What is our attitude to change?

4 Jun 2025 • Articles

Dear Friends in the Uttoxeter Area,

What is our attitude to change? Sometimes the Church gets into a muddle about change; there can be those who think strongly things should stay the same and those who long for things to change.

When we are young change is something good and something to get excited about, milestones in a baby and small child’s development are met with applause – the first smile, the first tottering steps. Children growing up and young adults are proud of the change to their age and look forward to new opportunities of university or jobs or an end to studying.

Working in the NHS advising people on exercise and rehabilitation, we were helping people to find the small stages of changing for good; after all the health service role is to help people to become healthier and stay well. But we can’t deny older age altogether -and perhaps as we realise that we aren’t as fit and healthy as we were once, change takes on a negative perspective.

I am currently doing a very short course with the Pioneering Parishes team which is just 4 sessions. In the first session we talked about “Ending things well”, and in the second session we talked about evaluating our capacity to do a project and measuring resources against how attractive it would be to those with whom we want to engage. People are the most important resource and supporting people well must be our biggest challenge.

The disciples needed to face up to change (again) at Pentecost. Following Jesus had not been a quiet life but with the coming of the Holy Spirit, they were given the power of God to minister in ways they would never in 2025 years have imagined. As we pray the Lords Prayer and use the Thy Kingdom Come resources between Ascension and Pentecost, let us be open to the change God wants to do in us and our communities. Some things may need to end, and can end well, other things may need more resources, but above all let us support one another and applaud one another and help people to change things for the better.

With love and best wishes to you all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Lucy

Lucy Toyn - Reader in Uttoxeter Area

P.S. Perhaps when Jesus asked his disciples to “become like children” in Matthew 18 v 3, he was asking them to embrace change with childlike enthusiasm.