Good News from the Forgotten Places
- Anglican Futures
- Jun 5
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Part book-review and part comment - this blog draws inspiration from
"Sowing Seeds with Songs of Joy (Growing God’s Garden In Forgotten Places)", by the Revd Jonathan Macy and the wisdom of those who have joined the Anglican Futures Ministry in Deprived Areas gatherings over the past five years.
In his book, 'Sowing Seeds with Songs of Joy (Growing God’s Garden In Forgotten Places)', the Revd Jonathan Macy writes, "If the Gospel is true, which it is, and the Creator of the universe is fully behind it, which He is, and the eternal Triune God can never be caught out by human circumstances, which He can’t, then there is no place nor person nor people group beyond His transformative power and blessing."
Jonathan is the vicar of Church of the Cross, on the Thamesmead Estate, in south-east London. It is an estate that is home to about 50,000 people, where 12% of homes do not have English as a main language and more than a third identify as black African. When he arrived ten years ago he thought that the key to success would be to persuade some of his friends in big evangelical churches to share their resources with him - but when he was met with a wall of silence, he turned to God and learned that, while resources can be helpful, ministry, "all comes back to the initial theology of the Body Of Christ and one’s view of the church leader."
This inspiring book begins with a deep dive into the complex web of difficulties which surround those living in poverty. Using Maslow's 'Hierachy of Needs' as a framework, Jonathan sets out the, "stark reality that the churches with the least resources are called to minister to the communities with the highest and most complex needs." In contrast to many wealthier churches, those in areas of deprivation serve many for whom meeting the most basic physiological needs is a daily struggle and a safe and secure future is a distant dream.

One vicar described it in this way, “They’ve got a lot of chaos and madness attached to their lives. People in church, even those with fairly stable lives, have got lots of connections with that madness and chaos. You are never more than one step removed from all kinds of stuff; crime, addictions, major relationship issues and health problems.” Or as a church member told their new vicar, "You think about the end of the world, we think about the end of the month.”
Despite this, or because of it, over the past ten years the congregation at the Church of the Cross has grown fivefold, as Jonathan has learned to depend on God, rather than human resources. His vision of church is both simple and counter-cultural:
"A church leader’s role is to: Equip the saints for work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, it is not to ram people into your imported vision.
A church leader in these contexts needs to be one who will be a gardener, who liberally allows seeds to be sown, who does not mind which flower, fruit or vegetable is produced, and who will not give up on vines, but give them an extra year of manure to see if God blesses them with growth. To stretch the analogy, you also need to be a good enough chef that you know how to cook with whatever the garden gives, being flexible and creative with recipes as you watch something sprout you never thought possible from that soil. However, it also demands the necessity of whole church discipleship and training, that everyone in the room needs to be up to speed, flowing in their gifts and engaged – young, old, families, able or disabled."
Church of the Cross is one where everyone has a part to play, where everything is all-age and where the youth lead, and teach, the service once a month. It is a family where the nominal churchgoer meets Jesus and those hurt by the prosperity gospel find healing. It's a church that runs without rotas (because few people have a diary) yet things usually work out, because as Jonathan writes,"I have a pool of people whom I know and who I can call upon as (or if) they walk in the door. I know their gifts and strengths, and I know what needs to be done, and they know that if I ask it is because I need help. It is a goodwill environment. Roles come before rotas, so develop roles not rotas. Sometimes I cannot find people to do things, so they do not happen. That is fine. You move on"
Jonathan admits that this, "takes some guts as a leader," because it isn't possible to hide behind processes, or performace, and it isn't possible to control what people say. In the book he describes how some reject the call to serve in these 'forgotton places' - one potential minister could not imagine doing ministry without a "nice" coffee shop and another was confused that there was no church administrator mentioned on the website. It is hard not to think of the Rich Young Ruler, who went away sad, when one considers how many miss out on the joyful freedom that comes with the messiness of this ministry. Speaking to the Anglican Futures' regular 'Ministry in Deprived Areas' gathering, Jonathan explained:
"It's the real basic conviction that I can't do the job, no one can do this job, so in that sense you are released to, 'Alright, I will do the things that I can do, and then Lord you are going to have to do the rest'. Because I could work eighty hours a week, a hundred hours, two hundred hours and it wouldn't even touch the sides. Has God called me here to burn out? No... so I will do my basic forty hours a week, have my day off, take my annual leave and then say 'Lord, you are going to have to do the things I can't do' - and he has! That's the thing, he has - he has plugged all the gaps - things I couldn't do."
This humility floods the pages of his book where, reflecting on the last ten years, Jonathan writes,
"In hindsight, I think we stumbled upon an adaptive culture, where we were happy with risk taking, and the attitude of doing few things well, as opposed to many things thinly or poorly. Removing “fear of failure” allowed us to try, drop and keep various things until we found what worked."
Yet, this adaptive culture also stems from a deep and abiding trust in divine providence despite the apparent chaos and confusion of life on the estate.
"God never wastes a crisis, so keep on keeping the main thing, the main thing. We need a theology of “I can’t do it, but God can” and we need a workable theology of theodicy as much as love, that God is in the mess with us, but never affirming the mess. If God affirms you where you are, and where you are is awful, what does that say about God? A God who does not transform lives is of no use or interest to anyone in dire straits. We must preach the full fat gospel of power and change and not vague notions of love and affirmation. As things fall apart, people ask new questions, and they look for new answers in new places."
English may not be the first language of many at the Church of the Cross but the Revd Jonathan Macy does not see that as a barrier to helping his congregation delve into the mysteries of God. In the book he describes his approach as rejecting easy wins and wrestling with discipleship, "Spiritual resilience," he says, "must be built into the congregation, not only for their own benefit, but also that people full of hope and strength where many do not have that naturally leads people to ask: “What do you have that I do not?”
The book's Epilogue is entitled "Priests" - an idea that Jonathan spoke about to Anglican Futures -"Again that theology of the priesthood of all believers - when you truly think that everyone there is a priest, someone who can bless me, because in that sense I am the same as everyone else, and they can also bless others... I haven't brought one person to church in ten years - it's all through the congregation, witnessing to the neighbours, being priests to the person next door."
On their website the Church of the Cross is described as somewhere where, "everybody is welcome to come and pray, worship and listen to God’s word being preached, and so meet with the Living and life-changing God, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, and meet with God's people."
If only all churches, whatever their size, wealth or reputation, could say the same.
"Sowing Seeds with Songs of Joy" can be purchased from Amazon.
Anglican Futures' 'Ministry in Deprived Areas' events began as an
Ideas Exchange in 2020 - from which this summary was produced.
Since then a group have met twice a term to continue the conversation.
The next gathering will take place on the 15th July at 2pm.
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