Jesus at Weston-Super-Mare
Jesus at Weston-Super-Mare
Jesus arrived by boat at Weston-Super-Mare. Who knew? This is a local legend or myth that Jesus came by boat to Weston as a boy on his way to Glastonbury.
Pioneer MA weekend report by Cathy Ross,
The donkeys that can be seen on the local beach are descendants of the donkeys that came with Jesus – according to a tongue-in-cheek blog post. They arrived with Jesus but got bogged down in the mudflats at the beach so could not carry Jesus to Glastonbury. Now their descendants are still on the beach at Weston!
Fanciful perhaps but a lovely local myth and something to be appreciated as we began our MA weekend with a meal in the home of Cathy and John Wheatley, and their two young daughters, who have lived there for 15 years.
They have made their home on the Bournville estate, an estate that is locally disparaged. Cathy works for the local council and John is a volunteer pioneer youth worker relating with children and young people in the parks, on the streets and building partnerships for change. They are self-supporting and are well embedded in their local context.
John arranged a fantastic programme for the 10 of us who were there mid-March from the CMS MA programme. We were all hosted locally with very welcoming hosts.
We began in Cathy and John’s home by hearing about this estate on the Somerset coast. The next morning we visited the Healthy Living Centre, opposite their home, a multi-agency development and considered the strengths and weaknesses of this model.
We set up our own cathedral tent in there for morning prayers – complete with stained glass windows – see the photos! John tells us that the young people love it!
The local Anglican and Methodist churches sold their buildings and now have their church inside this centre – not very visible but located in the heart of this centre. Is this a good approach?
From there we had delicious (and plentiful) fish and chips on the seafront (looking out for the donkeys) before attending a fantastic play, “The Old Pier” at a local community theatre, The Front Room, located in a former Pizza Express.
The one-man show was about George who wants to leave his hometown. Nothing makes him more eager to do this than the sight of the Old Pier – a crumbling wreck on the edge of the ocean.
But at night, lights twinkle amongst the rubble… A ghostly steamship arrives in George’s bedroom which leads to a night of adventure and to his reconsidering his decision to leave Weston.
This set the scene superbly for us to have a conversation with Barney and Sara Barron, pioneers from Looe in Cornwall and Jade Zerk, a Baptist minister in the next coastal town, about life and ministry in coastal communities in Somerset and Cornwall.
The following morning we met at the allotments which are free to anyone in the community to use – complete with fire pit (read toasted marshmallows) and pizza oven (read pizza and bread rolls)!
Here local youth worker Dylan Barker chatted with us about creative youth ministry, and Zoe Missen, a local youth worker from the YMCA about her experiences working there. Then after pizza it was all over, very sadly.
It was a fantastic weekend. As one student said,
“There is obvious value in reading research, books, and written accounts of pioneer missiology. But none can compare to seeing and feeling these contexts in action. A reflection of 15 years of decisions, effort, collaboration, relationship building, struggles, mistakes, repeated rhythms, all while following the disruptive Spirit of God.
“The depth of the experience offered to us by John, Cathy, their family, and collaborative partners has breathed new life into any vision I have for my role in pioneering mission.”
Others commented on seeing “being with” lived out rather than “doing to or for.” Another was inspired by their faith and creativity. And another was unexpectedly surprised by the resonance with her own context of rural ministry and she came away with new ideas.
We all left inspired, challenged, humbled to see faithful, unassuming and creative ministry truly on the edges, done with few financial resources but with a lot of time, nurturing of good relationships and partnerships, a practical hospitality, a commitment to the local and a willingness to be in the neighbourhood for the long term.
Thank you, Cathy and John.
More from the blog
Studying with CMS has changed my life!
Former MA Pioneer student and current CMS employee Natalie Burfitt talks about the long-term transformation of studying with CMS.
How church is always emerging
A recent conversation day at CMS looked at fresh ways to express and think about pioneering and church planting.
