By Andy Howes

What next for Union Chapel?

This is personal, rather than written in my current capacity as church secretary. It is not about the welcome we offer, or the way we work alongside others in our buildings. I think we are quite clear that those features of Union Chapel are very important. It is not about the leadership we are after... Rather, this is about the nature of the church as a worshipping community, about which we are less clear, and the development of which remains something of a mystery.

I think we are a church which is serious about relevant and pressing questions, which we address more through ongoing conversation and dialogue than through exposition and teaching. But we are still a bit apologetic about this.

The sorts of questions we have touched on or asked ourselves recently:

• How can we reconcile the sometimes competing demands of family, friends and work, as a church?
• Can we have more ‘proper’ conversations in church which involve young and old, atheists, agnostics and believers (etc.)
• How can we shape a more inclusive sense of community in and around us? What can we learn about that from the way of Jesus?
• How much should we share (as a church, as individuals)? With who? How?
• What do we know of love, that it is so central to Christian faith?
• What should we be doing to help stir things up in Manchester?
• Who are our partners – who should we be linking with, working with?
• What is the good news of the Gospel, now, here? How can we live it?
• Lots more where these came from…

A commitment to asking questions, seeking God, seeking a way forwards, seems much more possible, and I think more important for us than proclaiming truth. I don’t think we are alone in being distrustful of creeds. But faced with so many questions, can we avoid losing our way? What matters most to us?

                                                                                                Andy Howes