Engaging with English parish life

A six-week placement in All Saints church, Riseley, gave Shemil from India the opportunity to get involved in traditional English village life.  Whether he was going on a thirty-one mile tandem bike ride, playing bowls for the local team, or talking to people in the street, Shemil was able to observe the influence and effectiveness of an English parish church in the 21st century.

But why choose this placement?

"I did a module on church growth at Redcliffe this spring. Friends at ‘All saints’ had told me that the church had grown considerably in the recent past.  I wanted to see the reasons for this, and also understand some of the challenges the church now faces."

In order to do this Shemil talked to anyone – and everyone – in the village.

"The older generation in the village consider the parish church as part of their community even if they are not regular attendees, and they respect the values and traditions of the Christians.  Most of them have been to the church at least once, maybe for a baptism or a funeral.

"Over 75% of members were attracted to this church because of the quality of bible teaching.  Most of those recently joining the church had some kind of previous Christian influence in their lives, so going to church wasn’t strange.

"People who are now moving into the village don’t have this kind of background and may find it difficult to make the first step.  In this kind of situation, we need to think about ‘go and tell’ and reaching people wherever they are at, rather than ‘come and see what is happening in the church’."

One way the church ‘goes and tells’ is through its schools work and Shemil enjoyed taking part with this.

"I found being different was good.  Some of the school children and other people I talked to thought that all Indians were Hindu.  They wanted to know why I was working in a church and this gave me good openings.  They also asked questions – like about the tsunami and suffering.

"This made me realise the importance of knowing what I believe and where I stand on theological and ethical questions.  My first year at Redcliffe has been very helpful in that respect, and I surprised myself with some of my answers!

"Before doing this placement I had a very pessimistic idea about the church and evangelism through the church.  I considered the traditional Anglican churches as a sinking ship with no hope of restoration.  The church in Riseley totally turned my perspective upside down and I realised that parish churches still have an amazing role in society today."