Burypilgrim

Since I have started my pilgrimage and been explaining it to people, I have often been asked, “Are you going to visit all the churches?”, which, of course, begs the question, “How many churches are there in Bury?” And for the purpose of the pilgrimage, Bury means the Metropolitan Borough of Bury. I am a bit of a numbers person, so I am of course intrigued, but I wonder what your answer might be.

One of the joys so far on the pilgrimage has been meeting faithful Christians on a Sunday morning, and at other times, that have a heart to love and serve God. And, as I have continued, and met more people sometimes from quite different traditions, I have gained a growing sense of a set of people with much in common. Yes, of course, they meet in different groups, in different buildings, and may have some particular ways of doing things, but actually what they hold in common is Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

And so this has taken me back to some passages in Ephesians: “³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4: 3-6). There is a strong emphasis on “one” here. And, of course, there is also an emphasis in out historical creeds to this oneness, for example, in the Nicene Creed we declare: “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.” But, in reality, in our day to day experience as followers of Jesus, there is so much more emphasis on belonging to different churches.

So, as I am wandering through the streets of Bury and meet more and more followers of Jesus, I am wondering more what would happen if we were to imagine that there is just one church in Bury. And that God calls each part to do its work: “we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:15b-16).

So, “How many churches are there in Bury?” I think my answer would be one.