As part of my role as Rural Dean, I have the responsibility of conducting inspections of churches on behalf of the Archdeacon of Hertford. It sounds a bit like Ofsted, but it isn’t that. Our archdeacon is very keen to ensure that the churchwardens know “We are checking in, not checking up!” There are some key questions to ask, of course, but predominantly, it’s a matter of making sure that the churchwardens (and the parishes more generally) are given the opportunity to ask for support if needed and to pass on their concerns (or celebrations) to the diocesan team.
Each year, there is variation in the questions I am given to ask. There are standard ones about safeguarding practice, insurance and the general aspirations and experience of parish life, and then there are targeted questions on different subjects each year. This year, there were quite a few relating to Net Zero Carbon. Like other institutions, we are expected to do what we can to get to Net Zero Carbon emissions and the Church of England has committed to do so by 2030. In order to identify the particular complexities for churches of meeting this target, and if I were feeling facetious, I might be tempted to talk about installing cavity wall insulation in the church buildings or laying ground source heat pumps in the churchyard! But whilst these are obviously off limits, there are some things we can do, so being facetious doesn’t really help. And the churches in the benefice are taking such steps as we can take. I may write more about this in future editions of the magazine.
Back to the archidiaconal inspections… I was conducting one inspection last week, when a couple, having seen the door open, walked into the church. The churchwarden I was with greeted them warmly and excused himself from our conversation. It turned out that they had come to visit family graves in the churchyard and had decided to take the opportunity of renewing their wedding vows at the same time. They had been married in that church 15 years earlier (within a day or two) and were planning on just walking up to the front, facing each other and saying “I will” – just like they had on their wedding day. (Yes, it’s “I will” in England, not “I do” – that’s Hollywood and America more generally. I may be biased because I am English, but I think there’s something very precious about the future dimension of the Church of England vows that is evoked by the word “will”. Bride and Groom state that they will love, cherish etc. their spouse until death parts them, not merely that they do [now] promise to do so. Worth pondering if you are married or engaged!)
Anyway, this couple came in and told us their story. I suggested we could do better than them standing alone if they wished… Having conducted many weddings, I know the vows off by heart, so I offered firstly to remind them of the vows and invite them to reaffirm them to one another and secondly to pray for them (for the next 15 years…). They were delighted. So that’s what we did. With the churchwarden and God as their witnesses, they heard and reaffirmed their promises of marriage and I prayed for them. It’s what some call a “Godincidence” – like a coincidence, but better… God took my need to be at that church for a boring administrative inspection and created out of it a very special moment for them.
May you see God’s benevolent hand in all your “coincidences.”