David Clark's The Kingdom at Work Project has just published its 14th bulletin. In his introduction David writes:  Since the collapse of Christendom, the mission of the church within the world of work has been very confused and extremely tentative.  One reason for this failure is sociological.  Engagement with communities of place, on which the parish system was founded, has continued to dominate the use of the church’s human and economic resources.  However, after the industrial and, more recently, technological revolution, the world of work has spread well beyond parish boundaries with the church finding it extremely difficult to work out new forms of engagement. An even more important reason for the church’s inability to engage effectively with today’s world of work is theological.  The church seems unable to decide whether mission in this context is about individual salvation - making disciples; concerned with pastoral support - a ministry of care and counselling; or about institutional transformation - seeking the redemption of the workplace and those economic and social forces which impinge upon it. Thus Christian engagement with the world of work oscillates blindly between setting up work-related groups for prayer and nurture - with the focus on making disciples; putting more and more resources into chaplaincy - with an increasingly pastoral emphasis; or, by far the most neglected of these missiological approaches, equipping lay people to be kingdom community builders in the workplace - mission as communal transformation."  Download the bulletin here.

Why are bishops' officers for non-stipendiary ministry usually appointed from among the stipendiary priests? Would it not be far better if they were appointed from among those priests whom they are supposed to represent?

"There should...be an increasing number of theologians whose vocational position should be in the midst of contemporary society as workers or salaried employees, parliamentarians or journalists, etc, so that they will experience in concrete form what it means to bear responsibility for secular life ...

They should uncover the theological relevance of the most concrete social facts and processes of the sort that can be grasped only by having lived through them with others, deliberated together about them and come to common decisions. ... They would discover for the churches what things in the secular world are 'true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, praiseworthy' and help them to 'think about these things'. (Phil 4:8ff). They would help us 'prove what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect' ". (Rom 12:2).

(Horst Symanowski, Pastor in the German Confessing Church (The Christian Witness in an Industrial Society 1966) Symanowski worked in a cement factory and in construction for a number of years.

The Rt Revd Tom Slipshod rather regretted the idea of a year-long absence from his See in order to experience the world of work. It had seemed a good idea at the time. Still, only eleven months and two weeks to go.