There is a group I sometimes stumble over on Facebook that shares pictures of “Ghost Roads.” These are roads that have been cut off or become dead ends because of later developments and the changing shape of the infrastructure. You will sometimes see them as lay-bys or as quiet picnic areas under a motorway – their former purpose difficult to identify as the modern world rushes by. I’ve always enjoyed trying to spot such places or trying to follow their route and to trace the buildings and imagine the communities that they served. Sometimes these are roads that have been used for 2000 years, routes for ancient armies, or herding animals, or carrying goods to market, or linking coaching inns or building new industry – and if you look carefully you can sense the ghosts of those old travellers.
At such times, it is easy to resent the changes that have led to such abandonment. To despair at a closed pub or factory, wonder at the ruined houses and imagine that life was so much better then. But such places have been by-passed for a reason. Perhaps the markets have changed, or the industry has moved on, or we wanted to get somewhere quicker than we could before or the traffic was swamping a village or a city and it just didn’t make sense to follow the old path or persist with the traditional ways. And so we rush past and marvel at how quickly we can arrive these days, often happy to do so. Yet there is also a goodness in taking our time, following the old ways, being surprised by a small vibrant community making good use of the lay-by, or parts of an old industrial complex or the corner of a busy chapel.
The way to Easter is well marked out with familiar stories of the teaching, conversations and plots; sometimes we may be rushing onwards, failing to take in the detail of a story, or assuming we know this one already, so there is nothing new to contemplate. Yet, if we take time there is often something new to discover or time to remember those who have travelled this way once upon a time, and it serves us well to pause and listen to what they have to tell us. Beyond Easter Day we begin to hear the stories of the early church spreading the gospel across the whole region. They use the communications systems of the day – roads, shipping, letters – to share good news into growing population centres and create new communities following The Way.
Today, we are faced with a situation where it seems like the church is positioned on one of these ghost roads. Our buildings are sometimes positioned where the people used to be or where the road system now passes them by. We look like remnants of an old way of living, and we are often faced with the challenge of whether to stay or whether to go somewhere else. My Synod role is designed to help those churches who are prepared to ask those questions to do so – the joy is in finding answers that no one expected, the sadness is finding people who are so stuck in their ways that they won’t look at the possibility of following Jesus in new ways.
I love the vibrancy of our building through the week, with so many people in and around making use of our presence to learn, feed, heal and manage their way through life. It creates pressures, and sometimes I wish the buildings were configured in another way – but we work with what we have. That vibrancy only happens because there is a worshipping community at the heart of it. Without the presence of a Sunday congregation or Tuesday’s prayers, I do not believe everything else happens in the same way. Hence we need to sustain one another and we need to encourage some to return and others to join us – I know that is difficult but all churches exist because they pray and meet together, and they invite others to join in and the responsibility to do so is everyone’s.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All believers held everything in common, selling their possessions and goods, they gave to everyone in need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were saved.” Acts 2:42-47.
May you know the blessings of Easter and the joy of following the way of Jesus
Be blessed,
Craig
