beginning has been an ecumenically shaped vision. The project was envisaged by both the Methodist and Anglican churches in and around Kirkby Lonsdale in the North West England Methodist District as everyone had discerned a need for a pioneering project to relate, listen and learn from families who currently weren’t attached to any Church.
As Family Project Leader, I arrived in this exciting role, thrilled to discover that I could not distinguish between which of my potential volunteers were Methodist and those who were Anglican. This was because it felt as though I was entering a big family where everybody was friendly with each other. That feeling has continued through my seven years in role.
Our volunteers are always a mix of Methodist and Anglican, with our shared focus being the desire to enable families who come to any of our pioneering spaces to have the opportunity to explore and connect with God in a way which works for them.
Being ecumenically shaped has only added to the depth of discernment, reflection and wisdom as we have journeyed together, listening to our local communities. This wisdom has helped create projects and pioneering new forms of Church that are fun, intergenerational, open-minded places that work in our post-Christendom world.
The families that are part of the Family Project aren’t concerned about denominations; rather they are keen to hear that Christians from different backgrounds get along, have firm friendships and experience the love of God in a multitude of ways. This love, carried by the volunteers, is shared easily and reflects to those who are at the beginning of their faith journeys.
The humility that ecumenical working requires is the reason that I think the Family Project thrives. It is our norm to sit and listen to those who think differently, who are shaped by different worlds, whether that be Christian denominations and heritage or, for some of our families who join us, a really insightful non-religious but searching perspective.
In one of our pioneering projects, we have a fresh expression of Church we call Foresty. We spend time together hearing a Bible story, enjoying a scavenger hunt together before we move onto crafts, playing games and ending our time together making smores around a fire whilst we sing hymns.
The hymns in our planning meeting could potentially have been a tricky moment as our team are ecumenical and everyone has classics they love. Yet in our planning, our focus wasn’t about our favourite hymns but rather which hymns our families and young people would know. This continual focus outwards rather than inwards comes from working ecumenically.
Plus, our focus on learning ‘with’ families not ‘to’ families is shaped by the knowledge that listening to one another is an act of love, and we all have the potential to learn more about God from one another.
Working ecumenically, I believe is our superpower. It allows us to reflect God’s light brighter as we learn, laugh and explore our faith together.