Can a church get too big?

Heaven knows if it's true but maybe a church can grow too big. I have spent a quarter of a century praying and working for IMC (Ingleton Methodist Church) to grow, and it has done. But yesterday morning I felt lost and alone.

Maybe it was my depression, but maybe it's the fact that you can't get to know everyone any more.
When I shared this with someone they said we should concentrate on the housegroups as sources of fellowship. I'm sure that's right, but it's sad that a church can grow to a size where people feel left out. I knew it in theory but now I've experienced it in practice, and it hurts.

Voices of Old Ingleton Weekend

The Voices of Old Ingleton (VOI) Weekend went pretty well.

About 70 people turned up on Friday night to watch a slide show given by Malcolm Culshaw. He showed pictures of old Ingleton, including St. Mary's as it was before it was rebuilt in the mid 1880s, and more up to date ones like the building of Ingleborough Park. Ingleton National School featured quite heavily and I was able to give a brief explanation of how it came into being.

On Saturday morning I launched my VOI book at St. Mary's Church and showed people round looking at plaques and furniture, explaining which people were remembered in them.

On Sunday morning at Ingleton Methodist Church (IMC) I talked about three men who signed the Trustee Deeds for our church in February 1845. They were each from different social classes and from that I talked about the need to reach out to the poorer people of our community. I also pointed out that those who wrote about our founders all used the word "earnest" to describe them, so I talked about the importance of being earnest.

I think the whole weekend can be construed as a success. I already have ideas for next year.

Back again

Sorry to you if you're a regular reader but I haven't been blogging for a couple of weeks.

I could make excuses: I've been so busy getting the next Brook House Booklet ready for the printer; I've been so busy reading a book about the railways; I've been so busy preaching at Eastburn and leading the Shepherd's Choir at Grange-over-Sands; but they're all excuses really.

The truth is I've been so fed up I haven't felt like it. But today I have come back. I still feel fed up but I'm going to do it anyway.

Next weekend sees the Voices of Old Ingleton weekend. We're having a slide show at IMC on Friday evening, a book launch at St. Mary's on Saturday morning and a special service called Building Good Foundations at IMC on Sunday morning. It will be the second anniversary of our going back into the rebuilt chapel. I have a video to show and I hope a sketch might happen too.

Do come if you can.

They should have read my blog

The radio today has stolen a march over the papers by telling the world that Hilary Clinton has been Obama in the New Hampshire Primaries. This was totally unexpected because the polls and pundits had been predicting a huge win by Obama.

Well, they should have read my blog (5 January)!

On a more spiritual note, we held a fellowship meal at IMC last night when the new shape of housegroups was announced. We also had a time of sharing good news stories and that was quite remarkable. A lot of things have been happening.

The Fuel group, aged 10 - 14 organised a children's party, complete with Santa's Grotto. The worship group headed up the Community Carol Services at the Church of England, the Young People's Housegroup (early 20's) took Christmas Dinner to a poor family who don't usually have one and then a lot of the people who don't come to church did come to the Nativity Service because they'd had such a good time at the children's party.

This was so uplifting. Thank God for it and may 2008 continue in the way it has begun.

headaches, pills and meetings

I've swallowed several packets of Paracetamol lately because I have had an awful headache.

I said to somebody yesterday "I've got a thick head. Even thicker than usual."

This was at the IMC Church Council meeting where I let rip on my feelings about our need to be involved in the Methodist Circuit Meeting. OK, I went over the top. I was shouting into the mike and blasting everyone's eardrums. But it came from the heart.

We need to really pray that when we meet again on Tuesday 5 February the right people are chosen to represent IMC at the Circuit Meeting. They need to be people with the time and energy to help build the Kingdom of God in this area through Methodism.

Goodbye to all that...

Yes, it's goodbye to all this.

This is a picture of the office at Central Methodist Church Burnley where I used to work on a Wednesday.

It shows Adrian Heys, Manager of the Basement Project in the background and Marjorie Coyles, Administrator of the Burnley Circuit in the foreground. I will miss them both.

Why do I put it in now, several weeks after I last worked there? Because this weekend I ceased to be paid by the Methodist Church.

I am now non-employed. I can't say "unemployed" because I don't consider myself fit for employment. That's why I applied yesterday for Incapacity Benefit. The form's in the post.

Strangely enough, although this sort of thing occurs quite a bit in my life, Sunday 1 July was exactly 25 years since Audrey and I moved to Ingleton from Epping. I was a minister down there for three years and came up North on 1 July 1982 to seek God's will in Ingleton.

One of the first things I did was to speak for Ingleton Methodist Church after an adult baptism service . The baptism itself was held at the Ingleton Swimming Pool and the aftermeeting was in the Sunday School Room. Looking back in my mind's eye, I estimate there might have been about 20 of us there at that meeting. I talked about "Fellowship". I remember that because I made a joke about fellowship not being a boat full of men.

What was actually happening in that meeting, although I did not realise it at the time, was that God was showing me my future for the next 25 years. Audrey and I became part of that fellowship the following Easter and have seen it grow to over a hundred meeting on a Sunday morning and lots of kids too.

On Friday I showed a group from Huntington Methodist Church in York around the new(ish) building. It was good to remind myself again of all that God has done in the last 25 years at Ingleton Methodist Church - IMC.

All praise be to Him.

But what does the next 25 years hold for me, Audrey and IMC?

Pete Resigns - It's Official!

Grandad
Grannie
Audrey and Pearl
Duncan Woollerton

I don't blog on Sundays so each Monday will feature What I Did At The Weekend.

Yesterday in all the Methodist Churches in Burnley and Pendle the following statement was read out:


"Pete McCabe has resigned as the Evangelism Enabler for the Burnley and Pendle Circuits so that he can use his strengths and gifts to serve God in other ways.
We thank him for his friendliness and commitment and wish him God's richest blessing for the future."

So it's official. Pete has resigned.

How does Pete feel? To be honest, deep down I wonder if I can ever work for anybody again.

Looking back over the last five years since I first went to the Doctor with Depression I have been struggling to cope. But GOD IS ABLE!

Yesterday at IMC Nick Paterson read out a poem by Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "Who Am I?" It was poignant.

One of the sentences in Nick's sermon hit me like an arrow. "The adventure of faith begins at your point of resignation." Wow!

At lunchtime we entertained Audrey's Mum and Dad - or Grandad and Grannie as they are known to the family. You can see their pictures.

In the evening we had supper with Pearl and Duncan Woollerton. You can see them too. What more could you want?! They helped us to think through the situation and look to the future. God bless them.

Moving on...

I went to see my boss Andrew Turner yesterday and talked to him about my future. He says that the two Circuits will pay me two months salary. That's a generous answer to prayer.

We also drew up a statement to be read in all the churches on Sunday.

I then went to see Peter Capstick at Shekinah. We prayed and sought the Lord together. He has been my greatest friend and support throughout this adventure. God bless him.

I had to ring Mike Bossingham and tell him I wouldn't be involved with his Family Friendly Weekend in Burnley and Pendle any more. That was hard, for him and for me. But he's coming up to Ingleton soon, so I will see him then. He has been a great help and support to me too.

Yesterday evening was the IMC Intercession Group. There was a real sense of unity there. I felt it was like the old Band meetings from long ago in Methodism.

a day in the life...

After reading the letters mentioned below I went back to bed and slept in until 9.30 a.m. This was strange for two reasons: 1 I normally get up four hours earlier 2 I had forgotten my usual routine.

So I called my son Nathan to get him to Bentham and Craven College. I then arranged to see a doctor at Bentham Surgery. After that I went to the IMC Coffee Morning and told my news to Henry and Rev Roger.

Alison Service showed some interest in renting our house in Bentham. Back there I saw Dr Burnett and she signed me off work for a week with stress. Some day, huh?!

But I wasn't finished yet. I did some strimming and watched gardening programmes, which I haven't done for a few Friday nights now.

So, how do I feel? As though the world is collapsing around me but God knows what's going on. Audrey is still devestated but she appologised for being so negative about it all. Good of her really, considering.

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