After Bradford came a day's break in Ripon and then a trip to Sheffield, where I met with the Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham, Martyn Snow. Then it was on to the Sheffield Diocesan House in Rotherham to meet with their Director of Mission and Pioneer Ministry, Canon Mark Wigglesworth. A distinctive feature of mission in that diocese is the contribution of some very large churches: St Thomas, Crookes, St Thomas, Philadelphia, and Christ Church, Fulwood among others. But they don't tell anything like the whole story. I met a few other Sheffield clergy and laity with Mark and heard from Abi Thompson, a vicar in Rotherham, about how she was growing her church in a tough area of the town through singing - evangelism on a 'Gareth Malone' model - by forming youth and community choirs. There are a couple of links about that here and here. Driving home to Bury across the Woodhead Pass I was able to reflect on another helpful set of conversations.
Then I was up early again next morning for a visit to Liverpool, by train this time, and a meeting with Archdeacon Ricky Panter at St James' House in the shadow of Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. It was a sunny day for once and a graduation ceremony was taking place in the cathedral, adding to the atmosphere in what is always a colourful city. I love visiting Liverpool. Just 40 miles or so from Manchester, it feels like another country altogether. Certainly the language is different. There is a lot to learn from the Diocese, as well, which has been shown by recent statistics to be growing. It joins London as the only dioceses where that is demonstrably the case. I was grateful to Ricky for a couple of hours of his valuable time, reflecting on this and other topics, and for a generous lunch. On Friday I was back in the car, with Kathryn this time, for a rather different kind of visit. We were returning to Beverley, for a rare visit in these last three and a half years since we left the Minster. The purpose was a meeting of the 'Archdeacons' Cell' that I belong to, with the Archdeacons of Carlisle (Kevin Roberts), the East Riding (David Butterfield), and Walsall (Chris Sims). We've been meeting for about three years now and it's a valuable group for mutual support and fellowship. Our wives join us as well, share part of our time together and then organise their own excursion in the afternoon, usually to the local shops! We've got to know each other well, and David and Irene are special friends because he was my Archdeacon for the last year and a half or so of our time in East Yorkshire. We stayed with them on Friday night, after a difficult journey because the M62 was blocked. We did manage a couple of calls to old friends from the parish, but the main purpose of the visit was our cell meeting. Chris and Catherine Sims were unable to join us this time, but the rest of us enjoyed one another's company as ever, and I was able to ask a few pertinent questions on my sabbatical theme to two more Archdeacons from different contexts.
It was a busy, but very valuable week, and there would be no chance for rest and reflection because the next day, Sunday, I would be heading for the capital, and two days of meetings in the Church of England's largest diocese (by population and by number of churches) - London.
Be hospitable to one another without complaining
1 Peter 4:9
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