Ministry

Our Ministry

Opening Address to the Church in Famagusta – Sunday 8th January 2006
by the Rev Robin K. Brookes

At the Christmas service Lilya kindly gave us a present of the Gospel Concert CD – for which great thanks – we’ve enjoyed listening to the music – she described me as ‘our priest’. Having lived now for 16 years in Ireland which is predominantly Catholic and nearly 7 in South Cyprus that is mainly Greek Orthodox I have often used the term of myself as a word that enables local people to swiftly put me in the right box and I no longer throw a wobbly if someone calls me ‘Father’, but the term I have always preferred of my role is that of Minister – because that means someone who serves. Jesus said ‘the Son of Man came not to be served – but to serve’.(Matthew 20:28) Val and I sincerely want to be servants of this church – now we live here – we can be available to you - a new adventure with God for the Anglican Church as well as ourselves. However long the Lord tarries and however long we are enabled to stay here we intend to work our socks off for the glory of God and for the extension of His kingdom here and to the very tip of the Karpaz.

When I was at Theological College, my principal the Rev Alec Motyer once said that at the Keswick Convention – a famous Bible teaching convention in England – he was known as the ‘Man of Prayer’ – because he would sit at the side of the stage after he had spoken, with his head in his hands. He said ‘People all thought I was praying. Actually it was simply that I could not bear the challenge that was being given out to the congregation. People do not need challenging into the Kingdom – but loving into the Kingdom’. Ever since then I have tried to make that a principle of my ministry. Christianity after all is NOT a religion – it is at its heart a relationship with the creator of the universe Almighty God, which is possible because of what Jesus achieved by his sacrificial death upon the cross. Earlier I quoted Matthew 20:28 where Jesus says that he came not to be serve but to serve…he goes on ‘and to give his life as a ransom for many’ – that I nor any other human being can never do – but Jesus who was God incarnate – Immanuel – God with Us ‘opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers’ Our task is to point people to him as The Way, the Truth and The Life – the only Saviour. In fact I want to suggest a motto for us for this New Year: “To know Christ better; and to make Him better known”.

Where we are now

You will notice that I am talking about us. In his letter to the Ephesians, speaking of Jesus, Paul writes, “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”. (Eph 4:11-13) So as you see the Minister – elder - pastor – overseer has a particular role within the body of Christ in order that together we may be built up and become mature in Christ. Elsewhere St Paul speaks of the gifts of the Spirit that are given to all believers, ‘Now to each one the manifestation of the spirit is given for the common good’ and he goes on from here to give one of his well known passages on members of the church being like the different parts of the human body – where we need all the bits to function properly. It is the same with any church we need to function together in unity and with that common purpose of becoming more like Jesus and proclaiming Him to those who do not know Him yet. Val and I need you every bit as much as you need us. Thank you to those that I heard were praying and fasting for us this week – we really appreciate it. Nothing of any significance is ever achieved without prayer.

So we are in this together –we may now be even more formerly than before an Anglican Chaplaincy – but that does not mean you have to be Anglican to be here – on the contrary throughout this island and Diocese and in the wider world we are the spiritual home for people from many different backgrounds – and that adds a great richness to a church – because you have a contribution and an understanding to bring from your background – be it from Methodist or Baptist or Pentecostal or Roman Catholic or even Anglican – or any other Christian tradition. At the moment 95% or so of this congregation are from the university – but that does not make it a university church – but a Christian Church which students attend. Some members are what are known as expatriates – though actually that term applies to all who are living in a country not their own – but I mean mostly British and white. In the course of time these numbers may increase – there may be another building – a different style of morning service, but that won’t make it an expatriate church and certainly never a British church. Most importantly of all I hope we will always be a church with “fuzzy edges”, where people who are seeking God will feel welcomed and loved for who they are, encouraged to explore more and to find Him because the teaching here is based upon the Word of God. But also that they will be able to choose if they really are not convinced of the truth to walk away, free to make their own decision – for we know from scripture that at the end of the day it is the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts of people to bring them to faith – our role is to be faithful and “To Know Christ better and to make Him better known”. Jesus after all challenged the rich young ruler about what he was trusting in, his wealth or God – he couldn’t let his money go and simply trust Jesus so he walked away– but the scripture says that Jesus loved him.

And on into the future

I was asked recently if I had plans for the church. In many ways the answer was no – in precise terms. I have outlined today some of the history as to how we arrived at where we are. I have outlined a general principle for the future which I would hope would really be the same for any church. To land in with a set of fixed ideas and to announce them without any form of consultation in some form of programme for the next several years I think would be the worst possible way of going about things. I hope before too long we shall have a Pastoral Council set up and a way whereby we can share ideas and see how we can grow in Christ towards that maturity of which St. Paul speaks. I/we have a number of ideas to bring –most of my best ideas come from Val – and she would say from the Lord -I am sure you have some suggestions too.

I mentioned earlier that Christianity is not a religion but a relationship – and it is as we develop that relationship with Him that our relationships with each other grow and deepen. It is impossible for me or Val as individuals to get to know you all deeply and intimately. How many people did you spend more than a couple of hours or even one hour with last week in a deep and meaningful way? But what we can encourage is the deepening of relationships within the groups that exist; to encourage development of others, all of which will be kind of ‘Care and Share’ support groups of smaller numbers within the congregation, so that we may uphold each other and demonstrate to the people of a needy world the love of Jesus that they so need to know for themselves.

We’re in this together – we need each other – please work with us for God’s glory and the extension of His kingdom – “To know Christ better, and to make Him better known”