Parish Development and Outreach Worker Ian McIver
To Contact Ian ~ Tel: 01224 566451 ~ Mob: 07890 932677 ~ e-mail:
Ian McIver
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Now that Ian is established in post I thought it would be good for him to have some space on the website to bring us news from the City Centre and to keep us updated on the various activities he is involved in. As time has moved on the need to expand the space allocated has arrived (June 2011) and a second page has been added. This will contain the older material. Ian undertook the major task of reporting on his first few months experience in researching the City Centre and its needs as well as looking at new expressions of "church". This has been discussed by the Development Group and presented to a Joint Kirk Sessions meeting. The future direction of the Grouping will be very much driven by this report and the decisions taken by the JKS. You can read/download it here . |
To save space and repetition Ian's contributions to the St Mark's Messenger can now be read in the Mesenger pages or in the Archive .
From the Winter 2011 St Mark's Messenger
I recently attended a taster day in Perth run by Lead Academy, a relationally-based organisation dedicated to envisioning, equipping and supporting church leaders.
One of the key issues facing leaders in today’s post-Christendom, post-modern, secularised society is how to move forward and become more effective in fulfilling the church’s vision. Lead Academy is specifically designed to address these needs.
In the first place, churches sending teams - e.g. minister plus two or three others - to Lead Academy must have a clear sense of mission and already be committed to implementing the vision God has given them.
Twice a year for two years the group joins with six to 10 other church teams to learn from each other’s successes and failures, share challenges and get inspired by the stories and faith of one another.
Research has shown that principal leaders also benefit greatly from having time out with God and others away from the pressures of daily ministry. For this reason, two overnight retreat-style events are scheduled into the two-year programme.
By employing a collaborative learning approach, most of the input and knowledge comes from the group itself, with participants being encouraged to share experiences, work through common issues and develop realistic and measurable strategies that will significantly equip them for the next phase of ministry.
Lead Academy is not designed to be a course or a set programme, and no specific model of ‘doing church’ is employed. It is, however, a safe and challenging place for leaders to advance in their calling to serve God’s Kingdom in a 21st century context.
Even if this particular option is not right for any of the three churches in our Grouping, it does give an idea of the kind of assistance that is available to churches seeking to develop mission in a parish setting.
Ian McIver Community Outreach Worker 07890 932677 e-mail Ian
From the Autumn 2011 St Mark's Messenger
What does ‘Church’ mean to you?
This is a question I’ll be exploring over the next few months as I take part in a course called ‘Mission-shaped Ministry’, aimed at equipping people to plant and sustain fresh expressions of church in the local community.
Many of us are comfortable with the idea of an 11am service on a Sunday, with five hymns, a children’s address, a couple of prayers and a 20-minute sermon.
But for many others the prospect of walking through church doors on a Sunday morning is about as appealing as a visit to the dentist for root canal treatment.
Hopefully the course will explore alternative forms of worship that might be more attractive to the ‘great unchurched’ out there, especially those living in the Parish of St Mark’s.
In their book Mission-shaped Parish (traditional church in a changing context), Paul Bayes and Tim Sledge state that “commitment to the long-established parish system is commitment to mission. . . a family of families, stretching far beyond Sunday”.
They add: “It’s not the Church of God that has a mission in the world, but the God of mission who has a Church in the world. To build a parish church’s life on mission values is not just to change the look of it - it is to change everything.”
Living out the full meaning of the word ‘parish’ means recognising other partners, agencies and individuals with whom we can work and “do Kingdom business”.
Steps are already being taken to try and reconnect with the local community. For example, Dianne Morrison is St Mark’s representative on the steering group for the ‘Growing Rosemount’ initiative. But more needs to be done on the “listening” front.
With that goes a mind-set, an attitude that our church does have a mission in the community and is called to be engaged. That, in turn, means being open to whatever the call might be.
I hope everyone in St Mark’s has their ‘listening ears’ on!
Ian McIver
Community Outreach Worker
07890 932677
e-mail Ian
From the Summer 2011 "St Mark's Messenger"
PRAYER
“The Devil mocks our activism, scoffs at our strategies, sniggers at our general assemblies, laughs at our kirk session agendas, rejoices at our divisions, but trembles when we pray.”
This paraphrased quote is taken from ‘The Road to Growth (towards a thriving church)’ by Anglican vicar and freelance church consultant Rev. Bob Jackson.
Bob continues: “The resurgence of the Church nationally will be underpinned by groups in every place praying their hearts out to God for the strengthening of the local Church through the gift of new Christians and the growth of new disciples.”
But he warns: “Prayer. . . is not a soft option. Jesus sweated blood when he prayed (Luke 22:44).” There are also obstacles to prayer and excuses for not praying.
No time? I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it. - John Wesley
I must secure more time for private devotions. I have been living far too public for me. The shortening of devotions starves the soul; it grows lean and faint. I have been keeping too late hours. - William Wilberforce
No words? In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. - John Bunyan
God does not stand afar off as I struggle to speak. He cares enough to listen with more than casual attention. He translates my scrubby words and hears what is truly inside. He hears my sighs and uncertain gropings as fine prose. - Timothy Jones
No response?
When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don't pray, they don't. - William Temple
There are more tears shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers. -Teresa of Avila
No need? I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go. - Abraham Lincoln
Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude—an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. - Arthur W. Pink
I was greatly encouraged recently to go into St Mark’s splendid website and see a link to daily devotional films that were being broadcast during Lent by 24-7 Prayer. This is an international, inter-denominational movement of prayer, mission and justice that began with a single, student-led prayer vigil in Chichester in 1999 and has spread, by word-of-mouth, into 100+ nations.
My prayer is that St Mark’s will take up the challenge of developing a fervent, flourishing and fruitful prayer life – individual and collective.
The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer. - John R. Mott
Ian McIver
Parish Development and Outreach Worker