Springfield Christmas

Mary dropped me off at Sheffield train station at 15:01.  At this moment, on Radio 4, Stephen Cleobury's choice of soloist treble chorister would be ringing "Once in royal David's city..." round Kings College, Cambridge.  I was heading to Leicester.

Clive T (there are two resident Clives, just to confuse everyone) picked me up, and Clive W settled me into a bedroom in the brothers' end.  I met Charlie Davis, who at five weeks looks like he's already in size 2 baby clothes.  Andy and Eva had friends round for an evening meal.  Afterwards we joined them, so everyone was gathered in the main lounge.  Since I judged that very little was expected of me, I ploughed into a recent book (Single Mission) on the challenges of singleness and Christian service.  Most folks opted to sample the midnight service at an outskirts parish church.  This included persuading the two Chinese students girls staying under a hosting arrangement to join in.  I chose an early night.

When the sunrise caught the cedar tree outside my window, I realised I couldn't work out the orientation of the house.  That's no surprise, I get muddled at home.  Annie had offered me a sack of sprouts to peel as contribution towards feeding the nearly 60 folks booked in for tea.  But when I appeared in the kitchen Clive was already on his 70th, much to the amusement of the sisters.  They obviously have some other way of gauging three or four each without actually counting.  He stopped at 170, but one rolled under the Aga. 

Springy are very organised, and ring a bell for meals - one of several spring-mounted on a board that summonsed the staff in the property's former existence.  There was Stilton with the bread and soup that constituted a quick snack lunch.  We broke into what Clive called a turtle cake, so thick with chocolate that it had to be turned over to cut portions.  Then we piled into the minibus and headed for the Cropston Reservoir car park of Bradgate Country Park. 

Clive had a missed call from Iain, who was heading up the Open Door Coventry party that we would be meeting up with.  It was too cold for them to hang around for us, and they'd already set off on their walk (blame the turtle cake).  I ambled along with Hamid, who'd come across from Birmingham to spend time with his in-laws-to-be.  We chatted about his work colleagues and their techie questionings about faith, and whether we've got it wrong about celibacy and the rising generation.

Pretty soon we read the signals that the children along with the families had had enough, and we headed back.  The sky was free of aircraft vapour trails.  I hadn't consciously noted that since visiting Bystrany in rural Slovakia.  Just then, Mary texted to say the Sheffield crew had just got back to the car park on their traditional walk. 


Tea was a splendid affair, with full roast and mince pies.  Hamid and I joined Clive and attacked the washing up.  We all gathered for a spontaneous worship time.  At around 8pm, the Coventry folks made their farewells.  Then we had a round of 'Empire', which must rate as the fastest-growing-in-popularity game around.  Caleb won, having sat inconspicuously in the corner throughout the entire proceedings.  The local folks made their ways home: suddenly it was quiet.  One by one, folks announced what they'd be doing between now and Sunday.  It wasn't leaving me many people to
talk to on Boxing Day, nor opportunity to practise a couple of songs with the resident musicians for the meeting I had to take.

No matter, tomorrow there was nearby Victoria Park to explore, with its several prescribed jogging routes: flat, too.  Before the snow.

Jesus Centre Managers' Forum

It's a meeting I look forward to.  Our Jesus Centres probably carry most autonomy of all our local activities.  So, we need intentional cooperation to prevent isolation, mission drift and 'reinventing the wheel'.  Every three months the managers come together, rotating the meetings between our four Centres.  The agenda is flexible, except at the end of year when we carry out a structured review, as befits an efficient charity.

This year we gathered against the backdrop of our financial pressures.  Two weeks ago, the Trustees' Exec met - for the first time since our establishment.  Chairman John had produced an excellent synopsis.  Treasurer Mike had reviewed and commented on the big-ticket items in each Centre's 2015 budgets.

Overnight, following the Financial Summit, I'd stayed at Kings House.  I'd pleasantly spent the evening with Andrew, Ellen and crew.  First thing in the morning I'd texted birthday greetings to her and Kat - they're seven years apart.  (Vodaphone let me down on the second text, but that's a whole nother story.)

On the way to Central Offices, I'd picked up a load of distribution from John Fervent's vending machine company customer.  The Forum meeting was eased along with samples of (lurid pink) green tea and peach cordial, pomegranate juice, and Mars mixtures.  The remainder will find its way to Sheffield Jesus Centre.

We have two tricky objectives to meet: to continue to enable the vision for congregations to run Centres, and to ensure these are sustainable.  So, it's expansion and consolidation at the same time, with the seeming contradiction this implies.  John spoke of the difference between limbs being lopped off and being pruned.  He steered us through the financial constraints (nothing new to the voluntary sector!), and income targets.

Then on to the work on the ground.  Each Centre was able to report progress in 2014, though successes weren't equal.  The common thread is a drift away from fully meeting annual costs, and a sense that we're on the limit with volunteer input.  So the message really is one of resetting our expectations so we live within our means - in the total meaning of the expression.  And communicating this positively, while aspiring to be more effective with what we've got.  Finally, after a couple of years of frustration, opening a Centre in Birmingham is now within our reach.

After lunch it was time to fix our objectives, likely obstacles and mitigation for 2015.  Managers are emerging as teams getting on top their responsibilities.  Northampton Jesus Centre now has strong local staff, London is looking brighter, Coventry have freshened up their service offerings and Sheffield now tends to a measure of realism.

So, much to do.  For me it starts with our own local Management Committee Exec meeting this  Sunday, followed by Coventry's equivalent on Monday evening.  But we're all in it together, and God's in it, too.
 

G14 Financial Summit 2

There were no helicopters, motorcycle police, barricades or press.  The simple wooden sign confirmed this was the right place.  I parked under the dark trees and found my way into the building through a back door.   To the right, Sam's breakfast of fried eggs on toast smelled delicious (especially since I'd left home before 6am).  To the left, Andrea was loading a washing machine.  I ducked through a low doorway and into Anthem's large lounge. 

This was review day, when all the Exec groups reported back on 2015's budget exercise.  Steve Line, our former audit partner, stepped briskly into the room  and shook hands with all present.  Huw, sitting beside me with a grave expression, was fidgeting.  Jan positioned himself  - probably unnecessarily - on a back row bench.  Hilary gave out neatly clipped bundles of paper for those who hadn't studied their advance copies.  Mick started us off with a song, scripture reading and prayer.  Ed, co-chairing, invited Steve to open.

"I've lost sleep over what I've found here," he announced, referring to Hilary's pack of reports.  "You have some major decisions to make.  It's not all about cost cutting.  It's about heart and head, and which you'll follow.  You share a DNA, and you can all give reasons why things shouldn't change.  And I've known you all long enough to say that you're very good at talking round things, and then doing nothing about them."

"The best way I can describe it is like a funnel, out of which you need to squeeze some results.  But first you have to put in some weighty decisions, like whether you see yourselves - the whole Church community - as custodians or innovators?  These provide the pressure onto your commitments, strategies and actions.  Do your top level Execs make these decisions?"  Steve's emphasis on 'make' suggested that he knew jolly well...

"As we go through these reports and analyses, I suggest you ask, 'So what?'.  'So what?' if you have low community house occupancy, less than a full weeks' wages, etc.  Like I said, it's heart and mind.  I'm here perhaps just to give an outside perspective.  You'll find that uncomfortable.  And I shall make it uncomfortable, or else you'll do nothing."  'Nemesis' may have been the word Steve used, but he was being a good friend.

The Exec reports and analyses were uniformly excellent.  As Steve had predicted, the community issues provoked most cross-conversation, because they were closest to home.   Folks feel more distanced or detached from various Jesus Centres or business subsidiaries.  By now, Huw was looking even grimmer.

Ed ruthlessly drove each agreed decision marker to an action point, and named a responsible person or group.  Steve insisted that the communication of decisions to all involved - across the Church - must improve.  There was tension: it's true there's been buck-passing, stalling and indecision.  Some of us 'retired' business executives, like Kelly, Ed and I, have made our presence more evident among the not-for-profit entities.  I have to say that there's begun to be a sharper culture, but it's only a start.

We wound down to whether and when we should meet again to pick up progress.  Steve, probably feeling that a good day's work was about to slip through our fingers, interrupted: "No later than the end of March."  Then, even with a nice buffet lunch waiting, he apologised for leaving abruptly, 'to get an afternoon nap'.  That man deserves a quality Xmas hamper from Goodness Foods: I hope Ed made a note.

The Big Bonfire

I admit that that I was a bit sceptical.  The Big Pick had proved a popular success, so it seemed irresistible to produce a sequel. 

I've spent hours talking down leadership teams from repeating programmes for evangelism campaigns or other events, just become the last one worked well.  If you happen to have hit what the Holy Spirit's turned up and blessed, then find what may similarly be the case for your next event.  The Holy Spirit doesn't work to formula.  However, I was told there was another reason: some folks wanted to see if we could hold a major event that didn't cost £20,000.

Mary and I were due to be in Coventry for the weekend, and Promise household had pitched to be at the Bonfire, so we were happy to go along.  Viv hitched a lift, too.

Even at the advertised start time, 4.30pm, Cornhill was bitingly cold and in total darkness.  Well, a big shout for the folks who had set everything up.  There were two strings of lights, tables of drink and food laid on, and the bonfire site was nicely cordoned off, including a semicircle of benches.  Folks were arriving for well over an hour, milling around chatting and periodically cosying up to the heat to thaw out.

Then the guitars came out and we had a session of worship.  Yes, it was good to be together like this - a few from Brighton, London and Birmingham, most of Leicester and Coventry as well as the Northampton locals.

Mary and I got to Promise in time for some supper, and the guest bedroom was as warm as anyone could wish.

I led the Sunday morning event at the Jesus Centre, and Gav and the team made a good job of my (customarily) challenging choice of songs.

 Lunch was the periodic all-congregation event, this time hosted by Kings.  A few dropped out on the way, but the big lounge and all the ground floor rooms were cheerily full.  I overheard it mourned that come next year, the congregation will likely have no equivalent sizeable property. 

Mary chipped off to see Andrew, Ellen and the crew nearby.  Meanwhile Nick fired up his '0' gauge genuine steam train in the Gate, and soon had a crowd of admirers.  As if appropriate for the weekend, his enthusiasm triggered the smoke detector and set off the fire alarm.  So, copy that.