Snow to Spring…

Just several days ago, this was the view from my flat. London never gets this much snow, especially the kind that sticks around for days in a row. Working from home, my backdrop was this amazing sledging scene that lasted from early in the morning until late at night (this was taken 8am one snowy morning – those sledgers start early!). I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wondering whether this was the longest winter in the history of winters. Back in November, I found myself regularly taking my nephew to school, and scraping ice off my car on those shivering mornings felt a lifetime ago… and yet winter relentlessly persisted. Now, merely days later, the first signs of Spring are showing, the snow having disappeared in a few hours flat, and all woollen layers are being shed.

The blog has been somewhat quiet, but it’s had a little makeover (do you like it?!). Much has changed since I last wrote… firstly, my new role working for Divine Renovation in the UK. Ever since we started using Divine Renovation principles in our parish in Richmond (check out some of the stories here), I have been convinced that Divine Renovation offers something unique to parishes in our post-Christian context: a new model for parish life that prioritises evangelising above everything else. I saw it work in the early days in Richmond (which is going from strength to strength – check them out here) and believe it can work elsewhere too. So after the Maintenance to Mission conference back in October (I wrote a little about it here), it was an incredible honour and joy to be appointed to coordinate the work of this ministry in the UK. Orienting a parish completely towards mission is a difficult task, and my hope is to walk alongside those parishes that are making use of the Divine Renovation model, as well as spreading the word and coordinating the work of this ministry in our country.

My second exciting news is the publication of A Handbook for Catechists by CTS. I wrote about this book here, and shared that in it, I wanted to emphasise evangelising over anything else. (Because we know that catechesis is ineffective unless a person has a relationship with God first… don’t we?!) If I am honest, my hope is that the prevailing model of sacramental preparation programmes as the only parish formation activity will fade into the annals of history, as our parishes refocus onto evangelising first and foremost. But until Jesus comes again, we will need catechesis – it is an irreplaceable “moment” of the Church’s evangelising activity. I just dream of a future where parishes will offer it in new and more relevant contexts than the traditional sacramental programme. I would love you to read a copy and let me know what you think.

Transformed in Christ