Amidst a world of seemingly endless movement and change many of us feel a longing to be rooted. It is this instinct that has led many to value the parish system, and to question the place of new churches, be they fresh expressions or church plants.
By Will FoulgerApril 2023
Presented by Cranmer Hall
Present in Every Place? The Church of England’s New Churches, and the Future of the Parish is the latest work from Will Foulger. It looks at the instinct to form churches that are of and for a particular place, and what this might mean in a world where place is contested, interconnected, and ever-changing. Above all it is an attempt to move the conversation beyond the binary choices of parish or non, new or inherited. It offers a powerful and persuasive vision for a Church that is national only by being local; a vision that can only be realised as churches continually become present to their places.
Will Foulger is Director of Mission and Evangelism at Cranmer Hall in Durham and is Director of the Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research. Prior to his doctoral research Will studied Theology at St Andrews University, and at Princeton Seminary. He is clear that his most challenging theological work up to now has been to teach Religious Studies in secondary schools in South-East London, where he grew up. He is married to Vikki and they have four children.
“… a beautifully written, sensitive and timely book. Its passionate argument for doing church together, in caring for the places that we inhabit, brings a much-needed sense of the possibilities of the present moment and the richness of working together across parishes and fresh expressions.”
ISABELLE HAMLEY, SECRETARY FOR THEOLOGY AND THEOLOGICAL ADVISER TO THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS
“This is a really helpful book for any pioneer, planter or parish priest who wants to see the church grow and flourish. Will offers a way forward in the mixed ecology where the church in its various forms can incarnate the good news of Jesus into the particularities of place.”
GARETH ROBINSON, NEW WINE ENGLAND
“What if place is a richer and more complex notion than the territorial area marked by the traditional parish boundary? What if a commitment to mission is turning newly-planted churches back to a love for the particularities of place and people? In this highly incisive and attractively written book, Will Foulger invites us to think beyond some rather tired polarities about the nature and role of the parish, and creatively opens our imaginations to future possibilities for the Church of England as it explores how it will continue to minister God’s presence in every place.”
ROBERT SONG, DURHAM UNIVERSITY, UK
