There’s the old story about a stranger asking a local farmer for directions to a particular place – the response came “Well, if I was you, I wouldn’t start from here!”
However, as Felixstowe Methodist Church “we are where we are” at the moment and looking back to when things used to be somewhat different doesn’t necessarily help as we try to look forward. We can, though, take heart I believe from everything that has gone before and all the successes we (as the serving Methodists in Felixstowe) have achieved, and continue to achieve in God’s name.
My emphasis would be to look at what outreach and mission work we are aiming to sustain and develop in the Felixstowe area. And, once we have this we can decide what resources, in terms of people and of buildings, we need for this work. There will always be an argument of “things might get better in the future” or “we have always done certain things in the church” but I think it’s time to concentrate on our outreach opportunities and to prioritise those. From this a number of questions come to mind (in no particular order):
- Which of our outreach opportunities require a building – which can be done with no building?
- Those which require a building – where is the greatest need?
- Which of our locations lend themselves to enhancement and development (in terms of cost and position). Maybe none of the locations are “ideal”?
- How can we partner with others in our outreach (e.g. Walton Parish Nursing, other denominations, other organisations etc.)
- Are there other partnerships we can explore which may open other options? For example, the Methodist Church is encouraging Churches to explore the “Use of Property in Mission” – click here for more details.
- What is the first thing that comes to mind when we think about “Church” – is it the building which we have worshiped in for the past X years or is it the worshipping/serving community?
- How can we sustain all the building we currently have trusteeship over – we must remember that we do not “own” any of our buildings – they are owned at Methodist Connectional level and we are Trustees (through the Church Council).
- Anything we decide to do must always have our climate commitment in mind.
- Consider how much volunteer and ordained time (and money) goes into the maintenance of our buildings, compared to the time and money spent in outreach and mission. Both time and money is a limited resource – we need to use both wisely.
No single solution will satisfy everyone nor will allow all aspects of our current outreach to be continued in the same way. However, I think now is the time to take action (while we still have some energy and enthusiasm). There will be some brave decisions to be made but I believe that God is still prompting us to think “radically” about the future of Methodism, both in Felixstowe and more widely. Let’s be brave and step out in faith!
At a more practical level, here are a few ideas which have come to me (partly through discussions with others):
- Look to partner with someone like Methodist Homes – could we explore the possibility of a new Methodist Home in Felixstowe which would include a Worship / Community hub so Felixstowe Methodist Church would have a base for outreach work?
- Could we partner with a commercial organisation to transform part of Trinity into a Cafe? Other Churches in the Connexion have gone down similar lines – we could take advantage of their experiences. Maybe using other parts of Trinity as an exhibition/performance area whilst retaining a worship area. However, we must be careful not to further increase the overall maintenance burden.
- As has been mentioned elsewhere – look to sell all existing buildings and build a new eco-friendly Church and outreach base which better meets our current needs and objectives.
- There are organisations such as “Faith in Affordable Housing” which works with Churches and Housing Associations to look at ways in which buildings and land which is surplus to requirement can be transformed into affordable housing. Could we explore this avenue to see if there might be scope for us to do this? Any capital which is then freed up could be invested in enhancing our mission through better use of the remaining buildings. Part of our ongoing mission could also help support the occupants of the new housing.
- Look to sell off some buildings/parts of buildings – e.g. the hall at Seaton Road and part of the premises at Trinity. Having said that, I am not sure that would radically reduce the amount of work involved in the maintenance of the property.
- The Methodist Church provides financial support (through grants) for feasibility studies to take place for any potential plans – we must ensure that we take advantage of these grants wherever possible.