Swap Shop is a great success

A fantastic group made up of people from many Parishes within and without the Sarum Archdeaconry provided for a hugely encouraging morning of lively discussion centred on Jesus and mission.

The session, organised by the Ven Alan Jeans (Archdeacon of Sarum), Claire Horton (Sarum Rural Field Officer), and Steve Inglis (Ministry for Mission Resource Officer) was an opportunity for people to gather together for prayer, sung worship, conversation and food – with a particular focus on sharing ideas and challenges in relation to mission.

As Archdeacon Alan explained at the outset, the morning was a great opportunity to harness the collective wisdom in the room, not a time to be told what to do by those at the front.

With a loose structure that involved delving into the what, why, where and how, much lively conversation ensued, with the sharing of ideas and the peeling back of some of the layers that get built upon the language and understanding of mission.

Steve Inglis said:

"There was a great sense of mutual support and encouragement.

"As one attendee put it, "It’s nice to know we are not alone. We are a group of people who have the same desire but facing different difficulties. We are all in it together."

"They went on to say, "It strikes me that we all have similar problems - [pause] - actually, are they problems? They are opportunities!"

The overall feedback from others seemed equally emphatic.

"We are buzzing with ideas – we’ve all come away with something."
"Thank you so much, this has been such an encouraging morning."
"What a fantastic morning this has been. We need to do it again."

Steve says, "After such a great morning the question now is can we do it again - perhaps in the other 3 Archdeaconries as well as again in Sarum? Let’s hope so. Watch this space…"