Foundation Church - First reflection

In 2018 I was invited to be part of something called 'Foundation Church'.  My then Lay Reader in residence, Jenna, had been on placement at the local town centre civic church, in our diverse and busy university town. She had come away reflecting that surely not every young Christian who happens to come to Huddersfield University is of a conservative evangelical persuasion (though it seems most student Christians end up in such churches  - can't argue with great facilities, great music, great PR, great welcome  - and you can ignore the bits of theology you don't agree with for 3 years - heck - you might not even notice them).

Now you might think that's a little cavalier of me.  Maybe evangelical churches both within and outside the C of E teach their young people that church isn't just about place - your local Parish or other church as you grow up - which is why these are the young people who are seeking church when they leave home and go to Uni.  I take my hat of to that solid teaching and I think other traditions have learnt something from it and are getting better at it too.

I know this reflects my own experience of leaving home - when church became something I did when I was back home - and I wouldn't in a million years have sought out another church to make home.  I wouldn't go near the conservative evangelical dominated Christian Union, and back then I had no reason to believe that churches of a more central tradition were at all interested in young people  - I'd never seen it. But I know that a lot has changed in the nearly 30 years since then (gulp).

I am of a liberal cathomatic persuasion and have worked in churches who have a more traditional presentation but huge hearts for welcome.  My Lay Reader and I surmised over a glass of wine and a smoke that there must be students out there in our town who might be looking for something else, something both modern but rooted in inclusive liberal theology and catholic tradition.

This is the start of a longer reflection on this for me which is to do with planting new things, trying and failing, and more.

Years and years and years it's been. But why start a new blog when the old one is just sitting there gathering ether-dust?

It's May 2020 - there's a global pandemic.  I never want to hear the word 'unprecedented' again as long as I live.

I started a new job one week in to the lockdown which is supposed to help us get through this pandemic as well as we can. I'm now the Vicar of Huddersfield (yes - I rolled all the way down the hill to the town centre).  It's quite unusual to move jobs within the same Deanery but I'm absolutely certain that this move reflects God's continuing call to serve, and God's care for me and my growing family (I've become a grandma since we last spoke - and my oldest baby boy is now taller than me).

I'm doing some blogging on the parish website - in particular there's some 'getting to know you' stuff on the "Love in the Time of Corona" blog thread and some bits on their way on the "Stories of Song and Scripture" thread.

I think writing here might be a good idea - but I thought that the last time I was here - we'll see.