Speech for General Synod 22 Feb 2019

As I wasn’t called to speak, here is what I would have said in the debate on Evangelism and Discipleship. Please feel free to share!

Bill Braviner

Durham, 104

Synod, it is hugely encouraging and important that we are putting time and energy and money into our work of telling people the good news of God’s love for us, and the nourishment to be found through word and sacrament as part of God’s pilgrim people.

It was great to be at the digital fringe this morning, and hear about:

• The amazing success of #FollowtheStar and other campaigns
• Excellent resources to support evangelism and discipleship development
• Great improvements to our online offering, with more to come
• Great openness to hearing feedback and suggestions, and to act on them

There are wonderful developments like 

• “an ordinary office” (Launched during our July synod last year, now used 100k times in 6 months, with no funding), 
• Alexa skills, 
• social media content etc 

These make a huge difference to many people.

Digital is one aspect of our opening up what we have to offer, to many more people. We ought to put serious resources behind our small, yet award-winning digital team, and others in the field who can help and engage with us on this.

There are many who can’t always, or can’t ever, access our buildings

If that’s because they’re at work etc, and can go another time, then OK

But where the buildings, or the way we do what we do, put up barriers, it isn’t.

I would make a plea that in our outreach, we continually look for ways to make engagement easy and accessible to all, physically, intellectually, and in all sorts of other ways, so that we embody and live out the truth that the Gospel is good news for all, and mean what we say when we say “All Welcome”. 

So it’s not just digital...

• It’s also buildings that people can get into and use

• It’s welcome, hospitality and attitudes that encourage and Enable

• It’s great content, in all sorts of media, that supports faith and sings for the joy of the gospel.

There are so many people who need (and want) to find what we have found - the love of God in Jesus. 

Synod, let’s do all we can, in all the ways we can, to make Accessible Church a reality for everyone.